They took a few days to recover. She kept checking on them from time to time, but saw that everything was going perfectly. The eye drops were helping to soothe the new connections while also improving their vision. Especially Sasuke's new eyes, which were Itachi's and came with certain issues. Nothing she couldn't fix in a few days with magic and iryo ninjutsu.
"When will I be able to use my new eyes?" Sasuke asked for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Itachi, please, shut your brother up, will you?"
The mentioned one let out a quiet huff of laughter, turning his back.
"Didn't you say he was your brother too?"
"I know that if I tell you you can use them, you'll overdo it," she told Sasuke, crossing her arms and now ignoring Itachi. "Or are you going to listen to me?"
"I promise!"
"Argh! Fine! Use them, but don't overdo it or don't come crying to me later."
"I owe you one, Seina," Sasuke smiled like a little kid. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and ran off to train.
Itachi followed more slowly, stifling a sigh. Anyone would think he was 40, not just 20. Over the past few days, Seina had realized how... calm Itachi could be. It was as if nothing could shake him. He only blinked when he saw her conjuring things out of thin air. He didn't even ask how she did it or raise an eyebrow. He simply studied her in silence, but very carefully. She was convinced that he could figure out many things on his own just by watching her abilities—or what little he had seen. Even when he found out that there was now a huge bounty on her head in Akatsuki, he just blinked and kept breathing calmly, like it was nothing.
He reminded her of Kakashi, but even Kakashi, with all his trauma, was capable of showing much more emotional maturity and vulnerability than Itachi. She could sum it up by saying that Itachi Uchiha was an ice cube. The iciest ice cube she had ever met—and she knew Shino. He was on another level, like the iceberg that sank the Titanic. The saddest part was that she understood why he was like that. She imagined what Itachi must have gone through, and what he had done, and she knew that if turning into ice was necessary, he would have done it to protect himself.
Now that he was here, however, they could start taking care of him. Just like they had done with Sasuke. She thought of the Sasuke from the academy and compared him to the Sasuke who had smiled and kissed her cheek like an excited kid. No comparison at all. Even if it was hard, Itachi was also worth saving, and they would be there for him.
She stepped outside the tent to continue her own training with the adamantine chains. Kurama, next to her at his meter-and-a-half height, watched the Uchiha, seated on a log, his gaze piercing. She knew a part of him still resented that Madara could have turned him into a puppet just by looking at him. That was why, even if he didn't say it aloud, he didn't want her to remove the magical, intangible and invisible, adamantine chain on his back. With it, he knew he was immune to genjutsu, like Seina, and felt more at ease around Sasuke—but especially around Itachi.
The seven adamantine chains were hard to control. More than once, Kurama had to dodge them when she lost control. Naruto, off in the distance, was learning more ninjutsus. The truth was they had understood that they couldn't learn everything—not even in three years. Naruto had admitted defeat with genjutsu. He could use a few and dispel most of them, but it wasn't his strong suit, and it never would be. That's why he had asked her for an earring like Sasuke's to become immune to genjutsu and stop wasting time training it.
"I'm going to focus on ninjutsu, fuinjutsu, and taijutsu," he said two days ago. "Those are my strengths. I'll keep training in kenjutsu too, but I don't expect to become a master swordsman in less than three years."
"You're pretty good," acknowledged Sasuke, who did aim to become a kenjutsu master. "With what you know, it's more than enough to defend yourself. What about you, Seina?"
"Honestly, I'm happy with my taijutsu, so I'll focus on refining it, but I don't think I'll be learning new katas like Lee or Guy. I also want to keep training in kenjutsu and, of course, in ninjutsu."
"And in genjutsu?"
"I agree with Naruto—it's not a priority for me right now. I might occasionally create a genjutsu, but I can do the same with my powers without wrecking my brain. Besides, you're the genjutsu expert on the team. Just like Naruto's the taijutsu expert and I'm the iryo ninjutsu expert. Everything else is a bonus."
She looked eastward, where Kisame and Itachi had gone to train, like every day. It was obvious that sooner or later, Sasuke would start training genjutsu with his brother, a prodigy in that field. That meant the team was starting to specialize, within reason—considering that Team 7 was the most versatile of their ninja class.
"How about a fight?" Sasuke asked. "With Aoba, Gamakichi, and Kurama."
