Isuko returned to his room after yet another day of futile searching.
"You have been here for more than a year Isuko. When is it ok to give up? You’re almost out of money and still likely no closer to discovering any information related to the Seven Swords of the Mist." Isuko hung his head dejectedly as these thoughts ran through his head. He had been so confident, at the outset of his quest, in his ability to find one of the swords.
"I've spent all this time searching, letting my skills become dulled and blunt. I'm not sure I could trust myself to wield one of the swords if it was dropped into my lap now. I'd need to practice even the basics again for a while before I could allow myself to possibly put others in danger." Becoming more depressed by the moment, Isuko realized that his quest for the Seven Swords of the Mist was at an end, and that he needed a new goal for himself. He began speaking to himself.
"Well, if I cannot claim a sword of power for myself, I have two options. I can use a mundane katana or other type of sword. Alternatively, I can forge a sword of power myself. I like the sound of the latter, but I have no knowledge of sword making. Nor do I think any master of the craft would take on a blind apprentice. Besides, I can't allow my skills to slack again. Hmm..." Remembering his vow as he left Rain Country on this quest, Isuko continued.
"One does not need a sword of immense power and legacy to become a master swordsman. Nor does one need to be able to see to strike with precision. I will take the first option and acquire a normal sword to begin my climb to the top. But what kind do I want? There are so many. I guess part of that decision depends on the cost. I don't have much money left. I need to conserve if I am to purchase a sword."Isuko decided that his next few days would be spent training with a sword. However, he still hadn't purchased one, so he'd have to improvise somehow.
”Hmm... I think I could use my bones to create a pseudo-sword to practice with that at least gets me the feel of the various blade types. But the weight won't be the same as steel, nor will I be able to exactly replicate the shape of the blade. Hmm... I guess I could always just create one for myself to use out of bone, but I dunno if I'm confident enough in my degree of control to make it good enough for real combat. I think I'd be better off purchasing one, but I can get away with creating a pseudo-sword for practice.” With that thought in mind, Isuko left the room he'd been staying in and headed to the areas he’d scouted earlier to use for practice.
Upon arriving, Isuko moved the shoulder of his clothing, baring the skin to the air. He began molding his chakra in the proper form to activate his bone manipulation without fatiguing himself more than he needed to. A lump appeared on Isuko's skin, pushing up from his shoulder. Splitting the skin, what appeared to be the top of Isuko's humerus bone began pushing out of his body. Isuko grimaced as he reached up and began gently pulling the newly formed bone sword from his body. Muttering under his breath,
“As convenient as this bloodline ability is, I really hate this feeling.”Now holding his bone sword, Isuko carefully felt his way to the practice dummy that he had set up. He began working through a few slow and carefully measured cuts, evaluating the feel of the blade in his hand and how its edge cut. After a few experimental swings, Isuko could tell that he had some serious work to do on his upper body strength.
“After a few swings with this thing, it starts weighing a ton. And steel is going to be worse. Maybe I should continue experimenting with my bone density to get a blade that’s strong as steel. It might end up being heavier at first, but, now that I’ve had the chance to try it, I think a blade of bone will have a better strength to weight ratio than steel. We’ll see.” With that thought, Isuko began the bothersome process of reabsorbing the blade into his body. This involved gradually dissolving the blade into the component cells and migrating them into his body.
Once his blade had be reabsorbed, Isuko began working his arms and shoulders. Doing various exercises both on his own and with the some weights fashioned out of rocks and such, Isuko began the process of increasing his upper body strength to a sufficient level to easily wield a sword.
Once his arms and shoulders began to tire, Isuko decided to take another shot at creating a bone sword. He worked on compressing his sword so it would be harder and stronger.
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