Trifles of the Land of Artisans

"Hmm... I see..." Ruri mused.

The Land of Artisans had been a neutral nation since ancient times, providing a vast array of ninja tools to the shinobi world. After the major ninja villages were established, they had built long-term, friendly trade relations. They looked down on small villages like Takigakure, leaving the Takigakure Ninja to rely on middlemen for their supplies.

However, a major event occurred in the Land of Artisans a month ago. A craftsman named Seimei somehow obtained permission from the Daimyo to establish the Takumigakure. The various artisan clans within the country did not oppose the creation of a ninja village, but they were vehemently against this unknown craftsman, Seimei, serving as its leader.

Initially, faced with the opposition of the various clans, Seimei seemed to have thoughts of giving up. Yet, for some unknown reason, a few days later, not only did he insist on becoming the leader of Takumigakure, but he also demanded that all the major clans hand over their heirloom ninja tools and forging techniques to him.

The clans naturally resisted strongly, but the very next day, the Hojo Clan, the loudest in their opposition, was wiped out. The head of the Hojo patriarch was found inside a forge, his eyes wide open in a state of death-defying resentment.

After this incident, Seimei continued to demand ninja tools from the other clans. The only difference was that he now carried a sword on his back—the very heirloom of the Hojo Clan, the Onimaru Kunitsuna.

Some compromised, while others continued to resist. Those who resisted had to be on guard against the slaughter that could arrive at any moment. Three days ago, the Miike Clan was exterminated, with no survivors. As the patriarch of the last resisting clan, the Sanjo Clan, Sanjo Munetachi had no choice but to flee the Land of Artisans himself to seek outside help, hoping to eliminate Seimei and nip the threat in the bud.

In short, the situation in the Land of Artisans was complex. Ruri had to consider whether to get involved and whether accepting this mission would ultimately be a benefit or a liability.

Sanjo Munetachi watched Ruri nervously. In truth, Takigakure was already the third village he had visited. He had been to Konoha and Iwagakure, but both villages felt the effort did not justify the reward and had rejected his request. While passing through the Land of Waterfalls, he thought of Takigakure and the Takikage, who could go toe-to-toe with the God of Shinobi. Such an emerging ninja village had the strength but lacked prestige; perhaps they would accept his commission.

"Tell me about the reward for the mission. It is at least an S-rank mission; I hope you can produce a stake that corresponds to that." More than ten days ago, with the support of a large amount of iron ore, Hagane Masamasa had successfully forged Thousand-Refined Steel. However, his own forging skills were mediocre at best. He couldn't let such precious Thousand-Refined Steel be ruined by subpar craftsmanship, so he had introduced the Land of Artisans to Ruri.

The forging skills of the artisans in the Land of Artisans were beyond reproach, especially those of the three great clans: Hojo, Sanjo, and Miike. If he could learn their forging techniques, he would certainly be able to use the Thousand-Refined Steel to forge treasures no less impressive than legendary blades.

Therefore, Ruri had already intended to visit the Land of Artisans. He did not trust others to acquire such techniques and talent. Thus, if Sanjo Munetachi could provide a stake worth killing Seimei for, he wouldn't mind taking action along the way. But the prerequisite was that it had to be profitable. Takigakure could not afford to antagonize the Land of Artisans for nothing. Ruri only wanted the techniques and the talent; it didn't matter who he cooperated with, even if Seimei was the leader of Takumigakure recognized by the Daimyo.

"Take this sword as the reward..." Sanjo Munetachi took out the long cloth bundle from his back and handed it to Ruri. He had heard the legend of Ruri cutting a waterfall in half with a single strike. Although he didn't quite believe it, Ruri's swordsmanship must be profound, so he felt that in the face of this famous blade, Ruri would likely compromise.

Ruri unwrapped the cloth and drew the sword from its scabbard. Along the blade, a crescent-moon-shaped pattern ran through the temper line. It was the legendary blade, Mikazuki Munechika.

