The man spoke as he placed a hand on the beaten blacksmith.
As green light spread from his palm, the blacksmith's face, twisted in pain, gradually relaxed.
"Mystical Palm Technique!"
One of the blacksmiths cried out, recognizing the ninjutsu he had used.
Watching the injured man's wounds steadily heal, the other blacksmiths finally relaxed.
After confirming that the treatment was complete, the man stood and smiled at the blacksmiths.
"Hey, how about checking out the Blacksmith Association? It might be able to help with your current predicament!"
The blacksmiths looked at one another. One of them stepped forward.
"Even after what Matsushita Shiro did just now, you can still help us?"
"Yes, of course!"
The man nodded. His smiling expression lent him an extra hint of slyness.
The blacksmith glanced at his still-unconscious companion and spoke in a deep voice.
"The Blacksmith Association, right? Tell us about it!"
Late at night.
Matsushita Shiro, drunk beyond measure, staggered back to his room.
As the brother-in-law of the Grass Shadow, the moment the war began, he had relied on his sister to come to the Land of Iron—the so-called "permanently neutral nation"—to take refuge.
There was no war here, allowing him to continue enjoying his luxurious life.
Moreover, the Land of Iron possessed high-quality iron ore and produced vast quantities of excellent ninja tools every year, earning it the title of "the home of ninja tools."
With nothing better to do, and at his sister's suggestion, he had smoothly been appointed director of Kusagakure's newly established Ninja Tool Procurement Bureau, responsible for purchasing all kinds of ninja tools needed by Kusagakure.
Huge sums of money passed through his hands every day. Before the Steel Shuriken appeared, he had grown fat off kickbacks.
With that money, he spent every night singing and