„Hey, you’re that Sorceress-girl, aren’t you? Shoulda said so before, maybe I’d have let you cut the queue a bit. It’s a busy season, I tell you!” the blacksmith laughed out slapping his large beer belly covered up with that weird but surprisingly thick and durable leather apron that most blacksmiths wore. Common clothing in Konohagakure was quite flammable so people around dancing flocks of sparks needed some sort of protection from the tongues of flames that could’ve erupted out of nowhere. Leather was quite protective of flames after all, anything else would’ve caught fire before that large impractical piece of cloth started rustling red.
“You mean every season? When is the job of a blacksmith ever not needed?” Mana tried to smile but her observation was quite a bleak one since most blacksmiths were exclusively merchants of death. The skill of a blacksmith was determined by how potent tools of murder they crafted were. After all, a blacksmith capable of crafting a sword of unmatched quality could’ve also done the same with any household tool in need of repairs. Crafting blades and armor built up skill like nothing else could, it was the most profitable and the most sought after way for a blacksmith to gain notoriety and skill.
Holding his large layer of fat in his hands as if it without such a notion it’d fall right off the blacksmith thundered out with a deafening laughter.
“True, so very true! The line of job of a killer would be made significantly harder when one finds oneself having to stab someone with their bare hands…” he yelled out trying to restrain his voice after having just let it go in that strangely amusing fit of laughter.
“So, girl, what sort of services are you looking for? Let me see…” the man finally managed to calm down and take over the scroll of blueprints from Mana, slowly unwrapping it and letting his experienced eyes run down them. The magician tried to not say a word, she just couldn’t bring herself to inform the man of complicated this gear-work would be and just what sort of device it was.
“Huh… Strange, this doesn’t seem to be something your father shouldn’t be able to craft, isn’t he Konoha’s Great Trapster? The Trapster I’ve heard of could make such a thing with his feet, even if his hands were tied… You seemed to make a mistake though, girl, the scale numbers are way off…” the blacksmith smiled at Mana, his strange moustache twisted and lifted up revealing his teeth, a little nasty looking view, considering the still moving pieces of beef stuck in the man’s teeth being in full view once his teeth were exposed.
“No… They’re correct, that’s the problem…” Mana reported with a guilty look, like a cat looking at its owner after they came home only to find their beloved ancient vase in shatters on the floor. For one reason or another the magician felt guilty bringing such a complicated blueprint for the blacksmith, as if she was guilty of coming up with such a wild idea for a device.
“Well then… Sorry, girl, as bad as my vision is… I’d need a molecular microscope, the likes of Konoha Hospital to even see what I’m working with… I’m telling you that I’m a million years behind this construction, it requires a molecular level of steel craftsmanship. Can’t be done…” the man shook his head and stroke his wild beard giving Mana the scroll back. The girl turned around and looked at the small queue behind her, the old people bringing their metal canes for a little fixing, young ninja wishing to buy tools or order some of their own design to be made.
A strong and heavy grasp landed on her shoulder stopping Mana before she left. The girl looked back at the blacksmith who seemed to be scratching his curly brown hair with his oily gloves leaving sludgy remains in there wherever he went. His wife must’ve been one of the ladies who got excited from such sights, Mana knew some girls who got quite excited by men who tinkered and the only reason the magician was even approached by them to be befriended was because her father was somewhat of a prodigy in the field of tinkering. It was yet another Shikio-sort of situation, they just wanted to see him at work, see him tinkering knowing that their strange childish thoughts would be only dreams…
“Truth be told… I suppose you shouldn’t dump those sketches, you could bring them to a Kirikuzu clan blacksmith, it’s quite convenient but they’re the only blacksmiths able to manipulate materials at a molecular level, it’s their bloodline ability” quietly the man exclaimed, he removed his oily gloves and dusted his hands off putting a note on a nearby device that he’s taking a break. He did seem a little winded so it may have been a good idea to take a break.
“Kirikuzu? Aren’t they mostly residing around Snow Country and Kumogakure?” Mana asked for a clarification. She had heard about the legendary craftsmen who could manipulate molecular size dust of special alloys and create complicated constructs with them. So complicated, in fact, that they left their peers in the dust for centuries as it’d take endless years before similar technology would be discovered to aid the common blacksmiths catching up to the awesome skill of the Kirikuzu clansmen.
“Yes, all but one family, one family lives in Konohagakure and have their shop here. You see, most Kirikuzu do not craft weapons because they feel like their incredible ability would grant any weapon user wielding it a tremendous advantage, this man does indeed build weapons however he doesn’t use the Kirikuzu bloodline ability to do so, he does it as a normal blacksmith. He’d be unable to work his little shop in Kumogakure so he moved to Konoha long time ago, you may be able to convince him to help you” the man explained grabbing a can of soda from a small cubical fridge and popping it open then flipping it so quickly that some of it ran down his thick curly beard after he flipped the can back.
