Yeah, this is what I imagine Souta to look like, and yes art is by me lol. Anyway, sorry for the late update, enjoy.

~*~*~

In which, you say your first goodbye.

~*~*~

Remember when your first birthday was this life's worst day ever?

Well, today broke that record when you discovered that tou-chan planned on going to Konoha; to your death.

And Jiraiya of the Sannin will escort you and tou-chan to it.

Looks like your life's sequel is nearing its finale, and there's only one appropriate response for it: open betting pools for how long you could last-- winner gets the opportunity to have a front row seat to your demise.

Okay, fine, that sounded dramatic, but that doesn't make it any less true. In fact, you can already make a list of how you could probably die; that's how fucked you are.

Strapped to Orochimaru's lab table? Killed by a brainwashed child as a rite of passage to ROOT? Crushed under a large debris from the Kyuubi attack? Murdered by an Oto nin from Konoha Crush? Almighty-pushed to the afterlife by Pein?

God, you really, really should've stayed dead.

What was the point of being reincarnated if you're just gonna die young again? The universe didn't even give you a fighting chance.

A chakra-cripple heading towards the center of most, if not all, disasters? A joke; that's what that is. And the punchline is...

Yeah, what the hell even is the punchline to that? That life is a bitch? You've long since established that.

Hmm... Maybe, you're the punchline, as in: the world will punch you and send your heart into a flatline. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Ugh, you just hope tou-chan won't visit Konoha frequently like he does with other small villages.

If you can strain your ears, you can hear the ghostly laughter of the world towards your joke of a life; they must think it's so amusing, thinking they're sooo funny...

Well, you're about to be fucking hilarious.

Because this universe is determined to kill you, you'll do your best to survive it out of spite.

... Okay, fine, it's also because you want to stick by tou-chan's side for the rest of his and your life, which brings you to your first order of business: how to survive.

Tou-chan is automatically your first line of defense, and by extension Jiraiya too. Jiraiya is an S-rank shinobi and is friends with tou-chan, which makes him obligated to protect you. At least, while he's still around. Naturally, you can't always rely on them; so, you need a failsafe in case they're not readily available to fight for you. Escape is not always a viable option, after all.

Yes, you know taijutsu, and yes, you can throw projectile weapons with startling accuracy for a child your age, but that's not good enough. No matter how much you train, how much you sweat, how much you bleed, you will always fall short against any enemy shinobi with chakra-- be it strength or speed.

Chakra body augmentation is a cheat; that's all you have to say.

But if there's anything you can do better than an average shinobi, it's stealth-- invisible to all chakra sensors other than sight, but that's easy to remedy with good camouflage; it's no different from suppressing sound and hiding scent. However, it's not an offensive asset, nor is it a defensive one.

Ninjutsu, genjutsu, iryo-ninjutsu-- no chakra techniques are applicable to you.

But you're not crossing fuuinjutsu out of your options just yet.

Fuuinjutsu is a versatile jutsu branch. Surely, you can find a way to use it. You can.

(You have to.)

So, here you are.

Instead of relaxing in your cool inn room, you're (trespassing) at the back of the village bathhouse in broad daylight, enduring the heat of the afternoon sun.

Sitting on dirt ground, you sketched different possible variations of a sealing scroll's foundation, using an actual one as reference, while Jiraiya peeped through the gap of the local bathhouse's bamboo wall, lecherously spying over the women at the other side. Indignation on behalf of the bathing women was evident on your face, but you stubbornly ignored the pervert's antics and instead directed all your focus on your attempt of experimental fuuinjutsu.

Logically, you should already be traveling to Konoha to not waste time and risk the possibility of war breaking out, but tou-chan had some errands to attend to somewhere, which made you stay in this unnamed village for a little while longer... and left Jiraiya in charge.

Frankly, you should be in charge, but you lack power, so the S-rank degenerate is calling the shots.

Jiraiya is intrigued by you; you know this. You've seen the look in his eyes from the adults you've known from before. It varies from person to person, whether the connotations were positive or negative-- from admiration to envy, from opportunity to competition, but it all boils down to one consistent thought: this child is gifted.

You honestly don't know where you stand with the old pervert (even if he's young now)-- on whether he likes you or just tolerates you for his curiosity. The man antagonized you first when he interacted with you without tou-chan around, by insulting your choice of not learning how to be literate until you're seven (you promised tou-chan). Naturally, you antagonized him back.

Though admittedly, his... inconsiderate remark does have merit. Jiraiya knows very well you're capable of learning how to read and write earlier, but so what if you can't read and write now? With tou-chan's patience, you'd bet future-seven-year-old you would learn it eventually.

Besides, it's not like this world prioritizes academics anyway. How many war orphans learned to read and write? Not many.

In a world like this, you only need to know how to count and read numbers, particularly money. While literacy would make this world a little easier for you, you're currently living life in hard mode.

But you digress.

You and the pervert may have adopted the habit to insult each other whenever either of you could, but you chose to follow him and put up with it. Though, he especially brings up your illiteracy whenever he could, much to your chagrin.

You didn't really have to stick by Jiraiya's side; you could've just stayed at your inn room and waited for tou-chan to return, but the Toad Sage is right here.

What do you know about Jiraiya? He's one of the Legendary Sannin, a pervert, a spymaster, and a fuuinjutsu expert. Despite his... unfavorable eccentricities, you can't deny that Jiraiya knows what he does best. And you'll take advantage of that.

At first, you demanded to be taught. Typically, it didn't exactly go well.

("Oi, tou-chan said you're good with fuuinjutsu,"

"I am."

"Teach me,"

"I'm busy."

"You're just peeping on women,"

"I'm not peeping, I'm researching."

"No, you're not,"

"How do you know? You can't read."

"I'm illiterate, not dumb!")

You considered that maybe Jiraiya searches for potential first before devoting his time into teaching someone. He taught the Ame orphans because Nagato has the rinnegan, Minato is a textbook prodigy, and Naruto... You don't know if he taught Naruto as his obligation of being a godfather or if it was the Oiroke no Jutsu. You'll give the man the benefit of the doubt and assume it's the former.

Still, you don't want to prove anything to Jiraiya nor do you have a desire for his approval (after all, your first life was devoted to seeking approval, and look where that got you). You just need his guidance, and you would eventually solve this puzzle on your own.

