Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Flame-Style Forging Materials Provided by Yagura!
Konoha was once a very powerful ninja village. During the Hashirama era and the Tobirama era, Konoha could be considered the top ninja village. Therefore, due to its long period of strength, Konoha also accumulated a vast amount of resources. Kekkei Genkai. Ninjutsu. Forbidden Jutsu. Secret Jutsu.
"An innocent person is punished for possessing something valuable." Many ninja villages were envious of what Konoha had. Among these, the Byakugan was a very important resource. Its ability was too special.
To obtain a Byakugan, Ao paid a huge price and planned for a long time. The Hyuga Clan, having lost a Byakugan, used many methods to try to retrieve it. The Kaguya Clan's "genocide" may not have been the main reason for this Byakugan, but it was also a trigger. In the future, the Hidden Cloud Village would also design plans against Konoha for the Byakugan.
At first, the Hidden Cloud Village attempted to steal Hyuga Hinata. Unfortunately, they failed and were discovered. The Hidden Cloud Ninja involved was killed on the spot by Hyuga Hiashi. The Hidden Cloud Village then dropped the pretense and used the death of the Hidden Cloud Ninja to coerce Konoha, demanding one life for another, and requiring Konoha to hand over Hyuga Hiashi's complete corpse.
"In the future, the Hidden Cloud Village will most likely do such things again."
"The Hyuga Clan is unlikely to hand over Hyuga Hiashi."
"Konoha is also unlikely to concede and give the Byakugan to the Hidden Cloud Village."
Hyuga Hizashi and Hyuga Hiashi represent completely different concepts to Konoha. Giving up Hyuga Hizashi means no loss for Konoha. Handing over Hyuga Hiashi would mean that Konoha Ninja would be threatened by the Byakugan in the future.
"I'm somewhat curious about what changes might occur."
...
Ao lowered his voice.
"Soma, do you think this might lead the hidden figures in Konoha to take action against our village?"
Soma hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"There's a possibility."
"Ao-senpai, have you told Mizukage-sama about this?"
"Not yet."
"Then let's go together."
The two headed deeper into the volcano.
Upon hearing the news, the Third Mizukage's eyes flickered.
"That Sword of Wisdom actually increased Kisame's strength to the level where he can defeat Shimura Danzo?"
"That's truly impressive."
"Konoha has suffered a great loss this time; logically, they should take some action."
"Until we gather enough intelligence, let's not act rashly."
"Ao, from now on, it's up to you."
"Make sure to use the Byakugan to keep a close watch on Yagura."
"Once Yagura is controlled by Genjutsu, detect it immediately."
Ao nodded.
"Understood, Mizukage-sama."
A great war was brewing, with winds and clouds rising.
However, within Forging Island, things remained quiet and harmonious.
Soma continued his research on the Chakra Smelting Technique, using both Fire and Earth attributes to melt metals.
At this time, Soma's reputation was steadily increasing, having reached over 2300.
Soma was pondering whether to perform a twenty-pull directly or wait until his reputation increased further to do a thirty-pull.
Green Blueprints and Yellow Blueprints each have their pros and cons.
Green Blueprints allow for a choice among three options. However, if none of the three Blueprints are suitable and no compatible person can be found within Hidden Mist Village, they will remain unused.
Yellow Blueprints can forcibly increase the contract level by one rank. For example, Eligible becomes Good, Good becomes Excellent, and so on. However, like ordinary Blueprints, you can't choose; you get what you draw.
"Excellent compatibility is hard to find."
"Good compatibility is also not easy."
"But Eligible is relatively simpler."
"Overall, the Yellow Blueprint has more value for me right now."
"Ninjato needs to be contracted with a Ninja to maximize benefits for me."
Soma made his decision.
"Once I finish researching the combined Fire and Earth attribute Chakra Smelting Technique, I'll consider the reputation."
"If I'm still far from 3000, I'll directly enter the Sword of the Darkness Flame's Materials dungeon."
"If it's not far from 3000, then recruit a Blacksmith to forge a Skillful Grade Sword."
...
Noon.
A figure approached Forging Island quickly.
"Who's there?"
The guards noticed the approach and came forward to intercept.
"It's me, Mizukage-sama sent me."
