Sosuke hurriedly stepped forward, his eyes filled with pride as he slowly introduced the weapon:
"This blade has a total length of three feet seven inches, with a blade length of two feet five inches. The body is light yet indestructible.
Its drawing speed is as fast as Iaijutsu, and I, this old man, can guarantee its sharpness and toughness are no inferior to the Kusanagi Sword."
Aoki Yoru injected Chakra through the hilt, and the blade instantly glowed with a halo of the same color as his Chakra.
With a gentle swing, the wind from the blade tore through the air in front of him, and even a distant wooden pillar was sliced through by the invisible blade qi.
Nodding in satisfaction, he cupped his fists toward Sosuke and said, "Thank you. This blade is excellent; you truly are one of the top grandmasters in the Land of Artisans."
"As long as you are satisfied." Sosuke stroked his beard, his eyes full of gratification. "This blade blends with your aura; in the future, it will surely reach the peak of the Ninja World with you and become a famous blade passed down through the ages. You are its master now, give it a name!"
Aoki Yoru stroked the blade, pondered for a moment, then looked up and said:
"Then let's call it [yerun]."
Sosuke's eyes lit up, and he stroked his beard with a smile. "A good name! A meteor of the night, a blade of meteoric iron—this sword suits you perfectly!"
Suddenly, Sosuke rubbed his hands together, a constrained smile on his face, and said awkwardly, "Um... dear guest... regarding those remaining scraps, do you think you could leave them for this old man? They are all rare materials; it would be a pity to throw them away."
Looking at the awkward old man, Aoki Yoru felt like laughing. Leaving the scraps to the swordsmith had always been an unwritten rule in the Ninja World, but because these materials were truly too precious, Sosuke felt a bit embarrassed.
"You keep them, elder. I should also thank you for forging such a fine Ninja blade for me for free."
Hearing this, Sosuke felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. An honest smile instantly bloomed on his face, his wrinkles smoothing out, and he repeatedly cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you! If you ever need to forge a weapon again, just come to me. I'll forge it for you for free."
Aoki Yoru cupped his hands: "Then I shall thank Master Sosuke first. If there is a need in the future, I will certainly come to trouble you again."
Afterward, Aoki Yoru bid him farewell. Walking down the street, he touched the yerun at his waist, suddenly feeling a sense of security, and even his footsteps became a bit lighter.
The Land of Hot Springs.
Located northeast of the Land of Fire and adjacent to the Land of Sound and the Land of Moon, its territory is mostly mountainous and hilly, with hot springs scattered throughout. It is a small country with gentle terrain and a warm climate, shrouded in water vapor and mist all year round.
Aoki Yoru was walking through the heart of the Land of Hot Springs, beneath his feet a winding rural dirt road. Low farmhouses were scattered on both sides, and the field ridges were sparse.
On the road, thin, pale-faced peasants with hunched backs saw Aoki Yoru approaching from afar with a sword at his waist and avoided him one after another.
After leaving the Land of Artisans, Aoki Yoru headed toward the northeastern part of the Land of Fire, where the three small countries of the Land of Sound, the Land of Moon, and the Land of Hot Springs are located.
These three countries also serve as buffer states between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. Previously, he hadn't dared to come here for fear of being cornered by Cloud Ninja.
Now that he had yerun, he had much more confidence. He wanted to see the legendary Land of Hot Springs and relax his weary mind from this recent period.
Walking along the way, he discovered that the peasants here lived even more difficult lives than those in the Land of Fire. In the so-called Land of Hot Springs, none of the profits benefited them; they were monopolized by the Daimyo and the nobles.
Over the past half-year, Aoki Yoru had traveled through the Land of Fire and the surrounding small countries, witnessing the local customs, the poverty of the commoners, and the extravagant luxury of the nobles and the wealthy.
He saw commoners being endlessly squeezed and exploited by nobles, with the people constantly struggling just for food and clothing.
In the fertile Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs, the peasants could still barely survive.