Fortunately, you quickly learned that while Jiraiya doesn't like being forced into a teacher role, he responds positively to insightful discussion. The man appreciates initiative, but doesn't like taking it himself, hence his evasion of responsibility. Basically, he doesn't spoon feed information, but does give materials and scraps of advice if you were to look for the right questions and answers yourself. He's actually more of a guide than a teacher.

Had his students not been gifted, they were destined to fail under his tutelage.

(Then again, didn't most of Jiraiya's students die regardless?)

So, you just resorted to repeating clarifications and asking questions that you think you need to be answered in order to decipher the fundamentals of this damn sealing scroll.

"Hey, hermit, why a circle?" You gestured to the center of the aforementioned scroll Jiraiya lent you. While there isn't an actual lined circle on the scroll, its shape outline was visible with the creative use of the kanji surrounding it, giving the illusion that there is one. "Why not a square or a triangle?"

The man stopped writing (probably the beginnings of his Icha-Icha novel draft) and took a quick glance at where you're pointing at, before redirecting his sight back to the bathhouse. He didn't bother wasting his breath to have you stop calling him 'hermit' (he tried multiple times already).

"Because a circle is considered geometrically neutral compared to any other shape," Jiraiya answered cryptically, his response coming out as vague and uncaring, as if he's just merely humoring you.

"Hmm, because any polygon would mean additional points, which can ruin a supposedly even-numbered seal, especially if it's a Containment-type seal, right?" Jiraiya only mumbled a 'yeah, something like that', before leaving you back to your own devices.

You considered his reply, and simmered down the annoyed thought that he wasn't taking this seriously.

Unfortunately, while he is enthusiastic with insightful discussions, he easily grows bored whenever you ask basic questions. It's not your fault that you don't ask genius questions on the fly. What the hell did he expect from a literal first-day beginner?

However, despite his poor teaching method and the short time you have with him, you did learn a lot.

Jiraiya may not be fond of the concept of teaching you fuuinjutsu, but you could see his passion for it subtly shining through if your questions were thoughtful enough. The small upturn of the corner of his lips, the inquisitive glint in his eyes-- you like to think that he's curious to see how far your resilience on learning the subject goes without his detailed instructions.

The Toad Sage would humor your questions, but he doesn't humor just any question like 'how does fuuinjutsu work?' or 'what is fuuinjutsu?'. No, he wants you to be specific, just so he won't give a paragraph of an answer. You have to know what you need to ask, and you fortunately know where to start, such as: 'does fuuinjutsu have an equivalent to elemental types in ninjutsu?'. And it just snowballs from there.

Jiraiya may be a terrible teacher (could you even call him that?), but you're a competent student. Even with his clipped answers and grunts, you still learned.

You've learned that much like ninjutsu's elemental types, fuuinjutsu has types unique to itself; there are only three: Containment-type, Enhancement-type, and Conversion-type. Their names suggest their functions-- you can seal something, improve something or change something; Jiraiya told you as much when you badgered him with beginner questions earlier.

Even though he didn't expound on that topic, you got the gist of it all with the use of your 'canon' knowledge, intuition, and some common sense.

Containment-types are what fuuinjutsu is usually known for-- it seals its targets within whatever the creator intended for it to go. Jinchuuriki, sealing scrolls, and surprisingly, summons and barriers are under this seal category because it seals things away.

Enhancement-types are seals that can improve something. It doesn't change anything, other than giving augmentation to better an object's quality. Weight seals and endurance seals are the most popular seals under this category.

And lastly, Conversion-types change an object's or energy's properties, be it physical or chemical change. At this point, it's not far from the truth to call it the ninja version of alchemy albeit more versatile than just chemistry. A good example, under this category, is space-time altering seals.

There may be only three seal categories, but what makes it complicated is that you can make any combination with those three, which creates seven categories overall.

Despite knowing all this and its implications, the information that caught most of your attention is that it's not necessary to have perfect calligraphy to use fuuinjutsu; you just need it to be comprehensible.

You know what this means? No calligraphy lessons for you, hah!

The 'perfect calligraphy for fuuinjutsu to work' fallacy became a widespread misunderstanding due to the common practice method of beginners copying masters' works. Apparently, if you copy a seal accurately enough, it would still function as intended, even if you don't know anything about fuuinjutsu. It serves as a good way to familiarize someone with the sealing arts.

It would've honestly been a hack, if only you didn't have to imitate a seal all the way down to its specific strokes. It's a patience-testing art.

Only experts get to have the luxury to create seals in their own handwriting, but masters get to have the luxury to design seals in ciphers.

'What are you trying to accomplish with fuuinjutsu if you refuse to learn how to read and write the Japanese language?' One might ask. Easy.

You're designing your own brand of fuuinjutsu without the use of the Japanese language.

Yes, designing seals with ciphers is a master-level kind of skill, but the key word there is cipher. You are not using a cipher nor a code; you intend to use an entirely different language. Ciphers or codes are ultimately just the same language presented differently, but a different language means different words, different grammar, and different rules.

This experiment of yours will be the first of its kind, because this whole world only speaks one language; and not counting Japanese, you know two others-- Korean and English.

Due to the similar language origins of Japanese and Korean, you decided to settle with English.

English is a language you can't translate without proper context because it is a mixture of Celtic, French, Latin, Greek, and Spanish-- all are non-existent languages in this world. Since this world purely functions with only one language and are focused on advancing war efforts, they have no such profession called linguists.

Without an English speaker's guide, the people here will never understand phonemes, consonant blends-- hell, they don't even have the letter L in their language. They will all forever be Jared and 19 when it comes to the English language.

To think that with just one language, you already have your own code that can never be decoded without you.

You may have been through hell trying to ace the English subject back in highschool, but goddamnit if it wouldn't pay off in this life.

(At least then, they'll know how you feel when attempting to read kanji.)

The problem is: while you do have the fuuinjutsu concept idea down for the foreign language, creating a successful structure for it is the hard part.

Even without testing them with chakra yet, none of your drafts look right. Sure, they're drawn in pencil now, but your attempts looked too... simple. Like they're lacking something.

You copied the structure of the sealing scroll and replaced its kanji with English words (you had Jiraiya read the kanji aloud to you, and his judgemental stare towards your illiteracy was embarrassing). You copied the shapes and symbols, and put them on the same positions based on the referenced seal, but...

