As expected, Sasuke and Naruto took their time examining the photographs. Seina duplicated the album for Naruto and gave Sasuke copies of the photos of Mikoto. Kakashi, seeing Naruto's teary eyes, disappeared from the house to avoid consoling him.
When the last Monday before the chunin exams arrived, Naruto was bursting with excitement.
"I'll be seeing Suna for the first time, nee-chan!" he said with a grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Do you feel ready for the exams?"
"Of course. It's not even comparable to the last time," Sasuke nodded.
"Will Kakashi-sensei and you come to watch us in the final battles?"
"Kakashi will for sure. I'll beg Shikaku to send me on a mission to Suna," she chuckled. "That's about all I can do."
She listened to Naruto rant about Shikamaru's father while Sasuke bit his lip to hold back laughter. Seina hoped Shikaku would grant her that small favour—after all, it was just one day of matches. Speaking of which...
"Do you already know who will be training you this time for your battles?"
"From what we understand, Kakashi-sensei won't be training us this time. Apparently, he's found two different jonin for us to work with."
They chatted about the exams while walking to the training field. They saw some people already waiting there. Although Seina hadn't seen them in days, she immediately noticed the excitement and nerves in the air. Unlike last year, they seemed less afraid of taking the exam.
"Seinaaaa!" Ino shouted before throwing herself into a hug. "We almost thought we wouldn't see you before heading to Suna this Saturday!"
"I wasn't sure myself, to be honest," she confessed. "But we finished earlier than expected. By the way, I've got your gifts."
"Seriously?" Kiba said with the face of an excited child. Akamaru barked and ran over, placing his paws on her knees.
"Aww, hi Akamaru," she smiled, petting his head.
Kiba's ninken jumped onto her, to her surprise. Seina caught him mid-air, cradling him like a baby. Watching this, Kiba rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"You're so clingy, Akamaru."
"Let him be. Look how adorable he is."
The puppy barked, wagging his tail wildly, while Kiba looked exasperated. Meanwhile, Ino and Tenten seemed a bit envious, watching the cute scene. Changing the subject, Seina pulled the personalized backpacks out of her pouch.
"You know, I've always wondered how you managed to make the inside of your pouch bigger than it should be," Chouji said. "Imagine all the food I could carry without the weight!"
"Now that you mention it…" Seina tossed him a red satchel with his clan's symbol.
"No way!" Ino gasped, realizing what she meant. "Don't tell me..."
"Are they like your pouch!?" Tenten exclaimed with shining eyes.
She finished handing out satchels, pouches, and backpacks in various colours. Sitting beside her brothers, she watched with satisfaction as the others eagerly explored their new gifts, laughing as they realized what they could do with them during the exam.
"They're indestructible, too," she informed them. "So they won't break, even if you block a kunai with them. You can put anything in them, except something alive—it would die. Once activated, only you can take items out, so no one can steal from you."
"What if we need a teammate to grab something?" Neji asked.
"In that case, whoever you want to have access will need to donate a drop of blood to a seal inside. Here, hand me your bag."
She showed them how to activate the bags for the first time and how to grant access to others. They spent some time experimenting, trying to store increasingly large items. They eventually realized they could store a massive rock simply by placing the bag's opening on its surface and intending to store it. Shikamaru, Shino, and Neji looked on the verge of having aneurysms at the impossibility of what they were witnessing, much to Naruto's and, secretly, Sasuke's amusement.
Instead of training rigorously, they reviewed subtler techniques for copying, setting traps, finding or creating shelters, and so on. When they finished, everyone felt satisfied and ready for the exam. While walking to another restaurant for a final meal before the exam, Seina explained to her more academically minded friends how the "jutsu" worked.
The rest of the week passed in a blur. Kakashi took on some last-minute solo missions to compensate for accompanying Sasuke, Naruto, and Matsuri to Suna. After the exam week, they would return to Konoha, where her brothers would resume solo training for about three weeks. Matsuri would temporarily leave Team 7, with her jonin-sensei taking over her training for the final matches. If all went well, by the second week of July, Naruto, Sasuke, and their other genin friends would know if they had been promoted.
Seina anticipated a few weeks alone while they trained.
"You could use the time to study one of the fifty things you've written down in your journal," Kurama yawned as he listened to her internal monologue. "God knows you've got enough to keep you from getting bored."
"You're right... The most important thing is studying fuinjutsu, but I don't have an expert to consult about my progress. At most, I can study and memorize the scrolls I got from Uzushiogakure, but I don't dare try anything alone that hasn't already been tested. The last thing I want is an accident."
