Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 45: TenTenTen
"Mmm… no, not that one."
"What about this?" Naruto came out of the changing room wearing a white kimono and black sandals.
"A pure white kimono?" Ino gave him a dubious look. "It seems very impractical for missions."
"I already have several outfits for that." They had been here for over two hours already, and Naruto had chosen enough clothes to fill his small closet.
This white kimono reminded him of the old robes he wore during his days at the Blue Jade Sect, and it gave him a sense of nostalgia. Of course, he could not mention that to anyone.
"Oh! I think he looks very handsome in those clothes." A dark-haired girl intruded into their conversation all of a sudden.
Ino turned around with an expression of annoyance. "I never said that he... wait, who are you?"
"My name is Tenten, and I will let you know that I am the owner of this shop. So be more respectful," she said with a smug tone.
The large man at the counter gave the girl a stern glare. "Who did you say the owner was?"
"Hehe, come on, Dad… I meant one day." She scratched her head.
"Hmph! We'll see about that." He scoffed.
"Anyways…" Ignoring the father and daughter issues, Naruto made his way to the counter. "I'll take these. And I think I'm done with the clothes."
"I suppose you have enough… for now." Ino agreed.
"I will keep these on." Naruto pointed at his white kimono before placing the rest of the bags on the table.
"I was going to suggest that, in case you were thinking of using those farmer clothes again," Ino commented.
"I wasn't… especially after you threw them in the garbage."
"Are you two genins?" Tenten looked at Naruto and Ino with curiosity. Neither of them were wearing their headbands, so it wasn't immediately obvious.
"We graduated two months ago." Ino gave the girl a sharp answer, but this did nothing to deter her from asking more questions.
"Are you two teammates? What team are you on? Are you dating?"
Ino glared threateningly at the girl. "No, team ten, and… of course not!"
"Oi, stop bothering my customers," her father scolded her.
"I'll take all of these clothes, plus a new set of kunai, shuriken, and smoke bombs." He had lost most of his tools during the Wave mission when he started using them as explosives. The only ones he had left were the ones he took from his teammates and Kakashi.
The attitude of the large man changed completely while talking with Naruto. "Of course, just a moment. I will wrap these up." He lifted his gaze to glance at his daughter. "Go fetch the kunai and shuriken."
"Wait, today is my day off!" She huffed. Tenten wanted to complain some more, but then she saw the expression of her father and changed her mind. "I'll go get them…"
"Anything else that you need, Mister Uzumaki?"
"No, that would be… hold on, do you have any high-grade swords?"
Naruto just recalled the sword style scroll he got from his parents' house. If he combined it with his already basic Sword Dao, he might be able to piece together something useful.
"You want a sword?" Ino asked. "I have never seen you hold a sword before, much less use it."
"I'm just a beginner trying to learn," Naruto answered with a half-truth. He wasn't completely a beginner, but he did consider himself as such.
"If you are a beginner, then…" The owner pointed at a group of weapon racks on the lowest section. There were several different types of blades on display. "I would recommend buying one of those. They are low grade, but their quality is quite decent for their price."
"My father is right, you know?" Tenten came back with two boxes in her hands. "A very high-grade blade would cost you a small fortune. Not something you can buy with the salary of a genin. Trust me… I know from experience."
Naruto nodded in understanding. He knew that exceptional weapons were going to be out of his current budget.
"A small fortune? How much are we talking about?" Ino's interest seemed to have been piqued.
"Well, let's see… for reference." Tenten pointed at the blades that her father had just recommended to Naruto. "Those swords are all between fifteen hundred and two thousand Ryo. (Around 100 USD.)
"They may be the cheapest ones we have here, but they are decent enough for genin and even most chunin. Just don't try to channel chakra through them." The shop owner advised.
Tenten then pointed to a katana displayed on the highest part of the wall, right above the owner's head. "That one is called 'Crimson Dragon'. It is one step below legendary grade and was crafted by a famous swordsmith from the Country of Iron, almost one hundred years ago. It is a unique piece of the highest quality, even fit for an S-rank ninja. And its price is… one million Ryo." (Around 62,000 USD.)
"A million?!" Ino exclaimed. She came from a fairly wealthy family, but even then, this sword went way over her budget.
"And there are weapons even more valuable than this one out there," Tenten said.
"Few would be willing to even sell a legendary grade weapon for just money," her father added. "The country of the Mist was able to acquire seven legendary swords and turned them into a symbol of power for the country."
"Right! The Seven Legendary Swordsmen!" Tenten said with excitement. She had read many tales about those swordsmen.
'The Legendary Swordsmen? Wasn't Zabuza one of those?' Naruto recalled what the Bingo Book said. 'Does that mean that… that giant sword of his….'
"Arg…" He growled.
"Naruto? What's wrong?" Ino asked.
"Nothing…." He knew that the sword would be at least a bit valuable. But Kakashi had insisted on leaving it next to the man's grave, and he didn't want to argue with his sensei. Especially when he was not the one who killed Zabuza, so he had no right to loot his body.
"In any case, you don't need a legendary sword now. You are still a genin," the shop owner said.
"I understand." He should stop overestimating what he could acquire in his current situation.
He was no longer the influential and wealthy figure he had been in the past.
It almost felt like he was back in his early days as an outer disciple of the Jade Sect. "I can be patient," he then said.
The shop owner smiled. "That is a good way of thinking! One should not rush into things. I wish my daughter was more like that."
"Hey!" Tenten exclaimed.
"Tell you what." The owner pointed at the swords on the lower weapon racks. "Pick any of these, I'll give it to you for free."
"Dad? I have never seen you even give a piece of scroll for free." Tenten looked baffled.
"My instincts may have become duller over time, but even I know it when I see someone with great potential. So go ahead, take my gift. And one day, when you have become some big shot, remember my store."
Naruto gave the man a nod of agreement. He had always lived by the rule of returning kindness one hundredfold.
His eyes scanned the many blades on display until he found a suitable one. "I'll take this one."
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