"Woah! Sasuke-kun! Where'd you get those Kunai!?" Sakura, eternally fawning over Sasuke, gasped as she watched the last loyal Uchiha pull his newest, jet-black Kunai from his hip pouch. Sasuke had barged into my forge over the weekend and now that it was Monday, our class was getting ready for our first lesson in Kunai throwing. Unlike the village standard (dark grey trowels, sharpened into a dagger with bandage-wrapped handles), my Kunai were all but drowned in the Kyubi's chakra during the heat-treating process. The result being that the metal took on an onyx color in place of the semi-reflective metallic grey. The scarlet wrappings on the handle were as much for a bit of flare as they were for identification. The wrap could be taken off but doing so made them almost impossible to find after they were thrown. Scarlet, though, sticks out in the greys and greens of a forest.
Also, while the aesthetics were much better than the mass-produced weapons of the village, technically and structurally, my Kunai were also superior weapons. They were shaped more like true daggers than the trowels the village cranked out. First, the blade was slimmer, a bit longer, and flatter while retaining the typical, tapered diamond shape that marked it as a Kunai.
"Sato Minato's stand. They're out of your price range, Haruno."
"Really?" Kiba scoffed. "I bet I could get them!"
"They're thirty-five hundred ryo per Kunai." Sasuke deadpanned as he rejoined Hinata and me after stepping away from the throwing line as the class started the inquisition. Kiba and the rest of the class blanched at the ridiculous figure. That was over four and a half times what a normal Kunai went for at seven hundred fifty ryo. Of course, Sasuke didn't pay a penny. And neither did Hinata. Oh, and yes, I did raise my prices and was considering bringing them up to four or five thousand per Kunai since two heirs of the largest clans in the village used them and were about to prove they were far and away superior to the standard run of the mill Konoha Kunai.
Hell, the Hokage even had a set that he kept on display in his office (those were dressed up a bit more than normal with the scarlet wrap replaced with a soft, doeskin leather around the full tang. I also added the symbol of the village - set so it would be right side up when hung by the ring - in silver wire melted into etchings in the ricasso) to be seen by every shinobi Hiruzen interacted with. And they were my best-damned works.
Of course, those weren't the ones that would be seen by my target audience: the young, impressionable children that just had to have the latest and greatest in everything. I couldn't say I was happy to exploit children, but if the Hokage was allowed to do it then you best believe I was going to make a buck or two as well.
And by the looks the class was giving Sasuke, I had a feeling that my poor stall was going to take an absolute beating… I probably should warn Teuchi so he could prepare for the bloody onslaught that I knew was coming.
On the other hand, a boom in business could be the best Christmas present I ever got anyone. Shame they didn't actually celebrate Christmas around here…
Oh, and it was just October, so there was that too.
"Uchiha-san?" Iruka-sensei came out of nowhere and interrupted my train of thought as he loomed over us. "May I inspect your Kunai?" Sasuke looked hesitant but pulled the rest of the five Kunai I made from his hip pouch, handing them over for the Chunin to inspect. Iruka spun one of the onyx blades around his index finger, bouncing the handle off his fingers so it spun back to thud against his palm. He slipped his finger from the ring, balancing the Kunai on his finger. Unlike a normal Kunai, where the weight was closer to the tip (about midway up the blade), the balance on Sasuke's was much closer to the palm of the user's hand due to the more robust tang and slimmer cross-section. Iruka nodded, looked down range, and flung the Kunai across the yard. The blade sunk down to the ring in the wooden target. I blinked in surprise as the rest of the class's jaws collectively hit the floor (minus the nodding Sasuke who had his arms folded over his chest, wide-eyed Hinata, and completely oblivious Nara Shikamaru sleeping against an oak tree a few yards away). Suddenly I was quite glad I made the ring slightly wider than the ricasso. If I hadn't, the Kunai would have been stuck in the target until it could be dug out. Even so, it was lodged into the wood so solidly that Iruka had to plant his feet against the target and pull with all his might to extract the Kunai.
"Is it acceptable, Sensei?" Sasuke asked as Iruka handed the Uchiha back all of his Kunai.
"Yes, yes it is… But maybe you should keep those in reserve?"
"But Sensei, shouldn't I practice with the Kunai I want to use?" Sasuke asked. Oh, the kid was good. Iruka winced but sighed, slumping his shoulders in defeat. He gave one nod.
