Capítulo 2199: 11
Notes:
Hello again! We're still trucking along here! Making up lots of chakra and sealing theory stuff this chapter so just a heads up. I feel like I say every chapter that I'm getting close to finishing this fic and then I just keep going. Oops. We'll get there eventually! Sooner rather than later. Hopefully.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
In his centuries of life, Kurama had never met any beings, human, bijuu, or otherwise, as impulsive and reckless as the Uzumaki. First, there had been Mito, willingly sealing an essence of pure chakra and malice into her body. Kurama despised her for it, but on some level he could appreciate her foolish bravery. And then there was Naruto, who offered his hand in friendship to a creature that had only ever caused him pain and misery. He'd given Kurama full access to his chakra and his body, without blinking an eye.
But, if Kurama was really being honest, both of his other hosts paled in comparison to the force of nature that was Kushina Uzumaki. Her only predictable trait was that she was unpredictable. Once again, she'd made a foolish decision, and was going to drag Kurama down with her.
"Damn that Tomato Head," the fox grumbled to himself as he prepared for his unexpected visitor.
He knew the Uchiha woman wouldn't be able to control him. Her eyes were not strong enough, that much was obvious to Kurama. The other one did possess those eyes, but he didn't seem keen on sharing that information. Kurama could tell, whether they were up front about it or not, easily sensing the differences in the chakra around their eyes.
Still, he detested the idea of being in the vicinity of any Sharingan. It made his hackles raise, and his tails twitch. He suspected that it wouldn't be as bothersome as dealing with Sasuke's terribly familiar chakra, far too similar to Madara's for his liking, but he doubted it would be a pleasant visit.
When the Uchiha woman appeared in the mindscape, Kurama didn't bother biting back a displeased growl. She didn't flinch, meeting his gaze head on with her cursed eyes, but Kurama could still smell the fear and uncertainty on her. He laughed darkly, allowing his chakra to practically ooze off of him, knowing the effect it had on most humans. As expected, the unwanted visitor recoiled slightly, but she continued to hold her ground.
Well, he might as well have a little fun.
Kurama did silently give her credit for rushing forward to snatch up Naruto, who appeared in the mindscape only moments after her. Running straight toward a bijuu was both a brave and foolish endeavor for a human. Naruto, having no fear of Kurama, had immediately started toddling toward the cage that kept them separate. The Uchiha woman grabbed him and pulled him back, holding him protectively in her arms. Of course, Kurama would never hurt his jinchuuriki, but the humans never believed that. It was a bit insulting, but Kurama could at least appreciate her willingness to face down danger for the brat.
"Uchiha," he growled lowly, baring his teeth. "You are in over your head."
The woman still didn't back down, but the uncertainty in her expression became more apparent. "Probably," she admitted, "but Kushina thinks we should talk, so here I am." Naruto wiggled in her arms, babbling excitedly and pointing at Kurama, but she didn't let him down.
Kurama scoffed at the answer he received. "Why should I care what any of you humans want?"
"I've been told that you are trying to keep the world from ending, and that you've been working with Minato and Kushina," she replied. "That means we have a common goal, and common allies."
"Were you also told how I feel about your entire wretched clan?" Kurama snarled, aiming to be as menacing as possible. "I should gut you where you stand, just for daring to look upon me with your cursed eyes."
"I'm sorry for intruding," the Uchiha responded, "it wasn't my intention to threaten or offend you."
Kurama laughed loudly at the implication. "You? Threaten me?" He suddenly charged the bars of his prison, making sure his entire towering form was visible. He grinned darkly when he got the desired reaction, and the Uchiha woman flinched. "You are nothing but a tiny, insignificant flea. But," his grin stretched further along his muzzle, "you would make an excellent toothpick."
Despite the obvious trepidation, the human continued to stand her ground. Naruto was giggling quietly in her arms, unconcerned about Kurama's bellowing. "If you would please answer my questions, I will be out of your hair as quickly as possible."
