Author's Note: Something to maybe keep in mind before you read this chapter (it's not important but just relevant trivia): Katsuri Uzumaki belonged the very first batch of jounin that Uzushio produced. She was a member of the Uzukage's personal guard and accompanied him on most of his meetings, even the ones that took him to different nations for negotiations.
That's it, read on! Hope you enjoy!
Chakra has always been Lee's enemy. It never cooperates with him, never bends to his will or moves the way he wants it to. Moulding or yielding chakra is probably the only task Lee can't carry out through his limitless hardwork and determination alone.
It stings a bit, when another classmate of his can easily form a bunshin with just a week of practice while he struggles day and night for months on end to even get a wisp of chakra to behave.
He's accepted it by now, that ninjutsu will never be his to learn. That he will never make tornadoes of fire or wind and waves of water or earth. He's known this for quite some time and it bothers him less as each day passes and he focuses on honing his body and increasing his strength.
Rarely, someone from his class looks at him with pity or laughs at his inability to mould chakra. Those days used to be plentiful before but Lee has proven himself to be a diligent student, who makes up for his lack of talent in ninjutsu with his boundless potential in tai.
Sometimes, his sensei will pick him out, narrow her eyes at him and ask,
"Tell me Lee, what natured attack is best suited to counter an earth-based jutsu?"
Lee doesn't go back to his painstakingly memorized chakra theory, or the lines printed in neat script on his textbook. He doesn't think at all infact or hesitate. He simply grins and says my kick will be more than enough.
Sometimes, he looks at his peers with fascination as they transform into the Hokage's visage and wonders if he'll have to disguise himself the old-fashioned way on spying missions. Other times, he asks the caretaker at the orphanage if he can take a peek in her personal library, and the woman - an old, kind lady - smiles at him and sneaks him into her private quarters. He rifles through the tomes and pulls out any graphic-filled book on taijutsu. He sits and stares at the different diagrams and skillfully sketched images of different katas and fighting styles for hours. And when his eyes droop, and he falls asleep on top of the book, the lady ruffles his hair and gently drags the book from under him so he doesn't accidentally drool on it.
He doesn't feel upset about his disadvantage anymore; he doesn't even see it as one. While everyone around him focuses on practicing ninjutsu, he utilizes that time polishing his taijutsu. He doesn't doubt it that one day he'll accomplish his goal of becoming a renowned taijutsu master.
There's another boy like him too. He's also passionate about taijutsu like Lee, even better than him infact. His name is Neji Hyuga and Lee has sweared to defeat him, so that he can be the best at this combative art.
But it's a perilous task to outdo a Hyuga - Neji's clan is the best at taijutsu afterall. Lee understands this everytime he spars against Neji and gets thrown on the ground under 5 minutes. Even with his speed and sharp muscle memory, even with the ten hours of practice he puts in to improve himself each day - Neji is better than him. The Hyuga has some edge over him that he can't point out.
Maybe it's the strong gentleness of Neji's strikes or their precision and aim, maybe it's the focus and strategy that he incorporates in his fights, maybe it's his innate talent itself showing its true colours. Whatever the case, Lee will weaponsize his hardwork till he's beaten Neji and proven himself to be a capable taijutsu user to anyone who doubts him.
However, for this special mission he's assigned himself he needs someone to train against. Tree logs can only take him so far - he needs a responsive and strong opponent who can challenge him and push him further. Neji refuses to even have a proper conversation with him so Lee can't just go up and ask the guy to be his spar buddy.
No, it has to be someone Lee can actually approach without denial being the only answer he'll receive.
This takes him to Tenten, the only friend of his he actually trusts from his class.
"Spar against you?" the kunoichi-in-training repeats, baffled.
"Yes!" Lee nods enthusiastically, "I believe we both will greatly benefit from such an arrangement and you'll make a great opponent for me."
Tenten snorts, shaking her head in disbelief, "Lee, you'll literally break every single of my bones if we sparred beyond two minutes. I'm no good at hand-to-hand combat. I rarely win against any other girl in our class matches."
Lee frowns, realising that fighting against Tenten won't give him the experience he's looking for.
