After a day of traveling, the group finally arrived at Tazuna's home before dark. It was a set of wooden houses built by the sea. Although a bit dilapidated, the area was quite large with several rooms. Tazuna's daughter Tsunami and grandson Inari lived there.
After the group introduced themselves, they went to the living room to discuss subsequent work arrangements. Tazuna had to go build the bridge during the day, so someone had to follow him to ensure safety. At the same time, to prevent Gato from taking Tazuna's daughter and grandson as hostages, someone had to stay and guard the house.
After a brief discussion, Yamato decided to split the team into two groups. He and Sakura would follow Tazuna, while Jokichi and Naruto would stay at the house. The groups would rotate every day. Naruto had strong objections to this; he wanted to be in a group with Sakura. However, considering the issue of strength, Yamato ignored him.
After the discussion ended, Tsunami brought in dinner. It was simple: dried salted fish, rice, and miso soup. These things were considered very rich for the impoverished Land of Waves.
After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. They were all a bit tired after a day of traveling.
In his room, Jokichi spread out his bedding but did not rush to rest. Instead, he took out the containers with Haku and Zabuza's blood and the fragments of the Executioner's Blade.
[Ding! Detected special material "Regenerative Metal", can forge special items "Metal Producer" and "Regenerative Ore". Do you wish to forge?]
"Yes!" Jokichi chanted silently in his mind.
Instantly, two things appeared in his hands. A blood-colored ore about the size of a fist, and a square box with a funnel on top and an outlet at the back.
"Regenerative Ore: A metallic ore possessing the function of regenerating by absorbing iron molecules from blood. Tools forged with Regenerative Ore also possess this function."
"Metal Producer: A machine that produces metal using blood as material. The greater the vitality contained in the blood, the more numerous and rarer the metallic ores produced."
The functions were simple and clear, but they were not of much use to Jokichi. He was not a blacksmith, nor did he intend to make a living by selling metal. However, if he ever wanted to forge a good weapon, he could try using his own blood to see if he could produce some peerlessly rare metallic ore.
Those two items did not consume all the fragments of the Executioner's Blade; three pieces were left. Jokichi was very curious if these three fragments would regrow the blade and hilt if he fed them blood.
Acting on his thought, Jokichi first found a basin to place underneath, then put the fragments in the basin, and used a kunai to cut his palm, letting the blood drench the fragments. Because his recovery ability was too strong, Jokichi had to cut himself several times.
However, after drenching them for a long time until the blood in the basin was an inch deep, the fragments still had no reaction.
Jokichi pondered slightly. It seemed that the reason for the Executioner's Blade's regeneration was not the metal itself, but the forging technique; the key core was in the hilt. The material that forged the Regenerative Ore was not the metal of the fragment itself, but the meme or conjecture surrounding the Executioner's Blade.
Actually, it made sense if one thought about it. If the reason for the Executioner's Blade's regeneration was the material itself, then why would the regenerated shape be exactly the same as the Executioner's Blade? Could there be memory metal mixed inside?
Jokichi was not interested in digging into the secrets. He poured the blood from the basin into the funnel on top of the Metal Producer.
Instantly, the Metal Producer emitted a light humming sound. Two seconds later, it spat out three fist-sized metallic ores from the outlet. Jokichi picked up the ores to inspect them. They felt heavy in his hand.
It was Chakra Metal.
Weapons forged with this metal have a higher affinity for chakra and can better imbue weapons with chakra nature and shape. It was a very rare and precious metal; a small piece could sell for a high price.
Jokichi looked at the three pieces of Chakra Metal in his hand. Each piece weighed about four or five pounds. Mixed with ordinary metal, they could forge over a dozen chakra weapons.
It seemed that making a living by selling metal might actually be not bad. For a moment, Jokichi was tempted. However, as soon as he thought about the nature of this world where power is paramount, Jokichi shook his head and threw this unrealistic idea out of his mind.
Maybe he could try living this kind of life after becoming invincible in the future. But now, he'd better forget it!
Jokichi threw the two items into the system space, sealed the Chakra Metal into a storage scroll, and then focused on the two containers of blood. When he collected the blood, he had distinguished between Haku's and Zabuza's blood through system prompts and stored them in separate containers. The one with less was Haku's, and the one with more was Zabuza's.
After thinking for a bit, Jokichi first took out Haku's blood and placed it in his palm.
[Ding! Detected special material "Pure White Blood", can forge special items "Ice Snow Crystal", "Sword of Protection", "Crossdressing Legend", and "Kind Heart". Do you wish to forge?]
"Yes." Jokichi nodded in agreement. Instantly, four things appeared in his hand.
A thumb-sized crystal, crystal clear all over, looking like ice yet also like a diamond. A katana over three feet long, its blade completely transparent and emitting a chill. A folded sailor school uniform. A fist-sized red heart.
"Ice Snow Crystal: A power crystal containing the Snow clan's power. After absorption, it can change the absorber's bloodline, making them possess the Snow clan's power."
"Sword of Protection: A miracle sword manifested from the resolve to protect important people, possessing the power of ice. The stronger the wielder's heart of protection, the greater the power. (Note: With you here, I am omnipotent.)"
"Crossdressing Legend: An outfit that can change its appearance according to the wearer's will. (Note: Limited only to female clothing.)"
"Kind Heart: After absorption, even an extremely evil person will become kind. (Note: Kindness warms hearts. A kind intention can infect others, making them equally kind.)"
[Ding! Detected that the host possesses another "Kind Heart", they can be fused and upgraded. Do you wish to upgrade?]
That other Kind Heart came from Choji, but its description was "even a person full of malice will become kind", which was clearly not as effective as Haku's.
Jokichi refused the upgrade. Perhaps after upgrading, the effect would become stronger, but two would become one. If he needed a Kind Heart with that effect in the future, he could upgrade them then.
Since he had owned similar items before, Jokichi had already thought of future uses, so he directly threw the Kind Heart into the system space. Then he threw the Crossdressing Legend in as well. He had no interest in crossdressing, so there was no need to look further. Otherwise, what if his curiosity was piqued? After all, crossdressing is either zero times or infinite times. Once curiosity is piqued, there's no turning back.
Afterwards, he turned his gaze to the Ice Snow Crystal and the Sword of Protection. The Ice Snow Crystal could let a person obtain the Snow clan's Kekkei Genkai, which was very powerful. But Jokichi already possessed too much power. Even if he absorbed it, it would be hard for it to find a use. Moreover, the Sword of Protection also possessed the power of ice.