The Capital (4)

It was tucked away in a little alley far from the main commercial street, as though the owner wanted to avoid the crowds and lookie-loos. But as we approached the store, the dense smell of metal and oil struck me.

'Function over form' was the first thought that hit me when I took in the first sight of the shop. It had zero resemblance to the perfumed and well ventilated fancy weapons shop on the main street. There were no windows displaying the store's catalogue, nor any posters that marketed their products. There wasn't even a signboard or logo that represented its brand.

Even so, I was getting excited. Places like this held the really artisanal products. Swords made with the soul of the smith. That was the feeling I was getting when I neared the store.

Asuma bade me farewell some distance away from the store and left after we made plans to meet up back at Yoshiro's residence. Before leaving, he reminded me not to cause any trouble or use chakra. It would be a pain to deal with the fallout, he mentioned.

When I opened the door of the shop, with my forehead protector removed of course, the heavy smell of metal and oil doubled. It was dingy and barely lit, but the moment I casted [Observe] on the displayed weapons, I had to do a double take to confirm what I had just seen.

Every single piece was at an Uncommon grade or higher. In fact, most of the pieces were Rare grade, with only an occasional few being Uncommon as well as a few Unique grade weapons. What's more was that more than ninety percent of the armaments here had an item skill attached, even some of the Uncommon grade weapons had an item skill. The crème de la crème of them all was an Epic grade scimitar being polished by an old woman in the store.

There were no kunais or shuriken or any shinobi weapons being displayed. Asuma wasn't lying when he said the owner hated shinobi.

There were no greetings that welcomed my visit, only a terse eye lazily glancing at me before the old lady continued oiling and polishing the blade in her hands.

"Uhm, hello." I awkwardly addressed as I made my way further into the shop.

"Either buy something or get out." She brusquely spat out, not bothering to even look at me when she spoke. Some customer service this is.

Curious, I casted an [Observe] at her, wondering what her status would look like.

[Tsuchida Masako Lv 44]

HP: 3600/3600

CP: 7340/7340

Masako is a grandmaster blacksmith. Her skills are legendary, especially for this era where weapons are more or less mass produced and industrially manufactured. She has the soul of a true craftsmen and any metal that passes through her hands is shaped into a masterpiece that transcends time. Although her she is a tremendously skilled blacksmith, she has secluded herself from the world and remains content in obscurity. She hates shinobi because of something that happened in the past.

She is annoyed by your presence. Your CHA is not high enough to move her.

Woah. Based on just her level, I could tell she wasn't some ordinary, helpless old lady. Her CP is also strangely high for a blacksmith. No wonder the weapons she makes are such high quality works, there had to be some differences when forging with chakra than without. And what was that about my CHA? How odd, that was new. I had never seen a prompt like that before.

I eyed the scimitar in her hands, gazing admirably at the status window my [Observe] showed.

[Nameless Blade (Scimitar) – Grade: Epic]

A magnum opus crafted by a legendary blacksmith. It appears to have been created for the sole purpose of cleaving through all of Heaven's creations. Though it has only just been forged, the metal possesses an aura reserved only for blades that have reaped countless lives. Given more time, it is a scimitar that will undoubtedly cement its legacy in history as a Legendary blade.

Durability: 460/460

Damage: SS

STR +68

DEX +22

VIT +35

Item Skill: [Divine Executioner] – Passive

CP Cost: -

Every life taken through beheading grants a permanent +1 STR and +1 VIT to the user.

How utterly ridiculous. Not only was this the first weapon with an SS damage grade I had ever seen, but the item skill alone was also just downright absurd. Would cutting off the head of a thousand men grant a 1000 point boost to STR and VIT? What of ten thousand, or a hundred thousand? Would I ascend to divinity with a hundred thousand STR and VIT in my stats?

The scimitar was undoubtedly a pseudo-Legendary weapon, something that required more time for the weapon to accumulate history and mythology. Once it acquired enough fame, or judging by the item effect, infamy, it might just evolve to become a Legendary grade weapon.

As though having sensed my mouth-watering expression and eyes full of desire, the granny's hands stopped the delicate oiling and polishing of the scimitar and she turned to me.

"What are you staring at, boy?"

I couldn't help but gulp, swallowing down my greed and blatant desire.

"That sword. It… it looks magnificent." Magnificent? What kind of stupidity is exiting my mouth? Has my brain ceased functioning in the presence of a pseudo-Legendary grade weapon?

"Hmph, of course it is. No need for you to say." She snorted, and I didn't have to be a master of human emotions to sense the pride in her tone. A secluded grandmaster smith she may be, but deep down in the hearts of any artisan, there lies a desire to have their craft acknowledged.

"If I may be so bold to ask… is that for sale?" I probed.

"No." She shot me down without hesitation and then turned a wary gaze at me. "Why would a boy like you want to buy something like this? This blade was made to chop off heads in the battlefield. It's not meant for some pissant child looking for a toy. You a shinobi? Huh?"

