Fuuinjutsu lessons with Kitsune
It´s been eight hours. Eight hours where they have been travelling non-stop, walking through the woods. Naruto could see some of them already lose their stamina. The weather was hot and dry, not as bad as in Suna, but still warmer than usual for Konoha, and the shadows thrown by the huge trees all around them could only help for so long. Not to mention that some were starting to get hungry and thirsty. He was suspecting a break in near time, where they would set up camp, since the next village was still too far away.
Well, not that Naruto minded at all, really. He´d gone longer without nutrition, water or sleep, while he had constantly been fighting. Since he was not only an Uzumaki, but also a Jinchuuriki, he had some ungodly stamina that only became worse – for his opponents, but better for him – with the necessary training. Although, if he were being honest, even amongst Jinchuuriki, he was a special type of stamina and chakra monster. Likely because at one point, Naruto and Kurama had merged their souls at least enough to stop Kurama from being ripped out.
Naruto wouldn´t have survived another extraction and he wasn´t going to lose Kurama to that absolute madman and madwoman of a goddess.
He´d give it to them, though. None of the Uchiha or the Samurai, both armed with heavy swords and thick armor, were showing all too much of their exhaustion. Had Naruto not felt it in their chakra, being a sensor and all that, he might have not noticed.
He hid a small wry smile when Izuna behind him reached up with the sleeve of his clothes, absently wiping the beads of sweat that had formed from the heat away from his forehead. Naruto was doing incredible, really. He´d learned how to deal with the desert heat, how could he not when Gaara had been one of his best friends, so this was nothing really.
Naruto sighed and let himself fall back into an easy step, tugging at his chakra here and there.
Nothing had been on his radar ever since they started their journey. Nothing that was a threat to them anyways. This part of the forest was strangely bare. Safe for that one group of shinobi – Inuzuka, judging by the clan marks on their face and crests on their armor – that passed them over the trees. Not directly, Naruto would have said something, but near enough to hear one of their hounds howl and some shinobi talking to one another.
That might have only been him, though, Naruto can´t be sure. After all, unlike the Uchiha´s eyes that were incredibly advanced, their hearing wasn´t. Not like his.
Izuna and his group had settled down as well. He was only receiving glances here and there, but other than the absolute necessary conversation, the Uchiha hadn´t asked any more about himself after he had put the mask back into its place.
He didn´t mind. Naruto hadn´t shown them his complete face yet, so he saw no problem. He had been, quite honestly, a little surprised with himself. Pulling off the face mask was something he did on simple impulse. Flashing his canines like his summons had thought them.
It was a playful banter for Naruto, but when he´d felt the nervousness and wariness settle in the Uchiha next to him, he´d knocked it down a few notches and put it back in place, shifting back to his carefree and open attitude. It remained quiet and simple after that, and surprisingly, there wasn´t much tension. The spark of killing intent he´d felt from Rasa and Hikaku, in response then also by Kasumi who stepped aside to see what was going on, was gone just as quickly when Izuna had signalized them to stand down.
It was fine.
Naruto let his mind wander to his mindscape. Should anything be happening, he would be aware, but it was easier to just tune out at the moment, since nothing interesting was happening anyway.
Aside from the fact why Naruto had started pulling at his chakra every now and then.
Kurama.
His chakra was getting more potent by the day and Naruto could feel the familiar warmth flood back into the coils. Judging by not only that, but also the much more healthy looking state Kurama looked to be in when Naruto arrived in his mindscape, his friend was likely to be up and about within the next week, maybe even five days.
A soft smile graced his lips and he walked towards the large cave were Kurama´s presence was stronger than after his arrival. Two of the nine fluffy tails were poking out of the cave and Naruto didn´t hesitate as he walked towards them and let himself slump down. The soft fur put together with the calming rhythm of Kurama´s breathing – purring – allowed him to close his eyes comfortably and let himself relax.
“Hey, old friend,” he spoke, knowing he wouldn´t get an answer, despite the fact that that stung deep in his chest. Hoping to ease that pain, he snuggled further inside. Were Kurama awake, he might have just flicked him away for that, Naruto thought with sad look in his face, nostalgic memories of the grump and him spending time together filling his mind.