Your drafts don't look 'artistic'; they don't have this elegant flare that makes fuuinjutsu look like the symmetrical painting of complex patterns that they're known for. Instead, your drafts look like an Information Technology course homework that requires you to draw a programming flowchart but with added shapes just for design. For your information, yes, that's bad.

Pouting at your six drafts, you decided that you won't know until you try. After all, you've yet to ink them and power them with chakra, so maybe it just looks wrong since it wasn't written in kanji.

Nevertheless, you'll keep creating more drafts of different structures to ink later.

Fuuinjutsu may be a bitch to learn, but you're also a determined bitch learning.

Besides, you don't really expect to get it right on your first day.

"Why do you wanna learn sealing anyway?" Jiraiya suddenly asked, surprising you, as he was the first to initiate a conversation this time. Though, your shocked face easily morphed to an irritated one when you heard his dubious tone in regards to your capability. "You can't even read,"

"Why do you wanna peep on women anyway?" You shot back, imitating the exact same tone he used on you. "You can't even get laid,"

"Brat, are you sure you're five?!" Jiraiya exclaimed indignantly, which attracted unwanted attention from the old woman who's patrolling around the bathhouse.

"Hey, what are you two doing back here?!"

"Now look at what you made me do," Jiraiya scowled at you, to which you openly scowled back.

"Do what? Face the consequences of your actions?"

"This is a private area!" The old woman scolded, finally reaching the two of you while raising her cane threateningly.

"That is our cue to go!" The Super Pervert hastily declared. Luckily, you already gathered all your writing materials before yelping when the man grabbed the hood of your bird onesie, easily lifting you from the ground, and hopped away from the scene.

"Damn perverts!"

Now it was your turn to be indignant.

"I'm not like him!"

~*~*~

Tou-chan returned to the inn by dinner time with warm take-outs for all three of you. The moment he arrived, you snapped out of your diligent fuuinjutsu studying and glomped on the man with the relieved sigh of, "Finally, a responsible adult."'

Meanwhile, Jiraiya, who was busy writing novel drafts, lifted his head from his papers, just so he could express his offense at your remark with an, "Oi!"

"I was only gone for a day," tou-chan sighed exasperatedly at Jiraiya. "And yet, you already had my five-year-old child banned from the local bathhouse with you,"

"You can't prove that," the Toad Sage stated defensively.

Unimpressed, tou-chan then held up two hand drawn posters of you and Jiraiya, with the word 'BANNED' written at the bottom. Tou-chan probably passed by the bathhouse and ripped a copy of each from its walls.

"What?!" You cried out.

"... Just so you know, she chose to follow me around," Jiraiya murmured.

You then jumped up to grab both papers from tou-chan's grasp and immediately inspected it. "This is the worst portrait of myself I have ever seen!"

No colors, unsteady line work, oval face, horizontal slits for eyes, a dot for a nose, and a scowling mouth. It looked more like an angry gremlin than yourself. The only reason tou-chan managed to recognize it's you is because of the distinguishing short hair that flies at its sides, which is loosely covered by your bird onesie's hood.

You guessed that this village is either too poor or too small to have a photographer lying around.

While the drawing did its job to make you recognizable... You could do a better drawing.

"That is not the point here," tou-chan pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's okay, tou-chan, I already knew I was banned,"

"How were you even banned? You're only five,"

"Oh, that's because the hermit keeps going back to the bathhouse no matter how many times he's been kicked out, and I just follow him every time," you explained, shrugging. "The old lady started associating me with him,"

Yeah, you should probably be upset by the bathhouse ban; you really enjoy the hot water. However, Jiraiya's poster made up for it.

The horns on his head that's mistaken from his forehead protector, the spiky hair, circles for eyes, the evil grin, but the best part was the big nose with the exaggeratedly big wart. The artist really went all out on him. Call it childish, but the bad drawing of the man, who made learning fuuinjutsu hell for you, made you chuckle vindictively.

Retribution!

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, you brat," Jiraiya grumbled when he took a glance of your gleeful self looking at his bathhouse banishment poster.

"Hermit's poster looks spot-on!" You laughed.

"That does not look anything like me!"

"Sure it does, hermit! You and this poster are twinning!" You then presented the drawing to him. "I bet other bathhouses from small villages have different versions of your portrait. I'm gonna collect them like stamps,"

"Souta, your brat is being a brat,"

"Tou-chan, the hermit is being an apodictically impertinent debauchee,"

"What the-- how do you know words like that?! You can't even read!"

"Tou-chan reads to me a lot, and he knows actually good literature,"

"What are you implying--"

"Jiraiya, stop arguing with the five-year-old; Momo-chan, don't antagonize our guest," tou-chan sighed tiredly, finally putting a stop to your verbal jousting with the Toad Sage. "We're having dinner now,"

Like the perfect daughter you are, you easily obeyed, with Jiraiya reluctantly following.

Despite the dread-filled morning, the rough afternoon, and the earlier bickering, you and Jiraiya agreed on a ceasefire the moment you both sat at the dining table with tou-chan as mediator.

It was only after you nearly finished your food when you realized that this was your life's first time to eat with two people on the same table. For a long time, it's only been you and tou-chan.

(A blurry image of Mother and your little sister overlapped Jiraiya's and tou-chan's seated figures, before instantly vanishing along with your memory of what they used to look like.)

~*~*~

Before you knew it, the next day arrived and you're now trekking the road towards Konoha.

Tou-chan told you that with the pace you're going now, you'll reach the hidden village in five days-- fast for a civilian, but slow for a shinobi. You're not sure why tou-chan wouldn't just carry you and hop on trees with Jiraiya to quicken the journey.

Eh, more time for you to interrogate Jiraiya about fuuinjutsu, you suppose.

Even if the hermit is still stingy with his knowledge.

But you're not gonna let his nonchalance hinder you from finding ways to survive the village he's bringing you to.

"You said that fuuinjutsu styles are reliant on how the creator constructed it, so does that mean it's reliant on how the creator wrote the words?"

"No,"

Frowning at the lack of explanation, you resisted the urge to frustratingly groan out loud. This old man really isn't making this easy for you.

