A/N: After another hiatus thanks to NaNoWriMo, chapter 12 is here! Sorry for the hiatus again, but ya know, NaNo, and more cheese. Onward!

Nope, still don't own Naruto.


Chapter XII: In Pursuit of Knowledge

Another three days had passed since Naruto first perused the Konoha archives and was gifted the two scrolls by Tsunade. The notes that his father left on the Rasengan had given him a new appreciation of what it took to develop a jutsu from scratch, and also gave him some insight into just how the Rasengan was formed.

The Hiraishin had proven to be his mountain. Naruto usually took to learning jutsu quite well, especially if he was invested in learning said jutsu. However, he hit a wall with the Hiraishin. He had trouble wrapping his head around both the concept of it being a space-time jutsu and the seals that it required to work. Even with the apparent revisions that his father had made, he still couldn't seem to understand how to perform it correctly. The blond couldn't remember the last time he had poured this much of himself into a jutsu.

Naruto's quest for information had borne very little fruit. He was no closer to knowing more about the Rinnegan or the Sage of Six Paths than when he began his search. He had, however, discovered a great deal of information about the First and Second Hokage. To his astonishment, the Second Hokage was not only one of the most powerful water users to have lived, but he also invented the Shadow Clone jutsu, along with the Hiraishin that his father was famous for using.

Of course, Sasuke had also devoted a lot of his spare time to combing through the documents he had secured from the Uchiha archives. He found some scrolls detailing other fire jutsu that had been passed down over the years. The only notable one was the Hōsenka, as most of the others were variations on Gōkakyu. Other scrolls contained clan history such as previous heirs, members, and internal affairs such as marriages and births.

Sasuke found a boon among the documents: a set of scrolls, unmarked except for the Uchiha crest, that had blood seals. Upon inspection, Sasuke discovered that they contained immensely powerful fire jutsu: Gōka Mekkyaku, Gōka Messhitsu, Ryūen Hōka, and Haijingakure. The descriptions of Gōka Mekkyaku and Gōka Messhitsu were mythic in nature: the former created a vast sea of flames that could swallow a small army, while the latter was similar to Gōkakyu, save for the fact that it was larger, and produced a great deal more fire, essentially guaranteeing the incineration of the target. Sasuke looked for an author's signature, a tag, or any sign of who developed these jutsu, but only found the name "Uchiha" written at the end of each scroll.

He tried to find more information about Madara Uchiha after Naruto mentioned the name. The most Sasuke had found was that he was one of the members of the Uchiha who founded Konohagakure along with Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. The texts regarded him as one of their most powerful members, having only been bested by Hashirama at the Valley of the End. The reasons for their fight weren't entirely clear; the documents merely stated that Madara betrayed Hashirama and Konoha, bringing disgrace to the Uchiha name. That piqued Sasuke's interest and hatched an idea in his mind. Maybe Naruto had the right idea to ask to browse the Forbidden Scrolls. He decided to tag along with him when the time came.

Sasuke had also been helping Naruto refine his Gōkakyu and overall manipulation of fire chakra. The size of the fire plume had increased as Naruto practiced, but he still was unable to form it into a proper fireball; it was more of a stream of fire. Naruto also pitched the idea of adding fire chakra to the Rasengan to Sasuke. The Uchiha was surprised, to say the least, but he wasn't opposed to the idea, given its effectiveness when wind chakra was added.

Naruto also made significant progress in manipulating lightning chakra and adding it to the Rasengan. It wasn't much, though, besides a swirling, chirping ball of lightning. He wanted to further develop it into something, but had little idea what to do with it. His first instinct was to try to create something like the Rasenshuriken, but given the difference in elements, he would need to reconsider his options.

The spars that Naruto had against Konan became more intense as she held back less and less. She also permitted the use of the Rinnegan abilities that he knew, which meant that he had to think on his feet more. He gave Konan a run for her money, but he was still careless at times and left himself wide open to attacks. His control of visually linked shadow clones and the summons granted to him through Chikushōdō was impeccable, but he was still working out ways to more effectively use them. Out of the three spars that they had, he only claimed one narrow victory.

Naruto hadn't had the chance to spar with Sasuke, since he was busy training with Yūgao. Her sparring rules were simple: kenjutsu only, no Sharingan. She put Sasuke through the wringer as far as speed and technical refinement went, but he had markedly improved since their first spar. His attack speed had increased, but he struggled to find the happy medium between speed and power. He cursed his ineptitude, but kept reminding himself that Yūgao was going to whip him into a more capable swordsman—one who would only improve with the use of the Sharingan.

