Meeting Mito Uzumaki

“Please pardon my granddaughter’s recent behavior. I would like to personally apologize for the inconvenience she caused to you.”, announced Mito Uzumaki while politely bowing.

She was the wife of Hashirama Senju and Tsunade’s grandmother. Standing beside her was Tsunade who imitated her action while wearing a traditional Japanese dress like her grandmother.

“Ma’am, you don’t need to be that polite while talking to us. It’s kinda embarrassing, to be honest.”, said Jiraiya in a sheepish tone.

“Yes, just like Jiraiya said. He and Orochimaru were already checked by a doctor and fortunately, they don’t have any injuries.”, I replied.

“While Tsunade’s actions were rude and unladylike she already promised to owe us a favor in the future and not to resort to violence to settle disputes again, right Tsunade?”, Orochimaru teasingly added.

Tsunade angrily raised her fist a little but feeling her grandmother's stern look of her grandmother she reluctantly lowered her hand and nodded with a strained smile. A pleased look could be seen on Mito’s face as she looked at us.

“Indeed. It will be important for Tsunade to learn that violence is not always an appropriate solution. But I hope you will continue to visit us and I will make sure Tsunade will then act like a proper lady.”

Tsunade visibly stiffened at her grandmother’s words and silently looked down. After bowing to Mito all three of us agreed to visit the Senju Clan soon and left the compound afterward but not before Mito and Tsunade saw us off.

We silently stepped into the street and headed back to our homes. After a while, Jiraiya was beginning to feel bored and started to speak.

“Man, that was kinda intense. Don’t you guys think so?”

“Yeah, Tsunade’s grandmother is way too intimidating. I somewhat understand why even the confident Tsunade would be afraid of her.”, I agreed.

When I talked with Jiraiya, Orochimaru just silently nodded while walking beside us in thought. His eyes started to glimmer and a grin could be seen on his face. Finding it weird I asked him what the reason for his good mood was.

He looked in my eyes for a brief moment before grinning and chuckling in a slightly maniac voice.

“Well, it was fun to see Tsunade struggling. Normally she isn’t fazed by anything so it was nice to see the agony in her face. It almost made up for the pain I suffered.”

Upon hearing Orochimaru mentioning the recent experienced pain Jiraiya’s face paled a little and he began to shake slightly. Incidentally, we also had arrived at a junction and I turned my head to face the two.

“Well, it was nice to see you guys but we have to part here. See you tomorrow at the Academy!”, I said while waving my hands at them.

“Goodbye Takumi!”, replied Jiraiya.

“Farewell my friend.”, added Orochimaru.

Hearing Orochimaru’s words I was a bit shocked but I hid it quickly by putting a mask on my face while nodding at him. On the way home I thought:

‘Him calling me a friend really surprised me but it seems our friendship has indeed deepened. That’s a good sign. Let’s hope his relationships with Jiraiya and Tsunade will also be improved.’

OOO

A hammering sound accompanied by bright sparks resounded throughout the smithery. Two weeks have passed since I met Mito Uzumaki and right now I was about to finish the forging of my personal short sword under my father’s watchful eyes.

Sweat dripped from my face onto the hot metal resulting in the rise of a small amount of steam. The chunk of metal was repeatedly heated in the furnace and later folded between the anvil and my hammer like a hydraulic press.

Repeating the process several times and adding coal to the hot metal it slowly began to take the shape of a short sword. The repeated hammering added oxygen to the sword and together with the charcoal the iron transformed into steel.

The exact amounts of each material and the amount of necessary hammering are closely guarded secrets each blacksmith fiercely protected. Luckily, my family has produced good blacksmiths for countless generations so I could easily access the required information.

Finally finished with the hammering process I slowly inserted the sword into a solution of different oils and other chemicals which hardened the steel. After several minutes I took it out and proceeded to sharpen the sword.

I walked to the bench next to the dedicated massive grindstone and began my work. The harder blade side was gently sharpened by a swiping motion. Due to the different placing of the soft and hard steel on each side of the blade, the sword had a slight curvature.

Continuing sharpening it about an hour passed and I was finished with the blade part of the sword. Finding the blade’s sharpness satisfactory I started to add the black hilt which needed a couple of readjustments before it fit.

Then I inserted the almost finished sword into a sheath specially prepared for the blade. At last, I artistically engraved my family name on both sides of the hilt and painted the letters in the same purple color as the sheath.

Looking at the sheathed sword in my hands a feeling of accomplishment swept over my body. I gazed at it for a while before turning around and presenting the newly forged sword to my father.

He took it and meticulously inspected it. After a while, he began to spin the blade in his hands before stopping and handing it back to me.

“You did well. Judging by the light the blade reflects and its wave patterns you correctly followed each step. The balance is also quite good. All in all, it’s a fine short sword. You can be proud of yourself.”

