Chapter 15: Upgrading White Fang, Clan Pressure, and the Great Elder's DinnerHearing Sakumo's words, Naraku felt a wave of exasperation.
He had deliberately avoided giving Kirikabe Ichimonji to Sakumo for exactly this reason—Sakumo's style didn't match the blade's bleed and Yang-chakra burst effects. But now Sakumo was doubting his ability! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never bully the young and poor!
For the sake of getting stronger, Naraku explained earnestly: "I can do more than just blades with those two abilities. I can directly upgrade your White Light Blade! Sakumo-sama, you wouldn't want your beloved weapon to fall behind your strength or break easily and be discarded, would you?"
Sakumo didn't know it yet, but in the future, Kakashi's White Light Blade would indeed break. At last, Sakumo showed real interest. While he rarely clashed weapons directly, he had always wanted to extend or reinforce his tanto. But the blade required extreme chakra conductivity, meaning any extension needed massive amounts of chakra metal—drastically raising costs. The current White Light Blade was a generational heirloom of chakra-metal craftsmanship in the Hatake family. Too much chakra metal also limited modification potential.
After understanding the issue, Naraku spoke with confidence: "I have several rare materials with excellent chakra conductivity and additional properties. They may not match chakra metal's conductivity exactly, but they're very close. I can replace the ordinary metals in your tanto with these, achieving both extension and reinforcement. The final result: overall chakra conductivity ratio stays the same or improves slightly, while durability and strength rise significantly."
He then let Sakumo choose the blade's added abilities: "Speed boost! Short-burst power! Earth-attribute attacks! Poison quenching! Pick two!"
Sakumo refused once more.
This time Naraku truly got angry. He, the rising star forger of Konoha, was offering to upgrade the blade for free—and this guy kept rejecting him? Too disrespectful!
Naraku silently vowed: three strikes and you're out. One more refusal, and if Sakumo ever wanted a weapon from him in the future, Naraku would eat dirt first.
Calming himself, he asked again why Sakumo refused.
Sakumo replied honestly: those special conductive metals with extra properties were far too precious. He couldn't possibly pay their worth.
Hearing that, Naraku's anger faded. He recognized Sakumo as one of the rare truly honorable men in the ninja world—more samurai than shinobi, with unshakable principles.
Naraku instinctively took the moral high ground: "Sakumo-sama, do you think I didn't consider that? You underestimate my generosity! Do you think I forge weapons just for money? This is for Konoha—for the village's peace and future! If it really bothers you, then teach me some swordsmanship instead."
Sakumo was stunned. He never expected an eight-year-old to possess such magnanimity. If not for the age gap, he might have wanted to swear brotherhood on the spot.
But hearing Naraku's interest in his blade style, Sakumo decided to pass down his entire swordsmanship legacy! He also silently resolved to protect this promising future of Konoha.
As for the blade's abilities, Sakumo chose without much hesitation: speed enhancement and short-burst power. Earth attacks and poison didn't suit him. What he needed was extreme speed and one decisive strike that shattered all defenses. In the world of martial arts, only speed is unbeatable; only unyielding force breaks everything. That was Hatake Sakumo's fighting philosophy.
After clarifying details and sketching a few designs for Sakumo to choose from, Naraku took the White Light Blade away.
Hatake Miko watched helplessly as the boy walked off with her family's generational heirloom. She wondered if her husband had just been scammed—and whether she should have let this child in.
With the tanto in hand, Naraku was ready to go all-out— —but Uchiha Mikoto showed up.
Upon learning that her grandfather Uchiha Min wanted to see him, Naraku felt his teeth ache. That old man was no pushover. As the hawk faction leader of the Uchiha, he was an extremely stubborn old fossil in Naraku's eyes.
But refusal wasn't an option. He feared being dragged to dinner mid-forging—bound and gagged if necessary.
In that moment, Naraku painfully felt the gap in strength. He didn't need Hashirama's power—even Tobirama's strength would let him refuse this meal outright. He could even boldly declare: "Evil Uchiha-hating old ghost, I'll personally—"
And see who dared interrupt his forging afterward.
After venting internally, Naraku resigned himself, took a bath, and went to meet Uchiha Min.
At the dinner table, Uchiha Aoko served the dishes and quietly withdrew.
Min smiled at Naraku: "Little Naraku, what have you been busy with lately?"
Mid-bite, Naraku set down his chopsticks. He knew the real conversation was starting. "Lately I forged 'Kirikabe Ichimonji' for Lord Orochimaru. Now I'm preparing to reforge Sakumo-sama's White Light Blade."
Hearing Naraku openly favor outsiders, Min didn't show anger. Years of political struggle had taught him to suppress emotion. "Then when do you plan to forge weapons for the Uchiha clan?"
Naraku kept playing dumb: "Doesn't the Uchiha believe their Sharingan is enough?"
Even Mikoto grew anxious. Her grandfather might seem gentle, but he was a ruthless man who never let grudges wait overnight.
Min was silent for a moment before replying: "That is indeed a problem within the Uchiha. The younger generation has become too arrogant. They hear stories of Lord Madara and think the Sharingan alone is sufficient. They look down on everything else. What they don't understand is that Madara excelled in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu far beyond normal levels."
While Min spoke, Naraku shoveled several more big bites of rice. Then he looked straight at the old man: "I will forge weapons for the clan—but I hope I'm not forging for the weak! I don't want the weapons I worked hard to create to be stolen by enemies!"
With that, Naraku excused himself, said goodbye to Mikoto, and left.
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