"Juzo Senpai."
"Soma."
Soma could see that Juzo's face had a clear tiredness, obviously, this time leaving the Hidden Mist Village, Juzo probably hadn't rested much.
However, Juzo's eyes were very bright, looking very excited.
Perhaps for Juzo, this kind of life is what he prefers.
Fighting for the Hidden Mist Village.
"Soma, I've already brought Kakuzu back, let's go now."
"Okay."
As they walked, Juzo said, "This time when I went to the front line, I happened to encounter Pakura from the Hidden Sand Village, the Sand hero who possesses the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai."
"Admittedly, Scorch Release is very strong. Pakura is strong without it too."
"Even with the Blue Rose Sword, I couldn't gain an advantage. If it were before, with the Executioner's Blade, I would have died in her hands in no time."
"But relying on the Blue Rose Sword and the coordination with the Mist Ninja, I still managed to severely injure her. Making her have to return to the Hidden Sand Village to recuperate. Without Pakura, we in the Hidden Mist Village can quickly regain the advantage."
"Soma, I'm very grateful to you. The Blue Rose Sword makes me feel like my ninja life has been rejuvenated."
A battle with Pakura not only erased the previous shame from Juzo's body but also improved his reputation in the ninja world.
Previously, when Juzo was mentioned, he was said to be a defeated opponenet of a Konoha Genin.
A survivor by sheer luck.
But now, when people talk about Juzo, they have new titles for him.
"Ice Release Ninja!"
"A pseudo-Ice Release Kekkei Genkai user!"
"To be able to compare with the hero Pakura from the Hidden Sand Village, Juzo's current strength is definitely not weak."
"No Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, but not weaker than Ninja with Ice Release Kekkei Genkai."
Similar to Kiriichimonji and Kisame's situation.
The Blue Rose Sword has its own title now, Ice Blade.
Juzo has a brand new title, Ice Sculpture Master.
Because the Ice Release used by Juzo is mostly in the form of Ice constructs.
Roses, spears, kunai, shuriken, senbon...
Just like carved objects.
Juzo is rarely referred to as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist anymore and seems to be living a second life. And for the Ninja, more attention is focused on the Blue Rose Sword.
Compared to Kiriichimonji, people don't have such strong feelings. One reason is that Kiriichimonji needs close proximity to trigger. Another reason is that Kisame is already a top performer among the younger generation.
However, there is a very clear contrast in Juzo.
When Juzo wielded the Executioner's Blade, he was just an ordinary member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, not ranking at the top.
But after obtaining the Blue Rose Sword, he immediately became a force to contend with, capable of facing off against the Sand hero Pakura.
This change is very obvious, a huge transformation.
What brought about this change?
The Blue Rose Sword.
So the Ninjas of the ninja world are more interested in the new Ninjatos of the Hidden Mist Village, and in Soma who crafted these new Ninjatos, they want to understand and interact with him.
Or perhaps there are other thoughts.
"Soma, have you crafted any new Ninjato recently?"
Soma nodded.
"I have crafted a new ninja tool, but it's not a Ninjato."
"Not a Ninjato? Then who was it intended for?"
"It wasn't intended for anyone."
Soma shook his head and said, "This ninja tool has very high requirements for Water Release talent, and it's also quite picky about the ninja's personality. Mizukage-sama originally said to let the Hozuki Clan ninjas try it out."
Juzo nodded.
"The Hozuki Clan ninjas indeed have extremely strong Water Release talent, although there haven't been any outstanding geniuses from their clan for a long time, since Gengetsu-sama."
"But I heard there's a young man named Hozuki Mangetsu who's not bad. What do you mean by 'not intended for anyone', Soma?"
Soma explained.
"The Hozuki Clan declined, then Third Mizukage arranged for some other ninjas to come and try, but Pioggia didn't choose them either. It's still on Forging Island now."
"The Hozuki Clan declined?"
Juzo was surprised. The Blue Rose Sword has given Juzo a new lease on life. He has extreme trust in Soma's Forging Technique and the ninja tools he crafts.
Juzo couldn't imagine what kind of person would refuse Soma's ninja tools.
"The Hozuki Clan wants to reclaim all of the Seven Ninja Swords," Soma said.
