Reborn!

24: Friends In Wave

When Naruto skipped in soon after Sōjirō left, a nice fox mask on his hip, Kakashi choked on air.

"Ohayo, Kakashi-sensei!" he greeted blithely.

The silver-haired jōnin was taken aback by the blond's chirpiness. Despite popular belief, and the testimonials and reports in his files, Naruto was not usually particularly enthusiastic. When his demeanour was so vivacious, Kakashi could not possibly sit back and relax. In other words, Naruto usually only acted so peppy whenever it meant that someone was going to suffer.

Kakashi dreaded the torture to come and pitied the person whom this merry sadist had decided to target this time. Although it was typically not harmful, usually involving pranks, Kakashi's gut told him that it was not going to be that simple. Not this time, at least. He recognised that look.

It was the very same expression of glee that he knew Sōjirō to wear whenever he was about to wreak havoc with one of his new formulas.

Hatake Kakashi had learned not to mess with a member of the Uzumaki clan when they were in that mode through experience. Fūinjutsu might never have been Uzumaki Kushina's speciality, but any Uzumaki would be learned in it. Even a girl like Kushina with a happy-go-lucky attitude was a fūinjutsu master of the highest class — a qualification of level twelve as an Uzumaki seal master did that to you. Even Kakashi was only a level nine master, which was the highest known tier attained by a non-Uzumaki. To surpass this rank to attain a double-digit was something an outsider can only dream of.

Of course, he had also seen this on occasion in the company of his favourite kōhai. It was one reason why he would avoid getting on Sōjirō's bad side at all costs. Thankfully, few suffered at the redhead's hands besides his enemies. If not for this, Kakashi would be a lot more terrified of the younger shinobi.

"Ohayo, Naruto..." said Kakashi with much less cheer.

The blond was not at all perturbed by this, only beaming up at the silver-haired man and coolly disregarding their client — who had made the mistake of disparaging the team of three. It was not personal this time, actually. Sakura was the one to be seen as a deadweight by the drunk. It might have just been the fact that Naruto really contemned those who tried to drown out their sorrows through the inebriation of alcohol.

"You're going off just like that?" Tazuna asked scornfully. "Anyone unprepared will die in the real world, you know?"

Naruto completely ignored the old man, acting as though his statement was but the buzzing of a fly in the background.

Kakashi sighed, but a trained eye would see the inquisitive glint in his gaze. "No bags, otōto?"

Naruto showed off a talisman he had attached to a loop on the waist of his parka.

It had beautifully-written seals carved into the exquisite wood. Naruto had not taken any artistic liberties with this particular piece, so each individual kanji was still identifiable to the level nine seal master before him. Even so, there were so many intertwined techniques and skills poured into every stroke that Kakashi found his fūinjutsu knowledge broadening just looking at it. The silver-haired man's throat had gone dry as he stared at the simple yet intricate seal tag etched by an expert so far beyond his level that Kakashi could not possibly compare. All that Kakashi could make out was the fact that it was a storage seal matrix.

He only knew of one person within the Five Great Shinobi Countries with such capability — it was none other than Takamatsu Sōjirō himself.

This was a fantastic premium product only offered by its inventor to the uppermost class. Only the Kages and Daimyōs could even dream of obtaining one of these pricey storage items. This was something that could not even be purchased with a mountain of gold. Sōjirō, as the single manufacturer and supplier of the tags, completely monopolised the fūinjutsu storage industry with his revolutionary works. Not only did he produce these high-end goods, but also all of the best storage scrolls known to the shinobi world.