บท 48: Chapter 48: The Journey Back on the Slug Cart
In the Land of Fire, along an official road stretching from west to east, a "bull cart" clattered along.
To call it a bull cart was a bit of a misnomer. It was merely a wooden cart with two wheels, and the animal pulling it wasn't a horse or a donkey, but rather a slug the size of a water buffalo!
Yuto lay sprawled on the cart, basking in the warm sunlight.
Tsunade was beside him, fiddling with a large, broken sword.
"The Blast Sword: Shibuki, quite a formidable weapon. I wonder if it can be repaired."
"It doesn't matter if it can't be fixed," Yuto lazily replied. "Sensei, I think this thing's symbolic value outweighs its practical use. It might be good for lowering Kirigakure's morale, but in actual combat... it's not that impressive. A Chakra Blade would be sharper at least."
In Yuto's eyes, the Shibuki didn't pose much of a threat. It was just a large plank covered in explosive tags—intimidating but clumsy and limited in attack methods.
"My dear student, you underestimate this sword," Tsunade said as she lifted the Shibuki to Yuto's face.
Yuto wasn't lying down in front of his sensei out of laziness; he was bandaged like a mummy, making even moving his fingers difficult.
"Take a closer look at this sword."
Yuto glanced at it but didn't see anything noteworthy.
After Jinpachi detonated the entire explosive scroll, over twenty thousand tags went off simultaneously, and the sword couldn't withstand that level of destruction. It was completely blown apart.
The once-solid blade was now pitted and separated from the explosive scroll, with only a unique silk cloth connecting them. The burnt smell emanated from the scroll, rendering both the blade and the scroll unusable.
"The explosion mechanism of this sword is quite simple," Tsunade explained, pointing to the charred inner cylinder of the scroll.
"The scroll's inner cylinder is lined with explosive tags, with a central drum connected to the blade by a silk cloth. The drum rotates, moving the cloth, which in turn transfers the tags to the blade. It's simple in structure but extremely difficult to execute."
Yuto understood what Tsunade was getting at and sighed, "Because it has to constantly withstand explosive impacts, the silk cloth used as the conveyor must be exceptionally durable and capable of conducting chakra to activate the tags with minimal chakra."
His eyes lit up, "This silk cloth..."
"Maybe it can be modified to protect your arms for performing the Lion's Fang Bite," Tsunade said with a soft smile, but then her brow furrowed. "However, as I mentioned, a cloth that can withstand over twenty thousand explosive tags is incredibly tough and hard to process."
Using her monstrous strength, Tsunade tried to pull apart the blade and the explosive scroll but only managed to leave small dents on the blade.
"It's impossible to tear it apart with brute force. Even the sharpness of a chakra scalpel isn't enough... I wonder how the Kirigakure folks made it in the first place."
Yuto chuckled, "Why not let the village's craftsmen try? They specialize in this sort of thing."
"Their skills are fine for making kunai and shuriken, but for special blades... I'd rather find someone else."
Tsunade scratched her chin and said with certainty, "Leave it to me."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Sensei."
In this world of shinobi, unless required for a mission, any spoils taken from enemies are considered personal property. Money, weapons—all are kept by the shinobi.
It's a perilous profession, and this unspoken rule exists in every world.
Of course, the weapons of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist have significant propaganda value and can effectively lower enemy morale if used wisely.
Yuto thought if the village asked for the sword, he would keep the special silk cloth and hand over the rest. The distinctive blade and explosive scroll alone would suffice for any demonstration.
Besides the Sword Shibuki, the other spoils included a few teeth—collected by Tsunade from the rainforest while Yuto was unconscious. Konoha could analyze the chakra information within them to identify the dead shinobi, which would help determine Yuto's merits. Few would dare to fabricate such information; most renowned shinobi have well-documented histories.
The slug cart ambled along as the sensei and student chatted. Initially, they discussed how to modify the sword, but the conversation soon shifted to ninjutsu, the various shinobi villages' situations, and then to more casual topics.
Yuto noticed how close Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya had been. She shared many funny stories from their childhood, laughing heartily and appearing completely relaxed.
The classic Konoha team composition of "two boys and one girl" truly fostered deep bonds from a young age.
Even now, in the 56th year of Konoha, despite Orochimaru's inhumane human experiments, he still held a pure space in his heart for Jiraiya and Tsunade. If they were ever in danger, Orochimaru would risk his life for them—at least for now.
Although the slug cart wasn't fast, it was a summoning beast with stamina far surpassing that of horses and mules. As the sunset's glow intertwined with Tsunade's golden hair, the majestic Hokage Rock came into view.
"Cough, cough, well Yuto, I'm leaving now," Tsunade awkwardly coughed, "I need to cook for Shizune."
Such a poor excuse, Yuto thought. Shizune has been handling all the cooking and housework lately.
But he understood why Tsunade chose to leave now. The Jonin promotion test was supposed to be a solo mission. Tsunade had sensed his critical condition through Katsuyu and came to care for him without interfering in the combat, protecting the village's valuable new talent.
However, it was better if people didn't see Tsunade and Yuto returning to the village together. There would inevitably be gossip. The villagers of Konoha respected the Senju clan but didn't shy away from talking behind their backs. People have a dark side to them.
"Alright, Sensei, take care."
"Sure, I'll leave the slug and cart to you. You'll arrive soon. I'll be waiting in the room for the Jonin promotion test..." Tsunade suddenly leaned in, raising her fist, "If you spill the beans, you're dead." She gently sliced through Yuto's bandages, releasing a pungent medicinal smell.
"Don't worry, Sensei." Yuto flexed his wrist, feeling much better already.
However, when he turned around, the cart was already empty of the woman.
Beside him, there was only a lingering warmth and a single golden hair.
(End of Chapter)
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