The Hope of the Senju Clan

Chapter 38: Salamander

-In Konoha-

It was another clear sunny day in Konoha and everyone was taking advantage of the serene atmosphere. Naruto was walking around the village by himself looking around for a certain shop he had heard about.

Walking through the village, several people waved or said hello to him, which Naruto politely returned.

Eventually he found the shop he'd been looking for, it was a small shop filled with various weapons, run by man named Yaiba Kenji, who was consider Konoha's top weapon smith.

When Naruto opened the shop door and entered, he heard the small chime of the shop bell.

Moments after entering the shop, a man, whom Naruto assumed was Yaiba Kenji, appeared from a room behind the shop.

The man was of average height, but was quite muscular in built, with long muscular arms, which Naruto guessed was from working for so long as a smith. He was pale skinned and had short dark brown hair and eyes with a square jaw and face, which was covered by a thick brown beard. He carried a large metal hammer in his right hand and wore simple brown pants and a long black dirty looking apron, which only seemed to highlight his hulking physique.

When Naruto saw the man, the young blonde couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by the older man's physique, which could easily rival the Yondaime Raikage, or his brother Killer Bee.

"Can I help you?" the man asked in a rather gruff voice.

"Eh yea, are you Yaiba Kenji?"

"I am"

"Great, I was kind of hoping you could help me with something? Naruto asked, where he unwrapped the small bundle he'd been carrying and revealed his broken Katana. "Could you fix this?"

Taking the Katana, Kenji began to examine the pieces carefully, taking in ever inch, while running his fingers across the broken blade. "Hmmm, durable, light weight, well-balanced, average length, I'm assuming this blade is from Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning Country), or to be more precise Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud)."

"Eh yea...how did you know?" asked Naruto, surprised by how Kenji knew where his Katana came from, after just looking at it for a few moments.

"When you've worked on weapons for as long as I have, you learn a thing or two" the man answered, as he continued to examine the blade. "I recognise the craftsmanship, like Kiri, Kumo Shinobi specialise in swordsmanship, and so their village is renowned for making high quality Katana. Due to their mountainous terrain, Kaminari no Kuni is rich in ore minerals, making their swords very durable and good for channelling Chakra through. But what I find curious is how did you come to have one, did you steal it from a Kumo Shinobi?"

"It was a gift from some friend" Naruto answered, slightly insulted by the accusation.

"I see" replied Kenji, showing no remorse for his accusation.

"So can you fix it?" Naruto asked, hoping to change the topic of the conversation.

Before Kenji could answer, the two suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to the weapons smith.

"Hey tou-san, where exactly do you want me to put this?"

Turning, the bearded man saw his daughter coming out from the back, carrying a large basket of iron sand.

"Put it in the back corner next to the coal" Kenji replied.

Acknowledging her father's orders, the girl was about to return to the back room. But stopped to glance over at the person her father was talking to, and was surprised to see it was Naruto, who seemed just as surprised to see her.