Lets make some Automail

((Continuation of http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t38160-the-training-grounds-again-eh-io#310407))

Kotetsu had gone to the training grounds to work on his skills. He hadn't expected not getting any training done whatsoever. That was quite alright though, since he had stumbled across an opportunity to work on something completely different. Red was coming with him to his newly built forge in order to look at building a replacement arm. He hoped that everything was completed, at least the forge itself.

He was not disappointed. When the Winter Knight of Hoshi arrived at his shop, he was pleased to find that while some of the support structures were not completed yet, the forges and workshops were completed and ready for work. There was still a fair amount of work to be done to get everything the way he wanted it, but it warmed Kotetsu’s heart to see that his dream was taking shape. He smiled and nodded to his walking companion. “There she is.” He said to Red as they walked. “Still a work in progress, but the important parts are ready for work. All that needs to be done right now is to set up the fire. While I get the fire going we can discuss the particulars of the construction and assembly. I should have all the necessary tools and equipment available. If not, we can take some extra time and make them, as I have some raw materials for practice and forging things that I happen to be missing.”

Without waiting for Red to respond, Kotetsu got to work setting up the fire. Layers of charcoal and wood at the center of the firepot to build up an even fire. That way he could work on multiple parts at the same time to cut down on the time it would take to make the arm. Once the fuel was laid out to Kotetsu’s satisfaction, he lit the fire. It would take some time, and a little monitoring to get the fire to burn how he wanted it, but the efforts would eventually yield the results he wanted. It was time to plan out the process.

WC: 346
TWC: 3349 (brought all WC from previous topic as none was spent)

The male walked silently as he strolled behind the other male looking about the city square mostly at the people looking at his missing arm. Their faces had said it all as their kids asked why the strange man had been missing an arm. One child even asked if he had been born that way, which had caused Mo-ri to chuckle momentarily before turning his head and facing forward, the staff still being balanced on his shoulders and his left hand. Mo-ri had never bothered with the fact that people stared at him weird, people wondering if he had been one of those "shinobi" of Hoshigakure or just someone who had met an unfortunate accident. Because of the staff they simply assumed he was a monk from a distant lands which worked in his favor.

That would make people think he wasn't a ninja and thus would mean they would leave him alone despite the little tuffle he had with those zealots in the alleyway some few months ago. Besides that? No one knew of his status as a ninja of this village presumably. As the two finally arrived to the forge he had whistled for a moment before walking into the forge and sitting down on a stool that he had located in the area. It was more of him placing his ass into the stool and then crossing his legs while on it. The staff of course was placed between his legs and rested on his shoulder as he smiled," Quite something to be happy about. Soon you could have your own village business. Though if you need the materials...," he moves to pull out a scroll and tosses it to the male after getting his attention of course.

The scroll of course would contain all of the materials and the special parts for the things he had mentioned in the training grounds. He would also give him the scroll with the schematics for the arm as well as he continued," There should be most of what you need to make the arm. I did tell you it needed special metals and materials right? Well most of that will be in the scroll but you will need extra materials as a just in case. After all I didn't think to get extras and spares. Oh do be careful with those dampers and the other things...I had to do things to get those and i'd rather not heckle the person I got those from. He'd want my head for it next time," Mo-ri simply run his hand through his hair before shaking his head. "So what made you take up the Blacksmith lifestyle? Tired of being a ninja or something...or maybe you have some super secret aspiration you aren't telling people?," the male had leaned against the staff as he closed his left eye and waited for an answer.

Red made himself comfortable on one of the stools that Kotetsu had in the forge. There were a couple such seats for the Winter Knight of Hoshi to choose from as well. He had a few made for if he decided to take on an apprentice or two. It might eventually be necessary if business picked up. Not that Kotetsu minded if business picked up, it would mean more money and the potential to help the village. ‘A step in the right direction…’ Kotetsu thought to himself as he made sure that the fire was burning properly. His thoughts were interrupted by an observation from his friend. “Quite something to be happy about. Soon you could have your own village business. Though if you need the materials...” He would say to Kotetsu as a scroll is tossed his way. “I will definitely need to acquire contracts for raw material if I wanted to forge things to sell. That should be easy enough since there are merchants in the village that deal in raw materials.
 
