After returning home, Shigure didn't wait up for the completion of the Ice Release technique, which still had about an hour of calculation time remaining.
Instead, he went straight to sleep.
By early morning, he was already awake.
The new Ice Release ninjutsu that the Great Sage had been working on overnight was finally complete.
He quickly opened the interface to check the result.
[Ice Release – Ice and Snow World]
Not a bad name.
And the effects...
They were exactly as he had envisioned.
[Ice Release – Ice and Snow World: Can be activated without hand seals, but must be used in tandem with Ice Release – Freezing Moment. Chakra consumption for maintaining Freezing Moment is doubled.]
[Creates a domain of ice and snow within the Freezing Moment's effective radius. All ice and snow within this area can be freely manipulated for offense or defense.]
[Ice and snow can be shaped into ice crystals, ice cubes, or any other form, depending on the user's intent.]
[By consuming chakra, the user can generate infinite ice and snow within the jutsu's range.]
[Enemies or objects touched by the ice and snow will be overwhelmed by the cold and rapidly frozen.]
Shigure nodded in satisfaction.
This was almost exactly what he had imagined—but as expected, the chakra cost was steep.
He'd already experienced how draining Freezing Moment could be.
Based on his current chakra reserves, he could only maintain that jutsu for about half an hour, and that was without stacking anything on top of it.
Adding Ice and Snow World to the mix would double the chakra consumption during that time window.
At this rate, if he wanted to wield Ice Release seriously in battle, he had to find a way to make it function with minimal or even no chakra cost.
Otherwise, his endurance would always be limited.
He decided to assign Passive Skill Slot 7 to Ice and Snow World.
While it wouldn't achieve zero-cost use yet, he could always swap in two Ice Release techniques during actual combat to balance out consumption and performance.
Later, at the Ninja Academy—
Shigure arrived early.
Naruto had already reached the classroom and lit up when he saw him.
"Shigure! Over here!"
Shigure gave him a nod but walked past and sat down next to Ino instead.
Shikamaru, lounging nearby, narrowed his eyes and muttered,
"Why do I feel like... you're giving off a chill?"
"Huh?"
Was his Ice Release aura leaking?
That shouldn't be happening.
Choji, chewing on snacks nearby, shook his head.
"Nah, I didn't feel anything."
Shikamaru waved dismissively.
"Maybe I'm just imagining things."
Still, he kept glancing at Shigure. Even though only a single night had passed, it felt like Shigure had changed again.
And this change wasn't something superficial.
Shigure, meanwhile, suddenly remembered—
Wasn't today the day of Naruto and Sasuke's accidental kiss in the anime timeline?
Would he get to witness it live?
He glanced toward Naruto, who was grinning at him like a fool.
Then turned to Sasuke, who was sitting gloomily across the room… and staring at him.
"…Why's this guy always sneaking glances at me?"
The moment their eyes met, Sasuke quickly turned away and pretended to look elsewhere.
Shigure blinked.
What was that about?
Sasuke, for his part, had noticed how everyone seemed to orbit around Shigure lately.
Shigure used to be sociable and well-liked, but now—now it felt like the entire class revolved around him.
Even Kiba and Shino, who normally kept to their own groups, had started casually chatting with him.
His popularity had quietly skyrocketed.
Before Shigure could dwell on it any longer—
"Congratulations, everyone!"
"You've officially become Genin!"
The classroom buzzed with quiet chatter when Iruka-sensei walked in.
He paused at the front, eyes scanning over the newly graduated Genin. There was pride in his expression, tinged with a bit of nostalgia.
"Alright, we'll now begin team assignments," Iruka announced. "Once you're assigned to a squad, wait for your Jonin instructor to come collect you."
The room quieted instantly.
"Team 7!" Iruka called.
Shigure glanced sideways at Naruto—he knew this team was coming up first.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto immediately jumped to his feet.
"What?! I'm on the same team as that guy?!"
Iruka frowned. His voice turned stern.
"Naruto. Sit down. These team assignments were made by the Hokage himself after careful consideration. This isn't something for you to question."
"Tch..."
Naruto sat down with a scowl, clearly displeased to be teamed up with his so-called love rival.
Meanwhile, Shigure shifted his gaze toward Sakura.
She was likely up next. Honestly, Sakura was talented—but had never been especially relevant to him.
That is, until she turned her head and caught his stare.
Their eyes met.
Sakura froze.
Why is Shigure looking at me like that?
Wasn't he interested in Yoru-senpai?
Then—
"Moonlight Shigure!"
The name snapped Shigure out of his thoughts.
He blinked, confused, then quickly looked up.
"Iruka-sensei... you called me?"
Iruka looked like he was running out of patience.
"You're the final member of Team 7, Shigure."
For a moment, Shigure's mind went completely blank.
Wait... Me? Naruto, Sasuke, and... me?
Where was Sakura?
Iruka continued calling out names without pause.
"Team 8: Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata."
"Team 9: Haruno Sakura, Suzukaze Inoue, Watanabe Jin."
"Team 10: Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji."
Ino let out a disappointed sigh.
"Ugh... I can't believe I'm not on the same team as Shigure-kun."
But Shigure didn't hear her.
His attention was still fixed on Sakura, wide-eyed with disbelief.
She's not on Team 7...
She's not going to spend two years pining after Sasuke...
He sat there silently, mind racing as he watched Sakura speak to her new teammates, completely unaware that her destiny had just shifted.
... ... ...
Am I… replacing Sakura now?
What was the Third Hokage thinking?
"Starting with Team 9!" Iruka announced suddenly.
Sakura and her teammates looked up, attentive.
"Team 9's situation is a bit special," Iruka explained. "Aside from regular missions, your team will also assist at the Konoha Hospital."
"Your Jonin instructor is a medical ninja, usually stationed at the hospital. So, expect a lot of your mission time to involve work there."
Sakura, Inoue, and Watanabe nodded—none of them objected.
But from where he sat, Shigure found this... interesting.
So that's it.
Did I actually help Sakura avoid two years of going in circles?
She was on the path of a medical ninja now—directly!
And that wasn't a bad thing at all.
Sakura's combat talent was average. Sure, she eventually mastered her monstrous strength, but even then, in the grand scheme of things, she was only on par with a standard Jonin.
But if she focused on medical ninjutsu from the start?
She could surpass her original potential and perhaps even rival top medical shinobi like Shizune or Lady Tsunade.
Shigure was genuinely pleased with the development.
Then came the frustrating part.
Class after class was dismissed—each group being taken away by their Jonin instructor.
One by one, students left the classroom until only three remained.
Shigure. Naruto. Sasuke.
Naruto sighed and walked over, flopping into the seat beside Shigure.
"What's with our instructor?" he groaned. "Everyone else got picked up already! What's taking so long?"
Shigure chuckled.
"Just be patient. He'll show up soon."
After all, being placed in Team 7—the Hokage's most closely monitored team—meant something.
The Third Hokage was watching.
And that meant he had to perform well.
This wasn't just a team assignment anymore.
This... was the beginning of something bigger.
...
TN:
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