"I'm a Ninja from the Karatachi family."
The young man hurriedly introduced himself.
"My name is Kyo Karatachi."
Daida carefully examined Kyo Karatachi before his expression softened.
"What's the matter?"
"Mizukage-sama asked me to deliver a set of Materials."
Kyo Karatachi took out a bundle he was carrying and said, "This is a special set of Materials found within the Land of Water, which might be suitable for forging ninja tools."
"Therefore, Mizukage-sama asked me to deliver it to the Forging Department."
Kyo Karatachi's attitude was sincere, but Daida remained cautious.
"Let's open it and see."
Kyo Karatachi unwrapped the bundle.
Daida checked its contents and confirmed that there was nothing but a piece of metal inside before nodding in acknowledgment.
"Follow me."
However, Daida did not take Kyo Karatachi directly to Soma. Instead, he first went to Ao.
"Ao-senpai, this is Kyo Karatachi, sent by Mizukage-sama to deliver Materials."
"Materials?"
Ao's brows twitched.
"Byakugan!"
With a single glance, Ao assessed Kyo Karatachi's situation much more efficiently than Daida.
"Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
When Ao relayed this message to Soma, Soma didn't hold out much hope.
Previously, during the Third Mizukage's era, many Ninjas were dispatched to find ninja tool Materials, but the results were not promising. There were better than ordinary Materials, but not many good ones.
Soma recalled that there were indeed some special Materials in this world, such as the Stone of Gelel, Hero Water, Peacock Stone, Dragon Vein Power, etc, but acquiring these Materials was not easy.
Especially now, with the Hidden Mist Village in a state of war.
In comparison, obtaining Materials through Dungeon Instances is much more reliable for Soma. Ninja tool Blueprints already exist.
The difficulty with those Materials is not only in their acquisition but also in designing based on their properties, which is a second challenge. The third difficulty is that without suitable auxiliary materials, good ninja tools cannot be forged.
However, Soma was somewhat surprised when he saw the stone that Kyo Karatachi delivered.
"Inputting Chakra can produce flames."
"These flames are special; once they stick, they are like a parasitic pest."
"They will cause continuous damage."
"It's not complicated; simple forging will suffice."
"There's no need to add many auxiliary materials."
"Unfortunately, it's not large enough; it can only be forged into Kunai, Daggers, and similar items."
Soma accepted the stone and looked at Kyo Karatachi.
"Kyo Karatachi?"
"Yes, Chief-sama."
"Thank you for delivering the Materials. Also, please extend my thanks to Mizukage-sama and everyone who worked hard to find the Materials."
Kyo Karatachi smiled.
"Chief-sama, it's my duty. Mizukage-sama hopes that you can forge more Zanpakuto. You are the one who has worked the hardest."
Kyo Karatachi flattered Soma.
"I will make the best use of these Materials and ensure everyone's efforts are not in vain."
Soma understood Yagura's intention behind sending Kyo Karatachi with the Materials. Rather than sending ANBU Ninjas, Yagura had Kyo Karatachi come to the Forging Department to become familiar with him.
At this point, the importance of the Forging Department had already surpassed that of any other department in Hidden Mist Village. Moreover, it was likely to exist for a long time.
The lifespan of Ninjato is much longer than that of Ninjas.
Yagura is currently a competent Mizukage.
As a result, the Karatachi Clan has gained a prominent position within Hidden Mist Village, with various resources following in succession.
This is not Yagura being partial. It's just an inevitable consequence of Yagura's position. However, Yagura knows that sooner or later he will have to step down from the position of Mizukage.
The Hozuki Clan was once extremely powerful. But now? The current situation of the Hozuki Clan is somewhat similar to that of the Kaguya Clan before their "genocide."
Yagura wants to establish a closer connection between the Karatachi Clan and the Forging Department. This would be a great help for the future of the Karatachi Clan.
Nevertheless, Soma doesn't resent Yagura's arrangements. It's only natural.
With the Materials in hand, he entered the Forging Room. Soma began to contemplate.
"The Materials themselves have a flame attribute, so the forged Ninjato will naturally have the same attribute."
"Let's start by melting it and see what happens."
Soma placed the stone into the smelting furnace.
"Chakra Smelting Technique!"
