Chapter Text
Konoha: Naruto
Naruto enters the main house of the Uchiha compound, not surprised to see Shikamaru already there, poring through some documents and taking notes. “The seal’s ready,” he says, and Shikamaru turns around excitedly. “Are you doing it tonight?,” he asks in response, and Naruto nods. He and Kurama have been waiting years for this, and it’s finally happening. He looks down at his heavily inked arms, covered with storage seals, wards, and utility seals, and sees every discovery that has led up to this moment. The temporary protective wards he had created just a few weeks after arriving in Konoha, capable of guarding several people for minutes at a time. The chakra absorption and redistribution seal that had caused Jiraiya to declare him a true fuuinjutsu master. And within his primary storage seal, a handful of hiraishin kunai, made a year ago after he had mastered the technique. Even on Shikamaru’s arm, he sees a hiraishin seal and one of his storage seals, a ward key hidden deep within the design under the argument of “just in case.” The mantra had gotten him this far.
He knows he is a far greater fuuinjutsu user than he was, but can’t help but feel nervous. He won’t be able to run this technique by Jiraiya before using it, because it will all but free Kurama. And if it’s incorrect, they could both die. “You never had anyone to double check with in Uzushio,” Kurama reminds him, “And you did so much there without the skills you have now.” He goes into a deeper room, which has become his workshop, and opens the scroll he has sketched the design on, and begins. Kurama, as always, is largely silent while Naruto carefully copies the pattern onto sealing paper before calling Shikamaru into the room.
“I need you to put this on me once I take the current seal off. No matter what happens, just immediately put the seal on.” Shikamaru looks intimidated by the responsibility but takes the paper and confirms that he’s ready. He’s learned how to apply a seal perfectly by now, even if he’s not a fuuinjutsu user himself. It ends up being useful around Naruto.
Naruto readies himself, gathering a large amount of chakra to his fingertips, and dispels the seal. The ink vanishes, and for a second Kurama’s full power rushes forward, starting to destroy the flesh it’s inside. Before it can go any farther Shikamaru, struggling not to be blown back by red hot chakra, transfers the seal from paper to skin with steady hands, and the room is peaceful again. But the chakra hasn’t disappeared back into the seal like before. Instead, it’s at the surface with Naruto’s own, and the two immense chakras, Uzumaki blue and Kyuubi red, mix. Naruto can tell he has full access to the chakra, and Kurama must too, judging by the pure glee and relief he’s projecting. Looking down, Naruto sees their body glowing a bright gold from the combined chakra, and makes an effort to suppress it, keeping it all inside so it looks normal again. But the chakra is still there, easily accessible. It’s overwhelming. With barely a thought by him or Kurama, they could destroy this whole building; maybe all of Konoha. He feels Kurama stand up, and while it’s not a feeling he’s felt before, the translation of Kurama’s will into action feels natural. Shikamaru is still standing there looking awed, and Naruto hugs his friend. “Thank you for helping us,” he says, and Kurama adds his own, “Thank you.” Shikamaru smiles and returns the embrace, saying, “I’ll always be there for you.”
Unfortunately the moment is cut short by the compound wards screaming at them. Naruto reopens his senses and feels Jiraiya outside. “He must have sensed my chakra,” Kurama says. Of course he did. They should have planned for this. “I don’t want to let any ANBU see me come out of here, and this is an advantageous place if we have to fight,” Naruto responds, frantically thinking through their options. They’ve managed to keep their access to the Uchiha compound a secret for two years now, and it could be disastrous if they are found out. “Shikamaru, put away the notes in the other room,” he orders, “And I’ll have the wards let him in. You should leave if you don’t want to be seen here.” Shikamaru puts the notes and scrolls away but doesn’t leave, returning to Naruto’s side as the wards begrudgingly allow Jiraiya access to the compound. Naruto flares his chakra, not wanting the Sannin to tear the compound apart searching, and sits down as he feels his teacher hurry towards them.
Jiraiya slams the house door open, looking relieved and concerned when he sees Naruto. “What happened?,” he asks, and Naruto knows that deflections will not be enough. He releases his and Kurama’s chakra, allowing it to form a golden cloak around him again before lifting his shirt to allow Jiraiya to see the seal. “It’s okay,” he says, wanting to reassure his teacher, “The seal is stable and we’re in control.” Jiraiya will know immediately what he's done, so there’s no use lying, and honestly Naruto doesn’t want to. It comes down to whether Jiraiya trusts him and Kurama. There is no obviously immediate reaction from Jiraiya, and the man just says, “I need to sit down,” looking tired, and Shikamaru rushes to offer him a seat. “You two have always just wanted to be free, haven’t you?,” Jiraiya says quietly, “There’s nothing I could’ve done to make you want to stay.” Naruto and Kurama are silent, not knowing what they could possibly say. They had expected anger, but instead there’s a calm, if sad, acceptance. But Jiraiya continues, and the reason for his tired expression and projected apathy becomes clear as he blurts out, “The Hokage is dead.”
