The next day, Seina finished her work with the Nara clan in no time. As he had promised, Shikaku had all the plants ready for her. She sent them to her house with the hiraishin under the watchful eyes of Shikamaru and who turned out to be his uncle, Suzaku.
As soon as she got home, she saw how Naruto and the others were looking at the dozens of plants in pots that the Naras had given her.
"Where are you going to plant all this?"
"In the suitcase," she said automatically. "My tent is open to a lot of people, and if I plant them here and we have another invasion like last year, we could lose the plants if the house gets destroyed."
"That's a great idea," Kakashi-sensei thought out loud. "The suitcase is like your tent, but completely private, and you always carry it with you, so the risk of losing your belongings is practically zero."
"I know. In fact, I've already copied all the scrolls we have here and stored them temporarily in a trunk inside my suitcase. Right now, the only thing missing inside the suitcase is a house, just in case, but I know that if we lost this house, we wouldn't lose anything of real value. Only the clothes, plates, and such."
That was something she had thought about more than once but had never consciously meditated on. The fact that she now had important things to protect, like the Uzumaki scrolls, the Nara book, or even the plants, had pushed her to consider building a house inside her suitcase. She never took off her pouch, not even when she slept outside her home, so she knew the suitcase, being inside the pouch, was protected.
If in the future they lost the house they had bought and repaired in Konoha, they would always have her suitcase to live in temporarily while they rebuilt their house on their land, which was now permanently hers and her brother's, and they wouldn't have lost anything truly valuable. What she couldn't allow was for what had happened to their parents to happen again: losing everything.
That brought her to another of her old ideas. Building a house outside of Konoha. Ninjas didn't own property outside their home village or, at most, outside their country. It was unthinkable. For starters, no foreign country would grant permission to build and own property that could be used by enemy ninjas, and secondly, why would they need a house far away if they never travelled for leisure and didn't even have vacations?
The only reasons a ninja had vacations were getting married, resting from injuries sustained on missions, the birth of a child, or the death of a close family member. Considering that ninjas typically only married once and had on average 1 or 2 children, it meant that in about 10 years, a ninja might only have had 3 vacations. So, what was the point of buying a second residence that they would only use occasionally? The only ones who bought second homes were the large clans, the ones with many members, as they could amortize the purchase among them because the house would be used more frequently.
Still… Seina saw another obvious reason to buy a second house, one that no one knew existed, except maybe the Hokage. What would happen to her brother and her if someone less scrupulous than Tsunade-sama became Hokage? Where would Naruto and she go if they found themselves forced to flee Konoha for some shady reason? They could live in the suitcase, or in the magical tent, but the protections she could put on both wouldn't be as strong as having a residence with magical barriers or under the fidelus charm.
One might wonder why she had begun to seriously consider all of this, but the truth was that knowing they had a distant cousin had made her realize something else. With the loss of the village in the Land of Whirlpools, all the Uzumaki who might have survived were scattered across the world without a place of their own to call home. Even her own mother had been a refugee in Konoha when she lost her village.
Seina had been unpleasantly reminded that she was the heir of the clan, so she had to do something about it because it was now clear that the Uzumaki clan wasn't just her and her brother, and if they had a distant cousin of 12 or 13 years old, it meant there could be more Uzumakis out there.
She blinked when she saw Naruto's hand in front of her face.
"What are you thinking about so hard, Seina-nee?" she saw the curious faces of her team. How long had she been reflecting internally while they watched her?
"A few things…"
She would have to think more seriously about all this on her own.
"We just wanted to know if you'd like us to help you with the plants and creating the light orbs."
"Yes, that wouldn't be bad. I need to create a space for the plants in the suitcase, but you can help me with the orbs while I do that."
"Great. What do we need to do?"
Seina transformed the material into metallic orbs and left some clones with them to teach them the runic sequences and carve the necessary runes. She entered the suitcase, seeing the small living room she had conjured long ago just after descending, and the structure with cells to the right. In the distance, about 800 meters away, the different habitats she had designed for her summons began, so she had more than enough space to build a large house between the entrance door and the suitcase's ecosystems.
She began to build an herbology area inside a stone structure with huge translucent glass windows that she enchanted to block the light from the enchanted ceiling of the suitcase. She transformed multiple elevated rows into planting stations, so she wouldn't have to bend over, and built independent conduits, perforated, on each table for watering the plants. She also used runes on the floor to keep it clean and runes on the edges of each station to control the temperature. Thanks to Shikaku's information, she knew the plants required different types of soil, temperatures, and had different water and sunlight needs, so she would conjure different sunlight cycles based on the plants she planted in the stations, open more or fewer small taps at each station, and modify the runes to have the optimal temperature.
