She woke up the next day without any disturbance. She saw Jiraiya already awake, looking somewhat tired, in the same position as the previous day, reading a scroll. He glanced at her with an expression she couldn't decipher, but she didn't return the look. She changed her clothes, and they went down to have breakfast. In blessed silence. Then, they resumed their journey out of the Land of Fire. In more silence. By midday, Jiraiya opened his mouth.
"What you said yesterday gave me a lot to think about," he confessed in the most serious tone she had ever heard from him. "I have certainly failed you. I'm sorry. I thought it would be easy to come back, reconnect with you, that I wouldn't have to delve too deeply into my... feelings and actions. With Naruto, it was like that, but not with you. Do you know what my job is as a ninja?"
"No."
"I'm a spy. Konoha's master spy, you could say," he told her. Seina raised an eyebrow upon hearing this but didn't ask further. "It's something I started doing in the previous wars and then grew to like. By the time your father became Hokage, my position was firm. When he died, and you two were left orphaned... I knew I couldn't take you with me without constantly putting you in danger. Besides, I didn't want to take you out of the village where your parents had lived because that was their home, your home. And, to be honest, I wouldn't have known how to take care of two babies. You know how I am. A real mess."
"And why didn't you come back to the village? Why keep spying?"
"Because no one has the connections I've built over more than 30 years. Women aren't just fun but also part of my job, believe it or not. Besides, not all your enemies are inside the village. Your father angered many people from other places..."
Seina said nothing. Now that she had a coherent explanation, she could even understand it, though it didn't change the fact that he hadn't sent a single letter to say he existed.
"And why didn't you visit us or send a letter?" she asked, insisting.
"...," he sighed, touching his hair. "Have you ever put something off because you couldn't face it, until, without realizing it, too much time has passed to know what to do about that problem, so you just hope it resolves itself like magic?"
"I don't put things off," she replied. She had learned that lesson very harshly during her time at Hogwarts and then in her youth.
"Yeah, well. One thing I know about you is your strength. The problem is that some people don't have that level of courage and determination. Some people cower at the pain they know is coming."
"If there's one thing I know, it's that problems don't disappear or solve themselves," she said much more calmly than before. "Will you ever do something like that again?"
"No. I'm afraid I can't keep ignoring some things, no matter how hard it is to face them..."
"Alright. I accept your shitty excuses. I forgive you, but don't ever do it again."
"And that's it?!" exclaimed the sannin beside her, looking at her as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"Forgiveness is not excusing the offender's behavior but abandoning resentment and viewing the other as a human being despite their mistakes," she recited Hermione's words, looking him in the eye so he'd know she was serious.
She didn't know why those few exchanged sentences were enough to make her change her mind. Maybe because she felt the sincerity of his confession and he hadn't tried to excuse himself but admitted to failing, being a coward, and wanting to change. That was all one could ask for when being asked for forgiveness. He wasn't a bad person, despite his questionable decisions. If he tried to change, Seina would gladly forgive him.
She noted Jiraiya's tumultuous emotions beside her. She didn't try to read him. She let him think over their conversation in silence and absorb that she forgave him. The ensuing silence, though expected, was entirely different. When they crossed the border into the Land of Rice Fields, Jiraiya began to explain why they were there. After all, they were on a mission.
"We don't know exactly where Orochimaru's base is, but we know it's in this country."
"I could use my powers."
"Yes, why not. Try to indicate the direction, and we'll ask any villagers we encounter along the way if they know anything about him."
She used the spell to lead them in the right direction, and they corrected their path. They soon reached the first village, if it could be called that. The place wasn't abandoned, but it looked like the setting of a horror thriller. She could sense the malice emanating from the place, as if some people were corrupted for some reason.
"There's more life at a funeral," she commented.
"I know, but maybe we can discover something. Do you have money?"
"Are you seriously asking me for money to go drink at some seedy dive? They'll probably poison you or something. Besides, why should I give you MY money? You earn more than I do!"
"Of course not! Who would poison me?" he asked rhetorically, ignoring her last question.
"How are you so sure? As far as I know, Tsunade-sama poisoned you easily," she rolled her eyes at his indignation. Then she sighed. "Here."
She pulled out a wad of conjured fake bills from her pouch. Jiraiya accepted them with a chuckle and then asked her to keep watch. She easily agreed to the order since she had no desire to venture into such a sinister village. She sat on a tree branch until she heard someone approaching clumsily. She saw with her spell the golden aura of what seemed to be a teenager. She threw a kunai to make them come out.
"Who are you?" she asked.