Konoha: Shikamaru
Shikamaru’s jaw drops when he hears Jiraiya speak those fateful words: the Hokage is dead. It means so much and so little at the same time. This changes everything, but who knows how those changes will occur. He’s in shock, and sees a similar expression on Naruto’s face, but the Sannin continues, “I was coming to tell you when I felt the chakra. I’ve turned down the position, and need to go find my former teammate, Tsunade. She’s the only suitable candidate. I want you to come with me to find her.” The Sannin Tsunade. The new Hokage. “Can I come?,” Shikamaru blurts out, immediately embarrassed but sincere in his desire to meet the new Hokage. Someone who might change things. “Well there’s not much regulation right now with no Hokage,” Jiraiya responds, “The only thing the council insisted on is that Tenzou comes if Naruto does.” That’s unsurprising. Ever since Itachi fled the village, Tenzou had been freed from his ANBU duties to watch Naruto. He'd become a constant, if somewhat annoying, presence in their lives. Jiraiya continues, “Now I’d like to speak to Naruto alone if you could go.” Naruto nods and Shikamaru leaves for his clan training grounds. He’s close to mastering the Shadow Sewing Technique, and he’d love to get it down before they leave.
Konoha: Kurama
Jiraiya sits there silently for a moment longer after Shikamaru leaves before saying, “Could you… turn that off,” gesturing at Kurama and Naruto. They glance down, realize they’re still glowing with chakra, and both rush to deactivate the state, resulting in them suppressing the chakra too much and then having to fix that. They’ll have to work on their coordination. “I know you didn’t have the best experiences with him,” Jiraiya begins, “And frankly I’ve had mixed feelings these past years, but the Sandaime was my Sensei. He taught me to love this village like he did, and I taught your father that. I had hoped that maybe you were starting too as well. But when I told you the Hokage was dead all I saw in your eyes was relief. And I realized that it’s still all about getting out of here for you.” Kurama is surprised that Jiraiya would be so naive as to be hurt by this, but Naruto responds, “There are people that I care about here, Shishou. You and Shikamaru and Iruka-sensei… But no, I don’t think I can truly care for Konoha. Maybe in another lifetime I would. But this isn’t my home and every decision Konoha has made that’s affected me and Kurama has been based on fear and hatred. Sealing Kurama in the first place. Treating me the way I did. Killing the Uchihas and then chasing after Sasuke. Using Itachi to control us. I can’t be loyal to a place that treats people like that, just because they’re scared. Think about it. There’s probably people in Konoha who would want to imprison you as well because of your power. Just because they’re scared.” Naruto seems like he’s going to continue, but Jiraiya is already shaking slightly, and Kurama says gently, “Enough, kit. He gets it.” After a moment, Jiraiya stands up and says, “We’re going to leave tomorrow to find Tsunade. Bring your Nara friend if you want.” He leaves. Naruto looks very small all of a sudden and asks quietly, “Was he mad at me?” Kurama thinks about what to say, “I don’t think so. He’s grieving his teacher and having this realization about you all at once. He feels like he’s failed to pass on what the Sandaime taught him. And he’s probably worried about me and the new seal too, even if he didn’t focus on it. But I don’t think he’s mad.” Kurama sighs, just sitting there with Naruto. They had both been so happy about their new freedom and then Jiraiya had come in and made Naruto upset. This is the effect Konoha has on them. They need to get out of here.
Uzushio: Kakashi
Kakashi teleports himself with Kamui, dodging the black fire coming from Sasuke. He makes hand signs and Sasuke mirrors him, their eyes locked. “Chidori!,” they yell in synch and Kakashi’s ball of lightning collides with the stream of chakra from Sasuke’s sword. They break apart, ending the jutsu. After a few more minutes of sparring they call an end to it and start walking back to the house. Kakashi deactivates one of his Sharingan. The other he can’t, since Naruto’s seal only allows him to deactivate one eye. Fortunately the chakra drain isn’t too bad. “Tomorrow,” Sasuke says as they walk, looking at him with a tentative smile. Kakashi nods, thinking about the implications. Tomorrow they’re going to leave Uzushio again and try to recover Naruto and Kurama. There’s an urge within him to put it off, to prepare further, but he knows that if they wait any longer they’ll keep delaying forever. They're certainly strong enough to defeat Itachi at this point. As for the rest of Konoha, hopefully their Eternal Mangekyou will be enough. They had been holding back while sparring today, trying to preserve energy, and yet the level of fighting is something Kakashi couldn’t have imagined he’d ever reach just a few years ago. They’re as ready as they can be. Kakashi looks back at Sasuke. He’s grown so much these past two years, and Kakashi's so proud of him. And now the wait is nearly over. In a few days, if all goes well, they’ll be with Naruto and Kurama again.