The Land of Iron had a long and storied history, naturally attracting many skilled individuals. Due to the unique samurai culture of the country, every warrior aspired to forge their own personal sword. Over time, the Land of Iron became the most renowned center for smithing in the entire ninja world.
Every day, people from all over flocked to the Land of Iron in search of a master smith. But heavenly materials were not so easily obtained. Besides, most visitors were ninja, and why would a ninja need such a fine blade? A standard high-quality sword infused with chakra-conductive metal was usually sufficient.
This was because most precious materials, especially meteorites suitable for forging ninja tools, were typically collected by the great ninja villages and stored in their national treasuries. It was very difficult for an ordinary person to acquire them.
Take Kakashi's father, for example. He used a short tanto that, when infused with chakra, could transform into a razor-sharp chakra blade, capable of cutting through anything. If you had tons of chakra, you could theoretically turn it into a thirty-meter-long blade.
Of course, that was for ordinary people. Those who possessed true heavenly materials couldn't be so casual. Tobirama Senju, for instance, used the precious materials he acquired to forge the Sword of the Thunder God. In a later movie battle, Naruto broke it with a Rasengan. Tsk, what a spendthrift.
The most famous examples, of course, were the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist. Unfortunately, to create treasures like the Seven Swords, you needed the materials.
"This... this meteorite certainly contains a powerful energy. If it could be forged into a sword, it would surely be no less than one of the Seven Swords, or the Second Hokage's Sword of the Thunder God."
An old man was caressing the meteorite Uchiha Nagi had presented, his expression one of utter fascination. They were in Mifune's reception room.
The old man's name was Watanabe Juro. He was a swordsmith Mifune had invited. According to Mifune, while Juro had never forged a treasure on the level of the Seven Swords or the Sword of the Thunder God, it was only because no one had ever brought him such precious materials. His ancestors had passed down similar techniques, and Mifune's own treasured blade was his creation.
Uchiha Nagi had searched for a master capable of forging a transcendent blade for ages without success, yet Mifune had found one instantly. The importance of connections was on full display.
"Old master, just tell me if you can forge it or not. Money is not an issue," Uchiha Nagi said. He had recently come into a large sum of money, so he was more than prepared.
Old Man Watanabe shook his head. "It is not a matter of payment. I have been forging swords my entire life and have yet to create a truly famous blade. If I could forge one before I die, I would do it for free, willingly. The main problem is that the texts passed down by my ancestors are largely incomplete..."
"Young man, I know you are very strong, but forging a sword is not something that can be done with strength alone. The more precious the material, the higher the cost and the greater the sacrifice required to turn it into a treasured sword. Do you know how the Seven Ninja Swords were successfully forged?"
Uchiha Nagi nodded. "I've heard a little. It seems they invited a famous sword master from the Land of Iron to the Village Hidden in the Mist to forge them. Afterward, to prevent any similar blades from ever being created, the Mist Village silenced him by killing him."
Old Man Watanabe shook his head.
Mifune asked curiously, "Could there be other secrets besides the assassination?"
"Hahahaha!" Old Man Watanabe laughed heartily. "Of course! The most important factor in the successful forging of the Seven Ninja Swords was a Tailed Beast."
"A Tailed Beast?" Uchiha Nagi was perplexed.
"That's right, a Tailed Beast." Old Man Watanabe stroked the goat-tee on his chin. "To forge treasures from heavenly materials like those used for the Seven Swords, you can't just melt them down with high heat. You need to build a furnace inscribed with all sorts of sealing formulas, and then have someone with an indescribable amount of chakra supply the fire for the forge."
"The Village Hidden in the Mist used the chakra of a Tailed Beast to supply their furnace. It took a full six months to forge them all. Each time, they would drain the jinchuriki, wait for the Tailed Beast to recover its chakra, and then begin forging the next sword, repeating the cycle."
"An ordinary person simply doesn't have that much chakra to supply the furnace. Only a Tailed Beast does. The more powerful the sword, the longer the forging process. You must use chakra as the energy source to provide the fire to smelt them, then continuously shape them."
"Therefore, the first and most difficult step in forging a transcendent sword is precisely the source of the chakra supply."
At this, Old Man Watanabe scratched his head, trying to recall. "However, the Second Hokage's Sword of the Thunder God seems to have been forged by himself. It's said that because his sister-in-law was from the Uzumaki clan and he himself had mastered over a thousand forbidden jutsu, he just made it himself. I just don't know if he also used the Nine-Tails to supply the chakra..."
Uchiha Nagi: "..."
It was probably Hashirama who supplied it. That guy had chakra by the ton, more than the Nine-Tails itself. Half of the Nine-Tails plus Naruto's Sage Body chakra still didn't add up to his reserves. Madara was probably just worn down by his sheer volume of chakra.
"Alas, so it's not that I don't want to forge this sword for you, but that we are stumped at the very first step." Old Man Watanabe silently caressed the meteorite. "And the energy in this meteorite is truly rare. A meteorite this powerful absolutely cannot be forged without Tailed-Beast-level chakra."