Naruto and Sasuke weren't the only two who were busy training. Since she had last seen her blond teammate, Sakura doubled down on her lessons with Tsunade, who introduced her to the Sōzō Saisei and Byakugō no In. The pink haired kunoichi had long wondered what the mark on the Hokage's forehead was, and when Tsunade explained it to her, she was taken aback at the capabilities of the seal and its derived jutsu. Given how well she handled not only the treatment of the wounded following the attack on the village, but also how she handled treating Naruto when he was brought back, Tsunade felt that Sakura was ready to learn them both.

She also stepped up her training in chakra enhanced taijutsu and would work with Haku when time permitted. Haku awkwardly explained that he taught Sakura what he could when it came to Hyōton. She was quick to point out that he hadn't worked with her extensively on Makyō Hyōshō, which he embarrassedly acknowledged. She tried to keep up with Haku's speed when he moved from mirror to mirror, but Haku was just that much faster than her. However, her accuracy with senbon and ice needles was nearly on the same level as Haku.

Sakura had also taken to sparring with Haku, since she knew Naruto and Sasuke were both busy with their respective instructors. She wanted to take them by surprise when she did get a chance to spar with either of them. Since Haku's specialty was ranged attacks and ninjutsu, she had an upper hand when it came to taijutsu. Of course, Haku fought tooth and nail to keep her at a distance. He had to admit, Sakura was a good sparring partner, since she kept him on the defensive.

Kakashi, who reported to the Hokage regularly regarding Konan's instruction of Naruto, caught wind of Sakura's increased efforts to build her strength. He couldn't help but swell with pride at just how far his 'cute little genin' had come. Tsunade remarked that they reminded her of her teammates in some ways, save for Orochimaru's traitorous actions. Kakashi had inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that Sasuke hadn't turned out like Orochimaru. He knew they were all capable shinobi, and wondered just how far Team 7 would rise.


The day's training was rigorous. Naruto finally had a chance to spar with Sasuke, this time with ninjutsu permitted. It was just like old times; the two fought tooth and nail for any advantage over the other. They launched massive fireballs at each other, resulting in a spectacular, controlled inferno when they collided. The sheer force created an explosion and a plume of flame that rivaled the size of a house. Naruto often found himself on the defensive thanks to Sasuke's improved kenjutsu, but there were still openings that he took advantage of with his visually linked shadow clones.

Naruto had proved a formidable opponent; he was faster than before and was quick to take advantage of his Rinnegan abilities. He had stopped Sasuke's Chidori once, and he did it again despite the Uchiha's improved speed. Naruto hadn't conjured up any blades or weapons with Shuradō, nor had he created any black rods. He relied mostly on his taijutsu, his visually linked shadow clones, and the abilities granted by Tendō. The spar ended in a draw, albeit a narrow one.

Konan and Yūgao took their respective protégés aside to discuss how their spar went. The latter focused on kenjutsu commentary, but still offered solid feedback regarding general combat awareness. Konan, on the other hand, gave Naruto plenty of pointers regarding how best to utilize his visually linked clones. His tactics were still gung-ho, as he often opted to charge headfirst into a fight. Kakashi only reinforced Konan's words, and suggested that Naruto spar against him at some point as a test of his skills. The blond Rinnegan user agreed, though he was a bit apprehensive; he always saw his sensei as someone who would always be stronger than him, regardless of how strong Naruto really was.

Kakashi worked with Naruto a bit on adding lightning chakra to the Rasengan, but despite Naruto's best efforts, it was still just a swirling ball of lightning. His sensei had suggested thinking along the same lines as the Rasenshuriken. That is, how he could possibly throw it like the Rasenshuriken. Kakashi also advised that Naruto consider the nature of lightning as it exists in the world around them. That only left Naruto more confused, but he figured throwing more shadow clones at it would solve the problem.

Yūgao had been drilling Sasuke on his fundamentals, which slipped slightly during his spar with Naruto. He took all of Yūgao's critiques in stride, though he inwardly cursed himself for letting his concentration slip. Though he used his Sharingan during the spar, his purpled haired instructor still forbade him from using it during their training for the time being. He was a bit miffed that he still wasn't allowed the use of his Sharingan despite his improvement, but Yūgao had mentioned in passing that his training would allow for even more advanced techniques that would only be even deadlier with the Sharingan. That snapped Sasuke out of his funk, and lit a fire in his belly.

