A few days later, August arrived, and the days passed until it was the height of summer. Ships returned from the mainland with more people, bringing the total to a whopping 70,000 inhabitants in the village of Uzu. There were several attempts to sneak onto the island, but they all ended the same way: charred. Gradually, enemies and curious outsiders stopped trying to enter the Land of Whirlpools, realizing it was impossible to sneak in unnoticed. With the massive influx of residents, businesses grew, and the country's coffers filled faster. Suna sent them their shipment of minerals and gems, which they used to sell, to fill the treasury, and to begin crafting high-quality jewellery they intended to monopolize.
As for them, Jiraiya took a break from his spy work and returned to Uzushiogakure to train with them during the remaining months. Seina couldn't believe there were only two or three months left before they returned. After so much time, she now found herself nervous about the countdown ending. She could hardly bear it.
"Congratulations. Only one chain left to train, and you'll have reached your limit," Jiraiya praised her, panting from the effort of controlling the twelve adamantine chains, "If you keep practicing, maybe you'll be able to control your thirteenth chain before going back to Konoha. Naruto, you should keep training too—a couple of chains is better than one."
"It's impossible for me to maintain both chains for hours with my chakra control," her brother frowned, "but I'll keep practicing."
"Sasuke, you've improved a lot too. You must be the best genjutsu user registered in Konoha by now."
"Hn. I still have things to polish."
"Undoubtedly, but even so, you've already surpassed the others by far," Jiraiya sighed, a little melancholic, "I can't believe how much you've all grown in such a short time. Soon you'll return to Konoha, and we won't see each other as often. Despite the ups and downs, it's been a pleasure training you."
"Don't get all dramatic, ero-sennin, we still have a few months of training left," Naruto rolled his eyes, tactlessly.
"Idiot! I was having a heartfelt moment!"
Jiraiya smacked Naruto on the head, scolding him for interrupting. Sasuke and she exchanged a look, exasperated. The truth was, Jiraiya was right. It would be smart to make the most of the time left in Uzushiogakure, since later, with missions, they wouldn't be able to train the same way. Still, she found herself eager to go on missions again. She didn't know why. Maybe because she wanted to feel like a real ninja again, not just an apprentice far from the village.
So, to avoid thinking about how little time she had left, she resumed her eight-hour daily training routine, though with inevitable interruptions from workers in their new village. Even so, the days seemed shorter when she trained almost ten hours a day. Mostly because she ended each day completely exhausted. And she wasn't the only one. Naruto and Sasuke joined her for training, along with Itachi and Kurama for several hours.
Before she realized it, Kakashi's birthday arrived on September 15.
"Dear Kakashi,I can't believe this is the last letter I'll send you for your birthday. Happy birthday. Your next one we'll celebrate in person. With your friends if you want, or just us if you prefer.
Lately, I've been training like crazy to distract myself from how little time is left. The village no longer needs full-time supervision, and in many cases, Itachi takes care of things since he'd rather not train ten hours a day like we do. Yeah, maybe we're a little crazy. Jiraiya even stopped 'working' and has been training us this final stretch. I guess even he's feeling a bit nostalgic.
I can't believe there's less than two months left until I return to Konoha. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about going back. About how much the village has changed, my friends, seeing you…"
She wrote everything that came to mind until she ended up with a three-page letter. She looked at Kurama, sprawled out on a massive conjured beanbag.
"Do you want to go back to Konoha?"
"Actually, yes. Why lie about it? I want to see what the old Senju has done with our enemies all this time."
She completely understood Kurama's point of view. Now that they could fight together, share a body through partial transformation, and even let him out physically, Kurama no longer had a reason not to return to Konoha. They had already gained the knowledge and experience Kurama wanted. Everything else she trained was a bonus. Still, Seina knew Kurama liked that she was powerful on her own too. Honestly, it was probably a matter of pride for him.
That's why she kept training her ninjutsu. She had already learned 800 jutsus from the list Kakashi gave her. She couldn't possibly master them all, but she felt satisfied having fully mastered each of those since she'd dedicated herself to ninjutsu nearly five years ago. That was her specialty, along with kenjutsu. Sasuke had his genjutsu, Naruto his taijutsu enhanced with senjutsu, and she had her ninjutsu. The fact they were all strong in other areas didn't matter, they each had something they simply excelled at.
"When are we going back to Konoha?" Naruto asked Jiraiya one night, days after Kakashi's birthday.
"Soon."
"But when?"
