"NEJI!" yells Naruto, running into the Temple of Jashin, where Neji is helping Naruto's Grandpa document research. "We did it! We know how to remove the Caged Bird Seal!"
Neji drops the scrolls he is carrying and stares at Naruto, an expression of shock written all over his face. "You can remove it…?" he whispers in disbelief.
"That crummy seal is no match for two Uzumaki seal masters and an Umino seal master!" Naruto says, giving Neji a cheerful thumbs up. "We will remove it right away, dattebayo!"
"Go on, Neji," says Naruto's Grandpa. "We can handle things here, right guys?"
"Definitely!" chorus the members of the Order who are helping Arashi.
"Go for it, kid!" says Shisui, grinning over the top of the gadget he is putting back on a shelf.
Naruto grabs Neji's arm and drags him outside. Iruka and Gramps Pants are setting up for the un-sealing in the Temple courtyard, to the left of the top of the stairs. Iruka is smoothing out a large scroll on the ground and Gramps Pants is laying out brushes and ink.
"I have Neji!" says Naruto, dragging Neji over to the sealing station.
"Good," says Iruka. "Before we begin, Neji, there are a few things we need to go over. Firstly: this procedure will be painful. Secondly: it will take a few minutes to fully unravel the seal. Thirdly: we can stop the un-sealing at any point in the process, but if we stop for any reason, we will have to start over from the beginning, and it takes longer each time because the seal gets stronger the more we try to unravel it."
Neji looks a bit nervous.
"It'll be alright," says Naruto, reassuringly, slapping Neji on the back.
Neji staggers forward. "Ow!" he says, indignantly. Then Neji takes a nervous step towards Iruka. "I'm ready," he says. "Please remove my Caged Bird Seal!"
"Take off your forehead protector," says Iruka. "And lie down on this scroll."
Neji does so with a nervous, but excited, expression on his face.
"Alright," says Iruka, picking up a brush. "Lie absolutely still."
Naruto picks up a brush of his own and kneels down beside Neji's head. With Gramps Pants on Neji's left, Naruto on Neji's right and Iruka sitting at the crown of Neji's head, the sealing team is in position. Gramps Pantsu holds out the tray of sealing inc he mixed, and the three seal masters dip their brushes into it. Iruka draws a squiggly oval around the caged bird seal. Then Naruto, Iruka and Gramps Pants start drawing the sealing formula on Neji's face. As the draw the formula, the seal masters create a circle that spreads onto the sealing scroll and Neji's chest. Once the circle of sealing designs is completed, with Neji's Caged Bird Seal at the centre of it, each seal master draws a squiggly line branching from the seal to where they plan on sitting for the procedure. Then they lay down their brushes and form the seals: "Dragon, Monkey, Bird, Snake, Ox, Rat, Monkey, Boar, Hare, Dragon, Ram, Horse, Tiger, Bird, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Rat, Dragon, Rat, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Bird, Ram, Wind Release, Water Release, Earth Release, Fire Release, Lightning Release, Dragon, Monkey, Snake, Bird, Yin Release, Yang Release: Fuuiin, Caged Bird Unsealing!" Then, they clap their hands together and slam their hands down into the sealing scroll, sending their chakra down the squiggly lines and into the counter seal.
The seal formula glows white and the Caged Bird Seal glows red. Neji screams in pain, making Naruto flinch.
"Neji!" says Iruka, scowling with the effort of holding the seal. "Feel free to pass out. It won't affect the sealing, and it will make it easier on you. We only needed you awake to cast the jutsu."
Neji closes his eyes and goes limp.
"Are ya sure that's a good idea, eh?" asks Gramps Pantsu, completely nonplussed by the procedure. "We only tested this ten times, so there is still a chance we missed something, eh."
Gramps Pantsu is right: they did test the counter seal once each day for the last ten days since Naruto talked to Kurama. They needed to wait a whole day for Iruka's chakra to recover, and to give Gramps Pants and Naruto a chance to recover without relying on food. Between the three of them, they have exactly the amount of chakra required to use the counter seal. Burifu's help is not needed, and since she is only at Level Two, she might not be able to help anyway. If they had needed another person Iruka would have needed to send to Okami, Lord First or Lord Second for help, since the Order of Steve is not made up of Seal Masters. Only Burifu is learning Fuuinjutsu, and that is because she was chosen as Pantsu's successor.
But Naruto has no time for reflecting or flashbacking. Sealing is hard.
The Counter Seal turns blue at the outer edges, and the Caged Bird Seal turns a sickly green. The blue colour travels slowly through the counter seal to the centre, glowing brighter and brighter, until the Caged Bird Seal begins to turn blue.
The Order, Arashi, Burifu and Shisui emerge from the Temple and gather at a safe distance to watch.
Naruto focuses on the jutsu, ignoring the crowd of spectators. The seal is half finished, and this is where it starts to drain the chakra heavily. The counter seal starts to lift off Neji's skin in the centre, taking the Caged Bird Seal with it. The Caged Bird Seal lifts slowly, starting with the two lines on either side of the X in the centre. A doughnut-shaped bubble forms between the Caged Bird Seal and the outer edge of the counter-seal as the counter seal lifts. Soon, all that is left attached to Neji and the sealing scroll are the outer edges of the counter seal and the very centre of the Caged Bird Seal. Naruto, Iruka and Gramps Pantsu pour in their last surge of chakra. The seal turns white and lifts off Neji completely, hanging in the air. A blinding white light shines from the two jutsu as the sealing team releases the counter seal.
