By the time they turned 10, Naruto had also developed something of a relationship with the yang Kurama, managed to reproduce the runes on his own, and even learned to make some medical potions. Seina, who had been studying the scrolls from the now fully copied library on her own, learned not only D-rank jutsus but also some C-rank techniques and medical protocols, which she insisted Naruto learn with her.
Fortunately for Naruto, the occlumency barriers he worked on every night had exponentially helped him control his chakra, and now he could perform techniques much faster than before. As for money, they had managed to save about 100,000 ryo in their joint piggy bank, and separately, Seina had saved 48,000 ryo while Naruto, who took longer to learn how to manage his expenses, had only saved about 15,000 ryo.
"If we could save another 50,000 in a couple of years, we could buy one of the houses on the outskirts," Seina had said to her brother. "I've been looking at the real estate in the suburbs, and for 180,000 ryo, we could buy a one-story house with a couple of bedrooms and a small garden, ready to move in."
Naruto nodded.
"Anyway, we won't be able to buy any property until we're genin. Do you think we'll save that money?"
"If we do missions three times a week, we would earn about 18,000 ryo gross per month. In a couple of months, we could save what's left and recover a bit."
"Do you really think the old man will kick us out of here?" Naruto thought sadly, looking around.
"Naruto, do you really want to share a room with me for the rest of your life?" she rolled her eyes. "We both need our own space, and it wouldn't be bad to have a garden to grow what's needed for our potions or to train. Besides, if we buy a house for the two of us, I can protect it properly, and no one would be able to find out our address to attack or spy on us. If I did the same with an apartment, people would wonder why a certain apartment doesn't exist."
"You'd use that spell you told me about... the Fidelus."
"Exactly. If I do it, we'd never have to worry about security. Only I can be the Secret Keeper, and I don't plan to tell anyone where we live. Besides, once we're genin, the Hokage will likely stop sending his Anbu to protect us. We're getting fewer visits now, you know? It used to be daily, and now we barely get a visit once a month."
"Yeah… and with those other weird Anbu spying on us, maybe it's for the best."
"Also, we don't need a huge house," she said with a smile. "All I need is the base of the house and a piece of garden. Then I can enlarge the house and garden to our liking and we could add rooms or even another floor."
"It wouldn't be bad to have a pool!" Naruto exclaimed, forgetting his melancholy as he realized the possibilities.
Seina took out her muggle notebook, transformed from a stone, and made a list.
"We'll need 2 bedrooms, 2 studies, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen-dining room, a living room, a pantry-storage room, a library, a pool, the garden, maybe a greenhouse and a vegetable patch."
"We could have a guest room," Naruto requested, and she rolled her eyes. "I know it will be secret, but… we'll be part of a team. Maybe we could invite trustworthy people."
"Alright. Let's add 3 guest rooms and another bathroom. Hmm… It's clear we'll attract less attention from guests if we add at least one more floor besides enlarging the entire house."
"We could put the vegetable patch on the roof," Naruto suggested. "That way, it would always get sunlight and we wouldn't accidentally destroy it if we train in the garden."
Seina nodded. She drew a three-story house. On the ground floor, she drew a small entrance, the living-dining room, the kitchen with access to the pantry-storage room, the library, and a guest bathroom. On the second floor, she drew their bedrooms with their own bathrooms and both studies. On the top floor, she sketched the 3 guest rooms and a full-sized bathroom. In the garden, she drew a rectangular pool on the right side, separated by a row of trees from the rest of the garden and surrounded by stone pavement.
Naruto, smiling, made unconscious noises of satisfaction as he looked at it.
"I'll save everything I can this year," he assured her, and she promised the same.
"We'll need to start collecting rocks and material so I can transform everything quickly when we buy the house."
They agreed to start gathering rocks and storing them in an enlarged, bottomless chest she would enchant once she bought it. With a bit of luck, they'd have enough material to furnish both floors and build the different levels. With runes, they'd fix the materials and space to prevent them from reverting to their original state, and they could also disconnect from the water and electricity systems. They wouldn't need heating, cleaning, or many other things she could build with runes for Naruto to use, like a waterless washing machine or a self-cleaning refrigerator cabinet with light and multiple compartments to prevent food from spoiling.
