Chapter 29: The Sword of the Thunder God
Masahiko couldn't even wait until the next day. Unable to hold back his desire to show off, he went to find Tobirama.
After he explained why he was there, Tobirama looked resigned. "Great-Uncle, you... learned how to forge?"
"What do you mean, 'learned'?! I've always known how. Look at these two shuriken. I forged them myself!" Masahiko felt like he was being mocked.
Tobirama looked at the shuriken. They were plain and unremarkable, no different from standard-issue ones. That's what he thought, and that's what he said: "Aren't these just standard-issue shuriken?"
"Look closer! Stare at them! Open your eyes wide and look!" Masahiko said angrily. He channeled chakra into the shuriken, and a blinding light erupted from them.
"See them clearly now?" Masahiko asked smugly.
"Er... now I can't see anything at all," Tobirama said, rubbing his eyes with a helpless, bitter smile.
Masahiko: "..."
In short, after an hour of various demonstrations, Tobirama was reluctantly convinced that Masahiko really could forge.
"Great-Uncle, you said you wanted to forge me a sword. That's fine, but it's getting late," Tobirama said, resigned. "The forge is probably closing. Let's just go tomorrow."
"It's fine! They're not closed yet. We'll go over, I'll finish, and then they can close," Masahiko said with a grin.
Seeing he couldn't get out of it, Tobirama could only follow Masahiko in resignation.
Halfway there, however, a Chunin stopped them. "Lord Tobirama, the Clan Head is looking for you!"
Tobirama's face lit up with relief. Masahiko, however, looked annoyed. He followed Tobirama to the Clan Head's hall. He had to see what Hashirama wanted this late.
"Tobirama, you're here," Hashirama said. "There was just an accident at the forge."
"What happened, brother?" Tobirama asked.
"A furnace exploded. It seems someone... cut a gash in it with a sharp weapon earlier."
Masahiko's face instantly darkened.
Hashirama saw his expression and said resignedly, "Great-Uncle... that wasn't you, was it?"
"I... it was an accident," Masahiko said sheepishly.
"Forget it. Luckily, only two blacksmiths were lightly injured. Just be more careful next time..." Hashirama couldn't really scold him.
"Right, careful... I'll go heal those two blacksmiths," Masahiko said. He was too embarrassed to drag Tobirama to the forge now.
Seeing Masahiko leave, Tobirama breathed a sigh of relief. "Brother, Great-Uncle insists on forging me a sword, and I..."
"It's fine, Tobirama. If it's really bad, we'll just have it re-forged later," Hashirama said, unable to offer any better comfort.
Sure enough, the first thing next morning, Masahiko found Tobirama and dragged him to the forge.
Tobirama sighed. "Great-Uncle, you could have just brought me the sword when you were finished. Why drag me here to watch?"
"How is that the same?" Masahiko glared. "Watching your own weapon be forged... it's a special feeling."
"What's so special..." Tobirama started to argue, but he saw Masahiko was already hard at work.
Resigned, Tobirama just watched. But as he watched, his worry faded. Masahiko's movements were systematic and precise, completely different from yesterday. They weren't chaotic at all, but instead had a strange, artistic quality.
"Artistic? I must be going crazy," Tobirama muttered.
Half a day passed, and Masahiko had forged a sword. As far as Tobirama could tell, it looked like a complete success.
"Here. Try it out," Masahiko said, handing the sword to him.
Tobirama took it, gave it a few test swings, and nodded, satisfied. "It's good. The balance is perfect, and the weight is just right."
Masahiko handed him a kunai. "Try cutting this. Don't worry, it won't break."
Tobirama nodded, swung the sword, and sliced the kunai cleanly in two.
"What a sharp blade!" Tobirama said, his face lighting up with pleasure.
"A 'sharp blade'? This is a divine weapon!" Masahiko took the sword back, his face flushed, and poured a huge amount of his own Lightning Release chakra into it.
"There. Now it's finished."
Tobirama took the sword back and infused his own chakra. The blade instantly erupted in a blinding white light.
Tobirama's face darkened. More blinding white light...
Before he could even ask Masahiko if he had some weird obsession with white light, Tobirama felt an incredible power from the blade, as if it could cut through anything.
"Let's go. We'll test it at Training Ground 1," Masahiko said, seeing his hesitation.
When they arrived, Masahiko explained. "The massive amount of my Lightning chakra transformed the blade into pure light. It can block most ninjutsu. Anything it cuts will be shocked and paralyzed. It can cut through almost anything. The blade can also be retracted into the hilt, making it easy to carry."
Tobirama tried it, and the blade retracted perfectly.
"Block most ninjutsu?" He was still skeptical.
"Try this! Rasengan!" Masahiko formed a Rasengan and thrust it at him.
Tobirama swung the sword, and it sliced the Rasengan apart.
"It can block an A-rank jutsu?!" Tobirama said, stunned.
"Not just that! Giant Rasengan!"
Tobirama reacted instinctively, splitting the Giant Rasengan in two as well.
"How about non-energy attacks! Wind Release: Pressure Damage! Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Tobirama cut them both down. Seeing Masahiko winding up for more, he quickly stopped him.
"Alright, Great-Uncle! I feel like you're just using me for target practice! Just hit me with your strongest jutsu!"
"My strongest?" Masahiko grinned mischievously. "You sure about that?"
Tobirama felt a sense of unease, but he had absolute faith in the sword. Besides, he'd seen Masahiko's "strongest jutsu" during the Kaguya war and figured he could block it.
"Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!" Masahiko yelled, hurling the massive jutsu.
Tobirama looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "Great-Uncle, are you trying to kill me?!" He didn't dare block it, instantly teleporting away with the Hiraishin.
The Rasenshuriken obliterated more than half of Training Ground 1. Masahiko, however, looked unsatisfied.
"As I thought... its power is nothing compared to Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands..."
Tobirama appeared at Masahiko's side, his face absolutely livid.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry," Masahiko said with a grin. "It's your own fault for being disrespectful and daring me to use my strongest jutsu."
"So, are you satisfied with your new weapon? Give it a name!"
Tobirama took a moment to compose himself. "I'm satisfied. Since it's infused with Lightning Release chakra... let's call it the Raijin no Ken... the Sword of the Thunder God."
I was waiting for you to say that!
A familiar line of text flashed in Masahiko's mind: "Witnessed and completely changed a Naruto world Side Story: The Sword of the Thunder God. Received 2 (*10) Witness Points."
Completely changed? A ten-times multiplier? ...Of course! The sword I just made isn't the piece of junk from the story that gets shattered by a Rasengan and a Chidori!
This was a massive win!