The Forgemage of Konoha

Exciting Moment 2

After dealing with the Mountain Bandits, it was time for the exciting part—dividing the loot.

This was precisely why Mountain Bandits suppression missions were uncommon. One reason was that a group of shinobi might sweep the area and take all the spoils, as these missions offered double rewards with relatively low risk.

Another reason was that the Hokage sometimes withheld these missions to use them for training the village's younger elites. And honestly, no one became a Mountain Bandits unless they were truly desperate.

During peacetime, their numbers were usually low.

But things were different now. The war had only recently ended, and the number of Mountain Bandits was still relatively high. More importantly, because Konoha had been so preoccupied with the war, there hadn't been enough manpower to suppress them. As a result, many had grown bolder.

This was evident from Shirō's team alone—they had earned 500,000 Ryo from a single mission!

That was equivalent to the total payout of several B-rank missions combined!

It even made Shirō briefly consider becoming a Mountain Bandits himself.

Of course, he was only joking. He wasn't stupid.

Still, not every Mountain Bandits was that wealthy. The group Shirō had dealt with earlier—with just a few arrows—barely had anything worth taking, so the team didn't even bother cleaning up.

The estimated gains were currently recorded on a scroll. The mission intelligence had mostly come from Konoha's Intelligence Division. Normally, mission details came from clients, but with the current instability, Konoha's Intel Division had stepped in directly.

Due to time constraints, Shirō's team had only selected targets with the highest return. Even so, with loot and bounties combined, their earnings had reached 30 million Ryo.

They had basically earned an Asuma!

Unfortunately, the high-yield targets were already exhausted. The team had cleaned up what they could—there were no more big fish.

After finishing up the last haul, the team moved to rendezvous with Shikamaru.

---

Five Nights Later…

Inside a cave near a mountain valley, Shirō's team huddled around a map. This was their final target before returning.

The terrain of the valley ahead was treacherous—easy to defend, difficult to assault. If it had more natural resources nearby, no doubt a proper faction would've already claimed it. But because it was so remote, the Mountain Bandits had taken over.

Even Shikamaru, after racking his brain, couldn't come up with a better plan.

The strategy on the table had been proposed by Shirō. It was straightforward: he would draw the enemy's attention head-on, while Shikamaru's team would flank and ambush them from the side.

The risk? Extremely high.

The Shooting Weapon Amulet wasn't a perfect shield—it didn't guarantee invulnerability to projectiles. It was, after all, only a Projection of a Noble Phantasm, and not even the original. Re-projecting it took time, and time was a luxury Shirō wouldn't have mid-battle.

And without Nakamura's participation, Shikamaru's team might not be able to eliminate the enemy quickly enough to relieve pressure on Shirō.

This group of Mountain Bandits also had rogue shinobi among them—missing-nin who had fled from various villages, making them far more dangerous than your average bandits.

Even so, there was no better plan. The enemy had set up warning jutsu around the valley perimeter, preventing stealth approaches.

"Shikamaru, decide. We can't waste more time. We won't get another opportunity."

After Shirō spoke, both he and Tai Yi looked to Shikamaru for an answer.

"…"

Shikamaru stared at the map in silence, his finger rhythmically tapping the surface. It was clear he didn't like the plan—but he couldn't come up with a better one either.

Eventually, he nodded. "Fine."

Nakamura said nothing from the side. This was a lesson they had to learn. If they relied on a Jōnin for every problem, they'd never grow.

Mission value was paramount for shinobi. Even Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang, had been vilified for abandoning a mission to save his comrades. (Though this hadn't happened yet in the timeline, the mentality already existed.)

Some would later say this public sentiment had been manipulated by certain shadowy figures (yes, Danzo), but even manipulation only worked because the system allowed it.

In short, Shirō's team had no choice. This mission had to succeed.

---

Final Assault

Once the plan was set, there was no hesitation.

Shikamaru and Tai Yi began their flank. Shirō summoned two small snakes to accompany them—his Summoning Contract with the Ryūchi Cave allowed him to do that much.

Then, he Projected five Exploding Tag Arrows and embedded them into the ground around him.

Once Shikamaru and Tai Yi reached the warning jutsu boundary, one of the snakes dispelled itself, sending a signal to Shirō.

Shirō didn't hesitate. He immediately pulled out the pre-embedded arrows and loosed them one by one, destroying the detection barriers with precise shots.

With the barriers gone, Shirō activated Reinforcement Magic and bolted forward—his chakra-enhanced body moving like a blur of light. He purposely made the glow of Reinforcement brighter to attract fire.

It worked.

Before he could even cover 300 meters, a volley of arrows rained from the sky!

He'd only advanced 100 meters before the Shooting Weapon Amulet's durability ran low. Alarmed, Shirō deactivated Reinforcement, pulled out a shield from his wristguard, and re-Projected the amulet instantly.

The shield had been sealed in advance, a precautionary measure. Deactivating Reinforcement also made him harder to track in the dark, giving him a brief moment to breathe.

Thankfully, Shirō had trained extensively with Projection recently—his speed had improved drastically.

In the next moment, he lit up once more like a blue beacon and resumed his charge toward the enemy's encampment!

Another 150 meters passed before the amulet broke again. But now, most of the arrows had stopped, and he was close. Chakra reserves low, Shirō raised the shield and sprinted into the stronghold.

---

Meanwhile, with Shikamaru's Team

With Shirō drawing attention, Shikamaru and Tai Yi slipped into the valley unnoticed.

They stayed together. According to intel, there were 14 shinobi stationed here.

Solo kills were handled by Tai Yi. He activated his Sharingan, approached silently, cast a Genjutsu—and slit their throats.

If they encountered two or more, Shikamaru immobilized them with his clan's jutsu, and Tai Yi followed with Genjutsu and precise execution.

The process worked—until it didn't.

After losing seven shinobi, the enemy finally noticed.

Soon, Shikamaru and Tai Yi were ambushed—surrounded by two Chūnin and two Genin!

---

Shirō's Situation

At the same time, as Shirō entered the stronghold, he found himself face-to-face with a Chūnin and two Genin—just as the intel had stated. Surrounding them were dozens of armed Mountain Bandits, all clearly waiting for him.

"Hehe, I'm here to join you guys. Believe me?"

"Clang!"

The sound of drawn blades answered him.

They clearly didn't believe him.

And just like that, all of Shirō's team was thrown into crisis.