He Was Worth It

"Those three hammer strikes just now were my first time."

Guy told the truth.

Uchiha Tao Ye's mouth twitched.

He had learned it in three hammer strikes?

He looked into Guy's eyes.

Those eyes were bright, yet calm—without pride or showmanship.

It was as though he had merely done something completely ordinary.

Uchiha Tao Ye suddenly recalled something Obito's mother had once said.

"A true genius isn't someone who knows everything from birth. They're someone who learns faster than anyone else."

He looked at those ten blanks.

Each one was better than the last.

The final one was better than what many apprentices who had worked for a year could forge.

Then he looked at Guy again.

This kid was only seven!

"Second Uncle?"

Obito edged closer and carefully asked, "Um... can he stay?"

Uchiha Tao Ye ignored him.

He looked at Guy.

"You said you didn't need wages, as long as I provided one meal?"

Guy nodded.

"That's right."

"Any other requests?"

Guy thought for a moment.

"Three."

Uchiha Tao Ye raised a brow. "Go on."

"First, I'll come here every day after school. I'll eat dinner here."

Uchiha Tao Ye nodded. "Fine."

"Second, after I finish my work, let me practice with a blade here during the remaining time."

Uchiha Tao Ye froze. "Practice with a blade?"

Guy nodded.

"Practice with a blade. The rejected defective pieces will do, or even scrap that can't be used for forging."

Uchiha Tao Ye looked at the pile of scrap in the corner.

Those things were usually thrown away as garbage.

This kid wanted that stuff?

"Fine. I was going to throw it out anyway. If you want it, it's yours."

"Third."

Guy looked at him.

"Let's try it for one month first. If you think I'm good enough after a month, I'll keep working. If not, I'll leave."

Uchiha Tao Ye fell silent for several seconds.

Then he smiled.

It was the kind of smile he had not worn in a long time.

"Fine. It's settled, then."

He held out his hand.

Guy reached out as well.

Smack.

One large hand and one small hand clasped together.

Watching from the side, Obito suddenly remembered something.

He opened his mouth, wanting to speak.

But after glancing at Guy, he closed it again.

Forget it.

It was only one month, anyway.

At most, we'd only lose money for a month.

That night.

Guy sat in a corner of the shed with a huge bowl before him.

The bowl was filled to the brim with rice, topped with two grilled fish, a heap of pickles, and a large ladleful of miso soup.

He picked up his chopsticks.

Time to eat.

Uchiha Tao Ye sat beside him, wiping away sweat as he watched him eat.

First bowl.

Thirty seconds.

Second bowl.

Forty seconds.

Third bowl.

One minute.

Fourth bowl.

Fifth bowl.

Sixth bowl.

Uchiha Tao Ye stopped wiping his sweat.

He looked at the stack of empty bowls, then at Guy's stomach.

How was that stomach... still flat?

"Second Uncle."

Obito leaned in and spoke quietly.

"Um... I forgot to tell you something."

Uchiha Tao Ye turned to look at him.

"What is it?"

Obito swallowed.

"Guy... eats a lot."

Uchiha Tao Ye blinked.

"I know. Isn't that normal? He worked for half the day. Eating six bowls..."

Before he could finish.

Seventh bowl.

Eighth bowl.

Ninth bowl.

Guy picked up the tenth bowl.

Uchiha Tao Ye's mouth fell open.

He looked at the pile of empty bowls, then at Guy's face, which was still chewing away.

Suddenly, he felt a little sorry for himself.

This kid...

Could he eat three people's daily food in one meal?

Guy finished the tenth bowl and set down his chopsticks.

He looked up.

He saw Second Uncle's stiff expression.

He grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Thanks for the meal!"

Uchiha Tao Ye's mouth twitched.

He wanted to say something.

But when he saw the sincerity in Guy's eyes, he swallowed the words back down.

Forget it.

He had agreed to provide him a meal.

What was a few extra bowls?