"Don't be annoying, Naruto. Not this week."
And so, October arrived.
"What about this week?"
"I don't think so," Jiraiya sighed, exasperated and irritated.
Naruto was the only one brave enough to ask, though both Sasuke and Seina were just as eager to return. Itachi, silent as ever, simply waited patiently for the moment he would have to stop being Itachi and assume a fake identity in the ANBU. If she were him, she would have wanted to stretch her vacation too. Seina assumed she'd spend her sixteenth birthday in Uzushiogakure, far from her friends and Kakashi. But then, about three days before, Jiraiya came with news—they could finally return.
Her stomach flipped and her heart leapt to her throat. After all this time waiting for the moment… it had finally come.
"Why now?" Itachi asked. "Because of Seina and Naruto's birthday?"
"No. I'd like to make you think that, but I know you'll find out sooner or later," Jiraiya shrugged. "I got news from Tsunade. Apparently, the deadline for Orochimaru to find a second body other than Sasuke has passed, and she's managed to take control of all the orphanages in the Land of Fire. Now Danzo only has his active assets in Konoha left, which have been greatly reduced, and he's being watched around the clock by trustworthy people."
"Trustworthy people? I thought she had very few allies."
"That's how it was. Not only has she quietly taken over the orphanages and captured Ne operatives, she's also used this time to interrogate Konoha's own ninjas. It turns out they've uncovered a few spies in several departments, but there were fewer traitors than expected."
Seina felt herself start to smile. Her master had done her job. Maybe Danzo was still alive and free, but not for much longer. She was sure of that. She was glad to realize that all the sacrifices they'd made, Tsunade-sama and themselves, had not been in vain. Konoha had avoided civil war, a coup, and potential attacks from enemy nations. Not to mention, their entire team was safe from both Orochimaru and Danzo.
"Take these last few days before your birthday to tie up any loose ends here on the island," Jiraiya advised. "With Seina, we can return to Konoha instantly, so we'll go back on the morning of the 9th."
They watched Jiraiya walk off to who knew where, probably to spy on women at the beach. Naruto turned around slowly with a huge grin and a face glowing with excitement.
"WE'RE GOING HOME!"
He was so excited that he lunged at Sasuke and her with a contagious laugh that ended up hitting them. Sasuke didn't even push him away. They found themselves hugging tightly, realizing that they could finally return. She saw Itachi smiling faintly over Naruto's shoulder. She used her magic to pull him in and hug him too. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, embracing, internalizing that the wait was just two days from ending.
"Come on. We've got a lot to do before we leave," she said.
She hadn't lied when she said it wouldn't be easy to just leave. They had to inform people and delegate the few supervisory duties they had. She left the dove she'd created for contacting Itachi at the new town hall so they could use it to reach them. Even so, they agreed with the new government to send a genin team each month to handle any new enemy corpses, if any, and other tasks requiring shinobi.
The last few days passed strangely fast and slow at once. Seina and her brothers counted every hour that passed because it meant they were an hour closer to going home. They packed everything into their bottomless backpacks, locked the house with multiple protections to prevent anyone from entering, said goodbye to neighbours and others, and wore their ninja headbands for the first time in years. Itachi, with his disguise armband, looked like an ordinary man—the kind of person so average he barely drew attention.
"Ready?" said Jiraiya.
"Yosh! Let's go home!"
"Seina?"
She let them grab both her arms, molded her chakra, and focused on the coordinates of the stone closest to Konoha, just five minutes on foot from the main gates. They landed on their feet, as always. They couldn't help but stand still as they took in the forest they'd seen countless times during missions. It was slightly colder than on the island, but the climate was still temperate, like every year. She saw Itachi staring almost overwhelmed at the trees with their leaves dancing in the Fire Country breeze, smelled the fragrance of the native plants, and watched the bugs and animals playing in the treetops. They were home.
They walked the remaining stretch to the main gate. Even from afar, among the crowd constantly moving in and out of Konoha, she saw the same chunin guards at the same desk as always. She had to swallow down the emotion when she realized some things hadn't changed.
"No way...! Look, Izumo!" called Kotetsu, elbowing him with a stunned face and growing smile.
"Huh? What is it?"
The other chunin turned to look. He had to suppress a silly grin when they reached the desk. Jiraiya handed over the documents given by Lady Tsunade and signed the register.
"I can't believe how much you've all grown," said Kotetsu.