Kotetsu deftly caught the scroll and laid it on a work bench. Upon opening it, he would see that it is a storage sealing scroll of some kind. ‘Likely to hold the materials I would need to make the arm…’ Kotetsu thought to himself. ‘It would make sense, since that way he wouldn’t need to lug around all of the parts and potentially damage them…’ A second scroll followed shortly after, containing the blueprints and instructions on how to assemble the parts to make the cohesive whole. “There should be most of what you need to make the arm.” Red said to Kotetsu. “I did tell you it needed special metals and materials right?” Kotetsu nodded in response “Yes you did.” He would reply to his friend. “Well most of that will be in the scroll but you will need extra materials as a just in case. After all I didn't think to get extras and spares. Oh do be careful with those dampers and the other things...I had to do things to get those and i'd rather not heckle the person I got those from. He'd want my head for it next time," Kotetsu laughed as Red ran a hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t worry about that, my friend. I’ll take some time before I put it all together and see if I can ascertain how to make the parts myself. That way you won’t have to deal with any other supplier but me. I promise I won't ask you to do anything other than pay me." He said with a chuckle.
 
The next words out of Red's mouth had surprised Kotetsu. "So what made you take up the Blacksmith lifestyle? Tired of being a ninja or something...or maybe you have some super secret aspiration you aren't telling people?" He hadn't really thought about it much himself. It was an interest that he had picked up while travelling in the world that could have been, that had exploded into a bright passion not long after returning. "I have every intention of continuing to be a shinobi." He said to Red. "I enjoy making things, especially things that can help the village and my friends. While I do not enjoy the heat, I do enjoy working with metal and forging it into whatever I decide to make." He paused there for a moment, as there was another aspect of it that he hadn't really considered at first. "It also shows some of the civilian population that we share common interests sometimes. Maybe seeing a shinobi blacksmith may help to bridge the gap between the splintered factions here. It may not help a large group, but every little bit helps." He said with a smile. "Besides, it's not a very common trade here, so I should be able to make a great deal of ryo in the process, and who doesn't enjoy being a little wealthier?"
 
Kotetsu summoned the material and parts out of the scroll and began examining each part individually, comparing them to the blueprint and instructions as he went. "Did your source tell you what made each of these special as they are, or did you simply commission him to make them like this?" He would ask Red as he went over the dampers, taking time to make his own observations and writing them down. If there was any specific details or hidden elements to their construction, the Winter Knight of Hoshi would need to know about them if he wanted to be known as a skilled artificer.
 
WC: 767
TWC: 4116

"I will definitely need to acquire contracts for raw material if I wanted to forge things to sell. That should be easy enough since there are merchants in the village that deal in raw materials."

Mo-ri peered over to the male for a moment taking in his words carefully and nodded before looking down at the ground for some reason," Yeah but as a ninja that lives in a village where its villagers hate shinobi...how will your trade thrive? They will most likely go to a civilian smith over someone who uses such "demonic" arts right? From what i've observed they are more keen in trusting their own. Although if times were to change and they had gotten used to the presence that is keeping them safe and not oppressing them. Well then opportunity strikes," he trailed off for a moment as the sound of him popping his neck filled the area and he soon continued," Unless of course you can create a bridge that overcomes that gap no?," there was a hidden meaning in his words as he looked back to the male and waited.


There had been many things he had seen in some of the ninja in this village, some were timid and not too useful while others had made strides to make things better, yet the villagers were just as bullheaded as he thought. Even after looking into the history of the village itself...well he knew why. But that conversation was neither here nor there. A small smile cracked upon the males lips as he looked at Koutetsu and nodded," So I guess I have a blacksmith and a repairman in case I need anything in the future huh? That makes me feel a little better if I ever break this arm due to something out of my control. Though it is nice knowing someone who can repair or will be able to repair the things I use the most. " The feeling of having one of your weapons break in the midst of battle was bad enough for anyone who had a fighting style encompassing weaponry as a whole, but not having the skill to repair them? Even worse.