"Hai, Uchiha-san. You may use them… I almost feel bad for this Minato-san, I believe he's going to be overworked very soon. But for the price he sells them for? I don't think he'll be complaining." Iruka grinned, still shaking his head. "Alright class! Back to work!"
"Hai, Sensei!" The class said as the more energetic of the kids clambered back to the throwing line. Most schools had a playground for their kids (like the civilian schools of Konoha did) but not the Academy. The green behind the Academy was littered with Shuriken, Kunai, and the occasional Senbon targets for the next generation of ninjas to hone their skills with missiles to go along with the painted ring that was twenty feet across for Taijutsu practice.
There were a few trees though, and that was usually where you could find me. Oh, sure, I did the throwing exercises with the rest of the class, but I had no real interest in it. I knew I would eventually need to learn how to throw the Kunai because of one itsy, bitsy jutsu I had tucked away in my head that I had honestly forgotten about until the Kyubi reminded me about it.
Hiraishin.
I only knew a little bit about it, but I did know that Namikaze Minato used it to devastating effect. And I planned to as well.
But before I could do that, I had to be faster. Then I could aim to be the next Yellow Flash. After that, I could be faster than Namikaze. Lord knows he'd left me with his problems after he went and died.
So I had done a little sniffing around in the village to see where Gai might have gotten his weights (one of the only fights from the anime I had ever actually watched was Rock Lee versus Gaara, the Kyubi was very interested in that if only because Gaara was another Jinchuriki). I never found out and didn't want to subject myself to the walking mental calamity that was Maito Gai in full form. So, I hunted high and low in every single ninja tools shop I could find and came to the startling revelation that they just didn't exist anywhere else in the village.
How that was possible was beyond me, but then again the weights themselves probably were well beyond me too.
Then I stumbled on a little shop run by a man named Liu Zhao. He was a short man with a hard face and clouded eyes that saw far more than any man who could see should have been able to. Yes, the man was blind, but he knew exactly who I was the second I walked into his shop…
Flashback…
"Boy! Release the Henge!" The shopkeeper barked as I stepped through the door of the hole in the wall in one of Konoha's sectors. Strangely, ANBU frequented this little corner of the city more than anywhere else in the village beside the Hokage's tower. This shop especially. "It may work on those idiots out there but not on me!"
"Yes sir." I bowed my head as I let the henge go as the man thumped around the counter with his cane. For a brief second, I thought it was strange a Shinobi tool merchant would have a cane until I saw his eyes. I didn't even blink, but I instantly realized this man was much more dangerous than I had thought. Oh, and that his cane probably had a sword inside it. That would be par for the course in this damnable village.
"Hm… You feel familiar… Have we met, boy?" He grunted as he looked down, his clouded eyes drilling into my forehead.
"No, sir, I don't think we have."
"You're an Uzumaki, that's for certain. Your Chakra's too strong to be anything else. Only one Uzumaki in this village, boy. You're Naruto." He grunted, thumping behind the counter. "What in the blazes do you want? More Kunai?"
"I make my own Kunai." I rolled my eyes as the man perked up slightly.
"Oh? Is that so?" I pulled one of the jet-black Kunai from my pouch and placed it on the counter between us.
"It is." The man took the Kunai by the handle and frowned in concentration.
"This is… I have never felt anything like this. As a Kunai, it is magnificent. Well balanced, lightweight-" the man trailed off as he plucked a hair off his head and dropped it on the blade, "-and sharp." He said as the split hair hit the desk. "Very sharp." His lips pulled into a thin, wicked smile before his expression morphed into a pensive frown. "But you are no more than eight-years-old, Uzumaki. How did a boy as young as you become a proficient, no… Proficient insults a-" he tilted his head to the side before smirking, "-person of your skills. You are not a man yet, Uzumaki, no matter how excellent your craftsmanship."
"More like an obsessive perfectionist." I shrugged, trying to brush off the compliment. "How I learned is none of your concern, sir, just know that I did. I'm not here for your weapons, I'm looking for leg weights."
"You wish to be faster?"
"The fastest. If I can't be the best, then I have to be the fastest."
"Why? So you can lord it over your peers?"
