"I won't join your Konoha."
"You don't trust me, and I don't trust you either."
"But I think we can make a deal."
"I want revenge on the Hyuga Clan."
As Kaguya Neko's voice fell, the matter concerning the Kaguya Clan, even up to now, brought no regrets for Kaguya Neko. Because at that time, Kaguya Neko believed that the choices made were already the best possible ones. Even if given another chance, nothing could be changed. The main reason things turned out this way, in Kaguya Neko's view, was primarily due to the Kaguya Clan itself.
However, there was resentment in Kaguya Neko's heart towards the Hyuga Clan.
"If at that time, more time had been given to me, perhaps there would have been a chance to adjust the relationship between the Kaguya Clan and the village."
"But the Hyuga Clan's request was like a spark."
"Losing the Byakugan was simply a matter of being outmatched."
"Why can others' possessions be seized, but not those of the Hyuga Clan?"
"Using the many years of friendship between the Hyuga Clan and the Kaguya Clan as leverage, they placed the Kaguya Clan in a disadvantageous position."
"The Hyuga Clan have committed a great sin!"
Now, so many people from the Kaguya Clan have died.
Hidden Mist Village has also suffered greatly.
But the Hyuga Clan, they haven't paid any price.
Living their lives well. Kaguya Neko feels that this is unfair.
And as Kaguya Neko said. He cannot trust Konoha.
Konoha certainly cannot trust him either.
So joining Konoha is clearly impossible.
Kaguya Neko believes that if he agrees, Konoha's suspicion of him will only increase.
On the other hand, proposing a trade might make it easier to gain some trust.
There's a better chance to obtain some intelligence from Konoha.
And to complete the tasks arranged by Genji.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted.
"Revenge on the Hyuga Clan?"
"Yes."
"And the reason?"
"You don't need to know that, Orochimaru. You just need to answer whether you agree or not. Right now, you are the one in need of me, not the other way around."
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment.
"You want to know how to exact revenge?"
"The lives of Hyuga Clan members, and the reputation of the Hyuga Clan, are both acceptable."
Kaguya Neko shrugged.
"As long as you can kill members of the Hyuga Clan and tarnish their reputation, then I can make a trade with you. I'll tell you the information you want to know."
"Any information about Hidden Mist Village?"
"Whatever I know, if the value is equivalent."
"Including information about the Great Blacksmith?"
"Including."
Kaguya Neko answered without hesitation.
However, Kaguya Neko naturally wouldn't give Orochimaru information about Soma.
Unless it was information that was no longer a secret in Hidden Mist Village, and Orochimaru could easily obtain it through other channels.
Orochimaru glanced back at the Konoha ninja behind him and said,
"Our Konoha ninjas do not betray their comrades."
Orochimaru didn't mind betraying the Hyuga Clan, but besides Orochimaru, there were other Konoha ninjas present at the scene.
Even if Orochimaru could claim afterwards that he wouldn't truly betray the Hyuga Clan, just deceiving Kaguya Neko, once the seed of suspicion was planted, it would be almost impossible to mend. Therefore, Orochimaru couldn't agree to Kaguya Neko's deal.
"In that case, there's no way. This condition is the only thing that attracts me to your Konoha."
"If the deal can't be reached, are you preparing to attack?"
"If so, then I'll strike first."
Before Kaguya Neko finished speaking, he had already charged towards the Konoha ninja.
Kaguya Neko understood Orochimaru's strength very well. He was formidable, and his regenerative ability was extremely strong. Kaguya Neko could clearly see that the injuries he had inflicted on Orochimaru earlier were almost completely healed by now.
In this situation, it would be a better choice to attack the other Konoha ninja first. In an instant, Kaguya Neko's figure appeared in front of one of the Konoha ninja.
"What?"
These Konoha ninja was recruited by Orochimaru temporarily. While their personal strength was not weak, it was completely insufficient in front of Kaguya Neko.
Orochimaru's original purpose with them was just to distract.
Crack!
The Dragon-Bone cleaved down.
Instantly, the neck bone of the Konoha ninja was directly severed.
Thud!
