Midday. The sun hung high over the Uchiha Clan Compound.
"Lord Sasuke!"
Having parted ways with Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke had just returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound when he encountered the Ninja Cat Tahi.
"Thank you for your hard work, Tahi," Sasuke said, handing over a bottle of Matatabi soda as usual. "Did Granny Cat have a reply?"
Tahi licked his paw, carefully accepted the bottle, stowed it away, and replied, "Granny Cat asked me to give you this. She said to open it when you have a moment."
With that, Tahi spat out a small scroll from his mouth.
'Open it when I have a moment?'
'It seems Granny Cat has some understanding of my current situation.'
Sighing inwardly, Sasuke picked up the scroll from the ground, casually scratching the cat's chin. Tahi bared his teeth in irritation.
Sasuke calmly retrieved the scroll, ignoring Tahi's disdainful glare. "Understood," he said.
"Then I'll be going now, Young Master Sasuke!"
Tahi rolled his eyes. As Ninja Cats, they loathed being teased by humans more than anything. If it hadn't been Sasuke, Tahi would have bitten him without hesitation.
"Take care on your way back," Sasuke cautioned.
After Tahi left, Sasuke examined the scroll.
'A ninjutsu sealing scroll?'
Unlike storage scrolls, these were typically used to seal away enemy techniques or one's own ninjutsu. High-quality sealing scrolls could even seal away extremely powerful techniques.
For example, Jiraiya had used a special scroll from Mount Myōboku to seal away Uchiha Itachi's eternally burning black flames, Amaterasu.
After returning home and having dinner, Sasuke immediately grabbed the scroll Tahi had given him and headed toward Nanga Shrine.
Although Granny Cat had instructed him to open it when convenient, he felt now was the perfect time.
First, he hadn't sensed anyone spying on him during his meeting with Tahi.
Second, it was March, the time of the Spring Festival, so his visit to Naka Shrine wouldn't seem out of place.
Third, the shrine's architecture was inscribed with special sealing techniques that could block many forms of surveillance. There was a reason why the Uchiha Clan had repeatedly chosen this location to plot coups without fear of being overheard.
Entering a room in the shrine's side hall, Sasuke carefully closed the door and windows before tearing open the scroll.
With a soft poof, white smoke dissipated, revealing an elderly woman in a yellow-orange robe and dark gray cat-ear headdress.
"Granny Cat?" A hint of surprise flickered across Sasuke's face as he whispered, "I'm honored you came personally."
"It's just a Shadow Clone, Young Sasuke," Granny Cat said casually, glancing around the room before focusing her gaze on Sasuke.
"Young Sasuke, you've grown so much. You're becoming quite the young man," Granny Cat remarked, her eyes softening with nostalgia. "The last time I saw you and Itachi, you were still such a clingy little child."
"You and Itachi were such adorable children back then. I never imagined you'd end up like this."
"Thank you for your concern," Sasuke replied calmly.
Granny Cat wasn't just the Uchiha Clan's go-to weapon customizer and intelligence broker. She also handled the private sale of the Uchiha's weapons and ninja tools, and even stored some of their current armaments and assets in her vaults.
While Granny Cat couldn't claim to know the full truth behind the Uchiha Clan's annihilation, she had pieced together much of what had transpired.
Seeing Sasuke's composure, Granny Cat sighed. "I've spoken out of turn. After all, this is a matter for you Uchihas to settle among yourselves."
"I've examined the item you had Tahi bring me. It is indeed a Fire Attribute Chakra Crystal," Granny Cat said after a moment of silence, revealing the purpose of her visit.
"Crystals of each chakra attribute are exceedingly rare. Only a ninja who has mastered a specific attribute to its absolute peak can condense such a thing."
Granny Cat didn't ask Sasuke where he obtained the Fire Release Chakra Crystal. The Uchiha clan, renowned for their mastery of Fire Release, had produced countless Fire Release masters throughout history.
Sasuke nodded. "Then, what I asked you to do... is it possible?"
Sasuke had asked Granny Cat to forge the Fire Release Chakra Crystal into a weapon. The crystal was proving somewhat useless in its current form, as it couldn't be used to aid his training.
While it could react with his own Fire Release chakra to amplify the power of his Fire Release ninjutsu, he believed that shaping it into a weapon might yield even greater results.
"Young Sasuke, are you familiar with the Sword of the Thunder God?"
"Yes," Sasuke replied. "Legend says it was the personal blade of the Second Hokage."
"Actually, that's a misconception," Granny Cat said, shaking her head. "The Second Hokage never actually wielded the Sword of the Thunder God. However, the sword is indeed closely related to him."
She continued, "At its core, the Sword of the Thunder God is a Lightning Release Chakra Crystal. During the First Shinobi World War, the Cloud Ninja launched an invasion against Konoha, but they were decisively defeated by the Second Hokage, ending in a crushing defeat for them."
"After their defeat, the Second Raikage sought a ceasefire and proposed peace talks with Konoha. As a gesture of sincerity, he gifted the Second Hokage a Lightning Release Chakra Crystal, inviting Konoha to send a delegation to Kumogakure for peace talks."
"Before traveling to Kumogakure, the Second Hokage crafted a sword hilt around the Lightning Release Chakra Crystal using chakra-conductive metal. When the wielder channels their own chakra into the hilt, a razor-sharp blade of lightning materializes from it."
"And that's how the Sword of the Thunder God came to be."
"I see," Sasuke nodded. Though he had known about the Sword of the Thunder God in both his past and present lives, he was only now learning its true origins.
"So, crafting a weapon from a Fire Release Chakra Crystal is feasible, then?"
"Indeed!"
"Then, Granny Cat, how much will it cost to forge this weapon?"
Granny Cat smiled warmly. "Young Sasuke, I won't charge you this time."
"Why not?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.
Although the Uchiha Clan and Granny Cat had a decades-long relationship, and she had essentially watched Sasuke grow up, every transaction between the Uchiha—or Sasuke himself—and Granny Cat had always required payment.
"Things have changed so much. I never imagined the Uchiha Clan would fall to this state," Granny Cat murmured, her eyes filled with reminiscence. "Even though the Uchiha have declined, my decades of friendship with them remain. Besides, Sasuke, I have great faith in your future. I believe you can restore the Uchiha Clan to its former glory. As a merchant myself, consider this an investment in you, Young Sasuke."
"Thank you," Sasuke replied after a moment of silence, his voice deep and resolute.
He made no promises, knowing he wasn't yet in a position to pledge anything. Granny Cat, in turn, made no demands, understanding that this matter would be discussed further between them in the future.
On this point, the two shared a silent understanding.
Granny Cat chuckled and continued, "Moreover, I'm itching to craft a new elemental weapon. Chakra-infused metal weapons are rare in the shinobi world, and elemental weapons are even rarer—there have only ever been a handful throughout history. As of now, only two remain, both Lightning-Attribute weapons: the Sword of the Thunder God, whose whereabouts are unknown, and the Lightning Blade Kiba, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist's blades."
Hearing this, Sasuke's eyes narrowed in thought.
"Granny Cat," he asked, "could we use a Fire Attribute Chakra Crystal as the core and Fire Obsidian as the weapon's material to forge an elemental weapon that surpasses both the Sword of the Thunder God and the Lightning Blade Kiba?"
"What?" Granny Cat froze, her eyes widening in surprise. "You have Fire Obsidian too?"
Sasuke nodded awkwardly.
Snapping out of her daze, Granny Cat's eyes lit up with excitement. "Then let's give it a try!"
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