"You also wanted to research the medical potions from your world. Maybe you could start there."
"That might be just as dangerous as fuinjutsu... I'm no master of potions, so I foresee several cauldron explosions."
"Ugh… Then what the hell do you want to do?" he growled, irritated. "And what about your mother's chains? Or are you going to tell me that's dangerous too?"
"That… is a good idea. I have Karin nearby to ask if I have questions, and it doesn't seem as risky to train alone."
"Finally... Kid..."
"What?" she asked curiously, hearing his hesitant tone.
"I want you to find a way to protect me with your magic."
"What? Why would you say that?"
"Don't you remember what you saw in my memories? That damned Madara managed to manipulate me with his stupid sharingan! If that bastard could control me once, how do I know someone else won't do it again?"
"You're right," she thought, surprised.
"I am always right. Your magic is immune to genjutsu, so I know it will work to protect me. I give you my chakra, you give me your magic, and together we fight."
"Alright. I'll start by training with the adamantine chains and studying how to shield you with my magic."
"That's easy. Use the chains to connect us. The chains are good conductors of chakra, so why wouldn't you be able to pass your magic through them if they originate from you?"
"You're a genius, Kurama, but I won't know if it works until I can actually create a chain."
"Then you know what you have to do."
With her new goal in mind, Seina felt more prepared to see her team off on Saturday. She accompanied them to the main gate on the west side to bid them farewell. She couldn't believe the moment they'd been waiting for all year had finally arrived.
"Have fun," she said wistfully, "and don't die."
"Great advice," Sasuke chuckled. "Thanks, Seina."
"See you soon, nee-chan."
Naruto hugged her tightly, lifting her off the ground. When he set her down, under Sasuke and Kakashi's amused gazes, he dramatically sniffled back tears. Seina barely held back laughter at her twin brother's mix of sadness and excitement. Then, seeing that Sasuke wasn't about to initiate a hug, she stepped forward and embraced him tightly. She felt his arms cautiously circle her before he rested his head on her shoulder.
Over Sasuke's shoulder, she caught the stunned expressions of Ino, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee, who were chatting a few meters away. She let Sasuke go a minute later, knowing it was time for them to leave. Finally, she said goodbye to Kakashi, who smiled at the scene.
"Take care of my brothers, Kakashi."
"I promise."
Seina raised a fist, letting him bump it. Hugging him would have drawn even stranger looks.
"Brothers? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, shocked. She ignored him. "What does she mean, teme, Kaka-sensei?"
Kakashi also ignored him, pulling out his latest smutty novel. Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets like nothing had happened.
"Seina is my sister too, dobe."
"WHAT?! You mean MY sister!"
"That's what I said: my sister. Are you deaf or what?"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"
"Hn."
Seina watched them walk away, bickering as usual. She stood at the village gate, watching their backs, when Shikamaru joined her.
"This is going to feel weird," he confessed. "I've never gone this long without seeing any of them."
"I know."
"So... Sasuke considers you his sister. Not surprising. Should I say 'congratulations'?"
"Come on, Shika. Let's go get breakfast."
They left the gate heading toward the centre. As Shikamaru had said, it was strange realizing the absence of her team, her brothers, and Kakashi. The village felt a little emptier without them. Luckily, Shikamaru and Seina had each other for the time being. They spent a while eating and chatting, passing time under the warm Konoha sun while missing their teams.
The following week, Seina barely had time to feel bored or miss her team, as she was called to a new mission. This time, it was a solo assignment.
"Your mission is to rescue the son of a nobleman. His name is Hakuseki Miyazawa. He's five years old. They've provided us with a photograph," Shikaku said, handing her the picture. "According to the information provided, they received a ransom note. Here it is, in case it's useful."
Seina read the note.
"Miyazawa, we have your son safe and sound. Deliver 10,000,000 ryo, and we'll return him alive. You have until June 23 to gather the money and leave it in a bag on Tenchi Bridge, near the ruins."
"Do you mind if I keep this? It might come in handy."
"Keep it. You must rescue the child before the deadline. These are the coordinates of his last known location."
"And the captors?"
"The family wants them eliminated," he said grimly. "Whoever they are."
"Understood."
She left, pocketing the child's photograph and the ransom note. It seemed odd that the family wasn't interested in learning who had kidnapped their son, or why. Were the culprits complete strangers? Or perhaps... family? Shikaku's insistence on eliminating them, no matter who they were, made her suspicious. With only four days until the deadline, she set off immediately.
