Four months later, the clash of metal echoed across the rocky ground.
Clang!
Kakashi blocked a quick upward slash. Sasuke didn't try to force his way through. He used the momentum to spin low and aim for Kakashi's wrist. Kakashi twisted his blade into a reverse grip and blocked again.
Sasuke moved with the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu style as if it was second nature. Months of hard, nonstop training had clearly changed him.
He had grown three inches taller and lost the last signs of boyhood. His shoulders were broader, his voice deeper, and he carried himself with more confidence.
Sasuke jumped back and reset his stance. He grabbed the hilt of his blade and flicked the scabbard open with the practiced ease of someone who had done it thousands of times.
"Dragon Flash!"
Sasuke's blade crashed into Kakashi's with a loud clang. The strike was fast and heavy, but Kakashi didn't move from his spot. He had blocked and deflected every attack since the spar began.
"You've improved, Sasuke, but this blade holds you back."
Kakashi pushed Sasuke back with one hand on his blade, then sheathed it and appeared behind Sasuke in a blur of speed. Sasuke stared in shock at the clean cut at the base of his sword. Only the hilt remained, and the blade was stuck in the dirt in front of him.
"Just like with the rock, but how? I didn't even feel you strike my blade?"
Sasuke looked back at Kakashi, clearly confused. He couldn't understand how Kakashi had just done that.
Instead of explaining right away, Kakashi went up to a small rock and swung his blade at it, the blade gliding off and not leaving a single mark on it.
"This is the breath of all things, the premise of cutting what only you wish to cut; it's not about force, but intent and harmony with your blade. Once you've mastered this, then you can do it with any blade, but as of now, you need your own blade. One made for you, not simply a blade you picked up and decided to use."
"This blade was made of chakra metal."
Sasuke sighed at the loss.
"I'm aware of the material, Sasuke. Why did you think I cut it so precisely? This metal can be melted down and made into a new blade, with a new handle fit to your hands. I've waited for you to grow. You're at a point where you'll still grow, but it won't be so explosive that you outgrow your blade."
Kakashi walked up, pulled the blade from the ground, and handed it to Sasuke.
"We're at a state in your training where a blade not made for you would only slow down or hurt your progress."
Kakashi patted Sasuke on the shoulder, understanding that the blade might have some sentimental value to him, considering it was a blade belonging to his clan, but Kakashi wasn't going to let his student's potential be stunted for sentimentality.
"It'll still be an Uchiha blade, Sasuke. Just reforged to match you."
"How long would that take?"
"The one who reforged the metal of my father's blade to make mine did it in a couple of days, but it might take a few days for yours. Remember, Tenten?"
Kakashi continued when Sasuke nodded in recognition of the girl who trained with him in Kenjutsu.
"Well, her father is the blacksmith who made my blade; he's the best in Konoha, and he happens to like me quite a bit for training Tenten in Kenjutsu."
Kakashi said, thinking about the discounts the man tries to shove on him every time he walks past his store.
"Think about it like this, Sasuke. The sooner that you have your own blade, the sooner I can guide you towards what I just did."
That seemed to do the trick; Sasuke immediately forgot about his ruined blade and was ready to go speak to Tenten's father to have his own forged.
'Everything is training with this kid.'
Kakashi thought exasperatedly. While he had tried to introduce some hobbies to Sasuke, none ever stuck, and Kakashi had no choice but to give up and hope Sasuke would eventually find one.
"Ok, but we'll have to clean up first."
Kakashi clapped his hands on Sasuke, and they vanished.
After bathing and putting on new clothes, Kakashi took Sasuke to the weapon shop.
Tenten's father, Kenji Higarashi, took the measurements of Sasuke's arms, fingers, wrists, and took into account his growth, scribbling down measurements on a piece of paper.
Kenji tapped the paper with his charcoal pencil, looking over the blade Sasuke had placed on the counter.
"And you want a Chokutō. Straight-edged, single-bevel. No curve." Kenji picked up a fragment of the chakra metal, his eyes narrowing as he turned it over under the lamplight. "This is high-grade smithing. Stubborn stuff. If I melt this down, I can form the core. What about the guard?"
Sasuke looked at Kakashi, then back to the blacksmith. "I want a guard. But it can't catch on my clothes or slow down my draw."
Kenji let out a boisterous laugh, slapping the wooden counter. "I like it. Most kids just want the flashiest piece of steel they can carry to look cool. Alright, we'll go with an oval tsuba. Slim iron. I'll extend the top edge just a millimeter; it gives your thumb a perfect lip to draw."