"Okay, so it's not the handwriting that makes a fuuinjutsu style," you surmised grudgingly.

You earned a grunt of confirmation.

Alright, you guessed that makes sense. If fuuinjutsu styles were reliant on handwriting alone, anyone could copy a seal in their own handwriting and it would work as intended. But it doesn't work like that. The question is: why? Why the need to copy a seal down to its handwriting to successfully imitate it?

Hmm, what is handwriting practically good for?

For one, it helps identify a person because it's unique; it's their signature, and... and that's it. It just helps identify a person, because handwritings differ from each person.

... Is personality a factor you have to consider here? Or is it something else?

"In fuuinjutsu, do we have to consider a certain individuality from a seal's creator?"

The glint of approval within Jiraiya's eyes was familiar to you, a wordless commendation to your efforts.

"You're getting warmer," the Toad Sage encouraged, as you continued to rack your head for the key to this puzzle.

"Is a fuuinjutsu style dependent on the creator's chakra?"

"Nope." Honestly, you were relieved with that response, otherwise with your circumstance, it would've been hell to use fuuinjutsu.

Jiraiya confirmed that what makes a fuuinjutsu style has something to do with the creator's individuality. What is unique to each person which can be imitated other than handwriting?

Chakra is too unique and can't be replicated, so that's out; any DNA sample like blood can't be replicated either; chakra nature and emotions are too general--

What about a way of thinking?

Like a rubber band stretched too far, a realization snapped at the forefront of your mind.

"Is a fuuinjutsu style dependent on the creator's interpretation of a concept?"

"Ding ding!" Jiraiya exclaimed with a grin, ruffling your coffee-dyed hair. "We got ourselves a winner!"

Not wanting to lose track of your train of thought, you ignored the jovial man's praise and continued brainstorming.

What is something that's unique to each individual? Perspective.

You think... You think you understand.

Like say, if you were to ask a scientist and a philosopher what fire is, they'll give different definitions for the same idea. A scientist will tell you that fire is a chemical reaction called combustion, while a philosopher will tell you that fire is the essential force for creation.

The same applies to fuuinjutsu.

Since seals are made up of symbols and kanji vocabularies, semantics is an important factor to consider. You can't have a philosopher create a seal with the scientist's concept of it in mind, because it's not their own experience they're laying out on the seal.

The key word in this puzzle is interpretation.

That's why handwriting is essential to imitate when copying a seal. The handwriting reflects the creator's interpretation and matches with the seal's structure in fuuinjutsu.

A scientist's seal would be filled with geometrical shapes and math jargons, while a philosopher's seal would be filled with freestyle symbols and terms that are related to human perspective.

Holy shit.

It's like...

"Fuuinjutsu is literally art," you muttered aloud, eyes wide and alight with understanding.

"Now you're getting it!" Jiraiya guffawed.

Art is meant to evoke something from someone, but with fuuinjutsu, it evokes something from reality.

Anyone could interpret art differently, but the most important interpretation to consider comes from the artist, themselves. Like how fire can be the symbol of life or the symbol of destruction depends on how the creator interpreted it.

This is the foundation of fuuinjutsu.

You now have an idea where to properly start.

You get it!

"Tou-chan, I get it!" You cheered, turning your head back to the man who lagged behind. With a grin, you head towards your only parent, your steps now having a bounce in them. Gripping his pants' fabric excitedly, you searched at his green eyes for approval, "I understand it!"

Tou-chan reflected your joy, though a bit subdued due to your accompanying guest.

"I knew you'd get it." He said, his smile confident and reassuring.

(With honed instincts, you felt Jiraiya eyeing you and tou-chan despite not turning to see him looking.)

~*~*~

It's been a while since you've last camped outside at night.

Ever since the rumor of a possible third shinobi war had spread, tou-chan avoided camping as much as possible due to the dangers that accompany it. He's only one man and you're a kid that needs her sleep; he can't keep watch for all shifts. So, he just resorted to staying at inns, which admittedly, you'd prefer than sleeping on the ground.

Now with one of the Sannin around, your lifestyle of outdoor camping returned. For now, at least.

The Land of Fire's flora is different from Land of Grass' open fields and Land of River's humid wetlands. While you're no stranger to the concept of trees growing in monumental sizes, Land of Fire's trees in particular tower over every tree you've seen before-- both in this life and the last. You briefly wondered if Hashirama made it this way or if it's all natural.

This life may be whack, but you'll admit, it has its beauties too.

If there's anything you'll praise this world for, it's the fresh air, the abundant nature, and the lack of light pollution, which gave a clear sky to stargaze.

Usually, at this time, tou-chan would either teach you new things or entertain you with a story. However, with tou-chan skinning, seasoning, and cooking rabbit meat by the campfire, you really have nothing better to do other than sit by Jiraiya's side-- the latter sitting on a sizable rock where he's writing away in his notebook.

Despite tonight being a good night to watch the constellations, you chose to spend your free time asking Jiraiya more questions. Are you doing this to sate your thirst for knowledge or to annoy Jiraiya? Good question.

You don't know.

At this point, it's a blurred line, but you benefit from either all the same.

"--happens if you interpret a well-known proverb differently and apply it to a seal--"

"Brat, can't you see I'm busy?!" Jiraiya snapped, pointing his pen at you accusingly.

Just to be a cheeky asshole, you smiled and innocently said, "No."

"Well, in case you can't see," the pervert sharply glared at you. "I'm writing,"

Somehow, with only the campfire as his light source, Jiraiya can write kanji legibly on his notebook (or at least, you think it's legible). How his eyes managed to make out words with dim lighting, you don't know, but he really is determined to write in the dark.

You work hard, but a horny Jiraiya works harder.

You're pretty sure he's only this hard-working when writing erotica though.

Without a filter, you voiced these thoughts out loud.

"You're just writing porn, aren't you?"

"What the-- where'd you get that idea?!" Jiraiya exclaimed indignantly, hugging his notebook close to his chest, as if you'd peek at its contents.

"Isn't that what your 'research' was for?" The man frowned at the skeptical raise of your eyebrow. "Or was your 'research' just a cover-up to excuse yourself to peek at women?"

"Hmph, this is a different project, and no, it's not porn," the pervert defended, before setting his notebook open again. "This is my final draft for my first ever novel,"

Oh? So Jiraiya's first novel is not Icha-Icha?