“Things are getting stressful, you know?” Naruto muttered. “Kakashi-sensei´s ancestors are nice. Well, most of them. I think that Senjuro guy was trying to bite my head off at one point.” A chuckle escaped him, but it faded just as quickly.
“The Uchiha are weird. Not bad… but weird. Especially Izuna. You know, the longer I´m around him, the more I realize that the two are very different people. Izuna and Sasuke I mean. Sure, they have a similar face and hairstyle, but their personalities are much more different. Izuna actually reminds me a little bit of Sakura. A pretty smile and polite with strangers, but he has some temper and audacity, alright. Then again,” he huffed out a laugh, “Sakura was wilder and more brutally honest. Izuna is cunning.”
The silence was defeating and Naruto only let out a heavy sigh, sinking further into fur.
This wouldn´t do. He missed Kurama.
But not much longer, he told himself. Kurama wouldn´t take much longer to wake up. After all, as much as he liked to complain about Uzumaki being stubborn bastards, Kurama seemed to have learned at least a thing or two in that aspect from being sealed in three different Uzumaki and one Namikaze martyr. If anything, Kurama was just as stubborn and bullheaded as his partner.
It wasn´t fine now, but it would be, Naruto would make sure of it.
.
Naruto groaned when he felt someone talk to him as he was still dozing off in his mindscape. Answering was a natural response, so he supposed no one noticed that he was still hazy or with his head in his own mind, yet he forced himself to get up from the comfortable fur and leave in order to participate in the life of the conscious people again.
With a slow blink, Naruto was left looking at the people swarming around him.
People were starting to settle all around him. There was no camp being set up, only a small break for those who might need it. Both carriages had been set down, but neither the daimyo nor his daughter had left to step outside, preferring to stay even more shadowed and cool. The samurai were stationed around them, while the first Uchiha squad rejoined with the second, so that all eight of them sat together in the shadows of the trees, sharing their rations and chatting with one another. A few of them kept their eyes open, guarding and staying alert, but the rest rested, probably preparing for when they took turns.
Naruto could feel the eyes of some of the Uchiha who haven´t gotten to meet him yet on him, but he paid no attention. Instead, with a few confident strides, Naruto found himself in front of the group. The chatter ceased with his arrival and he found himself with seven and a half pairs of eyes on him – Rasa was only blinking in a haze, one eye opened just enough to see Koru. The other was still closed as he had been dozing.
Searching for Izuna, he held the man´s gaze once he met it, titling his head to the side.
“Yes?” Izuna prompted, raising a sleek eyebrow in question.
Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets and let his eyes look around for a second before turning back to the Uchiha clan heir.
“How long are we resting? There´s something I need to check,” he asked, question blunt and seeing no need to provide any more information unless asked for. Izuna, as expected, did not disappoint.
“What? Did you sense something off?” There was an underlying tone of worry and concern in his voice, but before he could get the wrong idea Naruto quickly raised a hand to cut him off.
Big mistake.
Most of the Uchiha who hadn´t seen him, namely the squad that had been guarding the daimyo´s daughter, and Kasumi, decided to be offended on the clan heir´s behalf. Their chakra surged and twisted, one shinobi even snarled and leaned forward as if to start a confrontation, but was held back by Hikaku, who, for his part, only looked amused, if not very smug. The casual relationship between him and Izuna that entailed Hikaku being teasing with the clan heir and the fact that he knew Kitsune was just like that and didn´t mean to be rude was what stopped him from intervening or taking offense.
Naruto only sighed and scratched the back of his neck. Seriously. One couldn´t be too careful. Each clan he´s met so far had treated him like a ticking time bomb, and while Naruto knew what to expect, it was still slightly annoying.
“Nothing of the sorts. If there was, I would have told you. I was just planning on looking around a little. Also, depending on how long we´re here, I´ll set up some seals.”
“Seals?”
