Chapter 15: Preparing for Battle

In which Yuna does the impossible.


Raido landed on the roof of Namiashi Blacksmith & Weapons. Smoke was rising from the chimney, which meant the forge was currently occupied, but he knew his sister wouldn't be there.

After her accident and their father's rejection, Raido had held onto hope that Yuna would persevere the way she always did, but then Hana was taken. These two events back-to-back were more than Yuna could handle. As the days went by, his sister had fallen into what could only be described as utter despair. Raido noticed a disturbing shift in her persona, and not even Genma could pull her out of it. She spent her days worrying about Hana, and without the shop, little else occupied her time or attention. With her friend in a crisis, and with nothing else to do, Yuna felt both worthless and useless.

Today, Raido found her on the roof, wrapped in a blanket and waiting for the world to drift by. She'd only stayed with him and Genma for one night after the shinobi ball accident, and then she insisted on going back home. He wished she hadn't. While he didn't necessarily like the idea of her sharing a bed with Genma, he preferred it to the way she now sequestered herself in her own childhood bedroom. He'd never seen his sister so devoid of that spark and fire that defined her.

He sat down next to her. "Hey," he said softly.

"Is it true?" she asked, pulling the blanket around her more tightly. "Is it true they found one of those chakra blades?"

Ah. She would have heard the news from Ayame. "Is nothing classified in this village?" he wondered aloud, but he answered her question. "They did. And it doesn't look like a prototype anymore. This one is well-crafted compared to the others we found."

He waited for a response, but she just stared off into the distance.

He tried baiting her. "You said you made some new alloys with chakra steel, before the wedding…right?"

She remained blank and emotionless. "Yes."

He waited a few moments, and after realizing this was all he was going to get from her, said, "I think we should make them into swords."

She scoffed. "Without access to the forge, without my arm, and without chakra. It's an impossible task, Raido."

Her annoyance was palpable, and he held back a smile. It meant she'd at least been thinking about it. "You can still use the forge after hours. Your left hand is as good as your right. And I've got the chakra. You have no excuses, Yuna."

She didn't answer him.

"If they've got these kinds of weapons, you might be the only one who can make something that can even come close to holding against them."

Another moment before she spoke, and when she did, her voice cracked with raw emotion. "And what if I can't?"

"Then you'll fail knowing no one else could do better. But you'll certainly fail if you only sit here."

She glared at him, and he saw all the hurt and loss and pain in the look she gave him, but also that little bit of defiance. It was that last thing that he needed to draw out, so he tried again.

"If Hana were here, what would she tell you to do?"

Her eyes narrowed, and he saw the faintest flicker of a spark come back to them.

"That's a low blow," she said.

"But it's not uncalled for," he told her. "You know, your friend is meek, but she's as surprising as you are. I'm not going to let you give up on her. Shinobi fight to the very end."

"I'm not a shinobi," she replied.

"No, but you belong to Konoha, just like me. And you know what they say about people from Konoha?"

Yuna's lips curled up ever so slightly. "We have the will of fire," she said ruefully.

Raido watched the spark in her eyes light the tiniest ember. The flame, although not bright, was back.

"We miss you," he told her.

"We?"

"Genma says you haven't been responsive."

Yuna looked away. "No. It doesn't feel right spending time with him, not while Hana's gone."

Raido frowned at her. What a stupid excuse. Damn. Yuna was mature, but sometimes he forgot how much younger she was than him, and right now it was showing. "You know, Genma's not just your hot boyfriend, and I think he'd be offended if he knew you thought of him like some prize you'd just won."

Yuna's head flew back to him. "That's not–" she started to retort, but he cut her off.

"Genma's also your friend. And he's a damn good one. I, of all people, would know."

"I know that!" Yuna snapped. "But Genma makes me feel special, and I just don't feel like I can take that right now."

"Ah, I see. Wallowing in your own self-pity."

"Raido!" she said, getting frustrated with him, but he cut her off again.

"Hate to break it to you, dummy," he told his sister lightly, "but you are special. And right now you need to step up and accept the duty before you, instead of pretending that Dad's right and your closest friends are wrong."

Yuna stared back across the city, unable to say anything, but her lower lip was trembling.

