Kozaburo rose from his meditation with the fluid grace of someone half his age. His weathered face carried the marks of countless hours before the forge, but his eyes held a sharpness that spoke of wisdom earned through decades of craft.
"A phoenix, a curious boy, and Red-Hair himself," the old smith remarked, his gaze settling on Xiao Yan. "Quite the parade you've brought to my doorstep."
"Kozaburo-san!" Taro burst out, unable to contain himself. "They came to see your work! And look, they have a real phoenix! And there's a turtle that eats buildings and-"
"Breathe, boy," Kozaburo interrupted, though a slight smile tugged at his lips. "Or you'll pass out before finishing your daily report on my activities."
Taro had the grace to look embarrassed. "I just... observe..."
"From increasingly unstable tree branches, yes." The smith turned to Shanks. "Well, Red-Hair? What brings you to my forge?"
"Our friend here," Shanks gestured to Xiao Yan, "has some interesting ideas about crafting. Thought you two might have something to discuss."
Kozaburo's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Xiao Yan more carefully. "Do you forge?"
"I understand certain principles," Xiao Yan replied carefully. "Though your methods interest me greatly."
"Understanding and doing are different paths," Kozaburo noted, turning toward his forge. "Come. Let's see what principles you grasp."
The forge itself was a study in organized chaos. Tools lined the walls in precise arrangements, while works in progress occupied various stations. The heart of the room, the forge itself, burned with a steady heat that made Xiaojin chirp appreciatively.
"Your companion approves of my fire," Kozaburo observed, watching as the phoenix examined the forge with obvious interest. "Though I suspect it finds the heat... modest."
"Xiaojin has particular standards regarding flames," Xiao Yan agreed, remembering some of the phoenix's more explosive critiques of insufficient heat sources.
As they talked, Taro hovered near the entrance, clearly trying to make himself invisible enough to avoid being sent away. His efforts were somewhat undermined by his excited gasps every time Kozaburo moved near a blade.
"The boy will wear a hole in my doorway with his hovering," Kozaburo sighed. "Taro! If you're going to stay, make yourself useful. Show our other guests around while I speak with this one."
"Yes, Kozaburo-san!" Taro beamed, then turned to Shanks and Benn with barely contained excitement. "Wait until you see the dojo! And Mika-san probably has fresh dango by now, and-"
"SHAHAHAHAHA! Lead on, boy!" Shanks grinned, following the enthusiastic teenager.
Once they were alone (save for Xiaojin, who had claimed a perch near the forge), Kozaburo lifted an unfinished blade from his workbench.
"Tell me," he said, holding it up to the light, "what do you see?"
Xiao Yan studied the metal carefully. Even unfinished, there was something about its composition that caught his attention. The way it seemed to hold light, the subtle patterns in its surface...
"The metal remembers," he said finally. "It carries echoes of how it was folded, how heat shaped its nature."
Kozaburo's eyebrows rose slightly. "Most visitors see only steel waiting to be shaped."
"Steel is never merely waiting," Xiao Yan replied. "It speaks, for those who know how to listen."
A long moment passed as Kozaburo studied him, then nodded slowly. "Perhaps," he said, turning to stoke the forge's fire, "we do have something to discuss after all."
As they talked about metal and heat, about the way force could reshape essence, Xiao Yan noticed something interesting. The way Kozaburo moved around his forge, the subtle flow of power in his movements – it wasn't unlike the patterns he'd been observing in Haki usage.
Outside, they could hear Taro's excited voice giving what was probably a very detailed tour of every stone in the village. Xiaojin occasionally sent small flames to dance around the forge, as if testing the heat's quality, while somewhere below, the sounds of village life continued their steady rhythm.
It was, Xiao Yan reflected, an interesting beginning to what promised to be a very educaqtional stay.
"Tomorrow," Kozaburo said finally, "come at dawn. If you truly wish to understand, we begin with the basics." He paused, looking at Xiaojin. "And bring your phoenix. Its judgment of heat might prove... instructive."
Xiaojin preened at this acknowledgment of its expertise, while Xiao Yan nodded slightly. Some lessons, after all, began long before metal met flame.