That once again had Hikaku´s attention snatched and the young adult looked up with a curious gleam in his eyes. Naruto had the sinking feeling that he should probably not let Tobirama and Hikaku alone when it was about seals. Uchiha were known to be pyromaniacs. Uchiha who were well versed in seals however…
Well, let´s just say that Tobirama had a lot to tell about Kagami, his brightest student with a shit ton of talent for seals, despite being Uchiha. Tobirama made sure to restrict Kagami´s experiments to whenever he was around and ready to distinguish whatever fire Kagami caused with his own suuiton jutsu.
“A fire tornado, he said. It would be amazing, Tobirama-sensei, he said. Then that brat proceeded to blow up half of the Akimichi compound. Had it not been for Torifu calming down his father, Kagami would have experienced what an Akimichi hungry for blood would have looked like. I have always told him that there had been a reason Konoha accepted the Akimichi clan so readily. But no, Kagami was a special brand of reckless that always required him to try things out before thinking about the consequences.
Hell, he didn´t even really think about the consequences after what he´d done if it wasn´t anything that came to harm his teammates. A genius, a martyr and a pyromaniac. What a ridiculous combination.”
Yes, Naruto thought as he watched the spark in Hikaku´s eyes, he understood what Tobirama meant now. He wasn´t sure if there was a direct relation between the two, but those were definitely the kind of Uchiha he needed to watch out for.
None of that was visible to the Uchiha in front of him though, since the mask kept his small grimace from being detected.
“Yes, seals. Depending on how long we´re resting, I was planning to set up some barriers that would keep us from being detected and approached. Nothing too dramatic, since it´s only a short amount of time. So, how long?” The blonde explained, waiting for Izuna to answer.
Surprisingly it was Rasa who spoke up, “From what I´ve heard, an hour. Two at the most.”
Naruto gave a short nod. “Alright, that will do. Thank you.”
Rasa gave him a short nod back, but didn´t comment any further, instead letting his eyes slip closed once again. Izuna was regarding him with a contemplating look, but shrugged it off in the end, leaving only some of the Uchiha – not all of them, some had gone back to silently eating their share – still staring at him as he turned to leave.
Naruto only hesitated for a split second when he could feel Hikaku´s chakra spike multiple times with something that felt vaguely like disappointment and hesitance, almost something yearning.
A heavy sigh escaped him and he tilted his head back to see a hopeful spark in the young Uchiha´s eyes. The curiosity was clear as day to Naruto, even without sensing Hikaku´s emotions. Contemplating the worst possible outcome, Naruto´s mind raced with what he should do. It was possibly reckless and could very well backfire, but it could also lead to some bonding and heighten the chances of having a closer relationship with the clan in general.
Then he paused, slightly dumbfounded.
Since when had he cared about a reckless plan? If this worked, it worked, if it didn´t – well, Naruto was pretty good with damage control and during their journey this would surely not be the only opportunity for him.
“Uchiha-san,” he called out, gaining the attention of multiple people, but made sure to keep his gaze on Hikaku so that they knew who he meant.
“You´re interested in seals, aren´t you? This is the second time you´ve asked me about mine.”
There was a small pause were their eyes went to Hikaku, but Hikaku held his gaze instead. There was no fear, no wariness, only slight hesitance that was mostly overshadowed by the dangerous twinkle in his eyes that practically screamed trouble.
“I am,” the young adult answered evenly, earning himself a slight hiss from his comrade, telling him not to engage with Kitsune. The hand on his shoulder was impatiently swatted away without second thought, since his eyes were still pinned in a staring contest with Naruto. Naruto for his part could feel Hikaku´s resolve slightly wavering, could feel how his eyes threatened to flicker away as to not hold his gaze any longer, but he held strong.
“Would you like to help me with the barriers then? I can show you how they work. If you´re interested in more seals and if we have the time, I can answer any questions regarding fuuinjutsu you might have.”
Deciding to take this entire thing another notch up, Naruto stepped back to the group, Hikaku specifically, and held out a hand for the Uchiha to take. The two closest to Hikaku were tensing, about to position themselves in front of him, but Hikaku hesitantly reached his own hand out, not quite taking Naruto´s yet. It made the other two pause and look at him with incredulous looks in their faces, but Naruto remained, giving him enough time to decide.