"Who should I go to then?" he asks her, "Pardon me for being so boastful, but apart from Neji, I'm the best at taijutsu in our class. Neji won't give me the time of the day and the rest won't provide any substantial challenge for me. What must I do to get better?"
"Hmm," Tenten hums in thought as the two come to a halt at their usual meeting place with Naruto and his friends. "You can ask Kiba, perhaps? He's pretty good at fistfights."
Lee considers this as they wait for the rest of their group to arrive. It doesn't take long for the band of juniors to enter the little grassy nook at the back of the Academy buildings.
"Hey!" Naruto chirps with a wide smile. "You won't believe what happened in class today!"
Tenten chuckles lightly at the blond's excitement and nods at Sakura in greeting.
"Oh? What happened?"
Naruto quickly seats himself on the ground, Shikamaru following suit. Kiba climbs on the tree along with Sakura who grumbles about the dirt clinging to Akamaru's hair.
"We were having some boring lecture on Genjutsu types--"
"It wasn't boring," Sakura interrupts with an eye-roll which Naruto easily ignores.
"--and Shikamaru and I were peacefully napping in the back. Then there was this shriek okay? Like someone was absolutely terrified and saw a ghost or something. I woke up and this idiot," he points at Shikamaru, currently lying down with his hands tucked under his head, "still remained asleep. Apparently, Shino wasn't feeling well today - poor guy was sick since yesterday but we had an important test in the morning so he came to the academy anyway. He's got all these insects living in him 'cause he's an Aburame. Iruka-sensei said that the insects can detect if their host is unwell and it makes them jittery. In an attempt to get help for Shino, they got out of his body and started bothering everyone in the class. The shriek that woke me up was Ino's. Almost two dozen of Shino's kikachu just landed on her body and she went absolutely crazy."
Naruto laughs a little, remembering the chaotic scene from his classroom. Sakura huffs under her breath and Tenten smiles contently at the story. She likes how included she feels in this small group.
"Then," Naruto continues, "The insects started hoarding Sasuke and kami was that funny! I had no clue he was scared of them. I think today was the first time I saw him look so disheveled."
"He was going to hop out the window!" Kiba interjects from the tree, "I swear I saw him crawl his butt up the window sill."
Shikamaru snorts at that, "You weren't any better. Don't think I didn't notice you using Akamaru as a shield."
"So you weren't sleeping!" Kiba accuses with a pointed finger. "Stop pretending and being all sneaky!"
Shikamaru simply smirks and gives no response to his dog-loving friend.
"Sasuke?" Lee's voice draws everyone's attention, "As in Sasuke Uchiha?"
"Yup," Sakura confirms. "That's the one."
"Oh," Lee says, a faraway look on his face.
Tenten's eyes widen in realisation and she thumps his back in celebration,
"I think you've found your spar buddy then!"
Lee breaks out of his trance and grins like an idiot, much to the confusion of Naruto, Sakura and Kiba - Shikamaru's napping once again.
"Yes!" he says cheerfully, "Yes, I have."
Sasuke sits at his usual spot, relieved that Naruto hasn't occupied the seat next to his. Ever since that day a few weeks ago when Ino had suddenly hoarded Naruto's original seat, the blond had made it a point to pester Sasuke by being his desk partner.
He goes through his mental checklist, adding things he needs to do after going home. For one, he's out of vegetables and though he knows only ten or so recipes he can make something edible out of, most of them require greens in them. So he'll have to visit the market at some point before nightfall.
Another thing he's got to do is work on his flexibility. The new stretches they'd practiced today made his legs incredibly sore and he can't have that - his body needs to be in its best condition for him to control. He'll have to--
"Uchiha-san!" someone interrupts his train of thought and a boy with big eyes and a cheery grin drops in the seat next to his. The guy's haircut is decidedly ridiculous but Sasuke isn't going to point it out.
"Do I know you?" Sasuke asks, voice bland as usual. As a matter of fact, he does know this boy - Rock Lee - from his idle observations. Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru seem to be well acquainted with Lee if their several escapades together that he'd noticed were any indication. However, this does not mean he's going to treat Lee familiarly.
