After parting ways with Orochimaru, the two master and apprentice wandered around casually, though the presence of high-ranking Konoha officials trailing behind made Jiraiya extremely uncomfortable.
"Look, Master! There's a ninja tools shop!"
"Then let's go check it out."
The group strode over toward it.
"Hello, Lord Third! Welcome to the Uchiha Ninja Tools Shop!"
The store manager Shoda greeted them warmly.
"We're just browsing. Please don't trouble yourself."
"Understood, Lord Third. Feel free to ask if you need anything."
Lord Third didn't want the entire store bustling because he had arrived. He never cared for pretense or displays of power, which was precisely why he inherited the Hokage title so smoothly.
If only the Second Hokage had passed the position to Danzo back then, HE probably would've been driven out of the village within a few years.
What? You don't believe me? Just think about all the terrible things Danzo has done. When the Uchiha Clan planned to rebel, he wiped out the whole clan—even if there was evidence, can you really do something like that? How could you be absolutely certain something will happen before it actually does?
Even if they were about to rebel, killing them all one second before wouldn't be acceptable! That's a matter of humanity. You're not a clairvoyant; how could you possibly know for sure that wiping out the Uchiha would benefit Konoha? Maybe the Uchiha would've stood down at the last moment. Danzo simply wanted to eliminate anyone who might interfere with him becoming Hokage—a fact no amount of justification can erase. After all, he was drawn by Kishimoto as the scapegoat from the start. It was a fitting end for someone who spent his life scheming—killed by the Second Pillar.
"What kind of ninja tool is this?"
Inside the shop, Jiraiya was holding up an item and asking about it. It looked like an arm guard, but below it was a metal ring connected by a thin wire.
Shoda had been paying close attention the entire time. He stepped forward to explain, "This is the work of Young Master Two. We're just assisting with manufacturing. According to him, every ninja should have one—this is the Hidden Blade."
"The Hidden Blade?"
Lord Third took a close look at it with interest.
"Yes, Lord Third. I'll show you."
Shoda picked up another Hidden Blade from the display shelf and strapped it onto his arm. "As the Young Master said, this is the ultimate weapon combining both attack and defense, Lord Third. Please look here—the wrist portion contains a blade."
He slipped his ring finger through the metal ring and continued explaining, "This ring is used to trigger the internal switch. Of course, this connection via wire is designed for ordinary people. Using chakra wires works perfectly fine too."
"Shzzt!" A sharp blade slightly longer than a kunai shot out from the wrist-mounted Hidden Blade worn by Shoda. With a proud expression, he added, "Just like this—give the ring a sharp tug, and the mechanism inside will launch the blade."
"This truly is an incredible invention!" Everyone inside the shop began praising enthusiastically.
Lord Third gazed at the Hidden Blades on the display rack, lost in thought. "The movement and sound when launching the blade are both minimal—it's practically the perfect choice for covert missions!"
"What about defense?" Jiraiya murmured after his praise, now showing some urgency on his face. "It definitely allows for surprise attacks during offensive actions, but surely it doesn't lack defensive capabilities either, right?"
Shoda gave a mysterious smile. "Defense? Let me quote My Lord directly — unmatched. It might not seem special on the surface, but once infused with chakra—"
"Clang!" A barrier resembling a wind wall instantly formed over the Hidden Blade.
"Being Wind-natured, only a wind wall manifests. Granted, my chakra reserves aren't top-tier, but this barrier can endure attacks powered by twice the amount of chakra."
"Defense strong enough to resist techniques fueled by double the equivalent chakra?"
The Third Hokage's expression shifted slightly. At first, he'd thought it might barely handle a bit more than equal strength.
"Indeed. My Lord truly is a genius. He has improved many jutsu within the clan. He even said that the internal chakra converter was developed incidentally while researching Regular Jutsu—"
"Incidentally what exactly?"
Shoda nearly let slip the wrong words. What else could "incidentally" mean? Obviously raking in profits off others' efforts! But he couldn't dare say something like that in front of the Third Hokage. Quickly filtering his thoughts, he changed his tone: "He painstakingly invented it to compensate for poor defense among ninja!"
"!!!"
At this moment, everyone inside the shop was stunned. They hadn't expected Shen Uchiha had already begun researching Regular Jutsu — with impressive preliminary results.
"What about methods to convert offensive capabilities?"
The Third Hokage looked anxious now. While Konoha currently enjoyed peace, wars could erupt beyond the village at any time.
"Oh yes. But My Lord said releasing jutsu would be impossible. We can only apply chakra to objects."
As he spoke, Shoda grabbed a bracer from a nearby shelf, one bearing a striking resemblance to the Hidden Blade. "This is the Sleeve Dart. As the name suggests, small darts can shoot out from inside. However, we had to sacrifice rapid-fire capability in order to maximize its power."
Jiraiya suddenly seemed somewhat upset. "What kind of power level are we talking about? If ninja start using these tools, won't they stop practicing shuriken techniques altogether?"
Just as Shoda was about to respond, his voice was cut off by another.
"No. These were designed solely to improve ninja survival rates. Anyone who abandons training because of such tools simply doesn't deserve to be called a ninja!"
All eyes turned toward the source of the interruption. There at the entrance stood DJ Shen wearing the signature Uchiha coat.
"But wouldn't relying too heavily on such tools make ninja neglect their training? Tools like this hold no real value to true shinobi!"
Shen understood Jiraiya's somewhat indignant tone — he was witnessing a timeless issue. Indeed, during Boruto's time, the Heir also expressed skepticism toward Ninja-Ware, but these devices weren't capable of turning ordinary people into powerful ninja.
(Although several dozen episodes later, the Heir ended up fitting himself with high-tech prosthetics ('prosthetic limbs with advanced technology') and delivered quite the lesson to his son Boruto.)
Shen naturally understood Jiraiya's point — true strength must come from personal effort. However, for Shen, these tools were specifically developed to improve average ninja survival chances in future wars. Never did he expect some ninja would become overly dependent on them.
"Sir Silver-Hair, let me ask — if someone's preparing for the unknown, should we really be stopping them?"
"
This question clearly stumped Jiraiya.
"Should we try to stop something that might not even happen? If the consequences are serious, could trying to stop it lead to something even worse?"
Shen's words plunged everyone present into deep thought. Truth is, he'd brought up a question none of them had an answer for.
Kids fuss over right and wrong—adults just weigh their interests. That's why Danzo wiped out the Uchiha clan, because wiping them out entirely suited his interests better than killing off only part of them. But now, inside the ninja equipment shop, those gathered were either village elites or major figures. Living the high life they did, no one dared speak such thoughts out loud.
"Old white-beard, let me rephrase," continued Shen. "If you knew right now that one of your future disciples would bring great harm to the shinobi world, would you still accept him as your student?"
"No! If I knew? I'd do whatever it took to steer him right—make sure he never even sniffed the dark side!"
Jiraiya understood what Shen meant. His point was that for things yet to happen, one shouldn't jump in blindly or reject them outright—just keep an eye on things as they unfold. If someone begins walking the wrong path, then it becomes necessary to step forward and stop them in time.
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