Tessai's old eyes gleamed startlingly bright in the dim forge.
"A blade that can bear thunder?" He tossed his hammer to the ground with a resounding clang. "Kid, I've been forging iron my whole life, and I've never heard such nonsense. You want me to build you a lightning rod?"
Roy wasn't intimidated by his attitude.
He knew that old masters with genuine skill were the most eccentric of all.
You had to stroke them the right way, and also make sure they didn't think you were talking nonsense.
"Master Tessai, this isn't a metaphor." Roy explained seriously. "My chakra nature is somewhat special, very overbearing, and highly corrosive to metal. Ordinary steel won't hold up under more than a few full infusions of my chakra."
He pushed his already ruined fine steel short sword forward, pointing at the fine cracks on it.
"This is the result of my chakra eating it away."
This was, of course, a lie, but it was the kind of lie that closely mirrored the truth.
The power of Thunder Annihilation was far more overbearing than any chakra; calling it metal-eating wasn't an exaggeration at all.
Tessai narrowed his eyes, leaning in to examine the cracks closely.
He reached out with his rough fingers and felt the blade.
"No." He shook his head. "This isn't corrosion. It's more like... being erased from the root. This force isn't destroying; it's making the iron disappear."
Roy's heart skipped a beat.
This old man's eyes were far too sharp.
"That's precisely why I need chakra metal." Roy decided to stop explaining and stated his goal directly. "I need a container tough enough and conductive enough to hold my unruly power."
Tessai didn't press further.
He was silent for a long time, the room filled only with the crackling of the furnace fire.
"Swords come in many types." He finally spoke. "Long, short, wide, narrow. What kind do you want?"
"Short." Roy answered without hesitation. "About one and a half shaku in length. The blade should be straight, no curve. Convenient for stabbing, and also for cutting. The hilt needs to be solid, wrapped with the most slip-resistant sharkskin. No unnecessary decorations. Just the simplest, most reliable round tsuba."
"Wakizashi form, ninja sword usage." Tessai nodded. "You know what you want, kid. You're not looking for a work of art; you want a pure tool for killing."
"On a battlefield, the ones who survive are the tools." Roy replied calmly.
"Well said!" Tessai slapped his thigh. "For that one line, I'll take this job!"
He seemed energized, excitement bubbling up as he dragged out an oil-stained blueprint from the corner.
"Don't just stand there, kid!" He barked at Roy. "From today on, you're my apprentice! This blade is made to your request, so you're going to help. You don't leave until it's finished!"
In the following days, Roy lived in that hot and noisy forge.
His daily tasks were to follow Tessai's lead, starting with the most basic work.
Working the bellows, hammering ingots, sharpening stones.
The work was dirty and exhausting, but he didn't complain once, accepting it all.
Tessai grumbled and cursed, but inwardly, he grew increasingly astonished.
This kid worked with an indescribable focus. Others used arm strength to hammer metal.
Roy used his whole body's strength, and every strike was as precise as if measured with a ruler.
He had Roy control the temperature of the quenching water.
Without a word, Roy plunged his hand into the cold water tank, using his chakra to maintain the entire tank's water temperature precisely at Tessai's specified point, unwavering, for two full hours.
By the end, Tessai couldn't even be bothered to curse anymore.
The way he looked at Roy was like he was staring at a monster wearing human skin.
While Roy was doing the grunt work, Tessai finally began processing the precious chakra metal.
He didn't forge it directly. Instead, he used an ancient method that Roy couldn't understand, first soaking the metal in a chemical solution for three days and three nights.
After three days, the strange bluish shimmer on the metal ingot had become more subdued and profound.
"This is to wake its spirit." Tessai offered a rare explanation. "Even the finest materials have their own nature. You have to understand its temperament first before you can make it obey you."
The actual forging began.
Tessai's entire demeanor changed.
He was no longer the grumbling old man, but a devout believer.
Every swing of his hammer was filled with a sense of strength and rhythmic beauty.
Sparks flew. Under repeated hammering, the chakra metal was gradually drawn out and took shape.
Roy watched from the side, observing and learning. He watched how Tessai directed the flame, how he folded and forged, how he used the simplest tools to create a perfect weapon.
Meanwhile, back at the inn.
Tokuma Hyūga was practicing Gentle Fist meticulously in the yard.
He repeated the most basic forms over and over, sweat soaking his bangs.
"Where the hell did he go?" He stopped, unable to help but complain.
Roy had been gone for three days. Their teacher, Minato, had simply said he had something to do and told them to train on their own, without any further explanation.
"Maybe… he's doing some kind of secret training." Under the hallway of the room, Yakumo Kurama said softly as she painted on her easel. Her painting showed a blurred silhouette wielding a hammer before a flame.
"Secret training?" Tokuma snorted. "I think he just doesn't want to be with us. That guy, no one can guess what he's thinking."
Despite his words, he actually admired Roy quite a bit.
During the bell-stealing exercise last time, if it hadn't been for Roy's plan, all three of them would have surely been sent back to the Academy.
"I don't think Roy-kun is like that," Yakumo refuted quietly. "Being with him… feels safe."
Tokuma fell silent. He had to admit Yakumo was right. There was something about that guy named Roy that inspired an inexplicable sense of trust.
Just then, Minato Namikaze appeared at the entrance to the yard.
"How's the training going?" He asked with a smile.
"Minato-sensei!" Both of them quickly greeted him.
Minato walked over to them, looking at Tokuma's stance, then at Yakumo's painting.
"Good, no signs of slacking." He nodded. "I know you're thinking about Roy. The most important thing for a team is trust. You must trust your team leader, just as he trusts you."
"Is he really training?" Tokuma couldn't help but ask again.
"Yes." Minato looked towards the forging district, his gaze thoughtful. "He's forging sharper 'teeth' for himself, and for our team."
Seven days later.
In the forge, the final process began.
Quenching.
Tessai took the red-hot blade blank from the furnace. He looked at Roy with unprecedented seriousness.
"Kid, it's your turn."
He pointed to the prepared quenching tank beside him.
"This blade was born from your will. Now, pour your soul into it. Use your chakra to wrap around it, make it remember your essence from the inside out. Succeed or fail, it all hangs on this moment!"
Roy nodded.
He walked to the quenching tank and placed both hands into the water. A surge of refined chakra poured into the tank without reservation.
"Now!" Tessai roared.
The red-hot blade blank was plunged fiercely into the water.
Sizzle!
A massive cloud of white steam instantly filled the entire room. Roy felt a cold, sharp aura surge through the water and into his body.
The Thunder Dragon power within him stirred slightly at this moment, as if sensing something.
When the steam cleared.
Tessai held a brand-new blade in his hands.
Its body was black, non-reflective, like a piece of obsidian that absorbed light.
The straight edge exuded a chilling sharpness.
He handed the blade to Roy.
"Take it."
Roy accepted the blade.
It felt strange in his hand.
Neither heavy nor light, it felt like a natural extension of his arm.
He could feel a hunger within this blade.
Experimentally, he channeled a faint trace of Armament Haki into the blade.
The overbearing power met no resistance. It flowed smoothly into the blade, like a stream merging into the sea.
A flicker of deeper darkness seemed to flash across the black blade's surface.
It was done.
This was his vessel.
---