They finished eating and had some tea to help digest the food. After that, Gaara led them to a secluded area so she could manufacture the tanks. He returned to his office, leaving them alone, so she raised a few barriers to be able to speak with Itachi and do her work without being spied on.
"It turned out better than expected."
"It was logical. Water is a fundamental resource for Suna," said Itachi, sitting on a rock as he watched her transform large rocks into tanks. "Will you have time to finish it all in one afternoon?"
"Yes. Creating the tanks is a piece of cake, I just need 10 minutes. The runes are another story. Fortunately, they're very simple sequences. The tanks don't need much to meet the contract's demands, so I'd say I'll be done in a couple of hours."
She used clones to carve the runes into each tank. They were quite large, so it took a while to finish even one. Almost an hour later, she activated the runes. She checked that the sterilization, refrigeration, and auto-filling worked, then used her magic to fill the tank with drinking water for the first time.
"Are you done?"
She turned to see Itachi, who was reading a book casually. She nodded. Someone was called to inspect the tanks, but it was obvious they worked exactly as she had described. Once all 10 tanks were approved, after a few puzzled glances at how fast she had finished, they were escorted back to the Kazekage's tower, where two ninjas awaited them with three wooden trunks.
"Gaara-sama has sent part of your order, as agreed. You may inspect it if you wish."
Seina and Itachi weighed the trunk, seeing that each weighed exactly 100 kg, just as they had agreed. They checked the materials and the quantities. The remaining trunks would be ready by the end of May. As night fell, they said their final goodbye to Gaara.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with Suna."
"Likewise. Send my regards to Naruto and Sasuke," he said, giving her a brief final hug. "See you soon, Seina."
She took Itachi's hand, and they left. When she arrived in Uzu, she finally felt herself relax. Itachi took off his disguise. In the Land of Whirlpools, most people had no idea who he was, what Itachi Uchiha had done, or what he looked like. If anyone did know, they said nothing. Seina was beginning to realize that the villagers hardly cared about anything except living peacefully. Everyone knew the protections worked, so maybe, if they did know who Itachi was and didn't complain, it was because they didn't feel threatened.
"Nee-chan!" Naruto shouted the moment he saw her walk through the door. "You're finally back. I thought Sasuke was going to go crazy."
"Hey! The one who wouldn't stop crying like an abandoned dog was you, dobe," Sasuke argued, smacking him on the head.
Itachi and she exchanged exasperated looks. She dropped her loot on the floor. Her brothers examined it with curiosity.
"So you've sealed Uzushiogakure's first deal, huh?" said Jiraiya, appearing on the stairs. "Congratulations."
"Starting tomorrow we'll look for a master jeweller to negotiate another trade."
"If you want, I can handle it," Itachi replied, seeing how she yawned. "I barely did anything today."
"Perfect. I'll leave it in your hands."
The following weeks in May, although tough, became more manageable. The population had grown to 10,000 people. Quite small considering the village's capacity, but even with that modest number, the city began to function autonomously: the police patrolled the streets, essential businesses were fully operational, the government was composed of competent people who followed the laws, shipyards began building their first boats, frigates were used for fishing and transporting raw materials to and from the continent, the protective barriers worked perfectly, the school had hundreds of students, and the hospital had all floors open with new technology…
What they lacked most, of course, was personnel and money for the treasury. In the end, since they still didn't have a master jeweller, they sold the material Suna had given them for free at high prices—all 500 kg of it. That, plus the pearls they kept selling, rental income, taxes, and the initial investment shared by the three of them, was enough to keep everyone on the island paid. Once they returned to Konoha, they would negotiate whatever contracts were necessary to keep increasing the island's value and filling its coffers.
So, when June arrived, she stopped worrying so much about the island and resumed training with Kurama in the small portion of the Land of Whirlpools, where no one was around yet.
"The idea is to concentrate 80% positive chakra with 20% negative chakra," Kurama explained, sitting beside her on the beach. "Obviously, the more chakra you mold, the stronger the attack will be. Try it with a small amount of chakra."
"In a spherical shape?"