"No," Lee replies. "But if all goes well, you soon will!"
"If what goes well exactly?"
Lee straightens up and Sasuke notices Naruto standing by the door, vigilant towards the corridors that led to their classroom. Evidently, the blond is involved in whatever this senior was up to.
"I," Lee gets out before he awkwardly clears his throat. He starts again,
"I, Rock Lee of Konoha Academy, Grade 6, formally request you - Sasuke Uchiha - to be my opponent, spar buddy and overall rival in taijutsu for the mutual development and improvement of us both!"
Sasuke raises an unimpressed brow despite being entertained by Lee's grandiose form of proposal.
"Are you even any good at taijutsu?" Sasuke asks, looking Lee up and down; he doesn't fail to notice the bandages wrapped around Lee's knuckles not unlike his own. "You clearly don't look very...competent."
Lee doesn't take any offence, instead his grin widens.
"I am the second best in my class!" he informs. "In order to get to the top, your assistance would be greatly appreciated."
The Uchiha thinks about it some. The offer is definitely presented to him rather unconventionally but it's not unappealing. He's always wanted someone to test out his strength against - someone who could go toe-to-toe with him. His classmates, while providing a good fight from time to time, do not share a drive similar to his. He knows how hardcore his training regime is and that's the only reason he'd never bothered to look for a training partner. He didn't think anyone could match his level of seriousness and resolve.
"I...will accept," Sasuke says finally, "on two conditions."
Lee visibly brightens and urges him to continue.
"One, you will never call me Uchiha-san. Sasuke is fine and two - you'll have to quieten down when we talk, you're too damn loud."
The older boy makes a disgusted face, appalled that the Uchiha would try to curb his enthusiasm with such a request. It takes him more time than it should to agree to those outrageous terms. His personality wouldn't ever allow him to let that energetic attitude go but if it meant he would get better at taijutsu, he was willing to make a small sacrifice and tone down his excitement.
"Shall we meet again at the training grounds you use this evening?" Lee inquires as he stands up.
"Fine," Sasuke says with a shrug before narrowing his eyes at Lee. "But how do you know which grounds I frequent?"
Lee gives him a sheepish look, "Er...Naruto may or may not have told me?"
Sasuke restrains his urge to scream at the blond and stiffly nods his head so Lee could leave him alone. Fortunately, the other boy does exit his class owing to the fact that he has his own lectures to attend and Sasuke's peace is restored. On his way out though, Lee high-fives Naruto and shouts a thank you before leaving.
Naruto then abandons his position by the door, no longer required to act as a guard for Lee's intrusion in their class. As he walks past Sasuke, he gives the Uchiha a cheeky grin.
"You're gonna enjoy yourself with Lee," the blond informs him. "He's an awesome guy, y'know?"
Sasuke doesn't scowl though he most definitely wants to. Instead, he stares at Naruto and says,
"Don't you dare give information about my training spot to anyone else. I'll never help you with your stupid seals otherwise."
"Hey! Don't call my seals stupid!" Naruto defends but there's mirth in his eyes so Sasuke knows he's not offended. "And I won't. With Lee, it was an honest slip of tongue."
"Sure," Sasuke says, unconvinced, but he let's the matter drop and goes back to staring at the trees outside.
That evening turns out to be more productive than all his academy classes and Sasuke marvels at the strength behind each of Lee's individual move. He loses half the spars but the sting of defeat is entirely lacking. He learns how he's more reliant on his left arm - both for blocking and punching and knows how detrimental it can be against an enemy like Lee - who is both powerful and analytical; who follows his instinct as much as he follows his mind.
It's well past dinnertime when both boys stop their training, drenched in sweat and satisfied with the aches in their body. Each match had been more grueling than the one before but neither Sasuke nor Lee had complained or asked to stop. They'd mutually decided to call it a day when the shrouded moonlight wasn't enough to illuminate the grounds and both had stumbled around, trying to attain some sense of their surroundings in the dim brightness.
"Thank you for sparring with me!" Lee whisper-shouts in a well-intentioned attempt to abide by Sasuke's condition, though the Uchiha finds it more jarring than his usual loud rambling.