No answer. The girl simply pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it in her direction, quickly fleeing. Seina watched her go, wondering if she should have apprehended her, but she followed Jiraiya's orders not to attract attention with ninja arts. Besides, something told her they would meet again. Otherwise, why approach her and be seen before escaping? Something smelled fishy.
She turned her head when her spells detected the unmistakable sound of Jiraiya's sandals running quickly in her direction. She saw him appear with a surprised expression until he saw the crowd chasing him, wielding knives and frying pans.
"Damn..."
"Run!"
"You don't need to tell me twice!" she shouted and took off running into the forest.
They ran from the villagers for a while until they finally lost them and found an abandoned-looking place on a large rock. It looked like a temple or something similar but quite small.
"What the hell happened?" she asked, glaring at him.
"Nothing important. The thing is, they had no information about Orochimaru."
"And now what?"
"We'll have to go to the next village. We have no idea where the entrance is or how many enemies there are or anything."
"I encountered a girl, a ninja. She showed herself and then fled."
"Oh? Did she attack you?"
"No. It was strange. I think she was trying to get my attention."
"Don't let your guard down."
Jiraiya took out a map and they analyzed the location of the next village. After gathering their things, they started walking. It didn't take them long to arrive. This place was the complete opposite of the previous one. The streets were bustling with people and the shops were overflowing. Upon entering through the gate, they witnessed a fight between a couple of drunks that ended with a broken window and a man unconscious against a wall.
"This is a nice place," she commented sarcastically. At the silence, she turned to look. "Really? Again?"
"Do you know a better place to hear the village rumors?"
She rolled her eyes at the display window of a half-naked woman. In the end, Jiraiya asked her to take a walk around the village to gather information. They agreed to meet later on the nearest hill, away from the bustling streets. She took the customary walk, using Legilimency to see if she could discover anything of value, but nothing. No one was actively thinking about Orochimaru or, if they were, they were not within her range. When she got tired of wandering around like an idiot, noticing some looks starting to follow her, she left and went to the meeting point.
She waited alone for a long time. Curiously, she felt a déjà vu when she heard movement among the leaves again. This time, she didn't have time to throw the kunai before the same girl from before appeared, collapsing to the ground as if her shoulder hurt from a wound.
"You again?"
The girl tried to stand to move away from her, who was walking in her direction, but then fell to the ground again with a groan of pain. Seina refrained from raising an eyebrow. What did shoulder pain have to do with not being able to walk? It was clearly an act. She heard a few more people approaching her position. She grabbed the girl in mid-air just as the kunai of their enemies hit the ground where she had been standing. She created a few clones to take care of them and then ran toward the temple, carrying the girl.
"Who are you?" she asked, laying her on the ground.
The girl removed her hood, revealing orange-brown hair, and confirmed that she was indeed young and female.
"My name is Sasame Fuuma. I'm sorry for mistaking you the other day for a ninja from Oto," she said, clutching her shoulder again with a pained expression.
"Let me see your wound," she ordered, keeping her within her field of vision at all times.
Sasame, if that was really her name, took off her shirt and showed her the cut. Seina examined it critically, noting it was a clean, though somewhat deep cut. It was undoubtedly made with a kunai. Even so, something about the cut seemed strange. It was too clean. It looked like she hadn't defended herself. She looked at Sasame's nape, who was giving her back, and disinfected and bandaged the wound manually. She didn't want to reveal her abilities or heal her completely if she was indeed an enemy.
"Who were those who attacked us?" she asked.
"They are Oto ninjas. They protect Orochimaru's base."
Sasame explained the situation to her. How the feudal lord and his ambition opened the doors to Orochimaru, how he recruited ninjas from all the clans in the country, how her cousin Arashi had been chosen and never returned. Apparently, Sasame was the only one in the Fuuma clan still tracking her cousin that had not given up. While she was talking, Seina began to hear the characteristic clicking of spiders that had been ingrained in her mind after her encounter with the Acromantulas.
She discreetly activated her spell but confirmed they were alone in the house. Even so, minutes later, she heard about three people land in the nearby trees. She ignored Sasame's tears as she stood up just as the house seemed to collapse under its foundations. She opened the door and saw that it was filled with spiders and webs. A malicious laugh echoed throughout the place, emanating from each spider.
"He's using the sound of each spider to hide his position!" Sasame said, as if she didn't already know.
She enchanted one of her father's modified kunai to make it invisible and then threw it far away, unnoticed by anyone. She closed the doors of the house.
"Let's go," she grabbed Sasame's good arm and quickly lifted her.
She used the hiraishin to escape the house without problems, appearing behind the enemies.
