A/N: My apologies on the delayed update…you can blame Warframe, Destiny 2, and America's Got Talent for that. New chapter, and a new self-imposed challenge. Since I'm rather slow with my updates, I decided to from now on, try adding up to 1k words within 2 days, to the chapter of any story I choose…as per usual with my rules, I won't stop at any less than 4 or 5k words per chapter.

do read and review would you kindly? And keep it classy.

…

[Seiryu Forge]

The rapid 'tap-tap-tap' of a hammer striking a chisel could be heard in a corner of the forge as Naruto went to work carving the details into a tantō blade. Weeks of working with the Hibiki family had taught him the art of engraving patterns onto various surfaces. He found himself particularly enjoying the intricate curves of scrollwork patterns, looping around like vines to give the piece life. In addition, he'd since increased his toolset using a variety of carving tools for different materials to make such patterns; this included cutters for engraving on metal and stone surfaces that he'd made himself from rods made of something called 'carbide' which was harder than steel.

Smooth, flowing, scrollwork lines could be seen flowing midway up the blade to give it an elegant appearance as it terminated in a blooming camellia motif in the middle of the blade. It was a personal commission from Sayaka—a blade given to her for use as a last-ditch weapon should things come too close for comfort. To ensure that it was able to retain its function for self-defense, Naruto made sure to avoid cutting too deep into the blade; just enough to make the lines more pronounced.

In the two months since he'd been taken under Takemura's wing, he'd been learning different artistic media…most recently of which was leatherwork. It was almost like taking a drawing, and bringing it to life by carving it out or burning the image. Much of his work was done with carbide cutters of differing shapes and sizes; some with conical heads for fine lines, others with chisel heads for flat sides. Still didn't stop Naruto from using his own chakra sometimes to knock in the rough details.

While he'd improved significantly on his artwork, Naruto hadn't let up on his training in Hokuto Shin Ken. He'd made sure his form was spot-on with every repetition he'd memorized as he performed his kata. At the same time, the odd 'sniper tag' session he had with Sayaka helped hone his hunter's instinct; true, he always beat her, but in all fairness, she was getting better.

"So how goes my orders?" asked a voice right next to him.

Ah, speak of the devil, he thought, breaking off from his current project. "Well, your latest one's pretty much done," he stated absently, before handing the tantō to Sayaka, "Have a look."

He turned around to watch Sayaka inspecting the blade, admiring the craftsmanship that went into the design. "It wasn't easy," he noted, "I had to be real gentle to avoid hitting the core."

"Yeah well, I know you do good work and all," she answered absentmindedly, "And my other commissions?"

Naruto reached out to a nearby shelf to pull out her weapons. The scope of her battle rifle had engraved clouds, while carved scrollwork lines and lotus motifs decorated the front end of the wooden foregrip and the shoulder rest. The double-barreled shotgun and her sidearm were given a similar treatment, making an handful of simple weapons into deadly works of art.

Sayaka whistled as she inspected her weapons. "Now that's nice work."

"For the amount of money you paid, only the best." Naruto beamed, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.

"Well look who's turned mercenary all of a sudden," Sayaka replied, a smug smirk on her face, "What, your education at the monastery didn't teach you about the evils of money?"

"So says the little rich girl with all the fancy toys," Naruto jabbed back, checking his shelves for his other contracts, "Besides, I was only taught at a monastery; doesn't mean I have to be a monk. By the way, since I've been working here almost daily, is the guy I made the bet with still going to the temple regularly?"

Sayaka's grin widened with a slightly sadistic sense of joy. "Yep! Saw him through my binoculars just an hour ago."

"Is he donating generously?"

"Let's put it to you this way: he went in angry, then came back out even angrier."

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, let's hope he's got the sense to set his wrath aside, for his own good."

"You're telling me. It's like he's got it out for his cousins or something."

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Naruto sighed, turning to face Sayaka, "Honestly, it's like they did something wrong to him. I tell ya, unless he changes that attitude of his, all that bad karma's gonna pile up to the point that there'll be nothing he can do to get himself out of it."

"Totally," Sayaka agreed, nodding in understanding, "You have any other projects you gotta finish?"

"Nope, what's up?"

Sayaka seemed to fidget for a moment before she quickly recomposed herself. "Well, I decided to have a little change of pace for today…so instead of the usual sniper tag session, how about we have a spot of coffee before we head home?"

