Forty-eight years after the creation of Konoha.
"Never thought doing an internship in metalworking would lead to time-traveling..."
Dan Soma, no, now he should be Uehara Soma, sat on a rocky shore, gazing at the endless sea before him. The sea breeze blew in his face, and his emotions were complex for a moment.
He vividly remembered that not long ago, he was interning in metalworking, first machining parts, then welding.
The result was a spark.
The next moment, he found himself crossing into the world of Naruto, becoming a blacksmith on Forging Island in the Hidden Mist Village, responsible for researching the forging of Ninjato.
"Not in Konoha where the protagonist resides, nor in the stable situations of the Hidden Rock Village and Hidden Cloud Village, but precisely in the Hidden Mist Village."
Uehara Soma shook his head and sighed.
The Hidden Mist Village could hardly be considered a good place.
Externally, lacking in strength, perhaps on par with the Hidden Sand Village situated in barren desert lands.
Internally, constant strife, the policies of the Bloody Mist, persecution of bloodline ninjas and clans, Elders betraying village secrets, and even the esteemed Mizukage falling into the puppetry of others...
It was simply a hellish beginning.
And he was just a blacksmith with little combat prowess.
To survive is a difficult task.
Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in Uehara Soma's mind.
Then, before Uehara Soma, a pale blue translucent screen appeared.
[Great Blacksmith System, binding in progress, congratulations on becoming a blacksmith.]
[Mission One: As a blacksmith, you must have your own forging site.]
[Detecting host's location on Forging Island, automatically binding Forging Island as the host's forging site.]
[Mission complete!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission.]
[Rewards]
[One: Forging Skill Bonus—When the host is on Forging Island, the Forging Technique will receive a significant bonus.]
[Two: Shingu, Kiriichimonji Blueprint x1.]
[Three: Thug Recruitment Token x1.]
The text on the translucent screen changed.
[Name: Uehara Soma.]
[Comprehensive Strength: Genin.]
[Forging Technique: Good (Excellent—Forging Island Bonus).]
[Mission Items: Kiriichimonji Blueprint x1, Thug Recruitment Token x1.]
[Blacksmith Reputation: 8.]
[Evaluation: As a blacksmith, the foundation is decent. Due to having a personal forging site, the Forging Technique receives a bonus, with a chance to craft ninja tools of superior quality or above.]
[As a ninja, the strength is worrying; in times of war, can only be considered cannon fodder.]
With a thought, Uehara Soma acted.
Immediately, the Kiriichimonji Blueprint appeared in Uehara Soma's hand.
Following that, a surge of information flooded into Uehara Soma's mind.
[Mission Blueprint: With this blueprint, one can enter Dungeon Instances to obtain materials.]
[Upon completing the forging of mission ninja tools, depending on the quality of the crafted item, the host will receive corresponding rewards.]
[Upon completing the contract between the mission ninja tool and its user, based on the compatibility between both parties and the user's talent, the host will receive corresponding rewards.]
[Including but not limited to basic attributes, skills, items.]
[The compatibility between mission ninja tools and their users must meet or exceed the standard line before the blacksmith can actively guide the contract.]
[The degree of the contract depends on the approval of the Blueprint mission commissioner, with comprehensive consideration of the compatibility between the user and the ninja tool's attributes.]
[Mission ninja tools can only undergo one contract.]
[Mission Blueprints can be obtained through reputation draws.]
[Note: According to the first rule of Blueprints, ordinary Blueprints cannot bring back any mission rewards.]
Uehara Soma's eyes lit up.
Crafting ninja tools could earn rewards, giving him the confidence to safely survive in this world.
Then, Uehara Soma's gaze fell on the Thug Recruitment Token.
A token-like object, exuding an ancient atmosphere while also possessing a technological aspect, appeared in Uehara Soma's hand, resembling a creation of steampunk.
A surge of information flooded into Uehara Soma's mind.
[As a noble blacksmith, how could one personally engage in such violence?]
[Thug Recruitment Token: Through this recruitment token, one can establish a contractual relationship with a target individual. With mutual consent, the contract can be completed.]
[When entering Dungeon Instances, the host can summon thugs to assist in combat using the Thug Recruitment Token.]
[Thug Recruitment Tokens can be obtained through reputation draws.]
[Note: According to the sixth principle of thugs, they possess a subconscious confidentiality characteristic regarding their work content.]
Uehara Soma's eyes flickered.
"So, does this imply that obtaining materials is not easy?"
"But if obtaining materials is difficult, it means the quality of the materials is better."
"The better the quality of the materials, the stronger the ninja tools crafted from them will be."
"If that's the case, the rewards I obtain surely won't be too shabby."
With a thought, Uehara Soma made the mission Blueprint and Thug Recruitment Token in his hand disappear.
Uehara Soma glanced at the other side of the screen.
A lottery machine pattern slowly spun.
Beside it were details about the lottery machine.
"100 reputation points for one draw."
"There are three possible outcomes: mission Blueprints, Thug Recruitment Tokens."
"And random attribute points..."
Uehara Soma organized the situation.
"So, what I need to do is... use this mission Blueprint and Thug Recruitment Token to enter Dungeon Instances, obtain materials, and craft ninja tools."
"By crafting ninja tools, I'll earn rewards and increase my reputation."
"Then, with reputation, I can participate in the lottery."
"I'll be able to obtain new mission Blueprints and Thug Recruitment Tokens again."
"Repeating in a cycle."
At this moment, a figure approached from afar, entering Uehara Soma's line of sight.
Clad in the attire of a Mist ANBU ninja, appearing quite formidable with a square haircut and the Hidden Mist Village headband adorning the forehead, their expression seemed fierce and savage.
Like a shark in the midst of hunting.
The exposed skin's color seemed somewhat out of place compared to that of an ordinary person.
A name surfaced in Uehara Soma's mind.
"Hoshigaki Kisame."
The relationship between the two was relatively good.
Hoshigaki Kisame had an obsession with Ninjato (Ninja Sword) since childhood, longing to possess one of his own.
In fact, the majority of young ninjas in the Hidden Mist Village shared this aspiration.
The title of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist represented strength, prestige, power, and status within the Hidden Mist Village.
They were elite ninjas directly under the Mizukage.
"Even those qualified to succeed the position of Mizukage."
Hoshigaki Kisame, leveraging connections, approached Soma's sensei, hoping they could help him craft a Ninjato. Uehara Soma's sensei agreed.
After that, Hoshigaki Kisame often visited Forging Island.
However, even until Soma's sensei passed away, they couldn't craft the Ninjato.
But Hoshigaki Kisame and Uehara Soma became good friends.
Although Hoshigaki Kisame appeared fierce, in reality, he was a principled and relatively honest person.
"Kisame."
"Soma, there's some bad news."
Hoshigaki Kisame's expression was serious.
"What happened?"
"Just now, the village reached a significant trade agreement with the Land of Iron regarding ninja tools, including Kunai, Shuriken, Senbon, Ninjato, etc. The village Elders are deliberating and have decided to abolish Forging Island."
"What?"
Immediately, Uehara Soma's expression turned ugly.
He had just bound himself to Forging Island, and now the village Elders wanted to abolish it.
Wouldn't that mean losing the forging skill bonus he had just obtained?