Near the end of her sentence, the tone turned hostile as her grip on the scimitar tightened. A bead of sweat flowed down my back. Though I knew the special item effects on the weapon I saw with my [Observe] would only be effective when in my hands, I still had no wish to be on the receiving end of such a monstrous weapon. But I was ready for such a line of questioning.

"No, I'm a trainee from the Kyoukujitsu training camp under Lord Daimyo-sama." I smoothly lied, reciting the line Asuma had prepared for me when we were on route to the shop.

The Kyoukujitsu training camp, or Rising Sun training camp, was the Daimyo's answer to the problem of cultivating and nurturing of talented youths in the Land of Fire without having to rely on Konoha for their training methods.

Asuma had explained that though the Daimyo's forces are able to use chakra, it was far from the level at which we shinobi could. S-rank fighters found in the Capital were not produced from an established system of training like what the hidden villages of the world had developed. Rather, those individuals had either unique, natural gifts that enabled them to achieve S-rank without systematic training or received heavy investment and private training in the royal family's exclusive techniques.

However, despite all that, these S-rank fighters that were produced in this fashion could never compete with the real monsters of the world. People like Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi were at the top of the top even amongst Kage-level shinobi, whereas someone like God's Eye Kurono had only just achieved the bare minimum standard of being called S-rank.

The Daimyo received a harsh awakening when he had heard of the Kyuubi's rampage over a decade ago. And when he pondered whether or not any of his chosen champions could fend off a tailed beast like that if the Capital was ever under siege by such a monster, the only answer he could arrive at was a resounding no.

And so, the Daimyo came up with the idea of creating a training camp that could gather and nurture all the most talented youths in the Land of Fire by dumping excessive amounts of money into hiring trainers, buying technique scrolls and procuring the best equipment money could buy.

The Kyoukujitsu training camp was one of three such training camps developed by the Daimyo, the other two being Tasogare training camp and Hirusugi training camp, and was also the convenient excuse Asuma had prepared for me when I was inevitably questioned by the granny smith why someone of my age was looking to purchase weapons.

"Hoh, I heard about those something something training camp… sounds like a wet fart to me though. The truly strong cannot be bought with money, they are natural prodigies favoured by the Gods. One cannot just throw money at you so called 'talented' kids and expect you to grow stronger just from that." The disrespect and scorn were palpable in her derisive tone.

I was tempted to agree with her. It was true that Kage-level monsters like some of those from the Akatsuki were not delicate flowers carefully nurtured in a greenhouse environment. It wasn't resources that made them the terrifying individuals that they were, but pure unadulterated talent in killing and not being killed. No matter how much money the Daimyo invested in these training camps, he would have to rely on luck and fate if any of them produced monsters like those found in the S-ranked section of the bingo book.

However, it was not a sentiment I could openly share since I was currently masquerading as a trainee from the one of those 'something something' training camps she was dismissing. Yet, I didn't want to openly disagree with her neither, so I settled for changing the subject instead. As long as she wasn't suspicious of my identity, it was good enough for me.

"So about the scimitar…" I started but was once again instantly shot down.

"Didn't I just say it's not for sale? So young and your ears are already faulty eh? Pick something else." She brusquely interjected.

Holding back a frown, I decided to back down. It would only serve to irk her further if I persisted. I had basically zero REP with the woman, and if I annoyed her she might just chase me out with that mouth watering scimitar.

"I understand."

I walked around the display shelves, browsing her wares. Even if the Epic grade treasure was out of my reach for now, there were certainly no shortage of other weapons that were far better than my current equipment.

There weren't any shinobi weapons available for sale, so I could only choose from the more martial class weapons displayed. There were many katanas, yari spears, and even a few heavy weapons like hefty halberds and tetsubos. They were all weapons designed for the battlefield, and not the stealthy approach us shinobi preferred.

That didn't concern me much, however, as thanks to my [Myriad Armament Fiend] skill, I was proficient in practically every type of weapon being sold here.

[Shinzo Hakkensha (Jumonji Yari) – Grade: Unique]

Damage: A

DEX +43

STR +12

CHA +10

Item Skill 1: [Heart Seeker] – Passive

CP Cost: -

Deals 500% damage when stabbing an enemy's heart.

Item Skill 2: [Fire Cloud] – Passive

CP Cost: -

Channels fire nature chakra with 200% efficiency.

[Mokuzai Musha (Battle Axe) – Grade: Unique]

Damage: A

STR + 70

Item Skill: [Forest Warrior] – Active

CP Cost: 200 per minute

Raises all stats by 20% when in a forested area.

[Boshokuken (Katana) – Grade: Rare, Growing]

Damage: C

STR +5

DEX +5

VIT +5

INT +5

CHA +5

Item Skill: [Gluttony] – Passive

CP Cost: -

Devours swords to strengthen or repair itself.

These were just a few of the Unique grade weapons available for sale in this tiny, deceptively ramshackle store hiding masterpieces upon masterpieces.