The Konoha ninja's eyes widened as they fell.
"So strong!"
Before other Konoha ninjas could react, Kaguya Neko's figure appeared in front of another Konoha ninja.
The second Konoha ninja fell.
At this moment, the remaining Konoha ninjas finally reacted.
"So this is Kaguya Neko's strength?"
"Indeed, very strong."
"No wonder he's the culprit who wiped out the Kaguya Clan."
"What abilities does Dragon-Bone possess?"
A major battle was about to erupt.
Soon, Orochimaru also joined in the siege against Kaguya Neko.
In terms of numbers, Kaguya Neko was at a significant disadvantage.
However, Kaguya Neko believed that if he really fought to the death, Orochimaru and the other Konoha ninjas would not have an easy time.
"Moreover, if I want to escape, they can't stop me."
Kaguya Neko had confidence in his abilities in this regard.
As a Taijutsu ninja, Kaguya Neko excels in endurance battles. His physical strength and stamina are unmatched compared to other types of ninjas.
In addition, the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai is versatile in offense and defense.
Even in blind escapes, the bone armor created by Shikotsumyaku is sufficient for defense.
Kaguya Neko's sudden assault among the Konoha ninjas immediately created a breakthrough.
However, when Kaguya Neko rushed out of this breakthrough, he found it much easier than expected, effortlessly breaking through.
Glancing back, Kaguya Neko saw the Konoha ninjas trailing farther and farther behind.
"???"
Kaguya Neko had confidence in breaking through.
But it was too easy, which made Kaguya Neko suspicious.
"Something's not right."
However, no matter how suspicious Kaguya Neko felt, he couldn't turn back.
After a long time, Kaguya Neko stopped.
A figure appeared not far ahead of Kaguya Neko.
A snake raised its head and spoke.
"Kaguya Neko."
Kaguya Neko raised an eyebrow.
Now Kaguya Neko understood why it had been so easy to break through just now.
It turns out Orochimaru had let him off the hook.
This amused Kaguya Neko.
As a ninja of Konoha, in order to obtain intelligence from the Hidden Mist Village, they could even betray their own village's ninjas?
"Orochimaru?"
"Yes, it's me. I agree to your terms. Let's cooperate. I can provide you with intelligence on the Hyuga Clan. In exchange, I need information on Zanpakuto, Shinigami Squad, and that blacksmith."
"Agreed."
After confirming the cooperation with Kaguya Neko, Orochimaru returned to Konoha.
It was only then that Orochimaru heard those rumors.
"The Third Mizukage has disappeared?"
"Did I do it?"
"Why don't I know?"
Orochimaru found it absurd.
They were so convinced as if they had seen him do it with their own eyes.
If he had done it, Orochimaru would surely admit it.
For the Konoha Ninja, this is a great achievement.
But the problem is, Orochimaru knows very well that he didn't do it himself.
"Should I admit to it?"
Admitting it would bring a lot of achievements and fame.
A person, infiltrating the Hidden Mist Village alone and causing the disappearance of the Third Mizukage, would instantly erase Orochimaru's previous defeat by Fuguki.
Most people have short memories.
Whatever criticisms there were against Orochimaru before, after he admits to this, there will be many praises.
But at the same time, there are high risks involved.
Once the secret is exposed, it will directly ruin his reputation.
"Perhaps I can get some information about the disappearance of the Third Mizukage from Kaguya Neko."
"If I can 'pin the blame on the culprit', then this would be more helpful to me than obtaining information about Zanpakuto, Shinigami Squad, and that blacksmith."
...
Soma, who is currently developing the Sage's Polishing Technique, noticed that the reputation column's number suddenly changed twice.
It increased by more than a hundred points once.
Another time, it increased by more than two hundred points.
Together with other scattered increases, Soma's reputation has now exceeded 400 points.
"In that case, just a small-scale recruitment event for Blacksmiths would push it above 1000 points."
"To reach 2000 points would be more challenging."
"Recruiting too many Blacksmiths at once isn't good for the forging department."
"I won't maximize the benefits of reputation in the Blacksmith area."
