Standing on the roof of a building in Konoha, Murasame surveyed the surroundings with a pair of binoculars she had purchased nearby.
She spotted Konoha shinobi, of course, but also a scattering of shinobi from Ame, Taki, Kusa, and Suna. The Chunin Exams were approaching, and the Genin from Konoha's allied nations were gathering. This meant it was a moment for the ninja tools of every village to be in one place. For the past few days, Murasame had been joyfully celebrating life.
The older man from Amegakure who had just entered the village was especially interesting. The umbrellas he carried—all of them—gave off the wonderful scent of senbon. It was likely a mechanism that unleashed countless senbon at once. From the scent, the quality of the needles wasn't bad, either. They could probably pierce an iron plate several millimeters thick.
"...Still, fewer people brought ninja tools than I expected."
A few carried basic kunai and shuriken, but most were just dull blades. Perhaps it was difficult for Genin to acquire masterpieces. She had tried to observe the Jonin chaperoning the candidates instead, but as expected, they were on high alert—even in an allied nation—and she couldn't find them at all.
"Haa... I can't find the scent of any swords, either..."
She sighed, starved of her "mental nutrition." She had heard shinobi from all villages would be gathering and had expected to see many more ninja tools. Was there no one who had brought, say, one of the Kusanagi blades that had come up in her conversation with Asuma?
As she wallowed in that wish, she caught the scent of a masterpiece. How convenient! This scent was the Kusanagi—
"...No, it's not."
Looking in the direction of the scent, her eyes landed on a team of 3 from Takigakure. The man in the center was carrying the source of the wonderful smell. It was a 'Murakumo no Tsurugi: Seiun,' one she had sold to a Chunin from her own village back when she was still in Kirigakure.
Come to think of it, she'd heard that the buyer had died in action about 1 year after purchasing it, his body found stripped of all its gear. Apparently, a Takigakure shinobi had taken it, and now, after changing hands, it had ended up with this Genin.
The thought that her work was being properly valued, even by another village, made her very happy and filled her with warmth. As she soaked in that feeling, another faint, familiar scent reached her. This one was recent; she knew it. She looked toward the source, as if confirming an answer, and saw a familiar face: the Suna shinobi, Kankuro. He was in some kind of confrontation with Konoha shinobi—on closer inspection, with Mr. Kakashi's students.
The scent was faint, muffled by bandages and the puppet, but it was definitely one of her blades, which warmed her heart again. Their situation, however, looked heated. This wouldn't do. She gathered chakra in her feet, leaped, and landed nearby. She had hidden her ninjutsu skills in Suna, so she couldn't just appear directly in front of them.
"Let go of Konohamaru, you jerk!"
"You're pissing me off, you—!?"
As she landed, she pulled 2 swords from a scroll and threw them, embedding them in the cobblestones at their feet. The sudden appearance of the blades made them flinch and stop fighting. Now, she thought.
"Both of you, please calm down... In a fight, the one with the superior weapon wins... I am selling both of these swords for 5,000 ryo—"
"What the hell are you doing, you sword-freak!?" Kankuro yelled, grabbing one of the swords and throwing it right back at her. She could have just stood there and let it pass through her using the Hydration Jutsu, but she decided to dodge.
She listened to the happy clatter of the blade hitting the pavement, then turned to her regular customer.
"Kankuro, that 'Longsword: Tetsukiri' only has mid-to-low-tier sharpness among my creations... so... it's dangerous to throw it."
"You! Think about what you just did and what you just said!"
How rude. What I did was a performance. It's completely different. In any case, she thought a fight in the middle of the street was a prime opportunity to sell swords... apparently not. A shame...
"Uu... ghh..."
The boy Kankuro was holding was choking. Maybe he'd buy a sword to escape? No, he's just a kid, he wouldn't have money. It's not like he's from a distinguished bloodline with a huge allowance...
Just as she was pondering this, a small stone flew from a tree above, striking Kankuro's arm and forcing him to release the boy.
She looked up. The black-haired boy—the one who'd dismissed the Kubikiribōchō as just another tool—was sitting on a branch. But there aren't pebbles on trees. Did he pick one up, climb the tree, and then throw it? What a showman. Maybe I should take notes for my sales performance.
"Hey, kid... get down here."
Kankuro lowered "Karasu" from his back, taunting the boy. It seemed a simple brawl was about to escalate into a real fight involving puppets. Kankuro's sister, Temari, looked like she had a headache.
But... if this turned into a real fight, she might get to see her swords—Kankuro's—shine in a way she rarely could: "actual combat."
"Stop it, Kankuro. You're a disgrace to our village..."
As she watched with anticipation, another voice came from the tree.
It was Temari and Kankuro's younger brother—Gaara. The polar opposite of her regular customers, one who never used ninja tools. Her "difficult customer," perhaps?
After a few more words, Kankuro backed down, clearly intimidated. The fight was over. The Suna team stated their business to Kakashi's students and left.
As they were leaving, Gaara seemed to hit it off with Kakashi's student, the black-haired boy named Sasuke Uchiha.
