Normal POV
The market was very alive with energy despite the war going on.
As the saying went, even if the world ends, the markets would still run.
The air buzzed with the chatter of merchants discussing their recent experiences, children laughing, and the occasional clang of metal as blacksmiths finished their day's work.
The shops were still bustling, but for the moment, Murakami stood in the backroom of his small store, his fingers stained with ink as he observed his latest creations.
The seal papers carrying the storage seals were lined up neatly on the counter.
A quick glance toward the counter at the front of the shop confirmed that Hina was busy attending to a small group of customers.
Murakami had never been one for heavy salesmanship, but the way she interacted with potential buyers was almost effortless.
She was a natural, and that, Murakami thought with a satisfied smirk, was why he needed her on this venture.
"Three more sold," Hina called from the front of the shop, breaking him out of his thoughts.
Murakami's eyes flickered to the stack of empty boxes in front of her.
For every seal paper sold, she carefully wrapped it, packaged it, and slid it into the basket that would be handed to the next customer.
His mind drifted back to the first day they put the seals out for sale. It hadn't been luck or chance but a calculated move, a test of market response.
And now, the results are showing itself.
He turned back to the seals.
The success rate of the Modular seal had risen steadily over the past week with the adjustments having yielded consistent results, and while there were still some failures, they were fewer than ever before.
He knew he was on the right track.
"How many left?" he asked in a quiet tone, his expression more thoughtful.
Hina looked up from her counter, raising an eyebrow. "Why, you looking to restock already?"
Murakami gave her a wry smile. "I think we can both agree that we're just getting started."
She leaned back in her chair, placing her hands on her thighs "We've sold over thirty in less than a week. That's not too bad for something we started on a whim."
"Not bad at all," Murakami said, eyes gleaming.
To her maybe, but to him?
"But that's just the beginning. I've been thinking. We're selling these one by one. But what if we could expand? Maybe make a bigger push."
Hina raised an eyebrow. "Expand how?"
"I've been considering... custom orders. Personalized seals for customers with specific needs. Maybe even collaborating with other vendors."
"You want to take over the whole market, huh?" Hina teased, but Murakami could see the calculation behind her eyes. She was already considering the potential too.
"Not take over," he said, shrugging with mock humility. "But why settle for small when you can scale up?"
Hina leaned forward in intrigue. "Okay, but you know we'll need to make more than just storage seals to keep people interested, right? We'll need variety."
Murakami nodded, already steps ahead. "I've been thinking about that too. Suppression seals for chakra control, even locking seals for security. We can start with a few simple ones and see how customers respond. Once we get a feel for what they want, we can expand."
Hina's eyes lit up. "You've got a plan, huh?" As expected of Murakami, she thought
"Something like that," he replied, turning his attention back to the parchment in front of him. "It'll take time, but if we can make something more durable, more versatile, we could corner the market on affordable, custom seals."
He smiled widely as he said that. The thought of it thrilled him. It wasn't just about the seals anymore, it was about creating something that people relied on, something that could make life easier for so many.
And that was how wealth was made. Making the lives of the masses easier by providing services they're too busy, unskilled, or unequipped to handle themselves.
That's the foundation of every good business.
…
…
The following days passed in a blur of activity.
Murakami was up at dawn every day, working in the back room of the store, crafting new seals, testing variations, and adjusting his techniques.
The ink stains on his hands became more permanent as he spent hours refining his craft.
But despite the grind, he never lost his focus of his own personal strength.
From physical exercises to taijutsu katas to chakra control meditation.
Drawing seals were a good medium to better fine tune your chakra control but Murakami didn't allow that to prevent him from meditating.
Meditation helped in many ways most wouldn't understand. It helped keep emotions in check, preventing a situation where one would over or under use chakra.
It also increased his passive chakra recovery speed which was the most important factor.
And that also applied in Fūinjutsu. Every seal Murakami created focused mainly on precision, not just in the ink strokes, but in how chakra flowed through them.
The slightest imbalance, a flicker of excess chakra or a moment of emotional instability, could cause the entire seal to burn out or worse, backfire.
Meditation prevented that.
But every failure only spurred him on, every success fueled his drive to do better.
He was constantly analyzing and thinking, solving the problems that cropped up one by one, until the seals became almost second nature to him.
Meanwhile, Hina took charge of the shop's front, managing the sales and talking to customers. She had been right: they needed variety.
There would be a limit to how much people needed storage seals.
Murakami had already begun creating locking seals. It was simple and efficient. Even suppression seals for chakra users who want don't know how to create and use them mid combat.
You could just fling one on your opponent mid–hand signs, and he wouldn't be able to mold chakra properly for a few seconds, long enough to end a fight or gain distance.
He knew because he had tried it on himself and he could move his chakra for a good 7 seconds, but its effectiveness was also dependent on the amount of chakra the opponent had.
On the sixth day of their new venture, their advertisement finally bore fruit when a merchant came in, placing a custom order
Murakami's heart raced when Hina handed him the customer's request:
[I need a secure storage seal for an important item. It must be able to lock and only open with my signature. Also, I want it to be compact and easy to carry.]
Murakami felt a sudden surge of excitement. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
"I can do that," Murakami said, his voice steady while his mind was already working through the logistics of creating such a seal. "It'll take four days to make, but I'll get it done."
The merchant agreed to the timeline, and with a bow of his head, he left the store, leaving Murakami to contemplate the task at hand.
