Disclaimer: Jacob Banks - Slow Up is a good song.
TheSlySage: My man, I love how you are always the first to comment.
I have been convinced that by you and a few others on the matter of the chains and sensory ability. I decided to add something else as well just to be extra.
Racan: My heart was constantly squealing while I wrote that.
Nithi velu: Thank you!
SugamDewan: Thank you! I'm quite proud of this story so I'm glad many people like it. You ask, I deliver!
Monkeysrockdude: Shit, really? Oops!
Reviewer no Kage: Holy hell dude, I love your detailed comment. You give me pretty good ideas and I'm just all warm and fuzzy reading them (I'm warm and fuzzy when I read other comment too but still!).
I didn't want to make a Fuuinjutsu nerd Naruto, it is only natural that I make Biwako a sword nerd. Don't ya worry, Akahime will have a fitting end to her. Yah, I wanted to build up some on Biwako and Iron, I think I did a pretty good job.
I kinda just hit me like a truck to use Asuma as chaperon and, later, as the story teller. I will definitely be using him more, I think I expanded well on his character this chap. I hopa ya'll like it!
I was listening to Yamagusami while writing the Jiraiya segment. I always wondered what happened his other students, and, well, I wasn't feeling generous. Jiraiya is the kind of guy (in this story) that can and will call Hiruzen out on his bullshit. He already lost too many kids, he won't lose another two. Ohhh, I like that idea!
I only have vague plans for Tsunade so don't expect much.
Yeah, like said above, I will be giving him a few nifty trick soon.
Guys and gals and everything in-between and out-between! Reviews give us authors life! If you just write a 'Thanks for the chapter' we will love you!
Have fun reading!
"Is that all you got?!" The mocking shout rang out in the clearing.
His grin fell off quickly when the only warning he got before a blade flashed in the air and almost took his head off. He stopped his fall and used the momentum to sweep his leg like a scythe and try to destabilize her. But she is no amateur, jumping over the legs she threw her sword at the offending appendages making them split lest he gets an unwanted hole in his body.
He kicked up the katana, whirled, and kicked it towards her, sneakily adding some wind for flavor. His non-existent hopes were crushed when she only leaned away slightly, still in the air, and caught the impromptu projectile with her right hand. He wasted no time and threw five kunai-like blurs right before she landed.
"Raiton: Kaminari no Kokyu: Hogo Kaminari (Lightning Release: Thunder Breathing: Protective Thunder)" She drew her sword again and where there were kunai were now only flashes. His projectiles continued on, curving around her body like waves, until they realized that they have, in fact, been cut and fallen apart.
'Fuckin' hell, she really is fast.'
He went on the offensive to make sure she doesn't sheath her sword again. He shunshined right in front of her and drew his tanto, a gift from Tanjiro-san, and locked blades with her, face inches from hers.
'She is prettier up close.'
Just as that thought crossed his mind she swiftly adjusted her blade and knocked his tanto away from her, but not away from his hand. She used his moment of surprise to kick his guts and barrage him with barely-there blurs of Akahime. He was pushed back into defense, desperately trying to keep her from chopping something off. Unfortunately, for him, she used her much longer reach to stay out of his.
They are locked into a stalemate of her attacking relentlessly while he tries to avoid being cut to ribbons. He thanks any and all gods for his instincts, for otherwise, he couldn't protect himself even with all his experience with fighting her. Unfortunately, that isn't quite enough as some attacks still reach him. Fortunately, they aren't anything more than shallow cuts, cuts that get healed the next few seconds.
'What should I- aha! I hope this'll work.'
In-between two slashes he charged up his tanto with wind chakra. He caught her glancing down at the distortion and knew he had her. He burst through with a vicious shoulder dash –'ouch!'- that knocked her to the ground.
Unfortunately, she is nothing if not quick and managed to knock his tanto upwards, cutting his right cheek in the process.
He relentlessly goes to the ground with her and pins her right hand –the one holding Akahime- to the dirt. He isn't fast enough to catch the other hand.