The only thing he would not allow another's hands to fix however was the staff he had currently been leaning against as if it was a wall. As their conversation continued to progress he had almost fell off of the stool that he had currently been sitting in, Koutetsu's answer of why he wanted to take up blacksmith which had answered his earlier question. He'd allow a wave of silence to overtake him before he slowly began to burst into laughter, his eyes closing slowly before re-opening," Well then. That might just do the trick then. We all know that this village is in need of change if we are to move forward less we all fall to each other. I'd imagine this would be a good first step toward coming together don't you think?," slowly he began to rest his head against his left arm, the arm itself resting against his left calf.

"Did your source tell you what made each of these special as they are, or did you simply commission him to make them like this?" The question was appropriate though easy to answer, at least for him since he did have the parts commissioned at least. " The dampeners are explicitly for taking more Kinetic force when I punch. So if i were to punch say...a solid earth construct, the energy from that punch wouldn't explode the arm if it overloaded it. In addition it also allows for me to fight without worrying about if i'm overpowering the arm itself. The fingers, or the mini receivers in the scroll allow me to utilize what little ninjutsu I can to absorb or siphon some power from an attack that comes my way and use it to my advantage. Unfortunately with my low proficiency that area its going to minuscule at best its only going to do so much. Oh there should be another piece in there that's for storing and releasing large quantities of energy...think explosions but a little better. Everything should-," and he paused a moment realizing he had been talking without taking a breath.

Continuing on he would tilt his head a bit trying to remember if there had been anything else," The metal itself is just for a sleek design and was best to hold everything together. Shinobi steel is good but Samurai steel is a little better in conducting chakra. After all it is how they fight in the Land of Iron. That of course is everything that has been known about the ingredients made explicitly for the arm- oh! I almost forgot. The part that is going to attach here," biting the sleeve he would pull it down to show the stump," where my shoulder is. Essentially just that. A new arm. After its finished the implant will assure the arm connects to the nerves there and i'll be able to feel as if it was my old arm," flipping the sleeve back onto his body he would roll the one shoulder he had to do it since the other would simply be flailing in his mind.

WC: 1,359
TWC : 3,237

Red nodded and stared down at the floor for a few moments before responding. “Yeah but as a ninja that lives in a village where its villagers hate shinobi...how will your trade thrive? They will most likely go to a civilian smith over someone who uses such "demonic" arts right? From what I’ve observed they are more keen in trusting their own. Although if times were to change and they had gotten used to the presence that is keeping them safe and not oppressing them. Well then opportunity strikes…” trailing off briefly as he cracks his neck. “…Unless of course you can create a bridge that overcomes that gap no?”

As Kotetsu had essentially just answered this question, he remained quiet, waiting for the other shinobi to either realise this, or change the subject, the latter option is what occurred. “So I guess I have a blacksmith and a repairman in case I need anything in the future huh? That makes me feel a little better if I ever break this arm due to something out of my control. Though it is nice knowing someone who can repair or will be able to repair the things I use the most.” Kotetsu nodded with a smile. “Indeed. It’s always better to be able to go to the same person for everything. I don’t really have that issue right now, since most of the weapons I use are made of Ice, but it definitely makes it easier on any customers that I get as a result of my new business. Plus if something breaks in the middle of battle, assuming there’s a lull for me to be able to leave, I plan on having a way to access a forge to make repairs.” It was ambitious, but since Arctis Tor was his domain, he could make it however he wished, once he had learned to properly access it of course. It would only make sense that there would be an extensive forge system and workshops with which to fix any and all manner of weapons, armour, and mechanical components.

