A few days after her belated birthday celebration, Seina continued with her usual routine, which basically consisted of being an apprentice at the hospital, training with Kakashi-sensei when he was available, visiting the dojo recommended by Guy-sensei, running errands with runes for the Hokage, studying with her clones, and researching genjutsu in her spare time. Her master, as he had promised, talked to Sasuke and Naruto. For a couple of days, they were unable to look at her in the face without blushing, much to her amusement. Still, she felt more at ease knowing that they were aware of everything they needed to know about sex and puberty.
A few days later, while Naruto was still processing the sex education talk, he was sent on a mission with Tenten, Neji, and Lee to the Hidden Star Village. Sasuke was given a solo mission to babysit a rich kid for a couple of days, much to his horror. She was overwhelmed at the hospital, being given patient after patient as if they were trying to push her to her limits. Meanwhile, Kakashi-sensei continued doing S-rank missions and disappearing around the village doing who knows what. Something told her that he was still investigating, though much more stealthily, the matters of Danzo and Itachi.
"I feel like we hardly see each other," she complained one morning when she only found Sasuke.
"You're the busiest one. If it weren't for your clones handling much of the work, we wouldn't see you at all."
"Ugh. Don't remind me."
She was grateful for that jutsu because otherwise, she would have three times the workload in the same amount of time. That very morning, they ended up training ninjutsu and sparring. At their request, Kakashi-sensei had started writing down all the jutsus he had copied, giving them a mountain of techniques to learn. She, who shamelessly used clones to cheat, learned a staggering three to four jutsus per week, while Naruto and Sasuke could only manage one or two. Her brother lacked the same chakra control, despite his tenacity, and Sasuke didn't have her chakra reserves, no matter how much he exercised his energy reserves and chakra control.
Even at her pace, Seina would be unable to learn in less than a year the more than 1000 jutsus that Kakashi-sensei had burned into his prodigious brain. At an average of four jutsus per week, it would take her over five years to master all the jutsus perfectly. Additionally, she still had to learn the S-rank jutsus from the scroll stolen from the First Hokage, which, judging by its size, were numerous. Still, she was determined to learn all the ninjutsus possible and wasn't going to back down.
She had so many things to do that sometimes she almost lost track of the days. Since hardly anything out of the ordinary happened, it was harder to remember what day of the week it was. Time passed, and she had so many things to learn that she had no free time where she did absolutely nothing. About two weeks later, Naruto returned from his mission, and Sasuke was sent on another. During this time, she didn't see Kakashi-sensei at all. The first half of the time, he was on a mission outside the village, and the second half, she was too tired to wait up for him when he showed up at the house in the early hours.
Right around mid-November, Tsunade-sama called her to her office. Her desk was filled with papers. She was accompanied by her assistant, Shizune, who seemed to be trying to bring order to the chaos.
"Ah, Seina. Sit down, this will take a while," she indicated with a gesture to the chair. "If I can find what I'm looking for, of course..."
"Here it is!" replied Shizune, with a relieved smile. "Here you go, Tsunade-sama."
"Perfect, thank you, Shizune. You might be wondering why I called you. I've been wanting to talk to you for days, but I haven't found the time. I have several things to discuss," sighed Tsunade-sama. "First, we've finished interrogating the enemies you captured in the Land of the Sea. The girl, Isaribi, is a victim of Orochimaru and Amachi, so she has been released. She's currently in the hospital to try... to cure her condition."
"Can I know what information the interrogation department has discovered?"
"I can tell you some official things like Amachi worked for Orochimaru, experimenting on the natives of the Land of the Sea for the past 10 years. His goal was to create modified ninjas capable of carrying out extreme missions that other ninjas can't. Orochimaru helped with his experiments and then took his research for himself. Amachi is quite resentful about that. As for the others, Yoroi and Misumi, they were merely Orochimaru's pawns. They barely knew anything. They simply followed the few orders Kabuto gave them during the invasion. Regarding the Land of the Sea, their orders were to assist Amachi with his research and force Isaribi to steal money to fund the project."
"And what about what Amachi said about Orochimaru having to wait three years for a new body?"
"Orochimaru has a jutsu that allows him to change bodies, taking control and extending his life. Thanks to the papers and other documents you stole from the secret lab in the Land of Rice, we know what he planned with Sasuke," said Shizune, raising a stack of papers that Seina remembered stealing from Orochimaru's secret lab. "When you stopped Sasuke's abduction, he was forced to use someone else if he didn't want to perish due to his arm problem. Now, he must be recovering, inhabiting another body, but still craving Sasuke and his sharingan. However, these papers have helped us understand what Orochimaru is plotting and have led us to another one of his secret bases. Although there's still a lot of work to be done."