She wasn't surprised. Naruto and Sasuke were a head taller from all their training, Itachi nearly two. She, unsurprisingly, hadn't grown past 1.69 meters. At least she'd beaten her past life's height by 6 centimetres. Small victories. They walked into the village, watching the buildings, shops, and people like children. Itachi hadn't said a word since stepping into the Fire Country. Seina could imagine what he was feeling and thinking. He'd been away from home for over a decade, and not for training.
"...Seina?" came a female voice she recognized instantly. She turned just as Ino called her name again and ran toward her. "Seina!"
She caught her friend mid-air, now much taller and more muscular than years ago, still in a purple uniform, though modified. She could barely understand what she was saying between the laughter and tears, hugging her tightly.
"I can't believe it! SHIKAMARU! CHOUJI!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Naruto!? And Sasuke! How did you grow so much?"
"So good to see you again, Ino!" Naruto hugged her tightly with a radiant smile.
"Hn. Hey, Ino."
Ino burst out laughing at Sasuke's typical reply.
"I see you haven't changed much."
Right then, Chouji and Shikamaru came out of a store with a bag of food. They froze when they saw their teammate hugging her whole team, newly arrived in Konoha. Seina couldn't believe how much her friends had grown while they were gone. Shikamaru began to smile, watching her, and quickly approached.
"Hey, Shika," she greeted, pulling him into a tight hug.
Shikamaru laughed into her hair, squeezing her a few seconds before pulling back slightly to look her over. She glimpsed Jiraiya and Itachi heading toward the Hokage Tower, and Chouji giving Sasuke a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"I can't believe it. I didn't know you were coming today."
"Neither did I until two days ago."
"I guess you've got to see Lady Tsunade."
"Yeah."
"I know! Why don't we all get together for lunch?" said Ino, having overheard. "I think everyone's in the village!"
"Yosh! Let's go to Chouji's family's restaurant!"
They talked a few minutes longer, agreeing that they'd gather everyone for lunch in a few hours, then let them go after a few more hugs. As they walked through the village, people began to recognize them, with surprised looks and smiles. A few greeted them while others nodded their way. It didn't take long to reach their destination. The undercover ninja/secretary recognized them with a smile and let them in immediately.
Inside, the whole crew was already waiting: Lady Tsunade, Shizune, Shikaku, Jiraiya, Commander Ryu, Inoichi, and Itachi. The only one missing, and the one she most wanted to see, was Kakashi. She didn't have time to dwell on it, though, as her teacher stood from her chair with a pleased expression, crossed the few steps between them, and hugged her tightly.
"Team 7! Welcome back to Konoha."
"Seina," greeted Shikaku, with an amused and pleased smile.
"You must be wondering where Kakashi is. He left on a mission a couple of weeks ago. He should be back soon."
Seina didn't know how to feel. A big part of her was disappointed to have to wait longer, but another part was relieved to have a few days to settle back in. They were seated on the couch to be briefed on what had happened, at least, what concerned them.
"We've spoken briefly with Itachi, and he's agreed to undergo a full interrogation," began Lady Tsunade, her face serious. "If he passes, he'll be accepted into the ANBU for six months as a mandatory measure. Do you understand, Itachi?"
"Perfectly, Lady Tsunade."
The Hokage nodded to Inoichi to begin. Itachi didn't move from his seat, guarded by Commander Ryu just in case, while the interrogation took place. He appeared relaxed, willing to let them examine his mind. After a long while of silence, Inoichi opened his eyes and removed his hand from Itachi's head.
"He's innocent," he said after looking the Hokage in the eye. "Though I did find a couple of interesting things I'd like to discuss."
"Shisui's genjutsu," Itachi interjected, his voice and expression neutral. Inoichi nodded.
"What do you mean?"
"Shisui used an undetectable genjutsu on me with the mangekyo sharingan, an advanced form of our dojutsu," he explained briefly. "It's impossible to tell if someone's actions are their own or due to the genjutsu. His final order before his suicide was 'protect Konoha.'"
"How did you detect it, then?" asked Shizune.
"Seina," Jiraiya answered, speaking for the first time from where he leaned against the wall.
"I see," said Shikaku, his expression calculating. "If I'm not mistaken, that was weeks before Danzo ordered you to kill your clan, right?"
"You think Shisui's genjutsu led Itachi to follow Danzo's orders?"
"Most likely. After all, at that time, it was more beneficial to Konoha that the Uchiha clan be wiped out. Once Itachi was ordered to do it, regardless of who gave the order, it's possible the genjutsu activated and compelled him to obey."