"No problem," he mutters as he picks up his water bottle and kunai pouch, strapping it on.
They walk towards the exit in companionable silence, each going through possible changes they should make in their regime to strengthen their weakpoints.
It's before they part ways that Sasuke looks at Lee and nods his head - his gesture of silent acknowledgement and says,
"Thanks."
He ignores the way Lee's eyes widen and turns around, breaking into a light jog.
Lee watches his retreating back with a soft smile, pleased with himself for having approached Sasuke that afternoon. He's certain that rivals or not, he definitely wants to befriend the Uchiha. The boy is stoic but he is also kind and Lee can easily see that.
"Did you get it?" Naruto asks the moment Shikamaru enters his usual cloud-watching area.
The Nara lazily walks towards the blond, hands tucked in his pockets. When he reaches Naruto, he pulls out one hand and a small glass bottle filled with a black liquid comes out with it.
"Yes," he says and stretches his shoulders.
"Oh my god," Naruto holds the inkwell with reverence etched on his face because this isn't just any regular ink. No, absolutely not. It's the permanent kind - with the perfect consistency that the Hokage uses to sign documents of utmost importance.
"Shikamaru," he whispers, eyes still glued to the bottle. "You're absolutely incredible, you know that?"
Shikamaru sits beside Naruto, gaze fixated on an idly moving cloud.
"I know," he drawls, "Committing petty crime is apparently my forté. Who knew?"
Naruto grins, placing the ink gently on the stone steps beside him and throws his arm around Shikamaru's neck.
"We still have to get the summoning scroll. How about I be your partner-in-crime for this one?"
Shikamaru shrugs off Naruto's arm and lies down,
"Absolutely not. You're as subtle as a sledgehammer. I'm not getting caught because of you."
Naruto pouts, leaning against the wall. He disagrees with Shikamaru's assessment - he can totally pickpocket someone if he tries hard enough but he's not about to argue with his friend.
"Okay okay," he acquiesces. "Just get the scroll by the end of the month please. Tenten's graduating two months hence and we really want to see if the summoning scrolls can provide any insight on teleportation."
Shikamaru frowns a bit before his face goes blank again. Unfortunately for him, Naruto notices it since his attention had been on the Nara this whole time.
"What's on your mind?" The blond asks midly. The Nara stays silent for a bit, deciding whether he should respond or not. Finally, he speaks up,
"The thing is..." he sighs. "I doubt I'll be able to get the scroll. The summoning contracts of major animal clans are inside the Hokage's office safe. Very well protected. The scrolls that are unique to ninja clans aren't easily accessible. I was planning to ask my dad for our clan's deer summoning scroll but then he'd question me about it and poke and prod till he would inevitably find out how I stole the ink from him. It's too risky. Our best bet would be to file a request to the Shinobi Resources Department asking for a summoning scroll of any generic chakra-using animal and see if the seals used are decipherable. I know for a fact that the major clan animals that made the first summoning scrolls shared their knowledge with any animal clan that wished to work with ninjas. So no matter the summons the scroll is for, the seal should be more or less the same."
"Oh," Naruto blinks, trying to process the information just provided. "That's too bad then. We can't put in that request until we're part of the shinobi corps. Tenten can do that once she's genin but we wanted to improve her current method before she went on missions."
Shikamaru turns to his side, elbow on the ground and face on his palm. He hums in thought,
"I think we know someone who can get us a summoning scroll. You'll just have to convince him?"
"Really?" Naruto's excitement returns full-force, "Who is it?"
Shikamaru's lips curl upwards, "It's Shino."
Hiruzen Sarutobi reads yet another letter of complaint from the citizens inhabiting the west of Fire Country. The shinobi stationed in their village for protection are apparently too lax and unbothered and they're worried that if bandits were to attack their home, the ninjas wouldn't be able to fight them off.
He writes the same old spiel that reassures the people that shinobi, however incompetent they may seem, are more than capable of defeating normal bandits. He's just about to stamp Konoha's emblem on the envelope when there's a knock on his door. He glances at the clock and sighs at the late arrival of the person he'd been expecting two hours ago.
