The flames in the room rose once more, casting flickering light and shadows across Hinata's focused profile.
She continued to ponder. Regardless, practicing more was always beneficial. As for the Materials, the Naruto world should have some powerful ones; otherwise, where did those Six Paths Tools come from?
If all else failed, she would go back to that unscrupulous merchant to trade for them.
Hinata controlled three iron pieces, making them float in the air. Three streaks of flame from her fingertips licked at them with different rhythms.
She was testing the effects of different flames to facilitate her future Artifact Refining.
It was still the same steps: melting, purification, and reshaping.
After an unknown amount of time, the iron piece in the middle shrank in size but emitted a purer luster.
Hinata's eyes brightened slightly. She withdrew her flames and Divine Sense from it, letting it fall to the ground with a dull, solid "thud." This counted as a successful purification.
Without resting, she focused all her attention on the iron pieces to her left and right.
The one on the left had softened like a pool of dark red mercury. Under the guidance of her Divine Sense, it slowly stretched and thinned, gradually forming the prototype of a hiltless short blade.
On the right, needle-like flames had finished carving out internal micro-channels. She began attempting to inject a tiny wisp of spiritual energy into the channels, trying to make it flow along a simple rune path. This was one of the most basic stabilization runes recorded in the "Encyclopedia of a Hundred Artifact Refining Crafts."
"Psh..." With a slight hissing sound, fine cracks appeared at the edges of the micro-pores on the right iron piece, and the injected spiritual energy dissipated.
It was a failure.
However, Hinata's expression didn't change. She immediately lowered the flame's temperature to stabilize the iron piece while sending out a strand of Divine Sense to carefully scan the cause of the cracks.
"The spiritual energy was injected too quickly, and the inner walls of the channels weren't preheated enough. Hmm... next time, I need to nourish the inner walls with a gentle flame first." She silently noted the lesson.
Just as she was preparing to adjust her state and try again, a figure walked over.
Hiashi's tall silhouette stood at the doorway. With the light behind him, his expression was unreadable.
He didn't step inside, just stood there quietly, his gaze sweeping across the room.
The scattered iron pieces, the cooled metal blanks of various shapes, the lustrous purified iron on the floor, the lingering heat and faint metallic scent in the air, and his daughter's serious expression.
His gaze lingered on the floating objects and the flames in the air. This scene completely upended his worldview; he felt as if the only thing he hadn't seen yet was a ghost.
Hinata didn't stop her movements. Knowing he had arrived, she slightly reduced the temperature of the flames and let out a soft breath before speaking.
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