"Wow!" her brother exclaimed, appearing at the door an hour later. "This is amazing!"
"How does it work?" Kakashi-sensei asked, examining her work from beside the double glass door.
"Each table or station is independent of the next one," she pointed to one of them, 2 meters by 2 meters. "That allows me to control the temperature, the amount of water, the soil composition, and the sunlight cycle so they grow in optimal conditions."
"And where are you going to get the different soil to plant them?" Sasuke asked, noticing that the soil in some of the pots Shikaku had given her was obviously different.
"That's easy. I just need to replicate the soil from the pot."
"At this rate, you're going to need a clone down here all day tending the plants. Especially if you manage to cultivate more of each type."
"Why don't you create a house-elf with your magic?" Sasuke asked. "If you've already done it with your creatures, could you create something more… human to take care of this?"
"Mmm… I could, but it would end up taking care of a lot of magical things down here."
"And?" her brother asked, confused.
"That would be dangerous. I could accidentally turn it into a genius loci."
"Genius loci? What's that?" Kakashi-sensei asked with almost childlike curiosity.
"Genius loci are magical spirits that appear in certain magical places. For example, my old magic school was 1000 years old, and thousands of people had passed through it, so over time, it started coming to life due to the immense amount of magic it absorbed," she shrugged at her team's incredulous expressions. "In the end, when I attended Hogwarts, the castle had a life of its own and control over some things that happened inside it. It could move stairs, open and close doors, send help, guide you through its halls, deny you passage, control the temperature…"
"All that was done by a building?"
"Yes. The spirit of Hogwarts, according to my friend Hermione, was fairly young. Think of it as a gigantic castle, but despite all the magic it absorbed over so long, it practically never received direct magic. It only absorbed residual magic. Unless someone donated magic to it in its hidden rune chamber… which is its heart and what controls the magical barriers."
"And what does that have to do with creating a servant?" Naruto asked again.
"To create a servant, as you say, I'd have to give it a body and my magic. A lot more magic than I give my summons since they don't have consciousness of their own, except for a few directives to appear like animals. I wouldn't be giving magic to the environment, as happened at Hogwarts, but to a specific body. Over time, it would come to life. The problem with this is that not all genius loci are benevolent," she said before they could interrupt her. "Their personality depends on the magic they absorb, which in turn is influenced by the personality of whoever provides the magic, and the atmosphere of the place where they were created. It could be benign since I'd create it to take care of plants, but it could also acquire my more… violent tendencies, and Kurama's, who is part of me."
"The genius loci at your school was benevolent because the ones providing it with magic were children, right?" her teacher asked rhetorically, realizing the problem. She nodded. "What would happen if it were something more malicious?"
"It wouldn't hurt me, as its creator, since it would be a reflection of me. If I added a rune chamber and gave more magic to our house, and a genius loci appeared, it would likely kill anyone with ill intentions approaching our door, maintain the comfort of the house, help us find information in scrolls... I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it would even punish us if we overstepped in some way it considered wrong."
"Like what?"
"Like training inside the house when we have a training shed and end up breaking a wall or something like that," she shrugged again. "The mansion in my family had a very young genius loci too, and the same thing happened at my godfather's city house, though that one was clearly more malevolent and spiteful. It didn't like strangers living there, so it made sure nothing was ever clean and hid dark creatures and dangerous magical artifacts for you to stumble upon. It also wouldn't let anyone enter rooms with valuable objects or the library."
"Wow..."
"The magical world must have been utterly ridiculous," Sasuke said aloud, "and dangerous."
"It was. That's why I'm like this," Seina joked. "Have you finished with the spheres?"
"We've done about half, though your clones should be finishing up now. Let's check."
Naruto and Sasuke left to finish the task while she replicated the soil from each pot into different tables and planted the various plants. Kakashi-sensei helped her in silence, though he clearly wanted to talk about something. After a few minutes, he didn't hold back and spoke.
"What's bothering you? I know you've been thinking about something for days. You know if you need anything..."
"I know," she smiled, planting the last of the plants and opening the small taps to let the conjured water flow. "Right now, my mind is a mess. I don't know if I want to think about it alone, talk to you about it privately, or involve Naruto and Sasuke. I don't even know where to begin."
"I see."
