Amaya Uzumaki POV
My first day of training for the Chunin Exam started with Kushina bursting into my room, radiating excitement way more than usual.
She said Minato was still sleeping and we'd use this chance for her to train me alone, before the blond. I couldn't help but laugh at her behavior.
We headed to a remote area near the house where we could be alone without bothering other residents. It was a vast grassy area with a good amount of trees, not as dense as a forest.
Kushina laid out several scrolls she brought on the ground and we settled in. She started by explaining about our culture, from the Land of Whirlpools, since the Uzumaki clan was considered the greatest fuuinjutsu specialists of all.
That's when I understood better what led to the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the near-total extermination of our clan: Fear, they feared the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques, so enemy countries sought to eradicate them to protect themselves.
The redhead continued her explanations about sealing techniques, emphasizing that anything could be sealed, from a simple object to even chakra and living beings. And these techniques could also restrict a target's movements or even their chakra.
Uzumaki definitely chose to start our training by helping me develop something called a "seal style."
She explained that the sealing foundations were normally the same, but some required greater affinity from the user, allowing them to express their own characteristic form of sealing.
My seal had a base made of small forming whirlpools and five double central inscriptions that looked like flower petals.
After those explanations and preparations, Kushina showed me how some simple techniques worked. These simpler ones didn't require me to use my seal style or a lot of concentration and chakra.
The redhead seemed really excited when I started showing ease in mastering the techniques she taught me and I was equally thrilled.
Not long after, we moved on to more advanced techniques, and that's when I started noticing the difficulty level. Besides requiring more chakra, the concentration and subtlety needed to control the sealing were much more meticulous.
I can't say exactly when it was, but at some point Kushina suggested I take a break and rest a bit to recover my chakra. The redhead was tired too, after all, she had been with me through every technique she was teaching.
My eyes were closed, but I was still aware of everything around me, a state that was almost natural for me. It was during this rest that I felt Minato's chakra approaching.
I stayed lying down, still recovering my chakra, while Kushina and Minato talked briefly about my training. The redhead asked the blond about the technique he would teach me next.
By then I wasn't lying down anymore, I was also curious, ever since Namikaze's words the night before. Minato sat down in front of me and Kushina, a smile on his face.
– I'll teach you the Hiraishin...
That single phrase from the blond left me speechless for a few moments. It was the Flying Thunder God Technique, the technique Minato used, one I'd rarely seen him use. And now he was announcing he would teach it to me.
Kushina, unlike me, started arguing with Namikaze, a little irritated that he had chosen that technique. Apparently, it was a rank S jutsu, the highest difficulty level a jutsu could be classified as.
The blond then asked me to answer a question, saying that from my answer, both Kushina and I would understand why he chose to teach me his technique.
– Yesterday you asked me why I trained so hard to become the shinobi I am today. So I'll return the same question: Why are you seeking to learn more techniques?
His question reminded me of the same one Kurenai and Rin asked me the day before, about why I was always wanting to learn new things.
– To be sure I can protect those important to me.
I replied simply. I didn't desire power or solely aspire to rank positions; genin, chunin, jonin... None of them held any real meaning to me.
But improving, to be strong enough to protect others with my own hands...
That had value to me. It was like those moments when your body acts on its own and you only realize it afterwards. My body and mind acted on their own when it came to taking care of people.
There was no other reason.
I noticed the smile growing on Kushina's lips after I answered Minato's question. She seemed admiring. Then the blond explained why he had chosen that technique and why he would try to teach it to me: We were seeking the same thing.
He had seen his teammates die and couldn't do anything. Namikaze said he then sought to learn the Hiraishin years ago to make up for it with his other friends and village comrades.
He didn't want to watch more people important to him die.
And this time the admiring smile came from me. I already had a respectable mental image of Minato up to that point, but with that revelation, I sympathized with him again. It was a good feeling.