Mana nodded and bowed slightly in gratitude before thanking the blacksmith and running off. She was quite in rush to reach the mentioned Kirikuzu workshop but she forgot that she didn’t ask for directions beforehand in her excitement so she briefly returned for that small clarification. It wasn’t a great surprise that the blacksmith found it immensely funny so the magician had to suffer another brief pause until he laughed his powerful large lungs off before giving her the directions.
It wasn’t too far away from where Mana was, the small workshop was situated in the northern district of the village close to the Administration building and the Hokage Memorial mountain. Only after briefly glancing at the colossal constructions of the faces of all of the previous Hokage did an idea pop into Mana’s head that the mountain was slowly running out of place. It probably only had in it for one or two more Hokage before the monument would’ve been unreasonably floated to the east as opposed to its current central structure, to fix it some Hokage of the future would have to be placed behind the face of the First causing possible confusion about the order of the Hokage…
Strangely enough despite the day approaching the second half of it there were still numerous genin queued by the shop. After just a brief look at the vendor displaying the sample goods sold at the shop Mana realized that it was a simple shop of shuriken and kunai, also other simple tools in lesser quantities like the Fuuma Shuriken as it large windmill-like shape was showing off its great glory for all to see at the top of the stand. Without wasting much time Mana stood in the queue and waited for a good twenty minutes before her time to speak to the blacksmith came.
The man was an incredibly large and bulky individual, he had a much more well-refined muscular structure and he had no overly manly features like thick facial hair. He was dressed like a blacksmith but looked much more like a hulking warrior as his physical condition was much more suited for showing off or fighting than strenuous physical labour. The man’s strict and boring black hair stood in a small stump-like column. After seeing Mana he tried to show some sort of emotion but he was unsuccessful.
“How can I help you girl?” the man spoke in a strange accent, Mana had never heard any similar to it, it wasn’t even similar to anything one could hear in Kumogakure. As a prodigy in history, lore and culture Mana couldn’t even place a finger on it and it intrigued her a little. His speech reminded Mana of northern people, they tend to speak in slower and more erratic rhythms, there was little elegance to the man’s voice or tone.
“I showed this blueprint to a blacksmith in the central district, he told me you may be able to help me with it…” Mana smiled handing the man the blueprint scroll. He briefly ran it down with his eyes before returning it.
“It’s not right, numbers wrong, fix it, then show me” he let his erratic and accent ridden voice take over again. He seemed to sometimes skip some words when he spoke, he spoke in a very simplistic manner making Mana suspect that there may have been something very ancient about his roots.
“No, it’s actually quite exact, that is why the other blacksmith wanted me to show it to you…” Mana informed the man handing him the scroll back and not letting her polite smile fade for a moment.
“Oh, yes, I see now… Yes, that is small gear, very small gear. What is this thing you need to be made? Armor? Why would your armor stab you?” the man squinted at Mana strangely after having the details clarified to him.
“Well… I don’t know if you know… I’m…” the girl opened her mouth to explain.
“Yes, magic girl from the hall, your poster all over the district…” the man interrupted her dropping another strangely worded and sounding yet crushing word bomb. He was clear to not speak too much but when he did speak it was the most important collection of words said in that conversation. He only spoke of important things, may have been one of the North-Eastern cultures that treasured words. Some ancient people living in those parts thought that each person was given a certain amount of words to say throughout their lives and that they died after that amount of words was said. Some people got millions, some got thousands, making each and every one of them treasure what they said and only speak when it was necessary. Maybe this man was a descendant of such people, he may have not even known of his origins but still unconsciously followed the philosophy of his predecessors.
“So… Then this is show tool? For show? Shits and giggles?” the man glanced at Mana angrily with a judgmental look, he seemed to accuse the girl of something but she didn’t really understand what.
“Umm… I suppose, in a manner of speech…” she tried to bellow out but he cut her down instantly
“I won’t work on this shit-giggle metal junk. I build real tools, weapons, armor, using my tools people fly, people kill or hurt other people. I don’t make tools to joke with!” the man replied rather loudly handing the girl back her scroll.
Mana was quite disappointed by the blacksmith’s decision but she respected it, slowly the girl sighed in sadness and bowed to the man also thanking him for his time. Then the door to her right burst open quickly and someone ran into the room.
It was a tall and rather bulky for a female girl, perhaps a year or two older than Mana was. She looked really well trained and refined and had a strange tomboyish attire that complemented her very strict hairstyle. She had bright red hair that was incredibly short and only reached the back of her neck, the only sign of any style of individuality in the girl was her green tracksuit and the small lock of her hair that covered one of her eyes. She rushed up right to the blacksmith and handed him something.