She turns the situation around by flipping them over so she straddles him. He lost his grip and he brought up Akahime for a relentless pierce right next to his left cheek. In an impressive show of flexibility –if he says so himself- he brings up a knee and hits her side while the other leg tries something –he doesn't know either, don't ask him- with her arms.
This results –somehow- knocking away Akahime and Biwako scrambling towards her princess while Naruto tries to win distance.
Both of them reach their intended target. Now they are locked into a staring match on two sides of the clearing.
'Her eyes are even prettier.' No, they aren't in Sharingan mode either.
Clink.
"The hell- oh! Tanto, I knew you'd come back!" he picks it up and looks back into Biwako's amused eyes.
"Are you quite done yet? This is getting dreadfully boring."
"Oh, I'll show you boring!"
He rushes back into the fray, and into Biwako's waiting blade. Sparks fly and the familiar metal-upon-metal ring through the clearing. Biwako wastes no time going back to hackin' and slashin' him into fine ribbons. But this time he gave as good as he got. The only difference between the amounts of injuries they've received is that Naruto's slowly disappear.
But Biwako is not only fast, she is resourceful as well.
'What is she playing at?' He was slowly pushing her back, right into the middle of the clearing where an old-as-hell tree grew in all its lonely some, 'she can't be exhausted already. So what-'
His thought process is cut off by Biwako using the accumulated blood on her palm –from a shoulder wound- to blind him. He only had time to yelp before a hand clamped down on his forearm and whirled back first into the tree.
'So that's why!'
He can feel the cold of Akahime on his neck along with warm breath on his cheeks making him freeze up.
"Is that all you got?" His partner's eerily echoic voice rang in his ears, like a taunt from the deepest part of a cave hiding horrors, "I thought you were supposed to be stronger," oh he can just feel the smirk!
He sends one back teeth-to-teeth, "Oh?" He can feel Akahime slightly moving on his neck, "are you sure I'm who you are looking for, young lady?" And like the badass Boss is he dissolves into dirt.
Naruto the First clamps down on an ascending Biwako's ankle and slams her into the same tree his clone was held up against –the lucky bastard.
He gets luck as Biwako loosens her grip on Akahime and it clatters to the ground –undoubtedly indignant.
It takes less than a blink to re-straddle Biwako and hold up a kunai to her neck.
"I've won." He is panting slightly, it isn't easy being underground for so long.
She looks up at him, obsidian eyes gaining a void-purple edge in the dying light. He still can't believe how beautiful those eyes of hers are.
"You are incorrect." Her voice would sound flat if he wasn't the Uchiha-whisperer. For him it is decidedly amused, he can't keep the exhausted grin from showing.
"Oh?" He can see the amusement dancing in his eyes through the reflection of her's show, "how did the fair lady come to such a conclusion?"
"Look down."
"Why, would I see yOUU-?!" His own tanto on his neck isn't something he likes. He follows up the arm holding it, up the slightly bleeding shoulder, to that neck that he wants to do something with, and to the slight grin on the most important person in the Elemental Nations' face.
He grins down at her and assumes the blush is from exertion, "you picked it up? When?" He is very curious, he tried to make as little window of opportunity as he could.
"After I noticed the clone, but before you came out," she tilts her head slightly unheeding to the blade glinting on her neck, "I didn't know you have gone that far in earth release."
He chuckles slightly and rubs the back of his neck, unintentionally flashing his scar, "I kinda got burned out with seals and wind release. Decided to get some basic earth jutsu."
She nods and glances at the kunai still on their neck, "Does this mean it's onigiri and ramen night?"
"Ya bet, dattebayo!"
"Damn fucken' seals, damn it."
She is getting some slight déjà vu for some reason. They've just gotten back from the pre-dinner spar. They took a shower, ate, and now they are just relaxing in their shared room. It still amuses her what a fight they've had to up with to sleep in the same room. She respects Tanjiro-sensei greatly but he is such a prude.
'And it isn't like we are doing anything like that in here.'