Juzo's pupils contracted.
It didn't take long for him to understand the key issue.
"I see, so they want to turn the Seven Ninja Swords into their Hozuki Clan's possessions. That's why they can't accept your ninja tools, Soma. It will surely provoke anger."
"But why would Mizukage-sama agree to let them do that?"
Soma remained silent.
In his heart, Soma had a guess.
But such a guess was not suitable to voice.
"Never mind," Juzo shook his head.
"These things are probably political matters now, and they have nothing to do with us. The Hozuki Clan's refusal of your ninja tools is surely their loss. They will surely regret it in the future!"
...
A secluded courtyard entered the sight of the two.
At this moment, inside the courtyard, a figure opened its eyes.
"Two sets of footsteps."
"It's Juzo and the young ninja who wants to learn Fire Release."
Kakuzu opened the door.
"Kakuzu."
Juzo introduced Soma to Kakuzu.
"This is Soma, ready to learn Fire Release."
Then he introduced Kakuzu to Soma.
"Soma, this is Kakuzu."
Kakuzu glanced at Soma, but not seriously.
Kakuzu doesn't care who Soma is; for Kakuzu, this is just a transaction.
As long as it's safe and the payment is sufficient, nothing else matters.
"Come in."
The three entered.
"Bang!"
The courtyard door closed.
Kakuzu looked at Soma, then took out a piece of Chakra paper.
"If you want to learn Fire Release, you should have tested it before, but I didn't see it, so you need to test again to see if you really have Fire Chakra."
"I don't want to waste my time and fail a payment if you fail to learn it due to this."
Soma nodded.
"Okay."
Immediately, he took the Chakra paper.
Fire attribute, Soma definitely has it.
It can be said that the vast majority of blacksmiths have Fire Chakra.
His fingers pinched the Chakra paper, condensing Chakra on the hand. The next moment, the Chakra paper changed. And it clearly divided into five parts.
The part affected by Water attribute became wet.
The part affected by Fire attribute ignited.
The part affected by Lightning attribute wrinkled.
The part affected by Earth attribute cracked.
The part affected by Wind attribute showed neat, almost cut-like traces.
The water attribute's performance is the most obvious.
After all, Soma's Water Release talent is the best now.
"Indeed."
Kakuzu glanced at the Chakra paper and said, "So, starting today, I'll teach you Fire Release."
"Let's make it clear in advance, I'm only responsible for teaching, and I charge by time."
"If you have any questions, I will answer them."
"If you're doing something wrong, I will point it out."
"But whether you can learn it or not is up to you."
"If you fail to learn it, you still have to pay."
"Are these terms acceptable to you?"
Soma had no objections. The conditions proposed by Kakuzu seemed reasonable.
"Okay, I'll start explaining now."
"The Ninjutsu I'm going to teach you is called Fire Release: Flame Whirlwind."
Kakuzu paused as he spoke.
"Let me make it clear first, this Fire Release Ninjutsu comes from the Hidden Waterfall Village. If you learn it and use it in front of the Waterfall Ninja, you may face their scrutiny and attacks."
"Understood, thank you for the reminder, Kakuzu-senpai. I'll use it cautiously."
Different ninja villages have different Ninjutsu systems. Regarding Ninjutsu, ninjas tend to hold them dear.
Regardless of which ninja village it is, to learn a new Ninjutsu, one must either achieve merit or exchange it with the village.
For example, Minato Namikaze had the opportunity to learn the Flying Thunder God Jutsu after achieving enough merit.
Not every Konoha ninja has the chance to come into contact with and attempt to learn the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Or it could be passed down through one's own sensei.
Again, using Minato Namikaze as an example. After developing the Rasengan, Minato Namikaze not only passed down this Ninjutsu to his disciple, Kakashi, but also to his own sensei, Jiraiya.
Only close relationships can provide such opportunities. Kakuzu spoke earnestly.
Juzo listened for a while, confirming that Kakuzu was teaching seriously. He then relaxed slightly, no longer focusing solely on Kakuzu's instruction, but also keeping watch on their surroundings.
Soma listened while organizing his thoughts.
"The money spent is indeed worth it."