“There, father, I’ve finished the combat-shovel you asked for!” she exclaimed energetically, Mana was surprised to find out that she was related to the man since she shared very little with him. Her general facial features did look similar but her hair and eyes were coloured slightly differently and she didn’t have a slightest sign of his accent, probably the result of her having been raised in Konoha.
The girl’s eye then wandered on Mana’s blueprint, she got excited and grabbed it out of her hands for some reason, rolling it out and admiring it in all its glory.
“Wow! What is this? This looks pretty cool! I’ve never seen such detail on an armor blueprint before… Wait… Why do those swords penetrate your own body, seems like a security issue, don’t you think?” the redhead looked at Mana with curious eyes that also suggested great excitement. The father of the kid tsked angrily.
“This is my daughter, Meiko Wakizashi, she sometimes takes up silly projects to occupy her free-time. I’d have normally rejected this silly thing but… If daughter wants the stupid joke, she can take it” the blacksmith replied.
Mana looked a little confused, why did Meiko’s father introduce her last name as well as her first name? Wouldn’t the last name of his daughter be the same as his? If the girl was a Kirikuzu and had similar ability of working the materials into tools why would she dismiss such exquisite legacy by taking up such a last name?
The redhead turned at Mana with a really overly invested smile, she gestured for the magician to follow her into her part of the workshop. The footsteps of the girl were quite wide and Mana had trouble keeping up with her. Everything about Meiko just yelled masculinity and raw power, she was quite beautiful in her own way but she was a bit exotic in her beauty, she was no damsel that was for sure, any bandit coming against such a young woman would’ve had plenty to work for as Meiko looked quite like a dangerous brawler.
“Joke tool? What was that? Wait… I know you! You’re Konoha’s Sorceress, right!? You mean this tool is going to be used by THE Konoha’s Sorceress!? Awesome! I’ll take it! I’ll build this thing for you, don’t worry!” the redhead jumped up in excitement and rushed to the workshop slipping out of her tracksuit and into the leather apron, grabbing a nearby hammer and some steel plates as well as some gears from a small box to her side. She wielded those crazy sized tools like they were feathers, the sheer strength of the girl amazed the magician.
The girl just started pounding away at the tool, one loud clang after another she started from hammering parts of steel together, nailing them with some strange special nails, they looked like a combination of screws and nails but they kept the plates together. Meiko was rampaging around the blacksmith like a Goddess of War rampaged on a battlefield, as a warrior beheaded their enemies, similarly did Meiko pick up tools from random and remote points of her workshop and used them in their intended purpose. This young woman may have known crafting on a similar degree of mastery like Mana knew stage magic.
“Are you sure you can work those gears like that? I mean I was told that only a Kirikuzu could do that and…” Mana finally gathered the courage to ask for some clarification.
“Oh, definitely not! I’ll just trick my father into doing those for me, don’t worry. If you want Kirikuzu quality, you’ll have it. The thing is that I’m not that good with the molecular manipulation thing yet, my chakra control is a little wobbly but I assure you it’ll all be even better than you expect it to be! I’m kind of a fan, even if I don’t have that much time to see your shows too often…” Meiko winked back at Mana and continued to hammer at the device. She then placed the tools down and walked up to the magician, wiping some sweat from her forehead.
“Don’t worry, Konoha’s Sorceress, the tool will be completed tomorrow evening, I’ll work overnight. This is my baby! It looks pretty fun and I’ll have a bunch of fun working those edges and those blades and all the gear-work making them work, gotta say the design is pure genius! Rarely does a design fit blacksmith standards, usually we have to make it work, make some edits, even more rarely, it surpasses possibility of what we can work with! Don’t tell me you were the one to draw this baby!” Meiko looked beyond excited just talking about it and looked really excited to get back to work, she was snapping her knuckles and jumping around in anticipation.
“Not alone, my father helped, his name is Nakotsumi Tsukumo…” Mana started to explain but she was interrupted once again, must’ve been a trait running down in the family.
“Konoha’s Great Trapster!” Meiko almost shrieked out. “I liked that guy, he wasn’t too overblown and overused by the village but he had a pretty neat gimmick, I’ve seen his traps before and they were pure genius, I only dreamed of ever working on Trapster’s design… Thanks, Sorceress, I really appreciate it!” Meiko kept scratching her palms in desire to come back to work so Mana smiled and bowed her in gratitude for taking up the job.
“Thank you, Meiko, you can call me Mana, though. I’m not on stage at the moment and all…” the magician smiled, “I can see how much you want to be left alone with it so I won’t bother you with my presence anymore, I’ll return the day after tomorrow to check in on how it’s going, feel free to take as much time as you need, the show is not until the next week…”
“Oh, it’s gonna be done tomorrow!” Meiko assured the magician with a thumb up. Mana left the small workshop with a strange feeling in her gut, these people were pretty weird but in a very positive kind of way.
P.S. The character of Wakizashi Meiko was created by a Joe Dupras - a reader and a friend.
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