Kurama slammed a massive paw down. It wasn't quite as threatening with an idyllic nature scene at his back, compared to the dark sewer he lived in before, but he knew his presence was still overwhelming. "I do not answer to you, nor am I at the Uzumaki woman's every beck and call!" he roared, standing at full height. "I am the mightiest of the bijuu, the bane of humanity, the strongest–"
A gleeful laugh cut through Kurama's threatening rant. Naruto was grinning like a fool, clapping and chortling as Kurama yelled. "Ku-ra! Ku-ra!" he cheered, reaching toward the fox with grabbing hands.
Kurama felt his eye twitching in irritation. Didn't the runt realize he was in the middle of something?! "Quiet, brat!" he grumbled, glowering at the toddler.
Naruto's laughter continued, as did his attempts to wiggle out of the Uchiha woman's arms. The woman glanced curiously between Naruto and Kurama, her expression turning thoughtful.
That wouldn't do. Kurama was meant to be intimidating! "Silence!" he roared. Once again, he snarled and bared his teeth. "You are in the presence of unfathomable power and–"
"Ku-ra! Ku-ra! Ku-ra!" Naruto chanted, laughing harder as Kurama tried to yell over him.
The Uchiha woman was frowning, and staring intently at Kurama. Very hesitantly, she placed Naruto on the ground. As expected, Naruto immediately made a beeline for Kurama, giggling and squealing happily the entire time. The woman was tensed and looked ready to snatch Naruto back up at a moment's notice, but she let him approach the cage.
"Ku-ra, up? Up!" Naruto demanded as he toddled over to the bars.
"Kid," Kurama sighed in defeat, "your timing is truly terrible." Knowing that he was helpless to deny the tiny terror anything these days, Kurama relented and gently scooped the brat up with one of his tails.
"Up! Up!" Naruto cheered, until Kurama had him held as high as his tails would possibly allow.
"You are up, you spoiled brat!" the fox snapped, receiving nothing but more shrill laughter in response.
Conversely, the laughter from Kurama's other visitor was soft and surprised. Kurama growled, indicating very clearly that he did not want his current state of being to be discussed. He knew he'd become soft, and a tad pathetic.
Fortunately, the Uchiha woman was less brash and impulsive than her Uzumaki friend. She was also far more respectful, bowing low in front of Kurama and reciting, "I humbly ask for a few moments of your time, O Great Kyuubi."
Kurama couldn't help but puff up at the show of respect. "Hmph. Tomato Head could stand to learn a few manners from you."
The Uchiha's expression morphed into confusion. "Tomato–" Comprehension crossed her features, followed by amusement. "Is that what you call Kushina?"
"Hmph," he grunted again.
"Let me introduce myself–"
"I know who you are," he scoffed. "Head of the Uchiha, friend of Tomato Head, mother of Sasuke and Itachi." Humans may all be far too similar to him, but he was not unobservant enough not to know the ones that spent the most time around his jinchuuriki. "Mikoto Uchiha."
Mikoto seemed less surprised about Kurama knowing her name, and more surprised about the other facts he'd listed. "You know the names of my children?"
Kurama scoffed again. "I am familiar with both of them, in this life and my other. For better or worse, my jinchuuriki has a fondness for your family."
"And you have a fondness for him," she observed, sounding disbelieving. "You–you care about Naruto."
Kurama grunted affirmatively, sitting back on his haunches. Naruto had moved on to climbing all over him, much to the fox's chagrin. "You humans have such a hard time believing what is right in front of your noses."
Mikoto laughed bitterly. "I can't disagree with you there." She eyed him critically. "Please forgive me for being skeptical. My only experiences with you were not particularly pleasant. Between Kushina's stories, and what happened to the village, I can admit that my perception of you is skewed negatively."
"And do you think my experiences with your kind were any better?" Kurama growled. "Humans are the ones who turned my siblings and I into prisoners and weapons." He couldn't help it when his hackles went up again. "It was the actions of your ancestor, Madara Uchiha, who led to my imprisonment in the first place."
"I always thought that was just a myth," Mikoto admitted.
"Humans have short lives, and even shorter memories." Kurama rolled his eyes. "But bijuu do not forget such things."
The Uchiha woman was watching him carefully. "You don't like my clan," she observed.
"I do not."