"I know it hurts," he said, his voice suddenly much softer. "But you can grieve when it's time to grieve. Right now? It's time to fight. Meet me tonight, at the forge."

Raido stood up, gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head, and left her to ruminate over everything he'd just said.


That night, Yuna lay in bed, wishing for sleep to greet her, but her brother's words echoed through her mind. It was eleven, and the house was quiet and all her own…her father no longer slept there since finding a new woman to bed. She sighed, flung back her blankets, and walked down to the forge to stoke the fire. It was still warm from the previous day's work. She pulled out the new alloy she'd created and began heating it. This was just like her other experimental mixtures of metal, but in this case, she'd used chakra steel.

The ore from which chakra metal came only existed in a few places around the world…places particularly abundant in natural energy. This energy resonated in every atom of the metal. In the hands of a chakra user, this energy enhanced both physical and spiritual chakra.

However, to work with the metal, the same logic also prevailed. To work with chakra metal, chakra needed to be flowing through it. One had to balance the natural energy present within the metal with one's own energy. The particular levels of natural energy in each piece of metal differed depending on where the ore came from and how it was purified, so working with it as a sword smith was one of the most challenging of tasks. It did not bend or break the same way as standard steel, or even Namiashi steel, but it was rather much more finicky due to the nature of the material.

Yuna knew very few people who could work with chakra metal successfully, her father being one of them. The samurai in the Land of Iron were well-versed in the craft, and her father and grandfather had studied with them when they were young and just apprentices. It required extreme balance to flow one's own chakra into the metal in a way that melded with the natural energy present, but when it did, the metal sang. She'd helped in the shop when her father did it, and he'd taught her how to hit the metal just right, how to listen for the frequencies of the energy in the blade harmonizing with the flow of human chakra. It was in these moments that she realized how beautiful smithwork was, and she fell in love with it.

When the metal was hot and ready to work with, she glanced at the clock. Raido had promised to meet her by midnight, but it was nearly half past and he had not yet come. She heard a shuffling outside the door and turned expectantly.

"Raido, you're late. You know we have to finish—"

But it was not Raido.

"Sorry pipsqueak." Genma walked in, rubbing the back of his head apologetically. "Raido's on night duty, so he sent me instead."

"Did he just get called in?" she asked, surprised by this information.

"No, he's been on night duty all week."

"That asshole," she muttered, realizing that this was her brother's plan the whole time. He wasn't just looking out for her, he was looking out for Genma, too.

Genma stepped closer to her and reached out to push a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger by her cheek. "Nice to see you outside of your damned bedroom. I've been worried about you."

He said the words casually, but Yuna could tell he was sincere. His touch was gentle, and she realized in that moment how much she'd missed him, too. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just…" she faltered, an overwhelming sense of loss rising once again.

"I know," he said, and he pulled her into his arms. "But you don't have to do this alone."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, she was crying, clinging to him and letting her tears soak into his shirt. He responded by stroking the back of her head, reassuring her quietly with his presence.

"I just feel so lost…" she sobbed. "Everything that felt solid and real is falling apart."

"Yuna," he said, looking down at her. A subtle and worried frown settled between his brows. "Part of life is change and loss. Trust me, I know. But the pain of those things doesn't have to break us."

"How?" she asked, meeting his eyes.

"What helps me is remembering what's real and what's true, and holding onto things that are constant. Your love for Hana? Real. Your passion for the forge? Real. If you think you're facing all of this alone, that's only a lie you're telling yourself. Truth is, Konoha is at your back. Let those things give you hope."

Yuna soaked in these words, finding that they shed light on the darkness she felt inside of her. She wanted to ask another question, to ask why he had so much faith in her, but she was confronted by a genuine warmth and concern in his dark brown eyes that sucked the question right out of her mouth.

"Don't look at me like that," she said softly, finding this look a little too intimate.

"Like what?"

She hesitated and averted her gaze. "Like you love me."

A slow grin spread across Genma's face. "Well, pipsqueak, what if it's true?"