Seina glanced sideways at Kurama, seeing how he perked up with excitement.
"But all against all, or against one of my summoned creatures?"
"Better start with the second, just in case..."
She summoned several creatures again. This time, instead of three, she summoned nine. They were training far from the village, in a flat area near the beach with no forest, so they could do it without hurting anyone or destroying anything.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu."
Naruto and Sasuke summoned their animals while she enlarged Kurama at his request. She climbed on top of him, waiting for the right moment to attack with her team. She let her creatures have some free will, but with one unbreakable condition: kill. That would be enough for them to attack again and again until they were finally destroyed.
They fought for almost two hours, after she placed runes on them to repair themselves once Kurama destroyed them all with a mini bijuudama before the others could even move a finger. That's how Itachi, Kisame, and the newly arrived Jiraiya found them. Seina, completely drenched in sweat, saw him raise an eyebrow with a poker face at seeing Kurama—now three meters tall—by her side.
"Anything you want to tell me?"
"We've been practicing."
"You've-… You know what? I don't care. You've modified the seal again, haven't you?"
"That's right."
"Since when can Kurama come out?"
"A few days ago."
"...," Jiraiya sighed, exhausted. "Well, at least you've made progress in your training. I'll have to talk to Naruto to see how he's doing."
"When are you leaving again?"
"I've got a few days before I have to go back to the mainland, so I'll stay around for a bit."
"Don't bother on our account, old man," Kisame said, jumping down from a branch of a large tree. "We're not going to hurt your brats."
"Why should I trust you? Aren't you a Kiri exile who killed his own team?"
Kisame's eyes narrowed maliciously at the sharp irony in Jiraiya's pointed questions. Itachi placed a hand on his arm, and Kisame straightened up from the instinctive pose he had been assuming to attack him.
"I was a loyal ninja to my village. I followed the orders I was given when no one else had the guts to," Kisame hissed, glaring at Jiraiya with fury, "and when I tried to free my country, I had to flee, exiled—but I'm sure you don't care about that, do you?"
He turned and walked toward the beach. Itachi watched him leave but didn't try to follow. There was no trace of concern in his expression, even though he claimed Kisame was his friend and Kisame seemed truly angry over Jiraiya's accusations. The pervert, on the other hand, seemed to have lost the will to fight and only sighed, slightly guilty, after hearing the Kiri ninja's words. Seina didn't know much about Kisame, but it was clear he wasn't lying when he said he had been loyal and had to flee. What exactly had he meant?
Kurama leapt, vanishing into nothingness and reappearing inside her.
"Are you going after him?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I know you're curious. You want to know the truth, don't you? If Itachi considers him a friend, there must be a reason."
"...I wish you weren't right."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
She got up off the ground, brushing off the grass. Jiraiya was talking to Naruto and Sasuke with Itachi, so she went after Kisame as quietly as possible, though everyone clearly saw her leave. She found him sitting on the sand, his massive sword lying beside him wrapped in bandages. She sat down nearby, keeping a respectful distance, while they both stared at the endless ocean. It was one of the most relaxing things she'd seen in both her lives.
"Are you going to say whatever it is you came to say, or are we going to sit here in silence for hours?" Kisame asked, a bit sharply, unable to keep quiet.
"You didn't even give me a second," she rolled her eyes. "Why did you join Akatsuki?"
"Aren't you going to ask about what I just said?"
"I could, but I don't know if you'd tell me anything about it. Besides, now I'm curious why someone who was loyal to his village would join a terrorist group like Akatsuki."
Kisame turned his head slightly to look at her with confusion, though he seemed somewhat amused, as if unsure how to feel. He stayed silent for several minutes, deep in thought, until he finally decided to speak.
"Do you know what my job was in Kirigakure?" Kisame asked at last, sounding calmer than he had since she'd joined him. She shook her head. "I was part of Kiri's cryptanalysis and encryption squad. The department leader was another of my fellow swordsmen, Fubuki. He was a ruthless, unscrupulous man."
Kisame let out a bitter, ironic laugh as he dug into his memories. Seina just listened silently, knowing he needed to let it out and explain a few things to make everything make sense.
"More than once, he ordered me to kill our comrades so the information they held couldn't be stolen. I, being the loyal ninja I was, obeyed. Until one day... we encountered a Konoha team led by Ibiki Morino. I'm sure you know who he is." Seina nodded, listening closely to his story. "As usual, I killed my comrades and protected our confidential information, but it was all pointless."
