Chapter 103: The Fifth Ten-Pull is About to Begin!

"However, recently, the situation on the battlefield has indeed worsened," Third Mizukage hesitated before saying.

"Hidden Sand Village has restrained many of our people, while it seems that Konoha has reached a temporary agreement with Hidden Cloud Village. They may now focus more of their energy on our Hidden Mist Village."

"Fortunately, the Ninjato you crafted, Soma, has relieved a lot of pressure on the village."

"Otherwise, just Pakura alone would have made it difficult for our ninjas to cope."

"And last time, with the Kaguya Clan incident, if it weren't for you crafting the Dragon-Bone and proposing such suggestions, the impact would have been much greater than it is now."

Seeing the conversation lead to this point, Soma deliberately mentioned the direction of the Tailed Beasts.

"Mizukage-sama, I remember there was a Tailed Beast rampage in Hidden Cloud Village before, causing tremendous damage. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Third Mizukage nodded.

"The rampage of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki led to the deaths and injuries of over a hundred ninjas in Hidden Cloud Village. In addition, many buildings were destroyed, resulting in tremendous losses."

"Mizukage-sama, do you think Konoha could be behind this?" Soma asked.

"Hidden Cloud Village holds enmity towards the two largest ninja villages, Hidden Rock Village and Konoha. Konoha has a significant advantage in dealing with and controlling tailed beasts compared to other ninja villages. They possess the Sealing Jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan, as well as the descendants of the Uzumaki Clan and the Uchiha with Sharingan. Mizukage-sama, could Konoha adopt the same strategy against our Hidden Mist Village?"

Soma remembered that Orochimaru was indeed behind the incident in Hidden Cloud Village. While there might be no direct evidence against Konoha, there could still be some clues. Therefore, the subsequent actions of Hidden Cloud Village against Konoha could be significant.

Soma still had some concerns about Rin's situation.

It's not about caring for Rin.

Instead, once the blame for Rin's death falls on Hidden Mist Village, then in the future, Obito would retaliate against Hidden Mist Village like a rabid dog.

Soma a a member of Hidden Mist Village, he will naturally be included in Uchiha Obito's targets for retaliation.

One Uchiha Obito is manageable.

But Uchiha Obito, Nagato, Konan, and other members of the Akatsuki Organization, along with the Rain Ninja Village are a group.

And then there are the countless White Zetsu.

However, despite Soma creating scenarios multiple times to make Ao, using his Byakugan, look towards Third Mizukage, Ao hasn't seen any traces of Genjutsu on Third Mizukage's body.

Either Madara's Genjutsu is too powerful. Or Madara only temporarily controlls the Third Mizukage making it difficult to detect.

In either case, Soma cannot directly tell others that Third Mizukage has been affected by Genjutsu.

Without evidence, others would just think Soma is crazy.

At the same time, Soma cannot directly tell Third Mizukage not to implant the Three-Tails into Rin's body and then let the Three-Tails rampage in Konoha.

This is no different from directly mocking Madara to his face.

Madara might take the opportunity to deal with Soma first.

Therefore, Soma can only mention this topic in a reasonable manner.

Just like now.

Third Mizukage shook his head.

"I have naturally considered this. Don't worry, the Jinchuriki is very safe, and there's no chance I'd give Konoha an opportunity like that. If their Uchiha come, I'll make sure they regret it."

"However, Konoha does indeed have better conditions for dealing with tailed beasts and Jinchuriki than other ninja villages."

Third Mizukage paused for a moment and a dull look vanished as quickly as it appeared on his eyes.

"Soma, you don't need to worry too much about these things. You just need to focus on your forging. Leave the rest to others, the village will handle it."

Seeing this, Soma could only end the topic.

"Yes, Mizukage-sama."

Just then, an ANBU ninja approached and whispered a few words to Third Mizukage.

Third Mizukage's expression became serious.

"Soma, I have some matters to attend to, so I'll leave now."

"Alright, Mizukage-sama, goodbye."

Soma watched Third Mizukage's departing figure.

From what Third Mizukage implied, it seemed like he currently had no intention of causing a Three-Tails outbreak in Konoha and was deliberately protecting the Jinchuriki, ensuring they wouldn't be approached easily.

"I wonder if the Rin incident will happen as it did in the original plot. But, this is all I can do. Otherwise, I'd have to take even higher risks and it's not worth it for now."

Withdrawing his gaze, Soma returned to the forging room.

At this point, the forging of the four blacksmiths was nearing completion.

Three of them chose to forge a katana.