He lowered his head and looked at the stack of empty bowls.

Ten bowls.

This kid...

He really could eat.

The next day after school.

Guy appeared in the shed right on time.

The third day.

The fourth day.

The fifth day.

He came every day.

After finishing his work, he practiced with a blade.

He dug broken fragments of ninja tools out of the scrap pile and practiced the moves of the Precept-Breaking Blade again and again.

Sometimes, he trained until midnight.

When Uchiha Tao Ye finished work and went home, he could still hear the whooshing sound of blades cutting through the air from the backyard.

And so.

Another month passed.

One evening.

After school, Obito wandered over.

He pushed open the door.

The yard looked much the same as ever.

Flames surged in the shed, while the deafening clang, clang, clang of hammering rang out.

He poked his head inside.

Guy stood before the anvil, bare-chested and swinging a hammer.

His frame, which had looked somewhat thin a month ago, now showed clearly defined muscle lines.

That was because his nutrition had finally caught up.

Sweat ran down his back and dripped onto the ground, hissing into white steam.

The iron blank beneath his hands was slowly taking shape.

It was not a rough kunai blank.

It was the beginning of a short blade.

The edge was evenly thin, the blade body straight, and the narrowing at the handle smooth and rounded.

Obito's mouth hung open.

He forged that... himself?

Clang!

The final hammer strike fell.

Guy gripped the short blade with tongs and plunged it into a bucket of water.

Hiss—

White steam rose.

He picked up the blade and inspected it beneath the lamplight.

He nodded in satisfaction.

Then he turned around and spotted Obito.

"Yo, you're here?"

Obito blinked.

"That blade... you forged it?"

Guy tossed him the blade.

"Just forged it. See what you think."

Obito caught it in a fluster.

He lowered his head to look.

The blade was smooth, its edge sharp, and even the anti-slip grooves on the handle had been carved neatly.

He tested the edge with his hand.

"Hiss—" A cut appeared on his finger.

Guy grinned.

"Be careful. It hasn't even been sharpened yet, but it's already plenty sharp."

Obito looked at the cut, then at Guy.

One month.

Just one month.

This guy had gone from knowing absolutely nothing about smithing to making something like this?

"Where's my Second Uncle?" Obito asked.

Guy pointed toward the backyard.

"He's sorting scrap in the back."

Obito went around to the rear.

The backyard was small and piled high with all kinds of scrap.

Broken ninja tools, ruined blanks, and iron chunks warped by heat.

Uchiha Tao Ye was crouching there, holding a Kunai he had just ruined.

He turned it over and over in his hands.

"Second Uncle?"

Uchiha Tao Ye looked up.

"Obito."

He stood and dusted off his hands.

"Here to see your classmate?"

Obito nodded and pointed toward the front yard.

"So... how's he doing?"

Uchiha Tao Ye fell silent for two seconds.

Then he looked toward the front yard.

Through the gaps in the shed, Guy's figure could be seen.

He had picked up another iron blank and started on the next piece.

His movements were as practiced as if he had been doing this for years.

"This kid..."

Second Uncle spoke.

Obito pricked up his ears.

"He really eats a lot."

Obito nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to say too..."

"But—"

Uchiha Tao Ye cut him off.

"The work he makes is really good too."

Obito froze for a moment.

Uchiha Tao Ye handed him the ruined Kunai.

Obito took it and examined it.

It was ruined because a tiny chip had broken off the blade.

But every other part of it was unbelievably neat.

"Do you know what he's making now?" Uchiha Tao Ye asked.

Obito shook his head.

"Ninja tool blanks," Uchiha Tao Ye said.

"Kunai, shuriken, short swords. They're all finished blanks that other smiths can use directly."

He paused.

"We used to hire genin for this work. One person got twenty thousand a month, with food and lodging included. Making three hundred blanks a month was considered capable."

Obito blinked.

"What about Guy?"

Uchiha Tao Ye looked at him.