Hearing my father’s detailed examination report a huge smile could be seen on my face while I held my short sword. I then stored my short sword in a drawer, proceeded to clean up the forging room and resumed my job as a store clerk.

Walking towards the entrance I flipped the sign to “OPEN” and unlocked the door. Afterward, I stepped out of the store and cleaned the glass panels with a lobe and a bucket full of soap water. About 10 minutes passed and I could hear someone shouting my name. Turning my head around I could see Jiraiya walking towards me while yelling my name.

‘He’s really the loudest among our group, huh?’, I wondered in my head.

“Yeah, nice to meet you Jiraiya! How are you doing?”

“Hello, Takumi. I’m doing fine. So your dad’s smithery is here? Ah, am I disturbing you at your work?”

“Nah, it’s fine. Usually, our customers don’t come at this hour so I don’t have much to do. Wanna have a shop tour?”

“Really!?!?! That’s going to be awesome!”

“Just wait until I’ve finished cleaning the windows.”

I proceeded to quickly wipe the windows and picked my cleaning equipment from the ground. As we walked into the store together the gentle ringing of bells could be heard. Placing the lobe and the bucket behind the counter I began to show Jiraiya our shop.

“As you can see most of the products are showcased here in the shop. It has pretty much anything forgeable a Ninja would potentially need for a mission: Kunais, Shurikens, Senbons, grappling hooks, caltrops, etc.”

“The corner next to the counter contains all kinds of throwing weapons like Shurikens or Kunais. The one left to it has many utensils or other useful equipment. The displays next to the windows show a variety of products the store can offer.”

“Behind me on the wall are some swords and short swords. Some of them are even custom-made. There are also some special orders that are unique and need a consultation with my dad first but these aren’t in the store.”

“The rest of the products are stored behind the shop in a warehouse. Well, that pretty much concludes the tour.”

Turning my head around I could see Jiraiya’s eyes sparkling with enthusiasm while glancing at every displayed item.

“That’s awesome! Everything here looks like high-class equipment! But the swords top it all! Man, I wish I could have one of them!”

I was slightly embarrassed at his honest compliment and began to shyly rub the back of my head. Remembering my recently forged short sword I offered Jiraiya to show it to him. He avidly agreed and I went back to the forging room and took it out from the drawer.

When I returned, I could see Jiraiya’s eyes glued to the sheath of the short sword which radiated in a brilliant tone of purple. I gave it to him and he slowly unsheathed it.

“Where did you get this from Takumi?!?!? It’s freaking awesome!!!!”

“It even has your family name engraved on the hilt! The color also matches your hair and eye color! Man, I’m seriously envious! Ah, was it your dad who forged it?”

“Heh, no it was me Takumi!”

“But seriously, I forged it myself! I had to fold it for days until the blade was finally sturdy enough. It was just recently finished – not even an hour before we met.”

“Woah, I gotta say you’re amazing Takumi! How long have you been training under your father? Not even a year right? If you hadn’t been so talented, I would have suggested you to switch your career to blacksmith.”

“Yeah, both my parents wanted me to become a blacksmith but fortunately they allowed me to attend the Academy. I’m really grateful for that.”

Suddenly silence filled the room as I glanced at Jiraiya’s expression. It wasn’t his usual joyful and silly face. He showed an expression I never have seen on his face: He looked sad and seemed to contemplate. I then realized my mistake.

“I’m sorry.”

“…It’s fine. Honestly, I don’t even remember my parents’ faces anymore…”

He mumbled as he clenched his hands to fists while shivering. I could see his wet eyes filled with sorrow. After contemplating for a while I impulsively hugged him. His body tensed up and he began to cry silently. We just stood there while he let out his pent-up emotions.

“……Thanks, Takumi. I kinda needed that.”

“No problem. But don’t worry I won’t tell Tsunade and Orochimaru.”, I slyly grinned.

“Yeah! If you do I’ll beat you up!”, he smiled back while punching my shoulder.

Loud laughter could be heard inside the shop as Jiraiya wiped his tears. Unbeknownst to them, a masked man on a rooftop observed the whole encounter and delivered his report to his superior through a messenger bird.

OOO

I stood in the Academy’s yard facing Hideyo Hyuuga – my sparring opponent. Surrounded by the whole class we both got into our respective stances: His body seemingly flowed into one of the Hyuuga’s Gentle Fist Style stances while my body moved into the basic Konoha Style stance.

“You’re going to kick his ass Takumi!”, Jiraiya loudly cheered.

“If you fail to defeat him you can leave it to me to kick his ass.”, Tsunade boasted.

On the surface, Hideyo didn’t react to their taunts but I’m pretty sure everyone has to be terrified of Tsuande’s punches so even someone as stoic as him should be slightly scared right now.