Naruto and Sasuke bade their instructors a good day and sat near the stream that ran through Training Ground Three. The afternoon sun wasn't as harsh as usual, and a gentle breeze blew through the area. Sasuke was still sore from their spar, and had blisters on his hands from holding his ninjato for so long. Naruto, true to form, was practically good as new; physical fatigue was never a problem for him. Though, he did find himself a bit mentally fried on account of wracking his brain trying to develop what he had dubbed the 'Lightning Rasengan' into a distinct jutsu.

The blond rose to his feet after taking one last sip of water from his canteen. "I think I'm gonna go ask Granny about looking through the Forbidden Scrolls. The library and the archives were both pretty much dead ends."

Sasuke sprang up. "I'm going with you."

Naruto cocked his head, eyeing his friend with a mix of confusion and intrigue.

Sasuke remained stoic under his friend's spectacled gaze. "I found some things in the Uchiha scrolls that I want to know more about. I doubt the archives or the library would have much," he explained.

"What kind of things?"

"There was a name that showed up: Madara Uchiha. He apparently betrayed his friend and brought shame to the Uchiha. I plan to find out just what he did."

Naruto's brows shot up. "Really? I found some stuff about that Madara guy, too. He and the First Hokage were friends."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow before a wry smirk tugged at his mouth. "Let's get going, then. Fireball training will have to wait. Let's just hope Lady Tsunade is in a good mood."

The duo set off towards the Hokage Tower, preemptively bracing themselves for Tsunade's adamant denial and reprimands for requesting something so absurd.


Tsunade was up to her ears in paperwork, as usual. Now that the village was in a state of semi-normalcy, there was no shortage of documents that needed her signature or notarization. Not only was she handling official village paperwork, but she also had a shared responsibility with Shizune over the hospital's as well. Her desk was laden with budget requests, permits, diplomatic messages, mission reports, patient rosters, medical shipments, and other documents that would bore all but the most studious shinobi.

The Hokage let a sigh escape through her nose as she pored over yet another budget proposal, only to be interrupted by a knock at her office door.

"Enter," she called, not looking up from the sheets splayed out on her desk.

In burst Naruto and his plus one. "Granny! I have a favor to ask of you!"

Tsunade could feel her blood pressure rising as she tried to keep her tone calm. "Oh? What sort of favor?" She turned to Sasuke, who gave a small bow. "Do you need something, too, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha cleared his throat. "Well, actually, it's the same thing that Naruto wants to ask you."

The Hokage cocked an eyebrow, turning her inquisitive gaze to the younger blond in question. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he stumbled through his request. "Well, it's just uh— Well, y'see, Sasuke and I were wondering— The thing is— I, er, well, we, were wondering if—" Naruto paused, taking a deep breath. Tsunade's eyebrow held its place as she stared at him as he finally found the words. "I was going to ask you if we could maybe have access to the Forbidden Scrolls?" He braced himself for the inevitable scolding he would receive from his grandmother figure.

Tsunade's brow had lowered and furrowed; her face was set in a frown. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she spoke quietly, though there was an edge of incredulity in her tone. "And just why in the world would you two want to access the Forbidden Scrolls?"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Sasuke beat him to it. "I found something in the Uchiha scrolls that I want to know more about. Naruto wants to learn more about his eyes."

The Hokage rested her elbows on her desk and folded her hands in the air, glancing between the two of them. She focused on the younger blond as he nodded. "Seriously, Granny, it's been a dead end. There's practically nothing about my eyes or even the Sage of Six Paths anywhere."

Tsunade leaned forward, resting her chin atop her folded hands. She turned back to Sasuke. "What exactly did you find in your clan's scrolls that made you want to peruse the Forbidden Scrolls?"

Sasuke's mouth drew into a tight line. "A name."

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow once again. "A name?"

"Madara Uchiha."

The room fell deathly silent. The mere mention of that name told the Hokage everything she needed to know. Tsunade stared at the young Uchiha heir for a time before wordlessly looking between them again. She considered their deceptively simple requests. She rose from her desk after taking a deep breath. "Come with me, you two." The duo swallowed hard as they followed the Hokage.


Naruto and Sasuke were led to a heavily guarded lower level of the Hokage Tower. Normally, the ANBU would have immediately detained them for questioning as to why they were down there in the first place. Since Tsunade accompanied them, they were left alone as she ordered the door unsealed and unlocked.

