Tenten's eyes flicked to the scroll in Naruto's hand, her casual expression sharpening the moment she recognized the inked markings along its edge.
She stepped closer, close enough that Naruto could smell the faint metal-and-oil scent that always clung to weapon users.
"What scroll are you reading?" she asked, already leaning in to look.
Naruto turned it slightly so she could see.
Her eyes widened just a fraction.
"Oh," she said, surprised. "A seal scroll?" She straightened, a confident smile forming. "I can help you with that. I'm sort of an expert."
Naruto blinked, then quickly snapped the scroll shut like someone afraid it might bite him.
"For real?" he said, visibly relieved. "Thanks. I was about to search this whole section for the right book. Maybe you can tell just by looking."
Tenten let out a soft laugh. "If I couldn't, I'd be pretty bad at my job."
They moved to one of the long wooden desks near the back of the library, far from the main walkways. The atmosphere there was quieter—dusty sunlight slanted through tall windows, illuminating shelves packed tight with old knowledge most shinobi never bothered to touch.
Naruto sat down next to her. Taking a pencil he drew the seal from the wallet using his memory.
The moment Tenten saw it properly, her demeanor changed completely.
The playful edge vanished, replaced by sharp focus.
"…Yeah," she murmured. "That's not a beginner seal."
She stood, walked straight to one of the shelves, and didn't even hesitate. Her hand slid between two scrolls, pulling out a thick, dark-blue one marked with warning symbols. She returned and set it beside Naruto's seal.
"This is a layered storage seal," she explained, tapping the diagram inside the scroll. "High-yield containment. Whoever made this didn't want it opened casually."
Naruto swallowed. "Is… is that bad?"
"It means you mess up once," she said calmly, "and it detonates."
His spine stiffened instantly.
"Detonates… like—?"
"Like gone," she said, slicing her hand through the air. "You, the desk, probably half the room if the chakra release spikes."
Naruto didn't laugh this time. He leaned in closer instead, eyes locked onto the diagrams as she spoke.
"See this sequence?" Tenten continued, pointing to a series of interlocking symbols. "You don't pull chakra out first. You guide it sideways, thin and controlled, until the internal pressure settles. Only then do you release the lock."
Naruto nodded slowly, committing every word to memory.
"Rushing this is how people lose hands," she added. "Or worse."
"I won't rush," Naruto said immediately.
And this time, he meant it.
Tenten studied him for a moment, clearly gauging whether that promise was real. Whatever she saw seemed to satisfy her.
"Good," she said.
She reached into her own pouch and pulled out one of her scrolls, unfurling it across the desk. It looked similar in structure, but the ink was lighter, the chakra lines simpler.
"Practice with this one," she said, sliding it toward him. "Same principles, no lethal backlash."
Naruto glanced up. "No explosions?"
She smirked. "Worst case, it fizzles and makes smoke."
"I'll take that."
"Don't force it," she warned. "Feel the seal. Let it respond. Fuinjutsu isn't about overpowering—it's about precision."
Naruto took a steady breath and placed his fingers over the scroll. He closed his eyes briefly, then began channeling chakra exactly the way she'd shown him—slow, thin, controlled.
Tenten watched silently, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
For the first time in a long while, Naruto wasn't charging ahead blindly.
He was learning.
And somewhere between the quiet scratch of paper and the steady flow of chakra, he realized this wasn't just about opening a seal. It was about finally understanding a kind of power he'd never taken the time to respect before.
Naruto inhaled slowly, steadying his breathing the way Tenten had shown him. His fingers hovered over the scroll, chakra gathering at his fingertips in a thin, careful stream.
' Sideways… not out,' he reminded himself.
The chakra flowed. For a brief moment, the seal responded. The inked symbols shimmered faintly—then suddenly twisted.
"Wait—" Tenten started.
The scroll jolted.
POP.
A sharp burst of smoke puffed upward, startling Naruto backward so fast his chair scraped loudly across the floor. The seal went completely dull, the chakra lines snapping inert like a blown fuse.
Naruto coughed, waving the smoke away. "Ah—! That didn't feel right."
Tenten stared at the scroll, then at him.
"…You pushed too much at the final loop," she said after a second. "Not force—intent. You were already thinking about opening it instead of stabilizing it."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah… I kinda jumped the gun."
She didn't scold him. Instead, she pulled the scroll back, smoothing it out and resetting the ink with a small, practiced chakra pulse.
"That's normal," she said. "Most people blow it up on the first try."
Naruto blinked. "Most people?"
She gave him a sideways glance. "You still sitting here, aren't you?"
That earned a quiet laugh from him.
They leaned closer over the desk this time, shoulders nearly touching. Tenten pointed again, slower now, walking him through the sequence with more detail.
"Here," she said softly. "This symbol doesn't like hesitation. But this one hates impatience. Treat it like a lock that listens."
Naruto nodded, eyes tracking exactly where her finger rested on the parchment. He tried again—this time keeping his chakra thinner, steadier.
The seal shimmered again. No smoke. Just a faint hum.
Tenten's eyes lit up slightly. "There. You feel that?"
"Yeah," Naruto murmured. "It's like it's… breathing."
"Good," she said. "That means you're not fighting it."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The library felt unusually quiet, the world reduced to ink, chakra, and shared concentration.
Naruto finally exhaled. "You're really good at this."
She shrugged, though a small smile tugged at her lips. "I've had to be. Weapons don't forgive mistakes."
Naruto glanced at her—not in the loud, exaggerated way he usually did with people, but quietly. Thoughtfully.
"Still," he said. "I'm glad I ran into you."
Tenten looked at him, just briefly. "Yeah… me too."
She handed the practice scroll back to him. "Keep doing this one until you can unseal it clean three times in a row. Then—and only then—you touch the real one."
Naruto grinned. "You gonna check my work?"
"Obviously," she replied. "I'm not letting you blow yourself up."
He chuckled. "Guess I'm in good hands then."
She didn't deny it.
As Naruto returned his focus to the scroll, Tenten stayed seated beside him instead of leaving—watching, correcting, and occasionally nudging him back on track.
And for the first time, Naruto felt like he wasn't just getting stronger. He was getting sharper.
TO BE CONTINUED