Wind Chant Stone

"Nightmare Prayer—"

Uchiha Aozora silently recited the newly appeared pale-gold ancient characters from the Heavenly Book.

The newly appeared Daoist magic and Divine Abilities was not particularly powerful. It was merely a fusion of the Hell Viewing Technique and the Demonic Illusion: False Servant Technique. Its power exceeded that of a C-Rank genjutsu, but only by a limited amount. It did not seem to have much potential for development.

Even so, Aozora was still very happy.

One Daoist art, Nightmare Prayer, was worth two ninjutsu, yet it consumed only as much Chakra as one ninjutsu. More for the same price—who would not like that?

With Nightmare Prayer, Aozora no longer placed much importance on the Hell Viewing Technique or the Demonic Illusion: False Servant Technique.

After practicing the Hand Seals a few times so he could pass off Daoist magic as ninjutsu in the future, he began practicing Nightmare Prayer.

In the afternoon, the sun slanted westward.

Uchiha Tekka arrived at Aozora's home on the edge of the Clan Compound, carrying a scroll sealed with Chakra Conductive Metal.

Seeing the empty, desolate courtyard, Tekka suddenly felt a little sorry for Uchiha Aozora.

His parents had died early, and his older brother Shisui was away all year round. Aozora lived alone in this vast house. He must have been so lonely and helpless.

Tekka stepped forward and knocked on the front gate. "Aozora, I brought what you asked for."

But after quite a while, there was still no response.

Tekka frowned and knocked again.

Still no response.

Tekka stepped forward and pushed the gate open. It swung inward.

Looking inside, Tekka saw a long-haired man holding a wooden stick and staring fixedly at him.

"Tekka, shall we spar?"

Hearing that, Uchiha Tekka nearly jumped out of his skin. He hurriedly said, "Big brother, no! This is Aozora's house!"

Then Tekka suddenly understood. His face darkened as he gritted his teeth. "Uchiha Aozora!"

He formed Hand Seals with both hands. "Release!"

Yet the Inabi before him did not disappear. Instead, he swung his stick and charged forward.

Tekka easily dodged sideways, then kicked his "big brother" to the ground.

Before he could savor the feeling of that kick, the "big brother" he had knocked down slowly wriggled, then split into two.

"Interesting!"

Tekka did not hurry to dispel the genjutsu. Only after kicking several dozen more "big brothers" to death did he activate his Sharingan and break it.

"Release!"

Countless cracks suddenly appeared across the scene before him. The next moment, it shattered like an illusion reflected in water.

Seeing Aozora in the courtyard, Tekka asked, "I did not expect your genjutsu proficiency to be so high. Why did you not break the Wood Binding Technique this morning?"

Aozora said, "Would you believe me if I said I had just learned this genjutsu?"

Tekka patted his shoulder hard. "Do I look like an idiot?"

Aozora hurriedly shook his head. "No!"

You clearly are!

Naturally, Tekka had no idea how Aozora was slandering him in his heart. He took a scroll from one of his vest pockets and handed it to Aozora.

"This is the Chakra Conductive Metal the Clan Head promised you."

Aozora accepted it and led Tekka inside. "Let's take a look together!"

After only a few encounters, Aozora had discovered that although Uchiha Tekka was somewhat proud and full of himself, he was indeed someone worth befriending.

Tekka also wanted to see it, so he followed him inside.

After turning on the lights in the living room, Aozora spread the scroll open on the tea table in the center of the room.

"Release!"

Aozora formed Hand Seals, then placed his palm in the center of the scroll's sealing pattern.

"Poof!"

After a puff of smoke, a strange stone the size of a goose egg appeared in the

Though the stone was small, it had an unusual shape. There was a large hole in it, from which the faint sound of wind chanting could be heard.

Tekka said, "Wind Chant Stone!"

"?"

Aozora turned to look at Tekka.