"On another note, I'd like to talk about your recent missions. You've led several missions with genins under your command. All of them a success," said the Hokage, looking at a record. "I've read your reports and the reports of your subordinates for each mission. Let's see."
"..."
"Listen to this: 'Our leader, Seina Uzumaki, detected that the enemy, Raiga, was still alive despite my declaration that he was dead. She suspected that the child's kekkei genkai might have interfered with my byakugan and, under this reasonable doubt, checked the enemy's condition, discovering that he was still alive and then finished him off. I'm sure that if she hadn't had the presence of mind and the logic to question and confirm whether he was alive or not, Raiga would have attacked the village again, causing possible casualties, damage, and prolonging the mission,'" Tsunade-sama read. She knew which mission it was as soon as she heard Raiga's name. "And it continues: 'She devised a trap to test the loyalty of Karashi and the child, allowing him to desist from his idea of saving him by making him believe he had died from wounds sustained in the previous fight and not from a calculated execution by a Konoha ninja. This diverted attention from the village and perhaps spared Konoha a potential enemy in the future,' and it goes on, '...after Karashi's last betrayal, Leader Uzumaki took care of them all with a single wind jutsu, saving us all from having to engage in combat.'"
"Here you go," interceded Shizune, handing her another scroll.
"Under the leadership of Seina Uzumaki, we investigated the clues and discovered early on the involvement of the traitor Orochimaru in the mission. Considering the grave danger in which our teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, could find himself, she took appropriate measures to keep us safe, personally ensuring his protection while the team, in turn, investigated the disappearances, Isaribi as a potential sea monster, and Orochimaru's base. We also protected the client Hitode's ships and the client himself during the money transfer," Tsunade-sama looked at her, raising her eyes from the paper for a few seconds. "Although it wasn't within the mission parameters to investigate Orochimaru, the leader deemed it a priority for Konoha to gather information and capture the enemy ninjas and the sea monster. She made the necessary plans to infiltrate the base without endangering the group, especially Sasuke Uchiha. Her effectiveness as a commander and her skills allowed us to complete both missions, as demonstrated by the fact that we are all alive, the agreed mission was accomplished, and we returned to Konoha with four enemies, Orochimaru's henchmen."
Seina listened as she read what seemed to be her teammates' personal evaluations. She didn't know where this was going. Was Tsunade going to tell her she was overstepping? Perhaps, considering the danger Orochimaru posed to Sasuke. But what else could she do? She had a golden opportunity!
"I could also read the evaluations made by Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and the Sand Village brothers when you rescued Sasuke, but I think it would be a waste of time. You are overqualified."
"What?"
"All these missions," Tsunade-sama said, picking up the scrolls, "...I am sure you could have done them alone. In fact, I think that, in some cases, having companions has been a hindrance for you. Not to mention the hospital staff constantly telling me about things you've supposedly done that are impossible but, if possible, to ask you to teach them."
"You performed a hernia operation without opening the patient," Shizune cut in, unable to contain her amazement. "You saved him at least a day of recovery. You also restored the vision of a boy who had an accident with chemicals and cured four patients with acquired deafness."
"Do you know how many people ask me day and night why you are only a chunin? How many people laugh in my face, telling me how underutilized you are with B-rank missions?" Tsunade-sama groaned in frustration. "Too many. If I compare you with Shikamaru, who was promoted the same day as you... there's a clear difference. If you had been born in my time, you would have been a jonin for years, even if only for the control over your new kekkei genkai."
"So, what's going to happen?" she asked.
She understood what they were saying. They were right since Shikamaru, despite his intelligence, was just a 12-year-old boy while she was an experienced auror, a witch with ninja training, in the body of a teenager. Not to mention the experience and mastery her previous 120 years of life provided. Obviously, there were clear differences between them. In fact, she would be more surprised if Shikamaru or any of her friends and peers were on her level, simply because they didn't have a kekkei genkai like her magic. She simply had too much power and experience in her hands. Essentially, she was cheating.
"What is going to happen is this: during the next month and a half, until the new year, I won't assign you any missions. During this time, Shizune will take over my tasks for the first half of the morning while I will be teaching you in the hospital. From Monday to Sunday. The second half of the morning, Shizune will replace me. We will also use your clones to advance as quickly as possible."
"So, I'm going to do an intensive in medicine," understanding that she was going to spend every morning for weeks in the hospital.
