A/N: It's been a hot minute. I saw this chapter half-finished in my doc manager, and so I worked on it a bit and am now posting it, pretending like this chapter is actually complete and I actually still remember how the story is supposed to go. So yeah, now we're winging it. I hope you enjoy it, because it's rare these things actually get updated.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Naruto threw the door open haphazardly with a grin. "How's it goin' old man?" he asked loudly, heading straight for the register. A few people in the shop took one look at the boy, scowled in disgust, and left the shop without purchasing anything. The old man watched them leave indifferently, but put a grin on his face as he turned toward Naruto.
"Naruto, my boy! I'm doing great! Why don't you get settled in the back room as I finish this up, then I'll tell you another story," the old man requested. Naruto nodded and shuffled into the back room. Shortly thereafter, the shop was closed and the old man was situated on a comfortable armchair, looking at Naruto sprawled across a sofa carelessly.
"Okay, my boy, this story is gonna be about how Feudal Samurai banded together to form their own honorable country." Naruto tilted his head.
"That's the Land of Iron, right?" he asked. He received a hearty thumbs up in response.
"Oh ho, you've been studying I see! You're absolutely correct. The Land of Iron was just a frozen land with wandering tribes of people at first. The creatures there all adapted to the cold, developing sharp claws and teeth to be able to break the ice as well as thick fur to combat the cold. They were dangerous, and as such were rarely hunted for food and furs. There were no villages or anything there, since it was deemed too cold and dangerous to be habitable. However, slowly but surely, the animals with razor sharp claws gained powerful enemies in the form of powerful swordsmen.
"These swordsmen were able to survive in these harsh environments due to both their physical and mental discipline. Swords were perfect in such a frozen place because they were able to cut through the ice to make proper footholds when travelling, and the swordsmen themselves were strong enough to be able to hunt the deadly beasts without fearing for their lives." Naruto raised his hand as though he were in school. "Yes, my boy?"
"Why would people not use a fire jutsu to warm themselves up, or use chakra to make themselves stronger?" Naruto asked. The old man grinned.
"My boy, I realize I forgot to tell you the time in which this story takes place!" the old man laughed. "Yes, the Land of Iron was a fully realized country by the time chakra was discovered. This takes place approximately 150 years prior to the Sage of Six Paths' reign as a pseudo god," he explained. Naruto nodded along to the logic.
"So they only had their bodies and minds to use, and no chakra? Wow, that must suck," Naruto winced thinking about it. The old man laughed again.
"Indeed. Although, I must inform you that many civilians have never learned to access their chakra paths. That discipline is left mostly up to shinobi and samurai, not us frail civilians." Naruto's jaw dropped.
"You're kidding me. Really?" he asked. The old man nodded his head solemnly.
"I'm afraid so, my boy. Now, back to the story." Naruto sat upright, ready to get invested again. "As I was saying, these swordsmen were capable of living in such harsh temperatures. However, only some knew how to start a fire in such wet circumstances. The key, you see, is to dry the wood you are using through friction. Do you know what friction is, boy?" he asked. Naruto thought for a second.
"Isn't it that one thing that stops you? Like a wall, but not?" Naruto asked. The old man chuckled.
"Not quite. It can stop you, but it does so much more. Friction is basically two objects touching each other. If you try to slide two objects past each other, it does two things. Firstly, it provides resistance, which allows you to slow down. That may be what you were talking about. However, it also causes those objects to heat up for reasons unknown to us at the moment," the man said. Naruto nodded.
Seeing him understanding, the old man continued. "Do you know what happens when you heat up water?" he asked. Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, it boils! Then you can make ramen!" he exclaimed. The old man nodded resolutely.
"That may be the most important thing about this lesson. But it also does something more. Are you ready for this surprise?" the old man asked. Naruto hesitated for a second, then steeled himself for the incoming information.
"I'm ready, Jii-sensei!" The old man let out a laugh.