"Come in," he calls out nonetheless.
Kakashi Hatake steps inside his office with slow and deliberate strides. Without asking for permission, the man sits in the chair across from Hiruzen, pulls out his orange erotica novel and starts reading it without an ounce of shame.
"Pleased to see you're punctual as ever," the Hokage remarks with a shake of his head.
"Thanks," Kakashi replies. "Good afternoon, by the way."
Hiruzen completes the stamping process and throws the envelope on the coffee table to join the steadily growing pile.
"Afternoon," his response is exasperated. "I need you stop reading that book right this instant or I will pass a decree that no shinobi is allowed to wear facemasks at work."
Kakashi merely raises an eyebrow, aware that his kage wouldn't ever do such a thing but he obeys regardless. Placing his book face down on the table, he slumps into the chair and waits for Hiruzen to inform him why he's called Kakashi for this meeting.
"Thank you," Hiruzen says pointedly. "Now then, let's start. I won't beat around the bush; I'm here to assign you to another long term mission, not unlike the ones you carried out a few times during your ANBU career."
Kakashi doesn't let his thoughts show in his expressions which remain neutral.
"Cool," he says. "What's the mission?"
"Keeping an eye on Naruto Uzumaki," the old shinobi states. "Through the recent verbal accounts of the academy instructors, it has come to my notice that Naruto has acquired an interest in sealing arts. He's been learning and practicing - which is all absolutely fine. There have been no complaints against him. My only concern is that he's gaining information through a source he found in the academy's library. I don't want to hinder his growth - given that seals is something that comes so naturally to the boy. I just want you to make sure he doesn't learn about the seal placed on him, and doesn't mess with it in anyway. Naruto may be proficient in the sealing arts for his age but he lacks the responsibility that would prevent him from performing truly dangerous experiments. One tweak in his seal and you know the consequences will be dire."
Kakashi nods, fully aware of the gravity of this situation. It isn't like they're in immediate danger, but the threat that lingers - if Naruto keeps gaining knowledge about seals and the possibilities caused by such a scenario - is truly significant.
"How long?" he asks.
"Till he becomes chunin." Hiruzen replies, placing his arms on his table.
"You're planning on making me his jounin-sensei, aren't you?"
Hiruzen cracks a small smile, "Astute observation, as ever Kakashi. Good job."
Kakashi rolls his eyes at the man, "I will fail him if he doesn't pass the bell test with his team. No exceptions."
Hiruzen stares at his subordinate intensely before remembering that Kakashi has never been intimidated by his authority. So he replies,
"If you fail him, you'll still have to shadow him when he's sent back to the academy. Which means another year of no high stakes mission, which means more boredom in your life. Now unless you're a masochist I don't think you'd do that to yourself. Would you?"
Kakashi gives him a eye-smile, overly sweet yet incredibly sour,
"Good to know you've yet to go senile," he says and grits his teeth for getting caught up in such a situation.
"I appreciate the pseudo-compliment," Hiruzen pulls out a sheet of paper from his drawer. "Read through your mission statement and other details. You will have to accept this mission, no excuses. I've made the deal very sweet for you - you'll get your normal salary even though the only thing you'll do for the next year is be an instructor at the academy."
When Kakashi steps outside the Kage Tower, it's with a particular brand of sulking unique to his ownself. He grumbles under his breath, not the least bit happy with how the Hokage had decided to ruin his peace.
But somewhere, in the depths of his mind where the horrors of his past stay carefully buried, he feels apprehension at the prospect of interacting with the son of his sensei. He has no clue the type of person Naruto really is - after the first few years, the blond resembled Minato too greatly and looking at him became painful. So he'd stopped spying on the kid and though on some days he regrets it, today isn't one of them.
He's curious too. To maybe get to know Naruto, the food he likes best, the activities he enjoys most, his friends, his habits - both good and bad, to maybe hold a conversation and finally see Naruto as Naruto instead of the son of Minato-sensei and Kushina-san.
However, Kakashi isn't ready for these changes. But he'll find a way to adapt and cope, like he always has.
"Ah, Shino-kun?" Hinata draws the attention of the boy towards her who had been previously hyper-focused on following the trail of an ant under his desk.
