As dusk approached in the Land of Iron, Uzuki Yugao sat on a cliff, watching the gorge below, bathed in the sunset's glow. She was feeling restless and bored.
"I wonder if Izumi will come back tonight," she mused. "That jerk definitely won't miss the chance to be with her."
Resting her chin on her hand, she sighed. Just then, she heard voices behind her.
"There she is. Go ahead and give it to her," Izumi said, her face flushed, standing beside the very person Yugao was thinking about.
Of course, without his Flying Thunder God technique, Izumi wouldn't have been able to return so soon.
Uchiha Izumi quickly excused herself, eager to practice a new sword technique she had just learned.
"Let's go. I want to take you somewhere," Shishou said, approaching Yugao with a smile.
"Where to?" Yugao asked warily, fearing his intentions. Uchiha Izumi had already fallen under his influence; she didn't want to follow in her footsteps.
"You've always wanted my Kusanagi sword, right? I'm taking you to the Land of Craftsmen to forge a sword just for you," Shishou explained, standing at the cliff's edge and looking down.
"Really?" Yugao's eyes lit up but quickly turned suspicious. "No, you must have some ulterior motive. I'm not going with you."
"What do you think I'm planning?" Shishou laughed, looking at Yugao.
"I...," Yugao was at a loss for words. She couldn't possibly say she thought he was after her body, could she? That would be too embarrassing.
"Come on, I went through a lot of trouble to gather this much chakra metal to make you a powerful sword," Shishou said, pulling out a piece of chakra metal from his storage scroll and examining it in the sunset.
He had bought it from Mifune and, combined with what he had collected from Konoha and Kirigakure over the past few months, it was enough to forge two swords—one for Yugao and one for Izumi.
Yugao's eyes sparkled at the sight of the chakra metal. As a swordsmanship expert, she knew what a weapon forged from such material meant.
If she had known he was offering to forge her a weapon from chakra metal, she would have agreed immediately. Having witnessed battles involving Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi, Yugao constantly dreamed of possessing such formidable power herself. A sword made from chakra metal would bring her one step closer to that goal.
However, she had already refused, and conceding now would hurt her pride. She needed to maintain her dignity, especially in front of him.
Seeing her conflicted expression, Shishou couldn't help but chuckle internally. He knew she was too proud to back down, so he grabbed her hand and activated the Flying Thunder God technique.
Yugao pouted but didn't resist. "Fine, but this is you forcing me to go."
"Yes, yes, I'm forcing you," Shishou said, squeezing her hand as they arrived in the Land of Craftsmen.
"Let go of my hand," Yugao said, blushing as she looked at their intertwined fingers.
"There might be danger ahead. It's better to hold hands in case we need to escape using the Flying Thunder God technique," Shishou said, making up an excuse as he led her toward the city.
He had actually visited the Land of Craftsmen before but left a Flying Thunder God mark because he didn't have enough chakra metal at the time.
"You're lying. I don't believe you. Let go," Yugao said through gritted teeth, but she didn't dare pull her hand away forcefully.
Following the information he had obtained from Tenten's father, Shishou quickly found a master craftsman named Tetsusuke in the city who specialized in forging chakra weapons.
"You want to forge a weapon entirely from chakra metal?" Tetsusuke asked, shocked by Shishou's request. "Did I hear that right?"
Shishou nodded and corrected him, "Two weapons." He then placed all the chakra metal he had collected in front of Tetsusuke.
"Adding a bit of chakra metal to regular weapons already enhances their power significantly. Using this much chakra metal for just two swords seems wasteful," Tetsusuke advised, looking at the pile of chakra metal with a mix of awe and caution.
Shishou shook his head, insisting that Tetsusuke follow his instructions.
"Alright, if you insist," Tetsusuke relented, his eyes gleaming with excitement. The opportunity to forge weapons entirely from chakra metal was a dream come true for him.
After explaining his requirements, Shishou left Yugao in Tetsusuke's workshop to choose the blade and scabbard designs while he disappeared.
In the Craftsmen Village, Shishou, wearing a single-eyed spiral mask, appeared at the village gate. Any craftsman ninja who made eye contact with him collapsed instantly.
"Using Sharingan genjutsu against small fry is just too easy," Shishou mused as he continued his approach.
He was here to craft a wind-enhancing sword for Yugao, which reminded him of the Peacock Swords used by the Four Celestial Symbols Men in the village. These swords reduced wind chakra consumption and increased its power—perfect for Yugao.
Additionally, Shishou was curious about the various tools the Four Celestial Symbols Men possessed and intended to eliminate the potential threat of Seimei.
"Who are you, daring to intrude into the Craftsmen Village?" a woman with dual swords demanded, appearing before Shishou.
Shishou activated the Binding Illusion technique, and she froze, her body trembling as she realized she had fallen into a powerful genjutsu.
Taking the Peacock Swords from her, Shishou examined them. "So these are the Peacock Swords. They seem rather ordinary."
He then noticed three figures charging at him—it was the remaining members of the Four Celestial Symbols Men.
With a glance, he incapacitated two of them, leaving only a large man with a flail and unusual armor to face him.
Roots of wood suddenly sprang up, binding the man tightly and crushing his armor, rendering him unconscious from the pressure.
"In the face of absolute power, your special ninja tools are just toys," Shishou remarked, picking up the Dragon Eye retractable sword. "No wonder even Gaara struggled against you."
After extracting information about Seimei's whereabouts from the woman, Shishou teleported to retrieve several scrolls before leaving the village.
Seimei's body was devoured by his parasitic bugs, and the ninja tools were destroyed. Shishou doubted the Craftsmen Village would pose any significant threat in the future.
Back in Tetsusuke's workshop, Yugao looked curiously at Shishou and asked, "Where did you go?"
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 330 at patreon.com/Betek.