He scribbled a quick sketch on the paper: an elegant straight blade, a minimalist guard, and an elongated hilt wrapped in dark cord.
"The tsuka is going to be a bit longer than standard,"
Kenji added, pointing a calloused finger at Sasuke's wrist measurements.
"It'll give you room to use two hands for a heavy downward strike, but it's balanced right at the index finger so you can clear the sheath with one hand. The scabbard will be treated with ho-wood and lined with a specialized oil."
Kakashi crossed his arms, nodding in satisfaction at the sound of the blade, trying to imagine the finished product already.
"Sounds like you've got it all figured out, Kenji. How long until it's ready?"
"Give me four days,"
Kenji said, carefully gathering the metal into a leather pouch. "Come back on the fifth morning. And bring your old scabbard if you want me to salvage the original Uchiha crest fittings for the new hilt."
The four days passed slowly, filled with quiet meditation and aching muscles from his new training. On the fifth morning, before the sun had even cleared the horizon, Sasuke was already standing outside the Higurashi forge. The heavy, rhythmic beat of Kenji's hammer had finally stopped, replaced by the faint hiss of hot metal being cooled for the last time.
The heavy wooden door slid open, revealing Kenji. He looked exhausted, with dark smudges of soot under his eyes and sweat soaking through his shirt, but a satisfied grin broke through his rough beard when he saw the young Uchiha waiting.
"Timely."
Kenji grunted, wiping his calloused hands on a grease-stained apron. "Come inside. It's finished."
Sasuke stepped into the warmth of the workshop. Resting on a dark velvet cloth over the main counter sat the newly reforged weapon.
It was a masterpiece of lethal utility. The blade was a perfectly straight, single-edged chokutō, gleaming with a dark, subtle ripple pattern through the steel—the visible proof of his clan's chakra metal folded into the core. A slim, oval iron guard separated the steel from an elongated hilt wrapped tightly in black cord, with a small, raised lip at the top where his thumb could rest perfectly. Next to it lay the sleek, dark lacquered wooden sheath, fitted with the original polished Uchiha crest from his old sword.
"Go on,"
Kenji said, nodding toward the counter.
"Pick it up. Let's see if the measurements hold up."
Sasuke picked up the weapon, taking a few practice swings to feel its weight and balance. It felt entirely different from his old sword; the center of gravity sat perfectly against his fingers. He clicked the scabbard onto his left hip and tested his draw. His thumb caught the small iron lip of the guard seamlessly, releasing the blade in a smooth, frictionless motion.
"It's perfect."
Sasuke placed a large pouch of Ryō on the counter. Kenji untied the string, counted the coins, and then pushed a significant portion of the money back across the wood.
"Any student of Kakashi gets a discount," Kenji said, offering a wide, calloused hand.
Sasuke clasped the man's hand, gave it a firm shake, and turned toward the door.
"Hey, kid. Wait a second."
Sasuke stopped with his hand on the frame, looking back over his shoulder.
"Tenten has... well, she's been having a rough time with her team lately," Kenji muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "She's incredibly talented with Fuinjutsu and weaponry, you see. But her squad leader is a taijutsu specialist, as you know. I-i was wondering if you could ask your sensei... well, uhh."
Kenji started shifting his weight, clearly uncomfortable asking a young ninja for a favor but wanting to help his daughter.
Sasuke saved him the embarrassment.
"There's a rocky mountain cliffside just past the eastern outskirts of the village. I train there every morning at seven. Kakashi-sensei doesn't mind company, but if he's busy, I can help Tenten with her form myself."
He kept his tone and expression entirely neutral, but the offer was clear. Kenji let out a long, audible sigh of relief and nodded.
"Thank you, young man. She has been talking about the training with your sensei and teammates for a while now. Gai is a great man, but there's not much he can help her in terms of Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu."
"Seven in the morning. Rocky cliffside past the eastern outskirts," Sasuke said.
He turned toward the door, ending the conversation with what most would have considered blunt rudeness. But just as his hand touched the frame, he muttered a quiet
"You're welcome,"
barely loud enough for Kenji to catch, before disappearing from the shop in a body flicker.
"What an awkward kid," Kenji muttered, shaking his head with a soft chuckle.
He wasn't a ninja himself, but spending his entire adult life forging weapons for them meant he had learned how to read people who hid behind masks and straight faces. Sasuke had clearly been embarrassed by the gratitude, hiding it behind that serious expression. It was funny, and it immediately reminded Kenji of Tenten whenever he managed to embarrass her by bragging about her skills to his customers.
- Chapter End -