The morning sun filtered through the trees of the Uzumaki Compound, casting soft golden rays across the freshly bloomed garden that Arashi had grown the night he got settled into his new home. The scent of dew-drenched flowers mixed with the crisp morning air, making the entire courtyard feel almost alive in a way it hadn't before.
Arashi stretched as he stepped onto his porch, still adjusting to the feeling of waking up in an actual house. A roof over his head. A home. It wasn't something he was used to, but it wasn't bad.
Before he could take another step, he heard her voice.
"Oi, Arashi!"
He glanced up to see Kushina standing at the doorway of her house, arms crossed, a slightly smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"What's up, Red?" Arashi called back, tilting his head.
Kushina rolled her eyes but didn't comment on the nickname. "Come inside. There's something I wanna try with you really quickly."
Arashi raised a brow but shrugged. 'Why not?' He hopped off the porch, padding across the courtyard toward her. He could feel Minato's chakra inside the house as well, but he wasn't sure if the blonde was awake yet or not.
Stepping inside, he took in the interior of the couple's house—simple, warm, and lived-in. This place wasn't just a house; it was a home, filled with tons of little touches of personality.
Scrolls were neatly stacked along the shelves in the living room, a set of kunai rested near the kitchen counter, a familiar three-pronged kunai Arashi had seen Minato use rested on the fireplace mantle, and a bright orange book was tucked into the corner of a nearby table.
Kushina led him to a small wooden table in the center of the living room, where a complex sealing array was already drawn across its surface. The ink shimmered slightly, reacting to the chakra naturally swirling through the air.
Arashi squinted at it. "…Okay. What is that?"
Kushina gestured for him to sit across from her. "Just a little experiment."
He dropped into the seat, resting his arms lazily on the table. "Gonna need more to go than that."
Kushina huffed but didn't argue. Instead, she pulled out a small kunai and placed it in front of him. "I just need a drop of blood."
Arashi's brows shot up. "Well, going a little fast, aren't we? You're not gonna curse me, are you?"
Kushina smirked. "Only if you don't listen."
He glanced at Kushina, then back at the kunai, and cautiously picked it up. With a quick, practiced motion, he pricked his finger, letting a small bead of crimson well up at the tip. He held it above the seal.
"Just drop it in the center and we'll see what happens," Kushina instructed.
With a shrug, he did as she asked. The droplet fell onto the ink markings, slowly spreading from the middle to the edges. With every second, the color spread a slow hum began to resonate from the ink until the black ink turned completely red.
For a moment after that, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the ink began to move and shift.
"It almost looks like it's redrawing itself. How is that even possible?" Arashi murmured to himself as Kushina nodded at the observation.
"That's because it is redrawing itself, at least that's the simplest way to explain it to someone with barely any seal knowledge."
The markings kept pulsing, the black ink bleeding inwards in certain areas and expanding outwards in others, forming new lines and shapes.
Arashi leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Why is this looking suspiciously similar to the symbol on the compound walls?"
The drawing completed its transformation, with a final violent twist as the symbol settled in place. Now lay an emblem at the center of the table, where once there had been a simple ink-based formula.
The spiral crest of the Uzumaki Clan.
Kushina smiled softly, her fingers brushing over the spiral as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "I knew it," she whispered.
Arashi blinked, pretty clueless about the whole situation. "Knew what?"
Kushina tapped the middle of the table and then at the crest hanging in the living room, the Uzumaki crest. "That you're family. I mean it was a little obvious after seeing your hair, but now I have 100% confirmation."
There was a beat of silence.
Arashi stared at the seal, his expression unreadable. His green eyes flickered slightly, his fingers twitching as if he wanted to reach out but stopped himself.
Then, just as quickly as the moment had appeared, it vanished. His usual grin returned, lazy and amused. "Huh. Neat trick-"
Arashi didn't get to finish that sentence as Kushina flew across the table towards the young man and enveloped him in a gigantic hug with bone-crushing force. "HAHAHAHAHA I HAVE FAMILY LEFT, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"
"Well, that's good, I'm glad I could bring some joy to ya." A genuine smile appeared on Arashi's face as soon as she couldn't see him. Arashi patted Kushina's back, though the force seemed to somehow increase each second he was being held.
Arashi somehow managed to extract himself from Kushina's grasp and stretched, rubbing his ribs, and leaning back in his chair while Kushina narrowed her eyes a little. "What? That's all? No reaction for finding out WE'RE RELATED?"
"I mean, what do you want me to do? Cry? Write a touching poem about our newfound connection?" He smirked. "I'm glad that I brought you some happiness but I don't do sentimental, Red."
Kushina's eyes narrowed further. He wasn't fooling her.
That flicker of emotion she saw? The way his chakra had shifted, if only for a second? That reaction was real. He just didn't know how to process it.
Walking back to her place across the table from Arashi, she smiled slightly, thinking, 'Fine. I can be patient, for now.'
Arashi scratched the back of his head. "So, what's the point of all this anyway? Why did you need to know what blood I have running through me? Is it just a shinobi thing that I don't get? I mean, I could be considered your family just like Minato is, even if we weren't blood-related."
Kushina's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Because now I can teach you."
Arashi blinked owlishly. "Teach me what?"
Kushina leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "Everything."
He raised a brow. "You're being vague again."
Kushina tapped the Uzumaki crest again. "Everything from where our clan was from, some of the traditions we had, all of our fuinjutsu. Practically anything you can think to ask, I might have an answer."
Arashi nodded. "I suppose that could be fun to learn. I've always enjoyed learning about the history of things. It's an interest you kind of pick up in the forest after being by yourself for a while."
She sat back, folding her arms. "The Uzumaki Clan wasn't just known for our crazy chakra reserves that you no doubt have. We were also known as the greatest seal masters in the world. You probably have a natural instinct for it too, you just don't know how to use it yet."
Arashi tilted his head, considering that. "Seals, huh? Like the ones Minato mentioned that are saturating the entire outer wall of the compound?"
Kushina nodded. "Yes, and within the compound itself. Everything from the roads to walls, trees, and even the carpet within each house. The compound was created by a team of seal masters from Uzushiogakure when the Senju were occupying this space."
"Fuinjutsu is powerful. It's not flashy like Elemental Jutsu, or the way you can make flowers just grow out of nowhere, but it can do things no other technique can. Barriers, chakra suppression, storage, healing, even sealing away enemies permanently." She grinned. "And if you're an Uzumaki, you'll pick it up reallyreally fast."
Arashi ran a hand through his hair. "So what, you're offering to be my sensei and teach me about all of this?"
Kushina smirked. "More like I'm forcing you to learn."
Arashi looked at the crazy redhead across from him. "You're really pushy, you know that?"
She shrugged. "You'll thank me later."
Arashi drummed his fingers against the table, his gaze lingering on the Uzumaki seal. 'It's not much, but the proof is right in front of me. Not that it means anything to me anyway, maybe I'm not ready for it. But still, having someone willing to teach me about where my parents might have been from could be worth it.
"Alright, Red," Arashi said finally, leaning back in his chair with a grin. "I guess I'll allow you to teach me."
As soon as those words came out of his mouth, the next thing he saw was a fist flying toward him from where Kushina was sitting.