Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

"Senior Sakumo, how can we tell the difference between Tachiyama Shinsaburo and the people from Kumogakure?"

Minato asked immediately. Though they had photos of him, those men would surely be in disguise.

"There's absolutely no need to tell them apart," Sakumo chuckled, looking at Minato. "The physique of people from the Land of Lightning differs greatly from those in the Land of Fire. No matter how well they hide it, their dark skin and height beyond ordinary Fire Country citizens cannot be changed."

Seeing Minato finally appear somewhat confused, Sakumo explained, "The world is vast. The geographical location of the Land of Lightning is different from that of the Land of Fire, so there are noticeable differences in physical appearance. This is most evident among the Five Great Nations."

"Oh," Minato replied. He hadn't read this in any books before. The Ninja Academy only covered the most basic knowledge about being a ninja. He had never come across any information about the geography and local ways of life in the Five Great Nations.

"What if they use [Transformation Jutsu]? Or perhaps between the two of you, who has sensor abilities?" 

Uchiha Yan followed up. For ordinary people, these traits were naturally difficult to alter, but for ninja, [Transformation Jutsu] was merely one of the basics.

"That's simple," Sakumo chuckled again and pulled out a wooden compass from the wide sleeve of his robe.

"This is a chakra compass. It's made from trees specially cultivated with chakra, making it extremely sensitive to chakra detection," Sakumo said.

"It seems like the village elders really spared no expense to eliminate this traitor," Uchiha Yan clearly recognized what the device was.

The production cost of such a chakra compass was extremely high, so even ninja of Sakumo's caliber should not have been equipped with one.

This was also why chakra compasses couldn't be widely used during wartime.

Otherwise, it would practically give every ninja sensor-like abilities.

"It's fine if someone hides their chakra," Sakumo added, raising a finger to point at Junko Watanabe nearby. "But when using Transformation Jutsu, some degree of chakra fluctuation will inevitably leak. When that happens, the compass needle will swing toward the direction of the chakra source."

"Besides, although I'm not a sensor-type ninja, she is."

Minato and Uchiha Yan heard this for the first time and turned their gaze toward Junko Watanabe, whose expression remained exceedingly calm.

"Kid, your chakra feels a bit...different," she looked toward one of them—Minato—and said.

"My chakra feels different?"

Minato was taken aback. His parents were ordinary merchants, and so was he.

Compared to him, if anyone should have different chakra, it should be Yan Uchiha beside him, who came from the prestigious Uchiha clan.

Yet, he soon recalled that ever since the night before meeting Kushina last year—when he fainted after training and woke up the next morning—his chakra had indeed felt slightly different.

Its quantity and even recovery speed had become somewhat abnormal.

Still, Junko Watanabe seemed unsure about the feeling herself, muttering, "I can feel something's different... but it doesn't feel all that special. Strange."

She didn't seem to mind though. After all, some ninjas' chakra were naturally unique, yet not distinct enough to be noticeable.

"Alright, no matter how fast they are, it's unlikely they'll arrive before tonight. Until then, you should all go out and walk around more."

Sakumo said this while Minato and Yan Uchiha felt somewhat uneasy—they weren't here for fun after all...

He chuckled, saying, "Don't tell me you've already forgotten what I just said? Hiding our identities is part of the mission. We've publicly announced we're here for a trip, so if we all stay cooped up inside, won't that seem unnatural?"

The two immediately had no counterargument left because it was indeed reasonable.

"I'm not interested," Junko Watanabe stated flatly.

Sakumo gave a slightly awkward smile before walking over to stand beside her, saying, "Although the murderous intent in your eyes has disappeared, you still appear too cold—it doesn't match with an ordinary girl. This is just the first step to changing that. After all, as a ninja carrying out missions later, you can't always maintain such a gloomy expression, right?"

Then he gave Junko another glance and added, "You're actually quite pretty—don't always act like that."

After hearing him speak, Junko—who had been showing no interest at all—suddenly looked oddly motivated, which left the other three completely puzzled.

"Okay, you guys go ahead."

Seeing her sudden change in attitude, Sakumo wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but smiled happily anyway.

Honestly speaking, he much preferred remembering Junko as that cheerful girl. Her time in Anbu changed her greatly, and now, Sakumo wanted to gradually bring back the girl she once was.

"Aren't you coming?" A trace of disappointment flickered through Junko's eyes.

"I'm the person in charge of this mission, so I need to stay behind to ensure everything goes smoothly."

Although he could roughly estimate when Tachiyama Shinsaburo and his group might arrive, it was better to be cautious just in case.

...

Then Minato, Yan Uchiha, and Junko Watanabe returned to the street again. Unlike Minato who was full of enthusiasm, the other two seemed quite out of place in the bustling street.

Yan Uchiha strolled leisurely with his hands in his pockets, occasionally glancing around.

Junko looked even more awkward—dressed like this walking down the street, she didn't know how to act naturally. Also, since her appearance was stunningly beautiful, many pedestrians turned their heads to look at her.

Minato came to a stop in front of a stall. "Hey boss, how much for this hairpin?"

His attention fell on a light-yellow hairpin, decorated near its end with a touch of deep red, making its color not seem overly monotonous.

Looking at this hairpin whose main color closely matched his own hair, especially noticing that hint of red reminded him instantly of Kushina.

Thinking about it made him realize that Kushina did have rather long hair. Often her bangs would cover her eyes—not only affecting her looks cosmetically, but also blocking her vision during battle.

Kushina seemed to dislike her own hair color as well, but Minato thought it was the most beautiful in the world. He was more unwilling to see her cut it than she was herself.

"One hundred ryō," said the middle-aged female stall owner.

When he heard the price, Minato bought it right away—it was a real bargain.

He placed the hairpin into his pocket. Once back in Konoha, he would give it to Kushina as their very first gift since meeting.

Only then did he realize something—the way Yan Uchiha and Junko Watanabe were looking at him felt a little strange.

After all, why on earth would someone like Minato buy a hairpin?

Junko, being a woman, should have figured it out right away. But when it came to matters like this, Junko—despite having once served in Anbu—seemed even slower to catch on than an ordinary guy.

Minato gave a faint smile and thought to himself,

"Kushina, are you okay?"

...

...

As for currency in the Naruto world, I just Googled and found out they use "ryō." The rest of the values? Don't worry too much about them.

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