(A/N) Wanna guess who that odd seal out is?
"What can they do?" Shino asked, coming over to inspect them.
"Well, we can channel healing chakra into them, and that will heal the person long distance. The seals can light up different colors signaling different states. We keep track of all of our shinobi like this, even ones that aren't born here." She tapped a different seal, this one very different from the others. "This guy here, he wasn't born in Uzu but is still looking to become one of our best shinobi. Even if he's only been here a few days. This seal is so different because it links directly to his prosthetic arm, which is fire natured, by the way. Theoretically, he should be getting home any day now from his first mission here. You might even be able to meet him!"
Shino looked at that one too, comparing it to the one next to it. "Is the prosthetic the only reason it is so different?"
"Well, no, it's adapted to his chakra signature, and that section, this one here, is a lot different from most of the others because he is fire natured, and most of us are wind or water natured."
Shino nodded seriously, continuing to study the seals.
"If you have such a fascination with seals, you can check out a book from our library for while you're here," Semari offered. "Naruto-kun, you too. Although, the books are written for Uzumaki, who learn very differently from a lot of people, so don't be afraid to ask for help. Anyone with a patch that looks like this," she drew a quick sketch of the Uzumaki clan crest, a spiral, and drew a line through it, "or any higher number of lines through the spiral is a fuuinjutsu user. They'll be able to help you."
Shino nodded solemnly, while Naruto nodded excitedly.
Semari gave them a blinding smile and turned to the other two. "What about you two, any particular area of being a ninja that catches your fancy?"
Shikamaru sighed heavily. "Iryoninjutsu," he admitted. "Troublesome."
Semari laughed. "Iryoninjutsu is very troublesome, little Nara-kun. And you, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke thought about it for a moment. "Taijutsu and ninjutsu."
Semari hummed thoughtfully. "I'm afraid we don't really have any fire jutsu, assuming you have a fire affinity, which you probably do, but taijutsu, we have quite a large selection of scrolls on that. Do you have a taijutsu style picked out yet?"
Sasuke shrugged. "No, but my tou-san has already started me on the Uchiha style kata."
Semari thought about it for a moment. "If you like that style, you should be good, the Uchiha's interceptor style is very Sharingan based though. You can look through the scrolls on Taijutsu styles we have and think about it, okay?"
Sasuke nodded happily.
"Am I interrupting something?" A female voice asked, prompting Sasuke to spin around, and Naruto and Shino to look over from the wall.
'Hihana-kaa-chan!' Naruto signed excitedly before running over. 'Semari-baa-chan said you were at an appointment, but wouldn't tell me anything!'
Hihana smiled. "Hello, Naruto-kun. And I was at an ultrasound appointment."
Naruto's nose scrunched up. 'A what?'
"An ultrasound, it means she's pregnant," Shikamaru drawled, yawning.
Naruto blinked a few times. 'Like, with kids?'
Hihana giggled. "Yes, Naruto-kun, with kids. Twins, actually. A pair of girls."
Understanding dawned on Naruto's face, and he happily hugged Hihana. Once he detached, he flashed through some signs. 'They healthy?'
Hihana smiled. "Yes Naruto-kun, they're healthy. Now, why don't you introduce me to your friends?"
Naruto turned to Shikamaru and began signing, Shikamaru translating for Sasuke and Shino. "This is Hihana-kaa-chan, she took care of me after the injury, and was the one to rush me to the hospital."
"I also got to threaten the nurse," Hihana said conspiratorially, winking at them.
Shino looked almost intrigued, or as intrigued as an Aburame can look. "You got away with it?"
Hihana smirked. "It was Naruto-kun, of course, I got away with it. Hokage-sama was not going to reprimand me for saving the life of Naruto-kun, even if it did involve threatening one of his ninja."
Shino nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright, who's up for a trip to the library?" Semari asked, grinning.
"But your secretary said we had thirty minutes," Sasuke said, mild worry on his face.
Semari grinned wider. "That was so I could go on lunch break. She forgot I have lunch with Kakashi-kun when he's here. My lunch today is easily eaten while doing paperwork, so why don't we go to the library?"
Naruto hopped up and down excitedly. 'Can we?'
Semari smiled. "Yes, Naruto-kun, we can. C'mon, let's go!" She herded them out of the door, smiling at Hihana. "You can come too Hihana-chan if Choryu-kun isn't already worried sick."
Hihana smiled. "My husband will be fine. He's not really the type to worry overly much. Besides, he will assume I stopped to grab something to eat if I'm late."
The boys ended up staying in the library while the adults left to get lunch. They weren't hungry, not when they could be doing this. Shino began on the first of many fuuinjutsu books with Naruto, Sasuke began trying out some of the katas for the Raging Typhon style, and Shikamaru studied anatomy.
By the end of the two weeks they were supposed to be there, Sasuke had decided he much preferred Uzumaki taijutsu styles, especially after trying a few of them, and seeing a couple demonstrated for him. Shino was now managing to correctly change things about his own explosive tags, Naruto had upgraded his barrier seals a few times, and Shikamaru had started trying to revive fish. He wasn't quite good enough to manage it yet, and definitely didn't have enough chakra, so he was trying to build up his chakra reserves. The Uzumaki were very helpful with all of their chakra exercises built for Uzumaki. Sure there was walking on water, but why just walk on water when you could be doing it on the ocean while someone else is saturating the water with their chakra just to make it harder? Or climbing trees that were sealed so thoroughly, they were absolutely coated in chakra which you had to get past just to climb the tree. Chakra intensive, and thus perfect for Uzumaki, and trying to increase your reserves. Naruto had been taught how to seal trees like that so Shikamaru could do it in Konoha too.