"The shape doesn't really matter, although intuitively it's easier to use a sphere. You can also use a spear or a triangle, whatever you like. Still, shape does affect the result. For example, a spherical form tends to damage a wide area, like a bomb. A spear, on the other hand, can pierce through anything in its path until the chakra loses strength and fades."
"Interesting…"
She looked out at the ocean in front of her. She could use the bijuudama without harming anyone. She focused on molding the chakra as Kurama had explained. In her partially transformed form, it was relatively easy to follow Kurama's guidance, as he had used that jutsu a thousand times before. She formed a sphere just a few centimetres wide. It was a dark colour, such a deep purple it almost looked black. The sphere bubbled as it began to form in her hand until the chakra was perfectly shaped. The complete bijuudama was smooth, dark but crystalline. She launched it into the ocean. It travelled several hundred meters before exploding against a wave.
"Wow," she said, unable to hide her astonishment. "It's bigger than I expected."
The tiny sphere, the size of a golf ball, had caused an explosion the size of a six-story building being demolished. She both wanted and didn't want to see what would happen if she used 50 times more chakra. She shuddered but didn't try it. She spent time playing with Kurama's chakra, with and without partial transformation. She never dared use anything larger than a coconut-sized sphere. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention or accidentally destroy a ship in the distance.
"Imagine what I could do with all my chakra," Kurama sighed, remembering when he wasn't split in half. "Though you could combine your bijuudama with Naruto's."
"What do you think would happen if I mold your chakra and use the chains as a conduit?"
"… I don't know. We can try it someday."
She trained for days, using different shapes. The spherical shape had the widest area of effect, while the spear travelled farthest. She also managed to use the chakra like a thread, which reduced the explosion but worked like a guillotine. It had been impressive to see how her "laser" bijuudama sliced a wave in two. She could already imagine what that jutsu would do if she faced an enemy line… It could separate torsos from legs in a single strike.
"It's extremely interesting to see how you use your past experience with what you have here," said Kurama, after seeing the effect of the jutsu. "Hardly anyone would think of something that doesn't exist."
"That gives me an advantage, and I prefer to use everything that gives me an edge," she replied with a sly smile.
Kurama laughed maliciously. He liked it too, simply because it felt like having a new toy. They always discovered something new, so he could never get bored. After all, with his age, Kurama spent a lot of time feeling bored. They trained a bit more.
That night, after dinner and a shower, she had to admit that she couldn't keep distracting herself. It was the only thing she'd been doing lately. Why? Because of a letter she had received a few weeks ago from Kakashi. She recalled her fiancé's words, burned into her mind.
"Dear Seina,
I don't even know how to start this letter... The truth is that I left out something important in my previous one. I had a rather tough mission. Harder than usual. I was left in the village for a week and visited the psychic evaluation department about three times. I didn't want to alarm you, so I thought it would be better not to say anything.
Later, however, once the slump passed a little, I realized that if it had happened to you, I'd want you to trust and lean on me. So, I decided to tell you. I can't talk about what happened on the mission, but let me just say there are things I wish I could forget.
Also, lately all I do is count the days until you come back. And I don't even know when that'll be! I guess everything just hit me at once. As soon as I realized you'd be back in just a few months, I fell into a depression. Yeah, I know. Anyone else would be excited with the most awaited day approaching, but I had the opposite reaction. Suddenly, I had an overwhelming need to see you again and, I don't know… I realized there were still months left before I could see you, and that made me sad. I felt like a little kid, impatient and desperate.
After that, the mission happened and the rest is history. I'm not going to lie. I've been feeling a little depressed lately. Dogs and wolves are social animals, pack creatures, and I'm alone. I spent the entire week, when I wasn't out visiting the psychic evaluation department, at my old house. I think I've never used my couch as much as I did then.
To top it off, Guy came back from a mission and, obviously, when he saw I hadn't left the house in a week, he visited me repeatedly. I have to admit he's very persistent. In the end, I let it go. And then I couldn't hold it in... I told him I was in love with you, and that you felt the same. I know. I'm a complete idiot. It helped pull me out of the pit, but then I realized I shouldn't have told him. Not without your permission, at least. I'm sorry, Seina. He took it well. No shouting, no accusations, nothing like that. Honestly, I was surprised by how accepting he was."
