The End

Clearly, the Kusanagi Sword—no, this Ziyuan—held extremely deep feelings for Elder Ku.

Hinata did not interrupt him. Her blood was boiling too, and she had no time to listen to Elder Ku ramble about anything else.

The only thing on her mind now was: Ziyuan, this Kusanagi Sword that sounded rather unusual.

"What kind of ability does it have?"

Among the Kusanagi Swords Hinata knew of, Orochimaru's could extend and retract without limit. Still, that sword had it rough, popping out of Orochimaru's mouth every so often.

Terrifying. Terrifying. And Itachi Uchiha's Kusanagi Sword—the Totsuka Blade—was a sealing sword.

By that logic, this Ziyuan should have something special about it as well.

But she would know once she got her hands on it.

Besides, even if it had no special abilities, the Kusanagi Sword's sharpness alone was beyond reproach.

The Kusanagi Sword was not necessarily incredibly durable, but its edge could cut through anything. That alone was enough.

For now, Hinata only needed to wait for Elder Ku to regain his senses—no, to wake up properly before discussing it further.

Elder Ku's words seemed to have deeply moved the other elders as well, leaving them somewhat dejected. Their gloom was not because they were about to lose the Kusanagi Sword.

The true reason was the helplessness and desolation they felt as craftsmen, utterly unable to do anything about such a weapon.

End

Night. A silent valley. This place could practically be called barren.

It made people think of desolate hills and the like. In horror movies, a setting like this usually meant zombies, ghosts, and other such things.

But there were no ghosts or zombies here after all. It was not because this place was unsuitable for such fiends to survive.

It was because this world was simply too dangerous.