It would seem that Kotetsu’s earlier comment finally registered, as Red sat quietly for a moment before bursting out laughing. “Well then. That might just do the trick then. We all know that this village is in need of change if we are to move forward less we all fall to each other. I'd imagine this would be a good first step toward coming together don't you think?” Kotetsu nodded in response. “I do, because we won’t be able to effectively defend against outside forces if we’re always fighting amongst ourselves. There needs to be unity in order for us to be a better village. We need to show the other citizens of Hoshi that we’re just like them, as difficult as that may appear to be for most of them.” With that, Kotetsu went back to work, examining the components that Red had provided and listening to his explanations of the different components. “The dampeners are explicitly for taking more Kinetic force when I punch. So if I were to punch say...a solid earth construct, the energy from that punch wouldn't explode the arm if it overloaded it. In addition it also allows for me to fight without worrying about if I’m overpowering the arm itself. The fingers, or the mini receivers in the scroll allow me to utilize what little ninjutsu I can to absorb or siphon some power from an attack that comes my way and use it to my advantage. Unfortunately with my low proficiency that area it’s going to minuscule at best it’s only going to do so much. Oh there should be another piece in there that's for storing and releasing large quantities of energy...think explosions but a little better. Everything should-“

Red had stopped talking abruptly, tilted his head slightly as if in thought, took a breath, and continued. Kotetsu suppressed a chuckle as his friend continued speaking. “The metal itself is just for a sleek design and was best to hold everything together. Shinobi steel is good but Samurai steel is a little better in conducting chakra. After all it is how they fight in the Land of Iron. That of course is everything that has been known about the ingredients made explicitly for the arm- oh! I almost forgot. The part that is going to attach here…” pulling his sleeve up on his missing arm “…where my shoulder is. Essentially just that. A new arm. After it’s finished the implant will assure the arm connects to the nerves there and I'll be able to feel as if it was my old arm.” Kotetsu would nod during the explanations, looking over the components at the same time to get a good idea as to their proper compositions. “It shouldn’t be too hard to reach out to the land of Iron to secure additional material, specifically for artificial limbs. To make repairs and replacements on your current arm, as well as any other potential limb losses that you may encounter.” He would say to Red with a smirk.

Putting the last pieces down he would go to check on the fire to ascertain its status. The fire was ready for smelting. Most of the mechanical pieces didn’t need to be forged, as they were already produced. The bulk of the work was building the skeleton and shell of the arm to house the mechanical parts that were required to make it function properly. While some of the metal was being heated to form the internal skeleton of the arm, Kotetsu started assembling the other mechanical parts that could be put together by themselves. ‘The actual assembly process will take significantly longer than this because of the time it will take to heat the metal…’ Kotetsu thought to himself as he looked over at Red as he relaxed on the stool. ‘I hope he’s ready for the wait involved…’

WC: 992
TWC: 5108

Mid-Topic Claim:

4901WC towards Ice Style: Arctis Tor (1099/6000, 25% max stat discount)

Proof of Arctis Tor progress: here

Mid Topic Claim:

3,237 wc all toward Jormung

Approved

Mo-ri focused for a moment and instead of sitting away from the area Kotetsu had been at, he decided to kick the stool over to him of course...with minimal strength. Sitting back down with staff in tow he began to do a little spin on the stool before finally deciding on a position and sticking to it," So how long are we talking exactly? Because...long waits generally make me antsy and when I get antsy I tend to do rather redundant things. You know....like breaking things outside or something. You wouldn't happen to have a clone or something that could work on it while we go out and just...do stuff would you?," of course if the male did not, then Mo-ri would heave a small sigh before shrugging and thinking to himself. Boredom was something that he couldn't necessarily get rid of on his own boredom, but this was something that needed to get done so...he would at least try. Whether or not Kotetsu answered him immediately, the male would begin to play with an idea in his mind as he listened to the fire being stoked.

In the meantime he moved to grab the actual part that would be housed on his shoulder and looked at it for a moment and then to the spider that had been on his head still, like he would forget his little buddy up there. The two would begin to converse among themselves a bit, but something got Mo-ri to laugh for a moment," No. I don't think i'd be able to do anything of the sort with how my body works Ixchel. In order to use things ninjutsu you have to be...intune with something like that. Now if I could trade my "ability" to be able to use things like that? I probably would in some context, but i'm fine with my physical abilities. Besides....This arm will allow me to do so much more than normally possible. Maybe i'll even...nah. I won't replace most of my body with things like this, but it would be a nice thought after some years have passed," whatever the two were talking about, the small spider simply tilted his head however it could before using two of those legs to shrug.

