The moment the sword appeared, Uchiha Ren was completely captivated by it.
Somewhere deep in his heart, he felt an inexplicable certainty—this blade belonged to him.
And when Granny Neko spoke the name of the sword, Ren abruptly raised his head in shock.
Unable to believe what he had heard, he asked to confirm, "Granny… what did you say this sword is called?"
"Zanka no Tachi," Granny Neko repeated, then asked curiously, "Why? Have you heard of it before?"
Ren subconsciously nodded.
Zanka no Tachi.
In another world, that was the name of the Bankai of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei Thirteen in Bleach, the strongest Shinigami in two thousand years. Of course he knew the name.
But… could this really be that same Zanka no Tachi?
Seeing Ren fall silent, Granny Neko assumed he had only encountered the name in some ancient text and didn't probe further.
"Of course, the claim that it can burn all things in the world is an exaggeration," she continued. "But this Zanka no Tachi is indeed an excellent Fire-natured divine blade."
"It's sturdy, durable, resistant to extreme heat. It perfectly meets all your requirements. And it can even enhance the power of Fire Release (Katon) techniques."
A flash of light appeared in Ren 's eyes as he immediately grabbed the blade.
At that instant, a feeling of connection surged through him—like flesh and blood linked together. It felt as if he and the sword had become one.
Clang!
With a crisp sound, Ren drew Zanka no Tachi from its sheath.
As the blade sliced through the air, flames erupted along its edge.
"Excellent blade!"
Ren could sense that although this Zanka no Tachi didn't possess the terrifying abilities of the one from Bleach, it was undoubtedly the most suitable weapon for him at the moment.
"This is one of the Kusanagi swords, of course it's a good blade!" Granny Neko quickly stepped back to avoid the heat. "Put it away right now! If you burn down my shop, I won't forgive you!"
Ren immediately realized he had been reckless and hurriedly slid the blade back into its sheath.
The moment the blade entered the sheath, runes lit up along the scabbard, forcing all the flames back into the sword.
Ren looked surprised at the sight, and Granny Neko explained:
"This sheath was crafted from the trunk of the legendary God Tree. It's incredibly sturdy. On top of that, it bears a Fire-Sealing Formula, which suppresses the extreme heat of Zanka no Tachi."
"But time changes all things. Over the years, the sealing formula on the sheath has become damaged. That's why some of the sword's aura leaked out."
"If you intend to use this blade, it would be best to repair the Fire-Sealing Formula to be safe."
"That's simple," Ren said immediately.
He already adored the blade and had fully decided to take it.
He formed hand seals and pressed his palm against the sheath.
"Seal!"
Black sealing markings flowed from his palm, spreading across the sheath and restoring the damaged Fire-Sealing Formula.
Although the Fire-Sealing Formula naturally restrained flames, that was its only function.
Among the many complicated fūinjutsu (sealing techniques), such a single-purpose seal was relatively simple—something Ren happened to know.
Seeing this, Granny Neko said, "Looks like you're quite satisfied with this sword."
"Very satisfied. I'll take this one," Ren nodded, then glanced at her with mild complaint. "Granny, if you had something this good, why didn't you show it earlier?"
Granny Neko shot him a sideways look.
"Even if I had shown it to you last time, could you have afforded it?"
"If those seven ninja swords you brought this time weren't worth something, you wouldn't even have known this blade existed."
Ren froze.
Not to mention earlier—even now, aside from those seven swords, he didn't have much money on him.
Being a shinobi might be a high-income profession, but it was also a high-expense one.
Daily consumables like shuriken, kunai, and explosive tags were all extremely expensive.
And they had just come out of a war. During wartime, mission payments were converted into war merits, which would only be distributed after the war ended.
If Ren hadn't run into Gatō on the battlefield—and if most consumables hadn't been supplied by the village—he might not even have had enough money to eat right now.
"Wait," Ren suddenly realized something and looked at Granny Neko.
"Are you saying that my seven ninja swords can only be exchanged for one of yours?"
"Of course," Granny Neko snorted. "How many did you think you could get?"
"Your seven swords are valuable, sure. But they still have a clear price."
"But my Zanka no Tachi is one of the legendary Kusanagi swords—a divine blade, a true priceless treasure."
"If prices hadn't gone up recently and I didn't urgently need money, do you think I'd trade such a treasure for your seven shabby swords?"
Ren laughed awkwardly.
Her words weren't pleasant, but they weren't wrong.
After all, if he had to choose himself, he would also pick Zanka no Tachi instead of the seven swords.
However…
Ren glanced at the other sealing formulas on the storage scroll and asked,
"Granny, those are also Kusanagi swords, right? Are you selling them? Name your price."
With Gatō's shipping company backing him, Ren spoke with remarkable confidence.
At this moment, he truly wasn't short on money.
"Not for sale."
Granny Neko shot him another glance and immediately rolled up the storage scroll.
"These are my family treasures. How could I just sell them like that?"
"Now that I have your seven ninja swords, I can sell one each year and live comfortably for seven years."
"Why would I sell my treasures for money?"
"If you really want them, you'd better bring something of comparable value to trade."
"Comparable value?" Ren clearly didn't want to give up on those other Kusanagi swords. "Granny, what exactly are you looking for?"
Granny Neko took another puff from her pipe and answered leisurely:
"Well, if it's a divine weapon, it should naturally be exchanged for another divine artifact. For example, the Six Paths Ninja Tools passed down in Kumogakure would be quite nice."
She paused before glancing at Ren again.
"Besides ninja tools, the Mangekyō Sharingan of the Uchiha clan is also extremely valuable. That could work as trade material too."
"Something along those lines."
Granny Neko had said it casually, with no real intention of trading with Ren .
But her words sent huge waves crashing through Ren 's mind.
In the original storyline, Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan only appeared once in Uchiha Itachi's memories, and then it was never seen again.
Could it be that Itachi used Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan to trade for the Kusanagi sword?
If that were true…
Then Uchiha Itachi was truly the ultimate filial son.
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