DISCLAIMER
The following is a fan-based
FICTION
Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha.
Please support the official release.
Chapter 20: Written Distraction
If you wish to Donate and Support: ptreon DOT com / socialistbukharin
Namikaze Menma's latest few days had been quite tedious as she waited for someone to come and 'pick her up'.
She was in Konoha, that was quite sure, but she had been told that, if she wanted to avoid the massive meltdown that was soon to come to her family, it was best for her to find refuge to... the Senju Manor. Was there a Senju Manor? Menma was a bit surprised to learn that was indeed the case.
While the name suggested it had been conceived by the first ever Senju Clan Head, Hashirama, it was actually Tobirama that undertook the monumental effort to create this compound outside Konoha's village and deep into the woods. He had decided to create an 'ancestral' home after the Uchiha had done the same as part of their competitive nature, with most of the original Senju Clan living there for a time before they slowly either died or moved back to the village proper.
The compound was left unattended when Lady Tsunade's parents had died, thus Menma had to do a whole lot of cleaning up before perusing the gold mine of knowledge left behind by both the Senju Clan and... the Uzumaki Clan. While Senju Mito had been the only Uzumaki to live within these walls, she had left behind a vast library about Uzushio's history, Fuinjutsu both old and 'experimental scrolls she left at her dead', and much more.
Menma was salivating when she remembered old man Danzou telling her she could study there as much as needed, and that it was best for her to avoid going back to Konoha for a few days. Officially-speaking, she was on a special mission, but it became clear through the letter Danzou told her to open and read yesterday that there was more to it: Ruruko was her sister. It had been so plain for it to be a lie, and yet the mere idea Menma missed on that truly embarrassed her.
Was she supposed to be happy? Angry? Was Jonno-san to blame for this trickery or perhaps he should be praised for going through what he did to protect the fellow blonde?
The whole thing was complex to unwrap, especially since Menma was not an idiot as the rest of her family (Ruruko was a lovable dummy at least) but she could tell there was more to the matter beyond the letter. All it told her was, after all, that Ruruko had been adopted by Jonno when she was 4 since she had been hurled into an orphanage, then onto the streets.
The motivation laid down explained a lot about Mito's sheltered life despite being a 'prodigy', and why her performance during the exams had been so lackluster: she hadn't been the real Jinchuriki - Ruruko was. All this time, the delivery girl that many had (rightfully so) confused for her older sister had been the holder of the Kyuubi and the one that truly should have been praised as a hero.
Not Mito. Why did her parents do this!?
Menma was furious. She had basic education on Fuuinjutsu before she started to learn from the libraries in the manor, but even before this self-learning effort, she knew that the Kyuubi's chakra (like any other Tailed Beast) was not tied to their bodies- their bodies were made of Chakra, yes, but since the source of its power was not within its body, then it had to be her soul. It had to be absurd, spiritual - hence why it kind of felt dumb for her father to do such a massive mistake. Why?
She could only huff at such idiotic idea. Hell, the only reason she wasn't causing havoc against her family was because she had been 'contained' in the manor and the only thing she could do was munch on more knowledge. Spite and Fuuinjutsu can be quite the interesting combination, especially for someone as cunning as Menma. In the last two days she had successfully 'cracked' the core tenet of Fuuinjutsu and, while that may sound far more complex than it truly was, the current skills she had on it were abysmal at it.
"Fuuinjutsu is the art of 'Containment'."
That's the simplest way to define the Art of Seals. But, where many were keen to narrow their minds was the 'nature' of said 'Containment'. Some thoughts it was as simple as it sounded: to 'contain' or 'seal' something away but... then what about explosive tags?
Explosive tags were a curious example of what Fuuinjutsu was all about: contain a 'concept' and then release it. In this case, through the special chakra paper created for the process, the explosive seal would then allow Chakra pumped into the paper to detonate it.
Likewise, seals meant to contain items relied on Chakra for an one-time payment to 'create a proper containment chamber within space-time to host items or creatures within those'. And this connected to a similar strange chat she had with Jonno-san where they discussed about 'matter'.
"You can't create something from nothing. But you can turn a 'nothing' into a 'something'."
The phrase implied that Chakra, which was 'nothing' within its mere existence beyond the basic nature of providing life to living people, could be moulded to create a natural reaction- or more. Fuuinjutsu was the stepping stone to will such a process without 'hand seals'. While it is simpler for many Ninja to just use hand seals, it is not a perfect system in regard to complex technique or... it doesn't apply to processes that couldn't be defined as techniques.
There's always a catch with simpler methods, and the one damning hand seals was that some of the more complicated means to transform chakra into 'items' was one of those. Clones were another example - control was an essential aspect in both creating picture-perfect clones but also maintain those.
