Chapter 62: The Land of Iron
"The scenery of the North, a thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of drifting snow..."
"You can't see snow like this in the Land of Fire, right, Hashirama? Tobirama?"
"That's true, Great-Uncle," Tobirama said, "but we should hurry. We're going to be late..."
"Tobirama, you're getting more boring by the day..." Masahiko sighed.
Masahiko, Hashirama, and Tobirama were traveling toward the Land of Iron. This was where the first Five Kage Summit was to be held.
With some distance still to go, all they could see was a vast expanse of white ice and snow.
The Land of Iron was a unique country. Long ago, the ninjas had agreed that this nation would have no wars with other ninja nations; it was a permanently neutral country. It was ruled by samurai and possessed an independent culture, independent authority, and independent military power.
It was the last sanctuary of the samurai after ninjas became the mainstream. After Hashirama proposed the Five Kage Summit, the other four Kage agreed to hold the first meeting in the Land of Iron.
Hashirama was attending as the Hokage, and Tobirama as his guard. As for Masahiko, he had another purpose for coming to the Land of Iron...
Upon arriving, no one came out to welcome them. The current Land of Iron was still in chaos, with warlords dividing the territory and feudal lords fighting for dominance. As for the Five Kage holding a summit here, they simply upheld their principle of neutrality and didn't oppose it. Expecting someone to welcome them or even host the summit was wishful thinking.
After escorting Hashirama and Tobirama to the meeting room, Masahiko left alone.
For the Five Kage Summit, each Kage only brought one guard. It wasn't appropriate for Masahiko to follow them in. Besides, since it was a Five Kage Summit, the First Kazekage, Reto, whom Masahiko had met before, would definitely be there. Seeing him... Masahiko would feel a bit guilty. Even if he lost a few Witness Points, it was just a side story, probably only worth 2 or 5 points.
Wandering around, Masahiko saw nothing but samurai in heavy armor. Wearing only a thin robe with the Uzumaki crest, he felt slightly out of place.
After a rough tour, Masahiko found his destination: a blacksmith shop.
"Sir, what kind of weapon do you need?"
As Masahiko entered, a young shop assistant greeted him.
Masahiko looked around. The walls were lined with long swords, short swords, long blades, short blades...
"Quite a variety. Bring me your best weapon," Masahiko said, acting like a rich man.
The assistant immediately took down a long sword from the wall. "This is the best sword in our shop. Only 105,000 ryo."
"Look at this edge..."
"Enough!" Masahiko interrupted. He took the sword, wrapped his finger in Wind Release chakra, and tapped the blade. Snap! The sword broke in two.
The assistant stood frozen. It took him a long while to recover. "So, you are a ninja-sama... but..."
"Here is 105,000 ryo." Masahiko was rich now. He pulled out a stack of bills and handed them over. "Bring me the best weapon you have."
"But that one just now..."
Masahiko shook his head. "Does a weapon shop this big not have even one decent weapon?"
The assistant gritted his teeth and went into the back room. A moment later, he came out holding a sword with both hands.
"You are a ninja-sama. This sword is infused with chakra-conducting metal, perfect for you. The price is 1.5 million ryo. However, please do not tell anyone you bought it here."
"Chakra-conducting weapons! I knew it!" Masahiko sighed inwardly. This was his purpose for coming here.
Not long ago, he discovered he was missing one of his special shuriken. After thinking carefully, he realized he had left it in the Land of Wind. He tried to use the summoning scroll to recall it, but it failed. It had either been sealed or destroyed by that old monk. So, Masahiko came to the Land of Iron hoping to acquire some more chakra-conducting metal.
"Why can't I tell anyone?" Masahiko asked, though his mind was elsewhere.
The assistant hesitated, then explained, "Ninja-sama, you may not understand the current situation in the Land of Iron. Ever since the emergence of chakra, the samurai have been divided into two factions. The majority stick to tradition and learn only swordsmanship. But a small faction, the 'New School,' is trying to integrate chakra into swordsmanship..."
Masahiko nodded. "So, this city is controlled by the Traditionalists... And yet you dare to sell chakra-conducting weapons here!"
The assistant smiled. "My boss obtained some chakra-conducting metal a while back and secretly forged three swords. Two have already been sold. The one in your hand is the last one."
Masahiko looked disappointed. He didn't detect any lies from the assistant. His hope of buying raw chakra-conducting metal was probably gone.
"Fine. I'll take this sword!" Masahiko handed over the money, thinking that maybe he could use his forging skills to extract the metal from the blade.
Afterward, Masahiko visited several other blacksmith shops, but found nothing. He sighed, realizing he had come to the wrong place.
"I remember Mifune uses chakra... In a few years, the New School should take power. I'll come back then to forge a hundred or so special shuriken and kunai..." Masahiko thought to himself as he returned to the meeting place.
"In my memory, the Five Kage Summit wasn't that long..." Masahiko muttered after waiting for a long time. He had been waiting for nearly four hours, plus the time he spent wandering...
Luckily, he could sense ten powerful chakra signatures inside, or he would have thought Hashirama and Tobirama had left without him.
It wasn't until evening that the doors finally opened. The Five Kage and their guards walked out one after another, the atmosphere harmonious. It seemed they had a pleasant conversation.
The only one with a dark face was Tobirama. Hashirama had probably shown his goofy side in front of the other Kage...
Besides Hashirama and Tobirama, Masahiko only knew two people here. One was his "half-enemy," the First Kazekage. However, the Kazekage glanced at Masahiko and didn't pay much attention. He probably didn't recognize him immediately; the difference between Masahiko at 20 and at 53 was quite significant.
The other was the future Second Tsuchikage, Mū, currently the guard of the First Tsuchikage.
"I remember this guy's name is Mū, right? Why is he already wrapped in bandages? Wasn't he burned by the Second Mizukage's Steaming Danger Tyranny? Is there already friction between Iwagakure and Kirigakure?" Masahiko wondered.
"Great-Uncle, let's go..." Hashirama walked over excitedly. "The Summit was a huge success! We successfully formed an alliance!"
"Brother, you've completely embarrassed the Hokage..." Tobirama said helplessly from the side, shooting a glare at Masahiko as he spoke.
Masahiko looked innocent.
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