Chapter 80 Seal Pattern

"Because those lines only appear when he actively channels the Nine-Tails' chakra." Sasuke explained, "Normal chakra flow will not trigger those lines, otherwise I would have discovered it long ago."

"These patterns are so intricate..." Sakura muttered to herself as she studied the black patterns, "I never knew a seal could be so beautiful."

Hearing Sakura's praise, Naruto couldn't help but blush. He felt proud and a little embarrassed.

"I don't know if it's beautiful or not. My calligraphy has never been very good. Besides, I didn't sleep much at that time..."

"Wait, what did you say? You carved these lines yourself? Aren't they part of the seal itself?" Sakura asked in surprise, her eyes moving back and forth between Naruto and the black lines.

Naruto blinked.

"Uh... no. At that time, there was a problem with the Nine-Tails' chakra, so I had to add these lines. At that time, the Nine-Tails said it was because of the 'Sin of Regret'. I don't know what that is. I only know that it lost nearly one-third of its chakra because of it. I had to find a way to replenish its chakra, but the original sealing technique did not allow me to do so. So I went to the Land of Whirlpools."

"Where is the original seal?" Sasuke asked curiously, tilting his head to look at Naruto.

Naruto lifted up his shirt, revealing the intricately patterned, dark seal on his stomach.

"Wow!" Aquino leaned over in surprise and looked at the seal on Naruto's stomach, "This is too complicated!"

"Yes." Wu Hei also came over and sniffed the center of the seal carefully. "The power is very strong and the structure is very complex."

"The technique to seal the tailed beast is certainly not simple." Biscuit said lazily, rubbing Sakura's hand comfortably.

"Sealing Technique..." Sasuke said thoughtfully, "Can it be used in battle?"

Naruto answered while tidying up his clothes:

"Of course! I haven't fully mastered it yet, but the application of sealing techniques is definitely no less than that of ninjutsu, maybe even more."

Sasuke blinked in surprise, then said with a smirk:

"It's rare, Naruto, that you can say something so insightful."

"Fuck you, bastard!" Naruto punched Sasuke lightly, "Just don't get beaten to a pulp by my new sealing technique."

"Just because you are the last one?"

"You two!" Sakura yelled, interrupting their argument, "We're still on a mission! If you want to fight, wait until you get home!"

Although Sasuke and Naruto were somewhat reluctant, they still shut their mouths obediently.

Although Sakura was covered in dog hair now, it was obviously not a wise move to make her angry.

******************

It was already morning when they returned to Konoha. Kakashi disbanded Team 7 and let them rest for two days while he went to the Hokage Building to submit the mission report.

The three of them went home to wash up, and Sakura popped her head out of the bathroom with a frustrated look on her face.

"Um...everyone?"

Sasuke and Naruto were sorting their equipment. When they heard Sakura's voice, they looked up at her. "What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"I... don't have any clothes to change..."

Sasuke then noticed that Sakura was still wearing the same dusty tracksuit from before.

"Naruto and I were also going to go shopping, and the fridge is empty," Sasuke said.

"We'll bring it to you," Naruto assured, patting his chest, "or you can buy a new one if you want."

Sakura was flattered and said:

"Really? Thank you so much!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto and said:

"My inheritance plus the treasures of the Whirlpool Kingdom should be more than enough to buy you some clothes."

Sakura smiled happily.

"Then I'll make a list! Can you guys help me make one more trip to the pharmacy? I was going to go today, but now I just want to sleep."

Considering that Sakura was on guard duty last night, Sasuke couldn't bear to refuse.

"Okay, but we have the final say on dinner."

"make a deal!"

******

Sasuke had to admit that the Sealing Scroll was truly a must-have artifact for home and travel.

He didn't want to go home with a lot of bags after shopping.

Luckily, Naruto was smart enough to draw the Shrinking Seal on a blank scroll.

They decided to do it quickly, get everything done as soon as possible, so that Sasuke could go home and sleep for 24 hours, not going anywhere except eating and taking a shower.

They had already been to the supermarket, the weapons store, the sealing supplies store, the open-air market, and the general market, and now they were left with the ninja equipment store, the clothing store, the drugstore, and Sakura's house.

Sasuke felt a little upset at the thought of going to Sakura's house.

"I hate shopping..." Naruto complained as he walked into Mantis, one of the three female ninja supply stores in Konoha Village, which mainly sells equipment suitable for ninjutsu-type female ninjas. The other two are Viper and Tigress, which target genjutsu-type and taijutsu-type female ninjas respectively.

"Stop talking nonsense, we're only halfway through our shopping trip. When I get home, I won't go anywhere except on my days off."

Although Naruto was somewhat reluctant, he had no choice but to shut up.

He suddenly saw Aburame Shino standing in the corner, choosing a bulletproof vest.

"Hey, Shino!" he greeted enthusiastically.

Shino heard the voice and looked up, seeing first Naruto and then Sasuke.

"Hello," he said calmly, "It's already noon, so I shouldn't say good morning. Are you here to help Sakura buy something?"

"Yeah, and you?" Naruto walked over to Shino and Sasuke followed, scanning the shelves, trying to find something suitable for Sakura.

Although Naruto is very outgoing, it doesn't mean that Sasuke is the same - there is almost no communication between him and Shino because they both hate boring small talk.

But Shino didn't seem to mind chatting with Naruto - of course, for Naruto, Shino had always been an exception.

"I'm here to help my teammates buy things." Shino's tone actually had a hint of smile, "Hinata's birthday is coming soon, and I want to pick out a suitable gift for her."

"Is it December already?" Naruto asked in confusion. Konoha Village is located in the center of the Land of Fire. There are no distinct four seasons, only the rainy season and the dry season.

"Not yet, but I thought I'd buy the presents now while I'm not too busy." Shino turned his gaze from Naruto to Sasuke, "Did you just finish your mission?"