Chapter 9: One Asuma
Asuma Sarutobi's two 'Flying Swallow' blades were made from this material, which allowed a shinobi's chakra to flow through the weapon unimpeded.
Theoretically, as long as a shinobi had enough chakra, they could use a dagger to produce the effect of a 40-meter-long sword.
"This looks to be the highest quality chakra metal, too. This is rare."
"Wanting to repair this... the cost will not be low."
Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's words, Kakashi automatically ignored the last half of the sentence.
He still had some of his father's savings at home, plus his own savings from the past few years. It should be enough.
"It's a reforging, not a repair," Kakashi specified.
Fugaku Uchiha looked at the broken White Fang in his hand and nodded slightly.
"In that case, let's see the Ninja Cats."
As Fugaku spoke, his hands formed a seal. With a low shout, he slammed one hand on the floor beside him.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Jutsu)"
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted in front of Kakashi, followed by a large black cat with green eyes, wearing a small black vest.
"Meow, Fugaku, long time no see, meow."
"What did you call meow for this time, meow?"
The large black cat greeted Fugaku.
"Yes, Yomaru."
"Take a look at this."
Fugaku handed the broken White Fang over.
"A rare, fine blade, meow. Where did you get this, Fugaku, meow?"
The moment the sword was in his paws, the black cat named Yomaru clicked his tongue in wonder.
"This is the son of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Kakashi."
"What you're holding is the personal sword of Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake. It's broken now. Can you and the others reforge it, Yomaru?"
Fugaku gestured to Kakashi, then asked his question.
Yomaru looked at Kakashi and clapped his paws.
"Ah, so it's the famous Sharingan Kaka... hmm?"
"Where's your Sharingan, meow?"
The big black cat looked at Kakashi's black eye, puzzled.
"That's all in the past."
Kakashi scratched his head in embarrassment.
Calling him "Sharingan Kakashi" right in front of the Uchiha clan head... wasn't that just awkward?
Was this cat doing it on purpose or was it an accident?
Because he possessed all five nature transformations—Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water—Kakashi, with his Sharingan, could copy any technique an enemy used.
So, at some unknown point, titles like "Sharingan Kakashi," "Copy Ninja," and "Konoha's Technician" had begun to spread through the shinobi world.
If it were just that, it would be fine.
But at the same time, with titles like "Son of the White Fang," "Student of the Hokage," and "Hero of the Kannabi Bridge" added on, his reputation had begun to exceed his actual strength.
Now, even a ninja cat's first words to him were "the famous Kakashi."
"Meow, in that case, what do you want this sword reforged into, meow?"
Hearing Yomaru's question, Kakashi quickly handed over a drawing he had prepared in advance.
It was a katana.
A close-combat weapon, the blade was about a meter long.
Kakashi had decided on this after long consideration, given the special nature of the shinobi profession. Since the White Fang was made of chakra metal, he could use its properties to compensate, infusing it with chakra during battle to suddenly extend his strike range and achieve an unexpected effect.
"Meow, this is the first time I've seen this design, meow."
"But considering the White Fang is made of top-quality chakra metal, we will, of course, have to use chakra metal to reforge it, meow."
"The fee for this, meow~~~"
The big black cat looked at Kakashi, a very human-like expression on its face.
"That's fine, of course, as long as..."
Kakashi said, reaching for his money.
Although Sakumo Hatake hadn't cared much about payment when he completed his missions and would even give a cut to his teammates, he had still saved up some money. Added to his own savings, it should be enough to reforge the White Fang.
"Meow, thank you for your patronage, the total is 35,000,000 Ryō, meow~~~"
Hearing Kakashi say it was no problem, Yomaru immediately beamed, rubbing his two fleshy cat paws together.
How... how much?
One... one Asuma? As in, his entire bounty?
Kakashi's hand, reaching for his money, froze.
Sakumo's savings plus his own only amounted to 15,000,000 Ryō.
This... this is still 20,000,000 short?!
"What's wrong, meow?"
"Don't tell me you're a poor-pauper, meow?"
Yomaru looked at Kakashi's expression and couldn't help but feel a little disdainful.
His face was written all over with contempt for a broke-ass.
If you don't have money, why are you trying to forge a sword?
[Emotional Fluctuation from Yomaru +1]
[Chakra +1%]
"I'll pay for it."
Fugaku Uchiha, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.
"As expected, Fugaku is so generous, meow~"
Hearing this, the disdain on Yomaru's face was instantly wiped away, replaced by a joyful smile.
Kakashi's mouth twitched at this scene.
This money-grubbing cat...
Could this guy be the prototype for the maneki-neko (beckoning cat)?
"Here are the remaining pieces of the blade..."
Kakashi sighed and took out the remaining fragments of the White Fang, pushing them over.
Right now, he urgently needed to get his old sword skills back. A suitable sword was extremely important.
He now owed the Uchiha a favor.
Oh well. No big deal. I'll just hand Asuma over to Fugaku later. He'll probably end up owing me 15 million.
Maa, just kidding...
"The delivery will be in three days, meow~"
Yomaru unhesitatingly grabbed the White Fang pieces and, with a puff of white smoke, vanished from the tea room.
"Fugaku-sama, I will pay you back."
Watching the greedy cat leave, Kakashi looked at the calm and composed Fugaku Uchiha and sighed.
"There's no rush for that. Kakashi-kun, you are a leader of the new generation in this village. If I can add a layer of assurance to your strength, I don't mind lending a hand."
Fugaku Uchiha sipped his tea, not at all concerned about whether Kakashi would pay him back.
A leader... me?
Hearing Fugaku's words, Kakashi sighed softly.
Right now, two of him tied together probably wouldn't be enough to take on Guy.
But, for Fugaku to speak like this, it was clear he wasn't expecting Kakashi to pay him back.
This was... recruitment.
Regarding the events of the day, although Fugaku had left early, he had realized how much Hiruzen Sarutobi valued this new-generation shinobi.
Even with Minato dead and Kakashi having lost his biggest supporter...
The "Jōnin at twelve" title wasn't something you could get just by having a strong backer.
In Fugaku's eyes, one day, Kakashi himself would become the strongest backer.
He might even climb to that position the Uchiha clan had dreamed of for so long.
Under these circumstances, it was necessary to build a good relationship with this genius ahead of time.
"In that case, thank you very much, Fugaku-sama..."