Unexpected Gains

Sasuke listened to their discussion, especially that of the people from the Land of Iron. They knew all about the contestants, so what they discussed was quite substantive.

"The Musashi Clan has been a family of smiths for over a century. Musashi Taro has a very good chance this time. Their family has deep foundations and plenty of quality materials for him to practice with, so I think he has the best odds. I heard Musashi Taro forged a weapon for a general from the Land of Lightning two years ago, and that general was extremely satisfied."

"I don't see it that way. The Musashi Clan may be a prominent family, but they aren't the only one in the Land of Iron. Other families have talented people too. Take Nakamura Takeshi of the Nakamura Clan—he's quite good as well. Last year, he forged a custom weapon for a ninja. It was made with Chakra Metal, extremely expensive stuff."

There were many similar conversations, and plenty of outstanding candidates. Sasuke would not go knocking on someone's door just because of what he heard. Seeing was believing.

Just as Sasuke was about to finish eating, two armored samurai entered. They found an empty table, sat down, and removed their helmets. A waiter walked over and bowed. "You've worked hard. Are you only coming to dinner at this hour?"

"Not hard at all. Patrol duty is something that must be done. How could it count as hardship?" one of them said.

The other nodded in agreement, then continued, "It's because of the competition lately. Too many ninja have come here to take a look. They're all hoping a new Forging Master will emerge so they can have some cheaper weapons made."

"Yeah, but aren't those ninja all quite wealthy?" The waiter was clearly very familiar with the two men.

"You can't put it that way. A ninja's income mainly depends on how many missions they get. Konoha accepts the most missions, but they also have many ninja. Generally speaking, what they earn is enough to live on, and perhaps save a little. But it still isn't enough to forge custom weapons. After all, they need Chakra Metal, unlike our samurai swords, which don't have that requirement."

After the two men ordered, they began eating and drinking. The waiter came over to chat with them again, since most of the customers in the shop had already finished ordering.

"Who do you think will become a master?" the waiter asked.

"That's hard to say. The competition is too fierce. If Tenbu Shinzo goes all out in this tournament, then he has the best chance."

"Oh, Tenbu Shinzo? The one who nearly succeeded in the last competition? What happened to him? There hasn't been any news about him." The waiter asked curiously.

"Him? He's forging Ninja Tools for another large smithy now. What he prepared for the last tournament was far too expensive. He isn't from one of those prominent families, yet he prepared a huge quantity of valuable materials all by himself. I heard he borrowed quite a lot of money. People only lent it to him because they valued his craftsmanship. If he became a master, he would be fully capable of repaying his debts, and they would also have him owe them a favor. That's why so many people were willing to lend him money. What a pity. He came so close."

"Oh? How did he come so close?"

"I don't know the details. I heard he was researching some new forging method. The blade was divided into an inner and outer layer. The inner blade core, also called the Blade Core, used one kind of metal, while the outside was wrapped in another. That's all I know. But he was alone. By the time the competition ended, he had only finished the Blade Core and had no completed weapon. If he had produced a finished weapon, he might very well have become a master."

"Ah, why didn't they give him more time?"

"That wouldn't do. The competition has to be fair. If they gave him more time, the others would never agree, especially since he was alone. How could those prominent families agree to it? If he became a master, where would that leave their dignity? No Forging Master emerged from the last competition."

Sasuke's interest was piqued when he heard this. Steel wrapping or laminated steel? He did not know much about it. After all, he had studied accounting and had only heard of such techniques. It seemed he should find Tenbu Shinzo and see how he forged. With that thought, Sasuke prepared to leave, but then he heard the two men continue talking. Their topic was unexpectedly the Land of Whirlpools, so Sasuke stayed put.

"Forget about that. It has nothing to do with us. There'll be a holiday after this competition ends. What are you planning to do?" the companion of the samurai explaining things to the waiter asked.

"Oh, I'm planning to go treasure hunting in the Land of Whirlpools."

"What? You're still going treasure hunting there? It's been so many years. That place has long since been picked clean," his companion said in surprise.

"I don't know about that, but plenty of people still go there looking for treasure. The Land of Whirlpools may have been small, but their Sealing Technique was formidable. Every major country has sent people there to search, yet no one found anything. Some say Konoha took it all, while others say it is hidden in a Secluded Chamber within the Land of Whirlpools. No one knows for sure."

"And you still want to go?"

"I'll treat it as a trip for fun. Where else is there to have fun in our country? If I find something, that would be best—I could sell it to the major countries. If I don't, I'll just consider it a chance to relax."

"If you ask me, you shouldn't go. Even if you find it, you might not be able to enter. It is, after all, a Secluded Chamber of the Land of Whirlpools. There must be all kinds of mechanisms and traps inside. There might even be seals. It's very dangerous."

"Even selling them the location would be good enough. That would still be a huge sum of money." The two continued chatting. Sasuke paid and left. Getting two pieces of information at once was truly unexpected. He had wanted to learn the Sealing Technique as well, but he had never had any materials to study. The Sealing Corps was not somewhere he could easily enter. If he joined the Sealing Corps, his own training would be delayed. It seemed that after forging his weapon, he could visit the Land of Whirlpools. After all, he could go anywhere.

Sasuke returned to the inn and asked the owner at the front counter about Tenbu Shinzo. The owner did indeed know him. His home was not far from here. Tenbu Shinzo was a blacksmith too, and his shop was on Blacksmith Street. However, it was a very small shop. Every day, he forged orders given to him by larger smithies, and most of the money he earned went toward repaying his debts.

After getting the location, Sasuke returned to his room and began his nighttime Chakra training. He would not stop doing that, since Chakra was his weakness. He truly did not know how the Sasuke from the anime had managed to fight Naruto in the end. Their Chakra reserves were obviously worlds apart.