Her ears burn, 'abort mission, abort mission!'
She looked over to the other futon where Naruto was working on a seal. She crawled across the futons to come closer to Naruto –who was sitting at the edge. She looked over his shoulder and saw something monstrous.
'What in Izanagi-sama's name is this? I didn't know he is sadist enough to create a torture tool.' There is no other way to describe it. Damn it, she has trouble just looking at it! 'What did he do!? Summon some Eldritch being and ask for the worst seal it had?! No, he wouldn't-' her mind helpfully supplies that time when he almost traded Hiraishin's calculations for ramen, 'he definitely would.'
"What are you making?" She needs to ask, she needs to make sure their world won't fall tomorrow. Evidently, he seemed not to notice her presence as he almost jumped high enough to head butt the ceiling. Impressive achievement considering his position. He snaps his head at her looking like a deer in the Katon jutsu before his brain catches up.
"Huh?" Eloquent.
"I asked, what are you making?"
"Huh –oh!" His eyes glint in that 'I love this seal even if it is infuriating' kind of way. He beckons her closer –as she moved away lest she gets hit- and pulls her into his lap with her back to his chest. He hit a growth spurt recently and is incessant about lording it over her," you remember our theory 'bout the Adamantine Chains?"
"I do. You proposed the idea that it wasn't a Kekkei Genkai but a Hiden." It was an interesting idea, she doesn't put much stock in it but intriguing nonetheless
"Yeah! I decided to revisit this idea since I randomly found it in my 'Sealing and other BS' notebook."
She rolls her eyes at his unrepentant grin she can hear in his voice, "we shelved the idea even before you found the Hiraishin. What made you return to this?"
He shrugs carefully, "I'm kinda bummed out. I wanted to look into older notes to see if I find anything to unbore myself."
She sighs," Unbore isn't a real word," she looks down at… whatever monster this is, and turns around lest her brain burns out, "have you found anything?" Can you blame her for being curious?
He hums slightly, "Yes and no," she tilts her head, "I'm not gonna lie and tell you I could recreate it. There is a big difference between remaking a well-documented seal –even if that seal is Hiraishin- and remaking a seal so old and protected that it became synonym with an entire bloodline."
"I can feel a but."
A face-splitting grin blooms on his face, "I can feel one too." He gets a slap on the shoulder for that," okay, okay," he surrenders under such relentless pain and continues, "I think I know how it works. Kinda. You know how it is an Uzumaki characteristic to have a dense and large chakra pool?" She nods, his grin is decidedly foxy now, "but do you know what is the difference between a large pool and a dense pool?"
'I do.' It doesn't matter, she wants to be dazzled by his brilliance so she shakes her head.
"Well," his grin widens slightly, "there is a fuckton of nuances to it so I'll keep it short. Let's say you want to use a Katon jutsu –for ease let's say you use Great Fireball," she nods like she is imagining it, "having a large chakra pool means how many times you can use it. Having a dense chakra pool means how hot the flames are." Huh, that is a better explanation than the books.
"So one is quality and one is quantity?"
"Exactly," he emphasizes the point with a nod, " of course that isn't all there is to it, but that is enough for now," he looks down at the infinite scribbles on the papers, "what my ancestors did was something completely impossible – that is, if I'm correct," he mushes his hair like he isn't quite sure what to do," I think they've managed to increase the clan's chakra pools and compress it. Later, whether they or someone else, created a seal that harnessed the denseness of our chakra and honed it into our chains. But that isn't all," he turns towards her with equal amounts of disbelief and amazement, "the seals remained. They've managed to imbue the seals into our blood so deep and so tightly that they travel along with it. That is the reason why all Uzumaki have enhanced chakra –and since chakra is life, vitality is tremendously increased."
She hums, "even if you are correct it doesn't explain a lot. What about those that don't have the seal, yet still possess the chains? The sensory ability? The healing chakra and regeneration? The sheer fuuinjutsu talent?"
