Play To Win [Rewrite] || Naruto Fanfic

Trails

She stays at the base for the night, trying her best not to overstay her welcome at the snake's den. Thankfully, Orochimaru was off somewhere else with Kabuto, and the man who managed the base shrugged her off and ordered her to stay in specific rooms and stay out of others.

Karin is... quiet to say the least. Withdrawn, shy and flinches at every touch. She's not very good at taijutsu, ninjutsu or genjutsu, but her chakra reserves were extraordinary. Tamako surmised that since her reserves were so large, she must have trouble manifesting her chakra in more finely-tuned exercises.

But when Karin shyly hands her back her inkwell full of potent chakra mixed finely with the ink, Tamako knew that this was her calling. Her own mix of ink and chakra was always subpar, just barely enough and hence created mediocre seals.

So, she sits on the floor in seiza of the private lounge, Karin taking non discrete glances and Sasuke on the other side of the room with his back leaning against the wall, feigning disinterest. She pushes back the sleeves and ties them up with a tasuki sash.

Spreading out the papers, she dips the brush into the rich inkwell and moves, her wrist following each loop and swirl, messily creating a seal she knew by heart. The main intent is nice and large, the lessers are brushed, but not without afterthought. Everything about Fūinjutsu required intent and purpose. Just writing without meaning, without deep into the thoughts could create a faulty seal, it was an art that required the utmost focus.

After a few seconds, she places the brush back into the inkwell, pulsing her chakra out to dry the ink. It's a simple AOE barrier-alarm seal, capable of alerting its user when someone walks into the range, silently. With the new ink, its range was nearly double and she sighed, Uzumaki chakra was just too potent.

Karin shuffles to her side, sliding into a simple lotus with wide eyes, "What is this? The chakra is so... intense, and it spreads out in warm waves." Of course it's Karin who can sense it, she's always been good at detecting chakra. Her eyes are curious, and for once, she doesn't mutter her words nor trailing off as if she were afraid Tamako would lash out.

"This is Fūinjutsu. What I made is a barrier seal, a simple one. It alerts the user when a presence bypasses the area. It's good when you need to set up camp." She carefully wraps the paper into a scroll, and hands it to the red-headed Uzumaki. "Take it, it was your chakra that created this."

The girl takes it gingerly, fingers afraid that one touch would rip the piece of art. "T-thank you..." She trails off, her face warm. Tamako pats the girl again with a smile, then grins harder at a specific thought.

"I can teach you."

Karin eyes widen, nearly dropping the seal and scrambles to keep it clenched lightly in her grubby hands. "I-i'm no good when it comes with jutsus..."

Tamako's arms cross, her palm holding her own chin, "Hm, I'm sure you'll take it like a fish to water. Don't you know? The Uzumaki were infamous for their Fūinjutsu." Then she patted the shorter girl's shoulder, "Remember, it was your chakra that created that."

So she overstays her welcome, teaching the red-headed Uzumaki everything she knows about Fūinjutsu. It didn't surprise her that after just a few lessons, Karin's imagination and inherent talent surpassed her own skills, solving her stasis seal in just weeks after the first lesson. It's a good seal, something that Tamako's low caliber could never make.

Tamako brute-forced her way into Fūinjutsu, her intents often not matching which resulted in a lower-quality seal, but Karin's seal was good. In a year, they could be masterful.

Each lesson is ironically accompanied by the silent Uchiha, keenly interested in Fūinjutsu, but not quite having the same talent as Karin. It bothered the Uchiha more than he liked, that something so small and weak could beat him, but after Tamako's words that Fūinjutsu was a dead art that required either innate talent or a good teacher, he relented. But that didn't stop him from learning the basics, and he was ingenious with his thinking, and good at poems.