"Yes, Hinata-chan? What's the matter?"
"I think..." Hinata bites her lip, darting her gaze behind Shino and then back at him, "I think Sakura-san is calling you."
"Is that so?" Shino mutters, turning his head to see the pink-haired girl waving her hand grandly in invitation. He gets up and walks towards her, wondering why she couldn't have simply approached him instead.
He's two steps away from her desk when Naruto's excited yell draws his attention-
"Is that a ladybug?! It's so cute!"
Shino watches from the dark haze of his glasses as the blond points exaggeratedly at an insect, which is infact a ladybug. He knows for a fact that that they inhabit the central park of Konoha and he's never spotted ladybugs in the academy grounds. Which means that Naruto had brought one to the classroom solely to act surprised at its presence. Odd.
"Hey Shino!" it's Sakura who greets him with a nice smile.
"Hello," Shino replies, a little confused by what's happening. "Did you need me for something?"
Sakura keeps smiling but she also tries to subtly glare at Naruto - as if giving him a cue to do something. Shino waits patiently for the weird duo to stop being weird, and that's saying something - coming from the resident insect host.
"Ladybug," Sakura says stupidly, pointing at the insect again. "Er..."
Naruto walks up to them, looking incredibly sad.
"Sakura, I don't think he's impressed."
Shino raises a brow but the effect is ruined by his glasses.
"Was I supposed to be impressed that you stole a ladybug, placed it on your desk and then recognized what insect it was?"
"When you put it that way-" Naruto scratches his head, "it sounds incredibly stupid, huh?"
Sakura groans, "It took us three hours to actually catch one, you know? Atleast give some reaction."
Shino continues to stare at them blankly.
Naruto throws his hands in the air, "Fine! I'm just going to go ahead and say it! Shino - we need you to do us a favour and you can't say no."
"That's very demanding of you," Shino replies flatly. "Puts me at a great disadvantage. Nevertheless, I'm curious about what favour you might ask, so go ahead. Tell me."
"Could you please get us an insect summoning of your clan? Any will do, like even a caterpillar or something." Naruto shuffles on his feet, giving him an uncertain grin, hoping that he would agree to do the favour.
Shino looks between Naruto and Sakura and their expectant gazes put a kind of pressure on him - to not let them down.
"Why?" he asks finally. "This is a very odd request, I must admit."
"It's for one of his sealing adventures," Sakura says, waving a vague hand in Naruto's general direction. "Nothing that'll get you involved, don't worry. Well, not beyond the initial help atleast."
Shino shrugs then, already having considered the downsides of carrying out the request - which aren't many.
"Okay, I'll do the favour. But in exchange, I would like to be filled in on what the scroll will be used for. Why, you ask? I'm an inquisitive person by nature and knowledge of what will happen to the scroll seems like a fair trade for providing said scroll in the first place. Is that acceptable?"
Naruto gives him a jerky thumbs up accompanied by a lopsided grin,
"Yes, totally! Thank you Shino."
The insect-user nods slightly and without any verbal farewell, turns and walks back towards Hinata.
"Well, that went well," Sakura says, amused by that little interaction.
"Yup," Naruto simply agrees.
It's a little past midnight when Naruto finally makes a breakthrough. He's been trying to improve his Chakra Transfer and Storage Seal since morning and only now has he been able to tweak it enough so it's more efficient.
For one, the seal can now be powered solely by the user without a mediator's aid. It can also be used for any natured chakra, or even pure chakra in general. Naruto looks at his creation with pride and places it neatly on his desk under a paper weight.
He sighs as he lands on his bed and rolls his head side to side to get the stiffness out of his neck. He's a little sleepy, but not much. Seals never bore him and he's always interested and awake when he's studying them or creating them.
A month ago, Sakura had pestered him to make weekly schedules so he could keep his studies and training organized. He'd been dismayed by the task of actually planning what he did but after a rocky start, he'd found the scheduling helpful. Especially so, because he absolutely sucks at managing his time otherwise.
According to this week's to-do list, he has to read another chapter of the monograph but this seal had kept him occupied the whole of Sunday and now it is way past his bedtime.
