17 You Damn Uchiher

It took about 5 minutes but I eventually found the storage room and shovelled many different supplies into my backpack.

You could say I was taking things without permission, but I see it more as using available facilities.

I heaved the backpack over my shoulder and proceed to walk back the way I came, exiting the building in a stealthy manner once I reached the exit.

[Later]

I was once again back in my room and was currently sitting on the floor with all of my supplies laying on the ground before me.

I sat cross-legged while multiple thoughts rushed through my mind. All thoughts relating to the theory of fuinjutsu.

Fuinjutsu could be separated into two aspects of the same art; sealing/unsealing and sealing formula.

Sealing/unsealing is more or less solely restricted to the concept of sealing things within something and taking them out.

However, sealing formula was more mathematical, or code-like, in nature and was the basis of most, if not all, sealing-related ninjutsu such as the Flying Raijin and the like.

Most of the time sealing formula is used within normal sealing arts-- an example being the seal that kept Kurama restrained within Naruko before.

The sealing formula itself is something like a coding language in the sense that you must identify the effect of certain codes in order to restructure them in an order that will result in a new effect.

Just like coding, there are tons of ways to get the same result but there are ways that the sealing formula could be executed more efficiently.

However, that was irrelevant at the current moment. The main thing I needed to focus on was conceptualizing, designing, creating, drawing, and executing my own fuinjutsu formula/program.

I suppose the most simple thing to begin my studying with would be the basic sealing and unsealing formula.

With that thought in mind, I pulled open a parchment and began writing some of the example seals I studied at the academy, careful only to input a small amount of chakra so that any accident wouldn't be too harmful.

For the remainder of the night, I experimented with numerous different sealing formulas with varying success and failure.

And as the sun finally rose, my still-awake self fell on backwards with a tired sigh, exhaustion evident on my face.

The toll of spending an entire night doing the experimental fuinjutsu was really draining for my chakra supply.

I had stayed up all night practicing this stuff and really needed to take a break.

Thankfully, I checked yesterday, and today, as well as the next two days, are days off before the academy begins a special assignment.

We weren't given much information on what the "special assignment" was, but I intend to fully use these next few days to the fullest.

But, for now, I really need to go to sleep.

Walking over to my bed, I collapsed upon it and quickly fell into a slumber despite the glaring sun.

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[Hokage Tower]

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Within a single fairly secured room that looked quite a bit like a morgue, a group of people stood with expressions of suspicion on their faces.

The group of adults seemed to be gazing upon 10 different benches that each held a tarp which seemed to be covering a body.

"Is the autopsy all done?" A man with a goatee questioned as a nearby Sakura nodded, "And the results?"

"One was electrocuted then suffocated, one's neck was snapped, one was hit with a concussive chakra attack, one was decapitated, one was poisoned then slashed across the jugular, two were pierced through the forehead, one was stabbed through the mandible and skull, and one was torn in half by two spikes."

The group of adults took a moment to process the information before they groaned in irritation.

"The one who suffocated also seemed to have been torn from the inside," Sakura commented as a platinum-haired girl sighed.

"Do we know where they came from at least?" She asked with a frustrated expression, the nearby Shikamaru shaking his head negatively.

"No. They didn't have any headbands on them. Whoever they were, they were careful with making sure we couldn't learn anything," He sighed as the Hatake approached a body and lifted the tarp off of it.

As the rest of the group looked on in confusion, the Hatake narrowed her eyes at the body's mangled throat, nostrils, wide open mouth, and expression of desperate horror.

'Whoever killed this woman managed to clog their respiratory system and somehow get rid of the thing that suffocated her...' The Hatake thought to herself.

'Does Akuto really have the ability to do such a thing...? Or was I really just being a fool?' She wondered with narrowed eyes as a tired sigh escaped her lips.

Meanwhile, a blonde-haired woman stood with a serious expression and a worried look in her eyes.

'They got inside so easily and were able to completely block out my senses...' She thought to herself in shock, "The village isn't secure anymore."

Her words caught the attention of the surrounding people as they all turned to her with inquisitive looks.

"A small fleet of rogue ninja were able to easily bypass the village security and almost kill my son," She spoke seriously, "Not only is the village unsecured, but it would appear that my son is being targeted."

"Targeted? I suppose that could be true, but what's telling us that this wasn't just them going after the nearest isolated person?" Temari inquired as the Hatake responded.

"They were a group of ninja who could easily bypass our security and randomly decided to go after some kid in the forest?" She asked lazily.

Temari's expression shifted into one of surprise, "I guess not..." The Hatake nodded.

"They obviously knew who he was. Not that hard given his blond hair and blue eyes," She commented as Naruko nodded in assurance.

"Correct. They wanted to target Akuto specifically. Not to mention the strange earth casing we found, it would appear that they were trying to capture him, not kill him."

