Aozora followed the waiter to a private room upstairs. After sipping some tea, the burly Aya Fukayama Uchiha walked through the door.
When Fukayama entered the room and saw Aozora, he exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't expect it to be you!"
He had also attended the clan meeting before, naturally recognizing this bold young man. He found Shisui's perspective on the clan much more reasonable than Aozora's alarmist claims. Still, he didn't think too badly of Aozora—he did seem to truly care about the clan.
Aozora stood up and greeted respectfully, "Mr. Fukayama!"
Fukayama shrugged off the greeting and sat down. "You just graduated, right? What brings you here requesting ninja tools from me?"
"You must understand," he continued, "ninja tools are only effective in the right hands. Putting one in inexperienced hands is like handing a weapon to a child—it just invites trouble."
Aozora simply nodded without responding.
Seeing this, Fukayama knew Aozora hadn't changed his mind. He shook his head and said, "Fine then. It's your choice. What kind of tool do you want made?"
"Throwing Knife," Aozora answered.
Hearing that, Fukayama frowned immediately. "You're serious?"
Just a simple throwing knife—an expendable item. Why would he personally craft something so ordinary?
Aozora solemnly nodded. "Yes, throwing knife. I specially prepared these materials for them."
So saying, Aozora took out the Wind-Chanting Stone.
The moment he saw the Wind-Chanting Stone, Fukayama's eyes lit up. He immediately recognized it as the Chakra-conductive Metal once owned by the clan head.
Taking the stone into his hand, Fukayama channeled some Chakra into it and heard faint wind chanting sounds inside. He asked, "Wind-Chanting Stone! How did you swindle this from Fugaku? I offered him several times, but he refused to sell it."
Aozora smiled slightly but didn't answer Fukayama's question.
After examining it for a while, Fukayama placed the Wind-Chanting Stone back on the table and said, "You really intend to make a throwing knife from this?"
"Exactly."
Fukayama stood up. "I can't help you with that!"
"This is top-quality Chakra-conductive metal! What use is it if you separate it from the body? Plus, throwing knives easily get lost. This is such a waste."
Shaking his head again, clearly dissatisfied with Aozora's idea, he suggested, "Why don't I add some other materials and forge you a short sword instead? I guarantee it won't affect the Chakra conduction efficiency."
Aozora shook his head. "Mr. Fukayama, I want only a throwing knife."
"Then find someone else!"
Smiling apologetically, Aozora said, "But who else could I trust? Everyone in the Uchiha knows you're our top craftsman."
"I have my reasons for wanting throwing knives. It has significant use—I need your skills specifically."
Most Uchiha people were like stubborn horses—you just have to stroke their egos a bit, and they'll go along nicely.
Although reluctant, Fukayama grunted and sat back down after hearing this.
"Alright then," he said. "What are your requirements?"
Immediately, Aozora spoke, "First, the knife should transmit Chakra as perfectly as possible."
Fukayama nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. The Wind-Chanting Stone has very high transmission efficiency."
Thinking for a moment, Aozora continued, "The design of the Throwing Knife will follow your concept, but its piercing power needs to be significantly increased. The handle can be shortened or even completely removed."
"Hmm—make them look nice."
After listening, Fukayama said, "That's it?"
Aozora replied, "Those are all the requirements."
Fukayama waved his hand in frustration upon hearing these trivial requests and said, "Get lost. Leave the Wind-Chanting Stone here and come back in a week with thirty thousand taels to pick up your knives."
Aozora twitched his lips slightly and asked, "Isn't it ten thousand taels originally?"
Fukayama angrily retorted, "That's just for ordinary ninja tools! The materials are completely different—who'd charge the same price?"
Aozora gave an awkward smile, then turned around and left without another word.
Stepping outside the gate, Aozora noticed the time was still early and decided he'd go find Guy for some trouble.
As one of Konoha's most famous figures, finding Guy wasn't hard.
After asking around briefly, Aozora learned that on weekends Guy would run through the village doing handstands, so he estimated the timing and waited patiently along a shady path Guy had to pass.
About twenty minutes later, dust rose far away.
Seeing this, Aozora deliberately jumped onto a tree beside the road and pretended to fall asleep.
Soon enough, a powerful, iron-willed Guy charged forward like an entire army running solo.
As the roaring noise grew louder, Aozora quickly turned his head and shouted, "There's someone ahead! Stop!"
Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, the bowl-cut guy had already rushed past the path, blowing a mouthful of dust into Aozora.
"Damn it!"
Cursing loudly, Aozora immediately turned and chased after him.
It was only during this pursuit that Aozora truly realized how incredible Guy was.
This was just basic training speed—yet faster than Aozora at full sprint. He instinctively channeled Chakra to his feet to boost his acceleration.
"Hey, stop for a second!"
"Hey you, spandex monster—you're speeding!"
"…"
Running nonstop while shouting behind, Aozora finally got Guy to stop after about three minutes.
Panting heavily and resting his hands on his knees, Aozora blocked Guy's way and said, "I've been yelling forever—did you go deaf?"
Although Guy stopped in place, his legs kept moving, continuing his running stance on the spot. "Youth doesn't allow stopping!"
He smiled brightly as he spoke.
His dazzling white teeth flashed rays of light that nearly blinded Aozora, causing him to momentarily forget why he came.
"…"
It became quite awkward between them, standing silently face-to-face.
After a brief pause, under Guy's intense gaze, Aozora backed off first and made an accusation, "You disrupted my nap just now while running by!"
Upon hearing this, Guy recalled Aozora lying on the tree branch. He scratched his head apologetically and sincerely apologized, "Sorry, I disturbed your sleep!"
He didn't question for a second why Aozora was sleeping on a tree in broad daylight.
Originally, Aozora planned to provoke him, leading to a fight followed by mutual respect and friendship.
But after that footrace with Guy, Aozora started doubting everything about his plan.
If his normal jog is already nearly as fast as my [Body Flicker Technique], how am I supposed to beat him if he actually gets serious?
So Aozora softened his tone a bit and waved his hand, "Never mind. I shouldn't have been sleeping up in that tree in the first place."
"Oh right, who are you anyway? You run pretty fast."
Guy froze when he heard that.
Most people just mocked him when they saw him train like that. Hardly anyone ever asked for his name or praised his speed.
Excitedly, Guy struck a pose—like a crane unfolding its wings—and said, "Since you asked so earnestly,"
"I'll deign to tell you my honorable name."
"I am——"
"[Konoha's Proud Azure Beast]——"
"[Eternal Rival of Kakashi]——"
"Might Guy!"
He finished with his right hand still raised in a thumbs-up, flashing a dazzling smile full of gleaming white teeth.
Aozora hesitated for a moment, looking at Guy whose style was totally opposite from his own.
Was it really worth turning into a lunatic just to master taijutsu?
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