Yuna's heart thumped as her cheeks warmed. This was what she had been avoiding. The fluttering lilt in her heart contrasted with the heartbreak she was still reeling from. She let out a half-laugh half-sob. Inside of her, indescribable joy joined hands with immense sorrow, and she had to take a moment to reconcile that both feelings were also real and true. "You still don't have to look at me like that," she told him.

"Oh? How would you prefer?" He started making a number of silly faces at her, and she couldn't help but laugh. At the sound of her voice, he smiled again. "There she is. There's the Yuna I know…" and then he fit his lips to hers, and her laughter died in her throat, turning instead into a soft groan.

"You can't do that either…" she complained, hitting her good fist against his chest lightly.

Genma opened his eyes, surprised to find tears once again at the corner of hers. "Why not?"

"Because Hana's in trouble, and we have work to do."

"Fine," he told her, gazing at her with that same damned look. "We'll save it for later. Just tell me what to do."

Over the next few hours, Yuna walked Genma through the process of making a sword. He took instruction and criticism well, adapted quickly, and was easy to work with. Despite this, it was challenging for Yuna to teach him what needed to be done while only using her left arm. She found herself wishing Raido could help…he at least already had the basics from what he'd learned growing up with their father.

The work was exhausting, and not just for her. Genma found it much more challenging than he anticipated, flowing chakra evenly into a yellow hot blade. When the steel came close to 'singing' as she called it, he could not differentiate the sound of the metal over the hum of his own chakra. Without fully knowing how much chakra to use, he could not maintain the flow in a way that made it easy for her to work, and by the time the sun was rising, they had only managed to pull out the piece of metal into the proper length for a blade.

"I had no idea that forging was this difficult," he told her, wiping sweat from his brow.

A deep silence settled around the forge. Both of them were tired, and both were discouraged.

Yuna let out a defeated sigh and hung her head. A moment later, Genma saw the sparkle of a tear fall to the ground. He wanted to tell her that they'd made progress, even shaping the steel as they had, but he knew it wasn't enough, and he would not give her false encouragement.

Instead, he reached out his hand for hers. "Come with me, let's get some sleep. We'll try again tonight," but he was surprised and a little bit hurt when she didn't accept.

"Actually," she said, "I'm going to stay here." The look on his face must have betrayed his thoughts, because she followed with, "It's not you, Genma…I just have a lot on my mind."

He searched her eyes but couldn't read anything in them, so he just nodded and left, feeling a little bit like he'd failed her.

Genma wandered home slowly, chewing his senbon with more vigor than usual. When he reached his apartment, he found Raido already there, off from night duty and rummaging around in the refrigerator for something to eat.

"How'd it go?" Raido asked.

"Not great," Genma replied, taking a bowl from the cabinet and grabbing a box of cereal from the counter. Raido handed him the milk.

"Chakra steel is no joke. I never got the hang of it when Dad was teaching me. I couldn't hear the metal."

"I can't either," Genma said, laying his senbon to the side and shoving a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "But Yuna can." He shook his head. "She's a different person when she forges. She becomes so…stoic…and I can't get a read on her at all."

Raido snorted. "Yuna has always been independent, almost to a fault. That, and Dad was a strict teacher. Smithing swords had to be done the 'right way.'"

"You want to exchange shifts?" Genma asked. "I have a feeling she'd be more excited to see you tonight than me again."

"Can't," Raido told him. "Even if I could switch night duty, I'm captaining this squad. Besides, I have a feeling I'd frustrate her more than you…I had no aptitude for forging, despite my father's wishes." He thought for a moment. "But I think I remember seeing some references in the library about chakra steel…if you brush up on some technical knowledge, it might help you help her."

"The library? When was the last time you went to the library?" Genma retorted.

"That's where I find Shizune when she's not at the hospital."

Genma grinned. "Boring," he droned. "You? Library dates? Come on Raido, you're better than that."

"It makes her happy," Raido said with a shrug, putting his bowl in the sink and heading towards his room. He pointed at Genma. "You could stand to make Yuna a little happier, don't you think?" And then he shut his door, retiring after his long night on shift.

"Yeah, yeah," Genma said to himself, dropping his head back and looking at the ceiling. The cereal in his bowl went untouched, growing soggy. "Make her happy…by forging a chakra steel sword and single handedly rescuing her best friend from a group of unknown shinobi. Re-instilling her self-confidence while I'm at it. Seems a little harder than spending time at the library."


