Similarly to yesterday, Hiruko and Tsunade went to the academy but had an uneventful day, playing Tic-Tac-Toe all day.
Leaving the academy, Hiruko and Tsunade were met with a young man with light-brown hair and hazel-like eyes.
"Dad!" Tsunade said, running up and jumping into Arata's arms. Arata, smiling, caught his daughter, shifting her into one arm and carrying her. With his other arm he walked up to Hiruko, ruffling his hair.
"Hey Arata, what are you doing here?" Hiruko said with a small smile on his face.
"Hey Hiruko, Mom sent me here to pick you and mostly Tsunade up so you guys don't skip out on your sealing lessons," Arata said, pulling Tsunade's right cheek.
Tsuande, hearing this, looked up at her dad with puppy eyes.
"Come on, Dad, can't we just skip lessons like we did with Mom the other day?"
Arata, seemingly pondering his daughter's suggestion, which made Tsunade noticeably happy, said "No" with a giant smile on his face.
Just as the trio were going to begin walking towards the estate, they were called by a light and sweet voice.
"Wait!!" a girl who came running toward them yelled, stopping a few feet in front of them. The girl catching her breath introduced herself, bowing.
"My name is Naori Uchiha," the girl Naori said in between breaths, a sweet smile on her face, her purple wavy hair swayed in the light breeze, and a Konohagakure headband adorned her head as cropped bangs hung over it.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Arata said his voice was polite on the outside, but one could tell it held a hint of danger.
Arata heard about the situation earlier and how they seemed to be targeting Hiruko.
Though Arata didn't dislike the Uchiha, he didn't particularly like them and wouldn't hesitate to protect his brother.
Naori, sensing Arata's view toward her, gave a bitter smile before bowing again; this time, instead of the whole group, it was toward Hiruko.
"I would like to apologize for the faults of my cousins; they heard about your strength and wanted to fight you to test themselves. But they did it in an arrogant and rude way," Naori said, still bowed.
Looking around and seeing people staring, Hiruko hurriedly said, "It's okay, Miss Naori; it's really fine." Hiruko said with a smile on his face.
Naori slightly looked up due to Hiruko immediately bowing again. "Thank you for your kindness, Hiruko. I heard my cousins spilled your daifuku. I have a mission, but I should return in about a month. When that time comes, please allow me to treat you." Naori said Hiruko could tell she was really hoping he would say yes.
"Sure." Hiruko said with a smile.
At this Naori, still bowing, looked up with a smile.
"Thank you, Hiruko," Naori said before disappearing with a whoosh.
Arata, seeing this, walked up to Hiruko and whispered in his ear, "Hiruko, you should be careful; she might have ulterior motives for approaching you. I'm sorry, but the moment you were adopted by us, you became a useful fish in a pool of sharks." Arata said solemnly,
Unfortunately, though Mito and Arata wanted to give Hiruko a childhood and family, the moment they took him in, he was no longer a normal kid; he was a useful pawn in the eyes of the political side of the village. Every action toward him might be some calculated plot in some person's eyes.
'I'm sorry, Father, this isn't what you wanted for the village, I know. Just give me a bit more time; when our family is safe enough, I'll try my best to protect what you built.' Arata thought.
Seeing his brother's thoughtful look, worry etched on his face, Hiruko offered a small smile.
"Don't worry, Arata." Hiruko said, looking off to the spot where Naori once stood, "Something tells me that girl is trustworthy." Hiruko said,
Arata, hearing this, could only sigh; he was still worried but decided to trust Hiruko.
Little did Arata know this wasn't because he just felt like he could believe her; it was because, just like Tsunade, he knew Naori's character because he watched it.
—
Back at the estate, Hiruko, led by a downcast Tsunade, walked into a room near the back of the estate. Tsunade opened the door to see a youthful woman with her red hair in two buns and a diamond mark on her forehead.
"Hey Grandma," Tsunade said, still downcast.
"Hey, Mom," Hiruko said with a bit of uncomfortability still in his voice but still less than it was a couple days ago.
Mito, noticing Hiruko's growing comfortability, smiled.
"Okay, Tsunade, go and practice the seal I taught you last time and come to me when you reach a good mastery of it, and I'll test your knowledge.
Tsunade, hearing this, dragged her feet to the other side of the room and grabbed a paper and brush, laid down lazily, and began scribbling on it.
Mito, smiling at Tsunade's actions, turned to Hiruko. "Okay, Hiruko, we're going to go over the basics of Finjutsu, and when you master those basics, you'll learn a basic seal, which is the 'Finger Drain Seal.'
Which allows you via contact to drain one's chakra, but before we start, let me ask you this: in your opinion, what is Fuinjutsu?" Mito posed.
'A freaking cheat, that's what it is, draining chakra.' Hiruko thought, surprised he was now wondering how the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out if this is considered basic Fuinjutsu.
'But seriously, what is Fuinjutsu? It can do a lot of things. It can take chakra, beings, etc., and seal it away or in themselves, and that's just basic stuff.
Hiruko, summarizing his thoughts, began to speak: "Fuinjutsu, in my opinion, is two things: a connection and a container." Hiruko said slowly, trying to probe Mito's response to his thoughts.
However, Mito only gave a slight nod signaling Hiruko to continue. Hiruko sighed at this. "The connection is the thing that allows the two to interact or allows the user to affect another.
Then the container is the thing that contains the thing bearing the seal or keeps the thing being sealed in or unable to affect the connection or person." Hiruko said, somewhat unsure.
Mito smiled. "Not bad. You didn't touch on every aspect of Fuinjutsu, but that thought process will make basic sealing easy." Mito said, slightly impressed,
Not everyone had Hiruko's thought process when it came to sealing. Which is why it was only barely touched on in the academy.
Sealing requires innovation, imagination, and most importantly a strong will, and not everyone has the necessary capacity to do it.
That's why the Uzumaki are so good at sealing arts. It's because of their hot-blooded nature; Uzumakis are passionate, stubborn, and strong-willed.
These traits, when paired with their natural affinity with sealing arts, make them amazing sealers.
"Now Hiruko, from today on you'll practice your calligraphy, then basic sealing patterns, and finally you'll learn how to use the 'Finger drain seal,'" Mito said simply.
"Calligraphy?" Hiruko asked, confused.
"You didn't think you'd just jump right into sealing, did you? You first need to start with the basics, so go get a calligraphy brush and a piece of parchment, then join Tsunade.
You'll practice for the next two hours," Mito said, a devilish smile on her face.
"Two hours," Hiruko groaned slightly. Before getting up to get the items, Mito told him,
'Time to start the grind," Hiruko said to himself internally.
And just like that, a month and a half passed…
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I just want to make this clear Mc will have no romantic relationship with naori he is gay she is part of a plan that I have that will be shown in the next few chapters