Coming from the Shadows: Trust in the Uzumaki
"Alright. Ino, Shino. Either of you able to read basic sealing?" Naruto asked, wanting to get started as there was a lot of work to do.
They shook their heads, signifying that no, they didn't posses the skills to do such.
He frowned. "Hm. In that case, there isn't really a whole lot you can do and it's not a skill one can quickly learn. Since I seem to be the only one of us who can safely navigate these scrolls, you two should stick close to Senkai. I'll need all my attention on these scrolls which isn't something I can do while guarding someone. Some of these scrolls could turn out to be traps, and I'd rather not find out the hard way that they were." Naruto turned his gaze to the wall in front of him, which was littered with seals, hardly an inch of space existed without some seal covering it.
Frustrated at their inability to help with this task, Ino and Shino silently complied. They took up position at their client's flanks, making sure to keep her protected at all times.
Naruto examined one of the seals in front of him. A fairly basic one. Seems that kitchen utensils was sealed into that one. Frowning he moved on, next he found food. Furniture. Writing Supplies. Books. Games. He groaned. At this rate they were never going to finish. Putting his hands into a familar ram seal, he created three kage bunshin so as to speed up the process.
Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. And finally as the long day stretched into night did Naruto finish the entry hall. "Ugh." He groaned. "Found enough basic necessities for living to support a village three times the size of Konoha, yet not a single piece of history, no pictures, no ninja tools, nothing whatsoever that would help us in our task or help us as a ninja."
Turning to his teammates, he said, "We should find sensei and head back to the campsite. I don't think it'd be wise to stay in Uzushiogakure during the night."
They jumped slightly at his voice. their nerves frayed from having been on guard without break for over half a day.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We should that. Yeah." Ino said, mentally fried from her unrelenting task requiring an unrelaxed guard.
They left the building and immediately bumped into Itachi. Literally. As Naruto knocked their sensei down. "Um. Whoops?" Naruto said, unable to resist a smile at the idea that their sensei was caught off-guard. Something they have never seen even once before.
"Sensei, what were you doing out here?" Naruto asked. "We could have used your help in there. I know that you possess some skills in the obscure branch of fūinjutsu."
Instead of answering, Itachi merely directed Naruto to the seal he found. Naruto looked at it, and frowned. "This is still a bit advanced for me, sensei. I can't quite read it."
Mildly surprised that he overestimated Naruto's skills in fūinjutsu Itachi said, "It's a rather interesting seal. It prevents those that aren't being guided by an Uzumaki from entering the dwelling. From what I've seen the vast majority of the buildings in the village have this seal upon the doorways."
"Fascinating..." Naruto muttered. "It's not a blood seal as it doesn't require any bodily fluids to activate. Chakra detector maybe? But, no, that wouldn't quite work, or sensei, would have been able to enter as I recently crossed the threshold. Hm..." Naruto mused, off in his own little world.
Itachi smiled as his focused student. "Perhaps we should head back to our camp, Naruto?" Itachi said, interrupting Naruto's frenzied thoughts.
"Right, the camp." He said, as he forced himself to put aside those thoughts for now. "Ino and Shino deserve a full sleep tonight." Naruto said, "They were on full-alert for half they day in my place as I was the only one able to read the seals that were in the building."
"Alright." Itachi said, nodding slowly. "We can do that, let's head back to the camp now, however."
With that, he leapt away, leaving it to his students to follow him with Senkai in tow.
After a quiet meal, Itachi spoke up. "Ino, Shino. I was informed of your actions today, and I have to say that neither of you are fit for the night watch this night."
"Sensei!" Naruto interrupted, appalled at his words. "They need a full night's rest, yes. But that...that..." Naruto stopped as he couldn't seem to put his thoughts into words.
"While, yes, I am pleased that they took into consideration the seriousness of the situation and didn't give any potential enemies an opening, the truth nevertheless remains that they are currently unfit for the night watch considering the nerves are frayed, their minds spent."
His two teammates just silently went to their respective tents, their minds too spent to even work up the energy to get angry at their sensei.
"I'll take first watch, Naruto." Itachi said, "Head to bed, too."
Naruto complied, but said one parting piece before entering the tent. "This conversation isn't over, sensei."
Itachi frowned at his words and settled into a position that would calm his mind and keep his thoughts centered so as to more be able to keep his senses on the surroundings.
As they all woke up, Itachi said, "Let's put our supplies away. With the seals in place, the Uzumaki dwelling may be much safer for us. But we'll have to take care to not trigger any traps, and detect if there are any other openings through which enemies could enter, such as other doors or windows."
They nodded, and swiftly put away their camping supplies, sealing them into scrolls.
They quickly left the clearing and headed back into Uzushiogakure.
"Be aware of your surroundings. There may be more bandits." Itachi said. "If all goes well, there will be no interference on the way to the building."
The three genin quickly complied and, as one, the group sped up some more. They quickly found themselves in the Uzumaki dwelling with no opposition in sight.
"Alright, so seeing as how only sensei and I are able to read, the two of you, more or less will have the same job as yesterday. However, sensei and I will first check all the entrances for the seal that helps keep this place safe. If all goes well, you two will soon be able to relax your guard somewhat." Naruto said, directing the team.
His three teammates complied, and swiftly they got to work. It was a long and slow process, and the two fūinjutsu users had to check for triggers and traps as they went, knowing that despite their protection seals, the Uzumaki clan was nothing if not paranoid. A sign of their paranoia would be the fact that despite the efforts of three great nations some Uzumaki still exist today. The hours passed and the sun began to shine brightly through the windows when finally they checked the last entrance they could find.
"Alright," Naruto said, informing his team. "All clear it seems. All the entrances seem to be protected by that seal, but there may be more traps we're unaware of. So while sensei and I go through the bedrooms, you three will have to stay in the entryway as it's already been cleared."
Naruto took the closest room to the entryway while Itachi checked the halls. It wouldn't do for them to head to the room and accidentally trigger a trap. And so, they got to work. Naruto clearing the rooms with Itachi clearing the corridors.
Progress was slow, but shortly before night fell, the two met the needed requirements to make the Uzumaki building a safe haven for them to rest for the night. Three bedrooms. One bathroom. One kitchen, and corridors connecting them all. Looking at the boys on her team, she walked over to the bathroom. "I really need a shower now, it's been too long." Leveling them with a glare, she said, "And don't you dare try to cut my shower short."
With that said, she entered the bathroom for a blissful evening of cleanliness.
Naruto and Shino just shared a look before shuddering. It simply conveyed a single statement. Girls are scary.
A much more extravagant dinner awaited them that night as Senkai showed them her appreciation by cooking them a delicious meal using the Uzumaki resources at hand. She laid out a well-cooked centerpiece of Tonkatsu with a few side dishes, including a complement of Chāhan, some well-seasoned Yakitori, and a helping of Daikon to even it all out.
She gave a pleased smile at her escorts as one could almost literally see their desire to dig in. "Don't stand on ceremony," she said. "Help yourselves."
As if they were waiting for a signal, the four shinobi leapt as one and a once peaceful affair for them became something of a war. In between bites, Naruto said, "You're officially declared the official chef of our group for the duration of the mission.
"For a simple meal such as this," she said, teasingly, "I'm astonished."
Naruto just rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the feast he was in the process of devouring.
The four shinobi ate well into the night before resting comfortably, and for once, there was no night watch as they trusted in the Uzumaki seals.