Fire and Lightning attributes of Chakra were introduced simultaneously.
At this time, Soma had not yet mastered the Chakra Smelting Technique that combines three attributes.
Moreover, Soma was not confident in mastering it in the short term. Therefore, he chose the combination of the Skilled-level Lightning and Fire attribute Chakra Smelting Techniques, which would yield the best results.
"Crack!"
A fissure appeared on the stone.
Soon, the fissure grew larger and more numerous, until the stone completely shattered.
"Boom!"
Impurities scattered around, while the metal in the center gradually melted and gathered together.
Under Soma's Chakra, it continued to refine and consolidate.
In fact, such a stone would typically need to be pre-refined before melting.
Now, Soma had directly skipped the pre-refining process. He used a longer refining process to bypass the pre-refining, reaching a level suitable for forging.
There were two reasons for this:
First, at the current Forging Island, besides Soma, other Blacksmiths would not handle the pre-refining of this stone. It wasn't due to a lack of technical ability, but rather because it required time for research.
Second, even if Soma did the pre-refining himself, it would require additional equipment.
Compared to these two methods, Soma's approach of melting directly and skipping the pre-refining was even more time-efficient.
After half a day, the metal had been mostly refined by Soma.
He took it out, leaving only a small piece roughly the size of an adult's fist.
"From the properties of the Materials alone, the hardness is sufficient, but the toughness is lacking."
"It's too brittle."
"Because of the Lightning Transformation, it formed a shell that provides some protection, but it's still not enough."
Soma took some auxiliary materials from the side.
High-quality charcoal powder.
He placed the charcoal powder and the cooled metal into the furnace for secondary melting.
Adding the charcoal powder bit by bit, he closely monitored the changes in the metal.
Toughness and hardness are often relative.
Too much hardness will inevitably lead to brittleness, causing the material to shatter with a slight impact.
Excessive toughness also has drawbacks.
When forging Ninjato, one cannot go to extremes but must find the right balance.
After spending another half day, Soma finally made the necessary adjustments.
A piece of metal was placed on the forging table.
"Forging a Kunai will leave a bit more leftover."
"A Dagger will be just right."
"I'll forge it into a Dagger."
Soma made his decision.
He took out Zudomon's Hammer.
The forging was done in one piece.
Next, at the position of the handle, he wrapped another type of metal, and over that, he added a layer of non-flammable, high-temperature-resistant material, tightly wound.
The guard was made slightly larger to enhance sturdiness, making it easier to clash with enemies' blades, especially if the opponent is also a Ninja using Ninjato.
Aside from Hidden Mist Village, other Ninja villages also have Ninja who use Ninjato. Even if they are not Ninjato users, they often fight with Kunai.
"Whoosh!"
A burst of Water Mist appeared.
Soma completed the quenching process.
"The brittleness is a bit high."
So he performed an annealing process to make slight adjustments.
With the Dagger in hand, he entered the polishing room.
"Sage's Polishing Technique."
Polishing is actually a very important step for the appearance of Ninjato.
It might not significantly enhance the Ninjato's attributes, but before and after polishing, the "aesthetic" of the Ninjato is at entirely different levels.
The Dagger, which was somewhat dull before, now shone brightly. The entire Dagger had a fiery red color, as if flames were burning on it.
The handle, on the other hand, displayed a dark golden hue, with layers of patterns layered on the blade.
Soma held the handle and channeled Chakra into it.
Immediately, flames erupted fiercely from the blade.
When Soma stopped channeling Chakra, the flames did not extinguish immediately but continued to burn for a while.
"The effect looks good."
But Soma did not retract the Ninjato.
"Let's try this!"
Soma was not satisfied with simply turning the Materials into a Ninjato. Instead, he added some of his own elements during the forging process. This was an idea Soma had gained from crafting items like Pioggia and Garden Box.
Soma's dedication to the path of Blacksmithing is due to the appearance of the Blacksmith System. However, this does not mean that Soma has no aspirations for Forging Technique. His pursuit of Forging Techniques is no less than that of a pure Blacksmith like Arafuni.
An Eligible Blacksmith, aside from improving their existing Forging Technique, must also learn from the experiences and techniques of other Ninjato.
Fortunately, Soma has exceptional conditions in this regard.
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