Hidden Gento Village, by the shores of Cerulean Harbor.
The workshop district of the Kajiyama clan had now become one of the liveliest places in Hidden Gento Village.
More than a dozen workshops lined the street.
The furnace fires burned day and night, and the sound of hammering rose and fell without end.
Ever since the Kajiyama clan moved into Hidden Gento Village, not only had their business not declined after leaving the Land of Craftsmen, it had instead become even more prosperous.
Cerulean Harbor was the largest port in the Land of Hot Water, with merchant ships from every nation constantly coming and going.
Many merchants had long heard of the Kajiyama clan's reputation.
Now that they had relocated to this conveniently connected port city, the number of orders had risen at an astonishing rate.
Kunai for guards, custom greatswords for Jonin, ceremonial sabers commissioned by feudal lords, and even standardized equipment ordered in bulk by shinobi villages from smaller nations...
The craftsmen of the Kajiyama clan worked from dawn till dusk, and the furnace fires had never once gone out.
Although the clan members were exhausted to the point of aching backs and sore waists, when they looked at the mountains of finished and half-finished products piled inside the warehouses, along with the ever-growing figures in the account books, every one of them was smiling from ear to ear.
When Gento arrived at the workshop district, Taro Kajiyama was standing bare-chested inside the largest workshop, instructing his apprentices in forging.
"Clan Head Gento has arrived!"
A member of the Kajiyama clan spotted Gento and quickly called out.
Taro put down his hammer, wiped his hands with his apron, and hurried over, his dark face filled with a cheerful smile.
"Lord Gento! What brings you here personally?"
Gento smiled and waved his hand.
"I came to see how well you've settled in."
"Are you getting used to living here? How's business?"
"Good! Better than good!"
Taro nodded repeatedly.
"The Kajiyama clan is doing even better now than we were in the Land of Craftsmen."
"Look!"
He pointed toward the workshops packed full of finished and half-finished products.
"This month's orders have been scheduled three months ahead."
"If you stacked all the ninja tools together, they could circle the Land of Hot Water three times!"
"A major client from the Land of Earth alone ordered five hundred standard short blades and already paid the deposit."
"Several old clients from the Land of Fire also came looking for us. They said it's more convenient here, so from now on they'll order directly from us instead of going through the Land of Craftsmen."
He rubbed his hands together and smiled somewhat sheepishly.
"To be honest, when we first decided to relocate, some people in the clan were worried. But now..."
"Every single one of them is praising my brilliant decision-making."
Gento burst into laughter.
"That's good. As long as you're living well, I can rest easy."
Taro's expression suddenly turned serious, and he bowed deeply toward Gento.
"Lord Gento, if you hadn't sent Lord Itachi to help us deal with Kiyosada's obstruction and provided us with such an excellent place to settle down, the Kajiyama clan would probably still be in the Land of Craftsmen, being used as pawns by those people."
He straightened up, his gaze sincere.
"If Clan Head Gento needs anything, just say the word!"
"The Kajiyama clan will give it everything we have!"
Hearing this, Gento smiled somewhat awkwardly.
"Now that you mention it, there actually is something I need your help with."
He took out a Sealing Scroll from his robes and placed it on the table before forming hand seals to release it.
With a "bang," the smoke dispersed, revealing a pile of silver-glimmering metal ingots on the table.
Taro's eyes instantly widened into circles.
His trembling hand reached out to pick up one of the ingots. He weighed it in his palm before bringing it close to examine carefully.
The ingot was entirely silver-white, with a blue sheen flowing across its surface, icy cold to the touch.
"Th-This is..."
Even his voice was trembling.
"Chakra Metal?"
"And such high-purity Chakra Metal at that?!"
Gento nodded.
"One hundred kilograms. Is it enough?"
Taro nearly dropped the ingot in his hand.
One hundred kilograms!
The total amount of Chakra Metal he had seen in his whole life didn't even come close to this much!
This kind of material was more precious than gold in the shinobi world.
Ordinarily, if a major shinobi village could obtain a few kilograms in a year, it would already be considered fortunate. Even then, they would have to use it sparingly and only forge personal weapons for elite shinobi.
Yet the man before him casually brought out one hundred kilograms in a single move!
"Enough... it's absolutely enough!"
He swallowed hard.
"This is enough to forge many top-tier ninja tools!"
Gento smiled.
"That's good then."
"Also, I wanted to ask. Can you forge ninja tools with special abilities like the Seven Ninja Swords of the Hidden Mist?"
Taro nodded decisively.
"Yes!"
"Chakra Metal itself possesses the properties of conducting and storing chakra."
"The higher the purity and the greater the amount of Chakra Metal used, the more likely the forged ninja tool is to develop special abilities."
He paused, then added:
"However... this thing depends a bit on luck."
"With the same materials and the same forging methods, the final products can still end up worlds apart."
"Besides, the abilities themselves can vary in countless strange ways."
"I can't control what kind of ability will be born."
Gento waved his hand.
"It's fine. We'll just leave it to fate."
Taro fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he clenched his teeth, as though making some major decision.
He turned toward the inner room and shouted:
"Bring out that box!"