Tekka explained, "This Chakra Conductive Metal is called Wind Chant Stone. The Clan Head obtained it during a mission to the Land of Wind back then. My older brother Inabi was there as well, so I know a little about it."

"Though this Wind Chant Stone is called a stone, it is harder than gold or iron. It was named Wind Chant Stone because a gentle breeze blows from the hole in this strange stone, producing a soft chanting sound."

Hearing this, Aozora picked up the Wind Chant Stone.

It looked like a strange rock, but it felt like metal to the touch.

Holding it beside his ear, he indeed heard waves of wind chanting.

He circulated the Chakra within his body and poured it into the Wind Chant Stone. A wisp of Wind Blade blew out from the stone's hole.

Aozora quickly tilted his head aside. The Wind Blade flew past his ear, severing several strands of his hair.

Tekka said, "Aozora, although your residence is not small, the Compensation cannot possibly equal the value of this Wind Chant Stone."

Aozora nodded seriously. "I understand. I will remember this favor."

"Good!" Tekka said. "Now that we have seen it, I should get going. Come visit my house another day."

Aozora did not try to keep him. He only returned after seeing him to the gate.

Back inside, Aozora weighed the Wind Chant Stone in his hand, considering what kind of Spiritual Artifact he should refine.

Originally, he had wanted to forge a Flying Sword. But given the size of the Wind Chant Stone, Aozora estimated that he could only refine a smaller Short Sword or dagger.

Naturally, Aozora would not refine his Spiritual Artifact into a dagger. He was refining it for long-range attacks.

"A Flying Dagger, then!"

"Even if it cannot evolve into something as incredible as the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger in the future, I can at least strive to match the great Li Xunhuan!"

After deciding on the design, Aozora left home with the Wind Chant Stone and headed for Fukuyama Uchiha's house.

The Uchiha Clan excelled at Ninja Tool Throwing and had always been major consumers of ninja tools. Therefore, Clan Members with ninja talent—or slightly less talent—became Artisan Ninjas.

Among the clan's Artisan Ninjas, Fukuyama Uchiha was the only Master Craftsman who had forged a divine weapon using Chakra Conductive Metal. The longsword he had forged was peerlessly sharp and was the beloved possession of Uchiha Yashiro, the Police Force Captain. He was unwilling to part with it for even a moment.

Of course, there were other Master Craftsmen in Konoha, but dealing with a Clan Member meant there was no need to fear being cheated or having one's Chakra Conductive Metal skimmed off.

Whoever dared cheat a Clan Member would be blasted to pieces by the clan before the Konoha Military Police Force even had the chance to deal with them!

Passing through streets and alleys, Aozora soon arrived before a tall pavilion.

Inside was a spacious hall.

Blades and swords hung from the walls on both sides of the hall, while all kinds of ninja tools were displayed beneath them.

There were not many customers in the hall. After all, it catered to Clan Members, and the ninja tools sold by Fukuyama's shop were all premium goods, so there were few customers to begin with.

Aozora casually looked around, then went to queue at the counter.

There was only one person ahead of him. Once that person finished buying ninja tools, it was Aozora's turn.

"Welcome. What can I do for you?"

Behind the counter stood a gentle young woman with large eyes and a soft voice.

Sometimes, Aozora found it strange how men and women from the same clan could differ so much. Every man seemed to hold his nose in the air, while every woman was gentle and lovely.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Aozora asked, "Is Uncle Fukuyama here? I would like to commission a custom ninja tool from him."

"Oh?"

The young woman glanced at him and reminded him, "Master Craftsman Fukuyama's forging fees are very high!"

Aozora nodded firmly.

The young woman asked, "Did you bring materials? If you brought your own materials, the forging fee is 10,000 Ryo. If not, it will cost even more."

"I brought materials," Aozora said.

Hearing this, the young woman knew the boy was not being reckless. "Very well. Please go upstairs and rest for a moment. Master Craftsman Fukuyama will be here shortly."