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After life's final light dies . . .
It was winter.
Akane had turned five.
She was sitting in front of a table in the living area as the gentle snowflakes fell outside. Even inside the household of the Namikaze, the cold air was penetrating in. Dim clouds had assembled, veiling the daylight and rendering the whole village in dull grey. It was bleak as if nature was deprived of colors. The trees were seemed to meet its final phase as the soil had appeared to be stripped of rights to give life. Although the sun was at its peak, yet it offered no light for those cowering souls.
Winter. It was the least favorite season of Akane. She couldn't train with all her heart's extent and wouldn't able to see Itachi for a long time. Yet, she still had something to be thankful for.
Her father, Minato, was able to stay at home more often. Akane would spend time with him, asking him to teach her more of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu.
She wasn't still able to master the justu-shiki.
The only hint her father gave her was a simple sentence: the jutsu-shikiwas a special seal that reflected the soul.
"Tō-chan."
Minato was cooking for lunch when he heard his daughter's call. "What it is?" As he wiped his hands with the pink apron he was wearing, he walked towards where her table was.
"What is soul?" Akane understood it by definition, but the thing she couldn't understand was the underlying principle embodied within.
Minato only smiled and patted her hair. "The soul is the moral and emotional nature of human beings. It is the thing that makes Akane Akane."
He never minded explaining it to her subjectively, for her daughter was smart enough to process thoughts clear-mindedly.
"Akane as Akane?" she muttered with a very serious frown, internally analyzing the riddle behind his words. "It's like . . . Uhm, like . . . I am what I am . . . Right, tō-chan?"
"Right," he noted, chuckling."Listen, child, knowing 'who you are' is the most essential of all. The soul is the only thing that will give you the right path, because no matter where you are or how far you will go, you will never get lost. And that's the fundamental of the jutsu-shiki."
"No problem." After kissing the top of her head, he went back to the kitchen.
Minato could never travel through space and time without his marks—the jutsu-shiki. And it was the very reason why he could instantaneously transport to a certain location regardless of its distance.