Curiosity peaked, you asked, "What's the title?"

"The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi," Jiraiya replied with obvious pride in his voice, but this pride was different from his usual boastful front. It's more... genuine.

Though, you can't help but feel like you've heard of that title before. Maybe the anime briefly mentioned it at some point, and you just don't remember. After all, you didn't watch every episode-- both plot-related and fillers, otherwise you wouldn't be able to keep up with your first friend's anime recommendations. You just watch enough to know how it starts, goes and ends; the knowledge gaps are filled in by wiki entries and your first friend's spoilers.

"What's the lesson of the story?" You followed, and Jiraiya visibly preened at your interest.

"It's about a protagonist whose goal is putting an end to the Curse of Hatred," he explained, as you only tilted your head dubiously.

"I asked what the lesson is, not the summary,"

"Huh? That's it-- that is the lesson," Jiraiya looked at you, confused. "Curse, hatred and war are bad, and the hero puts a stop to it all. What's not to get? "

"I mean what does the protagonist and the reader learn?" You reiterated. "What's your message?"

"I don't think... I understand," he looked at you unsurely.

"Tou-chan said that every story has a lesson to be learned," you lectured sagely. "Like The Tale of The Water Prince,"

"Oh?" Jiraiya's eyebrows seemed to have raised up to his forehead protector, briefly looking behind you, before refocusing his attention back at you. "What's its message?"

"The story's message is about using your paranoia to your advantage," you easily recited. Tou-chan told you that story multiple times the moment you managed to grasp the language. The story is sad, tragic and kind of pessimistic. It concluded with a vague and open ending, but you like to think that the prince had a happy ending.

"S'that so?" Jiraiya seemed to ponder a bit at your answer. Just when he was about to ask you something, he backtracked on that intention and shifted the topic to something else. "How do you suggest I lay out my story's message?"

"You're the author, here, hermit," you harrumphed.

"And you're the one giving writing advice here, brat. C'mon, I taught you things too, didn't I?" Jiraiya pointed out, before smirking mischievously. "Or maybe you just don't know what you're talking about after all,"

You know what game he's playing here, and it's fucking working.

Unbelievable. An illiterate giving writing lessons of all things. Your life is literally a joke.

Your eye twitched, and you decided to not give a fuck.

"I'll show you how to properly teach someone, and it's going to end with your book being the best-selling novel there is!"

"Hah! That's the spirit!"

Even during dinner, your chatter with Jiraiya continued, as tou-chan watched you chat away with a contented look in his eyes.

~*~*~

"You can't read, but somehow, you can create your own code," Jiraiya remarked skeptically, as he eyed you drawing your first English seal draft that's better than the previous six.

"Yeah, because by not having outside influence, I can write down our language's phonetics into any symbol I want without referencing it from any kana or kanji," You explained without looking up from the paper, expertly not letting him see any signs of deceit from what your face may give.

Hah, random bullshit go! You internally praised yourself for your clever excuse.

"That is... deviously creative," Jiraiya considered with a nod. "A self-made glyph would ought to be useful in the future,"

"So you agree that not learning how to read and write kanji is useful," you smirked, as the Toad Sage sputtered.

"Brat, I did not say that!"

The second day of your journey to Konoha approached a bit too quickly for your liking, and tou-chan is already preparing lunch. That's two days down and only three more to go until you reach your destination. Damn.

On the bright side, Jiraiya started teaching you fuuinjutsu properly this time-- none of his cryptic bullshit. You both just somehow came to an agreement that you would give him writing lessons at night, while he gives you fuuinjutsu lessons at day. You both just settled with that agreement without explicitly stating it, and it's... nice.

You love tou-chan, you really do, but talking with someone else other than him is a refreshing change of pace; a different dynamic, you could say.

With Jiraiya, you can exchange harmless taunts and meaningless banters; you can openly insult the man and he would do the same-- much unlike the loving and respectful dynamic you have with tou-chan.

And besides, tou-chan is family. Jiraiya is different.

Despite the verbal jabs, despite the intentional irking, despite the way you poked at each other to see what made the other tick, it all ends with the intent to have fun together.

At this point, you could say that Jiraiya is the closest person you have to a friend.

"Hey, has anyone tried to power a seal with nature chakra?" You asked, your paintbrush hovering over your incomplete draft.

"Powering a seal with senjutsu chakra?" Jiraiya repeated incredulously. "You don't even have a Chakra Pathway System to utilize it in the first place,"

Wait, he knows your condition? How di-- right, tou-chan must've told him. Tou-chan is friends with Jiraiya, so it only makes sense that he trusts the Toad Sage with that particular weakness of yours.

Makes you wonder what else they've discussed without you listening in.

"I said nature chakra, not senjutsu chakra," you corrected.

"So? It's essentially the same thing; the only difference between the two is that one has a wielder and the other doesn't," Jiraiya expounded.

"Exactly. Has anyone tried extracting nature chakra straight from its source and using it on a seal?" You reiterated, and from Jiraiya's pondering look, he seemed to understand what you're implying.

"If you were to succeed on using nature chakra as a fuel for a seal, the seal would have an infinite amount of energy without even a smidgen of chakra wastage from the user," the fuuinjutsu expert considered. "You're not the first to think of this idea. A lot tried and none succeeded. The main problem lies on overloading the seal because of the infinite amount of energy, and the accidents are rather explosive, hence the discontinuation of the attempt,"

"Then I'll be the first to get it right," you stated confidently.

"A few died, y'know?" Jiraiya warned further, obviously discouraging you.

"RIP to them, but I'm different." The man stared at you with what looked to be a mix of awe and exasperation, before sighing.

"Haah, I'm keeping watch anyway," Jiraiya yielded, burying a hand in his white mane. "Alright, brat, let's see what you got."

You grinned triumphantly.

(While eating lunch, a vague memory of your old life echoed to the forefront of your mind. In your last year of being alive, you briefly remembered that you aimed for the electrical engineering course in college.)

~*~*~

"Next, we discuss character development," you started, before munching on roasted salmon with Jiraiya sitting just beside you.

Two salmon meals in one week, you internally gushed, sending a brief thankful look to your only parent across the campfire. Tou-chan is being generous this week.

