Forging

"Sir... there's really nothing I can do! I can't break the rules!" The middle-aged beauty looked troubled. She had been around these parts for years and had personally served countless important people.

Of course she knew that there were ninja in the world who wielded tremendous power. Souya was clearly one of them, a man with extraordinary abilities.

As an ordinary person, the middle-aged beauty had nerves of steel. Even faced with Souya's imposing presence, she managed to stay calm.

But beads of sweat had begun to seep from beneath her hair. She was terrified.

Souya was young, but judging by the aura he gave off, and the chilling feeling he inspired, he was certainly no softhearted man.

And then there was the filthy little fellow beside him. Clearly, the child had some connection to Risa.

The middle-aged beauty regretted her moment of greed. Why had she promised Risa away? Now she had brought this terrifying man down on herself.

But it was too late for regrets. All she could do was hope to keep Souya placated and put the matter behind them.

"Ah... there's nothing for it..." Souya let out a long sigh.

"Y-you can't just do whatever you want! Do you know who's behind this establishment—" When she saw Souya rise to his feet, his aura pouring out without restraint and gusts of wind sweeping through the room, the middle-aged beauty hurriedly began to speak.

But Souya had no intention of continuing to humor her. He flashed forward with the Body Flicker Technique and struck the back of her head. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

The other two maids received the same treatment.

Then Souya placed both hands on Mori Kazuhiro's shoulders. "Focus on what you sense. Find your sister, then tell me where she is."

Souya had dabbled in Perception Ninjutsu, too. His skill wasn't particularly advanced, but it was more than enough to search such a small area.

Soon, Mori Kazuhiro's body shuddered. In an instant, he felt as though he had become weightless, floating lightly out of the building.

Then he was astonished to discover that the wooden walls no longer blocked his view. He could directly "see" what was happening inside every room.

Some rooms were empty. In others, courtesans were seductively demonstrating their sensuality and allure. And in still others, the main attractions had already given in to their yearning for art and begun performing a "dance duet."

"Sir, I found her!" Mori Kazuhiro had barely cried out in delight when his body shuddered again.

"Sister!" Mori Kazuhiro's eyes flew open. His emotions erupted like an oil drum set alight.

"Sir! My sister..." Tears burst from his eyes.

"Tell me where she is!" Souya's expression remained unchanged as he gently patted Mori Kazuhiro, helping him calm down.

Before long, a shrill scream rang out through Hashiya Town. Then a Golden Cloud rose into the sky and flew away.

When people rushed into the room where the scream had come from, all they saw was a bloody pulp, so thoroughly smashed that it was impossible to tell what it had once been.

The incident caused an enormous uproar, and undercurrents began stirring throughout the region.

After all, the Five Great Nations were now embroiled in a tense state of war, with each country making move after move against the others.

The Land of Artisans had profited greatly from this. The craftsmen there produced all sorts of ninja tools, which were in high demand thanks to their unique and superb skills.

The great clans who controlled the Land of Artisans had made a fortune. This was one reason why the western city was more prosperous than ever.

The higher-ups of various factions began analyzing the cause of the incident.

Some even suspected it was a probe by the Land of Wind, intended to pave the way for an attempt to annex the Land of Artisans.

As for the idea that someone had simply acted to save a courtesan, the higher-ups scoffed at it.

Immersed in a life of luxury and pleasure, they never saw the ordinary people suffering behind the city's prosperity, forced to sell their children just to get by. To them, the common folk were nothing more than tools to exploit.

If public anger grew too intense, all they had to do was steer it elsewhere, redirect the resentment, and grant the people a few small favors. After all, under their "wise and diligent rule" over all these years, most commoners had ended up as paupers.

The coastal region southeast of the Land of Artisans was very unusual. A small active volcano stood there, leaving the terrain barren and desolate.

Heat shimmered up from the ground, as if it could cook a person alive. No ordinary creature could survive there.

But a genius born in the Land of Artisans had once come up with the idea of using the volcanic region to aid in smelting.

Through the efforts of that genius and a large group of craftsmen, they had actually managed to make the audacious idea a reality.

After mapping out the volcano's veins, they dug a series of smelting chambers into the ground along the edge of the island.

The chamber walls were built from heat-resistant Black Steel Stone, which shielded them from the terrifying heat constantly radiating from the volcanic magma.

They had also brought in a Barrier Master to set up a barrier that tightly contained the magma's heat inside the smelting furnaces. This had raised the temperature inside the furnaces by another level.

On the other side of each smelting chamber was a switch that could channel distilled seawater inside to cool the tools. With a nearly unlimited supply of seawater, the smelting process had become much faster.

Sasori was currently in one of the smelting chambers. Though he was merely a Puppet Master, he was still awed by the creators' boundless imagination and audacity.

The dark green stone chamber reflected a deep red glow. In front of him, three bare-chested men wearing nothing but sweatpants held an assortment of smelting tools.

Ahead of them was a hollow that looked like a passage leading underground. But anyone who looked inside would have no desire to climb down.

The hollow was filled with bright red magma. In some places, the slow-moving flow had already taken on a golden hue.

The three men, their faces blank, turned a curved switch beside the opening. A burst of white-blue flame suddenly flared up from the hollow. The moment it appeared, the air itself seemed unable to withstand its scorching heat, warping around it.

A flame seemed to flare in Sasori's eyes, too. He set several scrolls down behind him, and with a few puffs of smoke—

Two corpses, three blades, and two sets of human-shaped bones appeared on the ground.

The two skeletons were remarkably unusual. They weren't a ghastly white; instead, they were a beautiful shade of purple. One was darker than the other.

Of the blades, one was covered from end to end in dark blue spikes. Its surface was wrapped in layers of black markings, keeping it from moving.

"I never expected the metals here to be so varied. That'll save me a lot of work..." Sasori looked toward the pile of ores in the corner.

"If I have this made according to the plans, the ninja tool should really be able to store and absorb Chakra..." Sasori spread out his hand and looked over several blueprints again.

After an unknown amount of time, Sasori heard someone enter. Without turning around, he said calmly, "You're here? Let's get started."

"This forging will require your Sealing Technique, too..."

Souya had just entered. He looked around curiously and gave a casual reply.

Sasori put away the blueprints. Then, with a slight movement of his fingers, the three men standing in front of them began to move. It turned out the three blacksmiths had been under Sasori's control all along.

"Let's begin!" Sasori stared at the opening, his eyes burning with excitement.