Mikoto smiled bitterly at him. "And my clan does not like you. They blame you for our worsening treatment in the village. We have been under intense suspicion since you destroyed–" she hesitated, then amended her statement, "–since you were forced to destroy Konoha. And you don't like us, because you were controlled by someone with a Sharingan. Is that right?"
"Yes."
"It would seem," Mikoto continued, "that our hatred for one another is rooted in the same problem. Perhaps we could find common ground?"
"Perhaps," Kurama grunted in response. "So long as we share a common goal, and you keep those cursed eyes to yourself, I will not be the one to break a truce between us."
Mikoto gave him a long, considering look. "You're really from the future, aren't you?"
Kurama grunted out an affirmative, "Did you not believe Tomato Head?"
"Well, it's just a bit hard to wrap my head around," she admitted. "Maybe time travel is normal for you, but for us humans it's a pretty wild concept."
"I assure you, it is not normal for a bijuu either. However," he added, "we are less simple-minded than your species, and willing to accept the supposed impossibilities of this world."
"So, everything Kushina told us about the end of the world, and about who is going to cause it, that's all true?"
"Indeed. It is the future I have lived."
Mikoto nodded solemnly. "I see. I'm not entirely sure what to say, but I suppose I should thank you for helping us."
Kurama grumbled, "Rest assured, I did not do it for you . I am here to repay a debt to Naruto." The boy in question was yanking on his fur, but Kurama was used to ignoring his most obnoxious behaviors.
She was giving him another long, searching look, seeming to debate her next words. Eventually, she asked, "Kushina said you saved our lives. What did she mean by that?"
So, Kushina hadn't told her friend the full truth after all. Perhaps she was trying to spare the other woman's feelings. Kurama had no such obligation, and he would even admit that he took certain pleasure in being the one to relay the fate of his least favorite group of humans. Perhaps it was a bit unnecessarily cruel, to take joy in such things, but he didn't particularly care. He was not a creature that easily forgave transgressions against himself.
"I didn't do it for you," Kurama repeated. "Before I traveled back to this time, Naruto spoke of wanting to change your wretched clan's fate. I simply honored his request. Were it up to me, I would be content to let you all rot." More gently, he added, "It was the least I could do for him."
"And what was our fate, in your future?" She asked, looking concerned.
Kurama flicked his tails as he considered his options. He'd learned his lesson, telling the humans difficult truths without any proof to back up his claims. Although, even when he had proof, the humans would still convince themselves that he was lying. Did he want to deal with another whiny, disbelieving human who refused to accept the truth?
Then again, did he truly care if she believed him? And really, how often did he get to be the one to deliver bad news to someone he didn't like? Overall, Kurama didn't have anything to lose.
The fox regarded the human standing before him, not bothering to hide his distaste. "Understand this, Uchiha, you do not have the power to control me. But," he added harshly, "if you try, I will know, and I will make you regret it."
Mikoto kept her cool, offering another low, respectful bow. "I realize that you have no reason to believe me, but I promise that I have no ill intentions. You have my word, O Great Kyuubi."
Damn, the human really understood how to flatter him. He had to force himself not to puff up with pride once again. Kurama lowered his head and reluctantly let own eyes flicker up to meet the Uchiha's straight on. The sight of the Sharingan trained on him made all of his fur stand on end. His lips pulled back to show his pointed teeth, but he refused to break eye contact first. He refused to show his discomfort at seeing those cursed eyes locked onto his own.
"Then," Kurama bit out, "allow me to show you your fate." He let the memories surface, drawing the Uchiha woman into a swirl of reminiscence.
At first, Mikoto was stoic as Kurama shared the memories he'd experienced through Naruto's eyes. She stayed silent and contemplative as years of memories poured into her in the span of minutes. Naruto's understanding of the massacre had been limited at the time, due to his age and isolation. Still, he'd noticed enough for Mikoto to understand how desolate and broken her youngest son had been.
Kurama let her see everything he'd witnessed pertaining to her sons and her clan. He knew the moment she understood the reality of what she was seeing, because her legs buckled and she fell to her knees. The stream of memories cut off and Kurama looked down at her dispassionately. The Uchiha woman was shaking, and staring past him with glazed, unseeing eyes.
