Of course, with Kurenai Yuhi's experience, her strength might have met the standard after years of training under Nara Dan, but honestly, she was still a little short on mission experience.
But the old Third had hinted at it, and this was also a way of compensating him for not giving him the Eight Gates.
Nara Dan accepted the favor.
Before long, a servant brought in a hard, black object: Chakra Metal.
It was the five jin of Chakra Metal Nara Dan had previously traded for from the Third.
He hadn't used it up yet.
For one thing, it was a drop in the bucket; he was still far from the hundred jin he needed.
He needed far more than this to upgrade Copper Skin and Iron Bones to a purple Entry. He might as well put it to some other use.
"This is Chakra Metal?!"
Kurenai Yuhi naturally recognized such a precious material. Even her father had only been allotted one jin.
Chakra Metal was so dense that one jin was enough to make, at most, a Shuriken.
That was why most Chakra weapons were merely mixed with a little Chakra Metal.
Judging by its size, this piece of Chakra Metal weighed a full five or six jin.
"Exactly. Just watch."
Nara Dan took the Chakra Metal from the servant.
He rubbed it between his hands. The Chakra Metal, harder than refined iron and more resilient than gold or silver, began to squish and stretch like dough in his hands.
Nara Dan kneaded it back and forth, as if molding putty.
Under Kurenai Yuhi's incredulous gaze,
he shaped the five jin of Chakra Metal into a black short sword, about the same size as Kakashi's.
Finally, Nara Dan pinched the blade between his thumb and forefinger and lightly ran them along its edge.
Chakra, condensed to the utmost degree, surged from his fingertips. Its deep blue glow scraped against the hard Chakra Metal, ringing out with a metallic clang.
At a microscopic level, he shaved away a thin layer of Chakra Metal, leaving only a keen edge.
Nara Dan nodded in satisfaction and gave the newly made blade a couple of light swings.
It whistled through the air, so sharp it seemed capable of cutting the air itself.
In just a few minutes, using Chakra condensed to the utmost degree and exquisite control, Nara Dan had forged a Chakra Blade from nothing with his bare hands, without any tools.
In the entire Ninja World, apart from the Sage of Six Paths, who could create things from nothing through his mastery of Yin-Yang Release, there was hardly anyone else capable of this.
"Give it a try."
Nara Dan smiled at Kurenai Yuhi.
Kurenai Yuhi gazed at the Chakra Blade with delight.
She knew how valuable it was. Ordinary Chakra tools were only mixed with a little Chakra Metal, but this blade was made entirely of it. Just in terms of cost, it was worth as much as the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist.
It had to be worth at least seventy or eighty million ryo.
By the Ninja World's usual standards, it was probably worth as much as two or three Asumas.
Kurenai Yuhi carefully took the hilt and tentatively swung the blade a few times.
It wasn't heavy; the weight was just right for a woman.
"And then..."
Kurenai Yuhi's expression turned serious. She infused the blade with Chakra and lightly swung it forward.
A visible Chakra blade shot from its tip.
"Whoosh!"
It sliced through the air at tremendous speed and struck a tree ahead.
A deep gash appeared in the trunk.
If it had hit someone, severing their tendons and breaking their bones would have been easy.
Kurenai Yuhi gauged how much Chakra she had used. She'd lost a small portion of her reserves—
about as much as a C-rank jutsu. She could use it as a regular technique.
Yet this Chakra blade was far sharper and faster than a C-rank jutsu, making it much more powerful in battle.
More importantly, it required no Hand Seals.
That was what good equipment could do. With this blade, even an ordinary Jonin could fight on equal terms with an opponent until their Chakra ran out.
So the claim that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist could join forces to kill a village's Kage wasn't entirely a boast.
"Red, how—mmph!"
Before Nara Dan could ask if Kurenai Yuhi was satisfied,
a fragrant breeze swept over him and left him speechless. Even a God-Seeing Realm expert couldn't get a word out.
Someone had sealed his lips with a powerful technique.
When Kurenai Yuhi came to her senses, she blushed and stood silently to one side.
Nara Dan licked his lips and thought,
This girl actually has a lot of potential.
She just needs a little more development.
Becoming a great kunoichi like Tsunade wouldn't be difficult.
Although he was momentarily excited, the control he'd gained at the God-Seeing Indestructibility level quickly calmed him down.
He thought of something else.
"Red, let me have the blade again."
Kurenai Yuhi paused, then handed it over.
Nara Dan took the blade and stared at it intently, as if passing something into it.
A sudden, inexplicable chill ran through Kurenai Yuhi. Nara Dan seemed to have transformed back into the ferocious beast he'd been before—
no, something even more terrifying, a creature entirely above humanity.
His powerful Life Magnetic Field flared, then vanished.
"All done."
Nara Dan handed the Chakra Blade back and explained,
"I sealed a technique inside it."
"It can knock out any ninja below Jonin rank on the spot."
"Even a Jonin..."
"Would lose the ability to fight back if struck by it."
Nara Dan had adapted the method used in the First's Sealing Technique.
Of course, Nara Dan wasn't Ashura reincarnated. He couldn't directly create objects with Chakra properties, like Wood Release, to contain the technique.
So he had to use Chakra Metal, which could also hold Chakra, to seal the technique inside. It certainly wasn't as effective as Wood Release, though.
As for the technique he'd sealed, it was a strand of his own will-infused Chakra.
The calligraphy and paintings left behind by God-Seeing Indestructibility masters could awe ordinary people.
A powerful will carried by Chakra could produce an effect close to Nara Dan releasing his Life Magnetic Field: Coercion at full strength.
It was enough to save Kurenai Yuhi's life in a crisis on the battlefield.
Kurenai Yuhi took the Chakra Blade back, eyes wide with wonder.
"Chakra Metal can do that?!"
Nara Dan nodded. Chakra Metal was extremely versatile.
The Chakra Cannon the Cloud Ninja made later was also built from Chakra Metal.
Chakra Metal had the rare property of storing Chakra without any loss, allowing a stable Chakra nature or shape transformation to form inside it.
It was just too expensive to be as practical as an Explosive Tag.
After talking for so long, Kurenai Yuhi finally left, thoroughly satisfied. Nara Dan glanced around the room Tsunade had been in earlier.
It wasn't that he missed Tsunade's measurements.
All right, Nara Dan admitted that was part of it.
But more than anything, he was thinking about something else Tsunade possessed—
the Yin Seal.
Here's the second short update. I hope you'll go easy on me, everyone!
Don't be picky!!!
Before you continue