Soma made a decision.
He entered the polishing room.
Soma arrived at a specially crafted polishing table.
A stream of water flowed in guided by Soma.
Beside it was a massive stone.
A stone that had endured the flow of water for a long time, extraordinarily resilient.
Above it, a sharpening stone was placed.
Here, influenced by the Garden Box, natural energy was rich.
Approaching it, Soma closed his eyes, silently feeling. After a long while, he opened his eyes then Ninjato was taken out by Soma.
"Sage's Polishing Technique!"
"Begin!"
Soma picked up the Ninjato and placed it above the sharpening stone. Then, he activated natural energy, causing it to condense on the sharpening stone, flowing slowly like water.
Soma tilted the Ninjato to the side and gently pushed it forward.
Pushed to a certain distance.
Retracted.
Pushed forward again.
In this way, repeating the process.
"The feeling this time is better than the previous times. I've found the right direction."
"Just like this."
Soma accelerated his movements.
"The correct method reduces the consumption of natural energy."
"It's like reducing losses and optimizing efficiency."
"And I can use less effort."
The sound of polishing echoed in the polishing room.
Before long.
"Done!"
Soma picked up the Ninjato.
After inspecting the Ninjato, Soma smiled.
"Not bad."
"Better than any of my previous polishing attempts."
"Not only did it achieve excellent levels of smoothness and sharpness."
"But also infused iy with the characteristics of natural energy."
"It's more like enchantment than just polishing."
Suddenly, Soma frowned.
"I didn't handle this corner well, it's a mistake."
"Even though it's just a small spot, it affects the overall feel of the Ninjato. Instead of achieving a score of 90, this mistake dropped it to 70. This Ninjato isn't completed."
Soma walked over to the next room.
Since the appearance of the Garden Uehara Soma had been renovating his forge.
He had abandoned the forge on the ground floor.
Instead, he designated the area where the Garden Box was located as the polishing room.
Next to the polishing room, he had excavated a cave.
Inside the cave, magma flowed, and in terms of temperature, it was higher than the magma brought into the ground forge.
Therefore, smelting here also increases efficiency somewhat.
It does add some difficulty for the Blacksmith.
But with Soma's current abilities, it's manageable.
Soma calls this cave the forge room.
In reality, smelting, forging, shaping, tempering, and annealing are all done here.
Besides magma, there's also a water flow.
On the other side of the forge room, there's another cave.
This cave mainly serves as a warehouse.
A staircase connects this place directly to Soma's previous forge room.
Soma tossed the Ninjato into a corner.
Then he picked up another Ninjato from a shelf on the side.
"This time, no mistakes!"
Soma began polishing again.
"Sage's Polishing Technique!"
Natural energy gathered.
The rhythmic sound of polishing filled the air.
Soma focused intensely on his hands and the Ninjato he held, eyes unwavering.
"Done!"
Just as Soma lifted the Ninjato.
A voice sounded in Uehara Soma's mind.
[Congratulations to the host for reaching an Excellent level in Forging Technique, you have earned a reward, one chance for the Blacksmith-exclusive Blueprint Lottery.]
[Would you like to proceed with the Lottery?]
Soma was momentarily stunned.
"Blacksmith-exclusive Blueprint?"
"Lottery?"
Once he snapped out of it, Uehara Soma's eyes immediately lit up.
"Does this mean that by participating in the Lottery, I can draw tools that are useful for Blacksmiths?"
"Such as smelting furnaces, forging hammers, polishing stones, and so on?"
"This is really great."
Soma had more than once felt that the forging tools in his hands were not good enough.
These forging tools had already held him back many times.
Soma had long wanted better forging tools.
The problem was, to forge good forging tools, one must have good enough materials.
Soma was reluctant to use the materials obtained from the Dungeon Instance to forge forging tools.
And the materials provided by Hidden Mist Village were not good enough either.
Unless I can obtain the Seven Ninja Swords and smelt them down.
However, the Hozuki Clan will definitely not agree to this.
Now, Soma has finally obtained the opportunity to change his forging tools.
Soma did not hesitate.
"Lottery!"
---
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