"Well I have a few ideas but let's focus on the chains since that is the most interesting. I think the technique was based on the original chakra one. It was transcribed deep into my blood but it was imperfect, at least I think. Unlike the chakra modification that is present at birth, the chains only appear later in life. Anywhere from pre-pubescence to young adult age since that is when chakra develops the most. If you read deep in the lines you'll notice that whenever an Uzumaki spontaneously spawned the chains it was always under extreme emotional stress."
"You think the chains are similar to my Sharingan?" Interesting.
"Kinda, but those chains are said to be clunky and much weaker than their seal-made counterpart. So I think the seal is kind of a crutch. I just don't know if it's for life or just until they'll get used to it."
Hm, "What about the other abilities I've mentioned? The extra-sensory skill?"
He scratches the back of his neck sheepishly, "I honestly have no concrete idea. For now, I think it is a side-effect of our chakra."
"The healing, self or otherwise?"
"Oh!" He perks up like a puppy, 'or a kit?' " I actually have a theory for that! Like I said our vitality is enhanced so regeneration, no matter how small, is only a step up from that. It was probably just a matter of finding good matches until it popped up," his eyes gain a little twinkle that only happens when he finds something particularly interesting, " the healing chakra, on the other hand, is probably a mutation. I think it works almost exactly as the regeneration just on others. The hardest part about healing with chakra is how notoriously difficult it is to get the patients' chakra to accept a foreign source," they blink simultaneously," wait, it's just like-"
She cuts in, "-blood transfusion. It would make sense. Chakra and blood –metaphysically or literally- are connected to chakra in so many complex ways it is barely understood. Since O Negative blood is a universal donor-"
"- It wouldn't be such a jump to think that chakra can behave similarly. That means that Uzumaki Healers had some kind of universal donor chakra." their eyes bore into each other, seeing and not, thinking over the possibilities this breakthrough opens up.
"Dear sweet mother of chakra," he breathes out, "hey Biwako? Could you get out of my lap for a bit?" His voice is still filled with awe but now colored with something like a realization. She is not one to stand between an Uzumaki and his seals –she is not suicidal thank you- and moves to sit on the futon with crossed legs.
He quickly scrambles over to the nicely stacked notes –' what a nerd'- of 'fuuinjutsu and other BS'.
'He already has three?' He originally started this when working on Hiraishin became the main priority. He got a ton of ideas for ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu but he didn't want to stop working on Hiraishin so he started writing them down.
He sat down on the other end of the futon, near the pillows. While he flipped through the papers like a man possessed she took in his appearance –she noticed she has been doing that a lot lately.
His red hair is around hip length now, almost reaching the floor while sitting. It is let wild right now since they'll soon go to sleep anyway so he didn't bother using the bandages. An unsurprising effect of this is that he is constantly swiping it away from his eyes getting increasingly agitated. He stubbornly refuses to tie his hair in their room. His body has been gaining increased definition lately. He was never exactly scrawny since she whipped him into shape. He always made sure to stay in good condition, if not in tip-top shape. That changed slightly since they left Konoha, they had to run somehow from the nin sent to retrieve them and he didn't always have a Hiraishin kunai on him. Now, instead of having a kunai hidden under their kimono, they wear hair bandages inscribed with the seal. The same bandage that is around their wrist right now, left for her, right for him.
Anyway- his body is improving. She is quite glad, who knows when you get into a situation where you can only use taijutsu. That is the only reason she watches as his arm is constantly flexing while flipping through the pages. The only reason she glances at the chest peeking through his loose yukata. The only reason-
"Ahah! I found it!" Wha-
"Here look at this!" A page unceremoniously thrust into her face is not how she wants to snap out of a daydream.
Sending a glare at him Biwako glances down at the page that is equal parts messy and beautifully written. She sees what she recognizes as very barebones of a seal and so many comments around it that it stretches over two pages. She smiles a little at seeing small drawings in the corners.
"Nice flowers," he blushes something adorable, " very detailed. Are these Red Spider Lilies?" He likes them a lot.
