Miscellaneous Affairs in the Land of Artisans

"Hmm... I see..." Ruri murmured thoughtfully.

The Land of Artisans had been a neutral country since ancient times, supplying large quantities of ninja tools to shinobi. After the major ninja villages were established, it formed long-term friendly trade relations with them. They did not even think much of small villages like Takigakure; Takigakure Ninja could only purchase their ninja tools through middlemen...

But a month ago, something major happened in the Land of Artisans. For some reason, an artisan named Seimei obtained the Daimyo's permission to establish Takumigakure. The artisan families of the country did not oppose the establishment of a ninja village, but they strongly opposed this unknown artisan, Seimei, becoming the Leader of Takumigakure.

At first, amid the opposition from the various families, Seimei seemed prepared to give up. Yet for some reason, a few days later, Seimei not only insisted on becoming the leader of Takumigakure, but also demanded that every major family hand over their inherited ninja tools and forging techniques.

Naturally, the major families fiercely opposed him. However, the next day, the Hojo Clan, which had protested the loudest, was wiped out. The Hojo clan head's severed head was found in a forge, his eyes wide open in death.

After that, Seimei continued demanding ninja tools from the other families. The difference was that he now carried another sword on his back—the Hojo Clan's inherited treasured blade, Onimaru Kunitsuna.

Some yielded, while others continued resisting. Those who resisted had to do more than resist; they also had to guard against slaughter that could arrive at any moment. Three days ago, the Miike Clan was wiped out, with no survivors. As the head of the last family still resisting, Sanjo Munetachi had no choice but to personally flee the Land of Artisans and seek outside help, hoping to kill Seimei and eliminate the threat once and for all.

In short, the situation in the Land of Artisans was complicated. Ruri had to consider whether to get involved, and whether accepting this mission would bring profit or loss.

Sanjo Munetachi watched Ruri nervously. Takigakure was actually the third village he had visited. He had already gone to Konoha and Iwagakure, but both villages believed the cost outweighed the gains and rejected his commission. It was only while passing through the Land of Waterfalls that he thought of Takigakure, of the Takikage who could fight the God of Shinobi. Such a newly risen ninja village had strength but lacked prestige. Perhaps they might accept his commission.

"Tell me about the mission reward. This is at least an S-rank mission. I hope you can offer stakes worthy of it." More than ten days earlier, Hagane Masamasa had successfully forged Thousand-Refined Steel with the support of a large quantity of iron ore. However, his forging skill was truly mediocre. Such precious Thousand-Refined Steel could not be ruined by shoddy craftsmanship, so he had introduced Ruri to the Land of Artisans.

The artisans of the Land of Artisans were beyond question when it came to forging, especially the Three Great Families: Hojo, Sanjo, and Miike. If they could learn those families' forging techniques, they would certainly be able to use Thousand-Refined Steel to forge treasured blades no worse than legendary heirloom swords.

Therefore, Ruri had already planned to visit the Land of Artisans to acquire its techniques. As for talent, he did not trust anyone else with it. So if Sanjo Munetachi could offer sufficient stakes for killing Seimei, he did not mind making a move along the way. But only if there was something to gain. Takigakure could not make an enemy of the Land of Artisans for nothing. Ruri only wanted techniques and talent; it made no difference whom he worked with. Meanwhile, Seimei was the Leader of Takumigakure recognized by the Daimyo of the Land of Artisans.

"This sword will serve as the reward..." Sanjo Munetachi took the long cloth-wrapped bundle from his back and handed it to Ruri. He had heard of Ruri's feat of slicing through a waterfall with One-Blade Slash. Though he did not quite believe it, Ruri's mastery of Kenjutsu had to be extraordinary. He believed that before this famous blade, Ruri would very likely compromise.

Ruri unwrapped the bundle and drew the sword from its sheath. Crescent-shaped patterns were arranged along the blade's temper line. It was none other than the legendary famous sword, Mikazuki Munechika.