At midnight, Genma showed up on time to the forge. Yuna was already hard at work. She glanced at him, noting a few books under his arm.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Just trying to do my homework," he said. He set the titles down. An Encyclopedia of Shinobi Tools, So You Want To Wield A Chakra Blade?, and finally, The Art of Chakra Steel, written by none other than Yuna's grandfather.

He expected her to laugh, to make a joke, but she did neither of those things. She touched the cover of the third book, the name 'Namiashi' in gilded letters. Her lower lip trembled, and he sensed she was once again on the verge of tears. Damn it. If he could, he would keep her from devolving into self-doubt.

"I have a distinct feeling," he began, "that you'll be the first civilian in the history of the world to make a chakra steel blade." He tapped on her grandfather's book. "There's a lot that's said in here about smithing chakra steel, but there's also a lot that's not said. He never writes that a shinobi must work with the steel, never even says that non-chakra users can't do it. He only says that those who are successful must become one with the metal."

Yuna snorted. "Yeah, grandpa was off his rocker a bit by the time he wrote this."

Genma gave an exasperated groan. "Give yourself some credit, Yuna. You hear it. I don't hear it. Raido doesn't even hear it. You're the only one who I think could do this." He walked up to her, taking her face in his hand and lifting it up so that she met his eyes. "I've watched you for your entire life. You defy expectations, and you've given your whole heart to this craft. I've seen shinobi overcome incredible odds…and you're no exception."

"But I'm not a shinobi…"

"No," he said, "and that's what makes me respect you all the more."

She swatted his hands away before she could cry yet again. "Enough of that smooth tongue, Genma. How do we become one with the steel ?"

Genma grinned. "Tonight? I think we should work on our communication. Become one with each other," he said.

Yuna's heart immediately picked up and her cheeks grew very rosy. "W-what does that mean?"

Genma raised his eyes at her and he chuckled. "Not what you think it means, apparently," he said. He absentmindedly picked up a hammer. "No. What I mean is, I can't hear what you hear with the steel, so it's hard for me to know what to do with my chakra. Last night, I tried listening to your body language instead, because usually that's easy for me. Your heart rate, your breath, your body movements…it's almost too easy to read you. I know exactly what to do to make you feel good.

"When you forge, I get nothing from you. It's all up here." He pointed to his head. "I have nothing to go off of…no heart rate, no breath change, not even a twitch of your arm. You become this stoic statue up until the moment you want to hammer the blade."

Yuna considered that. Bladesmithing was such an individual task that she often disappeared into her own mind when she was doing it. She focused so intently on the steel, on sensing when it was at the right temperature and the right malleability to mold into something useful that she often forgot herself in the process. It was that part about smithwork that she loved…the ability to forget everything else and just disappear. But it was also the way she'd been taught. Smithwork wasn't emotional work…or so her father told her.

Genma's voice came again. "I need you to show me what to do." He paused. "You remember when you told me that people see you one way or the other?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm either too strong or not strong enough…depending on who's looking."

"When you and I are together, I don't see either or. I see both. I see a woman who is feminine because of her strength and strong because she's a woman. There's something so damn attractive about that. You've spent your life trying to prove others wrong, but I can guarantee that if you forge with your whole self, I'll be able to read you and respond."

Yuna watched him for a long time, wondering when and how she'd gotten so lucky. Things were far from perfect, but Genma's unwavering support meant the world.

"Okay," she said. "Let's try."


By the end of the first night, they found their rhythm, and once they established their flow, the work proceeded like a dream. Yuna experienced yet another side of Genma - one that Raido already knew - that of a teammate. The hours spent in close proximity, each focused on the same singular task, honed them into a well oiled machine. They worked mostly in silence, but they learned to communicate through simple touches and with eye contact. Yuna let go of all she'd been forcing herself to be, and Genma adjusted to the subtle shifts in her breath and her heartbeat.

For Yuna, it was strange at first, letting go like this and letting herself feel while forging steel. She felt exposed, naked almost, and the first night she felt self-conscious in front of him. But he watched her with admiration, and by the second night, she was comfortable in his presence.