He didn't pity her, not really. It wasn't that he had a personal grudge against her specifically, but he also had no love for her or her clan. Naruto was important to him, and he would admit to himself privately ( never out loud) that Kushina was occasionally tolerable, but other humans were still barely more than vermin to him. He was less angry and vengeful than he used to be, and willing to work with the humans toward their common goal, but that didn't mean he would ever find them likable. It didn't mean he would ever find it in himself to care about them. Still, having spent so much time around Mikoto thanks to Naruto's comradery with her youngest son, Kurama could admit that she was one of the less irritating humans he'd met. Perhaps that was why he didn't take as much pleasure in her suffering as he'd expected to.
"So now you know," he grunted, unsure what else to say or do with regard to the miserable human in front of him. "Now, leave." Kurama shoved the visitor's consciousness out of the mindscape. She didn't resist, and was gone in an instant. She was the Tomato Head's problem now.
—------------------------------
In the aftermath of the disastrous dinner with the Uchiha clan heads, everything was somehow both expectantly different, and impossibly the same. On the surface, their daily routines didn't change. It was important to maintain the illusion of normalcy, in case any of them were being watched. Minato worked, Kakashi sulked, and Kushina went back on easy missions. She and Naruto met up with Mikoto and Sasuke for playdates, and she also hung out at shinobi bars with other friends and acquaintances when she had the time. It was routine. Easy.
And it was all a ruse, designed to throw off anyone that might be watching her. All of them were making a similar effort, trying to not draw anymore attention to themselves. For one, they didn't know if Obito was able to spy on them. He'd mentioned eavesdropping on Kakashi's private lamenting at his empty grave, and Kakashi had never noticed. Kakashi was not a person who didn't notice things like that, which meant that Obito's abilities allowed him to be incredibly stealthy. It was safest to assume that Obito could be listening in on their plans at any time, so they could plan accordingly.
Then there were the threats from inside the village. As expected, the Hokage hosting the Uchiha clan heads hadn't gone unnoticed by the council. It was only Kushina and Mikoto's long history and friendship that spared them the worst of the council's suspicion, but it didn't eliminate the concern entirely. Kushina knew that her least favorite councilman had been spending an awful lot of time in the Hokage's office, hounding Minato about his intentions. It got bad enough that Minato could rarely join them for their super secret seal making parties, instead being forced to keep up appearances to placate the council.
When it came to Kurama's unfortunate reveal of the Uchiha clan's fate in his original timeline, the two clan heads seemed to be coping…alright. Fugaku was difficult for her to read, and she could never tell if he was in a bad mood or if his face was just frozen in that perpetual expression of contempt and disappointment. He was pushing Kakashi hard in training, as expected, but entirely avoided the discussion of anything about the other timeline unless absolutely necessary. Kushina almost thought that Mikoto hadn't told her husband the truth, until she caught him one day staring at his sons with a surprisingly open, vulnerable expression.
Conversely, Mikoto couldn't hide how upset she was about the information. Maybe an outsider wouldn't notice, but Kushina could tell that her friend was not doing well. Her entire demeanor was subdued, and she was uncharacteristically distant. She was prone to staring off into space, and Kushina worried that she could be reliving memories that Kurama showed her. The fox refused to give details about what he'd said, brushing her off and grumbling, "the truth", without further explanation. Mikoto didn't want to talk about her meeting with the Kyuubi any more than Kurama did, so Kushina forced herself not to push.
Even when they gathered to work on the seal, Mikoto was clearly distracted. Case in point, she was staring forlornly at her youngest son, who was toddling around with a cheerfully babbling Naruto, instead of looking over their current project.
"Hey," Kushina said gently, nudging her friend's arm to get her attention, "you ok?"
Mikoto just laughed bitterly. "No. Not at all."
Kushina grimaced at her own stupid question. Of course her friend was not ok. "I know we haven't really had a chance, so if you want to talk about–"
"I don't," Mikoto said definitively. She sighed, forcing herself to tear her gaze away from the pair of toddlers that Tsunade was reluctantly supervising. The Sannin looked immensely uncomfortable, being led around by Naruto's tiny grip on her hand. He led her over to the pile of toys that Sasuke was quietly sorting through, babbling incoherently. Sasuke nodded along solemnly as if he was hearing the most important news in the world.