He stares at the book - almost always kept at the bedside table now - and decides that his drowsiness isn't overwhelming and he can surely manage reading a page or, well, several before he sleeps.
It's the halfway point today, page 250 of this 500 paged book. It's not something Naruto would take months to read but since he's experimenting after each concept he learns, the reading of the book has been a slow process. He's also had to refer to many recommended books mentioned here and there in each chapter so he would actually be able to understand the references made.
He turns the pages till he's on the right chapters and starts going through its content.
[ Sentient Chakra Sealing
Remember when I'd said seals are something I consider semi-sentient? Following a similar idea - I am now telling you that even chakra has the ability to be sentient.
It sounds bizarre and almost supernatural, doesn't it? Because chakra, primarily, is non-living and doesn't respond to a stimulus like we do. It isn't conscious in the true sense of the word.
While these characteristics of chakra are true for most cases, exceptions do exist. The only exceptions to this otherwise universal rule are creatures we call the Tailed Beasts.
Don't be fooled by that name.These beasts, despite having bones and flesh do not share any components that constitute our bodies. They're beings made purely out of chakra and chakra alone.
They're capable of thought, and they're capable of movement. They're sentient, intelligent and skilled. Owing to these traits of the bijuu, sealing them is basically sealing sentient chakra.
There are two ways to go about this:
a} Sealing the chakra in an object.
b} Sealing the chakra in a human.
While the former is what I approve of, I predict the latter method becoming more common due to its advantages. I will refrain from expanding upon the second method - given my personal distaste for it but I have no such qualms for the first one.
Sealing sentient chakra in an object is much like creating a barrier seal where the walls of the barrier are simply the surfaces of the container used. The material of the object should be sturdy - capable of withholding stress and unaffected by corrosive chakra. The seals placed on it will be numerous, each individual seal fulfilling one of the following tasks:
1) Reinforcing the strength of the container.
2) Channelling continuous intent to contain the chakra.
3) Barrier Seal.
4) Filtering mechanism to dilute the corrosiveness of the chakra.
5) Shock Absorption given that the chakra will most definitely act in volatile manners.
6) Illusion for normalcy {it's good to fool the consciousness of the bijuu so it doesn't realise it's trapped}.
Note: Point six is optional given the difficulty of tying in a genjutsu seal with the other essential seals.The matrix that brings all the seals together must be a stabilizer. Each chakra being has an inclination towards one nature type...]
A yawn reminds Naruto that his sleepiness has come back full force and if he persists, none of the information he reads will actually get processed by his head. He grudgingly places the book back in its rightful place and pulls up his blanket after shutting off the lights.
Closing his eyes, his thoughts linger on what he's just read. The term 'bijuu' isn't exactly new to him. He's sure he's seen it in the Shodai's biography they'd studied in fourth year but they hadn't been told what the word meant. Now knowing that they're chakric entities create a certain amount of awe towards them within Naruto. He wonders what they're like - their thoughts, their actions, their mannerisms. How they look like, what their voices sound like.
He sleeps with comical images of dragon wings sewn on the body of a horse as his imagination of a bijuu. There's a distinct stream of amusement that lingers in his mind and Naruto doesn't have the faintest clue of its origin. But just like the tingle of raging chakra, this feeling that isn't his has a familiarity to it and so he shrugs it off and falls into peaceful slumber.
Author's Note:
I couldn't resist drawing the parallels between the Gai Kakashi rivalry in Lee Sasuke's. :D
Decided to make Hiruzen somewhat decent in this fic lmao.
I'm getting a bit overwhelmed with all the plot points for this fic, and as I'd said at the beginning it'll be long. Pre-canon might stretch for another 40k words maybe. Whatever the case, I hope you'll stick around for the ride.
Thank you for all the positive comments you lovely people have sent towards me! I appreciate it.
This is last of the already crossposted chapters. Chapter 5 is almost done though, so the wait shouldn't be too long. But after that, the updates will be slower. I'll be crossposting my other pre-written works though, so if you're interested you can check them out in a day or two!
Also, thanks a ton for reading!
Have a good day!