Seina sat on a conjured log, staring at the newly created stations as if they held the answer to her overwhelming mental chaos. Kakashi-sensei sat beside her, wiping his hands with a cloth he produced from nowhere.
"Until now, I've been so busy with everything around me that I haven't had much time to think about anything else, you know? I mean my brother, Sasuke, you, my deceased parents, the village... but finding out we have family, even distant, has made me realize there are probably more Uzumaki out there. Suddenly, I have to start acting like the leader of a clan I always thought had only two people. On top of that, my distant cousin might be working with Orochimaru, so she's likely more of an enemy to Konoha than a potential ally. Damn, now I fully understand how Sasuke feels."
"But that's not all, is it? I thought you already had a plan for your cousin."
"Yeah, I do. I haven't changed my mind. I think what's bothering me is several things. For starters, I now know there's a high chance there are more Uzumaki I don't know about out there. On one hand, none of us have much of anything material from our ancestors, and on the other hand, if I take my distant cousin as a reference, they don't seem to have a safe place to call home either."
"Wow. This crisis is bigger than I expected."
"Oh, and I also want a place outside of Konoha, somewhere secret within the Land of Fire."
"What?" Kakashi-sensei asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
"It's obvious, isn't it? Both my brother and I are jinchuriki, and Sasuke is the last Uchiha and one of Orochimaru's targets. You saw what happened when the Third Hokage died, how things were until Tsunade-sama took over, and then all the drama with Danzo. I'm a ninja, but I'm also a witch with 120 years of experience in a completely different world, Kakashi-sensei. Do you know what one of the most famous proverbs from my homeland says? 'Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and accept whatever comes.'"
The jonin considered her words in silence. Her statement hadn't seemed to faze him much, despite bordering on treason against Konoha. In reality, that was exactly what she was implying. If things got bad enough that she feared for Sasuke's, Naruto's, and her own lives, she would leave. As simple as that. She was a ninja because she chose to be. She served Konoha because she chose to. In the worst-case scenario, if the village ever turned against her family, she'd say goodbye to Konoha faster than one could say "quidditch."
"Remember when I said the team is family? At first, we weren't a real team, but I knew with time we would be because there's little that bonds more than eating, sleeping, fighting, living, and killing together. Do you think I was joking? Do you think I was joking when I said I'd kill for you?" she asked with total seriousness. "You're my family. If Orochimaru keeps targeting Sasuke, sooner or later, I will kill him. Him and his entire organization, until not a single stone remains, not a single ninja experiment, not one of his hostages... Nothing will be left for anyone to use to revive him. Nothing."
"Seina," Kakashi-sensei interrupted, pulling her into his lap. "I understand. Calm down, dear. We're all okay."
She blinked, realizing what he meant. She saw her reflection in Kakashi-sensei's forehead protector and was surprised to see her eyes had turned red again. Kurama didn't say anything inside her, but she could feel his emotions entwined with hers. It wasn't just Seina seething with anger at the potential future betrayal of Konoha, filled with fury at the thought of her team being hunted and persecuted... It was Seina and Kurama together. She closed her eyes, leaning into her master's chest, trying to calm herself. A hand on her head stroked her hair as if she hadn't just nearly lost her mind moments before.
"Honestly, I've never really thought about what I'd do if I were betrayed the way you describe... I probably wouldn't have cared much back when I was alone, as apathetic as I used to be, but now..."
"Now?"
"Now I have all of you. I have you. I've avoided thinking about it because I didn't want to face the fact that I would betray Konoha, as much as it would hurt me... It's a thought that even scares me, to be honest."
"Let's hope that day never comes..."
Kurama's words echoed her own thoughts. Seina closed her eyes, not wanting to continue the conversation. What a mess. All she had wanted by explaining everything she was feeling to Kakashi-sensei was for him to help her sort through what was going on, and they had ended up talking about betraying Konoha. She should have thought it over alone, with a nice bubble bath and essential oils. She sensed the jonin's sigh before she even heard it. His chest rose slightly, with her head still resting on him, and then fell.
"Why don't we go back to your initial problems? For starters, why don't you ask Tsunade-sama to send you to Uzushiogakure? It's a ruined country, but I'm sure with your powers, you could recover information about your clan. As for the hidden place, I think it's a good idea. You're right, considering who you, your brother, and Sasuke are. What I was thinking is... Why not rebuild Uzushiogakure and erase it from the map? Ever since those lands were destroyed, no one has paid attention to them, so it would be easy for you to place it under the same enchantment as this house."
