(The Hilts are to be made at Ninja rank. Making them at D-Rank, however, since EXP from this topic will make Shojin D-Rank. Otherwise going to train them in one big lump since they're parts of the same weapon.)
Shojin is a Kagemori. By tradition, they make their own weapons and armor for battle. However, Shojin himself is a special Kagemori. He is the only one alive who possesses the Jigoku no Jizo, or "Hell's Forge." For at least a couple of years now, Shojin has been capable of producing weapons that held unique capabilities, far beyond what steel alone can accomplish. By the time Shojin is done with a sword, it becomes a powerful metal alloy that only resembles steel. It was a talent he was very proud of, and loved making use of. At least, he did when he wasn't forced to.
Recently, Shojin has come to the realization that he would be taking the academy graduation exam, and that after this exam, when he became a Genin, he would want to have reliable weapons that he could weild, and he would want them to be unique and strong. Because of that, he began working on a unique fighting style that would become completely his own. At first they were sketches. Drawings that he threw together when he was bored in class at the academy, as a "hey, that'd be cool" kind of idea. He never thought he'd actually begin work on such a massive project.
Naturally, however, and almost against his will, Shojin began coming up with ideas for how he could make it happen. Conceptually, he eventually decided that it would be possible, but way beyond his skill level. There would be far too many problems. Slowly, however, when he drifted off into thought, he would begin to come up with solutions to the problems he'd have. The solutions came slowly for the first few days, been then more and more rapidly until he had begun to solve every problem he could think of.
The bottom line: what if Shojin had a weapon that was infinitely flexible? What if he could transform his weapon completely based on the situation, giving it unique form, unique abilities? What if it could even change from a hand held weapon to a ranged weapon, and back in an instant? Furthermore, what if, as Shojin got stronger, so did the weapon? All of this became the basis for the weapon known as Hebunriamori, otherwise known as the Heavenly Armory. It was so named because, should it be fully realized, it would surpass what was known as a weapon, and become something more; an entire armory.
The first step to creating such a weapon was the catalyst to it. Two handles that could transform to hold any blade fixed to them; but not just any blade. The head to an axe, or even the arms to a crossbow. Shojin could not help but to think he was a genius for coming up with such a plan. He spoke of it to his mother and father. Even they, who ascribed more to the legend of the Jigoku no Jizo far more than he did, doubted the project's plausibility; and they were among the few, what Shojin called lunatics, that believed a master of Jigoku no Jizo had created some crazy sword called Samehada, that was completely sentient and could merge with a human!
However, maybe it was because he held the Jigoku no Jizo himself, or maybe it was because he was cocky; but something, from somewhere deep inside Shojin, told him that he could do it. Not only that he could do it, but that he should. And he would.
And so, for a few weeks, Shojin put in extra time at the shop. Grueling hours, even cutting class at the academy, in order to go to work in the smithy for fourteen to sixteen hours a day. On the weekends, he'd work for twenty. For nearly a month, in fact, Shojin was averaging only about four hours of sleep. Even that small amount of sleep that he was getting, he was getting in the workshop. In fact, though he'd recently purchased a new bed frame, he didn't spend a single night in it during this time.
All of that was just to get ahead on orders, so that the boy could even begin working on the mammoth of a project that he would called Hebunriamori. And so it came, that finally, he would step into the workshop with the intent to work on what could somehow be called a weapon. And, as previously realized, it would start with the base. The catalyst to everything that the weapon could possibly realize; the handles, which would be what he called Hebunriamori; the Heavenly Armory.
Shojin wore all of the proper protective equipment. He wore extremely thick work pants made of a denim material, and a long-sleeve shirt made mostly of cotton with a second outer layer of denim as well. On top of that, he wore a heavy apron made of some heat resistant material - he did not know what - so that he did not burn himself, and gloves of similar material. Needless to say, before he got into the workshop, it was hot. We waddled through the house, his mother and father both smiling at him supportive of his attempt to reach new heights in blacksmithing. Of course they would be... That would mean more money in the future!
