After they disbanded, Shisui headed to a ninja tools store named Round and Round.
"Has the custom katana I ordered been completed?" Shisui asked the young owner.
Before proposing the gratitude ceremony, Shisui had already thought of giving a gift to Mokgetsu, because Mokgetsu had previously gifted him a short blade, so Shisui prepared to give Mokgetsu a weapon.
Although he really wanted to forge a weapon himself to give to Mokgetsu, he was still too young and it was a bit inconvenient, so Shisui settled for the next best thing and chose to custom order a good weapon for Mokgetsu.
However, it coincided with the gratitude ceremony, so Shisui planned to present the gift during the ceremony.
"It's finished. I'll take you to have a look." The young owner nodded with a smile, called his wife to mind the store, and then walked out with Shisui to the backyard storage of his house.
The young owner approached the weapon rack and handed the completed katana to Shisui.
Shisui carefully examined the katana. It was predominantly red, the hilt was a blood-like deep red, and the scabbard was flame-like orange-red with flame patterns on it.
Shisui felt satisfied in his heart; this was specifically requested by him because Mokgetsu was teaching him the Breath of Flame.
The one-meter-long katana was nearly as tall as Shisui, who, having not yet reached seven years of age, was currently 123 cm tall.
However, being a ninja, Shisui easily drew the katana, and under the light in the storage room, the silver-white blade shimmered with a cold white glow, and fire-like patterns adorned the blade.
Shisui was very satisfied. Although he didn't know much about swords, this one looked quite impressive.
The young owner brought over a wooden dummy and a stone, and with a smile, said to Shisui, "Come, give it a try."
Shisui nodded and approached the wooden dummy, swinging the katana towards the dummy's arm without using chakra.
Thud!
The katana effortlessly severed the arm of the wooden dummy, the wood falling to the ground with a sound.
Swish, swish!!
Unstoppable, Shisui swiftly wielded the katana, disassembling the wooden dummy in an instant. The cuts were extremely smooth.
Then Shisui concentrated chakra in his hand, strengthening the blade with it, and with two more slashes, sliced the stone into four pieces.
Watching this scene, the young owner was secretly amazed, thinking to himself that ninjas truly were extraordinary, capable of far surpassing adult strength even as children.
"Very nice. Here's the agreed payment." Shisui sheathed the blade and handed 640,000 ryo to the young owner.
Prior to this, he had already paid an advance of 160,000 ryo, bringing the total cost of the katana to 800,000 ryo.
Although the expense was considerable, Shisui felt it was worth it, as Mokgetsu had also invested significantly in him. The short blade was forged by Mokgetsu himself, but the material costs weren't cheap, and he also prepared cultivation elixirs for him.
Money was not a concern for Shisui; as a ninja, he certainly wouldn't lack it.
After that, Shisui took the katana home and began crafting a gift box himself.
He couldn't forge the blade himself, but making a gift box was within his capabilities.
Shisui felt relieved, previously worrying he wouldn't finish before the gratitude ceremony, but in the end, he finished early.
Meanwhile, at home, Kakashi also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Almost done." Kakashi smiled at the nearly finished calligraphy brush, his unmasked face showing a smile.
Although he hadn't been with Mokgetsu for very long, Mokgetsu held a significant place in Kakashi's heart, and he could feel Mokgetsu's care for him.
Because Mokgetsu loved calligraphy, Kakashi thought of making a calligraphy brush for him.
After some time learning, he successfully learned how to make calligraphy brushes.
Nowadays, Kakashi had some understanding of calligraphy brushes, knowing that different bristle types have their strengths. After examining the calligraphy Mokgetsu gifted him, Kakashi deduced that Mokgetsu used goat-hair brushes, and thus crafted a goat-hair brush himself.
"If I give a calligraphy brush, it might overlap with others." Kakashi thought.
Since everyone knew about the calligraphy aspect, unable to think of a unique gift, they might all end up giving calligraphy-related items, Kakashi thought most people would give brushes.
Kakashi further detailed the nuances; if they overlap, so be it. It showed everyone put thought into it.
...
The next day, while on his way to the Southern Border Forest, Kakashi spotted a golden figure.
He initially thought it was Mokgetsu, but upon getting closer, he realized it was Namikaze Minato, who resembled Mokgetsu.
Kakashi intended to simply greet and head to the Southern Border Forest for cultivation, but remembering from the previous day that he couldn't ask about Minato on the battlefield, he realized he couldn't pass up this chance encounter.
"Good morning, Minato-senpai." Kakashi greeted Minato.
"Good morning, Kakashi." Minato, who was buying breakfast, replied with a warm smile.
Because it wouldn't be long before Kakashi became his student, Minato's gaze towards Kakashi was very kind.
Kakashi noticed Minato's attitude seemed to have changed somewhat, but he didn't mind, directly asking:
"Minato-senpai, what kind of gifts do you think Teacher Mokgetsu would like? The team is about to disband, and I want to give Teacher Mokgetsu a gift."
Kakashi's question made Minato contemplate. If he were to give a gift to Mokgetsu, it would either be his own Fuinjutsu cultivation experience or simply a Fuinjutsu.