The Forgemage of Konoha

Instant Kill and Female Ninja

"Alright, that's all. Let's move out."

"Yes!" ×2

"Yes~" — needless to say, that was Shikamaru's voice.

Nakamura gave Shikamaru a side glance, sighed internally, and said nothing. He clearly had no idea how to handle him and walked off with a helpless expression.

---

One day later.

"According to intelligence, there's a mountain bandit stronghold ahead. Which of you three wants to take care of it?" Nakamura asked.

"I'll go, Captain. These kinds of guys aren't worth wasting our time on."

"Alright. Finish it quickly."

"Uh, it's a little embarrassing to say this, but I'm the fastest here," Shirō added with a smile.

Shikamaru and Tai Yi didn't object. Shikamaru just didn't want to move, and Tai Yi understood well: against enemies far weaker than him, Shirō's sheer dominance made any resistance pointless. Unless they overwhelmed him with sheer numbers, fighting Shirō was suicide.

So, with no opposition, Nakamura nodded. After all, their main mission was targeting rogue ninja. The sooner they cleared the bandits, the better.

Shirō leapt up to higher ground, activated Reinforcement Magic to boost his vision, and pulled out a compact scroll hidden beneath his wrist guard.

"Projection, begin."

As he willed it, four arrows appeared—each tipped with Explosive Tags.

After rigorous training, Shirō's maximum effective range was now around 800 meters. From this distance, he could already pinpoint and eliminate the targets.

Still, he couldn't help but grumble inwardly: If the intel agents already confirmed there were no hostages, couldn't they just handle this themselves?

But of course, missions were missions—and money was money. No bandits, no mission request.

Sighing, he locked onto the four key locations inside the camp.

Then—arrow one, two, three, four.

Thunk—BOOM!

Thunk—BOOM!

Thunk—BOOM!

Thunk—BOOM!

The explosions echoed across the valley. Most of the bandits were blown apart. The few survivors posed no threat, so the team simply bypassed them and continued toward their real target.

---

Two days later.

From a mountaintop vantage, the team looked down at a quiet town nestled in the valley.

"According to reports," Nakamura said, "a rogue ninja is hiding in that town. Wind Release user, skilled with poisons. She's dangerous. Who wants to go?"

"I'll take this one, Teacher Nakamura," Tai Yi said.

"Are you sure? Wind counters Lightning. And your Fire techniques won't be effective against someone who uses poisons."

"Hmph! Before these eyes, no jutsu can hide!"

"Uh… but don't you still have a single tomoe?" Shirō asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tai Yi's expression darkened. "Can't I brag a little? Why so serious?"

He shot Shirō a death glare and muttered, "I was referring to the Sharingan's genjutsu amplification."

"…Ah. Then, please proceed," Shirō replied with mock politeness, suppressing a grin. He didn't want to provoke Tai Yi further—especially not into unlocking a Mangekyō Sharingan out of sheer spite.

After all, with Uchiha, you never knew…

Tai Yi marched off, grumbling.

---

As he approached the town, Tai Yi removed his Konoha forehead protector, pulled out a change of clothes from his storage scroll, and transformed his appearance—a classic infiltration tactic.

"First-rate assassins go in head-on," Shirō had once joked.

"If I had Madara's eyes, I'd do that too," Tai Yi had snapped back.

Fair enough.

He made his way into town using coded signals to locate the Konoha intelligence operative. Once inside the safehouse, Tai Yi activated his Sharingan without a word. Red eyes flared. No password was needed.

"Give me the target's data."

Seeing the unmistakable Uchiha dojutsu, the intel officer didn't hesitate. Better to cooperate than be skewered as a suspected traitor.

Konoha's information network, despite being weakened after the Second Shinobi War, was still formidable. The rogue ninja had barely entered town before being fully profiled.

Tai Yi moved out swiftly.

He found her near a quiet alley—alone.

She noticed him too, and though she didn't attack outright, her posture grew tense. She had ninja instincts, clearly. But she underestimated one thing:

Tai Yi had his Sharingan activated.

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!" (Magen: Kyō Tenchi-ten!)

Because she'd been watching him closely, she was immediately caught. Sharingan genjutsu was potent and hard to break alone.

Without hesitation, Tai Yi threw a shuriken laced with Lightning Chakra—right into her neck.

She crumpled.

"AHHH! MURDER!"

"Run!!"

The townspeople panicked and scattered.

As citizens of the Land of Fire, many hadn't seen war firsthand. With the major fighting blocked from reaching their homeland, even the sight of a ninja fight was terrifying.

Tai Yi ignored the fleeing civilians. He walked to the body, pulled out a sealing scroll, and stored it without wasting Chakra on parlor tricks.

Mission complete.

---

Back at camp, Shirō asked, "Captain, who's next?"

Nakamura's expression turned serious.

"The next rogue ninja is a Kunoichi from Kirigakure—Hidden Mist. She's known for Silent Killing. Extremely dangerous. All of you will take her on together. We can't afford risks."

Silent Killing—a brutal assassination style unique to the Mist. It began with the Hidden Mist Jutsu, rendering the opponent blind. Not even the Sharingan could fully pierce through thick mist—especially when it was Chakra-infused.

"Mist… Female…" Shirō muttered. Then he grinned. "Captain, let me handle this one. She fits my specialty."

"Are you serious?" Nakamura raised an eyebrow. "She's strong enough to be rated a Special Jōnin. This isn't a joke."

Shirō nodded. "I'm serious. If she weren't female, I might not be confident. But…"

"Don't underestimate Kunoichi," Nakamura cut him off coldly, narrowing his eyes. "That's how you die."

"I understand," Shirō said sincerely. "That's exactly why I'm serious."

A beat.

Then he added with a mischievous glint, "But she's doomed either way. She ticks all the boxes."

---