Grind is My Ninja Way

Seeing Seimei's serious expression, the Uchiha elder thought he was worried about his future situation.

So, he laughed heartily and said, "Don't worry, Seimei. Once you arrive at the Kirigakure battlefield, someone from the clan will look after you."

Hearing this, Seimei knew the elder had misunderstood something, but he didn't correct him. Instead, he went along with his words, "Thank you for the arrangements, Elder."

"Mm."

The Uchiha elder nodded, then seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Wait a moment."

With that, he turned and walked into the inner room, quickly returning with a book and two scrolls in his hands.

Seeing these three items, Seimei's heart stirred. He had some guesses but still asked in confusion, "This is..."

"Didn't you request support from the clan? Here, these are the things you asked for."

As he spoke, the Uchiha elder handed the three items to Seimei.

Seimei quickly took them.

The Uchiha elder explained, "The book contains the insights of a senior on developing Water Release chakra."

Hearing this, Seimei immediately opened the book and skimmed through it. It was indeed similar to the Wind Release chakra development insights he had obtained from the Uchiha library.

With this book, he could save a lot of time and effort.

However, now wasn't the time to read it. Seimei quickly put it away and turned his attention to the two scrolls in his hands.

Seeing this, the Uchiha elder spoke again, "These two scrolls each contain a Water Release ninjutsu. They should be enough for you to study for a while."

Seimei opened the two scrolls and saw that one of them recorded the ninjutsu - Water Release: Water Wall, while the other recorded the ninjutsu - Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

Both were B-rank ninjutsu, one for offense and one for defense. It was clear that they had put some thought into it.

The only pity was that both 'Water Release: Water Wall' and 'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique' were just ordinary versions.

That is, creating a vertical water wall for protection and the 'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique' with forty-four hand seals.

However, Seimei didn't mind too much.

With the proficiency panel, he could improve their levels as long as he invested time and effort.

Then, whether it was changing the ninjutsu's form or reducing the number of hand seals, he could decide according to his own preferences.

So, there was no need to be too concerned about whether they were optimized versions or not.

However, just as a hint of joy appeared on his face, the Uchiha elder in front of him gave him some bad news.

He said, "As for the Kusanagi sword you requested, the clan hasn't obtained it yet. We originally planned to give you these things along with the Kusanagi sword, but since you're back now, take these first!"

Seimei didn't hear the latter part of the elder's sentence, nor did he care about the explanation. He only noticed that the elder said they hadn't "obtained" it, not that they hadn't "found" it.

"So, the clan has information about the Kusanagi sword?"

Seimei's mind raced, and he asked directly.

Although he didn't know why Seimei was asking this, the Uchiha elder still answered truthfully, "Yes, according to our intelligence, before the war broke out, the leader of the Craftsman Village accidentally acquired one. It seems he intended to replicate it, but he hasn't succeeded. So, theoretically, he still has one in his possession."

"Wait, you... don't mean to take it yourself, do you?"

The Uchiha elder was speaking when he suddenly saw Seimei's eyes light up and quickly asked.

Hearing this, Seimei retorted, "Why? Can't I?"

Seeing Seimei speak of seizing it as a matter of course, the Uchiha elder pointed at him and said with a smile, "You..."

In truth, he didn't know that Seimei was judging the situation based on the person. If it were someone else, Seimei wouldn't have been so obvious.

But this Uchiha elder clearly belonged to the radical faction.

And radicals, at best, were unconventional, and at worst, they didn't follow the rules.

Moreover, this was a world of extraordinary powers. In this world where power resided in oneself, strength often determined many things.

If those small ninja villages had something good, wouldn't the Five Great Ninja Villages just take it by force?

So, his expressed thoughts weren't anything out of the ordinary.

Perhaps, because of his thoughts, this radical elder might even see him in a more favorable light!

However, contrary to his expectations, the Uchiha elder directly rejected his idea and said bluntly, "No!"

"Why?"

Seimei didn't hold back and asked directly.

Hearing this, the Uchiha elder shook his head and said, "You won't be able to find him."

"What do you mean?"

Seimei asked again.

"It's literally what I said."

The Uchiha elder replied, "Since the war broke out, the Craftsman Village has disbanded. All the ninjas from the Craftsman Village have gone into hiding."

"Huh?"

Hearing this news for the first time, Seimei was dumbfounded.

Seeing this, the Uchiha elder continued, "You know that the Craftsman Village is very skilled at making ninja tools, right?"

"Yes."

Seimei nodded.

"Then do you know that during peacetime, more than seventy percent of the ninja tools in the Five Great Ninja Villages were supplied by them?" The Uchiha elder asked again.

Seimei shook his head.

He really didn't know this. His past life memories about the smaller ninja villages were brief. Who would have thought the Craftsman Village had such a significant influence?

However, at this point, he had guessed why the Craftsman Village disbanded.

As arms... well, weapon suppliers, they were too weak to protect such vast interests.

They couldn't even remain neutral.

During peacetime, it was fine, letting them earn a bit.

But in times of war, it wasn't about making money anymore. Their existence had, to some extent, affected the balance of the war.

With such powerful ninja tool manufacturing capabilities, if the Craftsman Village completely sided with a particular village and devoted all their efforts to making ninja tools for them, that village would have an overwhelming advantage in weaponry.

No one wanted to see such a situation.

And if they tried to remain neutral, they would become a target for everyone.

So, to ensure that other villages wouldn't receive assistance from the Craftsman Village, the best way was to erase them.

Only in this way could the relative balance of the war be maintained.

Clearly, the leader of the Craftsman Village had realized this and sensed the hidden danger.

So, he disbanded the Craftsman Village early on, allowing everyone to scatter and hide in various parts of the ninja world.

The Craftsman Village could supply more than seventy percent of the ninja tools to the Five Great Ninja Villages during peacetime because they worked together and collaborated.

Now, with everyone scattered, they naturally couldn't achieve this anymore.

This way, even the Five Great Ninja Villages wouldn't expend much effort to search for and deal with them.

Thus, when the war ended and they gathered again, they could re-establish the Craftsman Village.

This was the Craftsman Village's way of survival.

Through his own reasoning and the Uchiha elder's explanation, Seimei understood the reason for the Craftsman Village's disbandment and why the elder had rejected his idea.

In this situation, it would be impossible for him to find the leader of the Craftsman Village!

(End of Chapter)