Kakashi scanned the rows of texts dedicated to fuinjutsu. The air was heavy with the scent of aged parchment and ink, a comforting reminder of Konoha's archives, though the scope here dwarfed anything he'd seen.
This place could keep even Shikamaru busy for a lifetime. Though mostly because he was too lazy to take books or scrolls that were on a higher level.
His decision to study fuinjutsu was born of a rekindled passion to explore the shinobi arts he'd loved as a child.
'If I'm stuck in this world, I might as well improve.'
He approached Master Wong, who stood at his desk, his stoic face set in its usual frown. "Master Wong, what's the deal with fuinjutsu here? Seems like you've got a whole section on it."
Wong's eyes narrowed, as if Kakashi had asked to borrow his personal spellbook. "Fuinjutsu, or sealing arts, is widely practiced at Kamar-Taj," he said, his voice clipped but authoritative.
"Its principles—binding, channeling, containing energy—are foundational to our runes and wards. Your may call it chi or chakra manipulation; we see it as a subset of mystical energy control. Fuinjutsu's kanji and intent align with our spellcraft, creating barriers, talismans, even dimensional locks."
Kakashi's eyebrow rose, intrigued. Runes that he has seen everywhere in Kamar Taj was fuinjutsu?
Wong gestured to the shelves. "Start there."
Kakashi nodded as he headed to the fuinjutsu section.
His first goal was clear: a seal to prevent being teleported to another dimension without a way back.
The Ancient One's mirror dimension had been a stark reminder of his vulnerability to space-time manipulation.
'I'm not getting trapped like that again.' He'd already devised a concept, blending Kamui's dimensional prowess with the principles of Minato's Flying Thunder God. He had given up on Flying thunder god when he was told that he had no talent in Space time jutsu. But he did not need a space time jutsu when he had Kamui as a clutch.
'If I place a seal at a fixed point—say, my room—it can act as an anchor. Kamui can lock onto it as coordinates, letting me teleport back no matter where I'm sent.' Kakashi had decided a rough idea, he just needed the knowledge to implement it.
The sheer volume of texts was daunting—hundreds of scrolls and books.
Kakashi sighed, scratching his head.
'This'll take years.' Then, a grin formed beneath his mask. 'Good thing I've got backup.'
His now larger and still increasing chakra reserves was paying off already.
'I'm no Naruto, but I can handle a few clones.' He formed the familiar hand sign—Cross—and with a puff of smoke, three shadow clones appeared, each mirroring his lazy posture.
"Alright, team," Kakashi said, his tone mock-serious. "Divide and conquer. Clone One, dimensional seals. Clone Two, energy storage. Clone Three, defensive wards. Don't slack off."
The clones rolled their eyes in unison. "You're the slacker, boss," Clone Two muttered, grabbing a scroll.
Kakashi smirked, settling at a table with a stack of his own. The mental strain of shadow clones was intense—each clone's knowledge would flood back when dispelled—but he'd endured worse mental pain. And he was not talking about the death of his friends and family, he was talking about the Tsukoyomi torture he received at the hands of Itachi.
As he studied, one scroll caught his eye: Talismans of Containment. It described a fuinjutsu technique for sealing spells or energies into talismans, paper charms that could unleash their contents later.
Like explosive tags, but for magic. The scroll detailed how Kamar-Taj's sorcerers used talismans to store complex spells, releasing them with a trigger—gestures, words, or intent.
This could change a fight. Kakashi's mind raced, envisioning applications for his shinobi arts.
The concept sparked an idea, one that made his pulse quicken.
'What if I could seal enemy jutsus or spells?' He recalled Pain's Rinnegan ability to absorb ninjutsu.
'If I craft a seal to capture incoming energy—I could neutralize attacks I don't understand.'
Better yet, he could store his own jutsus in talismans, preserving chakra for battles.
Seal a Fireball Jutsu now, use it later.
It would save his chakra for tasks like Kamui or Lightning Blade.
'This is why I think sensei loved fuinjutsu. The possibilities are endless. I think I am beginning to understand why Kushina san said that you have to enjoy learning Fuinjutsu if you wanted to master it.'
But the scroll's complexity humbled him. Kakashi was no amateur in sealing—Minato and Kushina had drilled him in the basics, ensuring he could craft storage scrolls, explosive tags, and even rudimentary barriers. Jiraiya had added a few tricks, knowing Kakashi would protect Naruto, the Jinchuriki sealed with the Nine-Tails.
'I'm a master level fuinjutsu user, but this… this is grandmaster-level.' The talisman seals required intricate kanji, precise chakra control, and an understanding of energy resonance he hadn't yet grasped.'
He leaned back, his eye distant, a rare smile forming beneath his mask. The challenge excited him, a feeling he hadn't embraced since childhood.
As a boy, fuinjutsu had captivated him—its logic, its creativity, the way it turned chakra into art. Training with Sakumo, mastering jutsu, unraveling seals… those were the moments he'd felt alive, before loss and duty consumed him.
'Minato-sensei said I grew up too soon to enjoy life.' The memory hit hard, a pang of sadness mingled with clarity.
Kakashi's life had been a blur of tragedy—his father's suicide at five, Rin's death by his hand, Obito's sacrifice, Minato and Kushina's fall. He'd become a weapon, an ANBU assassin, a sensei driven by guilt, not joy.
'I never had time to be a kid. The realization was raw, a wound he'd ignored for decades.'
Yet, here in Kamar-Taj, surrounded by scrolls and the promise of discovery, he felt a flicker of that childlike wonder.
'Maybe there's still a part of me that wants to learn, to create, to enjoy.'
He thought of the third Hokage's words during a quiet moment after a mission, the old Hokage's voice gentle but firm. "You're brilliant, Kakashi, but you're too focused on the mission. Let yourself live a little."
At the time, Kakashi had brushed it off, his heart too scarred to hear it. Now, the words resonated. 'I've been running from myself.'
The giddiness he felt wasn't just excitement—it was healing, a step toward reclaiming the boy who'd loved the shinobi arts not for survival, but for their beauty.
Kakashi's clones worked diligently, their murmurs filling the library as they cross-referenced texts. When one dispelled, its knowledge flooded him—details of dimensional anchors, chakra resonance, seal matrices.
He winced at the mental strain but pressed on, his resolve hardening.
He glanced at the talisman scroll again, his eye gleaming with determination.
'Weeks, maybe months, but I'll master this.'
Ancient One had offered him to teach him the mystic arts of Kamar Taj. But he was going to stick to himself and his shinobi arts. There was so much he could learn from his experiences and the thousands of jutsus that he had copied with his Sharingan. Fuinjutsu was an art that would help him always.
Wong's voice broke his reverie, gruff but curious. "Still here, Hatake? Most give up on fuinjutsu after a day."
Kakashi looked at him, gave him a nod and went back to reading the scroll in his hands.
'Did he just politely tell me to shut the fuck up, I am busy?' Wong thought confused