But for commoners in poor countries like the Land of Grass and the Land of Rivers, even one meal a day was a luxury, and they struggled to survive like the walking dead.
One could imagine how destitute the commoners were under the harsh environment of the Land of Wind; thinking of it that way, it was understandable why the Fourth Kazekage went to mine for gold.
Thinking of the Fourth Kazekage, Aoki Yoru showed a look of deep envy. "I really envy him. If he wants money, he just digs it himself. If I had that ability, would I still need to plot against Danzo and Gato!"
After these few months of travel, he deeply realized that the Ninja World's exploitation of commoners was even worse than that of the feudal societies in his previous life.
Now, he sneered at Uzumaki Naruto's approach in the original story. That guy, like the First Hokage, was full of idealism, as if he didn't consume the food of mere mortals.
Naruto and the First Hokage only barely maintained the superficial peace of the Ninja World, while the most core issues were never resolved. Perhaps they didn't know, or perhaps they just pretended not to see, burying their heads in the sand.
To achieve a thorough cure, only a vigorous revolution to hang the Daimyo and nobles and a land revolution could redistribute the means of production, allowing the people to at least eat their fill.
From this perspective, the Fourth Shinobi World War actually helped those nobles by accident. Every time, a large number of commoners and Ninjas died, and land was vacated, allowing the means of production to be redistributed.
Otherwise, if peace continued, land would keep being consolidated until the peasants were forced to revolt.
Although might makes right in this world of Ninjas and the power of the masses is weak, who knows if a figure of great talent and bold vision might appear!
"Whew—"
Aoki Yoru took a deep breath to dispel the depression in his heart and relaxed his mind. "Forget it, what does this have to do with me? I'll just take care of myself."
He then walked toward the Town of Hot Water; he had been looking forward to this famous city for a long time.
Jiraiya had strongly recommended it to him before, but seeing the way he was making eyes, it certainly wasn't a proper place, so he would just avoid those parts.
"Ah! This is really nice; it truly lives up to its reputation."
Aoki Yoru was at the best-reputed hot spring bathhouse in the city, quietly soaking in the spring. The warm water soaked through his bones and flowed along his meridians.
The exhaustion from days of travel completely dissolved, and his turbulent thoughts gradually settled down.
Suddenly, from the other side of the wooden wall, the faint sound of women's low conversation could be heard:
"Lady Tsunade, isn't this a bit inappropriate? We don't have any money, yet we just walked straight in to soak in the hot spring."
"Shizune," Tsunade's voice drifted over the wooden wall with a bit of casual laziness, "what are you afraid of? Soak first and talk later. They have a luxury buffet here too; we'll slip away after eating. If we're not caught, it's not freeloading."
"Later, we'll go find a loan shark to borrow some money. I don't know why, but my right eyelid is twitching today; I should be coming into some wealth."
"No, Lady Tsunade! We've already been chased out of Tanzaku Town by those creditors. Besides, 'left eye for wealth, right eye for disaster'—something bad is definitely going to happen." Shizune immediately wailed upon hearing that Tsunade wanted to borrow money to gamble again.
"So noisy. My right eye means wealth; I can definitely turn things around today."
A rustle of water sounded, accompanied by the two people's shuffling footsteps and Shizune's mournful wailing, moving from near to far and slowly fading away.
Across the wall, Aoki Yoru's mouth twitched. Good grief, so Tsunade has always lived like this.
Scrounging hot springs, eating dine-and-dash meals, and then immediately borrowing from loan sharks to dive into a casino. He felt a bit sorry for Shizune; following Tsunade meant being hungry for nine meals every three days—she really was worried sick.
He then shrugged. Anyway, this had absolutely nothing to do with him. He didn't want to see Tsunade at all; that crazy woman would definitely squeeze every cent out of him, and she herself was a magnet for trouble.
He casually grabbed a dry towel from the side of the pool, covered his face with it, and sank back into the warm spring water, intending to finish this bath in peace.