The sun has already set, with dinner already served, and once again you've taken the role of being a 'teacher' for the apparently novice writer. In Jiraiya's defense-- you're going to quote him on this one-- he said: "I don't read many fictional books". Honestly, that explains why his novel was amateur.

You'd make fun of him, but then you remembered you can't read any book at all.

Ah well, he did say it's his first book, so you'll let it slide. You're no literary expert, but the world of Before had a lot more variety and shared publications, which gave you better references than here, where paranoid villages hoard their knowledge. You're thankful that you know a lot of stories with in-depth plots and characterizations... okay, fine, most are anime.

You digress.

Jiraiya's final draft is no longer the final draft, and is instead the second to the last draft.

When Jiraiya shared to you the synopsis and summary of his earlier work, it was, frankly speaking, flat. It's not bad, the grammar is okay (when he reads it aloud to you), but it's an intermediate children's book at best.

The whole point of the novel was basically feel-good self-fulfillment (and apparently, it's dedicated to someone?), filled with admittedly fun adventures but with little to no failures. The villain was plainly one-dimensional and only exists to be the embodiment of 'The Curse of Hatred' for the hero to defeat.

And the hero was another mess altogether.

You learned that the protagonist's name was Naruto, and you were reminded that Jiraiya was Naruto's future godfather. Yes, you already know that, but it's different to really know.

One day, the future savior of this world will be named after Jiraiya's story book hero, and you're helping edit that story.

Wild.

"To keep it short, your protagonist is lame," you frankly said, which had Jiraiya briefly choke on his fish.

"What do you mean he's lame?!" Jiraiya indignantly asked, slightly spraying you with his saliva and fish chunks. "I thought we agreed this was a teaching session, not uh, a-a 'cooking' session,"

"It's 'roasting' session," you corrected, wiping your face clean from the disgusting debris. "Keep up with my lingo, old man,"

"Bah! You're just making these things up to make a fool out of me!"

"Trust me, I don't have to make a fool out of you, when you provide it, yourself,"

"Brat!"

"Hermit!"

Haah, while both your lessons increase both your productivity, unfortunately, there will always be times when your lectures devolve into insults. It can't be helped, really, especially when you discovered that your slangs from Before are non-existent here. Naturally, you try to throw as many 'unique' insults as you could, and you would always win because of your 'originality'.

Jiraiya's reaction towards the word 'twat' was the best.

"It's not a roast, because it's true. It's valid criticism," you stated, putting a halt to the taunts. "Your protagonist is lame because he's flawless,"

"Isn't being flawless a good thing?" Jiraiya inquired unsurely.

"In real life? Sure, but in a story? No," you easily answered. "A guy with no flaw is unrelatable to your readers; they won't be able to connect emotionally. How many people have you met that are perfect?"

If he, by cosmic forces, somehow answers 'Naruto', I will attack him, you thought, unpleasantly remembering that this world's hero is the closest person this world has to perfection. If Jiraiya actually met Naruto, your argument would be moot, and it would be annoying to be proven wrong by the actual existence of a Gary Stu.

Fortunately, Jiraiya has yet to meet the unborn savior, so the man's only reply was a mumbled 'good point' with a follow-up question.

"So what flaws should I give my protagonist?"

"Well, that depends on the character's upbringing," you supposed. "Would you prefer the hero to be born good or would he overcome his evil nature through great effort?"

Are you indirectly quoting Skyrim here? Yes, yes you are. The opportunity to use that quote was too damn good.

"To be born good, of course," Jiraiya responded confidently.

"Okay, why?" You openly challenged.

"I mean, it's best to be good early, y'know? You hurt less people that way, unlike the second option where you'd ruin other people's lives before you realize that you're wrong," Alright, a fair argument, you'll give him that. Not exactly the answer you're looking for literary-wise, but you guessed that it does somewhat contribute to the story's narrative about preventing the Curse of Hatred and all that.

"You're thinking this in a short term, limited scenario," tou-chan inserted himself into the conversation, surprising you as he was usually just a spectator to your sessions.

Admittedly, this would be an interesting discussion, especially with Jiraiya's and tou-chan's opposite viewpoints in life.

Tou-chan is realistic and pessimistic, believing that men are inherently evil. The stories he tells are often about men succumbing to vices, because a man's true nature is selfishness. One can try to fight it, but with the stories often ending in tragedies, you already know about tou-chan's stance on an average man's willpower.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, is idealistic and optimistic, believing that men are inherently good. His own novel was telling enough of what kind of a man he is, as it advocates mercy and altruism. It especially shows when the hero chose to spare the villain in the end, hence breaking the Curse of Hatred.

You wonder which of their philosophies would prevail in this conversation.

"How so?" Jiraiya confronted, his body language now facing tou-chan's direction attentively.

"Say you were born good. To be born good, you have to be raised by loving parents, while being surrounded by good friends. All you've known was good," tou-chan lectured with the smooth tenor of his voice, the gentle tone then contrasting greatly with what he said next. "What do you think will happen if your perfect bubble shattered and you've seen the world as it truly is for the first time?"

Oh, that's... You thought grimly, and based on Jiraiya's reaction, he thought the same.

"How would you react?" Tou-chan briefly paused, carefully eyeing Jiraiya's contemplative look. "And how badly?"

The crackling firewood and the chirping crickets were the only white noises of tonight, the silence heavy yet brief.

"Now say, you overcame evil with great effort. By being evil, you've seen the worst of the world, aware of how low humanity has sunk," tou-chan continued. "That would make the good all the more better to experience-- to have yourself appreciate kindness more than how an average person would have. To be so used to the worst that you'll see good as the best. And then, your efforts to contribute to the good would last for as long as you see the worth in it."

That's the first time tou-chan gave an optimistic view towards something, you considered.

"So you're saying that everyone in the world should be born evil," Despite the inquiring nature, Jiraiya's question came out more as a statement.

"Of course not," tou-chan coolly disagreed. "Both those kinds of people have to exist for the other to co-exist. Such is the beauty of dichotomy. There is no black and white; the world is too colorful to be limited by only two shades."

"Then how can peace be achieved? How do you break the cycle-- the Curse-- of hatred?" Jiraiya inquired, his contemplative look now replaced by familiar curiosity.

Tou-chan gave a rueful smile.