"Sounds good," Naruto answered, hanging his apron on the coat rack, "I just gotta get my commission from Takemura-san, and I'll be off my shift."

"While we're at it, why don't I join you guys?" asked Tenten from the end of the hall, "I gotta get out of here for some fresh air anyway."

Naruto turned to face Sayaka with a question. "Is that okay?" he asked, earning a huff from the Saika heiress.

"Sure, why the hell not?" she asked herself, "Just get your shit done, and we'll be on our way."

"I just gotta let dad know where I'm gonna go, and we'll be ace!" Tenten chirped, running off to find her father.

…

[Haruyama Sweets, Yamada District Pharmacy Quarter]

The Pharmacy Quarter was a place where herbs and spices could be found in appreciable quantities—however, it was also known to be frequented by Aburame clansmen to sell honey used for a lot of sweets. Coupled with the large amounts of tea and coffee sold in the quarter in various stands and restaurants, and you had a location that's known to be the 'Tea House of Konoha.'

Haruyama Sweets was one such place that sold both tea and coffee in varying forms. It was a large coffee shop that also churned out lots of pastries that made it a popular destination for kids and adults of all ages. In addition to owning a tea and coffee farm, the owner had a deal with someone in the Flour Quarter to ensure a consistent supply of wheat and rice flour, which benefited both parties. He effectively became the king of the Pharmacy Quarter when he collaborated with the other herbal specialists that helped diversify his variety of offerings in his renowned coffee house.

In addition to coffee and tea, the place was also the scene for a lot of different events due to the large stage that was built into the back wall. Normally, there'd be a band or a singer with a gig there, but sometimes there were poets, philosophers, plays, even the odd morality speech or two. One thing that was consistent about the place was that there was always something planned for the day's activities. People had to book in advance to use the stage—especially with its reputation of being the starting point of legends with the annual talent show.

Today however, was still judging session of said talent show; where Meru-B, Hi-D Kurumu, Hao-hi Manderu, and Jimon Kaoru had come from all parts of the world to scrutinize acts that came on stage. Those that won the talent contest got an act in one venue they had a contract with that year, as well as over a million ryō in prize money. However, some acts never won, but still gained the attention of talent scouts in attendance.

The act that was on stage was a local girl with a musical instrument called a 'ukelele' with a somewhat rough voice, and who won the contest last year. Still, it was a pleasant experience for the audience to see a cute little girl singing. As her song had come to an end, the round of applause from the crowd roared throughout the coffee shop. She was last year's winner, and she'd come home as part of her tour around the world.

"It's a surprise she managed to make it this far," Sayaka noted offhand over whooping and clapping, "Her voice is a little too broken for my taste."

"Talent comes in all forms, I guess," Naruto added.

"Honestly, I don't think she deserved to win," Tenten said, watching as the little girl left the stage, "Don't get me wrong, she's talented; she just needs more time to get better."

"True that," Sayaka finished. As she spoke, another talent came on stage—a tall, well-built, dark-skinned man from Kaminari no Kuni with big lips. He had an infectious smile on his face as he stood in front of the microphone. The jokes he fired out at the crowd were loud, fast, and never failed to elicit laughter from the audience.

"So Sayaka-chan, those weapons of yours," Tenten started, changing the subject, "I saw Naruto-kun working on them. You made them yourself?"

"'Course I did!" Sayaka bragged, beaming with pride, "First thing any Saika worth their salt learns is how to make their own weapons, as well as how to handle them safely."

"Can I…"

"Nope!" Sayaka answered blithely.

Tenten frowned slightly at her. "But…"

"Clan law states that outsiders aren't allowed to use our weapons," Sayaka explained slightly more seriously, "Really, I will be in deep shit if I let you use 'em. Something about them falling into the wrong hands."

As the crowd enjoyed the stand-up comedian's material, Naruto picked up the scent of a new arrival. It was faint, hidden in the ambient smell of tea, sweets, and coffee, but he could clearly smell a hint of burnt tobacco in the air. Okay, I'm too far from the Hokage Tower for this to be the old man, he thought, so that leaves…

Naruto sat up, scanning the crowd to see his sensei walking casually towards their table. Funnily enough, the sage wasn't puffing away at one of his cigarettes; likely due to the 'no smoking' policy that was enforced by the establishment. Until he'd turned ten, his master had never smoked in his presence…only doing so when he was a good distance away from Naruto to enjoy his tobacco fix.