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I stopped training with Minato and Kushina almost at the end of the afternoon. I still needed to meet up with Rin so we could go to medical ninjutsu training, and I still needed to recover a bit.
I had used a lot of chakra and was truly tired by the end of training. As I imagined, putting the Flying Thunder God Technique into practice was difficult and very complex, but even so, I was starting to understand it bit by bit.
My initial training with Kushina ended up helping with the blond's training, since to perform the teleportation technique I would need to mark the places the Hiraishin would send me with a seal. My seal style would be used for that.
We would develop that training further throughout the week, and Minato emphasized that I shouldn't push myself too hard given the difficulty and pressure that technique applied on the user.
Kushina Uzumaki POV
Amaya's training progressed quickly that week. The little redhead learned fast and could put most of the exercises into practice. But I noticed the difficulty she was having with Minato's training.
The Hiraishin was a very difficult technique and I still remembered when the blond himself started learning it. But the difference between the two trying to master that jutsu was that Minato started when he was older and Amaya was still a child. I worried if she could handle all the load that training was bringing her.
However, her training for the Flying Thunder God Technique was going to be interrupted for an indefinite time: The day of Minato's departure had arrived.
I couldn't even disguise my worry for the blond. Having been on missions during the start of this developing war, I knew the smallest carelessness could cost everyone their lives – including Minato's, even though I knew how strong he was.
But as he always did, he reassured me. It was amazing, all that calm he could convey. A calm that only lasted until the moment he and his squad vanished from the village gates.
A small, warm hand held mine, making me turn my eyes to the red-haired figure beside me.
– They'll be fine...
Those four words from Amaya comforted me with the same feeling Minato had wrapped me in just moments before. Because of that, I couldn't help but smile, remembering that the little one had always been like Namikaze in that regard: She brought peace to others.
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When I noticed Amaya had acquired good mastery over the basic sealing jutsus, I decided to try teaching her another technique characteristic of our clan. It was a more complicated one, but due to the large chakra reserve the redhead possessed, I was sure she could master it with time.
However, I soon noticed a difficulty for the little Uzumaki: Her chakra was too strong and she couldn't contain it properly to apply it to the technique.
I decided not to push the technique further and gave Amaya time to gradually master the release of her chakra to employ it better in the technique. I also gave her a break since she had been training a lot.
Third Person POV
Trying to balance all the trainings she was involved in, Uzumaki was pushing herself beyond her limit. She knew how to mask her tiredness well from Kushina and her friends, but to her sensei's attentive eyes, it hadn't gone entirely unnoticed.
And the definitive proof that the girl was at her limit came during one of the training sessions with the Nara. Shisui and Kakashi had already been dismissed, as their trainings had been done individually that day.
In the middle of training with Shikaku, the girl felt sick and completely blacked out, being caught just in time by her sensei before she hit the ground.
Shikaku soon noticed the girl's hands were slightly burned, which he deduced was from the constant burning of her chakra. And knowing how strong her body's energy was, he was intrigued to know what the redhead had been doing to be in that state.
Since that Team 7 training had been held in the Nara clan woods, Shikaku took the girl with him to his house until she regained consciousness. He wanted to know what was happening with his student. And though he wouldn't admit it, he was worried about her.
Amaya Uzumaki POV
My head seemed to be spinning when I opened my eyes. The last memory of my training came back to my consciousness and I sat up in an instant. I quickly scanned where I was, noticing the rustic wooden porch I was on.
– So you're finally awake... – I heard Shikaku-sensei's voice and turned my eyes to him.
I noticed the Nara had a board set up in front of him, with various pieces on it. Shogi..., I noted. I already knew the game because Asuma had shown it to me once.
– Let's play a game – The sensei said and I turned my eyes to him again.
– I don't know how it works – I warned, but sat down in front of the board anyway.
– It's not very simple, but knowing the little I know about you, I know you'll learn fast – The Nara commented in a lazy manner and took all the pieces off the board.
