Konoha: Naruto of Sekiro

Amegakure Logistics Department.

The clanging sound of hammering iron was incessant.

In a humble break room, Naruto sat quietly on a chair, seemingly waiting for something.

Creak!

The dilapidated wooden door, long in disrepair, was slowly pushed open from the outside, emitting strained groans.

Kiyoshi, a master craftsman of Amegakure, holding an ancient-looking sheathed long sword, walked over to Naruto and slowly sat down.

"Lord Naruto, your Kusabimaru." Kiyoshi presented the long sword with both hands, placing it before the youth.

"Thank you for your trouble." Naruto accepted it with both hands as well, expressing his gratitude.

Although chakra metal was precious, Amegakure, as the sole hidden village of the Land of Rain, still possessed considerable strategic reserves.

Sunagakure's puppeteers had become a distinctive ninja branch for a reason—their strength was undeniable. Most of Amegakure's chakra metal reserves were intended for these puppeteers.

After all, when fighting puppeteers, clashing head-on with puppets was the least wise choice. Yet, the puppeteers hiding in the shadows wouldn't let you find them so easily, and dojutsu users were ultimately a minority.

Therefore, chakra metal, capable of conducting chakra and severing a puppeteer's chakra threads, naturally became a strategic reserve.

Shing…

What are the standards for a good sword? A comfortable grip? A durable blade body? Or an edge capable of felling an enemy in a single stroke? Or perhaps, all three combined.

As one of only two master craftsmen in Amegakure, Kiyoshi had his own unique insights into sword forging. A legendary sword, worthy of being passed down through generations, should be a fusion of strength, comfort, and beauty.

It was the wielder's 'lover'—it needed to feel comfortable and considerate, and possess a beauty that was pleasing to the eye.

Following Naruto's request, while maintaining Kusabimaru's basic shape, he had boldly reforged it.

Where light and shadow met, faint azure patterns were subtly visible; the ratio of the hilt to the blade offered a more striking visual appeal; the hilt itself was a muted grey yet possessed a certain lightness…

Voom!

The infusion of chakra was incredibly smooth. Ten parts of chakra infused resulted in nine parts manifested.

This was a vast improvement over the previous Kusabimaru, which had suffered from a chakra loss rate of over fifty percent.

As azure chakra coated the blade, the patterns on its surface seemed to come alive, slowly flowing within it.

With a flourish, Naruto sheathed Kusabimaru. He slowly rose and bowed deeply to the middle-aged man before him as a sign of gratitude.

For a swordsman, a famed blade was hard to come by, a master craftsman even harder. A master craftsman willing to forge a famed blade for oneself was worthy of a lifetime of gratitude.

"Master Kiyoshi, if you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me."

"You overstate it. Forging a legendary blade is also my lifelong dream," Kiyoshi quickly stood and returned the bow. "Kusabimaru is now in your care!"

Forging a blade of legendary status was the pursuit of all swordsmiths, but both the materials and a suitable wielder were incredibly rare finds.

To have both conditions met simultaneously was a swordsmith's greatest fortune.

After all, what truly made a famed blade legendary was its user.

"Naturally," Naruto said with a confident smile.

Amegakure Temporary Office Building.

There had been a permanent one, but it was specifically targeted and demolished by Nagato in the previous battle.

Yahiko sat in the main seat, dealing with matters one after another, while Nagato and Konan assisted him from the side.

Originally, Yahiko had thought Nagato should be the one in this position, with himself acting as a 'secretary' and handling minor tasks.

But he couldn't overcome Nagato's various refusals, who even threatened to abandon his duties.

So, it had evolved into the current situation where Yahiko gave orders, and Nagato and Konan ran the errands.

Of course, publicly, Nagato was still declared the leader. His strength was undeniable; if it were anyone else, the Amegakure ninja would have revolted long ago.

However, judging from Nagato's content expression, perhaps he preferred being the one receiving orders rather than giving them.

Naruto, Kusabimaru now hanging at his waist, pushed open the door and, without waiting for any greeting, sat down in his usual spot.

Tempered by life and death, and having spent months together, the formalities between strangers had long since vanished among the four of them.

"You got it? How is it?" Yahiko asked curiously. He had been the one to first suggest reforging the blade. "It's great," Naruto replied with a satisfied nod.

"That's good then." Yahiko nodded slightly. It was a harsh reality, but the current Amegakure relied on Naruto and Nagato to hold things together. Further strengthening their capabilities was of utmost importance.

Amegakure, having lost Hanzo of the Salamander, had, in a sense, already lost its right to exist in the shinobi world.

It was also due to this that the Amegakure ninja had acknowledged Nagato, the one who killed Hanzo. Amegakure desperately needed a strong leader.

Bang!

An Akatsuki member roughly pushed open the door, panting as he looked at the four. "Leader, something's happened."

"People from Konoha are here."

Yahiko's expression changed slightly. Having been in Amegakure for so long, he had read through most of the secret scrolls and understood a good deal about Amegakure's overt and covert affairs.

Unfortunately, the cooperation between Konoha's Shimura Danzo and Hanzo of the Salamander was documented in those scrolls.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated as a cooperative relationship, the numerous exchanges of concealed intelligence, including matters concerning Akatsuki, had allowed Yahiko to deduce the connection between the two.

"Who is leading them?" Yahiko forcibly suppressed his tumultuous thoughts and asked.

"One of the Sannin, Jiraiya!" Recalling the various legends circulating in the shinobi world, the Akatsuki member's face turned a little pale.

Even knowing their own leader was very strong, he couldn't help but feel a little unnerved when comparing him to such a renowned ninja.

"Jiraiya-sensei?!" The three (Yahiko, Nagato, Konan) looked at each other, their expressions somewhat strange.

They had thought it would be Shimura Danzo.

"Quick, bring them in." Yahiko's expression was tinged with excitement.

After all, this was his esteemed former master.

The feeling of having one's success, achieved through hard work, witnessed by the person one respected most was more intoxicating than any fine wine.

Though the man hadn't even arrived yet, the three were already feeling a little giddy.

A young Jiraiya-sensei, huh…

Naruto thought to himself, retrieving a specially made mask from his pouch and putting it on. His golden hair also changed to a common black.

It was a small genjutsu he had embedded in the mask.

Seeing him don the white mask with red patterns, which he had spent considerable effort making not long ago, the three couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Yahiko, I'm your personal ANBU operative now," Naruto said, his voice completely changed. He chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. It's inconvenient for me to show my face."

Besides the minor genjutsu to change hair color, the mask also had small functions to block prying eyes and alter his voice.

Something he'd spent over a month creating had to be packed with all sorts of practical little features.

Hearing this, the three were still puzzled but didn't ask further.

"Please, come in!"

The Akatsuki member who had left earlier led three Konoha ninja in.

At the head was a younger version of Jiraiya, wearing a Jonin flak jacket, his white hair reaching his waist, and red lines painted on his face. Of the other two Konoha ninja, one could only be identified as a Hyuga by their visible features; the other's origins were unknown.

However, judging by their uniforms, both were Jonin.

"Two Jonin-level combatants, one Kage-level… As expected of Konoha." Naruto inwardly clicked his tongue.

These three alone could probably sweep through some of the smaller nations.

The current Amegakure, without him and Nagato, would likely be in dire straits.

"Jiraiya-sensei, it's been a long time!"