Just thinking about everything she could do made her vibrate with excitement. She wanted a house because, once it was theirs, she could make it disappear and practice all the magic she wanted without endangering her brother. If they ever had a family, all they'd need to do was build an identical house next door and, even if they shared the garden and pool, they wouldn't have to pay more money for something that was already theirs.
That year, besides planning to buy a house, another teacher arrived at the academy. His name was Mizuki, and every time she saw him, a shiver ran down her spine. This guy was the first ninja to have the pleasure of being read by her legilimency. When she saw the hatred he harbored towards them and his greed, his plan to use them as scapegoats to steal the scroll with the village's secret techniques… She almost wanted to strangle him right there, but settled for making him bald, as she had done with those kids who accused Naruto of cheating, and then planned how to use him to their advantage.
The thing is, she couldn't report him since she had no proof and didn't want to reveal her magical powers, so her only option was to use Mizuki and get him caught red-handed. In fact, it was Naruto who gave her the idea.
"Why don't we steal the scroll and blame him?" her brother asked, and she looked at him a bit stunned. "If we do it right, we can make him confess without realizing it in front of other teachers. Actually, I should steal it alone. No one would believe you would let someone so dumb trick you."
"Mmm… Not bad, Naru. We could make him confess in front of Iruka. Yes, not bad at all. Besides, I'm interested to know what techniques are in that scroll that I didn't know about."
Naruto snorted a laugh.
"You mean, copy the scroll."
"How well you know me. Alright. This is what we'll do."
They planned to steal the scroll before graduation, saying Mizuki had told them it was an additional exam. For Seina, it wasn't difficult to implant that idea in him and gradually manipulated him to think the plan he was drawing up was his own idea, not an invention of his students he wanted to deceive. The day before graduation, Mizuki approached them with his brilliant "plan."
"What an idiot," Naruto rolled his eyes, walking to steal the scroll with his hands behind his head. "See you later."
Seina nodded and went to the agreed place. Naruto, with his invisibility and silencing bracelet, could steal that scroll with his eyes closed. In less than half an hour, he had it in his possession.
"Look at this. It's huge!" Naruto exclaimed, handing her the scroll that was as tall as his torso and had a diameter larger than even his head.
"Give it to me."
She copied it and put the duplicate in her bottomless black pouch. Then, she became invisible and followed Naruto to the meeting place with Mizuki. Iruka, who they had been leaving clues for to distrust Mizuki, saw his fellow teacher leaving the academy towards the forest. Seina, who was spying on them, gave Iruka a mental push. She followed both silently and listened as Mizuki tried to hurt her brother by telling him the truth about the nine-tailed fox. She watched as Iruka clenched his fists, enraged, and went to Naruto's rescue.
The situation didn't escalate. The only surprising thing was the dozens of clones Naruto, bored, had created thanks to a jutsu he had learned by opening the scroll, to her exasperation.
"Where's your sister?" Iruka asked, once Mizuki was subdued and left unconscious.
"Seina must be walking around the village or buying a book," Naruto shrugged, as if nothing happened. "She doesn't know I'm here. She thinks I'm in the apartment."
Iruka sighed. When she saw that nothing would happen to her brother, Seina slowly left and went to the bookstore and walked around the village, just as Naruto had said. Smiling, she went home and started preparing dinner. When Naruto returned, he was accompanied by Iruka, but since her brother warned her through their mental bond, she wasn't surprised.
"Seina… I'm bringing your brother back," Iruka sighed in exasperation.
"What happened?"
"I'll let Naruto tell you all the details. Luckily, it wasn't that bad."
"Mizuki-teme tried to use me to get a secret scroll!" Naruto said, pretending to be angry. "But we gave him a beating!"
"Yeah, something like that," Iruka laughed. "I'll leave you to your dinner. Remember, tomorrow you have your graduation exam at 10 o'clock sharp. Don't be late! See you tomorrow!"
"Goodbye, sensei!"
As soon as the door closed and the protections reactivated, Seina looked at her brother.
"Did you really open the scroll?"
"I just wanted to see what it contained! You won't believe it! Look at this! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Three more Narutos identical to her brother appeared, and Naruto asked her to whisper a number into each of their ears. When they disappeared in a small cloud of smoke, Naruto smiled.
"The numbers were 10, 546, and 1001."