The sound of rummaging through cabinets echoed from inside.
A moment later, a young man walked out carrying an ancient wooden box.
The box was not large, roughly one foot square. Its entire body was pitch-black, with a surface so smooth it resembled a mirror.
Complex patterns were carved into the lid.
Taro received the box with both hands and carefully placed it on the table.
His hands trembled, and his breathing became heavy.
"Lord Gento!"
He raised his head, his gaze filled with solemn seriousness.
"To express our gratitude toward Hidden Gento Village..."
"Today, I am going to make a decision that goes against our ancestors."
Gento raised an eyebrow.
Taro took a deep breath and slowly opened the lid.
The moment the box opened, a warm yet vast chakra fluctuation rushed forward.
Inside, deep purple silk lined the interior, and resting atop it was a small section of tree branch.
The branch was about the length of an adult forearm, entirely pale gold in color, with a surface smooth as jade and faint streams of light flowing across it.
Most astonishing of all, despite having been broken off for who knew how many years, it was still as vibrant as ever, as though it had just been snapped from the tree.
At the fractured end of the branch, delicate patterns could even be seen, resembling tree rings yet also looking like some kind of mysterious rune.
He could sense that the energy contained within this branch far surpassed any material he had ever seen before.
Gento's pupils contracted.
This thing was no ordinary object!
Could it be a Divine Tree branch?
Sure enough, Taro lowered his voice and explained:
"This is a supreme material that the Sage of Six Paths bestowed upon my ancestors back then."
He paused briefly.
"There were originally two branches. The other one was all used up over the long passage of time."
"Each of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Hidden Mist only had a tiny fragment the size of a fingernail added to it, yet they still possessed such terrifying power."
Looking at the branch inside the box, his eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
"Before our ancestor passed away, he left behind instructions saying this branch was a blessing from the Sage of Six Paths and had to be used in the most worthy place possible. It must not be used lightly."
"For hundreds of years, the Kajiyama clan has faithfully obeyed our ancestral teachings. Every time we used it, we treasured it greatly."
He raised his head, his burning gaze fixed upon Gento.
"Now, in order to repay Lord Gento's kindness, I have decided to add this entire branch and forge a supreme ninja tool for you!"
Hearing this, Gento immediately beamed with joy.
He patted Taro on the shoulder.
"How can I accept something like this so casually?"
He glanced once more at the Divine Tree branch in Taro Kajiyama's hand before continuing:
"Since that's the case, then help me forge the ninja tool as soon as possible."
"Don't worry. Once I obtain even better materials in the future, I definitely won't forget your share."
Silently, he added another sentence in his heart.
Since Taro understands the situation so well...
Once my Divine Tree grows, I'll definitely send you an entire cartload of Divine Tree branches!
Taro hurriedly waved his hands.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! Being able to forge a ninja tool for you is the honor of the Kajiyama clan!"
Holding the wooden box, blazing fire ignited within his eyes.
"Lord Gento, please rest assured. I will pour all the knowledge of my lifetime into forging you a peerless ninja tool!"
Gento nodded and smiled.
"In that case, I'll leave it to you. How long will it take?"
Taro pondered for a moment.
"With such top-tier materials, it cannot be rushed."
"Moreover, special ninja tools are different from ordinary standardized ninja tools."
"If we take the time to do it properly, it will require at least... three months."
"Three months it is."
Gento said.
He glanced once more at the pale golden branch, his heart full of anticipation.
A gift from the Sage of Six Paths, combined with one hundred kilograms of Chakra Metal, along with the Kajiyama clan's craftsmanship passed down for centuries.
Just what kind of ninja tool would this become?
...
After resolving the matter of the ninja tool, Gento returned to the Clan Head's Office.
The moment he sat down, there came a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Shisui pushed the door open and entered, his expression serious.
"Clan Head, urgent report."
He handed an intelligence scroll to Gento.
"Hidden Cloud Village has dispatched one thousand elite shinobi, led by the Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito Nii, and they are currently advancing toward the Land of Hot Water."
Gento took the scroll and unfolded it for a quick glance before freezing.
One thousand shinobi?
Yugito Nii?
He blinked and looked over it again to make sure he hadn't read it wrong.
Then, he smiled.
As for that smile...
He could only say he hadn't even ordered takeout.
So why was there delivery straight to his door?
This Raikage really was an honest and generous man.
First he sent women, now he was sending Tailed Beasts too.
The image of Yugito Nii surfaced in his mind.
A cold and beautiful face, and beneath that tight combat outfit was a figure impossible to look away from.
A Perfect Jinchuriki, the host of the Two-Tails Matatabi, immensely powerful and arrogant in personality...
Well, he originally wasn't interested in their women.
Albeit he couldn't exactly disappoint the Raikage's good intentions.
This time, he could only reluctantly accept the gift.
He raised his head, the corners of his lips curling into a meaningful smile.
"Inform Fugaku to prepare to welcome our guests."
"Since Hidden Cloud is being so courteous, we should properly entertain them."
He paused before continuing:
"Also, have Itachi and the Anbu make preparations."
"Once these guests arrive, I'll personally go greet them!"
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