"Stay here," she ordered in a whisper.
She descended from the tree after placing a tracker on Sasame without her noticing. She used the bracelet to stay unnoticed and an earth jutsu to move through the ground towards the enemies. She saw that, indeed, they were the same three who had attacked them before. She decided to take care of the spider guy first, appearing behind him and knocking him out with a stupefy. Just when the other two realized something was happening, Jiraiya appeared with a giant summoned toad that sent them flying.
"Let's retreat!" one of them shouted, grabbing the ninja she had knocked out and fleeing quickly.
"What happened?" he asked her when they were finally alone.
"They seemed to be after the girl, Sasame."
"A girl? Where is she?"
"Here."
Seina and Jiraiya turned to look at her. While they were distracted, she used the spell to retrieve the weapon she had thrown earlier.
"I see the house collapsed. Hmm… It's better if we move away from here."
They left the combat site with Sasame. Seina explained in detail what the girl had told her.
"Fuuma? From the Fuuma clan? I met a guy named Hanzaki in the village. He tried to rob me, but I taught them a lesson. Unfortunately, they had no information."
"He and his goons betrayed the clan," Sasame explained to them. Then she lowered her head. "I can take you there."
"Really?"
Seina watched her. She didn't trust her, but if she had information, she would accept her help. They started running, following Sasame. It only took them about 15 minutes to reach their destination, a place high up in the mountains covered with clouds.
"How are we going to do it?" she asked. "I don't think we can just walk in."
"I think we should eat something first. I'm starving," Jiraiya laughed, unable to contain himself.
Seina looked at him blankly. Even so, she let herself be convinced because she too was starting to feel hungry. Jiraiya took out a bento which he ended up sharing with the two of them.
"I'll make tea," Sasame said with a smile.
She took some bamboo to fill them with water a bit further away. Seina followed her with her gaze and then raised an eyebrow in Jiraiya's direction, who nodded back at her. Before she realized it, she exchanged places with a shadow clone and observed from the branch of a tree. Fortunately, she had already eaten all she needed, so she accepted the tea without hesitation. Jiraiya and she pretended to fall asleep on the food, to Sasame's slight surprise. They watched her run to alert her accomplices.
Fortunately for Sasame, she seemed to have scruples and refused to let them "kill" them. Otherwise, Seina would have slit her throat for trying such a thing.
"Move aside, Sasame!" one of them hit her.
Sasame flew through the air as the ninja attempted to stab them with his blades. Seina caught her in the air, seeing that she was unconscious, just as the clones vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Kage bunshin!?"
"I knew we would meet again," she said from the top of a rock, placing Sasame on the ground.
"Scum!" one of them spat at her and lunged, raising his twin blades.
Seina quickly realized they were quite mediocre. She dodged the stabs with minimal movement, examining her enemy. When she got tired of him, she dodged an attack and placed her hand on him with a charged stupefy. He fell unconscious, much to the anger of the other ninja. Unfortunately for him, Jiraiya sent him flying with a rasengan.
"Only one left."
"Look, he's there," Jiraiya indicated.
They watched, standing side by side, as he transformed from a hunchbacked man into a girl with chakra wings. Seina raised an eyebrow at what she was seeing.
"Watch out!" Jiraiya shouted just as the girl launched a chakra cannon in their direction.
Seina grabbed the pervert by the hand and leisurely disappeared with hiraishin.
"What the...? You used the hiraishin!" Jiraiya exclaimed, somewhat astonished from the branch of the tree she had prepared earlier.
"We'll talk about that later."
They saw the girl fall to the ground, taking her companions with her in a beam of light, but leaving Sasame behind.
"Let's go. I want to talk to her," Jiraiya indicated.
Seina took Sasame and placed her against the trunk of a tree a little further away. She woke her up with a spell. She watched as Sasame looked at them in shock and confusion.
"Wh-what?" Sasame asked herself aloud. "How did you know?"
"Since you called Hanzaki a traitor. He told me everything, you know?" the pervert informed her, crossing his arms. "Although I think Seina didn't trust you from the beginning."
"You're a terrible actress," Seina said dryly.
"But, how?" Sasame insisted, both worried and indignant at their words.
"To start with, you should have cut your leg instead of your shoulder. That would make it more believable that you couldn't 'walk' without me carrying you," Seina sighed, seeing that Sasame was really just a manipulated child. "Also, you said you mistook me for a ninja from Oto when I clearly have my ninja headband on my neck, and I know you saw it—twice, in fact."