Sasuke walked up to Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, weren't we supposed to leave today?"
Iruka gave him a strained smile. "There's been a problem back in Konoha. They're delaying our trip back by a few days. No more than a week. Why don't you go tell your partners about it? You guys were in the library when I gave the announcement."
Sasuke nodded reluctantly and walked away to find his partners. They had apparently planted themselves on a rock outcropping that was high enough they'd be safe and dry on it even during high tide, even if they would be stuck there until the water receded.
Naruto was the first to look up, hands placed in a sign Sasuke recognized as his own name.
"Did you find out when we were leaving?" Shino asked, making moves to close his sealing book.
Sasuke shrugged, sitting down and pulling out a scroll on a style called Mantis Strike. "We apparently won't be leaving for a while, up to a week."
Naruto cocked his head, signing something.
"Why?" Shikamaru translated.
Sasuke shrugged. "Iruka-sensei said something about a problem back in Konoha."
Shikamaru frowned deeply at that. "A problem that delayed our trip? That implies we're safer here than in Konoha, or perhaps it's the trip back that's the problem."
"We should get back inside the seal's range," Shino said, closing his book and tucking it in his backpack. "Why? It would be safer."
The others nodded, following his example and tossing their backpacks down onto the sand below the rock outcropping, far enough away that the tide would never reach them, as the sand up until that point was often damp at best.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" A voice floated out across the ocean, and all four boys were immediately alert, Sasuke reaching for a kunai, Shino's bugs buzzing at the edges of his sleeves, Shikamaru with a kunai already in his hands, and Naruto shrinking in on himself.
Sasuke blinked a couple of times, hand falling away from his kunai pouch. "Guys, it's my Aniki, Itachi."
Shikamaru frowned ever so slightly, brows furrowing. "Why is he out here?"
"Good question." Itachi's voice praised arrogantly. He suddenly appeared, knocking Sasuke's legs out from under him, swiftly disappearing, reappearing in front of Shino to push him off of the pillar into the ocean while knocking Naruto off of the other side, all while sneering arrogantly at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, kunai held at the ready.
Itachi tsked. "Really, I would've thought you'd know better, little Nara."
"I do," Shikamaru admitted. "But every moment I delay, lets my friends get to safety."
Naruto did the opposite, of course, and launched himself right at Itachi, red chakra bubbling over his skin.
Shika, momentarily stunned by the appearance of Naruto, was almost fried by a Katon jutsu, but his foot was pulled out from under him by Sasuke, making the fireball pass over his face almost harmlessly.
Shikamaru's head hit the pillar, and he saw stars for a moment. He quickly recovered, just to have Naruto thrown into him, pushing both over the side of the pillar, and into the ocean. As he sank, he hazily realized two things. One, he was now covered in chakra burns from Naruto, and the saltwater was making them sting like heck. Two, the water was much deeper than it should be. His back gently touched the bottom, and he hazily spotted a seal next to him before his world went dark.
Sasuke barely registered Shikamaru and Naruto flying off of the pillar, focusing on Itachi as his eyes began to burn. "Itachi, why- why are you doing this?"
Itachi snorted. "I always hated your voice. So high and reedy."
Sasuke's hand flew to his throat, a subconscious attempt to protect it.
Itachi sneered at Sasuke with a painfully familiar expression, the one Sasuke always saw on his father's face. "So weak. I was strong at your age. I was a killer at your age. Look at you, hopelessly stalling and waiting, hoping foolishly for your friends to come back up. Guess what, they won't."
Sasuke's eyes began to burn worse, but he couldn't close them, not with Itachi so close.
"Aburame don't do well in water. Their bugs get weighed down. And all that clothing? Tsk, so heavy when waterlogged. Your Nara friend? Hn, in that water, with those chakra burns from your Kyuubi friend? Doubtful he'll survive. Look at that, all of your friends. Dead soon if not now, you're the only one left. Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. A few, actually." He leaned closer to Sasuke, and Sasuke leaned back ever so slightly, quivering slightly with fear and the pain from his eyes. "One, your friend there, he is the Kyuubi. You saw the chakra, how it burned your Nara friend."
Sasuke's body was overcome with shudders, and he stepped back properly. "No, no, Naruto can't be the Kyuubi! No!" He clutched at his head in disbelief.
"Yess," Itachi all but hissed.
(A/N) Alright, chronological order. So, yes, I'm having Shikamaru go into Medical ninjutsu, I think it'll be fun. Next, This is Evil/Cracked!Itachi. He will not be redeemed. Also, yes, that burning is his eyes is the Sharingan. So do you mind if I just do a new story for FMJ's update spot? I have like four really cool Tenten ones, and a cool Shikamaru one. Also, I've been on a very random Miraculous Ladybug kick, so if anyone wants a go at that...