She exited through the north gate. Once she reached a secluded clearing far from prying eyes, she summoned her mount. While she had the coordinates of the child's last known location, she knew that if the captors were smart, they would either be far from there or hiding in plain sight. To avoid setbacks, she used her tracking spell right away.
Hours of flying led her in an unexpected direction. As she neared the border with the Land of Grass, she realized the captors might be dumber than she had thought. Why hide a kidnapped child near the location you gave for the ransom exchange? By evening, she finally pinpointed the child's location. He appeared to be held in a house on the outskirts of a small village, just a ten-minute run from the Tenchi ruins.
Using the growing darkness to her advantage, she landed her mount in a tree near the house. From her concealed position, she observed armed guards patrolling the perimeter, their spears glinting under lamplight. More people were stationed on the roof and at the windows. Whoever owned the three-story house wasn't just some pauper.
Movement on the ground floor caught her eye as oil lamps were lit and servants rushed back and forth carrying what looked like dishes and food. Beneath her invisibility bracelet, Seina watched in surprise as a Kusagakure ninja appeared, scanning the surroundings cautiously. Was Kusagakure involved in the kidnapping? As far as she knew, Kusa had an alliance with Konoha. Why risk breaking it over a child's abduction? Now Seina faced a dilemma: her mission was to rescue Hakuseki and eliminate his captors, no matter who they were.
An alternative would be to kill all the captors and implicated parties but leave the ninja alive. They'd fail their mission but have no need to re-kidnap Hakuseki, as their client would be dead.
"Are you really going to let them live? These guys have betrayed your alliance. They deserve punishment."
"And what do you want me to do, Kurama? They're still our allies. I can't dismantle the alliance alone without the Hokage's approval."
"If you don't punish them somehow, they'll think Konoha is weak, that they can do whatever they want because you're allies. You should kill them without leaving any proof that Konoha was behind it."
"Once Hakuseki is returned to his family unharmed, they'll know it was us."
"Exactly. They'll know their actions were punished, but they won't have proof to break the alliance."
Seina considered Kurama's words deeply. Her first instinct had been to kill them, but the alliance issue had given her pause. Yet Kurama was right: leaving them unpunished would show weakness to Kusa. She knew the prestige of the Great Nations stemmed largely from their actions. These powerful nations were "untouchable" because of their reputation. Anyone could attack Konoha, but everyone knew Konoha would retaliate, and when they did, they crushed foreign armies so thoroughly that decades later, enemies still eyed Konoha with both nervousness and resentment, despite not being the largest military power.
They didn't have the biggest army like Kumo, but they boasted the greatest number of ninjas with unique kekkei genkai. The Hyuga, Uchiha, Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka, Uzumaki, Inuzuka, Kurama, Akimichi, Senju, and more. It was nearly impossible to fight an entire nation of ninjas with genetic advantages. A single Uchiha could ensnare an entire platoon in a genjutsu. Add all the other clans to the mix...
No. She couldn't leave the Kusa ninjas alive. Not that she cared much, as long as she continued to show Konoha's strength while representing the village. As long as Konoha remained powerful, fewer people would threaten her family. And that was all that truly mattered to her.
She pitched her tent in a safe location, left a couple of clones there to care for the child once rescued, and waited for nightfall to move unnoticed among the civilians. It wasn't until the family moved to the grand dining room to eat that she overheard something useful.
"I told you not to do it," whispered a woman's voice.
"What else could I have done?"
"At the very least, you could have left it all to the ninjas instead of meddling yourself!"
"Calm down. They're here protecting us now, aren't they?"
"If you think they won't track him down, you're dumber than I thought."
"Watch your language, woman," hissed the man. "I'm doing this for our family."
"No. You're doing it for yourself."
The conversation ended abruptly, leaving behind a tense silence she could feel even from outside the house. Without seeing them, she surmised it was likely a couple or a married pair arguing about the kidnapping. From what she overheard it didn't seem like Kusa was behind the abduction but rather the civilian himself. The ninjas were merely protecting him after the man recklessly kidnapped the child and sent out a ransom note so carelessly. What a fool. He had even chosen a location close to his own home for the exchange.
Hours later, when everyone was asleep except for one ninja and a regiment of civilian guards, she approached the house. She entered through an open servant's window on the east wing. She glanced at the woman sleeping there with calculating eyes. Servants often followed orders, but they were people with their own agency and usually knew more than their "masters" believed. It didn't surprise her—servants were often treated as invisible beings, despite hearing and knowing everything that happened in the household.