"Sensei!" he called out, getting the sage's attention.

"And how are you doing, Naruto?" he asked, before recognizing Sayaka on sight, "Has he been keeping up his training?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Sayaka noted, taking a sip of her coffee, "That's actually most of his time, as a matter of fact."

"When he's not working for my dad, of course," Tenten added as she bit down on her bun.

The sage smirked in amusement as he eyed Naruto. "Quite the player aren't ya, boy?"

Naruto blushed in embarrassment. "Anyway Sensei, what're you doing here today?"

"I just wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing without me," answered the sage, "That, and I wanted to see if you were interested in learning a new trick."

Naruto nearly dropped his tea, but honed reflexes from years of training under the sage had allowed him to catch the cup before it fell to the floor. "A new trick?" he parroted.

"Yes, and something to challenge your artwork," nodded the sage, "But not today, you're clearly enjoying your time off work for now. I'll see you tomorrow after class."

As the sage left, the winner of the talent show was announced. While the comedian had lost, he was still among the top ten best acts. Everyone else lost to a local ventriloquist girl with a rabbit puppet who was pretty, funny, and a very good singer. It also helped her case that she was Meru-B's favorite act of all from the get-go.

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, the next day]

The students waited outside in the stands, watching as Iruka set up the wooden dummy for target practice. Up until today, it was mostly exercises to keep the greenhorns fit; obstacle courses and the spar at the end of the week. After proving more than once that he had no concerns over fitness, Naruto was exempted from normal obstacle course sessions; this was due to the fact that he currently held one of the fastest times in the academy. The only people in his class that were in the same grouping as him were the Uchiha twins and Inuzuka Kiba.

Sparring sessions were a different story however, as Naruto was not included in most matches. This had less to do with making most of the other students look bad, and more to do with safety issues regarding his strength. Even if he were doing his best to limit the strength behind his blows, it was still too dangerous for any student other than a clan heir or heiress to be sparring with him.

This time however, the lesson was for target practice, as he pulled out a box of dulled shuriken and another for kunai. "Okay class, here's how we're going to do this," Iruka explained, setting up the range, "You're each going to take up five shuriken and kunai, and you're going to try and throw them at the dummy. You get points according to how tight your grouping is, how close you are to hitting dead-center, and whether you hit the big target or the smaller one. Any questions?"

Sakura was the first to raise her hand. "Uh, sensei? How much is each target worth?"

"Points scored on the larger target are exactly as they sound; you get ten points if you hit the bull's eye," Iruka continued, "However, since the smaller target is harder to hit, you get double the points for each hit you score. The point of this exercise is to see how well you hit a target, as well as to teach you the vulnerable points on their body. Ideally, you want to hit the head, but it's always easier to hit the center mass. Any other questions?"

Iruka nodded to himself, satisfied with the lack of answers. "Okay then, when I call up your name, step up and take a shot at this with the kunai and shuriken."

There was no need for Naruto to watch the target practice session, as he could hear the results just fine. Instead, he chose to busy himself with a block of wood he'd found en route to the training ground. He'd already found his subject, and was carving away at it with his tantō; as long as he wasn't carving indoors, the janitors couldn't chew his ass off about wood shavings on the floor.

As the session went along, he was able to tell which student was civilian-born, and which was from a shinobi family. Civilians didn't do too well, their shots often missing by a wide margin…though there were a few that had a grasp on the lesson, having thrown darts in the past. Shinobi children did much better, their tosses at least hitting the dummy; however, some were simply unskilled at throwing, and so they often hit the dummy's arms.

The clan heirs and heiresses, as a whole, were more interesting enough in how they threw their projectiles that Naruto took a breather from his carving to watch. At first glance, Shikamaru was very lazy in his approach, throwing his kunai and shuriken randomly, and scoring low. In reality however, he was targeting the least obvious weak points first—if he'd aimed at a real live target, those would have been crippling shots to the knees and elbows, followed by taking his time for kill shots to the center mass.

The Uchiha twins showed how different they really were in how they threw. Sasuke was much more direct, his first two shots going for the eyes with shuriken before scoring dead-center headshots the rest of the way. On the other hand, Satsuki was much trickier, deflecting her shots off the ones she'd thrown in her opening salvo, turning the target into a pincushion as they were hit from the front and back. Either way, Naruto felt that the saying "there is no kill like overkill" was an apt description for the twins.

