Ch. 27

"Damn," Zabuza panted as they stood in the center of the decimated courtyard, bodies strewn around them. A small army of missing-nin lay about them in pieces a few powerful ones off to the side.

"Old fool must have wised up after my Sensei decimated his Yakuza forces," Moriko panted as she used water chakra to clean her sword and wind to dry it. Zabuza stuck his damaged sword in a body and it began to repair itself using the ninja's blood. Moriko made an appreciative sound as she watched the sword heal. Seeing the interest on her face, Zabuza smirked before offing it to her. His eyes widened when she held it easily before she swung it around a few times to test its balance. Her lips pursed as she thought over something before she turned to him with a smirk.

"Want me to add something to the sword?" she asked as he blinked in surprise before frowning.

"What's the catch?" he asked as she grinned.

"It goes back to its normal weight if it's swung at someone with one of these," she said tapping the Konoha emblem that was on her hip. He snorted before nodding.

"Seems fair enough. Besides, who would say no to a seal master offering to add seals to their weapon?" he said as she chuckled.

"If you want I can make it where it's only light for you," she said and he nodded before she got to work using seals on the hilt to make the sword lighter, more durable, able to generate electricity, and able to produce a barrier when needed, adding in failsafe so the sword can't be used against konoha nin without the failsafe triggering.

She then motioned Zabuza over before she showed him the seal she intended to put on him by putting it on her own arm. She hefted the sword easily before activating the barrier and the lightning. Satisfied, she put the seal on Zabuza's sternum before concentrating. He gave a grunt of surprise when the seal sank beneath his skin.

"That way a small cut isn't going to damage the seal," she said with a grin before handing over the sword. He took it and grunted in surprise at the lightness of it, giving a few test swings. It seemed she had corrected the balancing issue of the blade with the seals. He activated the lightning and barrier before giving a whistle of appreciation.

"If I wanted you before I definitely want you now," he said admiringly as she chuckled before having her clones go start sealing the bodies into scrolls for the bounties. She jerked her head at the ruined mansion.

"Let's go loot some booty," she said before turning away to walk toward the mansion. Zabuza's eyes glued themselves to her shapely rear as he watched her go.

"I'd love to," he purred as the young woman shot him a smirk over her shoulder.

...

Moriko began cackling wildly causing team seven to freeze, heads snapping her direction at the ominous sound that was coming from inside a visible sealing barrier. Zabuza paused his antagonization of the copy nin, the two groups falling silent as the manic laughter continued.

"What does that usually mean?" Zabuza asked, sounding worried as Kakashi felt a cold sweat break out over his body as he remembered the last time something of this nature had happened.

"It usually means grab the genin and start running," said the copy nin as he slung Naisho on his back before scooping his remaining two genin up in each arm, already dashing for the tree line. Zabuza blanched as the barrier fell revealing a maniacally laughing redhead, her hair undulating through the air. He took a step back and froze as her attention suddenly snapped to him. At the fanatical look in her eyes he turned tail and ran, Haku already on his heels as they struggled to catch up with the copy nin.

Moriko snickered as she did a happy dance before taking the time to test her clone again to see if the mobile medical seal was working properly. From inside the house, Tazuna watched the redhead continue throwing high-level ninjutsu and deadly attacks at her clone until a deadly blast was released from the clone, the air distorting around it. These ninja were as crazy as they were deadly.

...

Tazuna worked nervously as he watched the young woman prowl around his bridge, examining it as she muttered. His eyes went from the powerful barrier that had protected them from a group of ninjas yesterday back to her, knowing who had placed the barrier around his bridge and home to protect them. He thought back to when the fog had cleared, the indistinct shapes on his lawn turning into bodies, how the blood soaking his sandals.

He had been horrified partly at the corpses but more by the cherry greeting the group had received as the woman loped over, clearly not disturbed by the carnage she had wrought in the least. Damn ninjas, there was no gauging their abilities on looks. If anything, ninjas were all killers, even the kids, he thought, thinking about how the two adults had brought their little ones mice to play with to teach them to hunt. The thugs hadn't even stood a chance despite being the ones to set an ambush for them on the way here.

She had rescued his daughter despite Tsunami being within arm's reach of the enemy guards and had protected her with a barrier while the fighting had happened before transferring her to the house to finish off whomever else came for his family. He remembered what his daughter had told him the evening they had returned.

"She was like a ghost, I couldn't see her. It was like the stories of the Uzumaki of old as if a vengeful spirit of the clan descended on them. With her sword, hair, and seals, I knew what she was but I thought that the clan was extinct," Tsunami had whispered to her father one night late in the kitchen.

"Ghost of the Uzumaki," he muttered to himself, liking the name.

"Oh? That has a nice ring to it," said a feminine voice beside him and Tazuna jumped in surprise before glaring automatically.

"Geez! Warn a guy," he gasped as she chuckled, highly amused. He cleared his throat before bowing deeply.