The second night, they found each other. When Genma sent his chakra into the hot metal, Yuna closed her eyes and listened for the sharp tones that signaled the steel was ready. But instead of thinking about the sword, she let her mind drift to the man in the workshop with her. She laid a gentle hand on his arm, giving him more pressure as the sound reached the frequency she was familiar with.

"Just a little further," she said, closing her eyes and feeling the metal resonate with her soul. Her heart picked up its pace with excitement as the singing steel rose to a fever pitch.

"Can you hear it?" she cried.

"No!" Genma said through gritted teeth, taking his second hand to release more of his chakra. He was sweating, but he steadily increased the flow of his chakra. Then, he heard Yuna laugh.

He was nearly startled out of his concentration, but as she lifted her hammer high with her left hand and let it fall, he saw what she heard. To him, the metal wasn't singing, but the glow of the sword had changed. Where before it had been yellow, now it was white and blue, filled to the brim with his own chakra. It was a new sensation for him. His chakra vibrated, melding with something in the metal, and he knew if he gave any more or any less, the magic would end.

As she worked with the metal, he also felt her. His own chakra in the blade responded to her physical labor, resisting and moving and ebbing and flowing. He knew she wasn't imbuing her own chakra into the sword, but he felt her energy regardless, as if the sword was channeling her back to him. He watched her with awe.

In just a few moments, she was done, and she took the sword and placed it back in the fire.

"That was it. We have to keep doing that."

"I see why you love this," he said simply.

She met his eyes, finding them filled only with desire and admiration. She smiled gently, her exhaustion palpable. She didn't have the energy to tease him. "I told you, you can't look at me like that."

He took a step back and let her work, watching her twist the blade in the fire. "I don't know if I can stop," he said, quietly enough that she did not hear him.

By the end of the third night, they succeeded. The early morning sun was streaming into the workshop as Yuna and Genma peered over the finished sword. Swirls of metal melded in and out of one another, creating a mesmerizing pattern that glittered on the surface. The edge was deadly sharp, the balance was perfect, and the blade looked like a piece of art.

"Damn, Yuna."

"That's a good thing, I hope?" Yuna asked, running a finger across the flat of the blade. Despite the pattern in the metal, it was incredibly smooth, and she couldn't deny that she'd surprised herself with her own ability to create it.

"A blade this pretty, pipsqueak? Yeah, it's a good thing." He reached his arm around her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. She turned towards him and he found her lips, drinking long and deep. She tasted like sweat and soot, but he didn't mind. He much preferred this to perfume and lip gloss.

Yuna melted into him, slipping her hands under his shirt as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. They were both riding a high of companionship and teamwork. Working in such close proximity over three days had set them both on edge. Given the task at hand and the focus they put into it, the palpable attraction between them went unresolved, building up tension night after night. It was like keeping two strong magnets held close, without letting them touch.

Now, they touched.

The adrenaline running through Yuna's body made her hungry for him, and she pulled his shirt off, running her hands over every chiseled muscle in his abdomen. He was musky and sticky from residual sweat, but she, too, felt dirty, and to her, he felt good.

Genma shuddered with delight as her fingers tickled him. He felt the same sense of satisfaction as Yuna. He stole greedy kisses as one of his hands worked its way underneath her shirt, drifting over the top of her undergarments, his fingers probing the soft swell of her chest where bare skin met fabric. She took in a sharp breath and pressed herself into his hand. He deftly pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside, feeling her warm skin for the first time against his.

The feeling was insane. He paused for a moment and just looked at her, watching those green eyes with wonder. Her face was flush with the same delight he felt.

"Genma," she whispered, her eyes twinkling with anticipation. "I told you. You can't look at me like that."

His eyes softened at the corners and he smirked. "Sorry, Yuna, but it's the only way I know how."

He was just leaning in for another taste of her lips when a voice came from the workshop entrance.

"I take it you were successful?"

Genma turned immediately, pushing Yuna behind him to shield her half-naked body from the intruder.

"Raido!" He yelled angrily upon recognizing his best friend. "A little privacy?!"

