"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, huh?" Granny Cat raised an eyebrow. "I did hear that you defeated them on the Kirigakure battlefield. Looks like you were quite lucky, kid."
After a pause, she added:
"Rumor has it that the swords wielded by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are bound to summoning contracts established by Kirigakure through special methods. If you take them out now, won't the Hidden Mist just summon them back?"
Ren shook his head.
"Don't worry. I've already used a Contract Seal to cancel the summoning contracts on these swords. They belong to me now. Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought them here."
Granny Cat nodded and opened the storage scroll.
Forming a hand seal, she activated the scroll and summoned everything sealed inside.
Seven swords appeared in the room.
She looked over them one by one.
"Kubikiribōchō… Nuibari… Kabutowari… Shibuki… Kiba… Hiramekarei… Samehada…"
Granny Cat glanced up at Ren with surprise.
"Seven swords? I heard you only killed four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
Ren smiled.
"When I saw their swords, I immediately took an interest in them. Once they realized I was targeting the weapons, they abandoned the swords to escape."
"Otherwise, three of them wouldn't have survived."
For the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, losing their swords wasn't the end of the world—they could retrieve them later through Kirigakure's summoning contract.
But if they lost their lives, there would be no getting them back.
Once they realized Ren's true target was their weapons, Fuguki Suikazan was the first to throw down Samehada to buy himself time to escape.
When the others saw Ren ignore the unarmed Fuguki and pursue the remaining swordsmen instead, they immediately followed suit.
Without hesitation, they threw their swords in different directions and fled.
That put them all on equal footing again.
Ren then began hunting them indiscriminately.
Even so, the delay allowed three of them to escape.
Of course, the swordsmen had never expected Ren to know Contract Sealing. Otherwise, convincing them to abandon their blades would have been far more difficult.
"I see," Granny Cat said, nodding thoughtfully. "So what kind of blade do you want forged?"
Each of the seven swords Ren brought contained a large amount of chakra-conductive metal, and each possessed unique abilities.
On the black market, each one could easily sell for tens of millions of ryō.
Granny Cat was no longer worried about Ren's ability to pay.
Ren said:
"Granny Cat, would it be possible to melt some of these down and reforge them into a completely new blade—one that combines their properties?"
"For example… combining Kubikiribōchō's regeneration, Kabutowari's durability, Shibuki's heat resistance, and Hiramekarei's chakra transformation ability into a single weapon."
Each of the seven swords had its own special power.
Kubikiribōchō could regenerate itself by absorbing iron from the blood of those it cut, restoring both the blade and a bit of the wielder's stamina.Kabutowari relied on overwhelming weight and hardness, said to be capable of breaking through any defense.Shibuki could summon explosive tags, unleashing devastating explosive slashes.Hiramekarei could expand and form condensed chakra constructs, releasing powerful chakra blasts.
If the abilities of these four swords could be combined into one blade, it would surely produce an unparalleled weapon.
"You're dreaming!" Granny Cat rolled her eyes.
"Each of these swords was born under unique and unrepeatable circumstances."
"Even melting them down and recreating their original forms would be nearly impossible—let alone combining their abilities into a single blade."
"If that were possible, Kirigakure would have done it already. They wouldn't have waited for you to come up with the idea."
"So forget about it. You'd be better off selling these and buying a suitable blade."
Ren sighed in disappointment.
Ordinary ninja blades could barely withstand the heat generated by his Flame-Flame Fruit power.
Even a sword forged entirely from chakra metal would probably last only a few seconds once temperatures exceeded ten thousand degrees.
"Durable… sturdy… heat-resistant…"
Granny Cat muttered, thinking.
"Wait a moment. I might actually have something that fits your requirements."
She hesitated briefly before standing and rummaging through a storage cabinet.
Ren's eyes lit up with anticipation.
Granny Cat specialized in weapons and equipment. It wouldn't be surprising if she had rare items hidden away.
Soon, she returned with another storage scroll and unsealed it in front of him.
Ren looked closer.
The scroll contained several sealed symbols marked with characters such as "Ten," "Eight," and "Fire."
Granny Cat asked:
"Have you ever heard of the Kusanagi Sword?"