Reluctantly, she killed the woman with an Avada Kedavra. It took her little time to eliminate all the servants since they were sleeping and unaware of her presence. Using her magic meant no one screamed upon death, so the ninjas didn't notice her infiltration. Twenty minutes later, there was no one alive in the servants' wing.
She summoned one of her creatures to scout the house, observing as one ninja dozed near the property owners' door and another sat by their open window. The one awake periodically checked the entrances. She used a locating spell to find a hidden entrance in the private library. Instead of opening it, she sent one of her creatures to investigate the path for possible traps.
Through its eyes, she saw a narrow, steep corridor shrouded in darkness. At the end, the passage split into two. One cell was empty, while the other held the kidnapped child, sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor. The stone walls lacked windows, and the only entrance was a reinforced metal door with a small padlocked hatch likely used for passing food. She observed with disgust the buckets provided for the child's bodily needs: one partly filled with urine and the other for excrement.
Fortunately, the buckets seemed to be regularly emptied, likely by a servant. She had done well to kill them all, especially after seeing the chains binding the child to one of the walls.
She teleported into the cell using the hiraishin. The boy didn't even notice he was no longer alone. Despite being pale, bruised, and thin, he was sleeping soundly. She silenced him with a spell and unlocked the chains with an alohomora. One hiraishin later, the boy disappeared as if by magic. She returned to the servants' wing to regroup. With the child out of harm's way, she could act more freely.
She scaled the wall, concealing her chakra with magic. The ninja seated on the roof outside the clients' window didn't notice her approach. First, she petrified him with a colourless spell to keep him immobile when the green glow of her curse appeared.
"Petrificus totalus. Avada kedavra."
The glass of the window vanished silently. She walked slowly into the room, taking exactly five seconds to reach the bed. The woman stirred at that moment. Perhaps she was more perceptive than her husband and the Kusagakure ninjas, or perhaps she couldn't sleep… Whatever the case, she opened her eyes in the darkness, staring in her direction as though she sensed what was about to happen.
Her gaze wandered to the window where the glass had disappeared. She blinked and stared as if struggling to process what was wrong. Just as realization struck and she opened her mouth to scream, Seina acted faster. The green flash briefly illuminated the room.
The door burst open, and the ninja who had been resting outside entered. His gaze swept over the room: first the clients, appearing as if they were sleeping, then the surroundings, and finally toward the window where his companion had been.
"Petrificus totalus."
The ninja fell to the floor, his expression filled with concern. Five seconds later, Seina killed the last living people in the room. She waited for the sound of bodies hitting the floor to alert the final ninja. He arrived as a blur, dashing up the stairs. Seina waited for him perched above the doorframe.
"Imperio."
The ninja froze. He struggled against her control but was no match for her mental strength.
"Kill the civilians guarding this house. Leave no one alive. Then, end your own life."
He turned away as if nothing had happened, kunai in hand. Seina barely had time to exit through the window and climb onto the roof before the screams began. Nearly 40 spear-wielding guards fell one after another to the ninja's speed and skill. Finally, she observed him slit his throat with his own kunai, following her command.
Perched in a nearby tree, she used an aura detection spell to confirm everyone was dead. Seeing no aura within 30 meters, she headed back to the tent. Her clones had sedated the boy, treated his wounds, changed his dirty clothes, and cleaned him with a sponge, apparently.
She picked him up and used the hiraishin to return to Konoha without incident.
"That was quick," commented the registry ninja as she arrived.
"The kidnappers were remarkably stupid," she replied, hefting the boy over her shoulder while signing in with her free hand.
The chunin chuckled before letting her through. She leapt across the rooftops, knowing the parents would be desperate to have their child back, and went straight to the mission department.
She held onto the boy for only five minutes before his parents burst through the door like a storm. The mother was weeping uncontrollably, her eyes swollen from hours of crying. The father, on the other hand, visibly deflated with relief upon seeing his son alive. Even his red eyes betrayed that he had been crying in private.
"Why isn't he awake?" the mother asked anxiously.
"I gave him a sedative so he wouldn't wake up during… the rescue. He'll wake up in a couple of hours."
"Are they all dead?" the father asked coldly. She nodded.
"Good."
"Thank you so much, shinobi-san. We are forever indebted to Konoha."
The clients left, likely heading to the hospital, and she received her payment. She went home to rest.