"You don't, because you can't," he simply said. "That is the power of free will-- to freely feel, to freely love, and to freely hate. That's human nature. For as long as human nature exists, there will never be true peace."

And there it is-- the pessimistic stance against humanity as a whole, you internally sighed.

You'll admit, not even the people from Before reached true peace, and that's already with technological advancements and better communication devices. Violence has always been a part of human history, and knowing history, it does not repeat but it certainly does echo.

However, this world is different.

How this world ended-- will end-- is different.

Naruto managed to succeed in attaining world peace, because he was literally born for it. The circumstances that lined up coincidentally, perfectly and luckily for him to reach his destiny; to reach into people-- from the bijuu, his ex-enemies, and the Kages.

Despite all this, it's not him, alone, that managed to unite everyone.

It was his enemy.

"... You can't break the Cycle of Hatred," you spoke up, breaking the silence and attracting both men's attention. "But maybe, hatred doesn't have to be a circle; that way, you can redirect it,"

"How would that work?" Jiraiya asked you incredulously.

"We don't need everyone to get along, we just need those in charge to be allies. While peace may be impossible, unity isn't," you stated as a matter of fact, before giving a complacent smirk. "Everyone is familiar with the phrase: the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

At this point, Jiraiya's eyebrows disappeared to his forehead protector, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"You're suggesting that the Elemental Nations should have a common enemy so powerful that they have to work together?"

"Why not?" You nonchalantly shrugged.

"That's insane." Jiraiya ruefully laughed.

"And world peace isn't?" Tou-chan gave an equally rueful chuckle, joining back in the discussion. "Honestly, out of the two, which is more probable in the near future?"

The rest of your dinner was spent in pondering silence, the food now cold.

All three of you retired early that evening.

(When it's Jiraiya's turn to keep watch and for tou-chan to rest, you felt your only parent hug your body tighter and closer than previous nights.)

~*~*~

The third day of your journey towards Konoha was oddly solemn.

It's not about last night, because Jiraiya is still as boisterous as ever, and not once did he bring up that topic again even with his facade. He still openly insulted you, and you insulted him back; he continued tutoring you with fuuinjutsu, and you continued giving out ideas.

Ultimately, Jiraiya was still the same.

What made today feel solemn was the aura tou-chan radiated, which affected you as well. It was a sixth sense of sorts, as tou-chan's facial expressions never betray his actual feelings.

Knowing him, last night was just one of the many nights when he'd have philosophical discussions with you. It's nothing special, even with a third party. Whatever's bothering him, it's something you don't know about.

It was times like this when you're reminded that tou-chan is not a normal father.

When he once caught you lying, instead of discouraging it, he taught you how to lie better. When normal fathers teach their daughters to not make contact with strangers, tou-chan taught you how to kill threatening ones. When parents and their children are encouraged to confide in each other, you and tou-chan hid some things from each other.

The only flaw in your relationship with tou-chan was the keeping of secrets.

You with your reincarnation and foreknowledge (for obvious reasons), and tou-chan with his emotions and history. You don't know his family, his background (other than that he came from Kiri), who kaa-chan was-- nothing. Hell, his bingo book entry 'Slasher of Kiri' was only recent knowledge to you.

Urotsuki Souta is a wary shinobi. He can't help but cover his weaknesses, and the closest moment he has to being vulnerable is by being 'tou-chan'. You seem to be the only individual who often experiences him off-guard, and even then, there are times he puts on a mask for you.

To adapt, you just somehow developed a feeling for tou-chan's moods, and your sixth sense is telling you that tou-chan is hiding something important-- something relevant to today. That feeling intensified when Jiraiya raised a hand to halt all of you in your tracks.

"We're only three hours away before we reach the village outpost," the Toad Sage announced, turning to face tou-chan, waiting for the latter's response.

"I see. The scouts ought to be a lot closer," he thought aloud, before nodding at Jiraiya's direction. "I suppose this is where we part,"

"What? I thought we're going to Konoha?" You looked at tou-chan, confusion evident on your furrowed brows.

"You're going to Konoha," he clarified, his expression controlled.

"W-wait, what?! Alone?!" You frantically asked.

"Well, not alone-alone, I'm still with you--" Jiraiya tried to lighten the situation, but you currently don't have the patience for his half-assed humor.

"Not now, Jiraiya," you snarled at him, your glare scathing as the man then raised his hands in surrender.

"Ah, I'll just be... over there..." The white-haired man awkwardly excused himself, walking ahead to distance himself from what's to be an intimate moment between family.

With Jiraiya outside of hearing distance, you lowered your volume, but your emotions remained just as intense.

"Why can't you come with me?" You unabashedly whined, already thinking the worst.

Is he abandoning me? Giving me away? Did I do something wrong? Did I not show enough potential? Am I not--

"I have a... reputation amongst Great Hidden Villages." Tou-chan hesitantly answered, snapping you out of your thoughts. His green eyes were telling enough that he didn't want to elaborate further. "I wouldn't be treated well there, but you're an unknown. No one dangerous knows you. Officially, you're not a shinobi, and due to your Uzumaki lineage, they'll acknowledge you as a Land of Fire citizen. You'll be treated better without me around,"

"Then why can't I come with you?" He gave you a remorseful smile, before kneeling down to your height.

"You're a smart girl, Momo-chan. You know why." His smile disappeared, and he looked so tired-- much like the night when you woke up from the explosion. "War is coming. You'll be in danger out there, especially with me. I'm not really strong enough to fight for the both of us,"

"T-that's okay!" You reassured desperately, partnered with a smile that you're trying so hard to stop quivering to further get your point across. "I don't really care if I die, as long as I'm with you!"

You're not afraid of death; not anymore. You'd rather die with him, than live with him dead outside of Konoha. You know what awaits at the other side of life, and you can't be sure if you'll have a loving parent in the next life. And if this life happens to be your only shot of reincarnation, well...

Maybe you won't be alone at the Limbo this time around.

Your attempt of a reassurance seemed to have gained an opposite effect, as tou-chan looked at you with wide and horrified eyes-- a real reaction that seeped through from his firm mask.

Your smile slipped off.

"Don't-- don't say that," he breathed out, his voice shaky with thinly-veiled panic. "I'm not worth that, I'm-- god, I'm terrible at this." Sighing, he brushed a hand through his raven locks, messing his already-unkempt hair further.