"Because my father was Namikaze Minato. Don't give me that look. It wasn't like it was even that hard to figure out. I was born October tenth and he died allegedly killing the Kyubi on, guess when? October tenth. Other than the Yamanakas, he was one of the few blondes in the village. That's two facts that, apart, don't mean much. Hell, they could be coincidence. But I don't believe in coincidence. And I read, quite a lot. There's one small, insignificant looking book in the Academy library that Bijuu can't be killed… But they can be sealed away." I said as I watched the man's face carefully. He didn't give away anything. I snorted in derision. "By your reaction, you knew that. And so does half of the village. We all know what that means."
"Yes, we do, Jinchuriki."
"Exactly, but those idiots out there have no idea what that really means. Iwa will want me dead because of what dear old dad did on the battlefield, everyone in this village wants me dead because dear old dad sealed the Nine Tails in me the day I was born. I'll be the first to admit I brought hell on myself because the old me didn't know why everyone hated him and lashed out – or that's what I've been told. My father, the last Namikaze, was the source of all my problems that I didn't bring on my own head. I have to be better than him, stronger than him. Are those good enough reasons?" I growled, looking at the man behind the counter. He looked thoughtful as he tapped his cane on the floor absently.
"Yes." He nodded. "Those are very good reasons… Tell me, son of Namikaze, what will you do to be the best?"
"If you're asking if I'll run five-hundred laps around Konoha…"
"I did not ask what Maito Gai would do, Uzumaki, I asked what you - the last son of Namikaze - would do." I nodded as I drummed my fingers on the counter.
"I don't know. I barely know what it means to be a Shinobi, much less what it means to be the best Shinobi in Konoha."
"You do not wish to be Hokage, then?"
"No."
"No?" He cocked his head to the side as he rapped his cane over my shoulder. I winced but didn't make a sound (but when the hell did he move!?). "Good. That Kunai to your skull was the best thing to happen to you, boy. You're learning already. He who boasts and blunders is a fool, but he who waits and listens? He is the victor. Tell me, boy, what do you know?"
"You were one hell of a Shinobi back in the day." I grunted, rubbing my shoulder. "But no one's talked about you that I know of. You weren't a legend like the Shodaime or Nidaime but where you're located says more than anything."
"Oh?" I could have sworn the man smirked, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
"You were ANBU."
"And if I was?"
"You're the best damn weapons merchant in the village. You're discreet, knowledgeable, and still very fast… You were great, and you're still good, but your blindness means you had to be taken out of the field."
"Hm."
"You never said you retired from being a Shinobi." Now the man's teeth were bared in a particularly wolfish expression.
"Magnificent… Were you a detective. You are Shinobi!" He thundered, nearly hilting my Kunai into the beautifully lacquered countertop as he slammed it down. "Never reveal your secrets, horde them as a meiser does his gold. You are Shinobi, you must endure! You are Shinobi… You may become the best of us if you learn." The old man snapped, plucking the Kunai from the counter. "I am Liu Zhao, I will help you become the best. Go. Go! Return in three days. I will have your training aids. And bring your gold! I do not run a charity, Uzumaki! My daughter and I must eat, yes?"
"Of course, Liu-dono." I nodded as I took my Kunai back, plucking it from the wood. "I will return in three days."
"See that you do."
Present…
That meeting was weeks ago, but the shopkeep came through beautifully. Though he charged me an almost outrageous figure for what looked like just plain bandages. I was about to walk out of his shop when he rapped me on the head with his cane and scolded me for being hasty. This was a ninja village; nothing was as it seemed - just like the bandages. I told Zhao I wanted leg weights, instead the crazy shopkeep commissioned someone to make controllable resistance and gravity seals to be worked into the bandages. Seeing as bandages were almost a fashion accessory in the village, I didn't even get a second look when I started showing up to class with my hands, wrists, and legs bandaged.
It was strange how the seals worked, but I couldn't help but find it interesting. The bandages had a hundred levels correlating to levels of gravity and could read the body and self-adjust. But how did the seals work? They fed off of the wearer's own chakra. Zhao said that a normal genin could only use the seals for an hour or two before they would really start feeling the effects of the seals. A jounin, though, may be able to go for five or six hours. I wore them constantly and never felt a difference in my Chakra reserves.
That may change over time as the seals draw on more chakra as the levels progressed. That was their way to try and 'work out the chakra muscle.'