Like Shikamaru, the Hyūga sisters made throws that weren't immediately fatal, earning them a low score, but were a lot more dangerous than they appeared. This was because their shots were aimed at areas that would have normally contained tenketsu points. From what Naruto could tell, if all their hits connected and were laced with chakra, the victim would die an extremely painful death.

Sayaka absolutely refused to touch the kunai and shuriken, calling them a barbarian's weapon; opting instead to summon her favorite rifle. It resembled a larger version of the carbine she shot at Naruto with, but it came with a removable 20-round box magazine and a scope. She took her rifle, set herself up in a prone position from far away, and scored ten headshots in quick succession with her gun, putting a hole in the dummy's head.

After the dummy was replaced, Ino, Chōji, Kiba, and Shino were more straightforward with their shots, aiming for the highest score possible. Still, they all did better than most, their shots staying within the targets with a tight grouping. "Uzumaki Naruto? You're up!" Iruka called out.

Naruto sighed, sheathing his knife while leaving his carving behind as he walked up to the counter. He picked up a stack of shuriken and a handful of kunai, tossing them in the air to test out their weight and balance. Satisfied, Naruto began by throwing shuriken, scoring five hits at the bullseye in the center mass; because there wasn't a lot of weight behind the shuriken, they simply embedded deep into the dummy. When he threw the kunai however, he literally tore the dummy apart—he threw the heavier blades harder, ripping off the dummy's arms before its head was obliterated with the remaining three shots.

Students stared as Naruto walked over to his seat, ready to resume his carving. As he reached out to his sculpture, a delicate hand scooped up the unfinished work.

"Yoink!" taunted Satsuki, inspecting his work with an appraising eye with her brother, "Well, this looks new…in fact, I don't remember seeing this pose at all. That, and you're getting faster."

The sculpture in question was of Satsuki in an acrobatic pose, dressed in form-fitting leather clothes and a hood over her head. She also wore a pair of large goggles, while swinging a pair of kodachi in her hands. Sasuke was behind her in the middle of a sprint, a pair of knives in his hands, wearing a high-collared coat that hid the lower half of his face with a pair of goggles over his eyes. Overall, the twins both looked like they were dressed for speed and stealth.

"I decided to try making something out of my head this time," Naruto commented, "Since you two just won't stop watching me as I go through my drills, it's only fitting that I see you both like a pair of thieves."

"And we'd do it again too," Satsuki admitted, almost shamelessly, "I wanna help my brother get stronger so that when the day comes, he'll be ready to face our older brother."

Naruto sighed in resignation. "Fine then, not like I can stop you. But you'd better keep in mind that I can't teach you how to do the moves properly."

"Why not?" asked Satsuki, genuinely curious.

"Hokuto Shin Ken is probably the strongest taijutsu style in the world," Naruto explained, "It's so powerful that there's only one successor to it; anyone else would either have to unlearn the style, or die. So if I taught you two properly, the three of us would have to duke it out to see who had the right to be true successor."

"Well, no worries there," Satsuki assured, "We're only copying the basics of your style so we get a good foundation. We won't touch the more advanced techniques; we're just looking to develop on our own after that."

Naruto appraised Satsuki carefully, trying to see any hint of a lie from her. No harm, no foul, he thought to himself. "Okay, I've got no work after school tomorrow, so you can look for me then and we can do kata practice together. Just make sure you don't try to learn any of the more advanced techniques from me, and we'll be good."

"Sure thing," Satsuki chirped gleefully, before turning her attention to her brother, "Right nii-chan?"

Sasuke snorted lightly before waving his hand noncommittally. Iruka called for the students to come back to the classroom. "I really wonder if your brother could do with a daily visit to the monastery," Naruto mused, watching Sasuke's retreating form.

"You couldn't get him to go if you somehow convinced him there was a statue of Bishamonten there!" Satsuki declared, laughing in humor as they followed the rest of the class.

Naruto turned his attention to her. "Why not? I already did it once; just ask Neji-senpai."

After doing a double-take, Satsuki regarded Naruto with a confused expression. "How?"

"I beat him at an art contest in the Yamada District," answered Naruto, a mysterious half-smile on his face, "Now he's going to church every day, and donating very generously. Right now, I'm wondering if that same treatment will help pull out that stick jammed so far up his ass."

Snorting in amusement, Satsuki nodded in agreement. "We'll see. But if he comes home with a shittier attitude than Neji, I'm gonna kill you dead—I don't care how strong you are."