Yuna's brother avoided eye contact, both utterly peeved and completely scarlet. "Yeah, and I'd give it to you, if the door weren't wide open and we didn't have a dilemma on our hands."

Genma heard Yuna sigh behind him. She reached down for their clothes, shoving Genma's shirt in his chest while quickly putting hers back on.

"Just a little celebration, Raido. The same kind you and Shizune probably get up to after missions," she told him. She was beet red herself, and yet she still had the wherewithal to tease her brother.

"Seems like you're back to normal," Raido retorted, for once not growing sheepish at her teasing. "But you better save it. Kakashi called a meeting to discuss the enemy's chakra blades. A group of prominent weapons makers, sellers, researchers, and users are in attendance."

Genma and Yuna froze.

"When?" Genma asked.

"Right now. Ten minutes ago, actually."

"But it's seven in the morning!" Yuna exclaimed.

"Eight, actually," Raido told her, crossing his arms and raising his eyes at her. "You must have lost track of time."

"Why wasn't Yuna invited?" Genma asked.

"Oh, the Namiashi's were invited. Dad is fully present. I got off duty right as he was walking in. Smug bastard."

"Well if that's the case..." Yuna picked up the new sword from the table, twisting it in her hands. "I guess it's time we figure out what we've made."


Kakashi sat at the head of a long table. A number of other shinobi joined him in seats, while others chose to stand. Tsunade and Shizune, along with Shikamaru, were present. He trusted their opinions and wanted their advice. Seika, too, stood against the wall, just outside of his peripheral vision, but he felt comfort in her presence there. Apart from these four, the rest of the meeting attendees were weapons experts, makers, and users. Namiashi Ryosuke was in attendance, although he neglected to bring his daughter, which annoyed Kakashi. Instead, he'd brought another member of the Namiashi clan, a genin who was aiming to take the chunin exams for a third time. Kakashi appreciated the boy's persistence, but he wasn't convinced he would pass.

Io and Shoseki, from the Konoha Ninja Tool Research Facility, were also present. They'd traveled through the night to make it to the meeting, and they were conversing with Tenten, who Kakashi had invited along with Uzuki Yugao. He wanted the input of weapons users, especially those skilled in kenjutsu. Raido and Genma were also supposed to be in attendance, but Kakashi suspected they had good reason for their absence.

Finally, Morino Ibiki was present, having completed his interrogation of the two shinobi that Ayame and Iruka had captured. He'd gleaned enough to know where they had taken Hana, and that she was being held at the same location where these chakra blades were being fabricated. If a rescue operation was to be successful, they needed to figure out just how to combat the swords.

In the center of the table sat three of those pesky chakra blades. Two were prototypes, recovered by Genma and Raido, while the third had been in the possession of the shinobi that infiltrated the village. It was of far higher quality than the other two.

A series of metal shards also littered the table. A few minutes prior, Tenten had sent a barrage of weapons at the chakra blades in the center, but each shattered on contact. She was now in a theoretical conversation with Io and Shoseki about what types of weapons might be able to withstand a blow from these swords.

Apart from this simple test, the discussion only consisted of arguments. Those who studied weapons wished to take the blades back to their laboratories and experiment on them, but Kakashi would not allow this, not with a civilian's life at stake. Already, Io and Shoseki were growing distracted by their interest in how the swords were made. The Namiashi boy, Shigeo, kept asking Ryosuke a number of simple questions about chakra blades, and Ryosuke only had curt answers for him.

Kakashi sat in his chair, letting the chaos ensue around him. He made eye contact with Tsunade and shook his head ever so slightly, the only sign of his frustration at the lack of cooperation between these attendees.

Yugao reached out and picked up a prototype in one hand and the well-crafted blade in the other, testing their balance and weight. "It's almost like they weren't even made by the same individual," she said. "The one is so crude, and the other is nearly flawless. You said these have chakra in them?"

"They damage Namiashi steel," Kakashi said knowingly, glancing with interest at Ryosuke. "Raido and Genma shattered one against that prototype after a prolonged mock battle."

Yugao whistled. She focused evenly on both of the swords. "It's not chakra steel though. I can't channel my chakra through them…not like your weapons, Namiashi-sama," she said, nodding to Ryosuke.