Basically, the way Zhao explained it made it sound like that the more I used the resistance seals then the faster I could make more Chakra to replenish the Chakra being drained by the seals use…
Okay, okay, that made no sense, and the way he explained it didn't make much sense either but here's how I pictured it happening:
I have a pool of chakra in me. It's always there and pretty much always full. I only make enough chakra to replenish what little chakra 'evaporates,' from daily life. But this little pool has a dam on one side. So if I use a jutsu, the dam will open, and then the pool will refill to the same level it was before, but the pool wouldn't refill instantly. There was a bit of a delay because my body only made a certain amount of chakra. I thought of it this way: my replenishment system is a tap, and a leaky one at that. It always drips into the pool, but the tap can be opened when the water is down - just like a faucet can be turned off and on. In this case, 'my body,' is the person standing beside the faucet while judging the water level. When the water falls too low? On goes the tap until the water reaches the same level it was at before.
But I don't control any of this. I only open and close the dam.
With the seals active, it would be as if someone else dipped a hosepipe into my pool and started siphoning without going through the dam and without my body ever seeing this hose. All my body now knows is that the water is constantly falling. It's time to turn on the faucet.
The water will level out and stay level but, over time, the hose siphoning off the water in the pool is replaced with an even larger hose. When my body can't keep up with the chakra being tossed out? It's time for a bigger faucet. My body starts pumping more and more water into the lake to try and get it back to its original level. When the water level reaches equilibrium again, the siphon gets even bigger.
This cycle goes on and on and on until there isn't a bigger siphon but the body, having pumped water for years and years on end, now has an industrial pump flooding water into the pool instead of a kitchen tap dripping a few drops.
The chakra pool itself has stayed the same size, but the pipe feeding that pool is much, much larger.
All of this is to say that by the time these bandages hit level one hundred, I would be able to spam ridiculously large jutsus and have my chakra coils act like a living chakra pill.
If these worked like Zhao implied they would, then my reserves would refill faster than any other Shinobi could dare to even dream of.
But that meant that the seals had to be constantly, working and I had to work to fight the strain of increasing gravity. The seals didn't just work my chakra reserves; they would throw mountains over my back and force me to act like it was normal.
Honestly, when they reached level one hundred, they would be some of the most dangerous weapons in the elemental nations when wrapped around someone not used to them - and they were training aids.
If it all worked out like I hoped it did, I would be the fastest, strongest, and most powerful Shinobi to ever have stepped foot in Konoha.
And that was without the Kyubi.
I still wasn't quite able to manifest more than a flicker of his chakra but the amount increased more and more every day… If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that my Chakra pool wouldn't only be emptying and refilling at a ludicrous speed but the pool itself was going to grow exponentially as well thanks to the Kyubi's influence.
Just channeling a tiny bit of his Chakra made me faster, stronger, and more focused. I couldn't imagine what it would be like when I had to start trying to harness a full tail's worth of the Bijuu's chakra - much less what would happen when we finally reached the point where I could use all nine of his tails
My body shuddered slightly at the thought even as I spun my own Kunai on my finger, staring down the target in front of me. I brought my arm back and let the blade fly. It tumbled end over end through the air and smacked against the wood with a wavering thump. I winced as the Kunai bounced off the target from the blade.
Of course, my first attempt at knife throwing in this body would be a complete and utter failure…
Well, I did have a lot to learn still. Genjutsu may have come easily so far, but that was to be somewhat expected considering I had the mind of a twenty-somethings smashed into the body of a seven-year-old. I was the master of my mind.
Or the Kyubi was.
Considering my mental tenant was a hundred-story tall, nine-tailed, chakra demon, I had a pretty damn good guard dog against mental attacks.
I felt a surge of fire rocket up my spine as the Kyubi howled in protest.
'Oh shut up you overgrown canid.' I grumbled as I drew back for my next throw. I hated to use the standard Kunai but if I wanted to keep Sato Minato and myself separated, I would have to use them.
"Canid!? You dare compare me to those wretched beasts!?"
'If the shoe fits…'
"Damn you, boy."
'That's what? The thirty thousandth time you've told me that? We're both damned, Kyubi. Hate me all you like, we're stuck together for a while.'
"Bastard."
'Oh!? An actual insult from the peanut gallery? Color me impressed.' I snarked as the Kyubi growled.
"Don't you have class to attend?"
'Ugh, don't remind me.' I winced as Iruka called for the throwing to stop while we collected the thrown Kunai. I managed to sink one on the outside of the target while the rest were scattered at the foot of the target.
"You are quite terrible. The Fourth would be ashamed."