Then something happens that did not happen in the practice runs.
The seal and counter seal change shape, twisting into the shape of an eagle, which comes to life. It grows flesh and blood and snow white feathers, lets out a loud cry and flies away towards the mountains.
"That was unexpected," says Iruka, blinking a couple of times.
"That was so cool!" fangirls one of the Order.
Neji groans and opens his eyes. "Is it over?" he asks, touching his forehead.
"Yes," says Naruto, pulling out a mirror from one of his storage seals and handing it to Neji.
Neji takes the hand mirror, looks in it excitedly, sees his clean, unmarked forehead and laughs. "It's gone!" he says, nervously, as if he doesn't quite believe it.
"Yep," says Naruto. "It turned into a bird and flew away." He points at the white eagle flying away over the treetops. "That's it over there."
Neji looks up at the eagle. "I hope that bird is happy." Then he turns to Gramps Pants. "Grandfather," he says, calling Gramps Pants by the name most of the Order of Steve uses. "Will you put the Hidden Bird Seal on me?"
Madoka regrets his drunk decision to train with Lady Tsunade. He regrets it so much. Today's exercise is dodging giant projectiles, but Madoka has to heal all the bruises from the hand-to-hand combat practice they just finished while he does so. Tsunade is showing no mercy so, of course, Madoka is getting more bruises faster than he can heal the old ones.
"Dodge Nerd!" yells Tsunade, laughing. "Heal those bruises, before I come over there and break you like a twig!"
"She's drunk," mutters Madoka, and yelps as he jumps out of the way of a large tree. Unfortunately, Madoka does not jump far enough and is caught beneath the branches.
"HAHAHAHA!" laughs Tsunade, digging her fingers into the ground and ripping up a chunk of turf the size of Choji's appetite. She lifts it above her head and hurls the giant block of earth towards Madoka.
Madoka yells in terror, trying to free himself from the tree branches. He breaks free, but the boulder is too close for him to avoid. Instinct kicks in and Madoka lets loose another yell, this one a war cry. "SHANNAROO!" Madoka yells as he pulls back a fist, charges it with chakra and slams it into the oversized dirt-clod. The dirt breaks into pieces, and flies in many different directions, all of them away from Madoka.
"Good, Nerd!" laughs Tsunade, picking up one of the boulders she threw earlier.. "Now you're getting the idea!"
Tenten is at Kakashi sensei's house studying fuuinjutsu with Grandpa Tobirama. They are sitting inside at the kitchen table, reading through the Second Fuuinjutsu book.
"See these seals here?" Says Grandpa Tobirama.
"They are unfinished," says Tenten, squinting at them. "Why's that?"
"This book is designed for Uzumakis," explains Grandpa Tobirama. "They will see those seals and attempt to complete them. Sensible people, however, must be told they are meant to try and complete those seals."
"Oh," says Tenten. She pulls out a practice scroll and copies one of the unfinished seals perfectly. Then, making some guesses about what is supposed to go in the blanks, she fills them in. "Is that right?" she asks.
"You won't know unless you activate it, will you?" says Grandpa Tobirama.
Frowning, Tenten activates the seal. A punk guy in black and white with spiky hair and a chain necklace around his neck appears. He has no legs, just long, tattered robes covering the place his legs should be. He only has three fingers on each hand, a tassled earring in one ear and a quirky grin on his face.
"Who are you?" asks Tenten.
"I am Joe!" says the guy, enthusiastically. "I am one of the four shinigami. It's been ages since I was last summoned." He sees Grandpa Tobirama. "Hey, Tobirama! Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"Yes," says Tobirama. "But someone used the Reanimation on me. I should've locked that jutsu up in your temple."
"Or, you know, you could've just not invented it," says Joe. "Who's the kid, and why's she learning the Grand Tradition?"
"She's my great-granddaughter-"
"JOE!" another guy with tattered robes where legs should be appears. This one is not wearing a shirt, and is wearing a big pendant shaped like a triangle in a circle around his neck. He is wearing an open vest, though. A ghost is hanging onto the bottom of this guy, who Tenten guesses is another shinigami.
"Lord Jashin!" the ghost is saying. "Can I wash your clothes for you? Or maybe cook for you? Or maybe I could haunt a house for you?"
"Shut up, Hidan!" snaps Jashin the shinigami.
"What's up with him?" asks Grandpa Tobirama. "And why are you here?"
"Joe is grounded and not allowed out," says Jashin. "Hidan here...well, let's just say a blonde Uzumaki forced me to take his soul." Jashin grabs Joe and both of them vanish.
"What?" says Tenten, staring at the space the two shinigami were a second ago.
Grandpa Tobirama sighs. "Allow me to explain the Grand Tradition of the Hidden Whirlpool, and how you just passed the Level Two test..."