Reckless Okita
"Thump—Bang!"
Two days later, a dark shadow descended at Konoha's main gate. A burst of white smoke followed, and a figure slowly emerged.
It was Shirō, finally returning. He had wanted to make this kind of flashy entrance ever since he perfected the Bird Series Puppets, but delays had kept him from trying it until now.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The gate guards didn't react at all. In fact, they looked almost disappointed.
His "cool" landing had gone completely to waste.
Shirō could only sigh. Having failed to impress, he hurriedly adjusted his pace and registered with the guards before heading inside.
The truth was, this wasn't special anymore. Shirō had built that bird puppet a long time ago. While the village hadn't officially adopted it, some wealthy shinobi had already bought their own. It was convenient for travel, so the guards had seen it plenty of times.
To them, Shirō's dramatic entrance was nothing new.
Deflated, Shirō trudged toward the Hokage Building, his expression gloomy.
---
Hokage Building
"What's with the long face?"
Inside, a familiar voice teased him.
"Sister Xuan Yi… sigh. Why is it so hard to look cool?"
Xuan Yi smirked. "What? Do you like someone and want to show off for her?"
"Of course not!" Shirō snapped. "I barely have time to train as it is. It's just… the gate guards didn't react at all to my landing. I spent ages planning it."
"Well, Shirō," Xuan Yi said slyly, "I'm not trying to insult you, but… your clan's secret arts are powerful, and your talent is promising. You really ought to think about continuing your bloodline. It's impossible otherwise."
"…What are you talking about?" Shirō blinked, utterly confused.
"You and him—it's impossible. You two can't have children!"
"…We were talking about gate guards. Why are you talking about children now?"
"...(￢_￢)"
Shirō's expression flattened. "What are you thinking?! I'm perfectly normal. You're the one with rotten eyes."
"But I'm a woman. Of course I like men," Xuan Yi mumbled defensively.
"…." Shirō gave her a deadpan stare, tapping the desk. "You spend all day letting your imagination run wild. Everyone in your eyes is part of some weird drama."
"Hehe, never mind that. About the wolf-type Summoning Beast you reported—we've already arranged for it. Deliver it to the Intelligence Division later, and they'll handle the rest."
"As for mission credit, I'll mark a preliminary note. If the Intelligence Division uncovers anything important, you'll earn additional merit. Here's the current reward. The rest will come after verification."
"Alright, that's everything. Any questions?"
"Yes. One."
"Go ahead. We always welcome feedback."
"Then… in the future, can you please stop looking at me with those rotten eyes?"
"Hmm… thanks, but I'll ignore that request. (^ω^)"
Shirō clenched his fist, fighting the urge to punch her smiling face. Why did I ever teach her those expressions…?
"And," Xuan Yi continued, "do you want another mission right away? I can check for you."
"No. Not in the mood." Shirō huffed, then turned to leave.
"Goodbye, little Shirō~" she sang.
Without looking back, he simply waved his hand dismissively.
Watching him go, Xuan Yi chuckled. "Still young, but already trying to show off. Kids these days…"
---
Konoha Intelligence Division
After leaving the Hokage Building, Shirō headed toward the outpost of the Intelligence Division.
Of course, the real headquarters was hidden away. Only a selected shinobi knew its true location. It housed sensitive information—foreign intelligence, enemy codes, even some of Konoha's own cryptography. The average ninja had no access to it.
Shirō delivered the sealed corpse of the alpha wolf to the outpost staff, then left.
He wasn't foolish enough to wait around. Analyzing a corpse—especially that of a summoned beast—was a long, difficult process. Even interrogating a human captive took hours, sometimes days. The analysis of a summon could take much longer, with no guarantee of success.
---
Home
"I'm home… Hm? Aunt Nanako? Mom? Why do you both look like that?"
Shirō entered the house to find Nanako and Keiko sitting in the living room, their faces tense with worry.
"Shirō!" Nanako rushed to him. "Thank goodness you're back. Please, you must stop Okita! He's already injured!"
"Wait, Auntie—calm down!" Shirō raised his hands quickly. "Tell me what happened. What about Okita?"
Keiko sighed heavily. "If it were just a fight, it wouldn't be so bad. But… Okita insists on developing a new Ninjutsu. He was injured yesterday and now he's at it again."
"We didn't want to interfere and make things worse," Nanako added. "But if he keeps this up, he'll truly hurt himself. Please, talk some sense into him."
"That brat—how much does he even know?" Shirō muttered, his face darkening. "Developing a Ninjutsu is no small matter. And if he's already injured, it means this isn't just some basic technique."
"He's in the backyard training ground," Keiko said urgently. "Please, hurry."
"I'll handle it. Don't follow me—if he's this reckless, having you there might make it worse."
With that, Shirō vanished in a blur.
---
Backyard Training Ground
Shirō's chest tightened as he rushed.
Ninjutsu development wasn't something ordinary shinobi could attempt. Even experienced ninja risked their lives when creating original techniques. The Naruto protagonists succeeded only because of immense natural talent, years of foundational training, and often guidance from masters—yet even they suffered countless injuries.
For someone like Okita, who was still inexperienced, the odds of failure were overwhelming. Best case? Minor injuries. Worst case? Death.
Fool! Shirō cursed inwardly. I haven't even dared to fully attempt it yet. And his fundamentals are nowhere near mine!
Bursting into the training ground, he spotted Okita immediately—bandaged, sweat dripping, fingers locked into hand signs.
"OKITA!"
Too late.
In a split-second, Shirō's body moved on its own. He kicked off the ground, flickered across the space, and—
BAM!
His foot slammed into Okita's side, sending him flying before the jutsu could trigger.
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