As one of the three great famous blades, the Mikazuki Munechika was indeed something Ruri coveted. He was currently lacking a sufficiently powerful katana as a weapon; his Iaijutsu sword intent was not something an ordinary katana could withstand. If the Thousand-Refined Steel had not been successfully forged, Ruri likely would have accepted the mission without a second thought. But now that the steel was ready, as long as he had sufficiently exquisite forging techniques, he could forge a new famous blade. At the very worst, he could let the Hagane Clan study it for thirty or forty years, and the results wouldn't be too bad.

Seeing Ruri remain unresponsive for so long, Munetachi's heart sank. This was the same as when he faced the Hokage and the Tsuchikage—the reward wasn't enough, and they weren't interested. But he had no choice; this was the greatest sincerity he could offer.

"If the Takikage accepts the commission, not only will the Mikazuki Munechika be the reward, but the Hojo Clan's heirloom, the Onimaru Kunitsuna, and the Miike Clan's heirloom, the Odenta Mitsuyo, will all belong to you..." Munetachi swallowed hard. He felt extremely uneasy. The Onimaru Kunitsuna and the Odenta Mitsuyo were not his to give; whoever killed Seimei would take these two swords as spoils of war, regardless of him. But he was truly out of options.

Mikazuki Munechika, Odenta Mitsuyo, and Onimaru Kunitsuna—these three were known as the three great legendary blades. The cursed blade Muramasa was not included in this list due to its extreme malevolence, though it was no less powerful than the three. These four blades were second only to the legendary Kusanagi Sword. Now, having the chance to obtain three of the four at once, Ruri was indeed tempted.

Although these famous blades could not compare in utility to the seven ninja swords of Kirigakure, they were legendary blades passed down since the age of the samurai. How could they be anything less than extraordinary? As long as one's swordsmanship reached a certain realm, holding any one of these blades could elevate one's combat power by an entire level!

Ruri weighed the pros and cons. Munetachi did not dare to interrupt him, waiting quietly for an answer.

"I agree. I will execute this mission personally. The three blades will be the reward, but I have three conditions."

Ruri finally spoke. Although he had agreed, his words startled Munetachi. Three conditions? He was already penniless and had nothing left to offer as a reward!

"Takikage-sama, please speak." Despite this, Munetachi braced himself and replied. If this Takikage, who could go head-to-head with the God of Shinobi, took action personally, there was an eight or nine-tenths chance he could kill Seimei. This was his last hope.

"First, the Mikazuki Munechika must be handed over to me in advance as the reward; regardless of whether the mission succeeds or fails, it belongs to Takigakure. Second, you must not disclose to anyone that you commissioned Takigakure to kill Seimei, and you must never say that I personally carried out the mission. Third, after the mission is completed, the entire Sanjo Clan must relocate to Takigakure. Of course, you will announce to the public that you are defecting to Takigakure, and Takigakure will treat you as equals." Ruri's conditions were clear. The first would strengthen his combat power and increase the probability of mission success. The second would hide information to maintain the relationship between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Artisans as much as possible. The third would greatly strengthen the foundation of Takigakure; he wouldn't even need to acquire the forging techniques—he could just hand the Thousand-Refined Steel over to them.

As for him personally going on the mission, it would indeed cause some trouble, but there was no one else in the village with the strength to complete it. Letting his assistants handle affairs to hone their abilities was also good; in the event of a future ninja world war, there would inevitably be times when he was not in the village.

"This..." Now it was Munetachi's turn to hesitate. The first and second conditions were easy to agree to, but the third put him in a difficult position. Aside from being famous for forging, the Sanjo Clan was also a family of samurai. They had long held deep affection for every blade of grass and tree in the Land of Artisans. The spirit of Bushido made it hard to leave one's homeland; even with the threat of death, they would not easily abandon their home. Even if he were willing, persuading his clansmen would be a difficult task.