The numerous surrounding folk gained an expression of surprise but after considering it for a moment, nodded in agreeance.

"What do you think we should do then?" Shikamaru asked as Naruko gained a wry expression, "Well, I was hoping to get your input."

Sighing for a moment, Shikamaru delved into his thoughts and began considering the best thing to do at the moment.

"Well, if Akuto is being targetted by some sort of organization, the best thing to do would be to secretly get him out of the village with someone strong to keep him safe and hidden," Shikamaru spoke his thoughts aloud as the surrounding women thought about it.

Naruko's expression was one of intense frustration and worry as she bit her lip and tapped her foot nervously.

This matter concerned the life of her child and she was incredibly nervous about the idea that Shikamaru had cooked up.

'What do you think, Kurama?' She asked the demon fox for its input as it hummed for a brief moment.

'I say let him go,' It commented as Naruko gained a doubtful expression and spoke once more.

'Are you sure? It could be more dangerous outside than in. And wouldn't it be better for him to stay with me?' She told it frantically.

'Calm down, I know you don't want him to leave you but it's the best thing to do,' It said in a nonchalant voice as Naruko groaned slightly, 'How is it the best thing to do?'

'Well, if you get someone trustworthy and strong to take him, it could be a training trip like you and the old toad's training journey,' The fox explained as Naruko sighed lightly.

She stood silently for a few more moments, considering it with an expression of reluctance as she neared the border of agreeing.

'I guess that'd be good. It could be useful for Akuto to learn to fight so that he can protect himself... But who would take him and train him?'

She was beginning to submit to the idea of letting him leave the village for his safety, but still needed a little more convincing.

Luckily enough, Kurama knew a simple solution to her dilemma and expressed the idea.

'Why not ask the Uchiha to help?' The fox's words reached Naruko as she gained a surprised look and finally gave in.

'That's not a bad idea. Of course, if we can even get her to come back to the village...' She thought to herself, 'But still, I guess I can agree to this plan.'

"Alright then, guys, I think we should go with his plan. We need to keep Akuto safe," She told the surrounding people as they all nodded.

"Who do you think should go with him?" A girl with sandy blonde hair, Temari, inquired as Shikamaru shifted further away from the group.

"I was thinking that we get Sayuri to take him with her," Naruko spoke calmly as Shikamaru sighed in relief before his expression shifted into confusion.

"Oh, yeah, it'll be very easy to contact her after years of her being away..." Shikamaru commented with sarcasm in his voice.

Naruko rolled her eyes, "Oh, it's fine. I just need to send out a signal chakra and she'll come within a week or so."

Upon hearing that information, a certain Hatake hummed to herself in consideration before speaking once more.

"I suppose that'll work. We should call her as soon as possible, but keep in mind that the academy is also going on the special assignment in two days," She reminded her as Naruko groaned.

"Oh, right, dammit. What to do..." She muttered nervously as Shikamaru provided a suggestion to her.

"What about we let him go on the assignment and use that as an opportunity for Sayuri to take him out of the village discreetly?" He suggested.

Naruko, upon hearing the suggestion, nodded in relief and clapped in finality, "Alright then, it's settled."

"We call Sayuri to the village, let Akuto go on the academy trip, and then bring him out of the village!" She spoke the instructions as everyone nodded.

As everyone got back to doing their own work around the area and planning for the event, Naruko stood still in thought.

She was nervous about her son's fate, was worried about the danger, and was a bit sad about Akuto leaving her.

All those chaotic thoughts continued to neverendingly bounce around her mind.

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[Unknown Forest]

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Nothing but the crunching of leaves could be heard as a dark shadow dashed through a strange forest with astonishing speed.

An odd aura of blue lightning could be seen surrounding the shadow as it continued forward for a few moments.

But after a few more seconds of travel, the shadow happened upon a cleaner forest area and stopped.

As the shadow came to a stop, the figure of a woman was revealed with her long cloak flapping in the wind.

The woman had a head of shoulder-length black hair, and a pair of pitch-black eyes, seemed to only have one arm, had a slim yet fit body, and held a sword on her hip.

She appeared to have sensed something on herself and was taking out an odd scroll from her pouch.

Staring at it with a mix of curiosity and confusion, the black-haired woman opened the scroll and watched as an orange symbol appeared on it.

"Naruko? Why now?" She muttered with confusion evident on her face as she turned to face the horizon and sighed.

She stood still for a moment to think about a few different things before putting the scroll back in her pouch.

'It should take a week or so to get back from where I am now...' She thought in slight annoyance, 'This better be important.'

With that final thought floating out there, the single-armed woman was once again covered in lightning.

And within barely a second, the woman was dashing through the forest at incredible speeds, burning up any nearby dry leaves.

After a brief moment, the woman had vanished from sight.