'The Fourth is dead, he doesn't care about anything. It's one of the perks of being dead.'
"There is truth to that… You will need to learn and master this if you are to learn that damned Jutsu."
'I know.' I mentally grunted as I spun one of the kunai around my finger absently as a new group stepped up to the throwing line, including Hinata. Now it was just Sasuke and I standing under one of the few trees with our arms crossed with matching frowns. 'But I need to master my Chakra and speed before I can even think about teleporting.'
"Indeed. You are learning at a prodigious rate, boy, but for you to face Akatsuki you must be lightning."
'The newest yellow flash?'
"No. You must become a God of Thunder."
'You know, I never understood why lightning lords were called gods of thunder. Sure it sounds better but it's not really that accurate.'
"Be silent. Listen." The Kyubi growled. That was when I knew he was about to drop some heavy knowledge on me. "You know Hiraishin means 'flying thunder god,' in your tongue. You must become the flying thunder god. The second and fourth never truly understood what that meant. You must learn to fly as wind, to strike as lightning, to only be known by the thunder in your wake, and destroy as the storm. That is what it means to be Hiraishin."
'Interesting… The seals should be a good first step toward that.'
"They are indeed. Your chakra is already compensating as you believed it would but it will not be a quick process."
'No, if the seals increase by a level every month then I'd have to wear them for eight years.'
"Hm."
'I think that that's how it'll work. My chakra needs to be able to adjust to the seals over time. They may speed up overtime but I'm not sure. I think this is going to be like the strong man and his calf story.'
"What is that?"
'Can't find it in my head?'
"I do not look for that which is irrelevant, boy."
'That's a no.' I thought as the Kyubi growled. 'The basic principle is that there was a strong man who also raised cattle. One of his heifers gave birth to a prize bull, but it started like any other calf. Every day, the strong man would hoist the calf onto his shoulders. He would then carry the calf around for an hour, half of one at dawn and the other at dusk. In two years, the man was able to carry the prized bull on his shoulders because he grew used to the calf's weight as it grew.'
"Did it work for that man?"
'Absolutely not.' I mentally scoffed as the Kyubi sent a tendril of irritation through the seal. 'He was human. He didn't have Chakra to heal him from the damage carrying around a full sized bull would cause.'
"You believe this would have an effect on you?"
'Absolutely. Look at what Lee did with just a few leg weights.'
"I admit it was quite a showing for a boy with damaged Chakra coils… I never thought I would see anyone foolish enough to engage the eight gates."
'Me neither. Thankfully he and Gai are the only two who truly know how to go that far. I don't want to know what the Uchiha's Sharingan magic bullshit would have looked like amplified by the gates.' I shuddered as the Kyubi growled deep in my chest.
"I couldn't have said it better myself, boy. The Gates should have been lost instead of deemed Kinjutsu. The Uchiha would have been unstoppable if they accessed this power… And so would the Uzumakis. You would do well learning to opening them if you face Itachi. His Mangekyou Sharingan are too powerful, but mercifully they are limited… Madara should have died screaming on a cross for discovering the Eternal Mangekyou."
'Yeah… Yeah he should have.' I thought grimly as I caught a glimpse of the Uchiha I had befriended.
"Boy, if you manage to ally us to an Uchiha, it would be nothing short of a miracle. You know what he was called in your world."
'The Avenger, yes, I'm sort of aware. Really, I'm hoping that he was just brainwashed into doing that because he had thought of nothing else for five years when he became a genin. If I play my cards right, I'm hoping I can steer him toward a path of getting stronger to defend Konoha from another Itachi instead of pursuing Itachi himself.'
"Ambitious… And foolish. You believe in the boy too much."
'I really don't. I may be too late already but I'd rather befriend him than have him after my head on a platter.'
"Ambitious." The Fox repeated before he fell silent for a few heartbeats. "And how would you do that?"
'I have no idea…'
"Of course not, you fool. He covets strength, his brother's strength specifically. Uzumaki did not interact with the boy before the Uchihas' fall but the village whispered how the youngest son of the clan head was a disappointment compared to his older brother. Itachi awakened the Sharingan at six. The boy was a prodigy of prodigies, Sasuke was not. He was protected by his elder brother and betrayed by the same boy."
'Itachi was ANBU, right?'
"Itachi was Itachi, yes."
'What?'
"Itachi means… Weasel? That is how you say it in your tongue."
