12 Apprenticing as a Blacksmith

"You're definitely talented in Fūinjutsu Marix" An old man in a funny hat compliments a young boy with blood red hair "Thank you Grandpa!" The child beams. He has been learning Fūinjutsu for about half a month since he got out the hospital. He has a great memory so if he sees things once he can recall every detail, this is a great benefit to him in Fūinjutsu as he can learn all the seals almost immediately.

Things have changed since he came out of the hospital. For starters the 3rd announced he was adopting me as his grandson. Though this made things odd for awhile. I can see that the villagers still distrust me but they no longer act on it. It seems they are deterred by my grandfather. On a positive note I also gained an Uncle, his name is Asuma. I have only seen him around a few times and he smokes a lot but he treats me like his nephew right off the bat. Not discriminating against me even the slightest. He sometimes even treats me to meat. It's very nice having a family.

"Ah see you later Grandpa." I shout when I notice the time. I leave in a hurry or else I will be late. 'Phew made it just in time' I think to myself before entering the building "You're cutting it close Marix!" a grumpy voice speaks to me "S-sorry Mr. Tetsu!" This is Tetsu. He is a scary looking middle aged man but he has a good heart. He runs the blacksmith shop for forging weapons and is one of the few people who don't treat me differently even after becoming the 'Honorable Grandson' whatever that means.

Well I am apprenticing myself here now as well as the hospital. After my experience I thought I should learn how to forge things to protect myself. "OUCH!" I say grabbing my head "Stop cutting it so close brat!" Tetsu hit my head, he uses metal knuckles to do so since he would hurt himself otherwise due to my 'Defense'. This old man has a lot of power in his fist. "Well don't just stand there. Let's go into the back" I grumble but I follow him to the forge anyway.

Mr. Tetsu is very strict and won't praise me much even if I do it right he wants me to do it better. "Never be satisfied with what you can do right now. Always push yourself to be better than yourself from yesterday" That was his motto. It is very inspiring really. He has taught me how to temper metal and how to remove impurities but we found this kinda useless since my Unique Trait allows me to remove the impurities directly with my hands. I still have trouble controlling the flames though. "No no that is too low brat! Make it hotter!" Tetsu berates me but I listen well and turn up the heat.

Tetsu is the only one other than Grandpa who knows I can make metal from my body, it tires me out a lot since from what I am told I use a lot of chakra to make it. Iron and Copper so far take the least chakra but if I push myself to make Nin Metal I can only make very small amounts and I will be useless for a few hours. All three of us agree not to let anyone else know about this or else I made be used as a tool. This metal is stronger than the ones in the shop so Tetsu and I are trying to turn it into weapons for myself.

((A/N: Nin Metal is not it's real name as I can't find the real name. But it is the same metal as Asuma's Chakra Blades. It is a metal that one can easily infuse chakra in. So I named it Nin Metal. Nin Metal is going to make more appearances later.

I have to make these to not only protect myself but protect those I care for. Well it isn't like I only make those. Since I became the Honorable Grandson I can make my inventions unde rmy own name so now everyone knows those tops and toys were made by me so the other kids like me a bit more now. I also made some Baoding Balls for Grandpa. He likes swirling them in his hand and listening to them gently chime as it calms his mind. Of course others saw them and wanted some themselves so I got orders for quite a few of them. I also made Chess and Checkers, another popular game. Shikamaru enjoys them the most, not as much as Shogi but he still plays with me.

One thing I learned while working with tetsu is fire and molten metal doesn't seem to affect me to a certain degree. My metal coating protects me to an extent though if my coating gets to hot I can burn my hand so I won't put it directly in flames. On the other hand if I am holding red hot metal in my hand I barely feel a thing which really confuses me. I can touch hot metal but I can't touch flames. Tetsu calls me a cheat but I can only chuckle sheepishly.

I am very close today. I work the hot iron in my hands. Now some may think 'If you can remove impurities and shape it by hand is there a need to heat it up' well I asked the same thing from Tetsu and it only got me beaten up. "You may be able to do it all by hand but you still need to learn the process!" He said and he was right. I made a kunai before he began to teach me hot to heat it and tested it on one of his that he made. Same metal same shape but mine broke when it came in contact with his. He told me "See. You may be able to make it look like a kunai but it doesn't function as one"

Finally! I cool the kunai down in water and I can finally admire my own product. I feel very proud of this "Ah well it looks like a Kunai but" He looks at me sternly "Can it function as one?" He then pulls a kunai he made off the table and we test it again this time it didn't break instead it nicked the other one "I did it!" I smile and hop up and down when I feel a rough yet warm palm on my head "Good job brat" This was the first compliment I have gotten from him. It makes me feel that all of this was worth it.