"How is that possible?" she asked, astonished.
"Everything my clones do, I can remember. Also, they only disappear if they get a fatal blow or if I deactivate them."
"Do you know what that means?" Seina whispered, containing her excitement as she realized the gift they had received almost by accident thanks to the idiot Mizuki.
"Yes! Think of all the pranks we can pull! I will have perfect alibis, nee-chan!"
"No, Naruto! I mean that if your clone transfers all its knowledge to you, we can use them for training, and you'll be training twice as much with just one clone."
Naruto looked at her with his mouth open, realizing she was right. That night they went to bed early after she tried the jutsu, although both were too excited about the discovery to really sleep.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the next day had finally come, and it was time for their graduation. Iruka called them in alphabetical order.
"Shino Aburame."
"Hinata Hyuuga."
"...Shikamaru Nara..."
"...Sasuke Uchiha."
Seina stopped her brother's nervous leg and sent him a mental message.
"Stay still."
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Seina bit her lip as she watched her brother go down, but within minutes she felt Naruto's great happiness through their bond and avoided sighing in relief.
"Seina Uzumaki."
She nervously stepped forward and stood in front of Iruka and two other ninjas she didn't recognize. Iruka smiled and gestured with his hand.
"Welcome, Seina. We'd like you to start with a henge."
She nodded and transformed into her brother without any problem. She had been using this technique and spells for years to buy food without being cheated. She saw them examining her and nodding for her to release the jutsu, noting something down.
"Next, we'd like you to perform a body replacement."
"With what object?" she asked.
"Anything you want."
She looked around and focused on a trash can in the corner. In less than an instant, she replaced herself with it and appeared on the other side of the classroom. She replaced herself with the trash can again and smiled at the amused looks of the examiners.
"Finally, the cloning technique."
She used the academy technique, and a couple of identical copies of her appeared. The examiners checked all the details before asking her to release the jutsu. She stood much calmer, realizing it had been extremely easy.
"Well, Seina," Iruka smiled. "I must congratulate you. You have received excellent marks in all the demonstrated techniques, as well as in taijutsu, theoretical exams, and shurikenjutsu. You are the top kunoichi of the class. Congratulations! You are now a genin!"
"Thank you very much, Iruka-sensei," she thanked, bowing and choosing the black headband.
"You may go. Tomorrow at 10 o'clock you will return to classroom A1 to find out your team."
Seina nodded and left with the ninja headband in her hand. She smiled, realizing that now they could move out of the apartment and buy their own house. When she walked out to the yard where everyone was waiting, she smiled at her brother first and then at her friends.
"YATTA!" Naruto shouted, jumping on her.
"How could she fail, Naruto?" Ino asked exasperatedly. "She's the best in the class."
Seina saw that Naruto had taken the black headband, just like her, and was already wearing it on his forehead, as were Shino, Kiba, and Chouji. Ino had it tied around her waist, Shikamaru on his right arm, and Hinata around her neck.
"So, where are you going to wear it?" Naruto asked, feeling her thoughts.
"Around my neck, obviously," she smiled, putting it on like Hinata. "That way my throat is less exposed. It could even save my life since it's metal."
Ino looked at the band on her waist and took it off. "I hadn't even thought of that. Well done, girls!"
Hinata blushed slightly but smiled. They all went to Chouji's family restaurant, where they were invited as a celebration. They spent a couple of hours eating and then went to their respective homes to celebrate with their families. Naruto and Seina went back to their apartment, where Seina had prepared a gift for her brother, identical to what she had bought for herself.
"Here, Naru, this is for you," she said, offering him the cardboard box where she had stored everything. "I have one just like it. I hope you like it and find it useful."
"I also have something for you!"
Seina took the small package Naruto handed her and opened it excitedly. To her astonishment, she saw a silver locket on a matching chain. It was round, with a green four-leaf clover engraved on it. When she opened it, she saw a mirror instead of a photograph and frowned.
"A mirror?"
"Do you remember the mirrors you mentioned having in the other world?" Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear. "Well, I managed to replicate the runes on this mirror. So we can always communicate whenever we want or in case of an emergency."