"This kid made eight hundred in one month."

Obito's mouth fell open.

Eight hundred?

That was nearly three times what a genin could make!

"And—"

Uchiha Tao Ye pulled a sheet of paper from his clothes.

It was densely covered in notes.

"Take a look."

Obito took it.

Dates were written on the paper, with numbers beside them.

Day 1: 27 pieces (crooked)

Day 2: 35 pieces (less crooked)

Day 3: 42 pieces (qualified)

Day 4: 48 pieces

Day 27: 88 pieces

Day 28: 90 pieces

Day 29: 93 pieces

Day 30: 97 pieces

At the bottom was a line written in red ink:

[Total: 824 pieces. Qualification rate: 97.3%.]

Obito's hand trembled slightly.

A ninety-seven percent qualification rate?

That meant that out of the 824 blanks Guy had made, only a little over twenty had been scrap?

He looked up at Uchiha Tao Ye.

Uchiha Tao Ye was looking toward the front yard.

That green figure was still busy beneath the shed.

"What time does he work until every day?" Obito asked.

Uchiha Tao Ye was silent for a while.

"Yesterday, it was eleven when I left. He was still here."

"What about the day before yesterday?"

"Midnight."

"And the day before that?"

"One in the morning."

Obito did not ask any more questions.

He suddenly remembered what he had thought a month ago while standing nearby.

It's only one month anyway.

At most, I'll only have to pay for one month.

Now, that month was over.

He looked at Uchiha Tao Ye.

"Then... are you still keeping him?"

Uchiha Tao Ye did not answer.

He turned and walked toward the front yard.

Obito followed behind him.

The two of them stopped beside the shed.

Guy had just finished forging one blank and was about to pick up the next.

Uchiha Tao Ye spoke. "Might Guy."

Guy stopped and turned to look at him.

"Yeah?"

Uchiha Tao Ye looked at him silently for several seconds.

Then he spoke.

"Come back tomorrow."

Guy blinked.

"Didn't you say the trial was for a month...?"

"The trial's over," Uchiha Tao Ye cut him off. "You passed."

Guy froze for a moment.

Then he grinned.

He gave a thumbs-up.

"Thanks!"

Uchiha Tao Ye waved him off.

"Enough nonsense. Get back to work. This batch is urgently needed."

Guy nodded.

He turned back and continued.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering rang out again.

Uchiha Tao Ye stood beside him and watched for a while.

Then he took a cloth bundle from his clothes.

He tossed it to Guy.

"Catch."

Guy caught it one-handed and opened it.

It was a short sword.

Not a blank.

A real blade.

The edge gleamed coldly, and the handle was wrapped in black hemp cord.

"This is..." Guy looked up.

Uchiha Tao Ye had already turned and was walking away.

As he walked, he said,

"A rejected defective. It works, but it won't fetch a price. It's just right for you to practice swordsmanship with."

When he reached the door, he paused.

"So you won't sneak over every morning to practice and disturb my sleep."

Then he pushed the door open and left.

Guy lowered his head to look at the sword in his hand.

There was indeed a small dark pattern on the blade, a flaw left behind during forging.

But compared to all that scrap, this blade was far better.

He tightened his grip on the handle.

He gave it a swing.

It felt natural in his hand.

Obito leaned closer and looked at the sword.

"This sword... isn't really defective, is it?"

Guy grinned.

"I know."

"Then why...?"

Guy raised a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming.

"Second Uncle's kindness must never be wasted!"

With that, he continued hammering.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Obito stood beside him, watching the back of the boy swinging the hammer.

Then he looked toward the backyard.

He suddenly felt a little envious.

This guy...

Wherever he went, there was always someone willing to help him.

He remembered a month ago, when Guy said he wanted to come work part-time.

He remembered how Guy came every day after school throughout that month.

He remembered the firelight still glowing in the shed late at night.

Maybe it wasn't that people were willing to help him.

Maybe he deserved it.