He tries to glare but it is hard with a full-body blush, "Oh shut it! This is the last time I show you my notebook!" He stuck out his tongue like the responsible seal master he is.
Chuckling, she goes back to understanding the page. She may not have much success with the rough and inactive seal but the notes are intriguing.
From what she reads he was trying to make a seal that would change the chakra's elemental nature. While it is a novel idea, it would ultimately be nothing more than something to amuse himself with. It is only fairly difficult to seal elemental chakra, and even then there is not much use to it. When a jutsu is sealed it will lose its shape making it a moot point. But if he could tweak it so that instead of element, it changes… type(?) it would be extremely useful. It wouldn't replace healers but it would help them tremendously. Neither said it but both know that they don't have access to good healers.
She feels him leaning on her shoulder, "I think this would only boost your natural healing. I wouldn't be replacing healers but this would help a lot."
Mifune walked through the Kamado sibling's house in search of his new aces.
Naruto and Biwako have been in Iron for a good three months, since then they've spent a majority of their time in the Kamado estate honing their skills. When Mifune originally assigned Tanjiro as Biwako's teacher he expected some conflict. Either from the Uchiha arrogance rearing its ugly head, the Uzumaki's protectiveness biting his head off, or perhaps from Tanjiro disagreeing and refusing the order.
He was pleasantly surprised when Biwako only asked for a spar that Tanjiro readily agreed on, even if Naruto was seconds away from rearranging their body parts. A look from Biwako and Naruto sat down like a scolded kit. The others in the room would have laughed but they experienced the look from various women in their lives so they only sent a mental pat on the back for their fallen comrade.
The spar, in the end, resulted exactly like how he predicted it.
With Biwako having her ass handed to her. The look on her face was priceless. He still smirks thinking about it. Because no matter how gentle Tanjiro can be, and how he likes the pacifist approach to everything, he is still the second strongest in the country. One of the two people holding a Nichirin sword.
Since then the dynamic duo moved into the Kamado home and lived with the siblings. The relationship between the four is quite interesting. Tanjiro naturally took up the Big Brother role that, while wary, the two later got used to it. Biwako respects him for his skills and Naruto is grateful that he is teaching Biwako and, to a lesser extent, Naruto.
Nezuko became a pet to spoil for Biwako. He is not even exaggerating, Mifune literally saw her sneak snacks to the little Kamado when the big wasn't looking.
But what is more interesting, and amusing, is the non-spoken brotherhood between Nezuko and Naruto. Specifically, their brotherhood of 'Oh my god our sword idiots did something stupid again'. They are either making sure that said idiots don't impale themselves or each other with sharp sticks or pranking someone they definitely shouldn't.
It is all chaotic and Mifune is very glad he knows how to delegate his paperwork.
A familiar voice catches his attention, "hah! You kick like my sister!"
"I was kicked by your sister! That's a compliment!" What are these idiots doing?
He finally arrived at the dojo and opened the paper wall leading to it.
What he found made him reevaluate his life choices.
Because there, fighting in the middle of the dojo, were the two idiots mentioned above.
Now, this wouldn't be much of a problem normally. Naruto may not use swords –heretic!- but that doesn't mean he can't learn from Tanjiro. What is the problem is how they are fighting.
In pink, glittery sumo pants, sweating, and with their arms behind their back in cuffs. 'Is that- indeed. Blindfolded as well.'
He has only one question for the sword gods. Why?!
He looks around the room –to search for answers or for a way to end this horrible genjutsu- and spots the girls sitting calmly by the side. Having a tea. Watching their respective idiots trying to kick each other blindly.
It was a mistake coming here.
He walks over and sits down on Biwako's left since her right is occupied by Nezuko. Like the polite girl Nezuko is, she immediately starts pouring some tea. She is not exactly the best at social etiquette so she reaches over Biwako's lap and offers it to him. But then again, he had close to a decade getting used to her antics so he isn't perturbed. Judging by Biwako's thinly veiled look of 'AdorableAdorableAdorable' she doesn't mind it either. He is polite though and murmurs a 'thank you' which has the girl beaming.