Seina was stunned. She had never considered making something like this because she lived with her brother, the only person who knew about her abilities, and it didn't make sense. Also, she could talk to him through her mind, so a communication mirror wouldn't be extremely useful. Still, the fact that Naruto wanted her to have it meant that despite their mental bond, he wanted to talk to her. It must have taken him several tries since she knew it wasn't an easy sequence.
"Thank you, Naruto. I love it."
"I've tested them, so I know they work," her brother blushed at her words. "Well, I'm going to open your gift."
Seina watched as he took out the pouch, the kunai holster for his thigh, a small case full of potions, ointments, and antidotes that she had been making and storing under spells to keep them intact, the new clothes, the weapons, and a small jewelry box containing various items.
"Sugoi... You included instructions!" Naruto laughed as he saw the instructions pasted on the lid of the potion case.
"That's right. The potions won't perish if you don't use them; until you break the seal of each vial, the spell preserving them won't break."
She explained the spells and runes she had sewn and placed on the clothes, making it nearly impossible for them to be destroyed, and how they were enchanted to be the right temperature depending on the weather conditions. The weapons, despite being transformed from rocks, had been enchanted to never break or need sharpening.
"Additionally, they're connected to your holster. You just need to press the button for three seconds, and they'll appear in their compartments, ready to use. The pouch, on the other hand, is bottomless. Right now, it's empty, but you can put anything you want in it. To retrieve something, just reach inside and think of the item. Like the clothes and weapons, it's indestructible, and no one can steal it without getting electrocuted."
"And I suppose that even if someone does steal it, they won't be able to take anything out without my blood."
"Exactly."
"Could you make me a copy of all the scrolls you've copied?" Naruto asked. "I might need them someday, and I'd like to have them in my backpack."
She nodded and took out the jewelry box.
"You're going to like this."
"Are these earrings?" Naruto asked, looking at the small silver ball-tipped jewelry.
"Yes. One of them will let you hear from about 20 meters away when activated. You'll need to practice as it's a bit strange. Another one is a poison detector, but keep in mind the limitations: it can only detect poison within a range similar to the diameter of your head, with the origin being the earring, of course."
"I see. So, if I put something poisoned in my mouth or the air is poisoned, it will detect it. But if someone tries to poison me with a wound on my leg, I won't know."
"Correct! When it detects something, you'll feel it turn cold and it will vibrate a bit."
"And the bracelet?"
"It's not a bracelet. It's an anklet. It's enchanted so that no one but you and I can see it. It's a portkey, or it will be. I want to anchor it to the house we buy. We'll need to think of an activation phrase."
Naruto's eyes were wide.
"Now that I think about it, I might use our locket as a portkey too. Yours will take you to me, and vice versa."
"And can it take people with me?" Naruto asked, jumping in his seat.
"As long as they're touching you, yes, so be careful."
Seina put the earrings on Naruto and let him explore his new belongings.
She had also bought clothes for herself, realizing it would be more effective to blend in with dark clothing than with a light blue jacket. She bought several pairs of black pants and leggings, black closed boots, and various dark-colored shirts with sleeves and straps. She also bought several ninja bras in black, gray, and navy blue, and a reversible winter jacket, white on one side and black on the other, with padding inside, as well as reversible hats for cold weather and the same for gloves and a neck gaiter. For warmer climates, she bought a white cotton jacket for the desert and another dark gray, almost black, zippered jacket for everyday use, which also had a couple of external diagonal pockets and an internal pocket, all with zippers.
Of course, chainmail shirts to wear under her clothes were a must, along with sewn runes and dozens of enchantments she had placed on the clothes to make them last a long time and not outgrow her. She was sure that, over time, she would come up with more things to add to them.
"Congratulations, kid," Kurama said when she told him that night. "I was sure you would make it."
"Thanks, Kurama."
"What are you going to do with your apartment now? Are you moving soon?" asked the bijuu, who was aware of all their plans.
"Tomorrow we'll find out our team. We might be out all day, so we've decided to go house hunting the day after tomorrow on the outskirts. We've saved almost 190,000 ryo over this time, so we should be able to buy something," she shrugged. "We don't have to decide whether to renew the lease on this apartment or move out until the end of the month, in two weeks."
"Humans, always in such a rush."
"Hey! It's not my fault. I'm going to sleep. I know when I'm not wanted!"
The next day, Naruto woke her up at 7 in the morning.