Shigeo-kun reached out across the table. "Is it standard steel though?" His fingers extended toward the prototype, ready to touch the bright metal.

Tsunade stood up, pounding her hands against the table loudly and stopping the boy in his tracks. "You can't touch the blades!" she yelled angrily. "We've already been through this!"

Shigeo's eyes went wide and he sat backwards, terrified at being reprimanded by a Hokage.

Shizune poked her head around her mentor. "The metal of the prototypes leave burns on the skin. The well-crafted blade seems like it contains the chakra more thoroughly."

Tsunade shook her head. "I've only ever seen burns like that under one other scenario."

"And what's that?" Io prompted.

Tsunade exchanged a look with Kakashi. "...Chakra from the tailed beasts…" she finished.

A mutter went around the room. "Tailed beasts?" Tenten asked. "But why would any of them be involved in making weapons. I thought we were at peace with them."

"You don't need the beasts to make the weapons," Shikamaru told her, speaking up. "You just need their chakra…and there's plenty of that floating around after the war. It's not the first time someone would have used the residuals to create a weapon."

The room fell quiet, until Ryosuke's deep voice cut through the silence. "It's incredibly difficult to infuse chakra into steel."

"Difficult, but not impossible," Kakashi said. "In the Hidden Mist, blades like that are a reality."

"The famed seven swords?" Io asked with interest. "You know how they were made?"

"No…" came another voice, "but I do." Seika stepped away from her corner in the room and moved to the table. She picked up one of the blades by the hilt. "Growing up in Kiri, I trained with many of the swordsmen, and I learned much about those swords. It takes two things to infuse a blade like that with chakra. It takes incredibly powerful chakra…and excessive amounts of heat. At a certain temperature, the atoms in the metal vibrate with energy, and chakra of the same intensity can meld with the blade. In theory, it's simple. But in practice? Much more difficult. Not even all of the seven swords were forged with this method."

"But some were?" Tenten asked.

"Yes. You could probably guess which ones," Seika said, placing the blade back on the table. "They have their own unique abilities. Samehada, known to eat chakra, Kiba, the dual lightning blades, Hiramekarei, the only active sword in Kiri, and…" her voice faltered.

"Kubikiribocho," Kakashi said, meeting her eyes. "The sword that leaves wounds that remember the giver."

Seika nodded. "Those swords could likely stand up to these blades," she said, gesturing to the center of the table.

"Then we ask Kirigakure for assistance!" Io shouted.

"We can't," Shikamaru said. "If Chojuro-san is the only active swordsman, they won't agree to let him leave the village."

"There are other swords though," Ryosuke said.

"Not in our possession," Seika told him, "and it takes incredible training to wield them."

"So then, what are our other options?" Yugao asked.

At that moment, there was a loud commotion at the door, and they all heard arguing outside of the room. A moment later, the doors burst open, and Yuna appeared, with Genma and Raido at her heels.

"Yuna!" Her father exclaimed, standing up at her appearance.

Yuna ignored her father, instead bowing to the Hokage. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Kakashi gave her a curious look, and his eyebrows raised in interest. He shifted his gaze to Genma, who gave him a smirk and a brief nod.

"I heard you're meeting to find a way to combat the chakra blades," she said, glancing over the weapons on the table. "I have something that should help."

Yuna presented her new sword to Kakashi, holding it out in her left hand.

"What in the world is that?" Io asked, his voice full of curiosity.

"A new alloy," Yuna replied. "Made with chakra steel."

"Has it been tested?" Her father piped up, his voice stern.

"N-no…" Yuna faltered.

"Best try it out," Genma said lightly, and he picked up one of the chakra blades from the table, the one that looked well forged.

In front of the room, he launched himself at Yuna. She was not expecting this action from him, but her reflexes once again kicked in and she parried, blocking his attack.

"Show them, Yuna," he commanded, and she nodded. With one arm still in a sling, she used her other to fight Genma off, meeting him blow for blow with her newly created blade. Each time the swords met, her confidence grew, but she soon reached her own limit.

"Raido!" she called, and she tossed the blade to him.