Turning toward her youngest son again, Mikoto's expression was pained. Most likely, she was thinking of how he'd looked in Kurama's future. Kushina knew it was a stark contrast to the shy but happy child in front of them. She also remembered how she felt when she first saw how the other Naruto was treated in Kurama's time. Even now, thinking about that other version of her son filled her with a burning rage. She was probably the only one that understood, at least on some level, what her friend was going through.
"Ok," she finally answered. "We don't have to talk about it. But if you change your mind, I just wanted you to know that I understand what you're feeling." Kushina grimaced, then amended, "I mean, I know it's not exactly the same, but I know what it feels like to see a future where the people you thought you could trust have let you down. And you would do anything to prevent it." She couldn't help but shoot an angry glare at Jiraiya, who was staring at their plans for the seal and making an obvious effort to pretend he wasn't listening to their conversation. Even if, in this timeline, he hadn't done anything wrong, it was hard not to feel disappointed in her husband's mentor sometimes.
Jiraiya looked between the two women with pity in his eyes. "Look, I get that you've both got some baggage to deal with, but we are kind of in the middle of something." He gestured to the half-finished plans spread out in front of him. "Can't you have your little heart-to-heart another time?"
Kushina crossed her arms, but before she could come up with a clever retort, Mikoto responded, "Master Jiraiya is right, Kushina. Now isn't the time." She looked over their work again, then abruptly changed the subject away from anything personal. "I'm not sure if this part of the seal will work. This appears to be only acting on the retina, and that may not be enough to truly incapacitate the Sharingan. I think it would be more effective if the seal acts either on the optic nerve, or the surrounding chakra coils."
It was tempting to call her friend out on her avoidance, but Kushina refrained. Even if she could convince Mikoto to talk to her, she likely wouldn't want to do so in front of a near-stranger, particularly one employed as the village's spymaster. Kushina could let her off the hook for now.
"Fascinating," Jiraiya commented, sounding genuine. "I do have something that we might be able to go off of, if that's the case." He rummaged around in the pile. "This is a blinding seal. It's not designed for doujutsu users, so it will need to be modified, but it does act directly on the optic nerve. It might be a useful base." He tapped his chin thoughtfully, then grinned mischievously. "Good thing we have a test subject!"
"It's not going to be permanent, right?" Kushina pressed, unwilling to blind Kakashi for the sake of their experiment.
Jiraiya waved her off. "No, it's completely reversible. I've used it many times! Although," he added sheepishly, "never on someone with a doujutsu. But in theory, based on the anatomical drawings our Uchiha friends shared, it should not cause any lasting damage."
Kushina was still hesitant, but in the small space of the hidden bunker they were currently residing in, Kakashi heard every word. He was far too willing to offer himself up. "I'm sure it'll be fine," Kakashi said with an unconcerned shrug.
Getting a better look at him, Kushina realized he was probably just desperate for a break from Fugaku's intense training, but he didn't want to sound whiny. He was panting, and sweating profusely. The man repeatedly knocked Kakashi on his ass, and pushed him right up to the edge of over-exhaustion. The results were obvious, with Kakashi showing significant improvement with his gifted Sharingan, but he was left drained and nursing a migraine almost every night.
It had certainly been a rocky start for the two of them. From day one, Fugaku didn't hold back for a second, even if he'd forced Kakashi to begin with basic breathing and chakra control exercises. Kakashi had been incredibly irked, insisting that he could handle more advanced drills. Fugaku had just shrugged and relented, running Kakashi through what was apparently a basic exercise for a natural-born Sharingan user. It had left Kakashi so chakra drained and in pain that he'd been unable to get out of bed for three days. When he was ready to resume training, he no longer complained about the novice treatment, and complied with every one of Fugaku's orders or suggestions.
He hadn't moved on to using the Mangekyou yet, but he was definitely improving with the Sharingan in its natural state. Mainly, the duration of use and his ability to control how much chakra was being siphoned to the eye.
"He's not ready to use the Mangekyou yet," Fugaku insisted with a frown. "If he tries, it is still likely to kill him from chakra exhaustion."