Jiraiya suppressed a laugh as he saw Sasame's face turn red with embarrassment at her words. Just as Sasame lowered her head, they saw her pull out a kunai, ready to kill herself. Jiraiya slapped it out of her hand.
"Idiot!"
"What are you going to do with me?"
"We should punish you," the sannin looked at Seina. "What do you think?"
"I think she just wants to know what happened to her cousin," Seina sighed again. "She's just an unconscious child."
"Alright. Show us the entrance to the base and then go back to the village, understand?"
"H-hai."
They followed her again towards Orochimaru's base. The mission was to locate the base and investigate why Orochimaru was so interested in Sasuke, so they imagined they would have to go inside. Honestly, what sense did it make for a sannin to perform this mission with a newly promoted chunin? The rank of this mission was out of her category. Damn it. They didn't pay her enough for this crap.
"There it is," Sasame interrupted her thoughts, pointing to an entrance that led to a clearly underground base.
"Alright. You head back to the village. We'll take it from here."
Jiraiya and Seina watched as she turned and disappeared into the forest. The sannin turned to look at her.
"The base must be full of traps, so I'll send in a summon first to investigate for us."
"Good idea, but let me do it," she asked. "My summons are connected to me, so I can see through their eyes, and I've also marked them with the shiki jutsu, so we can appear in a safe place with the hiraishin."
"How is that possible?" Jiraiya asked, astonished.
"My summons are my own creations," she rolled her eyes. "Kuchiyose no jutsu."
She summoned a few animals, from field mice to insects. With them, they could enter the base without taking any risks, seeing first what was happening down there and appearing in a safe place without triggering any traps. Also, leaving a sealed kunai behind meant they could return whenever they wanted using the hiraishin. She observed through their eyes the entrance and then a long hallway lit by the dim light of candles. It was quite eerie, to be honest.
"What do you see?"
"There's a long hallway that ends in a room with three doors. There are no signs or anything. I'm sending my creatures to each side to see what they find."
They waited in silence as she, with her eyes closed, controlled her summons. The hallway on the left was dark, but she could see a bright light at the end. When her mouse arrived, she saw a girl with long dark hair and pale skin, dressed in a kimono, playing a musical instrument on a platform of light. There was nothing there except for her and the objects she was interacting with, so she gave up. She told Jiraiya what she had seen.
"Hmm... A woman with an instrument? Why would Orochimaru want someone like that? Surely she's one of his minions. What about the other hallways?"
"Give me a few seconds..."
In the right hallway, there was a laboratory full of devices and medical books. There were scattered notes everywhere.
"I think I see someone," she informed him, noticing that her creatures in the central hallway had come across an open door. "It seems to be Kabuto... and Orochimaru."
"Are you seeing Orochimaru?" he asked immediately.
"Uh... I don't think it's him," she finally said. "Wasn't it said that the Third sealed his arms?"
"That's right."
"Then it's not him, or he's healed them. He's using them as if nothing happened."
"It must be a trap. The real Orochimaru, if he was here from the start, would know we're here. What about the other minions who escaped? Do you see them?"
"No. They're not anywhere."
"Then I'd say they're disguised."
"Shh... They're talking."
"Do you think they'll fall for it?"
"Surely. Sasame is alive. She'll guide them here. It'll be easy to kill them with this new form without them suspecting anything. That'll give Orochimaru-sama time to escape."
"Indeed, it's the minions from before disguised as Kabuto and Orochimaru. They believe Sasame will lead us to the base."
"And they're right. If it weren't for your jutsu, we would have entered."
"It seems Orochimaru has fled," she sighed, not knowing if in relief or frustration.
"Is there anything else down there?"
"A laboratory with papers. It looks like they left in a hurry. In fact, if it weren't for my fly, I don't think we could have entered," she commented. "I could send a clone for the documents."
"Alright. Do it. We'll leave the others down there. It's no use fighting them if they're just low-ranking minions."
Seina sent a couple of clones to the fly that had infiltrated through the ventilation into Orochimaru's laboratory. She watched as her clones collected everything they could, especially papers and files, before returning to her with the hiraishin.
"Wow, so much material!" Jiraiya whistled, taking the documentation from her clone. "With this, we'll keep Konoha busy for a long time. Let's go back to the village. I'll leave a few explosive talismans to destroy this base from a distance."
She undid the summons, blinking at so much information, and stored the papers in her pouch under Jiraiya's astonished gaze. They turned to head back the way they came when Seina heard and located Sasame waiting for them at the previous cliff.
"Ugh... Sasame is waiting for us up there."
"I see she listened to me," Jiraiya complained, taking a big leap. "Didn't I tell you to go back to the village?"
