First Artifact Refinement

The group began using ninjutsu one after another. Although their efforts lacked the sheer scale of Jiraiya and Shisui Uchiha, they were significantly faster than before. As for the areas further from the coast, those were left to Jiraiya and Shisui Uchiha to handle.

If they couldn't clear it in one go, they would do it twice, continuing until every last bit of debris was removed.

As for Naruto Uzumaki, he took Hinata back to the altar. Now that Hinata had emerged, he could finally teach her the cultivation techniques.

Naruto Uzumaki gave Hinata two cultivation techniques and one martial skill.

Myriad Spirit Longevity Art, Zha Yin Art, and Heart-Destroying Palm.

Children of great clans began training chakra at the age of three, and Hinata was no exception. He gave her the Myriad Spirit Longevity Art to help her replenish her lost vitality.

The spiritual energy cultivated by the Zha Yin Art possessed a soft and feminine quality; it was a technique Naruto Uzumaki had spent a long time searching for.

The Heart-Destroying Palm allowed spiritual energy to vibrate, increasing the destructive power of hidden force. When this hidden force was struck into an enemy's body, it would wreak havoc on their internal organs.

Hinata had practiced the Gentle Fist since she was young, so she was already well-versed in the use of hidden force. This was the reason Naruto Uzumaki gave her the Heart-Destroying Palm.

Naruto Uzumaki took Hinata to Muyuan Town, checked into an inn, and left a Flying Thunder God mark in the bathroom. After Hinata prepared her change of clothes, Naruto Uzumaki used the Flying Thunder God to bring her to the place where Jiraiya had previously used the Myriad Spirit Longevity Art.

This was the location with the densest Wood Spirit Qi that Naruto Uzumaki had encountered so far; using the Myriad Spirit Longevity Art here would yield twice the result with half the effort.

Naruto Uzumaki had already explained to Hinata what would happen during her first use of the Myriad Spirit Longevity Art, so Hinata took off her Hokage Cloak and handed it to him.

After Naruto Uzumaki nodded in acknowledgment, Hinata sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Myriad Spirit Longevity Art. Because she was still young and had only been training chakra for three years, she hadn't lost much vitality.

The Wood Spirit Qi she gathered wasn't as exaggerated as Jiraiya's, nor did it take as long; Hinata finished absorbing the Wood Spirit Qi in about two hours.

Hinata had also completed the process of cleansing her marrow and cutting her tendons. As soon as she opened her eyes, Naruto Uzumaki stepped forward and brought her back to the room they had rented.

After exiting the bathroom, Naruto Uzumaki lay down in the room to wait for Hinata. After a long while, Hinata finally walked out.

Hearing the sound of the Space Gate, Naruto Uzumaki looked up and saw that Hinata's skin had become even fairer. He couldn't help but step forward and pinch her cheek.

Hinata's face turned red, but she looked at Naruto Uzumaki without stopping him.

Hinata had always possessed a pleasant, faint fragrance, somewhat like lavender. Naruto Uzumaki noticed the scent had become even more intense, and he took a deep breath through his nose.

Hearing Naruto Uzumaki sniff, Hinata's face turned even redder as she whispered, "Naruto-kun..."

Naruto Uzumaki scratched his head and said, "Ahem, well, Hinata, your scent is just too good, I couldn't help myself, hehe."

"Is, is it? I didn't notice," Hinata replied softly.

Naruto Uzumaki nodded and said, "Let's not talk about that for now, let's head back."

After Hinata nodded, Naruto Uzumaki took her hand and returned to the Land of Whirlpools.

He then had Hinata practice at the altar. Once she entered a meditative state, Naruto Uzumaki left a Shadow Clone to watch over her and headed out.

Arriving at the ruins, Jiraiya looked at him with a knowing smile and said, "You brat."

He had sensed the fluctuations of spiritual energy the moment Hinata began absorbing it, so he naturally knew what had happened.

Naruto Uzumaki didn't speak, just gave a sheepish grin before joining the cleanup effort.

Two days later, everything that needed to be cleared was gone. After filling in all the pits on the ground, the entire island's surface became perfectly level.

Because they had used ninjutsu to clear the area, there wasn't much vegetation left on the island.

Returning to the underground altar, the group sat cross-legged. Jiraiya glanced at Naruto Uzumaki, who then nodded and said, "Now, let's arrange the next set of tasks."

Everyone nodded, indicating they were ready.

"Shisui Uchiha, go to the Land of Waves and find a man named Gato. Once you've located where he keeps all his assets, send me a message, and I will head over immediately," Naruto Uzumaki said to Shisui Uchiha.

Shisui Uchiha nodded and replied that he understood.

Naruto Uzumaki then turned to Sakon and Tayuya and said, "Take some gold coins and go to the Land of Waves with Shisui Uchiha. Once you arrive, split up. Your job is to find workers skilled in construction, give them a deposit, and bring them back. Naturally, the more, the better."

Naruto Uzumaki then looked at the others. "Kidomaru, Ichirobo, you two are responsible for digging a new downward passage next to the altar. You don't need to dig too deep for now, just about five meters. Once that's done, dig out some cells along the sides of the passage."