As I calmed myself down, I took a quick look at Orochimaru who just silently stood beside Tsunade and Jiraiya. Noticing my glance he looked at me and nodded.

“Begin!”, Ms. Sato shouted.

I quickly covered the distance between me and my opponent who stood unfazed. When I almost reached him, I duck down and swiped my left leg horizontally. He reacted to my move and blocked it with his right leg before stepping forward and preparing to punch me with his right palm.

‘Shit! Should have known a surprise attack wouldn’t work on him. Now I’m in a trouble.’

Swiftly rolling sidewards I avoided his palm and grabbed with my left hand a small amount of dirt. Expecting my move he turned around and kicked in my direction nearly hitting me. In the last possible moment, I jumped away from his kick.

Recovering myself from the disadvantageous position I threw the dirt towards his face while gaining some distance from him. He effortlessly dodged the dirt but it successfully bought me some time.

‘His defense is solid as a wall and his reactions are precise. Honestly, I don’t have many options. I can’t beat him at conventional Taijutsu so I’ve to improvise. At least I’m faster than him so I should use this advantage.’

I reengaged with him while carefully studying his reactions and moves: They were efficient and calculated leaving no opening for me. Increasing my attacking speed only brought meager results as he always positioned his arms in a way that minimized their traveling distance

After a while, my body began to feel tired and sore. Realizing that my opponent’s goal was to tire me out and seeing no other way to win I staked everything on one card. I disengaged from him gaining some distance. Luckily, he didn’t chase after me.

Seeing him not making any moves I rushed towards the Hyuuga and feinted a jab at his face. He again prepared to block it with one of his arms but I jumped with all of my might when my hand almost hit his forearm. Surprised at my action he tried to sidestep me but I grabbed his arm and we both fell to the ground.

Just as planned I came on top of his stomach and he led out a pained groan. I tried to use my position to punch him but he quickly blocked my punch and countered with one himself. I couldn’t react fast enough and his fist smashed into my side.

My vision blacked out and the last thing I heard was a “Thump” sound. When I awoke, I was on a bench next to someone. I raised my head and saw Tsunade looking at me with a curious look. Judging by the sky’s color I didn’t pass out for too long.

“Argh, that hurt!”

“Well, that’s natural. It was after all a liver punch. Must have been really painful.”, Tsunade grinned.

“Thanks for your truly heartfelt sympathy Tsunade.”, I sarcastically spat.

“No Problem!”

“…What happened after my match Tsunade?”

“Well after the teacher declared Hideyo as the winner, we lifted your body to this bench and resumed the spars. About 30 minutes have passed since you lost your consciousness and right now the spars are almost finished.”

“Thanks for the info. How did your spar go?”

“I of course won with ease!”, she boasted with a grin.

“That was expected. If you would have lost against Jiraiya he would have taunted you for the rest of the month.”, I said while finding the seemingly fateful bond between Tsunade and Jiraiya amusing: They seemed to be destined to fight against each other at any occasion.

“Yeah, that’s never going to happen. But he seems to get used to my punch’s strength. That tenacious annoyance. By the way, your fight was quite impressive. You almost won against that snobby bastard!”

“But I still lost and he isn’t going to fall for the same trick again in the future. Frankly, I can’t think of a way to win against him now.”, I sighed.

“It’s already a little miracle that his defense was broken. Besides, you’ve trained only for like a month in the most basic standard Taijutsu available in Konoha. Hideyo on the other hand has trained for almost two years in his Clan’s Taijutsu while regularly sparring against older Clan members.”

“You’re right. I should be content with the result.”

“Luckily, you can always ask us for a spar, right?”, Tsunade cheerfully added.

“Yeah, I’ll as-“

“HEY, HOW ARE YOU FEELING TAKUMI?”

Following the source of the loud voice I turned my head around and could see Jiraiya with Orochimaru walking towards us. Orochimaru looked fine but Jiraiya was limping a bit.

‘It’s kinda amazing how he’s still so full of energy even after getting trashed by Tsunade.’

“Nice to see you awake Takumi!”, exclaimed Jiraiya.

“Also nice to see you Jiraiya. How are your injuries?”, I asked.

“Everything’s fine. I didn’t get as hurt as you even after Tsunade increased the strength of her punches.”

“That’s good to hear.”, I commented while glancing at Tsunade’s displeased face.

“How was your match Orochimaru?”

“Nothing really happened. I easily won unlike you.”, he calmly answered.

“…”

“… Let’s pretend we didn’t hear anything.”

“What do you mean Takumi? I haven’t heard Orochimaru saying anything.”

“Oh, my bad. I must have been hearing things.”

“Bwahahaha!!! You guys shouldn’t bully him too much!!!”, laughed Tsunade while slapping my back.