It was Izuna who broke the tension. He´d shifted from his position on the floor and was looking at Hikaku sternly. There was a silent message in his gaze, one that Naruto couldn´t quite figure out.
“Hikaku.” Was all he said and the cousin turned to look, mirroring the frown on Izuna´s gaze. They held their gazes for a few more incredibly tense seconds, before Hikaku finally let out a defeated sigh and waved Izuna off. Naruto thought that Hikaku had decided against it, but suddenly he noticed the small smile on the Uchiha´s face.
Hikaku took his outstretched hand, much to the surprise of all the others, and Naruto wasted no time helping him up, hoisting him up so that they both stood. Those who had tried to intervene before were about to stand up as well, or at least try to talk Hikaku out of whatever he was doing, but once their clan heir raised a hand, they begrudgingly sat back down.
Naruto tilted his head, curious to what exactly that exchange was, but focused back on Hikaku. The young adult was smiling at him politely with a hint of mischief.
“I´m looking forward to it, Kitsune.”
.
“Alright, we´ll set up some simple barriers that are mostly meant to hide us.” Naruto started, walking towards one of the rather larger trees that were towering over the rest. A perfect point to put the seal on.
Hikaku was behind him, carefully watching what he was doing. So far the confusion in the brunette was clearly confused. Naruto had seemingly nothing on him. No ink, no sealing paper, no brush. Hikaku had seen someone do a seal with blood before, but somehow he doubted a simple barrier seal would require that.
The Uchiha frowned. “Hide? Barriers are usually for protection, are they not?”
A confirming nod was his response. “Usually they are, but this is a little bit of a different seal.” He paused and looked back to see Hikaku intently listening, before smirking a little bit. “Say, Uchiha-san –“
“Hikaku,” said man interrupted, startling Naruto with the prompt response. He blinked in surprise, since he hadn´t thought that anyone would have given their name so willingly. Hikaku however, apparently feeling the surprise, or at least guessing it from his lack of reaction, just shrugged, “You´ll get confused with all of us around like that. Hikaku is fine.”
Taking a moment to appreciate it, Naruto smiled and nodded. “Hikaku-san it is then. You´re good with genjutsu, right?”
The absolute deadpan look he received in response made him sweat-drop and sheepishly rub the back of his neck. “Right. Nevermind. Well, as you can see here,” he rolled up his sleeve and channeled some chakra into the storage seal on his arm. Promptly, it lit up and an already prepared barrier seal popped out of it, startling Hikaku. His eyes lingered on Naruto´s arm in surprise, specifically on the seal, but Naruto wouldn´t let him stay on that for too long. Instead, he took the seal that popped out of his storage seal and held it towards Hikaku.
“This seal is supposed to be a barrier seal and has the basic components of one. However, right there,” he pointed to a small sigil in the top left corner of the sealing array, “is a genjutsu component.”
Only hesitant for a few moments, Hikaku took the seal out of Naruto´s hands and took a closer look. His eyes squinted at what he was reading, but the absolute confusion in his chakra told him that what he was seeing were likely only senseless scribbles.
Naruto sighed, getting the attention of Hikaku who promptly looked up. Then, much to the brunette´s surprise, the blonde tapped his own eyes, or rather his mask, where his eyes were supposed to be. “Activate them. I´m sure it´s easier for you to take in that way.”
Startled, Hikaku´s eyes widened, but it didn´t take much more prompting before the deep dark color of his eyes swirled to a glowing red, making the sharingan come to life. Naruto marveled a little at the sight. The only sharingan users he´d seen so far had tried to kill him at least twice. Seeing it activate so comfortably, almost naturally, was beautiful.
The black of Hikaku´s eyes had lessened, forming itself into three tomoe of the sharingan. The eyes were quickly focused back on the paper in his hands and Naruto once again pointed to the genjutsu component in the corner.
Hikaku hummed quietly. “I can recognize the basic structure of a barrier, but the rest? Frankly, this makes absolutely zero sense,” he deadpanned dryly, making Naruto chuckle. That´s what he had thought about seals the first time around as well.
Now though? Now seals were his specialty.
“I´m not surprised. Genjutsu components aren´t used in seals. Not often, that is.”