'Wow… That's either the most brilliant thing ANBU's ever done or the stupidest… And I'm inclined to believe the latter.'
"Where were you going with that?"
'Oh, right. Er… Oh! Yeah, Itachi was good enough to become ANBU almost immediately after the academy, right?'
"You do not know. You have no memories of his academy days other than he began at six and graduated at seven."
'Then it's speculation time. The elders and council won't let Sasuke graduate in a year, they can control him while he's stuck here. Itachi had the best of the best as the eldest son of a prominent clan's chief, Sasuke doesn't even have a brother to teach him anything anymore. He'll have to rely on the academy until he's at least eleven like the rest of us dumbasses.'
"Self aware. Maybe you do have some redeeming qualities, boy."
'Asshole. Anyway, I have five years to make sure he knows that he can't be Itachi. He doesn't have a clan to help teach him and he's not a prodigy on Itachi's level. If I have to beat it into his ass then so be it.'
"Have you paid attention to your taijutsu bouts?"
'Okay, just because I haven't beaten him yet doesn't mean I won't eventually!'
"You've ended up face first in the dirt in the first three minutes everytime. Besides book work, the only thing you are more proficient in than the Uchiha is Genjutsu. Eventually he will have the Sharingan which can see through even the strongest illusions. You will need to become much better than you are if you want to keep the Uchiha humble."
'Which brings us back to square one.' I sighed as I watched Hinata fidget on the throwing line.
"Indeed. But you will not be joining that bastard in green during his inane physical exercises."
'Insane, not inane.'
"The case could be made for both." The fox mused. "But you will not join him."
'I had no plans to join Maito fucking Gai on his thouand laps around Konoha.' I grunted as Hinata let fly with her first Kunai. Like mine, it flipped end over end but, unlike mine, the specially made Kunai drilled into the bull tip first. I blinked rapidly at that. I thought the Uchiha were the only clan that were instinctively good with Kunai but even Sasuke didn't sink the Kunai on the first throw…
And he definitely didn't follow the first one up with the other four in a perfect square around the first. My jaw fell open as I tried to burn the image of the target into my mind.
"Kami…" Sasuke whispered as he and I both stared wide-eyed at the Hyuuga heiress' target.
"Is it bad I want to see how good she is with a bow?" I muttered as Sasuke turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "What?"
"She's Hyuuga, they don't use weapons." Sasuke sighed in displeasure.
"Bloody stupid, if you ask me. I mean, just look at what she did on her first try!" Sasuke actually cracked a smirk as he looked between me and the target Hinata was walking toward.
"Hn… Will you make her one?" Sasuke asked. I shrugged, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.
"Maybe. I'm not a bowyer, Sasuke… And I especially don't know how to make a Yumi."
"A Yumi would be too noticeable in the field."
"Then a reflex bow? Maybe reflex-recurve?"
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke blinked.
"Bow shapes. A reflex bow curves away from the archer when unstrung while a deflex bends toward the archer. So a deflex-recurved bow would bend toward the archer with spurs that point away."
"Hn… What's the point?"
"Longer range, shorter package, lighter draw." I shrugged. "Of course, making a composite recurve bow from scratch will be a pain in the ass."
"How do you know that?"
"Read it in a book." I grinned. It wasn't a lie, I just didn't read it in this life. Sasuke shook his head with the ghost of a grin on his lips.
"What would you need?"
"Horn - lots of horn, wood, and sinew to make in the traditional way. Oh, and glue. Pretty strong glue at that… Traditionally it should be made from horse hooves but honestly I don't care if it's natural or synthetic."
"I'll see to it."
"Really?" The Kyubi and I reared back in shock at the offer. Sasuke nodded dully.
"A gift from another clan heir to another is not something taken lightly, especially when it's given among the high clans and handmade," Sasuke said. "I'm commissioning a bow, Naruto."
"I've never made a bow before, especially not one that's going to be this complicated… I'll find the parts if you pay the bill, alright?"
"Alright. How long will it take?"
"Hard to say…" I grunted, thinking furiously. "Again, I've never made one but I can probably track one down."
"Price estimate?"
"Best guess? Ten thousand ryo." Sasuke frowned but nodded.
"Would you modify it?"
"Do you want it modified?"
"Find a bow and then we'll talk."
"Or I'll have to make one…" I grunted as Sasuke ran a hand through his hair.
"Do it."