The piece he had he at least had an idea of how he could piece this together on himself, but he would leave that to his friend here. Slowly he sat the pieces down and went to sit in the middle of the floor providing there was nothing in it. Sitting in a cross-legged style he sat the staff in front of him and pressed the tips of his fingers together in a meditative stance while he had waited. Since he couldn't help with the forging process he would instead just focus his mind and soul in an attempt to fix what had initially took his arm from him in the first place. To Kotetsu it would just look like a trick of the eye, but from his body small flicks of harmless lightning would emit from his body every time he had begun to take even, deep breathes. He had no real control over his chakra network, why should he? He had never really used any form of ninjutsu in his life not even the most basics of techniques. His body wasn't attuned to such things so when he did try they had often backfired or were less potent than they should've been.


This was why he was trying to learn a form of elemental control for this purpose. To him learning to control his chakra would give him a better understanding of his elemental affinities and thus allow him to better learn the technique that he had wanted. If Kotetsu would have asked him what he was doing currently, the male without missing a beat would answer him without stopping what he had been doing," Fixing something in me I should have actually done a long time ago. Most ninja are usually in tune with their elemental natures and chakra systems. Me on the other hand? Not so much. So i'm going to fix it now before I attempt that technique again and blow another appendage off," after the brief answer he would focus and concentrate, digging deeper into his chakra sub-conscience to see that it was actually not as messed up as he thought. Just not exercising it made it a little...weak in some areas. For what seemed like 30 minutes to him, at least mentally he had spent some time mediating until he had finally finished what he needed to do and took in a deep breath, the small cracks of lightning being more frequent and at this point steady.

WC: 800

TWC: 800

Red sat for a moment as Kotetsu prepped the materials for smelting before getting up and kicking the stool he was on so that it was closer to where Kotetsu was working. He sat back down on the stool and fidgeted around a little. ‘He must not like sitting around too much…’ Kotetsu thought with a smirk. Almost immediately after thinking this, the other shinobi spoke up. “So how long are we talking exactly? Because...long waits generally make me antsy and when I get antsy I tend to do rather redundant things. You know....like breaking things outside or something. You wouldn't happen to have a clone or something that could work on it while we go out and just...do stuff would you?” Kotetsu laughed. ‘I actually hadn’t thought of that...’ Kotetsu thought to himself. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a Shadow clone or two work the forges while he worked on other things. It wouldn’t be feasible though if he had to leave his shop unless it was to run errands. Kotetsu responded to his friend’s question with the simple answer. “I like working in the forge. I’m sure I could use a shadow clone to work here for me, and in some cases it would definitely help, but then I’m not the one actually plying my craft.” He looked over what there was on the table beside the forge, noting that most of the parts were already there. “It shouldn’t take too long Red. The only parts that aren’t already made are the actual armor plates for the arm, which won’t be too hard for me to make. And I can put together the other components while the metal is heating up in the forge.” Kotetsu could definitely understand why his friend would be antsy. ‘I’d want my replacement limb as quickly as possible.’ He thought to himself, thinking back on when he had fought Valen. The first thing that had happened was that his arm was broken, making it unusable for the duration of the fight and for at least a week afterwards. It was not a fun experience to be sure, and while the Winter Knight of Hoshi didn’t need both of his arms in order to defend the village, it certainly made fighting easier. Regardless, it looked like the longest part of the construction would be heating the metal and shaping it. The rest could easily be done while the metal heats up. The only thing he wasn’t sure about was the actual attaching process of the arm to Red’s shoulder. It looked like there was instructions listed on how to complete that, so it should be alright when it came to that process. Kotetsu couldn’t help but be a little apprehensive because it was more along the lines of doctoring at that point, which was something Kotetsu had no experience in. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained…’ He thought to himself as he let the first metal plate heat up in the forge in order for it to soften enough to be able to mold.