"Exactly. And not just that. Until now, I've neglected another aspect that a medical ninja must consider: combat," the Hokage smiled. "We will fight every other day so you can continue training with your team. I hope you are prepared for this new stage because I will not be gentle. I know you can learn a lot, so I expect a lot from you. In exchange for your effort, you will learn everything I know. Everything. When January comes, if you have reached the level I expect, I will promote you to tokubetsu jonin. If you succeed, you will start doing A-rank and perhaps S-rank missions with other jonin teams, or even solo. From there, you will have five months to prepare for the jonin promotion exams. If you are willing, of course."
Seina remained silent for a few seconds but knew she would accept. She liked the idea of focusing on learning as much as possible in just a couple of months. If Tsunade-sama could give her that much time, she would double her studies to keep up. Besides, who would say no to a promotion when even as a chunin she wasn't being sent with her brother and Sasuke on half the missions? And that was the only thing that would have held her back.
"I accept."
The Hokage smiled broadly.
"Very well. Go home. Rest because tomorrow we start your final training in iryo ninjutsu, and in the afternoon, we will start combat training."
Seina bowed in gratitude and left. She couldn't believe what had happened. Despite everything, she hadn't considered it a possibility. She arrived home automatically. When she walked through the door, something in her expression must have alerted Kakashi-sensei, who had returned from a mission, that something was up because he stopped preparing dinner.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I think so," she started to smile. Then she couldn't contain her laughter. "Apparently, I am overqualified."
"Did Tsunade-sama tell you that?"
She nodded, controlling her laughter. She briefly explained what had happened in her office. Contrary to what she might have expected, Kakashi-sensei only smiled with a somewhat proud expression.
"Honestly, Seina, I have thought the same thing more than once. I'm proud. I know you'll make it. In fact, I'll try to talk to some colleagues to see if they can train with you on the afternoons I'm on a mission. Tenzou will surely agree to help. And Yugao," the jonin mused aloud.
She touched his hand, bringing him back. She smiled upon hearing his dedication to her.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
"Soon, you might call me Kakashi-senpai, if you want. Once you reach jonin rank, you can call me by my name without any titles," he smiled, delighted. "Wait until Naruto hears about this."
She bit her tongue to avoid making a sexual joke, smiling. Although she would be promoted, she was still 12 years old.
"By the way, I thought you said it would be a long mission."
"Actually, things went much better than planned. Especially once I used your bracelet."
"I'm glad it was helpful."
They talked about his mission, what the Hokage had told her, and why Orochimaru wanted Sasuke and why he had to wait three years. Later, seeing that Sasuke hadn't returned from his mission, they started dinner alone. While eating, she couldn't help but summon 20 clones to continue studying. She had promised the Hokage, so she planned to keep 20 clones constantly working each day. At the pace they consumed books, she would finish reading what was left by early December. She silently thanked her occlumency for helping her absorb such a volume of knowledge because, otherwise, she would be screwed despite her clones. That night she went to bed early, excited about the new day. Kakashi-sensei saw her go with an amused smile on his face. Surely deducing the reason for her excitement.
The next few days were chaos. She barely went home to eat, dine, and sleep, so it took a day to reunite with her brother, who had just returned from his mission. Tsunade-sama was a true drill sergeant. Not only did she teach her all the medical techniques she knew that Seina lacked, but she also made her practice them 100 times before using them on a patient. Fortunately, with her other 20 clones, she learned at an exponential rate. Shizune, by her side, was as gentle as a feather, though very competent.
In the afternoons, the first thing the Hokage did was spar with her to gauge her level. She was visibly impressed with her abilities. In fact, according to her, the only thing that had saved her from being attacked with brute force was the fact that they both knew she could simply dodge with her apparitions and the hiraishin. Unlike what others had taught her, Tsunade-sama fought with the mindset of always protecting her vital organs to avoid collapsing long enough to self-heal in case of a severe injury.
Her fighting style, combined with the numerous flexible movements designed for every situation by Guy-sensei, and the efficient, calculated katas from Kakashi-sensei, was turning her into an escapist. It was as if her mindset had changed. Now she knew what she lacked when fighting with taijutsu. The blend of the three styles was her perfect taijutsu style.
"I don't know what the Hokage is teaching you," her master told her one afternoon, "but it's working. When I try to hit you, it's like trying to catch smoke with my hand. Now it's just a matter of you becoming an expert in this style."
In the afternoons, while training with Kakashi-sensei, with Yugao or Hayate, and to a lesser extent with Tenzou, she also used her clones to practice ninjutsu. She was delighted with Tsunade-sama's training, but she didn't want her average of four new ninjutsus per week to suffer.
One night, coming back quite late from the training field where she practiced ninjutsu, she happened to meet her entire team at home.
"Nee-chan!" Naruto called, launching himself at her in a hug. "I haven't seen you in 10 days! I can't believe they're going to promote you to Tokubetsu Jonin this January!"
