AN: Note that I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters from either Anime. This work is a fanfiction written out of my love for the series and not in any attempt to make a profit.

Proofread by: Author and Kyluxia

This chapter was not easy to write. Everything from a lack of inspiration, to real-life situations and headaches, tried to keep me away. In the end, I managed to persevere and deliver this chapter. Not my best work, I'll admit, but acceptable I feel.

Chapter 40: Limits to learning

Sakura was relieved when she felt Heikō reappearing within the mindscape. Sakura didn't know when she had disappeared, but after noticing her sister was gone when she should have been merely unconscious, and safe where she was, Sakura had blamed herself for not being vigilant enough within their own mind. Fortunately, Heikō's absence hadn't been that long, or at least, Sakura had only noticed it shortly before Heikō's return. Heikō had immediately gone searching for Sakura's short-term memories and gotten caught up with what had been going on during her absence, before appearing next to Sakura, surprising Kushina with her sudden appearance.

"Oh, and you must be Heikō then, right?" Kushina asked, receiving a nod from Heikō.

"Yes, that's correct. I'm glad to see things turned out well for you and that we can now communicate properly. I had a look at Sakura's memories while I was… indisposed. I don't hold what happened against you." Heikō informed Kushina, who looked relieved.

Sakura noticed something off with Heikō as she appeared. For one, Heikō had closed her emotions off to Sakura, preventing her from feeling what Heikō was feeling, even if she looked and sounded sincere. It made Sakura feel slightly worried and wondered if Heikō was lying, or if something else was going on.

"Oh, I'm glad. I was worried I had hurt you severely when only Sakura showed up. I never meant to hurt anyone, all I wanted-" Kushina began explaining herself, only for Heikō to raise a hand. interrupting her.

"As I said, I'm fine. I already know what you told Sakura, no need for us to dwell on that topic. Instead, how about we move on to thinking about what we should be doing next. We're interested in learning what you're willing to teach us about Fūinjutsu, and I'm assuming that you would like some way to speak to Naruto. I think this can work as an exchange of favors if nothing else. Naturally, we'll share anything we learn with Naruto since it is his heritage and all." Heikō told Kushina with a smile, trying to change the subject.

"That… I don't think we should." Kushina admitted, looking torn. "Teaching non-Uzumaki Uzumaki Fūinjutsu techniques… There used to be an entire rulebook about why we shouldn't do something like that." Kushina argued although she didn't seem entirely convinced herself.

"Any particular reasons? Because as far as I am concerned, the Uzumaki clan is on the verge of dying. Naruto and Karin are the only two remaining Uzumaki we know, and Naruto isn't a pureblooded Uzumaki, is he? I'm not certain if Karin is, but she likely is." Heikō pointed out, a little surprised to see Kushina shrugging concerning the issue of blood purity.

"Blood purity isn't really the issue. Some traditions are supposed to be considered, but even an honorable Uzumaki with no blood connection to the clan could be taught if they were sworn in and properly recognized as an Uzumaki. The issue is that teaching an outsider Uzumaki techniques is practically a segue into adopting them into the clan." Kushina revealed, before elaborating.

"Uzumaki traits are usually dominant, so Uzumaki offspring were always considered family, something the clan was big on, regardless of how distantly related they are. It's why we used to be on such good terms with Konoha, as the Uzumaki were related to the Senju clan. The issue is that if I were to teach you two the Uzumaki Clan Fūinjutsu techniques, you'd need to be either related to the clan already, or be adopted into it as a result of learning our techniques. Anyone capable of learning Uzumaki Fūinjutsu techniques is considered an honorary Uzumaki, and if you were to go down that route, it could result in some severe implications concerning you and Naruto." Kushina pointed out, leaving Heikō and Sakura to consider Kushina's warning.

Being adopted into the Uzumaki clan per, what seemed to be, an Uzumaki tradition, learning their Fūinjutsu would have them adopted into the Uzumaki clan. Because they were the future clan-head of their own Shinobi clan, the Haruno clan, that would definitely cause issues, especially after the hoops they had jumped through to establish themselves as a new Shinobi clan. As for how this affected their relationship with Naruto, it would likely put them in a similar situation to Karin. While, as honorary members, they wouldn't be viable for being the next clan-head, they would be considered a potential suitor for Naruto. Naruto and Karin had already dodged that particular trap by pointing out that their true relation wasn't known, and that they might be too closely related. It might have been a flimsy excuse, but there were laws concerning inbreeding that were taken very seriously within Konoha after it had been revealed that one of the clans had been practicing it to keep themselves "pure" and keep their Kekkei Genkai alive. Ironically, it had only resulted in disease and almost a complete disappearance of the clan's Kekkei Genkai. Unfortunately, the clan in question wasn't actually mentioned, as the concerned clan members that opposed and revealed the practice had asked to keep their clan safe from the rest of the village's judgment. The request had been granted on the grounds of many of the clan being innocent or merely uneducated on the matter of incest and the taboo surrounding it since it had been a practice within the clan and they had been raised to accept it. Actions against the clan had been taken in secret, and laws had been passed to prevent it from happening anymore in the future.

Now, if Sakura was to become an honorary Uzumaki, on paper, she would have been the ideal partner for Naruto, and there were clan laws, as well as certain people within Konoha that might try and push them together for the sake of the Uzumaki clan.