She reread the letter for what felt like the hundredth time, running her fingers over the ink that expressed how much he missed her. She had to admit to herself that the letter had shaken her. For starters, Kakashi's depression made her feel depressed too. A few times she even considered sneaking back to Konoha using hiraishin just to see him and comfort him in person, but she knew he was probably on a new mission by now. Another part of her, when confronted with that thought, realized she was nervous about returning.
It had been a long time and, despite all her experience, she had never had a long-distance relationship through letters before. Ironically, it was her first time in over 130 years of life. She had no experience to draw from in case things went wrong. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel or act. Would she hug Kakashi the next time she saw him? Give him a proper kiss right away? Would they need time to adjust to seeing each other every day again? As she'd already said… She was nervous, and yet the more she thought about it, the more eager and longing she felt to return because, no matter what happened, they'd be together.
She had to admit she had cried more than once at night since receiving the letter. She realized that Kakashi wanted her to return just as much as she wanted to go back. She had a huge epiphany when she realized that for three years she had done everything she could to avoid thinking about her return to Konoha, distracting herself from longing for Kakashi. Even so, she always thought about him. Especially on Sundays when she wrote her letters, but the next day she'd throw herself into work to avoid thinking about the emptiness she felt inside.
Part of her regretted not telling him she loved him. Yes, it was easier to avoid thinking about a relationship on the edge, but it would have been the sweetest and most painful thing in the world to hear him say he loved her. It would have kept her up long nights, crying with a knot in her throat, but it would have brought her comfort too.
She thought of Kakashi on Itachi's birthday because she realized it would be Itachi's last birthday away from Konoha. According to Jiraiya, with whom she had more or less made peace, Tsunade-sama was planning to accept his return to Konoha under a few conditions.
First of all, she would ensure no one discovered him in the village before being thoroughly interrogated. If he was truly innocent, and given that he had already spent almost two years under constant surveillance by Jiraiya and his team, he would be given a probation period of only six months. That meant he wouldn't be allowed to leave Konoha during that time, nor go out in public without a disguise. During those six months, he would join the ANBU while several efforts were made to prove his innocence to the public, both ninja and civilian. Once everyone knew that Itachi Uchiha was innocent, they would make up some story to explain that he had returned years ago and had been imprisoned or something like that. Then, officially, he would be reinstated in Konoha as a ninja pardoned from exile. Yeah, it wouldn't be easy or quick.
"Actually, this could take a while," said Sasuke when Jiraiya explained what Tsunade-sama was planning, "but it comforts me to know there's a plan to bring you back."
"Hn. I thought it would be much worse," Itachi admitted, "though it's true that, depending on how you look at it, I've spent two years on probation with Jiraiya and your team."
Seina understood her master's actions. All the high-ranking officials, except for the council, knew about the investigation into Itachi's innocence, so it would be unfair, cruel, and frankly repugnant to impose a probation period longer than the minimum six months when he was innocent and a victim of the council's incompetence and Danzo's manipulation. However, his innocence was a secret, so somehow, Tsunade had to appear to be punishing Itachi to appease the public. If she managed to follow through with the plan, it would prove that Itachi was loyal to Konoha and be the final evidence she needed to get rid of Danzo within six months, once she could explain everything to the ninja and civilian councils.
Just thinking about it excited her as she imagined the faces of the elder council and Danzo when they were imprisoned for life or executed, respectively. Danzo was far too dangerous to be left alive. She could alre-
"Seina-sama, several people from the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of the Sea have arrived with the new vessel," said one of the census workers, interrupting her malicious thoughts, "What should we do with them?"
"Did they sign the contract?"
"Yes."
"Then accept them."
They weren't the first, nor would they be the last, to join them. They were all civilians who cared very little about ninja affairs. As long as they signed the magical contract, she didn't care where they came from. Besides, in case they reconsidered and wanted to break the contract later, they'd know immediately and could deport them back to Yuko. Problem solved.
