Chapter 14: Chapter 14 : Tetsuya Foundry
After Shirou left the academy he met up with Ishida.
"Glad you didn't forget. So, how was the entrance test?" - Ishida.
"I passed... but I am not satisfied with my performance." - Shirou.
"Is it the physical tests?" - Ishida.
"... Yeah. I knew I was not going to come first but... I didn't expect that even with all that training my score would be so low." - Shirou.
"Don't worry about it kid. You should be proud that you managed to pass. This is the result of all the effort you put in. Also, this is just the start kid. Anyway follow me, you have one more entrance test today." - Ishida.
"I am coming." - Shirou.
They both walked through the busy streets of Konoha. The children were smiling but the adult's expressions were unreadable. Shirou was observing all this.
Shirou guesses that it's likely related to the Third Shinobi World War. News of the major village's decline in national power and skirmishes with smaller nations are becoming more frequent. It won't be long before things escalate to an all-out war.
'If my memory is right. The war should start next year. Kakashi's graduation and the start of the war was around the same time.' - Shirou.
After some time they both arrived at a smithy. There was a board saying "Tetsuya's Forgings".
"This is the place." - Ishida.
"The name could have been cooler." - Shirou.
Ishida smiled. They both went inside the establishment. There were dozens of tools, a workbench, a forge and lots of other stuff that Shirou didn't know what for.
Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in Japanese blacksmith attire arrived.
"Oh, I see you are here Ishida. And this must be the brat who wanted a job. I must say I am not impressed. He looks weak."
"Tetsuya, it's good to see you. And yes, this is Shirou." - Ishida.
Ishida nudges Shirou to introduce himself. Shirou was a bit nervous.
"Hello, Tetsuya-san. My name is Muramasa Shirou. I want to work here." - Shirou says while bowing his head.
"Hmm... Kid, Ishida here already told me about your condition. You won't be able to work for too long. Why should I take you?" - Tetsuya.
"It's true I won't be able to work for long hours but for the work that I will do, it will be worth more than those lost hours." - Shirou says with determination.
"... You better be sure of those words of yours. Now for the test, follow my instructions and I will see if you have any potential in this field." - Tetsuya.
"Yes SIR." - Shirou.
Tetsuya started making a Kunai. He would make Shirou take over the forging sometimes and give him instructions. Both Ishida and Tetsuya would observe Shirou's current skill level and potential.
Ishida was surprised. He did not expect anything amazing to happen but looking at Shirou who was working on the hammering process on a heated metal, he no longer saw the aura of a child in him. The focus Shirou was showing, even though Ishida was not a smith he could confidently say that Shirou was performing beyond the beginner level.
Tetsuya was even more surprised, as an experienced smith, he saw that Shirou at the beginning was sloppy and a total beginner but as time went on the kid was improving at a visible rate. It's like Shirou could understand the metal. Tetsuya was really happy that he found such a talent.
Shirou at first was clueless. He followed the instructions but that was it. He did not know what anything was for. But as time went on and he focused more on forging, he realized what was happening and what he needed to do. Shirou recalled how he had used Structural Analysis to record the information about some worn-out swords he found in the orphanage. These included its forging process. With this, he knew exactly what he was doing. As Shirou started becoming more absorbed in the tasks, he started to understand the metal itself. He did not use Structural Analysis, he did not even mobilize his magic power. He just knew what was happening with the metal, where to hammer, when to strike, everything. The metal's internal structure and weak points, all became clear. But more than that he could see its spirit. In his mind, an astral form of the metal was overlapping with the real picture.
Shirou started smiling.
'So that's how it works.' - Shirou.
As the forging went on Tetsuya had let Shirou take over completely, he was only providing instructions now. Tetsuya was starting to become scared of Shirou's talent. He was looking at a monster. The only thing the kid lacked was experience. Just when Tetsuya thought there would be no more surprises he noticed Shirou's movements changing. The way Shirou handled the tools started looking familiar. He could almost swear he saw himself for an instant. He then realized the kid was copying his techniques.
'To use a tool for the first time and deduce the previous user's techniques and then copy the same with extreme accuracy. This should not be humanly possible.' - Tetsuya.
The reason Shirou was able to replicate Tetsuya's forging technique is by doing the same thing he did with the metal on the tools he was using. He grasped how the tools were used by Tetsuya and synchronized his movements with them, essentially copying his techniques. A unique form of Structural Analysis.
When Shirou finished the Kunai, he excitedly turned to show it to Tetsuya and Ishida. Only to see their wide-open eyes and jaws hanging so loosely you would think they had fallen off.
"Uhm... I finished it?..." - Shirou.
Tetsuya with shaking hands slowly reached out and grabbed the Kunai from Shirou's hand. He examined it closely from every possible corner. He slowly whispered to Ishida.
"Psst.. Hey." - Tetsuya.
"Um?.. Ah! Yes." - Ishida.
"Is this really his first time forging? You weren't trying to prank me or something right?" - Tetsuya.
"I swear, even though I can't believe it myself it really is his first time." - Ishida.
They both stopped whispering and looked towards Shirou. Shirou had realised with his new ability he must have surprised them.
"Kid, you are hired." - Tetsuya.
"Just like that?" - Shirou.
"Yes, you better come here after your academy classes are over." - Tetsuya.
"YES." - Shirou. He raised his hands excitedly.
Ishida was surprised at Shirou's talent, he was also happy for him in getting the job. With this even if Shirou does not do well as a ninja he can still make a very good living. Recently Ishida has started hearing rumors that the third ninja war is on the horizon. So he would prefer if Shirou gave up being a Shinobi and focused on smithing which he seems to have excellent talent for.
'I wonder what kind of weapons he would be able to make once he is older. It's making me excited.' - Tetsuya.
Shirou and Ishida said their goodbyes to Tetsuya and left the place. It was almost night.
"Kid, you really gave me a shock today. Now I am getting excited about the weapon you talked about." - Ishida.
"Ha-ha.. just wait till I finish it. It's going to be awesome." - Shirou.
Shirou was in a good mood. He had realized something amazing during the forging process. Shirou had always loved and believed in the supernatural, even in his past life. He would always form theories about how it would all function. He had many interesting ideas on how the supernatural rules and physical reality work together.
Previously Shirou did not fully understand how his Structural Analysis spell worked. But with the smithy experience, that has changed. Structural Analysis can normally only be used to measure the physical attributes of an object. The reason Shirou can do more with sword-related objects is that his sword incarnate status gives him direct access to the spiritual state of sword-related objects just like an administrator access to a computer.
Everything has a spirit body or state. This spirit body describes an object's spiritual attributes like its memories, existence, power and many other attributes. Certain magical materials like chakra metal, mana crystal and mithril should not be physically/realistically/atomically possible. These properties cannot be observed by the current scientific technology. This is because science has not yet reached the point where it can interact with the spiritual side of the world. It is this spiritual state that defines such non-physical properties of an object.
At the smithy, Shirou had discovered how to grasp swords or related objects without using magic power. Just the act of holding the tool or seeing the metal allows Shirou to resonate with them. His element and origin both being sword caused his spirit/soul to connect with the metal's spirit as well as the tool's spirit.
Shirou now had a better idea of the basic spells and how to practice and improve them.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone