Chapter Text
It wasn’t a big book, or a detailed book. Sasuke had been looking for names, and names were what he received. A book about prominent historical figures, little blurbs interspersed with the occasional picture. Nothing incriminating, nothing detailed, nothing that an enemy shinobi would walk in and not already know – or if they did learn something new, it wasn’t something that would compromise Konoha.
Sasuke had asked- someone, once, why he couldn’t just go into the library and learn a ton that way and not go to the stupid Academy, and that someone had laughed himself sick before ruffling Sasuke’s hair and telling him that you’d never find any of the good information there.
He doesn’t think you’d find the good information at the Academy, either, but the point still stands. It’s a place for civilians.
Naruto trails behind Sasuke, vibrating so intensely it feels like he’s gonna make Sasuke vibrate too, but also staying quiet. It’s a weird combination. Naruto glances at the librarian when they go in, but Sasuke doesn’t – he remembers exactly where the book is.
It’s there, and he pulls it out, and he shows Naruto.
There’s a sketch of Uzumaki Mito in there. She looks serene, hair done-up, and the paragraph next to her doesn’t give too much information. Married to the first Hokage, helped him found Konoha, was considered to be an exceptionally powerful kunoichi and lived to be over a hundred years old. Specialized in fuinjutsu, and was from the Uzumaki clan.
Naruto traces that line – his eyes are so wide, so big and blue. “Uzumaki clan…” he whispers, in a hushed voice that Sasuke didn’t think he could ever actually do. “I didn’t… know there was an Uzumaki clan.”
Sasuke didn’t know that either.