The trio was greeted by a rather large, plain looking room. It housed a surprisingly expansive collection of scrolls, books, and other original documents. Naruto and Sasuke were about to browse on their own, but were stopped by Tsunade's gentle but firm grip on their shoulders.

"Hang on, you two," she said with quiet authority. The two friends turned to her, awaiting her next instructions. "First of all, absolutely no kinjutsu. Secondly, nothing, and I mean nothing leaves this room. All of this is view-only. Thirdly, try to only look through things you think will be useful to you. Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," the duo responded in unison.

Tsunade gave a firm nod and released their shoulders. "Good. I trust you two. Now go look for whatever you need to find. I'll be waiting here until you're done." With that, Tsunade took a seat at one of the reading tables as Naruto and Sasuke went on their way. The latter tried to find letters, memoirs, and accounts written by either Hashirama Senju himself, or shinobi from the time of the founding of Konoha. Naruto had, of course, set his sights on anything regarding the Sage of Six Paths; opting for historic documents that chronicled the known history of shinobi within Konoha and the Land of Fire.

Sasuke found some texts written by Hashirama Senju; mostly memoirs and journal entries. None of them went into great detail regarding Madara's betrayal, but they did offer more insight into what Hashirama saw. Madara's betrayal seemed to have been a culmination of sorts. Hashirama surmised that something must have happened after Madara first showed him the Uchiha Stone Tablet that likely broke him. After their fight at the Valley of the End, Hashirama wrote that Madara seemed as though he was consumed by hatred; hatred of Hashirama, hatred of Konoha, even hatred of the old Uchiha clan.

Out of curiosity, Sasuke decided to look for writings by Tobirama Senju, Hashirama's younger brother. His opinions of Madara and the Uchiha as a whole were significantly more negative than his brother's; he had chalked up Madara's betrayal to something called "The Uchiha Curse of Hatred." The supposed curse was apparently one of the Uchiha's most defining attributes, and one that allegedly plagued many Uchiha. Sasuke's frown grew the more he read. While it was true that people like Itachi and Madara had brought shame upon their clan, the former going so far as to slaughter all but Sasuke, he had to wonder just why the Second Hokage had such a distaste for the Uchiha in the first place.

A sigh escaped Sasuke's lips as he rolled up the scroll he had been reading; a faint sour taste in his mouth. He shook his head, trying to silence the voices that were incessantly whispering that he was still one of the accursed Uchiha despite not ending up like Itachi. He knew in his heart that he wasn't like either; he knew he was different, and Naruto had helped him see that. Though, he would be lying if he said he didn't find himself wondering just what made him so different from them. Did he really owe everything to Naruto? He remembered when he snapped after the Chūnin Exams, lamenting over how close he had come to following the path of solitude. He shook his head once more, ridding himself of those thoughts.

Naruto had once again found little by way of the Sage of Six Paths or the Rinnegan. Outdated history books only mentioned the Sage in passing. He read that the Sage was the ancestor of shinobi enough times that it was etched into his subconscious. He wondered if he would ever find any answers. He wasn't sure why he felt so compelled to know more about his eyes, only that he did. It was as if something in him had awakened; some desire for knowledge. It struck him as rather odd. Normally, he would be content with simply becoming stronger thanks to his new dōjutsu, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else at play; something bigger.

For the sake of being thorough, as Sakura had advised, he looked through journals and memoirs of the First Hokage as Sasuke had. As expected, there was nothing regarding the Rinnegan. Naruto's frustration was palpable. He'd turned the library and the village archives upside down looking for something, anything about his unexpected gift. Naruto started out hopeful that he would find something, even just a small lead. Instead, he hit one dead end after another.

He was ready to storm out of the room when he stumbled upon something that made his blood run cold. Hashirama Senju had a wife; a wife who had been unnamed up until now. Her name was Mito; Mito Uzumaki. Naruto stared at the name written in the scroll in front of him. He was motionless, his unblinking eyes were the size of ramen bowls beneath his sunglasses as his mouth hung open. It was impossible. He was the only Uzumaki in Konoha aside from his mother; at least, he figured as much, since his father's surname was Namikaze.

Naruto immediately strode firmly to where Tsunade was sitting, scroll in hand. Sasuke noticed the commotion, peering around a shelf to observe. Naruto slapped the document on the table in front of the Hokage, glaring at her with a frown. She simply eyed the document and the younger blond who violently presented it to her with a cocked eyebrow.