"The Kusanagi Sword?!" Ren's eyes brightened. "Of course. Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, wields one. I've heard it's a legendary divine weapon."
Granny Cat nodded.
"That's right. The Kusanagi swords are legendary weapons."
"They're incredibly durable, and each one possesses its own special ability."
Ren recalled the Kusanagi swords from Naruto lore.
Orochimaru's Kusanagi could extend and retract freely, cut through nearly anything, and even be controlled like a flying sword.Sasuke Uchiha's Kusanagi likely enhanced Lightning Release techniques.Itachi Uchiha's Totsuka Blade was a spiritual weapon formed of chakra that sealed whatever it pierced.
Then Ren suddenly froze.
His eyes slowly drifted toward the symbol "Ten" on the scroll.
Could that possibly be the Totsuka Blade?
Granny Cat continued speaking.
"Legend says there are eleven Kusanagi swords, scattered throughout the shinobi world."
"I happened to obtain three of them."
She formed a hand seal and tapped the symbol marked "Fire."
A long sword appeared.
It looked like an ordinary katana.
The hilt was deep purple, the guard oval-shaped, and the scabbard brown.
But the moment the blade appeared, a sharp sulfur smell mixed with burning heat spread throughout the room.
Granny Cat said:
"This sword is said to have been born from volcanic magma."
"When its blade moves, it can ignite the very air itself."
"Ordinary scabbards can't even withstand the heat it produces."
She paused before announcing its name.
"This sword is called—"
Zanka no Tachi.
"A divine blade said to burn all things in the world to ash."
The moment the sword appeared, Ren's attention had already been completely drawn to it.
Some instinct deep within him told him—
This blade belonged to him.
But when Granny Cat spoke its name, Ren shot to his feet in shock.
He stared at her in disbelief.
"Granny… what did you say this sword is called?"
"Zanka no Tachi," she repeated. "Why? Have you heard of it before?"
Ren nodded reflexively.
Zanka no Tachi…
That was the name of the Bankai of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the strongest Shinigami in two thousand years from the world of Bleach.
How could he not know it?
But…
Was this really that same blade?
Granny Cat assumed Ren had merely read the name in some ancient text and didn't question him further.
"Of course, burning the entire world to ash is probably exaggerated," she said.
"But Zanka no Tachi is indeed a powerful fire-attribute divine weapon."
"It's sturdy, durable, and extremely heat-resistant."
"It also amplifies Fire Release techniques."
A flash of excitement appeared in Ren's eyes.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the sword.
The moment his hand closed around it, he felt an immediate sense of connection, as if the blade were an extension of his own body.
Clang!
Ren drew the blade.
The friction between steel and air ignited roaring flames along the sword.
"Magnificent!"
He could tell that this version of Zanka no Tachi did not possess the same overwhelming power as the one from the world of Bleach.
But it was undeniably the perfect weapon for him right now.
"That's a Kusanagi sword, of course it's good!" Granny Cat quickly stepped back to avoid the heat.
"Put that thing away before you burn my house down!"
Realizing his recklessness, Ren quickly sheathed the blade.
The moment the sword returned to the scabbard, glowing sealing runes appeared on the sheath, suppressing the flames.
Ren looked surprised.
Granny Cat explained:
"The scabbard was crafted from the trunk of the God Tree."
"It's incredibly durable."
"On top of that, it's engraved with Fire-Sealing Runes that suppress the blade's heat."
"Unfortunately, time has worn down those seals, which is why some of the heat leaks out."
"If you want to use this sword safely, you should repair the seal."
"That's easy," Ren said immediately.
He placed his hand on the scabbard.
"Seal!"
Dark sealing characters spread across the sheath, restoring the damaged Fire-Sealing Formula.
Although Fire-Sealing techniques were specialized, they were not particularly complex compared to many advanced fūinjutsu.
Ren was more than capable of repairing it.
Seeing this, Granny Cat said:
"It seems you're very satisfied with that sword."
"I am," Ren replied firmly. "I'll take it."
Then he looked at her with slight complaint.
"If you had something this good, why didn't you show it to me earlier?"
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