"That should be fine," Jiraiya responded. "I just want to get a feel for how this basic seal interacts with a doujutsu. So, unless you'd rather be the test subject…?"
Fugaku didn't reply, but the stern expression on his face said enough. He still clearly hated the entire idea of the seal, and how much information they were sharing about the Sharingan, but he kept his concerns to himself. Although he'd originally demanded either himself or his wife to be present during the actual seal design process, it had almost exclusively been Mikoto supervising/helping them. He was too busy training Kakashi, realizing that dealing with the stubborn teen was basically a full-time job on its own.
This was preferable, in Kushina's opinion, because she would much rather have her friend scrutinizing their work than her surly husband. Her concerns and suggestions were at least constructive, and non-hostile, whereas Kushina doubted Fugaku's would be quite so civil. Neither of them had much knowledge of fuuinjutsu, of course, but the information they shared about the Sharingan ended up being a major help for the entire design process. Kushina never knew how complex the Uchiha's doujutsu really was, and it didn't seem like Jiraiya had known either. In the end, she was immensely grateful they had the clan heads on board, because otherwise the process likely wouldn't be going so smoothly.
Well, it might be going smoother if Minato could be here. Not that she and Jiraiya didn't have their own fuuinjutsu talents, but Minato was the one that really excelled at novel seal design. It was one of the things that made her fall for him. The way his eyes lit up when he got an idea for a new seal, or how adorably frazzled he looked after losing track of time and staying up all night working on one. It was charming, and she was smitten. But he had his own role to play. He'd been able to join their brainstorming sessions just once so far, and had been mostly forced to carry on in his office and keep up appearances. The rest of them had clones running around to throw off any potential enemies, but the Hokage couldn't exactly leave a clone in his place. That could quickly become a disaster.
Maybe they were all being paranoid, but it just seemed like it was better to be safe than sorry. Switching up meeting places between the secret bunkers and hideouts that the Hokage had access to, using predetermined signals to decide last minute where to meet, using henges and clones to throw off would-be pursuers, it was all being done out of an abundance of caution. They didn't know if any of the council or the Hokage's advisors had any knowledge of the locations they were meeting in, and it would be too suspicious for Minato to ask. There were some locations that were supposed to be only known to the Hokage but, well, the fact that they were all here was obvious proof that wasn't the case. There was no way to know if the Sandaime had also chosen to share the locations with anyone.
Jiraiya motioned the teenager over. "Alright, kid, let's see how this works."
Kakashi did as he was bid, and dragged himself over to where they were all working on the seal. Jiraiya was muttering to himself as he looked between Kakashi's uncovered Sharingan, and the seal in his hand. He seemed to be thinking through something, so Kushina let him be.
With his temporary student occupied, Fugaku chose to rescue Tsunade from her forced babysitting duties, scooping up his youngest son with a surprising amount of gentleness. Even more surprising, he gave Naruto a couple of placating pats on the head, when the toddler started whining about his playmate being taken away. Tsunade snapped something about "not being a damn babysitter", but she still decided to get Naruto's attention with a toy anyway.
The Slug Sannin didn't have much to contribute to seal making or Sharingan training, but they wanted to keep her close by in case they needed a medic. That unfortunately left her without much to do most of the time, so somehow that had translated into keeping an eye on the toddlers. Kushina was convinced that she didn't mind as much as she claimed she did, since they'd offered to come up with alternative arrangements and the Sannin had just grumbled at them about "not wasting resources". The woman just didn't want to admit that she had a growing fondness for the children, lest it ruin her tough reputation.
Mikoto met up with her husband and youngest son, a familiar sad smile in place. She and Fugaku were whispering to each other in hushed tones, sharing a conversation that the rest of them were not privy to. With a start, Kushina realized that her friend's husband did look worse for wear. Holding his youngest son, he seemed to lose the ability to maintain whatever mask he'd had in place, and the fatigue became obvious. Kushina had never seen the clan head looking so downtrodden, with heavy bags under his eyes and his normally perfect posture reduced to a tired slouch. It was as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
Kushina wanted to be mad at Kurama for telling them, but she wasn't. It wasn't her place to tell Kurama what information he could and couldn't share, especially when she'd basically forced him to talk to Mikoto with almost no warning. She just wished she knew how he'd delivered the information. Was he excessively cruel? Or just matter-of-fact? She wondered if Kurama or Mikoto would ever tell her what happened.