When Shojin stepped into the smithy, it was even more hot. It was a workshop made entirely of stone and brick - if accidents happened, it couldn't be burned down. There were square holes in this stone that were meant to be both vents and windows that opened directly outside, which was supposed to let out the hot air and any extra fumes from the forge. However, as it was already hot outside, it was hotter in the workshop. At least 115 degrees, on top of everything he was wearing.
It was hot.
But that did not stop Shojin from working. The handles would come first. He grabbed a rather large piece of steel and placed it into the forge, allowing it to get hot. As he did that, he prepared some tools. First, a wedge. Then, a varied selection of hammers, tongs, calipers. Some clamps as well. By the time he finished, the metal was plenty hot. This was a high-octane forge. He'd reach first for some tongs in order to retrieve the steel he'd been heating, and place it, yellow, on the table before him.
Immediately, not allowing it to cool, he put the wedge at a middle point, slammed the top of the wedge with a hammer, and split the metal in half. What followed was art. Other blacksmiths could watch him and not even comprehend what he was doing. Quickly, as though a dance, he'd switch between the two pieces, back and forth, each on their own anvil, hammering at the correct stages of cooling until he got the desired shape of each with only one heating. He quenched them in oil, treated them, polished them, and grabbed wooden bits he would use. He would chip away at the wooden bits, using a chisel, until the steel pieces he had made would fit exactly inside. Then, he sanded it, treated it, and began an inscription. This inscription was a Fuuinjutsu seal that he had gotten from one of the academy instructors - a sealing Ninjutsu master - that would accomplish what he needed. The finish product was what appeared to be the handles to two katanas, with a male connector reaching an inch out of the top, and an inscription on the side of each handle.
Next, Shojin would begin to work on the first blade he would use. This was an automatic process to him. He heated the metal, drew it to the desired length by banging on a hunk until it was more like a pole, and then banging on it more to give it a more defined shape. He hammered it almost into perfect shape, again, in one heating - something that no normal blacksmith could accomplish. Then, he would quench it, treat it, polish it, and sharpen it. Soon, he had an unbecoming katana blade that looked spectacularly ordinary. Sure, it was of high quality, but there was no way it was capable of anything special.
Finally, Shojin would begin work on the pommel to a katana. By now, he was exhausted. The secret to the efficiency and precision of the heating of the forge, was that it was one of his creations, and fed off of his own chakra. It was exhausting to work with, but to him it was worth it. Not only could he use it to make extremely high quality metal materials, but it was a way to practice his chakra control when he was working. Usually, it was barely noticeable. However, with the demands of this work, it was downright utterly exhausting.
However, soon the pommel took shape. The base of it was a hexagon that widened outward, hit an edge, and narrowed inward. It was scarlet red. He would call it the cloning pommel.
Most of that was regular blacksmithing work. However, the next step was something unique completely to Shojin. He took the three components he had made so far - Hebunriamori, the Chakra Blade, and the Cloning Pommel - into a side room of the workshop. The moment he got in there, he stripped down to his underwear. He didn't do this for any functional reason, but instead, purely because he felt he might pass out from heat exhaustion soon. In this room was a basin of some sort of oil - Shojin was not sure what, but something that was passed through the family for the next holder of the Jigoku no Jizo. He placed all of the components in this oil.
Immediately, as though growing out from it, sigils began writing themselves on the ground. With his mind, Shojin could control them, read them, as a language only he could understand. He arranged these sigils, still using his mind, in a way that described what he wanted these components to be capable of. As soon as he was sure they were arranged exactly how he wanted, the basin of oil took its tax. Usually, this wasn't much. However, there were three components, and two of them were relatively intensive. The remainder of Shojin's chakra drained from his body and he fell unconscious.
Hebunriamori has been created.
[1763 words. Claiming Hebunriamori, Chakra Blade, and Cloning Pommel]
Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:45 am by Guest