He took some pieces in hand and left them at the corner of the board, placing just one of them in the center. Quickly, Shikaku explained how each of the pieces moved on the board and their basic function, as well as their positioning.
After finishing the explanations, the Nara asked me to set up the pieces on my side of the board so we could start the game. Even though I found the sensei's behavior a bit strange, I didn't question him.
He still hadn't asked anything about me fainting during our training and I didn't know how to tell him the reason for that occurrence when it was entirely my own carelessness.
We started the game without hurry. I had managed to understand the sensei's explanations well, but when it came to processing the information and putting it into practice on the board, I noticed I was having trouble concentrating.
– You must have wondered why I haven't asked about your fainting spell earlier – Shikaku brought up the subject suddenly, his attention on the board.
– I apologize for that – I said, also trying to keep my attention on the game – I was more tired than I thought.
He had already captured a good part of my pawns, as well as some important pieces. At that moment, another one of my pieces had been captured.
– And this isn't the first time I've seen you like this – The Nara pointed out – Your performance in team trainings has been dropping for the last two weeks...
I captured one of his pieces, but immediately lost another important piece of mine. I was having trouble concentrating on the game and started losing important pieces one after another.
When I managed to capture an important piece from Shikaku, I acted without thinking much and only realized the next moment that I had fallen into his trap.
– Checkmate – The Nara announced lazily – Do I need to say I wasn't expecting a game with you like this – I looked at him – You were terrible – I wanted to say something, but he continued – The Amaya I know would never fall for a trick like that or act so carelessly as you did in this game – I lowered my eyes – You're exhausted. I don't know what's happening, what kind of training you're doing in your free time, but I can see from your burned hands that you're pushing yourself beyond what you can handle – He stopped for a moment and crossed his arms over his chest – What's going on with you, Amaya?
I sighed heavily before answering Shikaku. I told him about my trainings: Team training with Team 7; with Rin, medical ninjutsu; and also alone with the techniques Kushina and Minato taught me – but I left out the fact that I couldn't sleep at night because of my memories in the form of nightmares.
The Nara didn't show any expression while I explained, but I noticed his hands occasionally tightening on his coat. Worry and... Irritation, I considered.
– So you're doing all these trainings simultaneously? – Shikaku-sensei asked after a few moments and I nodded – As your sensei, I should suggest you keep training, but... – He paused for a moment – As Shikaku, I want you to stop all of this now – I looked at him, not understanding, and before I could say anything he continued – If you can't handle one training, why force yourself into all this? You might act older, but your body is still a child's, it can't handle so much overload with exhaustive trainings like these – I looked at him, annoyed – Quit while you still can – The Nara started to stand up and I clenched my hands.
– I can't... I can't quit – I said and noticed the sensei had stopped.
– Can't or don't want to?
– I can't and I don't want to – I turned my eyes to him seriously.
Our gazes remained firmly locked for those moments. Shikaku sighed heavily and scratched his hair carelessly.
– Seems you have the persistence characteristic of Kushina... – He complained in a lazy manner – Must be from living together or maybe it's an Uzumaki thing – He looked at me again – If you really intend to continue with all this, use what you learned today – The Nara indicated the shogi board – Just like each piece has its limitations, the same applies to you. First learn your physical and mental limits, just like you learned the individual movements of each shogi piece. Then, learn to balance all those limits and compensate for them with your strong points.
– Like combining the movements of each piece to set up a play – I pondered and Shikaku looked at me, nodding weakly.
– You're smart, Amaya – He continued with a gentler tone after a few moments – You're a natural strategist and also skilled. It's a combination many seek their whole lives, and you have it at your disposal – He looked at me deeply – But you forget to measure your limitations – Shikaku stopped near the door of his house and looked at me one more time – If you notice and accept that, you'll have the mastery you need over yourself and will always manage to turn a situation in your favor. Otherwise... – He left the sentence hanging and went into his house.
– Checkmate – I finished his sentence quietly, my eyes on the board.