As one of the three great famous blades, Mikazuki Munechika truly made Ruri drool. He lacked a sufficiently powerful tachi as a weapon. An ordinary tachi could not withstand the sword intent of his Iaijutsu. If Thousand-Refined Steel had not yet been successfully forged, Ruri might have accepted the mission without another word. But Thousand-Refined Steel had now been forged. As long as they possessed sufficiently exquisite sword-forging techniques, they could forge a new famous blade. Even in the worst case, if the Hagane Clan studied it for thirty or forty years, the result would not be too bad.

Seeing that Ruri still had not reacted, Munetachi's heart sank. This was just like when he had faced the Hokage and Tsuchikage before. The reward was insufficient; they did not think it was worth their while. But he had no choice. This was the greatest sincerity he could offer.

"If Lord Takikage accepts the commission, not only will Mikazuki Munechika be given as payment, but also the Hojo family's heirloom blade, Onimaru Kunitsuna, and the Miike family's heirloom blade, Odenta Mitsuyo. They will all belong to you..." Munetachi swallowed hard, his heart filled with unease. Onimaru Kunitsuna and Odenta Mitsuyo were not his at all. Whoever killed Seimei would claim those two swords as spoils of war; they had nothing to do with him. But he truly had no other choice.

Mikazuki Munechika, Odenta Mitsuyo, and Onimaru Kunitsuna were known as the three great heirloom blades. Cursed Blade Muramasa was exceptionally strange and thus not included among them, yet it was no inferior to the three great famous blades. These four swords were second only to the Kusanagi Sword, which was hailed as a divine artifact. Now that he could obtain three out of those four blades at once, Ruri was indeed tempted.

Though these famous blades could not compare in utility to the seven ninja swords of the future Kirigakure, how could such renowned swords passed down since the age of samurai be taken lightly? As long as one's mastery of Kenjutsu reached a certain level, wielding any one of them could raise one's combat strength by an entire tier!

Ruri weighed the pros and cons. Munetachi did not dare interrupt him and waited quietly for his answer.

"I agree. I will personally carry out this mission. The three swords will be my reward, but I have three additional conditions."

Ruri finally spoke. Although he had agreed, he nearly frightened Munetachi out of his wits. Three conditions? He was already penniless. What else could he possibly use as payment?

"Lord Takikage, please speak." Even so, Munetachi forced himself to answer. If this Takikage, who had confronted the God of Shinobi head-on, personally took action, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance that Seimei could be killed. This was his last hope.

"First, Mikazuki Munechika must be handed over to me in advance as payment. Regardless of whether the mission succeeds or fails, it will belong to Takigakure. Second, you must not reveal to anyone that you commissioned Takigakure to kill Seimei, much less say that I personally carried out the mission. Third, after the mission is completed, the entire Sanjo Clan will relocate to Takigakure. Of course, publicly, you will announce that you have come to join Takigakure, and Takigakure will treat you equally." Ruri's conditions were clear. First, it could strengthen their combat power and improve the mission's chance of success. Second, it could conceal information and preserve the relationship between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Artisans as much as possible. Third, the Sanjo Clan's arrival would greatly strengthen Takigakure's foundation. There would not even be any need to acquire forging techniques—they could simply give the Thousand-Refined Steel to them.

There would indeed be some trouble in personally carrying out the mission, but no one else in the village had the strength to complete it. It would also be good to let his assistant handle village affairs and sharpen his abilities. When a great war broke out in the Shinobi World in the future, there would inevitably be times when Ruri was away from the village.

"This..." This time, Munetachi hesitated. The first and second conditions were easy enough, but the third put him in a difficult position. Besides being famous for forging, the Sanjo Clan was also a samurai family. They had long developed feelings for every blade of grass and tree in the Land of Artisans. The spirit of bushido made it difficult to leave one's homeland. Even if death was a possibility, they would not easily abandon their home. Even if he agreed, persuading his clansmen would be difficult.