"..." Lady Tsunade sighed heavily. "Shisui made a mistake."
"It was a desperate decision."
"You're handling this pretty calmly," the Hokage noted, eyeing Itachi critically as if mentally evaluating him.
"Seina used something called therapy with him," explained Inoichi, who had seen almost everything in his mind. "And did a good job, actually."
"What kind of therapy?"
"Talking, analysing, guiding to understanding. Basically."
"Putting all this aside, is Itachi fit for ANBU?"
"Without a doubt."
The practical question from the ANBU commander, who had remained silent, steered the conversation back to the point. All of Team 7 watched as he was officially accepted into ANBU, where he would spend six months regaining the full trust of the high command. Seina knew he'd succeed. In fact, everyone knew it was just protocol—a mere formality. Itachi wasn't crazy, nor a bloodthirsty psychopath, nor under genjutsu.
"Once the six months are over, Itachi, we'll begin the second part of your integration into Konoha," continued the Hokage. "Until then, you're under Commander Ryu's care. You'll live in the ANBU complex, though you'll be allowed to visit your brother and his team, who are aware of your true identity but no one else. Don't mess this up, Itachi. Everything depends on it."
"I won't disappoint you."
"You may go. Shikaku, stay."
Everyone left, except for the Hokage, of course, and the jonin commander. Itachi nodded in her direction before disappearing through the secret passageways behind the ANBU commander. Her teacher leaned back in her seat with a smile, while Shikaku sat in the chair Itachi had vacated.
"Team 7. As of today, you are once again ninjas of Konoha, just as you were three years ago. Jiraiya, I'm sure Shikaku would also like a brief summary of their abilities."
"Naruto has become an expert in taijutsu, and he's also competent in ninjutsu. As for Kurama, he has fully mastered partial transformation. I also taught him senjutsu, and Seina managed to get him to learn to use a couple of adamantine chains. I'm sure I'm forgetting something," the perverted sage added with a mischievous grin, "but I'll let you discover the rest yourselves."
"I imagine Itachi must have taught Sasuke to use the sharingan."
"That's right. He's become the team's genjutsu expert. He's also managed to catch up to Seina a bit by cheating, copying ninjutsu with the sharingan. Oh, and he's improved a lot in kenjutsu and taijutsu. As far as I know, Seina and Naruto have also been teaching him a bit of fuinjutsu."
She glanced sideways and saw her brothers silently accepting the evaluation.
"And what about Seina?" asked Shikaku, raising an eyebrow in her direction.
"Heh, here's the funny part," Jiraiya sighed. "I didn't mention that when Itachi joined us, so did his Akatsuki partner, Kisame."
"Kisame Hoshigaki?"
"Do you know any other Kisames from Akatsuki?"
The Hokage hurled the stapler at him with all her brute strength. Luckily for him, he managed to dodge it while Shikaku tried to hide a smile. Naruto didn't even try to hold back his laughter.
"And what does Hoshigaki have to do with this?"
"He took Seina as his apprentice."
"…"
Seina winked at Shikaku, who looked exasperated again, just like years ago.
"He personally named her the first swordswoman of Konoha and gave her the sword Kubikiribōchō. He also handed over the shark summoning contract and taught her everything he knew about taijutsu and ninjutsu. Right now, Seina's strengths are ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and fuinjutsu, although we've also trained in other areas, and I know she's trained genjutsu with Itachi. She's also managed to master her 13 adamantine chains."
"And with Kurama?"
Jiraiya turned to look at her. Kurama, impatient, jumped out of his stomach seal and sat on her lap. Despite his cat-sized form, both her teacher and the jonin commander knew he was real. They stared at him, surprised for a couple of seconds, before pulling themselves together.
"So, you did it," said Lady Tsunade, calmer than she seemed. "Welcome to Konoha… Kurama."
"Old Senju. We finally meet face to face."
The Hokage shot the bijuu a deadly glare for calling her old, but she didn't throw another office supply at him. Kurama wasn't Jiraiya.
"You helped Seina, and indirectly, me, when she needed it. So, I won't cause any problems as long as my jinchuriki is safe," Kurama admitted, licking his teeth. "If the decrepit old man attacks us, we'll kill him. Consider yourself warned."
"Understood."
Shikaku said nothing, but he didn't seem surprised to hear Kurama's words. Shortly after that, they were informed they would undergo a physical evaluation and a mini sparring match with someone to observe their progress.