Iron Can Melt into Liquid?

The Land of Rice Fields, the Hyuga riverside outpost.

Shinichi looked at the black rock in Gengorō's hand.

"This stuff is called coal."

Gengorō examined what he was holding.

He had never heard that name before.

"Coal?"

"What's coal good for?"

Shinichi turned toward the small mountain of black rocks.

"Coal can replace charcoal. From now on, we'll use it to fire the furnaces for making ninja tools."

"Coal works much better than charcoal. A coal fire not only burns stronger, but also reaches a much higher temperature."

"Not only that, coal lasts longer. Just one pile can keep a furnace burning for a long time."

The craftsmen around them all gathered closer when they heard this.

Each picked up a black rock to examine.

They hefted them in their hands.

Then held them beneath their noses and sniffed.

They exchanged looks. None of them believed these rocks could burn.

Gengorō hefted the coal in his hand.

"Lord Shinichi, I've spent my whole life forging iron."

"We've always burned charcoal and firewood in our furnaces."

"I've honestly never heard of burning rocks like charcoal."

The old man stared at the coal in his hand, his eyes full of puzzlement.

Shinichi did not argue with him over whether these black rocks could burn.

He turned and led the craftsmen to the other side of the level ground.

Piled there was the iron ore the Hyuga ninja had dug out of the mountains.

The rocks of various sizes were all dark brown, heavy and hard.

Gengorō had spent his whole life forging iron in the Land of Iron.

He could judge the quality of ore fairly well with just a glance.

The old man hurried forward a couple of steps and bent down to pick up a piece of iron ore.

He took out the small iron hammer he carried with him and struck it hard.

The blow chipped open the ore.

Gengorō leaned close to the opening and carefully examined the quality inside.

Then he hefted the whole rock in his palm again.

"Lord Shinichi, this is excellent ore," Gengorō said, raising his head.

"There's a lot of iron in this rock."

"To be honest, it's much better than the iron stock we usually use in the Land of Iron."

Hearing this, the craftsmen behind him perked up and immediately crowded forward.

Each selected a piece of ore from the ground to examine.

Some followed Gengorō's example, breaking pieces open with their tools to inspect their quality.

"Good material like this is hard to come by."

"Ninja tools forged from iron this good would definitely be top quality!"

The craftsmen held the iron ore, reluctant to put it down.

Shinichi looked at the excited craftsmen.

"We're going to build a large furnace here."

"We won't use charcoal. We'll fire it with the coal over there."

"And melt all this iron ore into molten iron."

The craftsmen holding the ore all froze at those words.

The craftsmen from the Land of Iron had spent their whole lives forging iron.

But the furnaces they used were all small.

The fires inside could, at most, heat the iron until it was red and soft.

Then they would hammer it into shape, one blow at a time.

They had never seen iron turn into liquid.

"Lord Shinichi," one craftsman could not help speaking up.

"This iron... can turn into liquid?"

Gengorō also came back to his senses.

"Lord Shinichi, you just said you wanted to build a large furnace," the old man asked.

"Just how big is this furnace supposed to be?"

Shinichi raised a hand and pointed at a large tree beside the river.

"At least ten or fifteen meters tall. Taller than that tree."

This time, the craftsmen could barely speak coherently.

One craftsman stammered.

"Ten or fifteen meters?"

"Even the biggest furnace in our Land of Iron is only about a meter tall, at most."

Shinichi looked at their astonished faces and continued.

"Once we've melted the iron, we'll pour it straight into prepared molds."

"After the molten iron has cooled completely."

"We'll turn it out, and we'll have blanks for Kunai and Shuriken."

The craftsmen were all bewildered.

They had spent their whole lives forging iron and had never heard of such a method.

They exchanged looks, but none spoke.

Gengorō put the iron ore in his hand back on the ground.

He dusted the dirt off his hands and patiently began explaining to Shinichi.

"Lord Shinichi, that isn't how ninja tools are made."

"A good blade is hammered out, one blow at a time."

"First, you have to heat the iron red-hot in the furnace."

"Then forge it over and over."

"Only that way can you hammer all the impurities out of the iron."

"Only once the impurities are removed will the iron be strong."

The old man shook his head repeatedly.

"Something poured into a mold hasn't been forged."

"That sort of thing is too brittle."

"If you take it into a fight, it'll snap at the slightest impact."

The old man looked at the iron ore covering the ground, his face pained.

"Lord Shinichi, please listen to my advice."

"You mustn't waste such good iron."

Shinichi stood there, listening quietly.

He did not argue with the old man.

Because he had no way to change someone's ingrained understanding.

Just then, a sudden commotion came from the mountain path outside the outpost.

A large crowd was following the path toward the river.

They were civilians Hyuga Village had recruited from outside.

There were so many of them, a dense crowd numbering several hundred.

A Hyuga jonin led the group.

Upon seeing Shinichi, he hurried over.

"Clan leader, we've brought all the civilians who signed up."

Shinichi nodded.

The civilians stopped at the edge of the level ground and looked around curiously.

They surveyed the large clearing that had just been prepared beside the river.

They looked at the rows of newly erected wooden sheds.

Then stared for a long time at the small mountain of black rocks.

A low buzz of conversation rose from the crowd.

They all said this would be where they worked and earned money from now on.

There were a few sharp-eyed civilians in the group.

They recognized Shinichi at the front of the crowd at once.

"Lord Shinichi!"

Several people waved and called out from afar.

Hearing them, the people behind also pressed forward.

"Lord Shinichi!"

Their calls rang out all along the riverside.

Gengorō and the craftsmen behind him all turned their heads at once.

They were all startled by the scene.

The old man stared at these several hundred people, speechless for a long while.

This was clearly a place for making ninja tools.

None of them understood what so many civilians had come here for.

Shinichi turned to Gengorō, whose face was full of confusion.

"These people will all work in the workshop from now on."

"They'll assist you craftsmen."

Gengorō did not immediately grasp what he meant.

He turned and looked at the dense crowd at the edge of the level ground.

With their bedding on their backs, these several hundred people looked, by any measure, like ordinary folk who farmed and did hard labor.

The old man turned back toward Shinichi.

He truly had not understood what those words meant.

"Lord Shinichi." Gengorō stepped closer.

"Making ninja tools is a genuine skilled trade."

"In the Land of Iron, no matter which shop takes on an apprentice."

"That apprentice has to put in the time, learning bit by bit under a master."

"They have to study for at least several years before we dare let them work on their own."

The old man raised his callused hand and pointed at the civilians.

"These people used to clear land and farm outside the village."

"I doubt they've ever even touched the handle of an iron hammer."

Afraid Shinichi did not understand the intricacies involved, the old man rubbed his hands anxiously.

"When you're making ninja tools, one wrong hammer blow can ruin the iron."

"Recruiting them..."

Gengorō's brow knotted tightly.

"What do we need so many people who've never even held a hammer for?"