"I'll take you up on that."

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, after school]

Students began shuffling out of the classroom as lessons had come to an end. Naruto looked around to find the sage leaning up against a tree, puffing away at one of his cigarettes. He ran towards his master excitedly, beaming in anticipation. "Sensei!"

"So, how were today's lessons?" asked the sage, smothering his cigarette against the tree bark before flicking it into a nearby trash can.

"They were okay, it's just that I remember exactly why I hate math."

The sage sported an amused grin on his face as he chuckled lightly. "Well, let's see if you've got the strength for what I have in mind for you to learn."

As the two of them left the school grounds, Naruto followed the sage towards the nearby forest. He could feel the anticipation building up as he wondered what his master had to teach him. Still, he was curious as to why they were in the woods. "Sensei, what're we doing here?"

"Looking for a boulder," the sage explained, walking on, "I know that your teacher could make boulders himself, but I want to use natural stone so I can show it to you properly."

The blonde eyed his master curiously as he followed him into a clearing with a massive, spherical boulder sitting in the middle. It was roughly six feet wide in diameter, with a reddish coloration from high concentrations of iron. Overall, a very good amount of raw material for any work that was supposed to be red. "So, what do you think of the idea of sculpting something without even seeing what you're doing?" asked the sage.

"I'd have to say you're asking to make a whole lotta mistakes," Naruto answered honestly.

The sage snorted as he walked towards the boulder. "Normally, you'd be right. You do want to check up on what you're doing to make sure you're doing it right. However, what I'm going to show you will be very hard to do: I'm going to sculpt inside that boulder, breaking into the surface only once."

Looking at the sage as though he'd grown a second head, Naruto was speechless. The sage stood next to the boulder, placing a hand on its rough surface while closing his eyes in thought. For the next few minutes, the apprentice watched as the teacher was frozen in place, deep in meditation before winding up slightly to punch the boulder, revealing the image beneath as it exploded into shards.

The sculpture depicted a tall, beautiful, regal-looking woman dressed in a kimono standing proud with a sheathed sword balanced on the floor in front of her. In the offhand, she held a small, thick, and ornately-decorated disc that stood out by having the most reflective surface in the piece. She wore a simple necklace around her neck that featured a magatama jewel, and chopsticks in a bun that flowed into waist-length hair. A halo ring was attached to her back as she looked ahead with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Amaterasu?" Naruto asked, appraising the sculpture, "That's actually very good. How'd you do it?"

"By channeling my chakra into the boulder, I was able to form a cavity to work with," explained the sage, "After that, it became a matter of focusing on an image in my head, and using the chakra I put into the boulder to start sculpting with my mind's eye."

"So what's the lesson?" inquired Naruto.

"Take a fist-sized piece of rock, and try doing what I did," the sage instructed, handing Naruto a fist-sized piece of rock, "I'd start with simple shapes like cubes and spheres before you work on anything complicated. After you're done with rock, I'd start doing it on wood. Then, when you get faster and more confident, as well as more accurate, I'll start teaching you some serious moves to really start you off next time I see you."

…

A/N: You can blame "Forged in Fire" and "Man At Arms: Reforged" for the introduction of smithy terms and ideas in many of my stories. Those guys really know how to make their blades…especially Illya. That, and AGT for the coffee shop.

For the sage himself, he'll somewhat be a combination of Kasumi Kenshiro and Kenshiro 20XX. Hence the smoking.

Anyway, not a lot of action here, but I promise we will move a little faster after this chapter.

…

Vocabulary

Bishamonten―the Japanese version of the bodhisattva Vaisravana, depicted as an armored god of war with a pagoda in one hand, and a staff or spear in the other. He's pretty much seen as a god of justice, a punisher of evil-doers.

…

Cameos/References

Meru-B, Hi-D Kurumu, Hao-hi Manderu, Jimon Kaoru—the judging panel of America's Got Talent 2016-2017: Mel B, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Simon Cowell.

Ukelele Girl—Grace Vanderwaal, winner of America's Got Talent Season 11. Opinions about her are based on my mom's idea that she should not have won.

Kaminari comedian—Preacher Lawson, a finalist in AGT Season 12.

Girl ventriloquist—Darci Lynne Farmer, who as of this writing had just won AGT Season 12 just last night.

Sayaka's favorite rifle—an M-14 rifle modified for sniper duty, with walnut furniture.