Red in the meantime had grabbed one of the parts off of the table, the actual shoulder mount and was examining it, talking with his eight-legged companion which was still resting on his head. ‘I should really look into finding a companion of my own…’ Kotetsu thought to himself as he watched his friend. Red laughed suddenly before saying “No. I don't think I'd be able to do anything of the sort with how my body works Ixchel. In order to use things ninjutsu you have to be...in tune with something like that. Now if I could trade my "ability" to be able to use things like that? I probably would in some context, but I'm fine with my physical abilities. Besides....This arm will allow me to do so much more than normally possible. Maybe I'll even...nah. I won't replace most of my body with things like this, but it would be a nice thought after some years have passed” ‘He can’t use ninjutsu?..’ Kotetsu thought with a raised eyebrow. Not that it was any of his business, but the fact that his friend couldn’t use ninjutsu intrigued him. “If you don’t mind me asking, Red. Why is it that you can’t use ninjutsu? I don’t think I’ve ever met a shinobi that couldn’t use ninjutsu in any form.” Not that it really mattered to Kotetsu why his friend couldn’t use ninjutsu, the Winter Knight of Hoshi had ninjutsu ability for several shinobi. It was good to know though, since should they ever end up on another mission, it would allow the young Jounin to deploy his friend in the best possible role to maximise his strengths.

The first few pieces of metal were in the fire and being heated, so Kotetsu starting working on the internal components of the arm. He started with the hand, threading the fingers into the hand. The cables that act as tendons had their own spaces for being threaded further up the arm, so Kotetsu threaded them first before connecting the first series of dampers in the hand. With the hand assembly completed, Kotetsu went to take a look at the metal in the forge. It was almost ready, so instead of going to work on the inner workings some more, he would wait to make sure that he pulled the metal out when the colouring was as close to perfect as possible. As soon as the metal was out of the forge, Kotetsu laid it on an anvil and hammered it flat. He then used the edge of the anvil to round it out to fit the curvature of the forearm section. There was two parts that would need to be formed and attached using fasteners. Because of his skill with handling weapons, and his training as a shinobi, the shaping process took very little time. In fact, the shaping of the first plate was finished before the metal had even cooled fully. The only reason Kotetsu re-heated the metal was so that it would temper properly when it was quenched. Since that was the case Kotetsu worked on shaping the other forearm section while the first half was being re-heated. As soon as the second piece was finished, it was placed back into the fire to reheat and Kotetsu pulled the first half out and quenched it in a barrel of oil that was set up nearby. After quenching, he left the piece to cool and finished installing all of the components in the forearm. By the time he was finished, the second forearm plate was ready to be quenched. Kotetsu pulled the other forearm plate from the fire and quenched it in oil, leaving it to cool beside the other plate. By the time the first plate was ready to be fastened to the forearm frame, Kotetsu had completed installing all of the components inside, marking it ready to be attached to the other half of the arm. ‘That didn’t take as long as I’d expected…’ Kotetsu thought to himself as he tossed the other armour plates into the fire to heat up. As they were larger than the forearm plates, they would take slightly longer to heat up, which suited him fine. It meant it would give him more time to install the components into the upper arm, and connect the two halves together. It took the young Jounin another hour and a half to completely connect all of the components in both halves of the arm, and connect the two halves of the arm together.

Fixated as he was on his task, he didn’t notice Red until he had hefted the completed arm off of the table and turned to his friend, who was cross-legged on the ground. Curiously, Kotetsu would ask him “What are you doing on the floor for?” Without missing a beat, Red replied with “Fixing something in me I should have actually done a long time ago. Most ninja are usually in tune with their elemental natures and chakra systems. Me on the other hand? Not so much. So I’m going to fix it now before I attempt that technique again and blow another appendage off.” “Sounds like a good idea to me. It’s ready, by the way.” He said to Red with a smile. “Are you ready to have two arms again?”

WC: 1401
TWC: 6509 (4901 WC already claimed)