"Hiss—"
As the scorching-hot blade was submerged in water, thick white steam billowed upward. Shimotsuki Ushimaru, bare-chested and sweating profusely, stood before the furnace, using tongs to lift the freshly forged blade and examining it closely.
The pattern on the blade appeared uniform and gentle, like flowing fine sand, rippling across the surface like water waves.
"Is that a sand-flow pattern? This is quite a blade," the elderly master bladesmith beside him exclaimed in admiration. In his youth, this old man had also forged blades of the Skillful Grade (Wazamono), but now that he was older, his strength had begun to wane.
Even so, he still had a discerning eye. This blade blank only needed a few more hammer strikes to reach the Skillful Grade. This was already an extraordinary piece of work.
Even the finest bladesmiths couldn't guarantee that every blade they forged would be a Skillful Grade sword. Just like himself—he had only ever forged one Skillful Grade sword in his life—and even that was enough to make him one of the top bladesmiths in the country.
"It seems another famous blade will be added to this world."
"That may be so, but it's still not enough," Shimotsuki Ushimaru sighed. What he wanted to forge was a Great Grade (O Wazamono) sword; a mere Skillful Grade was still too far from his goal. However, he didn't stop his work. After all, a Skillful Grade sword was worth hundreds of gold pieces. A single blade could trade for several properties in the Flower Capital. How could he possibly give up?
After a long while of work, a Skillful Grade sword was finally forged.
This was the first Skillful Grade sword Shimotsuki Ushimaru had forged in some time. The previous few blades he had made, though sharp, hadn't qualified as Skillful Grade.
"Phew, it's truly not an easy task."
"That's because, my lord, you haven't personally forged a blade in quite some time. Your skills have naturally become a bit rusty," the old man comforted him. He had to admit that Shimotsuki Ushimaru's forging skills far surpassed his own.
Moreover, since he was a daimyo and used the finest forging materials, it might not be easy to forge a Great Grade sword, but for a Skillful Grade, as long as one remained patient and didn't rush, success was possible.
"Let's try again. By the way, have someone find some Sake Iron Ore."
"Sake Iron Ore?" the old man asked in surprise.
Sake Iron Ore was also a very special type of ore in Wano Country. The iron smelted from this ore was incredibly tough, making it excellent material for forging weapons. Of course, Sake Iron Ore was also extremely precious.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru wanted to attempt forging a Great Grade sword, but he would undoubtedly face numerous failures. Not every unsuccessful attempt could be salvaged into a Skillful Grade or Good Skillful Grade sword—often, the entire blade blank would be completely ruined.
Therefore, using Sake Iron Ore to forge swords without sufficient confidence was an incredibly extravagant and wasteful affair.
"One must make sacrifices," Shimotsuki Ushimaru said.
Outside the forging furnace, heavy snow continued to fall. On a day like this, who knew how many people would freeze or starve to death. He wiped his forehead with a towel already soaked in sweat, then sat down and drank a large gulp of water.
While Shimotsuki Ushimaru was still forging a blade for his visit to Ren, Ren had already sent out the letter announcing his visit to Hakumai. At the same time, he began preparing a gift for his meeting with Shimotsuki Yasuie.
Though it was called a gift, part of it would also be used to pay for the rental fee of the Hidden Port.
It was still uncertain whether this matter would be successful, but if he intended to get something for nothing, the other party would definitely not agree. Ren planned to rent the Hidden Port, which would also prevent Shimotsuki Yasuie from intervening and regretting their decision once it was in use.
Exchanging a port that had been useless for centuries—practically just decoration—for a source of income, Ren didn't believe Shimotsuki Yasuie would be completely unmoved. Hakumai's finances were acceptable, but not exactly wealthy. The more money one had, the more one could accomplish.
However, being tempted was one thing; whether Shimotsuki Yasuie had the courage to break Wano's century-old prohibition for this money was another matter entirely.
After calculating the timing, Shimotsuki Yasuie received the letter of visitation from Ren.
"The daimyo of Kuri, why is he visiting me? Is it because he used to be from Hakumai?" This was the only reason Shimotsuki Yasuie could think of. Among all the daimyos in Wano, Ren didn't visit his neighboring regions of Udon and Ringo first, but came to him instead, which struck him as odd.
He simply thought that Ren wanted to return to his original region for a visit. Ren's identity had been tampered with by Kurozumi Orochi back then, but now Kurozumi Orochi had left Hakumai during Kurozumi Semimaru's last trip to the Flower Capital.
He had originally planned to stay in Hakumai for much longer, but during those months Kurozumi Semimaru spent in the Flower Capital, she had used her abilities to secure a position for Kurozumi Orochi.
Shimotsuki Yasuie sighed. He actually thought Ren was very capable—pacifying Kuri single-handedly was enough to prove his strength. However, he still lacked some social graces.
"After all, Udon and Ringo are also neighboring regions. He should at least visit them first."
While there were frictions among the daimyos, overall peace had been maintained over the years. The friendships between the clans ran deeper than the grievances. But the daimyo of Kuri was different; he didn't have good relations with the other daimyos. Acting this way might cause the other two regional lords to feel displeased.
Shimotsuki Yasuie felt he should talk to Ren about these social matters.
However, his retainer believed what Shimotsuki Yasuie should be worrying about now wasn't the daimyo of Kuri's interpersonal relationships.
"Lord Yasuie, you should probably think about what kind of return gift to prepare," the retainer said worriedly. "Last I heard, the daimyo of Kuri brought a gift worth ten thousand gold pieces to the Flower Capital, and the Shogun couldn't produce a gift of equivalent value on the spot, making the situation rather awkward."
Shimotsuki Yasuie: ...
"Ten thousand gold pieces? Is Kuri's finances that abundant?"
A single gift worth ten thousand gold pieces was like a neighbor dropping by and handing you a hundred million to spend as you please. Hakumai certainly had ten thousand gold pieces, but the funds circulated throughout the region. It wouldn't be easy for him to produce such a large sum of money in a short time.
He couldn't just turn around and give back the gift the other party had just brought, could he?
That would be slapping the other person in the face.
"It can't be described simply as wealthy," the retainer said. "That daimyo of Kuri is truly exceptionally capable. Kuri has now become the wealthiest place in the entire country."
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