‘Uh, that hurt.’

Orochimaru just looked at us like we were a pile of garbage that could speak: Utterly fascinating and disgusting at the same time.

OOO

“Remember, you have to concentrate on the image you want to transform into while performing the correct seals!”, shouted Mr. Yamanaka our Headroom teacher.

He proceeded to show us the correct Hands Seals sequence. First, he formed the Seal for Dog, then the Boar Seal before finishing with a Ram Seal. Smoke suddenly leaked from his position and a “Puff” sound could be heard.

After the smoke cleared out, I saw an old woman with many wrinkles and white hair standing in front of the class. Amazed by the successful transformation I exclaimed in admiration. Even a couple of other students were awed by the teacher’s performance.

“Now practice between yourselves. I’m sure you can succeed after having practiced the Hand Seals for the last weeks and basic Chakra Control. If you have any questions just turn to me or ask your classmates.”

Jiraiya turned his Head around and I could see his sparkling eyes.

“That was amazing!”, declared Jiraiya.

“Yeah, we are finally going to learn a Ninjutsu!”, I said.

“Indeed. I can’t wait to learn this.”, added Orochimaru in an excited tone contrasting his usual cold demeanor.

“The Transformation Technique is so cool!”, added Tsunade with a bright voice.

Nobody from our group has ever used any Ninjutsu. It was deemed too dangerous for children and even geniuses from a Clan like Tsunade were forbidden from learning it.

‘Well, let’s try it.’

Like my classmates, I stood in a slightly crouched pose and concentrated on my Chakra. After concentrating on it, I could feel it and began to follow the required Hands Seals order while imagining a sword.

I stood there and nothing happened even after waiting for a couple of seconds. Looking around I could see that everyone was struggling. Beside me was Tsunade in the same pose who bore a frustrated look.

As a matter of fact, Orochimaru, who had the fastest learning capacities among us, had a deep frown. Only Jiraiya was having the time of his life.

“Hahaha! It seems even geniuses like Orochimaru and Tsunade can have difficulties. Welcome to the failed-at-the-first-try-club. Now I don’t feel so alone anymore! This needs to be celebrated! I shou-“

SLAM

Jiraiya's face landed on the ground before he got repeatedly kicked by Tsunade. And if that wasn’t enough, Orochimaru’s sinister look suggested a very painful week for him – He will likely be sabotaged and poisoned at every possible occasion.

‘No wonder my father often stays silent. After all, speech is silver, silence is golden.’

I nodded and gave my father a mental thumbs up. Meanwhile, in a certain weapons shop, a mild sneeze echoed through the room accompanied by a voice suggesting to drink more peppermint tea.

PUFF

Turning my head around I could see myself standing beside me. The other me turned around and gave me a creepy smile.

‘Holy shit! That really scared me.’

“Orochimaru, could you please stop smiling at me like this? It’s creeping me out.”

“You seem to misunderstand me Takumi. I intentionally did this. Your reaction was highly entertaining.”

He continued to grin at me while I was nervously laughing and tried to calm myself down.

‘It’s okay. It was just a prank. Nothing serious. He didn’t scare me at all. I’ll definitely forget it before I return home.’

“He’s right Orochimaru. Stop pranking people.”, Tsunade voiced.

Behind her was Jiraiya who tried to stand up with wobbly legs.

“Your will are my orders, dear princess.”, Orochimaru grinned at her.

Infuriated by this she tried to punch him but he effortlessly dodged her fists. After trying to hit him a few more times she decided to give up after giving him an angry look. Orochimaru’s just smiled innocently at her. We then resumed our training.

‘Ok, concentrate on the Ninjutsu. Transforming into a sword was in hindsight not the best idea. I should transform into something that has a similar mass and density to my body. How about Hideyo? Ok, concentrate on your Chakra and think of his image. Then do the Hand Seals.’

PUFF

I could feel my body being compressed slightly and stuffed into a shape. When I looked at myself, I noticed my decreased height and different arms. My hair had also turned from purple to black and was longer.

“Woah, you did it Takumi!”, praised Tsunade with sparkling eyes.

I smiled at her and looked at Orochimaru. He looked pleased.

“It’s fortunate that the class has at least someone capable. Just thinking about a certain idiot is already frustrating me.”

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT SNAKE BASTARD? JUST WAIT! I’LL BE THE NE-”

Tsunade finally had enough of Jiraiya’s behavior and mercilessly kicked him between his legs causing the receiver to become pale. The unconscious body dropped onto the floor. Looking at the pitiful Jiraiya I thought:

‘As a friend, I think I should help Jiraiya with learning a bit more discretion. It’s going to save his balls. At this rate, he’s going to be impotent before he reaches adulthood.’