One of them could grow four extra arms, and the other was known as the Hercules; it would be a waste not to use their abilities for excavation.

Naruto Uzumaki then looked at Hinata and said, "Hinata, you are responsible for preparing food for everyone every day."

Finally, Naruto Uzumaki looked at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, you are responsible for building a slightly larger structure above the entrance. As for how big, you decide."

"Pervy Sage, give Shisui Uchiha a toad for communication," Naruto Uzumaki said, turning to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya nodded and summoned two communication toads, handing one to Shisui Uchiha and placing the other to the side.

Seeing this, Naruto Uzumaki stood up and said, "That's it. Everyone, begin your tasks."

The group dispersed, leaving only Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata, and Jiraiya behind.

Jiraiya then said to Naruto Uzumaki, "Let's head to Muyuan Town first; there are many things we need to prepare."

Naruto Uzumaki nodded, took Hinata and Jiraiya, and arrived at Muyuan Town.

They began to wander through the town. It contained goods from various nations, and they were able to purchase most of the basic supplies they needed.

They first went to the largest grain store in Muyuan Town, buying a large quantity of long-lasting food, oil, and various seasonings. Upon seeing the cart the grain store used for deliveries, Naruto Uzumaki bought that as well.

He had people load the cart, and once it was full, Naruto Uzumaki created several Shadow Clones to push the cart into an empty alleyway, where he used the Flying Thunder God to transport it back to the altar.

He then had the Shadow Clones sort and store the supplies from the cart before returning to the town himself.

After returning, they continued to purchase supplies, and by evening, they had acquired everything they needed.

They then returned to the altar, where the items Naruto Uzumaki had transported using the Flying Thunder God were already sorted and stored by his shadow clones.

Thus, when they arrived, all the various supplies had been neatly arranged by category.

After calling the remaining people over to have dinner, they each returned to their respective tasks.

Hinata went to the food section to begin preparing the items needed for tomorrow's breakfast.

Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya went to the other side, where some iron blocks and a set of forging equipment were laid out.

Naruto Uzumaki then created shadow clones to move these iron blocks and equipment into the space where the Death God Mask had previously been kept.

The items that had been there were moved elsewhere by Orochimaru, leaving the space completely empty.

Afterward, Naruto Uzumaki retrieved some Chakra Conductive Metal. Having finished these tasks, he nodded at Jiraiya and retreated to the entrance to watch.

Jiraiya did not waste any words and immediately began the forging process, gathering spiritual energy in his hands before drawing out the flames from the vortex of energy.

The flames condensed between his palms, and as he infused them with spiritual energy, the fire grew larger and the heat became increasingly intense.

Jiraiya then used his spiritual energy to levitate the Chakra Conductive Metal, which quickly melted into a liquid state.

As for the impurities within, Jiraiya controlled the scorching flames to burn them away into a wisp of black smoke.

Upon sensing that there were no more impurities left in the liquid, Jiraiya controlled the intensity of the flames and slowly lowered the temperature.

He then channeled his internal spiritual energy toward the liquid, continuously increasing its intensity to shape the metal as it slowly solidified.

In the end, two hammers lay before Jiraiya; the larger one was 1.5 meters long, its massive head covered in spikes, giving the entire weapon a ferocious appearance.

The smaller one resembled a standard forging hammer and appeared quite ordinary.

Once the hammers had completely cooled, Jiraiya withdrew his spiritual energy, and both hammers dropped to the ground.

The larger hammer struck the floor with a loud bang, leaving a deep crater in its wake.

Jiraiya stepped forward with a hearty laugh, lifted the hammer from the crater, infused it with spiritual energy, and looked at Naruto Uzumaki, saying, "Do you want to give it a try?"

Hearing Jiraiya's question, Naruto Uzumaki swallowed hard and looked at him speechlessly.

Seeing this, Jiraiya just laughed and said nothing more. He carried the two hammers to the forging equipment; since the weapons had just been forged, the entire surface was black, so he still needed to polish them.

As he polished, the spikes on the hammerhead became smoother, and the entire body of the hammer turned a bright, silvery color.

Only then did Naruto Uzumaki step forward, looking at the cold, gleaming hammer, and say, "Pervy Sage, is it my turn next?"

Jiraiya nodded and replied, "Don't worry, I'll forge yours right away."

At this stage, due to the lack of special metals and insufficient experience in artifact refining, the weapons he forged could only be considered ordinary compared to those recorded in the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining.

However, in the current ninja world, these could already be considered rare treasures.

After completing the final steps, Jiraiya began forging again. When Naruto Uzumaki had given him the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining, he had expressed his desire for a halberd.

After reviewing the weapon designs in the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining, Jiraiya had selected a model for him.

However, the halberd recorded in the book required too many special materials, and if it were forged to those specifications, Naruto Uzumaki would not be able to wield it.

Therefore, he intended to use the Chakra Conductive Metal to forge the shape of that halberd, scaling the size to fit Naruto Uzumaki's current stature.

. The work Naruto: Starting with Asura Chakra is provided by the great Ti Ta.