“Why use on in a barrier seal? What does it do?” Naruto couldn´t describe how relieved he was that Hikaku was even remotely relaxed around him and not trying to hover like he was prone to attack him in any moment. The young adult didn´t hesitate to ask question when he had them so far, which made this entire thing much easier.
“It´s a diversion,” he answered, making Hikaku look up. The sharingan was still glowing, but Naruto didn´t hesitate to meet his eyes evenly, making Hikaku startle ever so slightly. The corners of Naruto´s eyes crinkled a little at that. He didn´t worry much about their eyes. Sasuke´s had been stronger. Madara´s had been stronger. Obito´s as well. A three tomoe sharingan hardly intimidated him, and since Naruto was one to keep eye contact with people often, because that was the easiest way to convey his feeling and their intensity, he wouldn´t hesitate now.
( It was also the reason why Naruto was a shit liar. He could keep secrets and dance around questions just fine, but outright lying? If it wasn´t anything else, lack eye contact always gave it away. )
“This seal is meant to make people outside of the barrier think that there is nothing inside the barrier in the first place. It´s like a large scale genjutsu placed over the area you choose, but instead of having to keep a steady influx of chakra and exhausting yourself, you only activate the seal once and deactivate it once you´re done. It´s perfect for hiding a camping place when you´re not able to keep alert enough for whatever reason. An extra layer of protection hidden as a diversion. One of the more simple types.”
Naruto patiently explained the workings of the seal, not noticing how Hikaku was gradually looking at him with more and more surprise, awe and slight mirth. Only when he looked up to the see smirk on Hikaku´s face, did his explanation stutter to a halt.
“What?”
Hikaku shook his head, letting out a disbelieved but also amused puff of air. “A large scale genjutsu held together by nothing but ink and paper, and you´re claiming into to be one of the simpler types of genjutsu barriers. That sort of thing is incredible, really, but I think you´ve lost me at the steady influx of chakra.” He admitted, sort of sheepish, and grimaced when Naruto snorted.
“It´s really nothing complicated once you get the hang of it, but I´ll explain it a little differently. What did you not understand?”
Hikaku stayed silent for a few moments and took his time to look at Naruto, seemingly looking for any signs of him not being genuine, but a small smile was on his face as soon as he confirmed Naruto´s sincerity. His chakra surged in gratefulness and Naruto also relaxed, leaning a little closer to see what the problem was.
Frowning, Hikaku pointed at the genjutsu component Naruto had pointed out beforehand. “I get that this part is responsible for the illusion, but how? To cast genjutsu, one needs excellent chakra control. How does the seal compensate for it?”
Naruto perked up happily, glad to know he would be able to explain that one. He carefully pried the seal out of Hikaku´s hand and walked towards the tree. Hikaku followed suit.
“That´s easy. I can demonstrate and show you while I set up the barrier, alright?” When the other nodded, Naruto stuck the seal to the trunk and started channeling chakra into it. Once there was a chakra flow, the ink on the seal started to glow in a gentle red, making Hikaku twitch for a second. When there was no violent reaction however, he settled back down again.
“I want you to carefully look at this with your sharingan and see if you can follow the inflow of chakra as well as the process. Alright?”
Once again, Hikaku nodded, but not before casting a glance in Naruto´s direction with a raised brow, surprised at the fact that he was voluntarily asking him to use the sharingan. Most were uncomfortable, if not downright terrified of their doujutsu. For Hikaku, it seemed like Kitsune was indifferent to it all.
Which he sort of was, really.
As Hikaku focused, Naruto started to explain. “As you´ve said, casting a genjutsu is hard without the proper chakra control. Personally, I have horrible chakra control, so I wanted a way around that,” he heard Hikaku snort lightly and rolled his eyes, playing into the brunette´s amusement.
“Anyways, keeping up a genjutsu is hard. So, I was trying to look for a way a seal can compensate that. To activate it, you only need to pour the right amount of the seal into it once and the genjutsu and balance component in the sealing array keeps it steady. This is the first dimension.”
That was where Hikaku interrupted him, voice confused and eyebrows furrowed, even as he was still looking at the seal.