"Within the Hidden Mist Village, no one has this level of proficiency in teaching Fire Release."
Soma glanced at Juzo.
"Even Juzo-senpai's proficiency in teaching Water Release is nowhere near Kakuzu's proficiency in teaching Fire Release."
This wasn't Soma trying to belittle Juzo; it was simply a fact.
But it was also reasonable. After all, Juzo, while an elite jonin, split his focus between two areas: half on Water Release and half on Ninjato.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu focused all his energy on Ninjutsu.
Combined with Kakuzu's age, he was actually much older than Juzo.
With age comes more time. More time means deeper research into Ninjutsu naturally.
However, for Soma, his talent in Fire Release was indeed lacking.
Unlike Water Release, which he could learn after hearing and seeing it once.
For this Fire Release Flame Whirlwind Jutsu, Soma felt like he understood it, but in reality, it wasn't so easy to use.
"I'm afraid my talent in Fire Release hasn't even reached the 'good' level."
"Fortunately, Juzo-senpai entrusted Kakuzu to teach me."
"Otherwise, if I had to find just any novice-level ninja from the Hidden Mist Village to teach me Fire Release, it might take me half a year or more to learn."
"Kakuzu's fee is high, but there's a reason for it. It's worth it."
"Compared to my time, this money isn't much."
It took Soma two days to start feeling something.
Kakuzu looked at Soma.
"Maybe you should give up. You don't have much talent in Fire Release. Continuing to learn will only waste time. In comparison, you would be much better off spending your time on Water Release."
Soma was somewhat surprised that Kakuzu would say such a thing.
After all, Kakuzu charged by time.
The longer the time spent, the more Kakuzu could earn.
In theory, if he didn't learn well, Kakuzu could earn even more money.
This wasn't a difficult job either, far more cost-effective than the missions taken by wandering ninja.
Moreover, Soma's impression of Kakuzu was that of a vicious member of the Akatsuki Organization.
Hotheaded. He's willing to kill even his own comrades.
It was unexpected for someone like him to give such a reminder, leaving Soma somewhat surprised.
"Thank you for the reminder, Senpai. However, I have my reasons for needing to learn this Fire Release. Please continue, Senpai. Rest assured, I won't shortchange you on compensation."
Kakuzu snorted, feeling his goodwill was misunderstood, but he didn't explain.
"Let's continue then."
It took Soma half a month to barely grasp it.
"Fire Release: Flame Whirlwind."
As Soma formed the hand seals, a surge of chakra flowed out.
A ball of fire appeared near Soma, rapidly spinning into a fiery vortex, resembling the Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu to some extent.
However, in terms of hand seal complexity, power, and scale, it was inferior to the Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu.
It can be seen as a degraded version of Great Dragon Fire Jutsu.
"You've learned it, so my teaching is over," Kakuzu said, looking towards Juzo.
"You can pay me the remaining compensation."
However, at that moment, Soma interrupted Kakuzu.
"Kakuzu Senpai, this is just one Fire Release Ninjutsu, which isn't enough for me. Please, Kakuzu Senpai, stay a little longer and teach me a higher-level Fire Release."
Soma could feel that after learning the Fire Release Flame Whirlwind Jutsu, his control over fire-chakra had indeed improved significantly.
But it wasn't enough.
Going back now, Soma would need to spend a lot of time studying and pondering to develop the Chakra Smelting Technique.
However, if he could gain more experience and guidance from Kakuzu, his understanding of Fire Release and his control over fire-chakra would be much better.
It could reduce the time for subsequent intensive study.
"Forget it. You've already learned one Fire Release. If you want to learn more later, just take a Ninjutsu scroll. You don't need me to teach you. This way, you'll end up spending a lot of money unnecessarily."
Teaching, compared to other tasks, may indeed be easier.
But Kakuzu felt that teaching someone with insufficient talent was too painful.
Kakuzu would rather take on other tasks.
Fighting and killing were much more satisfying.
"And I'm sorry, I have other things to do."
Kakuzu didn't know when he had already packed up his things and was about to leave with his bag on his back.
Soma looked at Kakuzu's departing figure.
"I can pay more."
In an instant, Kakuzu's figure involuntarily froze.
---
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