It wasn't, thanks to her new skills. She was able to discreetly steal from a tall jounin in a hurry.
(She later had a foreboding feeling about stealing it, but she didn't worry too much about that.)
But sadly the library was practically devoid of anything that could be considered sealing. Sure, there was theory, but she understood the theory of sealing. She wanted to understand the elements of sealing.
Kurama decided, after looking at that, that he would teach her. And be her therapist.
She needed to be kept from cracking like an eggshell.
She skipped some days at the Academy, only coming when Kurama instructed her to. She trusted her big, furry friend with a childish simplicity that remained even when her mind was an adult's.
She turned eight.
The Uchiha had settled down, keeping the peace and being trusted because of Naruto's 'study groups' that she was never allowed to go to.
Children were far more instinctive than adults.
Naruto hopped in the Hokage's office via the window after running up the side of the building. She saw a couple shaggy-haired guys standing in front of him, and her eyes almost immediately lit upon the breech cloth that the duo had.
It had the symbol for 'Fire', which meant that they were guardians of the Fire Daimyo.
"Naruto, how did you get in through the window?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with amusement in his eyes.
"I walked," she said simply. "But you're busy, so I guess I should leave you too it. I can't quite master walking down the walls yet; mind if I use the door?"
The three stared at her, the Hokage shaking his head mutely.
"Thanks!" She smiled at him, beaming, really, and threw open the door and skipped down to the ground.
~:~
She knew she was being followed, but she walked to Kyuu's favorite spot for their meditations. The Forest of Death.
It had an uncanny feeling of being alive. Naruto was training to get a feel for her surroundings, more than she already was aware. And this one was a human that the Kyuubi knew, like had met, multiple times. Or one of his containers did.
Naruto sat down in her spot and got into the basic meditating pose. Then she let her awareness flow over the rocks and into the trees. She could sense that everything around her was alive.
And then...
There was white chakra concentrated on a tree limb. It was in the shape of a man, not the blue of animals and not the green of earth. This person had unique white chakra.
She found herself wanting the tree to curl around him and keep him from forming ninja handsigns so she could demand questions.
But then she sensed something else. Five rapidly approaching condensed blue chakra in the shape of humans.
Naruto kept a single sense on them as she stood up and faced that direction.
Slow breaths, kit.
Okay. She was kind of nervous.
Three ninja with unmarked hitai-ates appeared in front of her.
Naruto felt like everything slowed down as she made her hands form signs, Kurama adding a smoothness to her trembling hands, and wood lashed out and held the hands apart, making them forego the hand signs. Wood shifted easily and responded to her every command and caught the last two, wherever they were at.
And her body burned. The wood held, but her body - no, her chakra coils - exploded in agony and made her collapse and huddle in a circle.
You expanded too much chakra, kit. Kurama's voice was soft. But you used chakra for the first time in a dangerous situation. Congratulations.
She was happy she accomplished something.
~:~
"She's fine, physically. But the toll the Mokuton took on her exhausted almost all of her chakra. What should we do?" Yamanaka Inoichi frowned at the girl in the hospital bed. She'd uncovered five ROOT members just by that alone, and they were to be re-integrated into society.
How? He didn't know. But... "Keep her here for now. Maybe toss her in with those ROOT members when she gets hungry."
"Sir?" the T&I man blinked with confusion.
Inoichi smirked a little. "I assume Uzumaki-san was the target, and we don't know why. So, why not? I assume they have to take the girl alive."
"Clever, sir."
Inoichi walked away. Plus, Ibiki wants a word with the kid for stealing his ID. He walked out and thought hard. Hm, what does my delicate little flower want to eat tonight?
~:~
Naruto woke up to bright lights and the smell of... Hmm. It was not antiseptic, thank goodness. Though for chakra exhaustion, she supposed the hospital should have been her stop.
I know where we're at. Kushina was in here several times under pretense of trying to find new ways to torture me.
So they knew Kushina-sama was your container? Asked Naruto silently. Then why am I still treated as if I am a monster?
No, no, you're not a monster. Hell no, denied Kurama.
The door opened, and Naruto looked at the person. He was scrawny, unassuming, and chewing on a senbon needle. He was a jounin.
Naruto wondered if all Konoha jounin could come and go freely.
"Hey, kid, how's it going?"
Well, that was odd. Maybe some people don't actually care if I'm the Kyuubi container, she marvelled to Kurama. Maybe they like treating a scroll like a scroll.
You're not a scroll, I'm not a kunai. Maybe there are just some decent people here that don't give crap to receive crap. Kurama sighed.
I was just using the scroll as an example, Kurama,she told her friend dryly.
"You up to eating?" the jounin asked her, smiling.
Her stomach let loose a ferocious growl.
She pretended not to notice the reaction of his hand going to his kunai.
"Yeah, as you can tell, I'm starving!"
~:~
She was led to a cafeteria with the five who had attempted to capture her. They were all eating stoically, and she pretended not to have a care in the world and plopped right next to the first one who had attempted kidnapping her.
"So," she said, not attempting any small talk, but demanding a straightforward answer. "Why exactly did you attempt to kidnap me?"
"He commanded it." Naruto spotted something with her sharp eyesight.
"Who commanded it?" She frowned.
None responded, just stilling and staring at nothing.
Paralysis seal? Judging by the tongue, I suspect it's a 'Seal of Silence'. This guy, whoever he was, just got in deep crap, said Kurama with a rumble.
Naruto nodded to herself. The Seal of Silence was usually implemented by seal masters onto their apprentices (as Kurama had told her). It was originally made by the Uzumaki (as a lot of old seals were), used on apprentices of secret trades or even political prisoners (on rare occasions), and was not a good one to mix with a paralysis seal. One odd seal (the Seal of Silence) and one even seal (the paralysis seal) would never work in conjunction with each other. Naruto grabbed one of their jaws and yanked it down, using her experience to silently judge and comprehend it.
"Wow, whoever did your seals were incompetent. You can't just modify a seal to try and make it an even seal." She was so into her work she didn't even register the fact that the jounin was still there. She frowned. She silently conferred with Kurama.
Is the seal tied to anything? If there's anything you taught me... Her ADHD kicked in and she stood up. She usually took her medicine right after she woke up, but today she hadn't, and her ADHD was usually worse after that.
She paced, ignoring the jounin as Kurama mulled over her memory of the seal. I'd say the neural network, or the chakra network. Kurama paused for a moment. Either way, I wouldn't try removing it now.
I know that, she sighed to him. I know that I can't remove a seal like theirs. She mentally frowned. Even if I could, it would require quite a bit of help from a real seal master.
Tch. I'm right here.
Naruto sat down, but tapped the table in a constant rhythm. I meant human seal master. Nothing against you, Kurama, but you know as well as I that if I were to say that you'd taught me, then I'd have to forget you, Kurama. That's something I don't want.
She felt Kurama's hesitancy. But then he growled. They can try to take you. But you're my kit.
The door opened, and Naruto turned as the five ninja were taken away. A heavily scarred nin stood there, the nin that Naruto had stolen the ID from.
Killer intent filled the air. Naruto barely noticed it; she'd felt more KI when Mito was angry at Hashirama for doing something wrong.
Naruto looked up to Uzumaki women. They were the epitome of what kunoichi should be.
"You're the guy I stole the ID off of," she said in lieu of greeting.
"Why did you do that?"
Naruto bit her thumbnail. "I'm an Uzumaki." She said it like it explained everything.
