Mission
After his transaction with Orochimaru, Shirō's focus had shifted almost entirely to Magic. His other training he kept only at a basic daily level—just enough to maintain his ninja fundamentals.
All the rest of his time was poured into refining Magic. He even skipped meetings for the Hawk Project, though in truth, his presence there hardly mattered. His voice carried little weight in the negotiations, and Sakumo's reports suggested that the Hokage's advisors wanted him to push for reduced costs. Shirō, however, paid little attention.
He followed his own path. The Hawk Project was a trap—he knew that clearly. The only true benefit of such a massive project would come years later, when its influence took root. At the start, it was only an endless investment with no returns, like the high-speed rail in his previous life's China.
Dividends would only appear after profits, and until then, the project demanded nothing but sacrifice. Shirō wasn't so noble as to waste his own time on that.
Still, he didn't spend all day locked away training. He occasionally attended gatherings, and it was during one of these that he stumbled upon a blind spot—something that shook him.
It was about the Rasengan.
When Shirō had casually mentioned Minato's lack of raw finishing power in a fight, hoping to steer him toward creating the Rasengan, he learned something shocking: Minato had already started developing it. More than that—he'd made significant progress.
The others thought nothing of it. After all, Minato was a genius. For him, creating a new jutsu wasn't strange, even if it wasn't perfected yet.
But Shirō was dumbfounded. He remembered clearly: Jiraiya had demonstrated the Rasengan to Minato much later in the timeline he knew—around the time of Minato's fight with A, the future Raikage. Shirō had always thought Minato conceived the idea after seeing A's defenses. After all, normal shinobi didn't have skin like armor—one kunai was enough to kill them.
Yet now, barely a year or two after the Second Shinobi World War, Minato's Rasengan was already nearly finished. This wasn't just a butterfly effect anymore—this was a rock effect.
When he calmed down, however, Shirō began piecing together fragments. He recalled a detail from a Naruto game he once played: young Jiraiya's skill list had included the Rasengan. Curious, he'd looked it up, and discovered that Jiraiya had even used the Rasengan while testing Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
From this, Shirō speculated: Jiraiya must have returned to Konoha while still training the Ame orphans, and during that time Minato completed the Rasengan and showed it to him. Jiraiya, being Jiraiya, then showed it off in Amegakure afterward.
It was a stretch—especially since Minato hadn't used the Rasengan in his actual fight against A—but it was the only explanation Shirō could accept.
Either way, the fact was undeniable: Minato's Rasengan was already near completion. At this stage, it was only a matter of refining the finer details—control, stability, and efficiency.
And ironically, those details were exactly what Shirō had wanted to learn from the jutsu. Now he could no longer guide Minato in its creation.
So he let the matter drop. Whether or not the Rasengan was perfected, Shirō's priority was elsewhere. Until his Magic Workshop was completed and his attributes had broken through, everything else came second. Magic came first.
---
Two weeks after his dealings with Orochimaru, Shirō and his team received another mission from the Hokage.
This time, it was only their team—no other squads attached.
They gathered at the village gates, not the Hokage's office. Missions like these didn't always come with direct Hokage briefings; the Hokage had far too much to oversee, and not every assignment warranted his presence.
The mission was a standard escort assignment, destination: the Land of Rivers. Who they were escorting wasn't immediately clear, and Nakamura didn't explain right away. Shirō couldn't help but imagine something dramatic—a princess, perhaps, leading to a tragic and beautiful romance. But he quickly reminded himself such fantasies were impossible.
The Land of Fire was powerful. They didn't secure peace through marriages; it was usually the other nations who sent princesses to Konoha.
When Shirō asked their captain about it, Nakamura finally answered, since they were still waiting at the gate.
"Our client this time is a minister close to the Daimyō," Nakamura explained. "He has business in the Land of Rivers. It's expected he'll be targeted along the way. Our job is simple: keep him safe, eliminate the attackers."
"A minister, huh…" Shirō muttered, disappointed. Then, curious, he asked, "Captain, is there anything specific to watch for on escort missions? I've never done one."
"That's fine," Nakamura said. "Just think of it as a normal journey, only slower. Stay sharp, and when I give the signal, move."
"Understood," Shirō replied.
Just then, a carriage rolled up and stopped before them.
From within came a slightly effeminate male voice:
"You must be Captain Nakamura. Thank you for your protection this time. For… personal reasons, I cannot show my face. I hope you understand."
Nakamura bowed politely. "Of course. Shall we depart?"
"Please."
Nakamura glanced at Shirō, who immediately understood.
"Summoning Technique!"
With a burst of smoke, the Gray Snake appeared.
"Hissss…"
Shirō nodded. "Understood. Thank you."
The snake slithered off, vanishing into the grass.
"What did it say?" Taiyi asked, curiosity in his eyes.
"Nothing much," Shirō shrugged. "Ryūchi Cave still has some reconnaissance snakes nearby. They want to take turns exercising. Gray Snake will follow alongside, so it won't affect our mission."
"Ah, that's fine then," Shikamaru replied. "They've been a big help before. As long as it doesn't interfere."
With that, the escort began.
The journey was long and boring, slowed to match the minister's pace. Shirō's reconnaissance net wasn't fully deployed yet, so he stayed especially cautious. If something happened right at Konoha's gates, it would be humiliating—front-page news across the shinobi world.
And so, his team advanced with doubled vigilance, carefully scanning every road and shadow, while assisting Shirō in weaving his web of surveillance.
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