"Hey," Jiraiya said suddenly, once the seal was in place, "could one of you take a look with your Sharingan? I want to know what the chakra around Kakashi's eye looks like with the seal in place."
Mikoto gave her husband's arm a few reassuring pats, before nodding to Jiraiya and approaching him and Kakashi with her Sharingan activated. She studied the teen for a few moments. The red of the Sharingan was still present, but it did seem a bit dulled.
"It seems disrupted, but not completely. Kakashi, are you still able to see?" she asked.
"Yeah, but only in this eye," Kakashi confirmed. "My vision isn't as sharp as it normally is when I use the Sharingan, but it's not bad. I think I could probably still use it, too."
"Best not," Jiraiya responded, looking thoughtful. "You could do some serious damage if you try to force your chakra through right now."
"I agree with Master Jiraiya," Mikoto added. "From what I can tell, your chakra is being redirected around the optic nerve and straight into the globe itself. If you were able to deactivate your Sharingan, I suspect you would no longer be able to compensate, and the seal would work as it is supposed to for both of your eyes."
The explanation caught Lady Tsunade's attention. "Huh, that's interesting. Let me take a look." Without waiting for permission, she walked up to Kakashi with glowing green chakra around her hands and held them up to his face. Kakashi flinched back slightly, but didn't pull away completely. She was silent for a while as she assessed Kakashi's eye, then she pulled her hands away. "There are additional nerves and vessels around this eye that non-Sharingan users don't have, as well as extra chakra pathways too. Your other eye doesn't have them. This must be a specific adaptation for the Sharingan, and seems to be allowing visual input despite disruption of the optic nerve; it's like your chakra is carrying the visual sensory signals to your brain instead."
Jiraiya hummed thoughtfully. "Curious. So, we need to make a seal that can block all of those pathways simultaneously."
"Probably." Tsunade shrugged. "Seals aren't my forte, but anatomy is. From what I can tell, it would be possible for the seal to fail if even a small amount of chakra is able to reach the eye. It might damage the user's chakra coils, but it likely wouldn't completely debilitate them."
"Quite different from a normal blinding seal, then," Jiraiya sighed, but he looked intrigued by the challenge.
"I'm guessing it's not as simple as it sounds?" Tsunade responded.
Kushina was the one that explained, "No, not at all. Chakra suppression seals work on most shinobi because every human's chakra pathways are fundamentally the same. But there's always been an inherent problem with restricting chakra on shinobi with bloodline traits that alter their chakra pathways, because the seal can't adapt. Most shinobi with these traits are incredibly secretive, so even the best seal masters haven't had the chance to study the differences."
Bitterly, in her mind she added that her kin may have been able to solve this particular issue, had they not been wiped out. Perhaps some of the Uzumaki fuuinjutsu masters had been able to create a universal chakra suppression seal, but their knowledge was lost when Uzushio fell. She herself couldn't quite be considered a master, since there were no masters left for her to apprentice under. Her mother had been a master, as had her mother before her, so Kushina had a solid foundation, but she'd been too young to learn all of her clan's secrets before they were killed.
"It does make me wonder," Jiraiya added, "if all doujutsu users have the same adaptations. Theoretically, could a single seal be constructed to disrupt all doujutsu?" He caught the concerned and skeptical gazes of the two doujutsu users in their mix and laughed heartily. "It's just speculation, of course! Not something that I would ever pursue…"
"Stay on track," Kushina snapped, not in the mood for one of Jiraya's tangents.
"Easy, easy!" The Toad Sage placated, wearing an exaggerated grin. "I was just thinking out loud, that's all." He removed the seal from Kakashi, watching intently as the teenager blinked a few times, as if to clear his vision.
Kushina gave him a once over. "You ok? No lasting side effects?"
Kakashi shrugged. "None so far, at least. My vision came back almost right away."
"Excellent," Jiraiya proclaimed, giving Kakashi a hearty slap on the back. "Thanks for your participation, kid. Definitely got some interesting observations to make note of."