One blacksmith chose to forge a longsword.

"Chief Uehara."

"Arafuni, how is it?"

Arafuni said, "The Forging Technique of these blacksmiths is all quite good, each has their own strengths, but they are not comprehensive enough individually to forge a surgical knife."

Arafuni alone couldn't do it either.

He was slightly lacking in forging.

But apart from forging, Arafuni could complete the rest.

In other words, these four blacksmiths, although older than Arafuni, were not much stronger in Forging Technique, and were more likely to be almost the same.

This is why Forging Island is declining.

The impact from the Land of Iron is one factor. And the skill level of the blacksmiths on Forging Island is another.

These four blacksmiths are already among the higher-skilled ones.

Using the Good rating in Soma's Blacksmith System as a benchmark. There are hardly any blacksmiths on Forging Island who exceed the Good level.

Not even one as Very Good as Soma. It's like there's an invisible bottleneck limiting the blacksmiths on Forging Island to this ceiling.

Soma thought about his own situation. If it weren't for being bound to Forging Island and receiving God's Hand, boosting his Forging Technique to Proficient level, it wouldn't have been so easy.

Even if there were ideas, it would probably take tens or even hundreds of times longer. It's not even certain that they can be realized.

"Besides talent, the inheritance system is also a big problem."

"That Great Blacksmith from back then didn't even have the intention of passing down his Forging Technique."

"He only provided some technical concepts and names."

"There were no learning methods."

It's like an Academy sensei facing students, not explaining Ninjutsu, not showing them hand signs, just mentioning the name of a Ninjutsu and expecting the students to learn it.

Except for extraordinary talents, no one can learn.

Even someone like Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku had to explain and demonstrate before Itachi could immediately learn the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.

If Uchiha Fugaku had only told Uchiha Itachi the name "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu", Itachi would certainly not have been able to learn it.

"I'm done!"

"I'm done too!"

Successive completion by all four.

"Let's start the test."

Soma glanced at Arafuni.

"Arafuni, bring the props!"

"Yes, Chief."

Immediately, Arafuni brought a small cart over. Inside the cart were four large fish.

The forging competition usually uses pigs. But pigs are expensive and scarce in Hidden Mist Village, so Soma used fish instead.

These fish were large and had tough scales, making them harder to chop than pigs.

"Let's begin."

The four Blacksmiths exchanged glances. It was their first time encountering such a brutal and bloody test.

However, they didn't hesitate.

All four stepped forward simultaneously.

"Ding!"

Soma heard a crisp sound and saw that a katana made by one of the Blacksmiths had suddenly broken into two pieces upon contact with the large fish.

Soma's eye twitched.

"This forging competition has turned into a sword breaking competition."

The corresponding Blacksmith's face turned pale. Obviously, he knew that his test results were very poor and he had no chance.

Another katana got stuck in the bones of the large fish. After being pulled out, the katana had a small notch on it.

Only the Longsword directly cut through the large fish.

However, it's not just about the quality of the sword; the strength of the person using it also matters.

"Jinin Daiga..."

From the beginning, Soma had high hopes for this person, and the result proved him right.

There weren't many instances where someone initially overlooked ended up making a comeback.

Moving on to the interview stage.

One-on-one interviews.

"Give a brief introduction of yourselves."

However, the two Blacksmiths who performed poorly during the forging process were already on Soma's elimination list.

During the interview process, Soma changed his mind.

The successful katana Blacksmith seemed to feel that the position was meant for him and actively brought up the issue of seniority with Arafuni, hoping to take the lead.

His reasoning was that he was older and had more experience.

Then, he made demands regarding the job duties and environment.

To be honest, in Soma's view, these were somewhat demanding requirements.

It didn't seem like he was coming to "start a career" but rather to "retire".

This greatly lowered Soma's impression of him.

On the other hand, the other failed katana Blacksmith happened to touch on what Soma cared about.

"Chief Uehara, I really need this job."

"I can't work as a mission Ninja."

"I have a large family that needs this income to support them."

"Besides forging, I can also do a lot of other miscellaneous tasks."

"Chief Uehara, please."

Soma looked at the Blacksmith in front of him.

Among the four Blacksmiths, this one ranked third in terms of skill level, but the attitude displayed by this Blacksmith was exactly what Forging Island needed right now.

Jinin Daiga entered the meeting room next.

"Take a seat."

"Thank you, Chief Uehara."

Jinin Daiga sat down, hesitating for a moment.

"Chief Uehara, I actually prefer to be a mission Ninja now. I want to improve my strength. The Jinin Clan is just a small Ninja clan, and before, we had Jinin Akebino to support us."