With how troubled tou-chan looked, you knew what you said wasn't what he wanted to hear. He really wanted you to go through with this. He really wanted you to live.

(Or maybe he really wanted you to leave.)

The downward spiral of your thoughts was interrupted, when tou-chan's hands suddenly clasped onto your shoulders, then looked at you straight in the eyes, the emerald color strikingly clearer than ever before. For a moment, the hood of secrecy that often darkens his eyes was lifted, and you finally see--

"I don't just love you; I live you."

-- the adoration, the honesty, the sorrow, the exhaustion, and especially of all, the vulnerability. Tou-chan always looked like he had something to hide, but for once, he was finally bare with his emotions.

And it was all for you.

(His life is devoted to yours; for, you are his life.)

Your eyes widened at the declaration, and your chest seemed to relieve itself from a weight you never noticed before-- instead, it was replaced with a warm swell that almost had you burst into tears on the spot.

Lucky second life, indeed.

"Once this war is over, I'll come back for you," he promised, his smile returning-- the gesture now genuine. "For now, think of your living situation in Konoha as an opportunity. You remember what I told you about opportunity, don't you? Always take advantage--"

"--of available resources," you easily finished, having heard of this lesson multiple times before. "You'll miss a lot of my birthdays, 'ttebamon," you groused, kicking dirt from the ground distractedly.

Agh, that damn verbal tic is at it again, you thought, annoyed. It's harder to control it when you're upset.

"Somehow, I just knew you're gonna bring that up," tou-chan chuckled, before retrieving a scroll from his travel bag. With a nip on his thumb, he then activated the sealing scroll which released a small already-prepared travel bag. "In there are all your belongings and five advanced birthday presents. They're all in a sealing scroll, so Jiraiya will help you unseal them,"

He really planned ahead, didn't he?

"How do I know if you'll..." You trailed off, not really wanting to say your fear outloud.

"I'll send you letters every year on your birthday." Tou-chan smoothly reassured, before helping you strap your travel bag on your back.

"You know I can't read," you huffed, the corner of your lips quirking up at the lightened mood.

"That's why you'll have to learn without me."

"And if I find a way to send letters without writing?" You half-joked, already thinking of shallow mechanics for a seal specifically for it.

"Knowing you, you'd probably succeed." Tou-chan then wrapped you in a tight embrace, and you gladly returned the affection.

Ah, how tempting; you didn't want to let go, but when you felt him loosen his grip, you know you had to do the same.

After a short while which felt like an eternity, he let go and stood back up to his height.

"... So, this is goodbye, then?" You shyly asked, your hands fiddling with your new bag's straps.

"Not 'goodbye'; just 'see you later'." Tou-chan looked at you with soft eyes, probably burning the memory in his mind for the next time he sees you.

"Okay," you exhaled, before giving one last smile to your only parent. "See you later, tou-chan."

He smiled back.

"See you later, Momo-chan."

~*~*~

BONUS:

Jiraiya: *literally just gives bread crumbs of fuuinjutsu info*

Also Jiraya: *watches disbelievingly as MC turns those crumbs into a feast*

MC: this is some fine gourmet shit

...

MC: Day 1 on my death march

Jiraiya: you're being overdramatic, we're just going to konoha

MC: and?

...

Jiraiya: why do you call me hermit anyway?

MC: its short for 'hermit the frog'.

Jiraiya: TOAD!! ITS TOAD SAGE!!

MC: ok 'hermit the toad' it is, then

Jiraiya: yeah, thats bett-- hey wait a minute

...

Jiraiya: brat (derogatory)

Also Jiraiya: brat (affectionate)

...

Jiraiya: You know you've made it when you see pictures of your face everywhere.

Souta (tired): Jiraiya, those are banned posters of you.

...

Souta: I can't go with you. I'm a wanted man.

MC: What?! Who wants you?!

Jiraiya (grinning, excited to ruin MC's childhood with adult jokes): well you see, I want--

ALTERNATIVE:

Souta: I can't go with you. I'm a wanted man.

Jiraiya: Wait what? That's impossible. You weren't even a wanted child.

MC:

Souta:

...

MC: greetings, because you've made yourself precious to me, i will now be performing a blood pact that will have my life connected to yours. If you die, i die and--

Souta: what the fuck

...

Miss Chief: Sorry for the delayed update. My finals? whack. Info-dumping acting as transition? Whack. Tis big brain time. Ngl im not proud of this chapter since it's all over the place;;;

Take note that all chakra and fuuinjutsu theories are according to ME, so if they contradict canon, just assume that i'm discarding canon knowledge regarding it. Knowing the franchise, i wouldn't be contradicting much canon concepts anyway lol but i'll try to be as accurate as i can.

MC is physically a child while having the memories of a sheltered teenage brat who just happened to be smart. She's not really the most stable individual at the moment, and no she was never mature lol. Not yet in this life, at least, but certainly not on her last life.

ALSO, Souta and Jiraiya are DILFs. Dorks In Love Forever adjhakjhskfh im just kidding... unless--

If anyone asks, yes, Souta's love for MC is comparable to Itachi's for Sasuke. He is the ultimate malewife lmao. However, Souta and Itachi have two very different skillsets, and even tho Souta is not an S-rank shinobi like Itachi, he is still as devastating, if not more so, than Itachi for reasons I've yet to disclose lol. So yea, Souta is not gonna die easily.

Anyway, I encourage yall to look underneath the underneath. The interlude for this arc will set the tone for the entire story. There will be explanations for everything. Don't be fooled by first impressions, the tags and warnings from the preface are there for a reason. We're going ninja shit on this fic.

Yes, the interludes would feature POVs that are not MC's. Each arc has two interludes-- ideally every after 5 chapters. I honestly can't wait to write Jiraiya's POV lol. Yall better be glad he's on your side. Yes, Jiraiya DOES have thoughts about MC's vocabulary use and self-awareness, and will (already did) talk about it with Souta. He may act as comic relief now, but his true colors will be reserved for when MC is not on the scene.

Imma tell yall right now, even tho we haven't reached the village yet, politics are already at play with MC involved. Im just not revealing who the key players are yet. And if you managed to guess who the key players are, i wont be revealing their roles.

Anyway, til next time!!