"Actually, I can. Kakashi-sensei told us everything," Sasuke said. "Congratulations. There's no one more deserving from our class."
"It seems so. If all goes well."
"Of course, it's going to go well!" Naruto encouraged her with his usual optimism.
"As for not seeing each other… I was thinking of creating a shed or something similar in the garden, with all kinds of protections and with the interior much larger than the exterior. That way, I could practice ninjutsu and train inside without having to go to the training field."
"Really!?" her brother gasped in excitement, realizing he wouldn't have to waste time looking for an empty spot when he wanted to practice. "Sugoi!"
"Don't you have enough things to do?" Kakashi-sensei asked with a laugh, pointing to her 20 clones studying in the garden.
"That's just for a moment," she rolled her eyes with a smile. "I just need it to have four walls and a bunch of runes. I can enchant the floor to look like grass and the ceiling with a false sky. Mmm… I'll do it tomorrow when I have time."
"How's the training with Tsunade-sama?" Sasuke asked, setting the table.
"Good. Look at this."
She grabbed a dull knife and placed it at the edge of the table. Using her index finger and thumb, she formed a circle and then snapped her index finger against the knife. It shot out and embedded itself in the wall as if she had thrown it with the full strength of her dominant arm instead of just a finger. They turned to look at her satisfied smile with expressions of surprise and a hint of fear at her new strength.
"Oh, no…" Naruto whispered with a comically terrified face. "You're like the old lady, but upgraded and young."
Kakashi-sensei started laughing, covering his face with one hand to calm down with little success. Naruto shot him a furious look, which was completely ignored. Sasuke, meanwhile, eyed the knife embedded in the wall with a cautious expression.
"You laugh! The old lady at least only has her strength, but Seina-nee can make you explode with a wave of her hand without touching you!"
"And make you vomit with a genjutsu," Sasuke nodded seriously.
"What?" Kakashi-sensei asked suddenly. "What genjutsu are you talking about?"
Then she realized she hadn't shown him her first creation. Seina turned to him, smiling.
"Do you remember you asked us to create a genjutsu? Well, this is the result of my new technique. It always works. Basically, the 'genjutsu' attacks the areas of the brain related to balance, making it believe they are injured or absent. The victim collapses instantly due to the abrupt shift from 'balance' to 'imbalance.' The brain isn't perceiving an external false situation but an internal one, so the victim doesn't know what's happening as their body and brain can't distinguish that what's wrong is something within the brain itself. By then, the victim starts vomiting while lying on the ground. Plenty of time to finish someone off."
"You've invented a genjutsu that manipulates the brain against itself but with physical consequences?" Kakashi-sensei asked, incredulous and astonished. "And you've tested it."
"Yes, it works just as I described. Hayate and Yugao can confirm it."
"Is this what you were scheming the other day? How do you always come up with such crazy ideas that, somehow, make sense and work?" Kakashi-sensei groaned while smiling. "Can I see it? Without the sharingan, if you prefer."
"It's okay. I've already shown it to Sasuke. If you want, you can copy it as long as it doesn't leave here."
"You have my word."
"I don't want to vomit," Sasuke warned, looking green. "Better show it to the dobe, who hasn't seen it either."
"Hey!" Naruto shouted, but quickly gave in. "Fine! But no vomiting!"
"I promise, Naru. Ready?"
She watched as Kakashi-sensei raised his ninja headband and activated the sharingan while her brother looked like a poor man about to be executed. She made the corresponding seals and molded the chakra. Naruto collapsed instantly, his face pale and eyes confused by the loss of balance. She immediately stopped the genjutsu, kneeling beside Naruto.
"Ugh. Never again," he swore, still pale and lying on the ground.
"Interesting," Kakashi-sensei said, with the sharingan still active, looking at Naruto. "It really works by manipulating the brain more than we thought… Crazy, but brilliant at the same time."
"That's exactly what I said…"
And so, another day passed. The following days were a repetition. Each day she learned something new, but her schedule was always the same. She was with the same people, with exceptions, had the same time to do the same thing with variations. She was lucky that routine was something she was used to enduring because if she were like Naruto, she would have started complaining about "always doing the same thing."
Seeing the difference in herself was enough to give her strength and not falter. She no longer dealt with easy cases at the hospital but the incurable ones. She operated alone, had assistants when necessary, and some doctors consulted her on things… The mountain of books Tsunade-sama had given her, which she had read halfway through when she started her intensive, had been reduced by a third. She learned even more ninjutsus than she had scheduled for those weeks and improved so much in taijutsu that Tenzou admitted it was no longer her weak point by far.
She felt on top of the world because it seemed like everything was going smoothly. She expected something to go wrong. To her astonishment, nothing bad happened.