"Great! Now, the reason why water boils is because it's reached a temperature so hot that it can no longer stay a liquid. It instead turns into a gas. In the context of boiling ramen, that means it hits a certain temperature then stays there, which allows the ramen to be cooked the same way every time. Do you get it?" the old man asked.
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Is that why I have less water at the end than when I start?" he asked. The old man nodded.
"You're totally correct! The water gets turned into water gas and flies away! Then you have less than before. This is the same concept that the swordsmen used. They use friction to heat up the wood and cause any water inside of them to turn to gas and fly away, then they can begin to light a fire. That's where swords come in handy again. Have you ever seen a kunai strike another kunai?" Naruto nodded. "Have you seen sparks fly off the kunai at the point they struck?" Naruto nodded again. "That is capable of lighting a fire if the wood the spark lands on is dry enough. Swordsmen learned how to do this by striking a certain type of rock with their sword, and then they could skin and eat the dangerous beasts they slay in battle."
Naruto's eyes were wide. "Whoa..." he whispered. "These swordsmen were cool," he said. The old man nodded.
"Most of this information is pointless for you, since there has since been a relatively low-ranked fire jutsu created to light fires for camping, but sparks can be utilized in different ways." Naruto tilted his head again.
"What kinds of different ways?" he asked. The old man smiled.
"Now, that's for you to find out." Naruto pouted. "C'mon, don't be like that! We've still got so much more story to get through! I've only talked about their survival. Next up is the formation of tribes." Naruto leaned back into the sofa, settling in for what seemed like it would be a pretty long story.
The old man took a deep breath and continued his story.
"You see my boy, most samurai were seen as lone wolves. They were incredibly self-reliant, due to their discipline. The way of the samurai was such that one must always seek to improve oneself, which meant that relying on others would stifle growth. However, this mindset went away rather quickly in the face of the sheer cold in which they had tried to live," he said. "When the swordsmen relied only on themselves, they would find that there was competition over every hunt, and the scraps of each beast would go to waste. By forming a community, they would minimize the waste and survive more easily with the resources they could find."
Naruto nodded along fervently. Then he tilted his head to the side. "Were swordsmen only men?" he asked. The old man chuckled lightly.
"For the most part, yes," he stated. "But that does not mean there were not swordswomen. They existed, however they were few and far in between. The way of the sword was mostly seen as a masculine discipline. That being said, there were some women that got involved in that lifestyle, and in fact that is the only reason the Land of Iron even exists today." The old man stood up and stretched, having been seated for far too long. His bones creaked and his joints popped.
Naruto blinked in confusion. "How so? Were they the leaders?" he asked. The old man shook his head.
"Not quite, young one. They weren't elected as leaders, but I do suppose they led their respective tribes in a sense. The main reason they are to thank for the continued lifestyle of the samurai is because of the fact that they were women," the old man explained.
"Wait, what? I'm confused," Naruto couldn't help but say. Then he blushed a deep red. "Wait, you mean..."
"Haha, that's right my boy! If there were no women, they would not have had the means to repopulate and make future generations of samurai!" the old man laughed loudly. "Though you are correct, they had a large say in how things went. These women that had deep connections to the samurai of their tribes would often guide said samurai with every decision made. Learn this early my boy, women are always right! Hahaha!" the man guffawed again. Naruto nodded his head, absorbing that bit of information without question.
"Aye sir! I get it now!" he said. As the old man settled down, Naruto sat upright on the sofa. "So how did the tribes band together into one country?" Naruto asked. The old man walked over to the door.
"That, my boy, is a story for another time. Now go get some rest, we've been here for quite a few hours. I don't want you falling behind in your classes because of me, you hear?" he said gently. Naruto grinned.
"Don't worry about that Jii-san! Thanks for the story!" he exclaimed, leaping out the now opened door. He turned around and waved to the old man, before running back to his barren apartment.