"So," he cuts right to the chase. He doesn't even look at the screaming boys in fear of losing whatever sanity he has, "why?" A simple question.
"Hmhmm Hmhhh! Hhhmmm!" Nezuko answers. Like he can understand it through her bamboo.
"I see." He definitely can't.
"They made a bet of who can kick the other harder." Biwako's cool voice answers his puzzlement. Not that is much of an answer but baby steps.
"What about the… things on them." He can't even begin to describe it. He is trying very hard to suppress the memory.
"I don't know. They just came out like that." Answering that she sipped from her tea like the boss she is.
He hums, looks up, and sips his tea, "good tea. Thank you Nezuko-chan."
"Hm hm!" He knows this vaguely translates to 'your welcome.'
He looks back to Biwako. He notes with amusement that she didn't take her eyes off the fight yet. Mifune is willing to bet Kurosawa that she is looking at Naruto, "what about the cuffs?" He has no idea where they got it.
"They cuffed each other." Huh. That answers nothing. In fact, it only raises more questions. Did they cuff each other before the blindfolds? After? Where did they even get it? Why did they blindfold each other?
"SCREEEEEEEE!"
"WRYYYYYYYY!"
"I see."
"I'm home- just kidding. I live in all my lonesome. Ain't that depressing?"
He closed the door behind him, sat down at the little cliff, and kicked off his sandals. Another long day of trying to find the hide or hair of the kids. Though he heard some words about them being spotted near Iron and that they are probably in there. He doesn't know if he wants to be proud of them for choosing not only a neutral territory but a strong one at that. Or angry that "fuck they are in Iron" since the snowy lands are neutral. Which means that they aren't in an allied Village. Not that he expected them to waltz into Suna but still, he can hope. So they are right now alone together in a country that Konoha can't get to. Two clan children –last of their blood- alone in a country that –probably- wouldn't have a problem using them like breeding stock. Regardless of how he feels, he is worried sick.
"Children are the future, Asuma."
Something an old friend used to say. Back then, as a hotheaded brat, he didn't put much stock in it. Yeah sure, he would protect some brats if he could, but he wouldn't die for them.
Then he got his much-deserved Slap of Reality when he left Konoha and joined the Twelve Guardians. Well, Reality wasn't the only being that slapped him but still.
Since he became friends with Chiriku –bless his bald head- he started seeing the world in a different light.
But the real shift was when a child died in his arms.
"Children are the future, Asuma."
He doesn't know why or how, but that thought cut through the buzz of panic, sorrow, and 'oh gods, she is dying- help! SOMEONE!'.
From that moment onwards he dedicated himself to this ideal, to this sentence carved into his soul henceforth.
He came back after almost seven years of being a long way from home. A changed man, one calmer, more determined, someone who knows his goal in life and will do everything within his morality to achieve so. Not that it constricts him much, shinobi virtue is loose at best and Orochimaru at worst.
A lot changed in seven years. His old friends grew older, Kakashi got –mostly- out of his funk, he suddenly has an adorably bratty nephew, Dad looks more or less the same, and Kurenai got more beautiful.
He isn't a pervert aigh't? he just appreciates the fairer sex, 'kay? Asuma will never admit it but he read his Icha Icha collection so many times that the words are faded. That isn't even talking 'bout the stickiness.
When he came back and reported to Dad, the first thing he did was look around, and talk to people old and new alike. It was an errant thought that had him check up on the dynamic duo of Konoha. Back when he left they only started gaining notoriety for their pranks. He wanted to see if they still held up after so much time. Of course, he heard about the Massacre –Uchiha, not Paperwork- but he held out some hope. Asuma might not be one to pull pranks but he still liked watching them, even if he was the punchline. He can always respect a good prank.
It took a fuckton –if he is being generous- amount of time to find them on a frickin' tree of all things. A tree almost as tall as the Hokage Tower at that!