Seina sat up lazily, her mouth slightly agape. The weight she had felt in her stomach disappeared in an instant upon hearing the jonin's solution. She smiled, realizing that it was true—sharing your problems with others could help solve them more easily than being alone.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're a genius. I'd still like to have some land closer to Konoha, but rebuilding Uzushiogakure could work... And I'd be killing two birds with one stone."
She already imagined what she could do with those lands. By reforming the entire country, the Uzumaki would have a place to settle without needing to ask for residence in Konoha, where she, the heir of the clan, resided. Maybe it would never be a village again, but at the very least, it would be a protected territory for her clan, where no one could access. If they farmed and bought various types of livestock, they would be self-sufficient. She explained everything she had just thought to her master, seeing his thoughtful expression.
"I'm not sure there are enough members of your clan to need that much space or food."
"Yeah, maybe you're right," she sighed, feeling a bit disheartened.
"You know, Seina… maybe you should stop thinking about the potential members scattered around. So far, you've only found your cousin. It's possible she's the only one, and you could spend your whole life searching for people who don't exist."
"...You're right. I'll try to restore Uzushiogakure to recover documents and materials from my clan and to have a hidden place. If more Uzumaki show up than expected, I'll figure out what to do then. There's no point in overthinking it now."
Kakashi-sensei leaned in to kiss her cheek before standing up from the log.
"Come on. Naruto and Sasuke must be bored to death up there."
He took her hand and led her out of the newly-created magical greenhouse. Seina closed the doors with a wave of her hand. During dinner, she still didn't feel entirely satisfied with what she'd discussed with Kakashi-sensei, but later, in the bath, she realized she couldn't keep stressing over something that hadn't happened yet. What if her master was right, and the unknown girl was the only other survivor besides them? No. She needed to focus her energy on something productive, something that could be useful right now, like finding Uzumaki documents and belongings and creating a safe hideout for the worst-case scenario.
The next morning, when she woke up early for a mission with Sasuke and Naruto, she felt much better. She made it a goal for the mission to stop thinking about her problems and stress and focus on spending time with her team, with whom she hadn't had a joint mission in months.
"How long do you think it'll take to get there?" Naruto asked as they started walking through the forest.
"Maybe a little less than half a day at this pace," Sasuke said, looking at the secret map Shikaku had given them. "It's deep in the mountains."
"Ugh. Can we use hiraishin to get back to Konoha? I don't want to miss tomorrow's training with Shikamaru and the others."
Seina rolled her eyes where her brother couldn't see. Naruto was obsessed with training. Sometimes he was even worse than Sasuke. Although she had to admit, she'd rather return to Konoha and sleep peacefully in her bed than camp out in the mountains and walk another 10 hours back to the village.
"Did you know I saw Sakura the other day?" her brother suddenly asked. "She walked by me and recognized me, but she didn't make a face like she used to. It was really weird."
"Weird? Why do you say that?"
"She used to look at me with disgust, remember? At least when you weren't around because she was scared of you. When I saw her, she looked at me really serious. Maybe she seemed angry? I don't know."
She nodded without much enthusiasm. The truth was she didn't care one bit about Sakura. Good for her if she had matured a little, but it made no difference to her. Sakura was so far out of her orbit that she didn't even remember she existed unless someone mentioned her. If Naruto was right and she was angry… what could her brother have done to deserve it? As long as she didn't do anything against their team, Seina would let it go.
"I hadn't seen her in a while. Not since the chunin exam," Naruto continued.
"Actually, we saw her not too long ago in a restaurant," she interjected in a disinterested voice. "You didn't notice her because you were sitting with your back to her. Sasuke hid behind the menu so she wouldn't see him. It was hilarious."
"Hn."
"Really?" Her brother burst out laughing at the image.
"Yeah. Now that you mention it… that time, she did stare at me. Yeah, it is weird."
"I think she's jealous," Sasuke cut in. "She wanted to be part of Team 7 and be the top kunoichi of our class. Do you remember her yelling at Ino, saying she was better than her? I think she's realized she can't compete with you. Not even with Naruto, who she always insulted when you weren't around. And now she's working in the village and not doing field missions. Basically, you're everything she's not."
"And how is that my problem?" Seina sighed, even more tired and disinterested.
"Don't pay her any mind."
They continued talking about the friends they rarely saw and their training for the chunin exams. She would use those hours to catch up with Sasuke and Naruto while earning some money on an easy C-rank mission.