Raido took her cue and began sparring with Genma, the power levels in the room increasing. He imbued the blade with his own chakra, and a bluish hue extended down the length of the sword, rippling with power.

As the two blades met again and again, something peculiar happened with the sword that Genma was wielding. In response to the chakra from Raido's sword, it slowly emitted a bubbling, red, angry glow, as if the chakra in the blade was seeping out and trying to escape. It started from the top, slowly inching down towards the hilt, and as soon as it reached the hilt, Genma cried out in pain and dropped the sword. It fell to the ground, and the red chakra disappeared.

Raido inspected his blade. "Yuna," he said quietly, turning to his sister. "Not a scratch."

Yugao and Io both stood up from their seats, peering over Raido to look at the sword in his hands.

Ryosuke, too, stood and stared at his daughter. A frown was etched deep into his face. "Impossible..." he muttered.

"Not quite," Genma replied simply, crossing his arms and chuckling as he watched old man Namiashi struggle with his misconceptions about his own daughter.

"I've never seen steel like this," Yugao said, taking the sword from Raido and sending her own chakra down its length. "It's incredibly well-crafted."

Kakashi stood up from his chair and picked up the chakra blade from the ground, inspecting it. "Alternatively, it seems like this blade isn't as well-made as it appears," he said. "At least, we know it won't stand up to pressure." He turned to Yuna. "What do you call your new alloy?" he asked.

Yuna paused for a moment. She hadn't yet thought of a name, but as her eyes landed on Genma, she knew exactly what legacy she wanted this new sword to have. "Shiranui steel," she said.

Genma grunted in surprise, as did Raido, Shizune, and Yuna's father. She saw confusion in Genma's eyes, but Yuna did not regret her decision for a name.

"Shiranui steel…" Kakashi repeated. He took the sword from Yugao. A second later, the blade crackled white with lightning. "It reminds me of a blade my father gave me," he said, "although it's more…non-traditional. How long would it take you to make three more?"

Yuna turned to Genma. "How long can you go without sleep?"

He watched her critically, raising an eyebrow. "Longer than you, pipsqueak."

She turned back to the Hokage. "Give me a week."

He nodded at her. "Then it's time to pull together a team for a recovery mission," he announced. "The goal of the mission is to rescue the civilian, Ruike Hana. Genma, Raido, since you both have field experience combating these chakra blades, I want you two on the team to recover her."

"Yes, sir!" both men replied.

"You'll need a medical specialist," he continued. Shizune stepped forward, but Kakashi shook his head. "No, Shizune, I need you here."

"Sakura, then?" she suggested.

Kakashi thought for a moment, but shook his head again. "Not for this mission." He let out a long breath and his eyes shifted to the corner. He watched the woman standing there for a moment before speaking. "Seika."

Something in the way he said her name felt precious…tender even, and Yuna wondered just what their Hokage was thinking.

"Yes, Kakashi?" the dark haired girl asked, bowing her head slightly, but raising her eyes to meet his.

"I'm sending you. Your reconnaissance skills will be vital."

"Of course."

Kakashi assessed the three. "Naruto will be returning from his honeymoon soon. I'll send him with a backup team to clean up the mess of this tailed beast chakra. Your main imperative is to bring Hana back. Alive."

He then began to pace back and forth. "And that just leaves a captain for this team…" he muttered, almost to himself. In the next breath, he commanded, "Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru was taken aback, surprised that Kakashi would be asking him to captain this set of jonin. "Hokage-sama, I–"

But Kakashi cut him off. "It's time to call Yamato home."


A/N: Full disclosure: I know next to nothing about sword-making, so give me some grace there, haha! But I hope you enjoyed this installment. I debated for a long time whether Raido or Genma would be the one to assist her with forging chakra steel, but like Ayame and Iruka in the last chapter, it felt right to have something like this pulling Yuna and Genma together, further cementing their affection. While I think Yuna could have done it with someone else, I think Genma's the only one who could get her to feel so free and comfortable so quickly.

Next up, we finally hear from Yamato. If there are some delays on updates in the future, forgive me in advance - I know exactly where I want this story to go/end, but I'm having a harder time putting it down on paper the way I see it/feel it in my head!