“Dimension?”
“Correct,” Naruto confirmed, “Dimension. You could call it layers too if it throws you off too much otherwise. But simplified, dimensions are the different layers stacked over one another in a rather advanced seal. Regular barriers don´t have that, since their purpose is simple, but since this has another purpose, another layer to it, one has to add a second dimension.”
By now, Naruto could sense that two others signatures had joined them, but stayed further hidden. One of them was Izuna, and the other one was the man that had almost practically snarled at him when he reached for Hikaku back then. Since they apparently weren´t planning on joining them, only listening in, Naruto ignored them.
“Why not put it all in one dimension? Why make it unnecessarily complicated?”
Naruto shook his head. “It´s necessary. Technically, you could put it all in one dimension, but having a genjutsu and a protective component right next to one another in one layer is throwing things off. There´s a high possibility of the seal simply blowing up in your face and possibly blowing a limb off.”
Hikaku startled at that and his gaze snapped to Naruto with a vaguely horrified look on his face. “Seriously?”
Naruto only shrugged, hiding the wince at the memory of his arm almost being thrown off the first time he and Obito had tried the seal. “I´m speaking out of experience, trust me on that one.”
The blonde didn´t miss the way Hikaku took a small step back from the seal after that.
“Now,” Naruto removed his hand, stopping the chakra from flowing in further, “Once the seal is charged, the first dimension starts to balance everything out. The components balance everything so that the seal doesn´t overload itself and then starts to filter the rest out. Despite it being a large scale genjutsu, it doesn´t require a lot of chakra. The rest is therefore being sent –“
“Into the second dimension.” Hikaku finished his sentence, eyes once again fixated and pinning it with the sharingan.
Naruto grinned. “Exactly. Good. Now we´re in the second dimension.”
Hikaku hummed in understanding and Naruto gave him a second to think about the process himself, and Hikaku did not disappoint. The Uchiha turned to look at Naruto with a gleam in his eyes. His chakra swirled in hesitance but reluctant confidence in his answer as well.
“The second dimension is the barrier then? The one I recognized?”
A bright laugh escaped him. “Exactly! You´re getting the hang of it!”
Hikaku smirked at the praise, but judging by the happy swirls in his chakra, Naruto was sure that he was a little flustered by his easygoing praise as well. He can imagine that most people during this time aren´t really praised for something. Skill is expected if you want to survive, after all, which might not mean that accomplishments are treated coldly or nonchalantly, but Naruto was simply warmer. It was more familiar and nicer.
Naruto stepped closer to Hikaku and put a hand on his shoulder, pointing at the seal with the other one to show where Hikaku should focus his attention. The chakra of their two onlookers spiked, but when Hikaku didn´t outright push him away, Naruto kept his light grip on him. It was easy enough for Hikaku to get out of it if he wished, not wanting to crowd him too much but also trying to ease the atmosphere.
“Now, as much as seals might look like senseless scribbles at first, there is an actual system to them. The further inside the components are, the deeper is the dimension. That´s why you will find the protective components in the second dimension right in the middle, and the genjutsu and balancing component further outside in the first dimension.”
“Does that mean that the seal works itself from the outside to the inside? I would have thought it was the other way around,” Hikaku mused.
Naruto just shrugged. “It does. Technically, switching it could work, but then I´d have to rebalance the seal. I would have to make sure that the barrier doesn´t suck in too much or too little of the chakra before the filtered rest goes to the genjutsu. It´s easier to estimate the amount I need to pour in directly than adding what I think the barrier needs to function properly. I might have to add a third dimension between the first and second one to make sure it the genjutsu stays stable… huh. Well, doesn´t matter now.” Naruto quickly waved it off when Hikaku started to listen to his rambling and pin him with the most deadpan look eh had mustered up until now.
Seems like Hikaku was particularly good at that look. Naruto had a sinking feeling in his gut that he would find himself on the other end of it quite often in the future.
“In the end, the barriers sets this entire place under a genjutsu, like it´s hidden by a blanket. No one is able to actually see, hear or sense us right now.”