"But now, Jinin Akebino is dead, and Bluntsword was taken by the Hozuki Clan."

"Being a Blacksmith is not enough for me. And, my talent is indeed better suited for combat Ninjutsu. It was just that I didn't like it before. But now, I have to support Jinin Clan."

Soma wasn't particularly surprised by Jinin Daiga's words.

From the beginning, Soma noticed that Jinin Daiga's attitude was different from the other three Blacksmiths.

"What is your current level of strength?"

"Jonin."

Jinin Daiga said, "In these past years, I have mainly focused on forging, but my progress hasn't been significant. After seeing Chief Uehara, I understand even more that I lack talent in this area."

To be honest, seeing Soma was somewhat of a blow to Jinin Daiga.

After working so hard for many years, his Forging Technique was still mediocre.

And Soma, at such a young age, surpassed him by far.

"Alright."

Soma nodded.

"Since you don't want to be a Blacksmith, I won't insist. Akebino Senpai is also someone I respect. But don't rush to leave. Are you interested in making a deal?"

Someone who doesn't want to work on Forging Island, Soma won't force them. Forcing it won't be efficient and will affect the atmosphere of the entire Forging Island. However, a Blacksmith who previously specialized in Forging Technique and can elevate their strength to the level of a Jonin in their spare time proves that their Ninja talent is definitely not weak. Jinin Daiga's talent might even surpass that of Jinin Akebino. 

Just in time, Soma is preparing for a forging session after recruiting apprentice Blacksmiths. As the forging competition progressed, Soma saw that his reputation has risen to nearly 900. Therefore, Soma decided to showcase a forging session to raise his reputation to 1000 and quickly proceed to the next ten pulls. While the forged shinobi tools may not be as good as Kiriichimonji, they are still much stronger than those from the Land of Iron.

Trading with Jinin Daiga would be a good choice.

"What kind of trade?"

"I'm preparing for a forging session later to demonstrate to the new Blacksmiths. The shinobi tools forged will definitely be better than those from the Land of Iron. Are you interested?"

Jinin Daiga hesitated for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"I am."

Soma added, "But they won't be at the level of Kiriichimonji. They'll just be stronger than ordinary shinobi tools. I must clarify, such shinobi tools are not easy to forge and cannot be made at any time."

"What type of shinobi tools do you like?"

Upon hearing Soma's follow-up question, Jinin Daiga felt somewhat disappointed, but still interested.

Jinin Daiga thought for a moment.

"If possible, Chief Uehara, I hope it's a Great Axe."

"Similar to the axe of Helmet Splitter?"

"Make it longer, and if it's at the level of a forging hammer, even better. No need for a hammer, an axe will do. With that length, it'll be more comfortable for me to use. I don't want something like Bluntsword or Helmet Splitter."

"Okay, no problem."

Soma had experience in forging axes.

So far, Soma had put in the most effort and time to forge the Skeleton Emperor.

The two eliminated Blacksmiths received the notice and left.

The Blacksmith who thought they had been selected showed an expression of disbelief.

This Blacksmith wanted to find Soma to say something but was forcefully taken away by ANBU Ninja.

"Remember, don't talk about anything that happens on Forging Island, or else you won't be able to bear the consequences!"

The Blacksmith who performed poorly but was sincere in speech was overjoyed.

"Chief Uehara, thank you! Thank you!"

Soma glanced at the Blacksmith and suddenly realized that he seemed to have unconsciously become the type of person he disliked the most.

"But there are still differences."

"I need these Blacksmiths to work diligently."

"But the rewards I give them are genuine too."

"Overtime isn't scary."

"What's scary is not getting paid for overtime."

"Even Kakuzu is willing to work overtime for extra pay."

As Soma forged, he also kept an eye on the semi-transparent screen.

Jinin Daiga and the new Blacksmith looked at Soma's forging with expressions of astonishment.

"Is this the Forging Technique capable of forging Zanpakuto?"

"Is this the Chakra Smelting Technique?"

"Is this the Breathing Forging Method?"

"No wonder..."

"Chief Uehara's Forging Techniqueq has indeed surpassed the level of all the Blacksmiths on Forging Island, and by no small margin. The difference is huge."

In front of Soma, the semi-transparent screen's reputation number was rapidly increasing.

"Completed!"

Soma took out the polished single-handed battle-axe.

At the same time, the reputation number on the screen also broke through 1000 points.

---

You can read up to 50 Advanced chapters and support me at patreon.com/Lookar