"Why?"
"Because while Fubuki was ordering me to kill my comrades, he was secretly selling our intel to other nations behind our backs," Kisame hissed, gritting his teeth in rage. "Of course, I killed him the moment I found out, but the damage was done. The information was gone and my comrades were dead—all thanks to my blind loyalty. And to make things worse, that was around the time of Yagura's purge, so we tried to overthrow him with a few loyal rebel ninjas. It didn't work."
Seina's mind was racing as she realized the deep pile of crap Kisame had fallen into. Betrayed by a superior he admired like a brother, exiled for having the guts to fight against a ninja Nazi, and carrying the guilt of having his hands stained with the blood of his comrades—all because he obeyed that superior's orders. Still, she didn't yet understand why he had joined Akatsuki.
"But… why Akatsuki?"
"What do you think?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't ask," she replied, raising an eyebrow. Kisame let out a snort of laughter. "All I know after what you've told me is that they failed you. Instead of rewarding your loyalty, they abandoned you. Fubuki was a horrible person, and a hypocrite. He used you to do the dirty work, but do you know what that means? That he was a coward, a traitor, and human scum. I obviously don't know exactly what you went through, but I get the picture... I would never have had the courage to kill my own comrades."
"Are you saying their deaths were my fault for not refusing to do it?"
"No. I'm saying that Fubuki, who was supposedly more competent than you and the one who led the squad, should have come up with a feasible plan instead of using you as a tool to kill people just because he was too lazy and stupid to think of a plan B where his men didn't die. Maybe you killed those people, but I don't think you wanted to, did you?" Kisame didn't respond, but his brow furrowed in deep thought. "Their deaths aren't on your hands—they're on his."
"I could have said no."
"And what would've happened if you had told your superior 'no'?"
"...I would've been killed or imprisoned."
"Exactly. Which is the same as saying you didn't have a choice, and you knew it. As for Yagura's purge... I don't know if you know this, but I took the jonin exams in Kiri."
"...I've heard something about that."
"I learned something very interesting about Yagura while I was there."
Kisame turned to her, raising an eyebrow.
"Apparently, for years he was under a powerful genjutsu until he died. Honestly, I don't think it was really him who planned the purge. Who did? I have no idea. But your Mizukage was just another victim of everything that happened."
"Are you serious? I thought that was just a lie," he asked, his frown returning in a very severe expression. He stared at her. "How do you know?"
"I heard it from Ao himself, the guy who works with the new Mizukage. He was talking to her about telling Tsunade-sama."
Kisame stared at the ocean with a blank expression. It seemed he hadn't known any of that. Seina stood up, leaving him to think, wondering what he meant by "I thought it was a lie." She'd learned a lot about him, but she understood that not everything could be resolved in one conversation with a stranger. Just before she got too far from the beach, Kisame called out.
"Midget… thanks."
That night, Kisame didn't return to the tent, but he showed up the next morning in the clearing they used for training. He seemed thoughtful while they trained under Jiraiya, who had prepared a ninja-style obstacle course they had to complete with both hands and feet tied.
"This is just like something Guy-sensei would do!"
"I've always liked Guy," Jiraiya muttered, grinning mischievously as he watched them leap and dodge kunai.
Sasuke glared at him with his Sharingan, but Jiraiya didn't seem the least bit afraid. Seina, who could use chains from several limbs, actually found herself enjoying the challenge, since she could defend from both the front and back, and use the chains like a pole to move.
"That's not fair!" Naruto howled, pouting.
"I told you I could teach you how to use the chains, but you said no."
"You seriously refused? Seina, teach your idiot brother how to use at least one chain, will you?"
Naruto groaned, realizing that would mean more chakra exercises for him. They spent the final days before Sasuke's birthday training.
When his birthday finally came, they all celebrated together. It was surreal to think that a year ago, they were eating dinner with their friends, and now they were having lunch in Uzushiogakure with Jiraiya, Itachi, and Kisame. She couldn't help but remember Kakashi, who hadn't replied to a letter in weeks. She had to summon all her self-control not to blush at the memory of Kakashi's words. It had been a full-blown erotic letter. He had written two entire pages describing his fantasies, what he wanted to do to her, and he had promised not to distance himself so much again.