"Care to explain, brat?" She probed.

Naruto simply pointed to the name of Hashirama's wife, his frown deepening. Tsunade's face grew more serious before her expression softened. "Have a seat," she gently instructed.

Naruto was taken aback at the sudden shift in tone, but he sat down without a word of protest. As soon as he sat down, he began his interrogation. "Who was she? Why does she have my last name? What does this mean?"

Tsunade raised a hand, silencing the chūnin. "One question at a time. Let's start with your first one: who was she? She was the wife of Hashirama Senju; she was also my grandmother."

Naruto swallowed hard. "Why does she have my last name?"

"Simple: she was an Uzumaki. She never changed her surname, despite my grandfather's insistence. She simply didn't want to abandon the Uzumaki name."

"The…Uzumaki…name?" Sasuke shuffled out of the shadows, keeping himself at an arm's length so as not to disturb his friend and the Hokage.

Tsunade nodded, her honey eyes full of concern and empathy for her grandson figure. "That's right. Mito was from the Uzumaki clan, and she didn't want to leave that part of her life behind completely. She was quite stubborn at times."

Naruto's face twisted in confusion. "Uzumaki clan? Granny, I don't understand, why wasn't I—"

"Why weren't you told about the Uzumaki clan?" Naruto nodded meekly, trying to contain the mélange of emotions that were swirling about within him. Tsunade let out a sigh. "Because there were only two Uzumaki here in Konoha: Mito, and your mother."

Naruto froze, his gaze fixated on the Hokage.

Tsunade rose to her feet. "Wait here," she instructed. Naruto nodded as she went in search of something. The blond turned his attention to Sasuke, who gave a nod of acknowledgement.

The Hokage returned with an older Ninja Registration book. Naruto and Sasuke looked on with bated breath as the blonde woman thumbed through pages. She paused once she found what she was looking for and turned the book to face Naruto. "This…" She pointed at a photo of a young woman with long, impossibly red hair. "…was your mother. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki."

Naruto pulled the book towards him with trembling hands. He blinked rapidly behind his sunglasses, trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill over. His fingers brushed over the image of his young mother. "This…this is my mom? This woman is my mom?" He asked with a strained voice. Sasuke could only stare as Tsunade simply nodded.

The young Uzumaki's hands balled into fists for a fleeting moment before they relaxed. Naruto's voice was barely above a whisper. "Why didn't you tell me who my mother was?"

A small frown marred the Hokage's face before a sigh escaped through her nose. "The same reason you weren't told about your father: to protect you."

Naruto gave a small nod, running his fingers over the photograph one more time. He tried to imagine what it would have been like to have had his mother in his life. He wondered how a hug from her would have felt; it probably would have been better than any hug he could have ever gotten. Maybe even better than a hug from Sakura. He took one last glance, taking note of the lack of any dōjutsu in her eyes, before sliding the book back to the Hokage. Tsunade carefully closed the book before getting up and returning it back to its shelf.

The two blonds sat in silence; Naruto would have spoken if he weren't trying to process what he had just seen. Tsunade watched him with concern in her eyes. He should feel angry; angry that nobody told him about either of his parents and had kept everything so secret from him. He wanted to know everything about his parents; what they were like as people and as shinobi. Even though he knew in his heart they loved him, he wanted to hear someone tell him that they loved him. Yet at the same time, he felt a sense of peace now that he knew who his parents were.

Naruto was pulled from his ruminations by Sasuke's hand resting on his shoulder. Tsunade glanced between them, clearing her throat quietly. "Did you two find anything useful?"

Sasuke let out a sigh. "Sort of. According to the Second Hokage, Madara fell into this thing called the 'Curse of Hatred' that the Uchiha are supposedly predisposed into bearing." Sasuke formed air quotes around the name of the supposed curse. His voice was calm, but carried undertones of frustration.

Tsunade gave a nod, her own face set in an apologetic expression. "That sounds like something my great uncle would say. He was…never fond of the Uchiha. He never told me exactly why, only that they were capable of unspeakable evil." Sasuke's face fell into a frown before the Hokage continued. "But I would say you're proof that not all Uchiha are doomed to succumb to the 'Curse of Hatred' that he talked about, Sasuke."

A small smile crept across the young Uchiha's face. Tsunade returned it with a nod before turning to the younger blond. "What about you? Find anything?"