"I couldn't do it! I wanted to know what happened to Arashi-ni-chan!"
"He wasn't there," Seina replied, shrugging. "There were only the guys from before disguised as Orochimaru. Apparently, Orochimaru fled as soon as he found out we were here."
"Oh, no! This is my fault!" Sasame cried. Her eyes filled with tears as she tried to explain how she knew. "He promised I'd see him in exchange for turning you in!"
"I see..." Jiraiya sighed. "He probably just used you and didn't even intend to tell you if he was down there or not."
"He must have taken him!"
Seina and Jiraiya exchanged uncomfortable glances as they listened to her crying uncontrollably. What could they say to console her, knowing how Orochimaru was? Most likely, she was right, or worse, he was dead, and that's why she hadn't seen him in months.
"Let's go. Let's return to the village. Other members of your clan are waiting for you there."
They left Orochimaru's base with a small loot. Sasame, however, seemed crushed by the news. When they reached the village, she had stopped crying but seemed on the verge of collapse, realizing that everything she had done, even trying to drug them, had been for nothing. Worse yet, she had almost been responsible for the deaths of two people with her actions.
"So good to see you again, Sasame," a red-haired woman said to Sasame. "Are you alright?"
"I couldn't rescue Arashi-ni-chan..."
"Oh, dear. I'm sure he'll show up sooner or later," she assured her.
"We'll take good care of her, Jiraiya-sama," the one who seemed to be the leader assured him.
"I'm sure you will," Jiraiya smiled. "Let's go, Seina. We need to return as soon as possible."
"Hai."
They left the village, waving goodbye to the people. Well, Jiraiya waved. Seina simply started walking towards Konoha. The mission had lasted less than expected. She had barely been away from the village for three days, but it had felt like an eternity. Maybe she had gotten out of practice with missions?
"What did you see in the papers?" she asked when she couldn't hold back her curiosity.
"Blood analyses of several ninjas. I think I know what he's planning for sure," Jiraiya sighed. "If I'm right, I know why he wants Sasuke. Do you know what Orochimaru's cursed seal is?"
"It doesn't ring a bell," she frowned, thinking if she had heard anything about it. "No. Nothing"
"It's not surprising. It's a technique created by Orochimaru. It uses senjutsu chakra to grant its bearer abilities similar to Sage Mode."
"Sage Mode... The use of physical, spiritual, and natural energy to enhance the user's capabilities, isn't that right?"
"Exactly. We know he uses this technique because he sealed someone in Konoha many years ago. We were able to study the seal thoroughly, but we don't know how he does it or why exactly."
"It's clear that Orochimaru gains something from the seal. If there were no benefit to him, I don't think he would bother giving 'power' to his minions."
"That's obvious. I hope with these notes we can figure out exactly what."
"And what does all this have to do with Sasuke?"
"That's where I'm going. I believe the seal is connected to another of Orochimaru's jutsus. The Reincarnation Jutsu. Orochimaru has been obsessed with immortality for years," Jiraiya said, and Seina groaned at hearing the description of someone who could pass for Voldemort's child. "We don't know for sure, but we believe the seal is a safeguard for—"
"Don't tell me. A piece of his essence embedded in the seal that he can use to reincarnate whenever he pleases and, as long as it exists, it means Orochimaru is alive in some way or another," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"How did you deduce that?" asked Jiraiya, surprised.
"Coincidence," she sighed and then stifled a hysterical laugh. "Fantastic. So, he wants to give this seal to Sasuke to have him as a potential body, right?"
"That's right. As I said, we might have a definite confirmation with the papers. And more detailed information on how it works because, for now, we're in the dark."
Seina shrank from the exhaustion. Horcruxes? No. They weren't like the horcruxes she had destroyed in another life, but very similar. It seemed that Orochimaru, somehow, had managed to implant something of himself into his victims' bodies to be able to possess them. Some of his chakra? All seals could be undone as long as one knew how without causing death, unlike a horcrux in a person. Just for that, she knew it wasn't a piece of soul he was implanting. That consoled her more than she wanted to admit.
"We'd better hurry and cross the border," Jiraiya told her. "We'll rest tonight in a village in the Land of Fire and continue to Konoha tomorrow."
Said and done. It took them another day to return to Konoha. When she passed through the village's huge gate, she couldn't suppress a sigh of relief at being back in home, sweet home. She returned home after delivering the report and papers to Tsunade-sama, who received them with a surprised smile.
"Take the day off tomorrow, Seina. You've earned it."
She received the mission pay and returned home. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the house was empty, so she went straight to the bathtub to relax.