The Forgemage of Konoha

An Exciting Moment 1

Tonight, Shirō couldn't sleep. He sat alone atop a tree branch, quietly gazing at the moon. Even though he knew that moon was artificial—the same moon manipulated by the Sage of Six Paths long ago—he still found himself involuntarily drawn to it.

Perhaps... this was sentiment.

It was strange. Although Shirō had witnessed countless horrors during war, today he had been deeply affected by the brutal death of a woman whose name he didn't even know.

On the journey back, he kept questioning himself. Was he doing the right thing? Was it truly justifiable to kill so many people just to return home—for such a selfish desire?

At first, he had consoled himself with the harshness of the shinobi world, believing everything he did was a response to its cruelty. But with time, Shirō came to understand that these were merely excuses—justifications to make himself feel better.

In the past year, he had changed. From a mild-mannered recluse who would flinch at the sight of a dead bird, he had become someone who walked past corpses as if they were nothing.

In the end, he had become the very thing he once despised.

But I can't stop now.

The longer he remained in this world, the more he missed his family and friends in the world he had left behind. This land, after all, belonged to Emiya Shirō... not to him, Shirō.

Even though he had formed new bonds here, a part of him still longed to return—to the country he had known for over a decade.

Fallen leaves must return to their roots.

---

"Chirp. Chirp~"

The morning forest was quiet, the birdsong gentle and sparse.

By dawn, Shirō had buried those heavy thoughts. On the surface, nothing had changed. He discussed the mission with the others as usual.

There wasn't much to plan this time. The target lacked any notable combat history—likely one of the many exiled shinobi with mediocre talent.

The kind of person Shirō had eliminated before was rare—a former elite who'd crossed the wrong person and been discarded.

So this time, Shikamaru would take the lead. Shirō and Tai Yi had already handled their share, and it was only fair for Shikamaru to have his turn.

Whether Shikamaru was willing or not? Hmph. Nakamura was still the team captain.

Of course, Shirō understood Shikamaru's reluctance. He was a man, after all—there were always those thirty-something days in a month where you just didn't want to work.

That said, Shirō was delighted to have Shikamaru in charge. Other people's suffering was a source of joy!

To Shikamaru, nothing was more painful than actual work.

And since Shikamaru was handling the target, Nakamura and Shirō didn't need to do much strategizing. The truth was, even if the three of them brainstormed together, they probably wouldn't come up with a plan as solid as Shikamaru's worst one.

That's why what they called "planning" was really just deciding the direction and picking a route.

Naturally, they left the route planning to the "smartest" member—totally not because they wanted to mess with Shikamaru. Shirō would swear on his honor!

---

Because the target's location wasn't far, they reached the town by midday.

As agreed, Shikamaru went in alone. Shirō and the others weren't idle, either. There happened to be a Mountain Bandit hideout nearby that overlapped with another mission, so they took the opportunity to wipe them out.

Ironically, this so-called "Rogue Ninja" was helpful even in death—offering Shirō and his team another excuse to earn mission credit. A true unsung hero, burning himself to light the way for others.

---

While Shirō entertained absurd thoughts, Shikamaru lazily strolled into the town. He hadn't even removed his Konoha forehead protector—just used a basic Transformation Jutsu to mask his appearance.

He wasn't worried about being discovered. Why?

Because the moment Shikamaru laid eyes on the target… he could instantly kill them.

This wasn't arrogance. It was clan confidence.

There was a massive gap between clan-born and civilian shinobi. Most children from clans like Nara could control chakra and use basic Ninjutsu before entering the Academy. Civilians, like Naruto had once been, often didn't even understand what chakra truly was until much later.

That's why most elite shinobi came from established clans. Only outliers like Namikaze Minato managed to rise above through sheer talent.

Konoha was an exception among villages—one of the few that actively supported talented civilians. Other villages rarely bothered.

Shikamaru thought it almost unfair to use his full mental capacity on such an underwhelming opponent.

Still, he was a little disappointed that this town lacked a Konoha intelligence post. It would have simplified things.

No matter. Using the intelligence they had, Shikamaru narrowed the likely locations of the target and began making his rounds.

By his third stop, he found the man.

The Nara intellect struck again.

Unfortunately, the target had sharp eyes and instantly saw through the Transformation Jutsu.

But it was too late.

Shikamaru had already finished his hand signs.

"Shadow Imitation Technique!"

The target froze, his limbs bound in place. Without knowledge of the Nara's clan techniques, he had no way to resist.

Effortlessly, Shikamaru walked forward, withdrew an exploding tag from his pouch, and slapped it on the man's chest. Of course, the one on his own body was a decoy.

"Art... is an explosion."

BOOM!

Not even ashes remained.

Ignoring the panicking villagers, Shikamaru casually made his way to the meeting point. As for the corpse? He couldn't be bothered to collect it. Too much effort.

---

Meanwhile, Shirō's group had reached the bandit hideout.

As usual: Nakamura observed, Tai Yi flanked from the rear, and Shirō charged in head-on.

He wasn't worried about projectiles. He had his trump card: the Shooting Weapon Amulet—a Noble Phantasm disguised as an "amulet."

Ironically, Shirō had never faced an archer until he learned to Project bows. Now, bow-wielders appeared like mushrooms after rain.

But thanks to the amulet, Shirō fearlessly ran through volleys of arrows and shuriken. The amulet's magic deflected every D-rank or lower projectile.

To the enemy, it was like facing a man blessed by the gods—arrows bouncing harmlessly off as he stormed up the hill.

By the time Shirō reached the top, Tai Yi had already wiped out the bandits.

Shirō had no complaints. After all, if they were both weak and careless, why should he pity them?

The battlefield wasn't a place for distractions.

---

Note 1: Noble Phantasm – Shooting Weapon Amulet

Rank: D-

Holder: Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, humanity's oldest Hero King.

Appearance: A golden charm shaped like a solar eclipse.

Ability: Dramatically increases evasion rate against projectiles. Automatically nullifies D-rank or lower ranged weapons. Each nullification expands the "sun" gap in the ornament. When the gap grows full, the charm vanishes. Can be thrown like a flare, burning enemies in a burst of radiant heat—its strength scaling with the gap's size.