"I would like to thank you for the amazing work you have done on this mission. Without you and your team, I would not have my daughter and grandson right now," he said. After a moment he felt a pat on his shoulder, and he rose to find the young woman looking at him consideringly.

"I will accept your thanks on one condition," she said, and he nodded. She held up a scroll.

"Help me with these blueprints," she said causing him to nod, feeling relieved as she gave a genuine grin.

"What are they for?" he asked as they moved to a table so she could unroll the paper.

"A clan compound," she said, and he nodded. He began going over them, circling a few problem areas before checking her notes to see what she wanted added or changed. He began sketching in potential areas to place the items she wanted. They worked in silence for a time before his eyes were drawn to her sketching intricate detail into what looked like a seal.

"What is that?" he asked, and she paused to look up before regarding her work once more.

"A business proposal for you once it is done," she said, and he paused his work to shoot her an interested look.

"To help pay for your mission and to pay me for the seal work, I am proposing a very small toll on the bridge. The village will generate revenue as will the village and myself. From there you can see it would be in everyone's best interest to help your village get back on its feet financially. I will most likely return to make trade agreements with your village as well," she said causing his eyes to widen.

"Trade agreements? What are you hoping to sell?" he asked as she grinned before tapping her paper.

"Seals for construction and building. We are actually working on a large-scale construction project right now and the more I learn from you and the rest of the builders, the better my work will be for the project back home. I have already come up with quite a few ideas from watching the construction of the bridge, and with my compound project," she said causing his eyes to widen.

"Can I see?" he asked eagerly. She nodded before passing him the paper. He whistled as he looked over the list.

...

Worker protection seal (Barrier against debris, fire suppression, etc.)

Fire suppression seal

Waterproofing seal

Water barrier seal

Oil wood treatment seal

Oxidization/anti-rust seal

Antifungal seal

Air purification seal

Water purification seal

Water heating/cooling seal

Air heating/cooling seal

Cement seal

Cement drying seal

Removal seal

Strengthening seal

Softening seal

Wear and tear protection seal

Lighter load seal

Burning pit seal

Humidifier seal

Dehumidifier seal

Gas seal

Large capacity supply storage seal

Color marking seals

Ground leveling and packing seal

Foundation seal

Hold in place seal

Nail gun seal (safety measures in place)

Hold-in-place-gravitational seal

...

He eagerly went over the list with her asking what each one would do. She said that she would give them a portion of the seals for free if they agreed to send money for the rest of the bought seals when they had the money. She could also add protection to the village with seals for a price as well to protect it from rouge ninjas and pirates if they tried to take it over, that the village could pay over time with tolls from the bridge, meaning if they had increased trade, they would be able to pay faster, but only when they had the money, not if they were going without.

They negotiated the price of the toll bridge and made sure that it was free for locals, but outsiders would have to pay.

Overall Tazuna was thrilled. This would not cause any financial strain on the village and if word got out that they were the only ones selling her seals to merchants, (the percentages had already been negotiated,) that would bring a huge economic boom to the village.

When talk of rebuilding the village was brought up, she began talking about her plan to use seals to speed up the growing of lumber and Tazuna happily told her about a section of rare wood they had on the island that if they were able to grow rapidly, it could bring greater financial prosperity. She nodded already drawing up another financial agreement, stating that if seeds were included in the deal, she would drop her price by five percent. He nodded and they negotiated prices and percentages.

She brought up the idea of fish and water creature farming and preserves so the wild population of fish could keep their numbers strong to keep the preserved fish from becoming too inbred, a certain number of fish being introduced to the gene pool while a certain number of captive fish could swim free. For things like clams and oysters, they could collect pearl-producing ones and farm them while keeping a certain number wild. Tazuna was getting more excited as the talks continued. As headsman of the village, he could make a number of decisions without needing to confer with the rest. Seaweed farming, fish farming, pearl cultivation, lumber production, and trade was going to help this place get back on its feet.

"The health and education of your children is also important for the future of this place," she said before they talked over the current education system and their deserted clinic, making a note to rebuild the old schoolhouse as soon as possible.

…

Tazuna was excited when he got home that night and told his daughter the good news. This place was going to get back on its feet, it would be protected and had a promising future in trade. Tsunami hadn't left the house since the incident when she had been told what the barrier would protect them. He should have seen it coming when his daughter burst into tears.

"It's just going to bring more attention to this place. What if I get grabbed again for being your daughter, Father? I can't handle this living in fear," she wept as he hugged her closer. He felt his resolve crumble a bit under the weight of her fear.

"I will speak with Moriko-san and see what she can do," he said firmly before squeezing his shaking daughter's hands. She nodded, face lighting up. While she had been partly terrified of the Uzumaki woman, the Uzumaki woman had also given her great peace of mind knowing that she would be protected at all costs.