"Narutoooo!" she groaned when she saw the time. "What are you doing? There's still 3 hours until the meeting!"
"I couldn't sleep, nee-chan!"
"Ugh..."
She got up and went to shower. When she came out, she saw that Naruto was too excited to even make breakfast, so she sent him to shower while she prepared breakfast and a bento, just in case. They ate breakfast in silence and rested on the couch for a while until it was time to leave.
"Can you believe this day has finally come?" her brother asked, dressed in his new clothes.
"Yes. It was only a matter of time."
Naruto rolled his eyes at her exasperation. "Don't be like that, Seina! Aren't you at least a little curious to know who will be on your team for the next few years?"
"Of course, I am, but we're about to find out. I can control myself. Unlike you."
Naruto smiled but didn't argue. They entered the academy, and she saw that Naruto wasn't the only one excited. Despite being 20 minutes early, most were already present, chatting with their friends and classmates. They sat in their usual seats, and Naruto immediately started talking to Kiba, who was to his left.
"I don't know what we're doing here," yawned Shikamaru, wiping a tear. "I already know I'm going to be with Chouji and Ino."
"They might surprise us," Chouji said, eating some chips.
Ino sighed and agreed with Shikamaru. "I don't think so. The surprise will be knowing who our sensei is."
They waited the remaining time, and then a couple of jounin appeared, accompanying Iruka, who had a scroll in hand. One of them seemed to be sick and kept coughing, while the other was the Hokage's son. Iruka called for their attention to quiet down, and everyone obeyed in record time.
"Welcome, everyone. First, I wanted to congratulate you on passing the exam and becoming true ninjas. As I know you're eager to know your team, I'll start reading your names," he cleared his throat and opened the scroll. "Team 1: Hakuto Nohara, Sakura Haruno, and Mamoru Ikebana. Your jonin sensei is Hayate Gekko."
"WHAT!?" Sakura shouted. Everyone turned to look at her, except for the one she wanted to notice her. "THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!"
"Sakura! Stop screaming like a little girl!" Iruka reprimanded her. "You are a genin now! Act like it!"
"Team 1. Come with me," the sickly man coughed, and everyone followed him, despite Sakura looking like she was about to cry.
Seina and her friends exchanged amused and exasperated glances. Shikamaru even seemed irritated by Sakura's predictable outburst. They continued listening to the groups being called and saw several more jonin sensei appear. Finally, it was time for Team 7.
"Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha, Seina Uzumaki, and Naruto Uzumaki. Your jonin sensei is Kakashi Hatake."
Naruto and Seina whipped around to look at each other, surprised, but then Naruto began to smile. Meanwhile, Seina thought about how strange it was for them to be together. Normally, family members were not placed on the same team since it was a weakness. If Naruto were in an extreme situation where he had to choose between saving her, his sister, or saving Sasuke, a stranger but necessary for the mission, what would he do? For Seina, the answer was clear. She would save Naruto.
"It's obvious this has to do with me," Kurama commented, speaking to her mentally. "Maybe they think your sensei can control a possible 'episode' if I misbehave and try to escape… Or perhaps it's easier to manage one team with two jinchuriki than two separate teams."
"Is that why we're together?"
"Could be. Who is this Kakashi Hatake?"
"I think I've heard something about him. Rumors say he has a sharingan in one of his eyes."
"Then I think I'm right. The sharingan, when used properly, can control a bijuu. The only other person with such potential is the angry brat, Sasuke, and he hasn't awakened it yet, though, interestingly, he's also on your team. Makes you think, doesn't it…?"
Seina realized he was right. She frowned. Were Naruto and she on the same team with two people who had the sharingan in case Kurama acted up? At the same time, their sensei would be able to help Sasuke with his sharingan. Killing two birds with one stone. Very typical of the ninja mentality. Regardless, she thought it didn't matter. On one hand, she was glad to be able to look after her brother and be on the same team with him.
"Team 10: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi. Your sensei is Asuma Sarutobi."
She snapped back to reality and saw that all her friends, except Naruto and herself, had left with their sensei. She noticed Sasuke was still in the classroom and realized their new teacher hadn't shown up yet. She looked at the clock and saw it was almost 25 minutes past the scheduled time. Perfect. Kakashi Hatake must be the only ninja in the village who was late.