She left the building to head to her medical classes. They were held every morning and were going wonderfully. The few people who had prior knowledge of nursing, even if they didn't call it that, had successfully completed the intensive course to become nurses. Others, who had no prior medical knowledge but did have a vocation, had quickly learned what was necessary to also become assistants, lab technicians, or nurses. Doctors, however, were a different case. It would take the rest of her time in Uzu to train them, using every available hour so they'd have a decent enough level to treat minor injuries and other common issues. Performing surgery, though, was another matter…
Luckily, if there was one thing she had in abundance, it was medical manuals for them to study and review without needing constant supervision. The only shame was not having surgery videos for them to watch safely and review each technique as often as needed. Hmm… She'd think of something. Maybe she could create a kind of pensieve projection so that more than one person could view a memory at once. Or maybe, the simplest solution, she could hire doctors from Konoha to teach in Uzu while she returned to the village.
The days passed, waiting for another letter from Kakashi that never came, until July arrived. Itachi and Naruto approached her to talk about Sasuke's gift, now that they could buy things within the village of Uzu.
"What did you think of getting him?" asked Naruto, sounding a bit desperate.
"Honestly, I have no idea," she said, "We bought him a lot of clothes recently, so I don't think he needs more. Got any ideas, Itachi?"
"Hn… No," he admitted after a pause, almost irritated to admit his failure.
"…"
Seina stifled a laugh at their miserable expressions. She mentally reviewed Sasuke's interests, but he was pretty simple: he liked training, swimming, being alone when people exhausted him, he liked food—especially tomatoes, curiously—and loved collecting weapons… He also read, although it wasn't a great passion. Then, suddenly, she remembered something she had overlooked years ago. She didn't say it aloud in front of Itachi, but one of her silent gifts would be to clean the Uchiha complex of bloodstains. She didn't know if Sasuke would want to live there again someday, but at least she could give him that. To both of them.
Still, she wasn't any closer to finding a gift for Sasuke. They kept thinking for a while longer, but nothing came up. Her head started to ache from so much brainstorming until she realized maybe it didn't need to be something grand. One night, during the second week of July, the perfect gift came to her. She had to suppress a laugh upon realizing it was the best thing she could give him, considering the circumstances of the past few months.
A magical vibrator. She knew Sasuke was exploring his body in the privacy of his room, so what better gift than a magical vibrator that could change size, shape, texture, and temperature? She had had a couple of those in her previous life. She never thought to make one for herself because she could conjure one up easily depending on her mood, but for someone without her powers, it would be a great gift.
"I already thought of something for Sasuke," she told her brothers.
"What is it?"
Naruto's innocent question made her hesitate before answering. She didn't want to embarrass Sasuke, even though it was perfectly natural. Still, she was sure Naruto wouldn't be able to resist at least a mischievous grin when he read the gift voucher.
"Better if I don't tell you, Naru."
"What!? Why not?" he asked, indignant. "How will I know if we're giving him the same thing?"
"Trust me, we're not."
Itachi raised an eyebrow, clearly curious, but said nothing. He waited until Naruto left. Seina didn't even try to slip away since he knew where she slept and, if he was interested enough, he'd pester her until she told him.
"A magical vibrator," she said, smiling and shrugging. Itachi snorted a laugh. "What? I'm sure he'll use it!"
"Hn. Just don't tell him you told me."
She smacked the back of Itachi's head, dodged his playful punch, and ran to her room at full speed.
When Sasuke's birthday arrived, Seina woke up early to go prepare a big breakfast. Quite surprised, since she'd never seen Itachi cooking alone before, especially this early, she found him in the kitchen in front of the stove. Seina, who still had her eyelids practically glued shut, walked over to his side. The longer she stood there looking at the scene in the kitchen, the stranger it all seemed.
She looked with confusion at the 15 plates of fried eggs she had initially overlooked. Then she realized Itachi hadn't even greeted her. He was staring fixedly at the pan as he fried another egg. She stood frozen in the middle of the kitchen, watching his back, not sure what was going on.