Tsunami had been reassured quietly one evening that if someone did try to enter the house with ill intent, it would electrocute them into paralysis or death if they kept trying. The Uzumaki had also said that if someone in her home turned hostile towards her the seal would forcibly eject them. He would need to see if he could work protection for his daughter's piece of mind into the deal somehow.

…

Moriko began running around the village as her clones fished off the coast and gathered seaweed and clams. She unsealed a large pile of logs much to the worker's glee.

Naisho and the other kids tagged along as she began to direct workers to where she had set up an area to begin processing the logs, she had brought with her in a storage seal. While she and Tazuna had negotiated a lot, this was going to be mainly out of her goodwill. At the same time, her clones would be learning the skills needed to renovate her clan home herself. Today they were going to rebuild boats for fishing and repair a lot of the piers. She was also going to use some of the wood and seals to help those in need rebuild their homes with the time that they remained there. With her clones making the quick trip to the ruins of Uzu for her, she had managed to complete all objectives for the trip so far.

Soon skilled workers were teaching her clones the processes of how to dry the wood while a boat builder began to teach her clones his method of how to craft boats. She used seals gratuitously to speed the process up much to the worker's delight and soon she had a clone writing down a list of all the new seals she would have to invent for the enthused workers.

When people began bringing her sick or wounded people Moriko hesitated to help. While she had been teaching herself healing off and on for years, she had never actually had much opportunity to practice. She made sure the people understood this before she had a small group of clones going through her medical texts and working to help the injured as she practiced her medical ninjutsu.

All the activity seemed to breathe life back into the village and that night, everyone celebrated on the beach at bonfires, and clones cooked the food for the locals.

The next day they repeated the process and Moriko continued to learn and help the village as the kids helped and Kakashi guarded Tazuna. Naisho's clone could be seen running errands all over the village as they all worked.

Sometimes Zabuza would appear to chat her up while his boy Haku would help her kids, the group chatting animatedly. Moriko grinned widely as she watched them. It was clear Naisho and Haku had hit it off, Sakura soon followed though Sasuke seemed a bit jealous of the attention his team was giving the other boy. Sometimes she would spar with Zabuza again though she didn't use genjutsu on him again, much to his disappointment.

"Should we give them a show?" he smirked as Moriko's grin turned sly. The civilians eating lunch on the beach were cheering loudly as the two ninjas sparred over the water. Moriko was sure some families would come to Konoha in the future for their children to become aspiring ninjas from the way some were talking. She made a mental note to talk with some parents about the idea of sponsorship through her clan so the family could stay here and the children could have a place to stay and learn the ninja arts.

"Sure, let's show them what ninjas can really do," she chuckled as the man's grin grew feral. They were off once more, using their flashiest ninjutsu.

…

Two weeks later

Kakashi came to sit beside her that evening as the crowd celebrated merrily on the beach. In the distance, gently bobbing buoys indicated where the new fisheries and oyster farms were.

"Things look a bit different around here," he mused as he looked to the side where the newly constructed and sealed piers and boats were. In the distance, they could see the refurbished homes with her seal work and the finished bridge in the distance.

The fishermen had brought in a good catch today and the people were eating well as they celebrated the finishing of the bridge.

Sake was shared liberally since Moriko had gotten her aging seal to work and had been able to process large amounts of the booze. Jiraiya would be pleased. Kakashi dodged a squealing child as it ran past waving a sealed stick that acted as a sparkler. Moriko chuckled and lightly messed with Kakashi's hair as he shot her a dry look.

She grinned before returning her attention to the small sparkler display she had managed to get set up.

"Nah, looks the same to me," she said cheerily as Kakashi chuckled.

"This has been a good trip," he said quietly as she nodded. There had only been a couple of attacks by low-ranked rouge nin since she and Zabuza had decimated the brunt of their forces and killed Gato. The kids had been skilled enough to act as a team and defeat them, impressing Kakashi with their skill and teamwork. They hadn't been as upset when faced with people who could actually fight, though the kids had ended up sleeping with her again that night.

"The trip back will be nice and quick," she said as he nodded.

"That it will," he murmured.

...

AN: Yo! So excited to be back guys!

On a side note, If you're going to be a clan and a clan head, you need lots of money to keep things nice.

I'm also somewhat fascinated by the application and versatility of seals in the Naruto verse.

I feel like they could change everything and yet are so underutilized by the show.

To be fair when seals are used in the show it's so hax it's almost bullshit, but what if you applied that level of hax BS to everyday life?

Maybe it's because I'm old now, but the idea of a plate that could freeze food in stasis till you deactivate it, giving you a fresh hot meal makes me salivate. I would cook maybe once every few months and just preserve everything I liked to eat later, that sounds so amazing.

The amount of crap I could get done with shadow clones makes me drool, I have so many hobbies but never enough time to do the things that I enjoy.

Anyway, I find the concept of business proposals and the versatility of seals to be intriguing and would love to explore that avenue further on in time. Seals are like technological magic, able to do so many cool things which is why they are her specialization, though we haven't really seen what she can do with them just yet, just little things here and there!