"I promise. Tomorrow I'll go see Guy. No one's more persistent than him, so I'm sure he won't let me sink into misery without challenging me to 50 different things."
She smiled, noticing how—even though he was clearly worse off—he still tried to comfort her with a half-joke. She knew he meant it seriously, and she understood why he had chosen Guy. Out of all his friends, Guy would be the one to notice something was wrong and refuse to leave him alone. He was the most persistent and stubborn person she knew around Kakashi's age. His perseverance would be a great help. Just thinking about it made her breathe easier.
"What did you think of your new clothes?" she asked Sasuke, watching as he inspected his new black capri pants, his new black sandals—which were a bit different from the usual ninja ones—and the loose-collared black shirt.
"I like it. I needed new clothes, so you saved me money and time."
Together, they had gifted him a new ninja outfit for both summer and winter, with all kinds of garments and shoes. Most of them were black or very dark grey, since those were the colours that always suited Sasuke best. On top of that, she had enchanted each piece of clothing with runes and spells. Itachi had also given him metal arm guards with the Uchiha clan symbol engraved on the black steel.
"You're not the only one. Seina had to resize my clothes, but still..."
"Do you want us to buy you both new clothes for your birthdays too?" Jiraiya asked. "We could update your wardrobe as well."
"Fine by me," she shrugged. "We can just tell you the sizes, and you guys can deal with the clothes. Though I do need new underwear."
"No worries. You don't have to tell me your size," Jiraiya grinned lecherously. "A 100C, right?"
Seina felt a vein throb on her forehead, realizing that either he had been spying on her or he'd stared at her chest enough to figure out her actual size, despite the fact that she always wore a ninja bra and mesh armour that concealed her figure.
"And how do you know that, Jiraiya?" she asked sweetly, her voice like silk. Jiraiya paled at her cold expression. "You haven't been spying on me, have you?"
"Of course not! But it's impossible not to notice!" he raised his hands in surrender. "You'll never have Tsunade's bust, but it's amazing how much you've grown."
Sasuke and Naruto glared at him in irritation while Kisame struggled not to laugh. Itachi, on the other hand, stared at Jiraiya like he was a giant flying cockroach crawling out from behind the trash bin—predictable, but still disgusting. Seina wasn't even listening anymore. She reacted on instinct. One second she was boiling with rage, and the next, Jiraiya went flying, crashing through several trees and breaking a few bones from the chakra-charged punch he hadn't managed to dodge.
They heard Jiraiya's groan from beneath a pile of fallen trees.
"In that, she's definitely like Tsunade…" he whimpered to himself. "Ow! You broke three of my ribs!"
"Shut up or I'll break something else," she hissed.
She glanced sideways at Kisame, who was grinning ear to ear. She didn't know what his deal was with Jiraiya, but anything that went against the pervert seemed to keep him happy for hours. No one seemed eager to go retrieve him, so he came out by himself with the help of his summons.
"Fighting with Tsunade-chan again?" sighed a toad, clearly exasperated. "I told you not to piss her off."
"It wasn't Tsunade… It was her apprentice."
"Oh? Tsunade-chan has a new apprentice?"
"Get me out of here and I'll introduce you," Jiraiya groaned.
A few minutes later, Jiraiya crawled over to her on all fours. Seina glanced over her shoulder, debating whether or not to heal him. The elderly-looking toad that had accompanied him snorted with laughter.
"Just like Tsunade-chan."
In the end, she decided to heal him—but not without a final warning.
"If I ever catch you spying on me... I'll make sure every pair of breasts you see from now on looks like a dick."
"What!? You can't do that!" he almost begged. He raised an eyebrow, just slightly curious. "...Can you really do that?"
"Want me to show you?"
"NO! No, no! That won't be necessary. I believe you."
Sasuke and Naruto stifled a laugh at his horrified expression, but Kisame howled with laughter. Itachi, however, looked more intrigued by how she might actually pull it off. He raised an eyebrow in her direction, but she just smiled enigmatically. Since retraining her magic, she hadn't been able to explain how she did some things technically. She just did them. Sometimes she remembered the spell clearly, but she didn't use it to make what she wanted happen.
After that, Jiraiya behaved like a decent human being again. Not that he had much of a choice, considering what she'd threatened to do to him. Sometimes, it really was great to be a ninja and a witch.