"Hn," Itachi clicked his tongue. He removed the egg from the pan onto another plate, and, seeing there was no more counter space, he placed the plate on the floor.
Seina finally moved closer, watching him begin to fry yet another egg.
"Are you okay?"
"Hn."
She tentatively walked the last two steps until she was beside him. She first looked at the frying pan—seeing yet another fried egg—and then at Itachi.
"Are you using the mangekyo sharingan to fry eggs?" she asked, staring directly into his red eyes.
"They have to be perfect."
Seina glanced sideways at the many plates. Most were practically perfect. She looked sideways again at Itachi, watching him frown deeply at the pan with his eyes still activated, and quietly walked backward out of the kitchen, avoiding the plates of fried eggs scattered across the floor. It was far too early and she wasn't awake enough to deal with whatever was happening in the kitchen. She mentally apologized to Sasuke and went back to her room so someone else would find him and have to deal with him.
"He cooked like 50 fried eggs," Sasuke whispered into her ear three hours later. "I shouldn't have sat at the table. Do you know how hard it is to keep a neutral expression while Itachi is losing his mind in the kitchen? I thought he was going to have an aneurysm from overusing the mangekyo."
"It's your birthday," she shrugged, trying to stifle a laugh. "I'm sure he just wanted to do something nice for you."
Naruto, obviously, hadn't been able to hold in his laughter when he walked into the kitchen and saw Sasuke frozen like a statue on a stool, sitting at the large white marble island while watching Itachi cook in tense silence. There wasn't a single inch of counter space, island surface, or even floor that wasn't covered in "imperfect" plates of eggs, which they later had to give away in the village.
Hours later, they all went out for dinner together, for the first time, to one of the new restaurants in the village. It was a yakiniku place, much larger than the one in Konoha, with a view of the sea. Jiraiya had managed to come back and spend a few days with them, even though it had been months since they had lived with him like before. Now that they were in Uzu, surrounded by stores and ways to sustain themselves, he visited less often since they no longer needed him to buy groceries.
"Who would've thought a year ago that you'd build something like this?" Jiraiya said, flipping a piece of meat on his grill with his chopsticks. "Everyone had written off the Land of Whirlpools."
"And now look!" Naruto exclaimed with a dazzling smile. "Everything's sailing along nicely!"
"You spend too much time at the port, dobe. You're even starting to talk like the sailors."
"Teme…!"
Itachi ignored the argument happening beside him. His cooking fever had passed once he finally made the perfect egg. At this point, he wasn't even sure if he'd fried nearly 70 eggs because he wanted the perfect one for Sasuke or because he had become obsessed with proving to himself that he could fry a perfect egg. Knowing Itachi, it was probably a mix of both. Well, at least some villagers had eaten for free, and the egg merchant had sold more eggs in one day than in an entire week. Just thinking about it, Seina had to bite her tongue to suppress a laugh. Sometimes, Itachi could be extremely ridiculous.
"Here, Sasuke. My gift."
She handed him the envelope with the voucher inside. He raised an eyebrow, slightly amused, in her direction. He nodded, knowing that if she wasn't giving it to him publicly, it was for a reason. Naruto immediately handed over his gift too, scratching his face a bit sheepishly.
"Here, teme."
Seina leaned over to see what her brother had gotten Sasuke. She saw they were new thriller novels—the exact kind Sasuke read in his spare time. Sasuke nodded silently in appreciation, then accepted Itachi's gift. It turned out to be a black yukata with the Uchiha clan symbol. Just by the cut and the quality, Sasuke could tell it was a formal yukata, so he could wear it and represent the clan. Itachi, even though he was the eldest, still wasn't exactly accepted in Konoha. Not yet, anyway. Jiraiya, on the other hand, went for the easy route. He gave Sasuke a voucher for a full day of massages at the new spa in Uzushiogakure. They didn't have an onsen, yet, but it wouldn't be long before someone requested one. It wasn't like they were short on water.
"How do you feel knowing your next birthday will be in Konoha?" Jiraiya asked curiously.
"…Melancholy, but excited."
Seina nodded. She understood his feelings well. After all, she felt the same.