Murasame was surprised to learn he was a survivor of that Uchiha rice cracker clan, but even more surprised that he seemed friendly with Gaara. Gaara was like her, bad at socializing—or rather, actively disliked it. He often just hung around her smithy in silence... Perhaps they had similar auras; maybe they found common ground.
In any case, if she couldn't sell any swords, there was no point in her being here. She was about to return to her rooftop perch when Kankuro grabbed her by the collar.
"You! Stop wandering around! Who knows what you'll do!?"
"I was just observing, I wasn't going to do any—"
"Weren't you told not to sell your custom swords when you left the village!? You just tried to sell them to Konoha ninja!"
"...Whoops."
"You haven't been selling your swords all over town, have you?"
"I got a reservation... but no one has actually bought one yet."
As she answered the interrogation while being half-dragged away, both Suna siblings clutched their heads. She saw a flash of anger and looked to their younger brother for help.
"—It doesn't matter. Whatever tools they have... I just have to kill them."
"...Is that a challenge to my creations?"
"Alright! That's enough! Stop it!"
The trauma of her creations being utterly useless against his unbreakable sand shield... it ignited her creative drive. If the 'Water Sword: Kiba (WIP)' she was forging the day she left the Mist hadn't been destroyed by her father... or if she had the masterpieces she'd left behind... the result might have been different. But with her current stock, it was hopeless. As she pondered where she could borrow a forge, she mentally accepted his challenge.
From Kankuro's perspective, a competition between a madwoman and a monster was no joke. If, by some miracle, a cursed blade was born that could pierce Gaara's absolute defense—or even if it failed, but "stimulated" Gaara in some way—it would be a catastrophe.
The thought that he had to be with both of them until the exams started—and then stick with one of them throughout—made Kankuro's stomach twist.
He swore to himself he wouldn't let them do anything reckless like this again.
▼▼▼
Meanwhile, in a certain room in Konoha, the village's Jonin and Tokubetsu Jonin had gathered.
They had just finished the official recommendations for their students to participate in the Chunin Exams.
A small argument had broken out over the fact that all of this year's rookies had been recommended, but that was settled, and the meeting was drawing to a close.
However, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, decided to use this opportunity to share information he had been investigating—information reported to him by his own son, Asuma, who was standing right there.
"This is a separate matter, but... it seems the 'Blade Princess of the Mist' has infiltrated this village."
"!"
"Blade Princess of the Mist." That was Murasame's old nickname, from back when she had first started selling her custom swords.
She had shown talent from a young age, so much so that she was called the second coming of her ancestor, the genius smith Muramasa, who had forged the Seven Ninja Swords. Her skill and bloodline had earned her that name, and it had spread to other villages.
Though, in the Mist village itself, that name had long since been replaced by 'The Madwoman of the Mist.' No one called her the Blade Princess anymore.
"We have solid intel from a Root operative embedded in Kirigakure. The Mizukage is apparently conducting a covert search for her."
"...I knew it." Kakashi and Asuma groaned.
They had both felt something... off... about her obsession with swords. And her story about "referencing" a Kusanagi blade had made them suspect she was from a famous smithing clan. But they hadn't wanted to be this right.
"You mean... from that clan? The greatest swordsmiths in the Mist? How did she get in here?"
"About that... She entered the village through official channels. As a swordsmith from Sunagakure."
"What?"
Seeing the shock on their faces, Hiruzen placed his head in his hands.
"Somehow, she established a position for herself in Suna, then came here through the proper procedures. ...In other words, she is, for all intents and purposes, a legitimate guest. And as of now, she has made no suspicious moves."
"...For what it's worth, her stated purpose was to see the 'Kubikiribōchō,' which she believed I had," Kakashi added.
"That is likely the truth... at least, her reason for coming from Suna to Konoha. Kakashi and Asuma both felt something... unusual... about her, and on their judgment, we are simply keeping her here until the exams are over."
Kurenai Yuhi, standing in the front row, raised her hand.
"Do you believe it's necessary to use genjutsu for interrogation, or to take her into custody?"
"...The thought was considered. But she has done nothing wrong. And she has the official status of a guest from Suna. If we make a careless move now, Konoha could sow the seeds of conflict with both Suna and Kiri. Even Root agrees. The conclusion is to not act... for now."
The possibility of facing Suna and Kiri simultaneously... the fact that even Danzo, the "Darkness of the Shinobi," was hesitant to act, made one thing clear: the "Blade Princess of the Mist" was an incredibly skilled operator. The Jonin shuddered, wondering what kind of complex calculations she was making as she moved from village to village.
Kakashi and Asuma, the 2 who had actually interacted with her, grimaced. They clearly had thoughts about her "calculations," but they chose to remain silent.
"You will receive the full briefing later. For now, do not engage her. And, under no circumstances, is she to be left unwatched. Understood... That is all."
"Sir!"
And so, completely unaware of the high-level meeting taking place about her, Murasame was dragged away by Kankuro, craning her neck in anticipation of the Chunin Exams.
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