Now, while Naruto wasn't particularly bad looking, and they had a good chance with the boy who had been crushing on them since their Academy days, teenage hormones aside, the Haruno twins had no real interest in being engaged to Naruto. Hinata, if anyone, had first claim to Naruto. Not only had the girl been obviously crushing on the boy since their Academy days, but she had also managed to overcome her own crippling shyness to stake her claim, kissing Naruto before they left Konoha. The girl deserved to have their teammate, they were good for each other, at least from what Sakura and Heikō had seen of them so far.

"Right, I can see the issue with that," Sakura admitted, frowning, while Heikō nodded in agreement, although it was disappointing that they wouldn't be able to learn Uzumaki Fūinjutsu, as the clan had been considered the most talented in the art.

"That being said, I can still teach you two conventional Fūinjutsu techniques, the chakra converting seal being one of them." Kushina then revealed, as a silver lining.

"Well, there's that at least then, I guess. As for letting you talk to Naruto, I'm certain we can figure something out for letting you control a Shadow clone transformed into yourself until we figure out something better. Does that sound acceptable?" Heikō asked, receiving a nod from Kushina.

"That sounds acceptable. Once you learn to use the chakra converting seals, it should be possible for me to make a Shadow clone using my own chakra with the help of one of them without the need of relying on you two. It might even be possible to move my main consciousness into the clone until it disperses." Kushina informed them, already planning ahead.

Not long after, all three of them were eagerly exchanging ideas and seals that might help them with some functional method to connect Kushina with Naruto so they could finally meet for real.

Eventually, the twins had to break their discussion with Kushina up as it became rather late. Sleeping, like they had intended to do early, turned into going to bed late, but with the fortune of knowing that they now had an experienced Fūinjutsu expert on their side. They had parted with Kushina after giving her more of their memories of books they've read, giving Kushina something to do, as she apparently didn't grow tired as she currently existed, being nothing but chakra. Before going to bed, Heikō also decided to share what she had learned from Fukō that evening.

"Wait, you mean that Kushina isn't just here as a chakra imprint, but she also has a presence on a spiritual level?" Sakura asked, receiving a nod from her sister.

"Yes, that's what Fukō implied. This really is Kushina or a soul that thinks it is Kushina. Either way, it's not just chakra. I thought you should know. However, that isn't really what I wanted to talk with you about. Fukō told me some things concerning how things work down on the spiritual level of our consciousness and showed me something alarming. Apparently, my attempts to help you mentally avoid dealing with trauma has caused a buildup of spiritual fear. If nothing is done about it, things could end badly not just for you, but me as well. There's an easy solution for it, but it's not really pleasant." Heikō informed Sakura who was frowning at the revelation.

"Right, and what's the solution then?" Sakura asked, displeased with the way things had turned out.

"Nightmares, mainly," Heikō revealed, sighing. "I tried to keep you from having to deal with nightmares while giving you the benefits that they provide, but as a result, I just ended up doing something worse. You should have an easier time dealing with them, but… you're going to have to suffer them for a while." Heikō informed Sakura.

"Nightmares… how bad are we talking?" Sakura asked, making Heikō cringe slightly, as she remembered some of the nightmares she had suffered through.

"They're… not pretty. Considering the fact how you won't be lucid like I was when dealing with them, I suspect that you won't have a peaceful night for a while. I'll try to limit them to once per night, as well as keep them from coming every night, but I'm afraid that they're pretty bad." Heikō informed Sakura who frowned, before sighing, accepting the inevitable.

"Right, I guess it's nice to be forewarned at least. Just… maybe not tonight? I don't think that's going to be a good idea." Sakura decided, considering how they had been told to go to bed early, and were already up rather late, even if their body was physically asleep.

Heikō nodded in understanding, agreeing with Sakura. "We'll inform Jiraiya tomorrow… Should we tell Naruto as well? He'll likely catch on anyways, as this might affect our performance during the day." Heikō warned, making Sakura sigh again. She really didn't want to tell either of them, but she knew that they had to. The Shinobi handbook Jiraiya had given them had included a chapter concerning nightmares. Everything from how to deal with them, as well as how important it was to inform your teammates about them, as nightmares could cause some rather irrational and dangerous behavior in a Shinobi right after awakening. While Sakura doubted that it would apply to her, since Heikō would have her back and able to step in if something went wrong, it was better to be safe, rather than sorry.

"Yeah, we'll tell them in the morning. I know Naruto will worry, but it's for the best. I'd rather not stab him on accident, just because he's close by when we wake up from a nightmare of the Konoha crush… There'll be nightmares about that, won't there?" Sakura asked, receiving a nod from Heikō.

"There are, quite a few actually. Would you like to know what nightmares you can expect?" Heikō offered to share, which Sakura accepted with a nod.

AN: I think the adoption into the Uzumaki clan being based on skills, not just bloodline makes a lot of sense, considering how big the Uzumaki clan seemed to be. Obviously, the red hair had to have been a dominant trait, as well as their chakra reserves, but I don't think they actually cared much, considering how they supposedly had their own village. Certainly, the Uzumaki clan couldn't have been the only inhabitants of their village, but all residents were likely seen as family in one way or another.