They definitely had a lot of information to work with now. Kushina was already thinking about how she could start modifying Master Jiraiya's base seal. In the meantime, while it seemed that they were on a break, Kushina took a moment to pick up Naruto and give him a few smooches on his cute little chubby baby cheeks. He giggled, loving the attention.
Naruto started babbling through some kind of incoherent explanation of his day. His little hands gestured wildly, but Kushina could only understand about 30% of what he was saying. His vocabulary was rapidly expanding, but his ability to form coherent sentences was still a work in progress. He was able to ask for simple things or make basic exclamations, but his mouth often seemed to get ahead of his brain when he got excited. She supposed that he got that from her. In situations like this, it was best to just nod along and look interested in what the toddler was saying.
Eventually, Naruto started getting fussy and short-tempered, which was a good indication that it was getting close to dinner and bedtime. They all took that as their cue to wrap up for the day, not wanting to deal with a shrieking toddler in an enclosed space. As expected, Naruto protested when the Uchiha family went their separate ways, but no worse than usual. She and Kakashi had to take a bit of a roundabout way home, using henges and deception while they waited for their clones to pop at predetermined times. It wouldn't do to be seen walking around when their clones were supposed to be impersonating them.
When they arrived home, Kakashi looked dead on his feet. She half expected him to collapse face first onto the couch the moment they stepped inside, but instead his entire posture went rigid when the door swung open. Kushina found herself mirroring his wariness, shifting Naruto more onto her side so he would be less in the line of fire if they were about to be attacked.
"What's wrong?" she asked, though her own instincts were already on full alert as well.
On the surface, nothing seemed out of place. The house was quiet, and dark, with Minato still in his office. The clone didn't spend much time here today, so nothing was out of place. Except, the hair on the back of her neck was standing up, and all of her shinobi instincts were screaming that something wasn't right. She couldn't tell what it was, but she knew better than to ignore a gut feeling.
Kakashi's visible eye was darting around, and his fingers twitched like they wanted to reach up to reveal his Sharingan as well. "I'm not sure…something just feels off." Without glancing back at her, Kakashi ordered, "Wait here. I'm going to investigate."
At first, Kushina wanted to protest. She was a high level shinobi, and a former jinchuuriki, not a damsel in distress. She didn't need her husband's teenage student, prodigy or not, to scope out danger for her. Except, she quickly realized, it wasn't just her. She had Naruto. She had to hang back and keep him away from any potentially hazardous situations, despite how much it nagged at her pride to do so.
She didn't like it, but Kushina let Kakashi take the lead, holding Naruto close to her and keeping her senses wide open. She didn't sense any obvious threats, but she knew that didn't mean they were truly out of danger. It would be foolish to assume an enemy couldn't hide from her.
From inside, Kushina heard Kakashi's sharp intake of breath. "Kakashi? What happened? Are you ok?" She barely held herself back from running to him, and prepared to make a clone to send to Minato.
"I'm–I'm ok. It's clear," Kakashi replied, though his voice sounded distressed.
Just in case, Kushina decided to send that clone after all. She didn't like how upset Kakashi sounded, and she didn't want to walk herself and Naruto into a trap. She did briefly consider sending Naruto with the clone, but she ultimately decided against it. It would be too easy to pop the clone and leave Naruto defenseless. Minato would be here mere moments after her clone reached him, since he had a hiraishin marker on the house. Multiple, actually. It would be safer to keep Naruto with her, and approach the situation cautiously.
Wary of a potential trap, Kushina carefully went into the house after Kakashi. She was grateful that Naruto was asleep, and not adding any extraneous noise or commotion. Kakashi was standing at the kitchen table, his shoulders hunched as he stared down at something in front of him.
"What is it?" she asked.
Without a word, Kakashi stepped aside so Kushina could see what he was looking at. Her breath immediately caught in her throat.
"Is that–"
"Yes," Kakashi confirmed, his voice hushed. "I always thought they were lost after the boulder–" he shook his head sadly. "I guess he kept them."
On the table sat a pair of familiar orange goggles, one side completely crushed and mangled. There was a note set over top of them that read, Your move.
Notes:
Uh oh, what is Obito up to?
Kurama is such a brat I love him.
Status de energia semanal
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