The issue is that, as Menma confirmed through a careful test, the clones born through hand seals were more costly in both regards compared to those created through a scroll. In fact, the scroll seemed to allow tinkering which allowed for extensive use of chakra and willpower to be cut in half if not more.
But the last thing she had been testing now was legitimately creating something techniques could not produce: food. She had been trying to get Jonno's pizza done right. Her favorite variant, that is. Menma's first test had been a visual success but the taste was... disgusting. She literally rushed to the bathroom to eject her breakfast from her belly. Then she tried again to similar results.
In the end, Menma realized this process was by far the most troubled of them all. Not only was it something that wasn't tied to the word-concepts she wrote down, rather she was sure there was more to the 'Seal Language'. And while Menma had tested it some more... well, she had no luck in that regard.
As days went on and she was now running out of the food the ROOT agents had put in the fridge, Menma was blessed by a visit from Danzou himself. He looked to be in a good mood despite appearing tired and- he had a letter from her.
It was from a legal order from the Council and... Menma felt her jaw hit the floor as she read it.
By request of Lady Senju Tsunade in her role as relative to one Namikaze Menma, the Council has decided upon examination of various pieces of evidence that Lady Tsunade shall be granted temporary guardianship of Namikaze Menma.
That meant she couldn't be forced to go home with her parents with what had occurred and... she felt glad about it. But that didn't stop her from asking a very important question.
"But where is Lady Tsunade staying?"
Danzou had a rather amused smile.
"To a new friend's place."
When Tsunade had been told that she would find quite a lot of crap about what Kushina and Minato had been up to, she had held back from believing what Ruruko told her. After all, as trusting one can be of people's perspectives, it's facts that rule if something is true or not.
And now she knew that the brat had not lied - to think that Minato could have fallen so low, same for Kushina... actually, Kushina was the worst element in that situation. Not only had she taken part to this idiocy, but she had done so when as a child she had been terrified of being outed as a Jinchuriki and then be called a 'demon child'- literally the thing that Ruruko had to go through for the first four years of her life.
While one could easily shrug off the fact that it's been long enough that the worst of it was over, Tsunade was a doctor and had studied psychology due to her interest to help soldiers even after wars. What she learned was that, no matter the age or how long the trauma had gone through, if it was intense then some 'scars' were bound to linger. And as Ruruko was told that the village knew her secret and that so many people that once she knew and trusted would now no longer be approachable... well, the girl hardly left her father's side.
Even though the little blonde tried to appear fine while focusing on the notion that three other individuals were staying at the pizzeria, specifically that Gaara girl since they were 'equals' due to them both being Jinchuriki, Tsunade could see that Ruruko was stressing over the idea she couldn't truly wander off the village she had grown up to ultimately love as her home. It was a painful sight indeed, but right now it was best to let her enjoy being 'sheltered' and 'coddled' by her 'daddy'.
Speaking of 'daddy', Tsunade was quick to confirm some theories she had on the man - he had no clue his own daughter was smitten to the bone to him. It was a hilarious realization... if not an explosive one considering that Jonno-san had gotten more fishes to his hook. The Senju woman had seen this happen plenty of time, even with Dan, where men with common sense were blessed with lots of girls hovering around her. And Dan was 'blessed' with a very fighty girlfriend that wanted him around without no one else to trouble them.
That couldn't be applied in this matter because... well, Tsunade had no major 'romantic and sexual' stakes on this guy. He did give off some Dan-like vibes, but she felt old while trying to talk with this 'young adult' as he struggled with kids and women alike. Hell, Shizune had fallen for him the moment they shook hand, and she couldn't help but giggle at how fragile her ward was around the man... and how aware she was of the competition.
Truly an insane situation, but one that worked wonderfully as a distraction for Tsunade. While some may be stunned to think that such a chaotic mess could be a 'distraction', the truth was that Tsunade needed those things to be distracted herself by the fact there was so much shit now staining the good memory of a mentor that had been akin to a second father due to his successor's sudden effort to fumble things around, that she wanted to drink herself numb and she couldn't.
So, distractions were needed to keep herself sober, to endure the newfound source of disappointment and refuse for it to become new pain to add to her baggage.
The pizza was good, Jonno was a good listener as she found it fun to exchange stories of her own bratty childhood with those about Ruruko's own upbringing. The similarities were adorable, even though the poor girl was teased to no end as she sat on her 'daddy's lap. Such a silly child, such a depraved one at that as Tsunade couldn't help but know that, at this very point, it was a matter of morality and maturity for both.
Ruruko would have to tell her father the truth because, if she didn't do that and she kept bottling her feelings... well, that was going to hurt her in the long run.
And that wouldn't do with a woman that had already lost much.
AN
Next time, Itachi POV and then... Ruruko comes out clean with her father and things aren't great as there's no simple answer to that and-
Menma cometh!