There were stunned sparks of chakra from behind him, and even Hikaku was looking at him with hidden awe. His features were relatively controlled though.
The awe switched with curiosity once more and Hikaku threw Naruto a sideways glance, slightly dubious. “You said this was a simpler version of the seal? What would be the advanced one then?”
“Well,” Naruto scratched the back of his neck, “this one really just lays a layer over us, like camouflage. It´s genjutsu, but rather simple. There´s another barrier that´s a little more complicated. Naturally, it has more dimensions – or layers, whatever you want to call it – and takes a little more chakra. That seal would specify exactly what someone sees instead of just hiding what´s in the barrier.”
Sensing that his explanation didn´t make much sense, and also judging by the confused furrowing of the brunette´s eyebrows, he sighed.
“Imagine you and your friend are simply talking, right?” Hikaku nodded for Naruto to continue, “Alright, so now imagine you take that advanced genjutsu barrier and place it around you. Instead of hiding you and your friend talking inside of it, to outsider it looks like you´re having a spar. It´s a more offensive genjutsu, twisting the senses of the onlooker more drastically than before.”
Hikaku was staring at him slack-jawed now, having better understood. “That´s – That´s incredible! And you only need to channel a little chakra into that seal?”
He nodded. “It works just like this one,” he jerked his head in the direction of the seal that was still sticking to the trunk, “it just has another layer. The dimension where you describe what you want the onlooker to see.”
“And you came up with that by yourself?”
“Not entirely, but mostly. A… friend of mine who was good with genjutsu helped me,” Naruto admitted.
Naruto could exactly remember when they had come up with that seal. It had been a joint effort between him, Sakura, Sasuke and Obito. Sasuke and Sakura had been great with genjutsu, even if neither used them all that much, and Obito and Naruto put their sealing knowledge together to create it. Obito had, after all, learned a thing or two from Madara, who in return learned from Zetsu.
The four of them had agreed to let Obito, Naruto and Sakura do the testing, since they were the ones who could regrow their own limbs in case of accidents, much to Sasuke´s annoyance. He´d spent half an hour cursing out Naruto and his freakish Jinchuuriki abilities as well as Obito´s mokuton. Sakura had been spared, since her ability to regenerate herself came with practice, and Sasuke could respect that.
In the end, they got it to work, but Naruto did have to regenerate one of his fingers that had been charred from an explosion after he´d sent way too much chakra into the seal.
He´d gotten a throughout scolding from Sakura and an impromptu lesson on chakra control and restraint after that, with which Naruto argued that most of his techniques were goddamn chakra heavy anyways.
Naturally, Sakura won that agreement. Partially through violence.
“Kitsune?” Hikaku´s vaguely concerned voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he startled back into reality, ripped out of his memories.
“Right. I apologize,” he tried to regain his composure, clearing his throat, “I was… lost in thought.”
There was a thick silence between them, before Hikaku deactivated his sharingan with a deep sigh. “Don´t be. It happens.”
Naruto appreciated the way his chakra stilled in a calming way, as well as how his voice took a slightly comforting tone. They were strangers, barely comrades, and yet Hikaku had been understanding when Naruto had shown his vulnerability for a second.
Maybe it was because of that that Hikaku understood. Naruto knew that being vulnerable was not a bad thing, no matter how much shinobi especially liked to pretend that it was. Being vulnerable and honest was what made it possible to be honest with one another and start to form bonds. Naruto had never shied away from showing what he truly thought, at least in his teenage years.
Naruto quickly shook his head to get rid of the thoughts before he clapped his hands together, startling Hikaku. “Right! I´m not one to brood for too long, so let´s continue! Did you have any other questions?”
There was a pause between them where Hikaku was seemingly incredulous at the quick change of mood, but he took it in stride and brushed it off with an amused chuckle. “Actually, yes. That seal on your arm, what was that?”
The blonde perked up. “Ah, my storage seal?”
Hikaku raised a brow. “Directly on your arm?”
Naruto smirked, pulling up his sleeve and channeling chakra into the seal to bring it to light. The thick black lines appeared on his even skin like a tattoo and his grin widened.
“Let me explain how those work then…”