Uchiha Nagi nodded. "Old master, you don't need to worry about that. If a Tailed Beast is what's required, I will find a way. Oh, right, I have some other materials. See if you can add them in or make use of them."
Uchiha Nagi took out the Executioner's Blade, his own broken Nichirin Blade, and the Scarlet Crimson Iron Ore from the world of Demon Slayer.
Old Man Watanabe carefully picked up the Nichirin Blade and then the ore. "This stone is nothing special. Like this sword, it's a metal ore with a sun-like affinity. Adding it in might improve the quality of the sword. But this..."
Old Man Watanabe glanced at Uchiha Nagi, having already recognized the Executioner's Blade. "This is one of the Seven Swords. To melt down an already-formed blade and forge it into another weapon... the success rate is very low."
"It's possible that the new sword won't have the Executioner's Blade's regenerative ability. Even if it is successfully incorporated, the new sword will inherit less than thirty percent of its original regenerative power at best."
Uchiha Nagi smiled. "I don't care how much of the regenerative ability is preserved. I just want to know if melting it down and adding it as a material will affect the success rate of the forging."
Watanabe shook his head. "You can rest assured on that point. If it doesn't work, it won't affect the quality of the sword itself. The Executioner's Blade was forged from extremely precious materials. Even if its ability can't be transferred, the material itself will enhance the sword's quality."
"There is one remaining problem." Watanabe coughed. "Ahem, although the texts have been passed down in my family, no one has ever come to me with such precious materials to forge a weapon. So, I have never learned sealing jutsu. But don't you worry, young man. As long as you can solve the first problem, I will go through those texts. Learning the sealing jutsu won't be an issue."
Learning on the fly...
Uchiha Nagi looked at the old man speechlessly. Is this really okay? Is he not just a half-baked amateur?
"Old master, just bring the texts to me when the time comes. I know some sealing jutsu myself. I believe creating a furnace with sealing formulas won't be a problem."
"Oh, is that so? You should have said so earlier! Then there's no problem. I'll stay here at Mifune's residence for the time being and await your good news."
Old Man Watanabe didn't ask how Uchiha Nagi planned to solve the first problem. Tailed Beasts weren't easy to catch; they were all in the hands of the great ninja villages.
Uchiha Nagi nodded to Mifune and temporarily left his home.
Old Man Watanabe didn't know that the man before him had just recently released the One-Tails.
Uchiha Nagi returned home, feeling a bit annoyed. He shouldn't have let Gaara go. These days, there weren't many easy targets. Sunagakure was suffering from a plague and was in no position to reclaim Shukaku. Why had he been so foolish as to let Shukaku go?
Although the Ryumyaku power stored in his Yin Seal could serve as a backup, it wasn't easy to recharge. He had drained over a decade's worth of accumulated power in one go. Who knew how long it would take to build up that much again?
Therefore, the chakra he had stored in his Yin Seal was for saving his own life, not for forging a sword.
"The only way is to go out and bully a soft target. Steal a Tailed Beast to use as firewood." Uchiha Nagi stroked his chin, pondering. Who should I target?
The easy ones were Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, and Takigakure...
The Tailed Beasts of these two villages were relatively easy to steal, much easier than Konoha's. Although Konoha was currently a soft target, they had a massive number of ninja, even if they lacked Kage. As the largest ninja nation, they could mobilize tens of thousands of ninja. An army of ants could kill an elephant. Unless you were a transcendent Kage-level fighter like Nagato, you'd have to be careful.
"I'll take it one step at a time. There's still plenty of time. For now, I'll train with Mifune to hone my swordsmanship." Uchiha Nagi shook his head, clearing his mind of distracting thoughts. Stealing a Tailed Beast wouldn't be hard. The Seven-Tails was particularly easy to get. Takigakure didn't even have a single Kage; they were pathetically weak.
That evening, after training, Yukihime, her face covered in soot, brought out the blackened dinner she had made herself.
"Well? Well? Is it good?" Yukihime asked expectantly.
"Mm, it's alright. Just don't use so much salt next time. And the meat needs to be cooked a little longer. It's only medium-rare."
Not believing him, Yukihime took a bite herself. Her face contorted from the awful taste.
"Ah, it's that bad? Maybe you guys shouldn't eat it..."
"It's fine. It's much better than a soldier pill."
"..."
Uchiha Nagi was telling the truth. Although her cooking wasn't great, compared to a soldier pill, it was a delicacy.
Kimimaro, on the other hand, ate whatever was put in front of him. As long as it was food, and there was meat, he didn't care about the taste and ate with great relish.
Hiss—
A small snake suddenly appeared in the room, its forked tongue flickering.
Uchiha Nagi frowned. He closed his eyes and sensed that a guest had arrived. The snake was quite polite, at least, knowing not to interrupt them during dinner.
"You guys eat first. I'm going out to see a friend."