Naruto blew a raspberry. "Aside from that thing about Miss Mito? Nothing." He slumped forward, burying his fingers in his hair and resting his chin on the table. "I swear, no matter where I look, it's just one dead end after another." He peered up at Tsunade. "Do you know anything else, Granny? Maybe some stuff you forgot to tell me since you last saw my eyes?"

A sigh escaped the twin-tailed blonde. "Unfortunately, I don't. I only know what's mostly common knowledge: the Rinnegan belonged to the Sage of Six Paths—"

"Who was the ancestor of shinobi, yeah yeah yeah. I must've read that exact phrase at least a thousand times," he groaned, straightening from his defeated posture. Tsunade frowned at his interruption, casting a glare at him.

"Well, then you already know what I know," she said with a huff.

Naruto threw his head back and groaned dramatically, which drew a chuckle from his roommate and a growl from the Hokage. The latter glanced between the two of them, clearly not amused.

"If you two are done, I've got work to do. That, and you're really not supposed to be in here for too long," she said with a slight edge. The two friends both stiffened and nodded quickly.

Tsunade escorted them out of the archive, making sure the ANBU guarding the room didn't disturb them. She led them back to the doors of her office before she dismissed them. Naruto was about to set off alongside Sasuke when he was stopped by Tsunade's hand on his shoulder. He turned to her, a quizzical look on his face.

"When you're ready to ask, I'll do my best to answer," she said gently.

The younger blond nodded, knowing full well what she was referring to. "Thanks, Granny." With that, he set off across the rooftops to his apartment.


Much to Naruto's elation, dinner had been instant ramen; miso for him, and shoyu for Sasuke. Normally, the two would try and relax before hitting the hay, but their relatively fruitless search for information among the Forbidden Scrolls compelled them to bury themselves in their own independent projects. They hadn't even changed out of their ninja gear before they set up shop in the living room. Naruto brought out the Hiraishin scroll; meanwhile, Sasuke threw himself at the scrolls he had brought back from the Uchiha archives; scrolls containing the mysteriously powerful fire jutsu, namely.

Naruto sat cross-legged on the floor, poring over the scroll in his lap. An exaggerated groan escaped him as he fell onto his back. "This. Sucks. Why can't I get this?! No matter how many times I read this thing, I can't understand how to do it!"

Sasuke shrugged, not looking up from his own jutsu scroll in his lap. "Maybe all that ramen has finally turned your brain into a mass of noodles?"

The ramen lover in question raised his right arm slightly and displayed his middle finger for his roommate, not moving from his recumbent position. Sasuke snickered after stealing a glance. "I'm just saying; it's very possible, given how much you can put away." Naruto's finger stood a little taller.

Sasuke nearly doubled over in laughter. "Oh, calm down, whiskers." He adjusted the scroll in his lap. "Have you tried actually doing the jutsu? You've never been one to learn just from reading, anyways," he offered.

Naruto lowered his arm, sitting up and scratching his cheek. "Ya know, you have a point."

"I know I do."

"Suck my dick."

"I'm pretty sure you'd prefer it if Sakura did that," Sasuke sneered.

Naruto's eye twitched as a light blush dusted his cheeks. He grumbled incoherently as he went back to studying the scroll. He retrieved a small piece of paper and a brush from his room. Carefully, he started copying the seal that was pictured in the scroll.

The blond examined his handiwork. "I think this looks good. Let me try putting this…in the kitchen. Just as a test," he thought aloud. He rose to his feet and made his way over, setting the seal on the ground in front of the refrigerator.

"Just don't blow anything up, bonehead," Sasuke called over his shoulder. He was answered by another middle finger as Naruto made his way back to the living room. Naruto took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and put his right hand up into the Seal of Confrontation. Sasuke watched cautiously out of the corner of his eye.

Not a moment later, Naruto disappeared in a plume of smoke. When it cleared, Sasuke was met with silence instead of raucous, joyous whooping.

"Yo, blondie, did it work?"

No answer.

He set his scroll down and turned towards the kitchen to see nothing but the seal on the ground between the table and the refrigerator. His eyes widened and morphed into their crimson state. He whipped his head around, trying to find Naruto's chakra signature. When he saw that his roommate was nowhere in the immediate vicinity, he let out a groan and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Dammit, Naruto."


A/N: I don't usually end on cliffhangers, but I couldn't resist. Now that NaNoWriMo is over, I'll be able to (hopefully) update a little more regularly. As always, thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review. Chapter 13 in the works!