Creating the Storage Seal
Considering the merchant's line of work, he knew what he needed it to hold would be relatively valuable so that begged the question; What medium would be more optimal.
He could use the rampant and well known scroll but he wasn't about to use that.
There was also the option of a book, a seal paper, a pouch and finally, an object.
"Hmm, I guess I should first understand how to make the seal to the merchant's satisfaction before looking for a suitable carrier for it.
And so, Murakami spent the next two days focused entirely on the merchant's request.
He studied the principles of locking seals, ensuring that the right chakra signature would be required for access.
"Complicated," he muttered to himself as he worked, his fingers moving swiftly over the parchment.
But it wasn't impossible. He knew it wasn't.
He experimented with several designs, each time testing the seals on small items to ensure the locking mechanism would work.
The first few attempts were clumsy, the seal malfunctioning or failing to lock properly. But he refused to give up.
Murakami's goal was simple in theory: create a seal that only responded to the chakra of the merchant it was keyed to.
Anyone else trying to access it would find it unresponsive, as if it were just a blank scroll.
The tricky part was teaching the seal to recognize that signature.
Normally, seals didn't "remember." They executed commands instantly like programs. [store, release, activate, burn out, explode]
But a locking seal needed persistence, a sort of memory layer that could store the chakra signature of the owner and compare any future input to it.
Murakami wanted to design it like a two-step verification system: Imprint phase and the access phase.
The imprint phase is when the user first applies their chakra, the seal records it, converting the signature into a compact pattern within the ink.
For the Access phase, whenever someone else touches the seal, it measures the incoming chakra frequency.
If the pattern matches the stored one, the seal unlocks. If not, it stays sealed, or worse, reacts defensively by releasing a minor repulsion burst to push the intruder away.
Murakami wasn't skilled enough to include that function into the seal yet, so it'll just stay unresponsive.
By the third attempt, the seal was near perfect, it locked securely with a chakra signature, and when activated, it would only unlock for the owner's chakra.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment as he held up the finished seal and admired the intricate design he'd managed to achieve.
When the merchant returned two days later, Murakami transformed into a random young man he'd seen before and presented the seal. "Here it is."
Murakami placed the scroll with the finished seal onto the wooden counter. The merchant reached forward and picked it up.
He turned it over in his fingers, his gaze scanning every line of the intricate design.
The tension in the air was almost tangible as this was Murakami's first high-value commission, and though he was confident in his work, there was always that lingering uncertainty, would the customer see the value in it?
One had to understand that presently, the Uzumaki clan were in full swing so being a seal master wasn't that much of an important thing, but at the same, It was.
It was like the case of Talisman making, artifact refining and Alchemy in cultivation worlds so both there and in this world, they were all seen as auxiliary.
"Is there anything I need to know about this Seal? The merchant asked to which Murakami nodded and explained how the seal worked.
The merchant nodded in understanding and pressed his fingers against the seal and flared his chakra. A faint glow pulsed along the inked lines as the security function activated.
Murakami went on to explain how he programmed it: Without the correct signature, the contents inside would remain sealed indefinitely as long as it wasn't burnt and even if it was…Murakami had no idea what would happen.
A slow smirk spread across the merchant's face. "Flawless," he murmured. "Better than I expected."
Murakami smirked. "Flawless, yes, you need to remember, perfection isn't cheap. The price reflects the peace of mind it buys
"Haha. You're right. Spoken like an experienced merchant. I wonder who your tutor was. Do I know him?"
"Surely you jest. I haven't learned anything from anyone. I just worked on something I'm passionate about." Murakami replied.
The merchant observed Murakami for a short while before he chuckled and set the scroll down and reached into his satchel, pulling out a bundle of ryo.
He counted the payment with practiced efficiency before sliding a total of 100,000 ryo across the counter.
Murakami's fingers twitched. That was double what they had originally agreed on.
"You're paying more than the discussed price," Murakami said, frowning slightly.
The merchant let out a low chuckle. "Kid, I deal in valuables. I need security that doesn't fail. What you gave me is worth at least twice this amount, but consider the extra a down payment. I'll be back for more soon, and when I return, I expect priority treatment."
Murakami met his gaze and understood the implications. This wasn't just a one-time job. If he played his cards right, this merchant could become a repeat customer, a valuable one.
A slow grin crept onto his face as he picked up the ryo bundle and weighed it in his hand. "Deal."
The merchant nodded in approval, tucking the scroll into his inner coat pocket before striding toward the door. He paused briefly, casting one last glance over his shoulder.
"You've got a talent for this," he said. "Don't waste it."
With that, he disappeared into the busy market street, leaving Murakami standing behind the counter, the bundle of ryo still in his hand.
From her spot near the register, Hina whistled. "A hundred thousand ryo for one scroll seal? Not bad, genius."
Murakami exhaled, shaking his head in amusement. "Not bad at all."
Hina grinned. "You just got yourself a high-profile customer."
Murakami's fingers caressed the bundle of cash and smiled "And I plan to keep him."
Murakami stood there for a moment. He could feel the weight of the moment. This was the turning point, the sign that they were ready for the next step.
"We've got something good here, Hina," he said quietly, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. "This is just the beginning."
Hina, who had been watching the exchange, grinned. "Told you so."
Murakami chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. But now we're in business."
He could already see it, the future he had imagined. Expanding their product line, making custom orders, maybe even supplying other stores and merchants.