They grew a lot too. From little pranksters into two fine soon-to-be shinobi. He noticed the redhead jinchuuriki first, kinda hard not to with that mane of a hair. It went all the way down to his middle back, spiky as hell, and held back by a very stubborn hairband that made sure his mane didn't bother him while working. Speaking of working, he managed to get a glimpse of what can only be Fuuinjutsu writing. He almost jumped down from the branch he was sitting on screaming "No don't touch that you stupid child! It'll blow your head clean off!" only to remember something Dad said when he was younger.
"Asuma," he began heavily, hand on his left shoulder and looking into a little Asuma's eyes, "never, ever, mess with an Uzumaki and their seals." And that was that.
So he resorted to just keeping half an eye on him and began to take in the Uchiha girl.
His first thought was, 'the hell happened to your hair?'
It might be his memory being faulty, but he remembers her with quite long hair. Like, as long as Naruto's. She always took care of it too, never let strangers touch it. Now it doesn't even reach her shoulders, besides the two long bangs curving her face.
Oh well, people change all the time. She is adorable with it though.
She seemed to be reading a Raiton scroll, pretty advanced too. He thought it a little strange, Uchiha are all Katon people after all but shrugged it off. Maybe she is just reading up on possible enemy attacks or just trying to get inspiration. He does that too so it's nothing strange.
Next, he noticed the bickering.
Honestly, they banter like an old couple. Damn it, he wants a relationship like that too! Still, it must be either instinctual or somethin' cause they don't even pause.
He is quite glad though, Asuma knows second-hand how far Uchiha can go for revenge. He is happy that she isn't like that.
Then they go ahead and vanish. Right after he chaperones them to the town they, as was later learned, teleported to. With the Hiraishin.
He is not even mad, that's amazing!
Then he is suddenly –gently- interrogated by Dad on how the fuck did this happen Asuma?
He just laughs and replies," Magic!"
Being put on Tora duty for a month was worth it.
Still, as amused as he is by dad reenacting the walking dead, he is worried 'bout kids. They managed to not only remake the Hiraishin but also leave like professionals. Deep in the night, sowing as much confusion as available. He trusts Biwako with making responsible decisions for both of them.
He just hopes they are fine.
It's so fuckin' hot in here. He can just barely breathe through the heat of the forge. What did he expect? He is deep in the forge: Underworld, right next to the Heart. A light summer breeze?
"What' up young 'un? Too warm for your tastes? Would ya like some ice? Perhaps give up?" The mocking voice behind him… well, mocked relentlessly.
"No, Forgemaster!" He shouted just 'cause he can.
"THEN WORK!" Apparently, he can too. He never heard something so loud come from a human before.
"YES, FORGEMASTER!" He needs to vent somehow okay? If not in air then in emotions. He knows he chose to learn this art, but fuckin' hell. Madara's Gōka Mekkyaku would be colder than this!
Still, he stands back up from the stool he was gathering strength on. He moves back to the Heart where a piece of half-formed kunai is heating to orange-hot levels.
He uses the worn tongs to pinch the handle and move it to the closest anvil. He picks up the heaviest hammer close by and starts to pound it into something that vaguely resembles a kunai's form. He doesn't need precision yet so he can just hit it to his heart's content.
He watches, mesmerized, as the sparks fly when the metals meet. Ever since he first saw a blacksmith work her magic when he was eight he was amazed. There is something primal, something distinctly divine about striking almost melting metal like a wrathful god.
He notices that it is cooling down. Chucking it right back into the oven, he looks around for a forge blower. He isn't even scanning the forge for a second when one of them is thrust into his face by an arm that should've been burly if not for the flames burning it off.
He follows the arm back up and notices the body attached to it. The entire right side is covered in burn scars, like shadows of a flame long since past. They continue up to the man's face, stopping just before his right eye's light is robbed. The old man's face is set in its permanent scowl, though less in anger and more like it is the default expression.
"Thank you, Forgemaster!" He nods and takes the blower.
He hears a grunt as he turns around and blows hot air on the flames.
'This is how I die, baked alive by air. Deep in the Three Wolves.'