"Maybe. Let's go back to practice. We need to prepare for the upcoming assessment."
They couldn't find a reason to refute Shirō's point, nor did they know how to respond, so they simply changed the subject and headed back.
They weren't disappointed by the lack of valuable information either—deep down, they had expected as much before coming here.
---
That afternoon, it was Konoha's final team's turn to compete. Their lineup was impressive on paper: a Hyūga with the Byakugan, an Aburame with their insects, and an Inuzuka with their ninken. It was almost identical in composition to the future Team 8 that Hinata would one day be part of—built for tracking and sensory support.
However, despite their excellent combination of abilities, all three were fresh graduates from the Academy. The main reason they were sent here was not to win, but to temper their arrogance.
As children of Konoha's elite clans, they had always been top students at the Academy. Naturally, they carried themselves with pride—sometimes too much of it. A dose of reality was necessary.
And sure enough, when they faced the experienced Takigakure shinobi, the match ended quickly in defeat.
---
"Haha, well done."
Their Jōnin instructor smiled as he watched them return from the arena.
The three looked at him in shock. After a brief pause, Hyūga Ten was the first to speak:
"Teacher… why are you saying that? We lost."
"Haha, stop being so full of yourselves," the Jōnin chuckled. "Your opponents were seasoned shinobi. The fact that you lasted as long as you did is already impressive. Did you really expect to win at your level?"
He then looked at each of them seriously.
"More importantly, you've now seen the gap between you and them, haven't you? That means you know what you need to work on. Next time, you'll be ready to win."
"Yes! Teacher, next time we'll definitely win!"
It had to be said—those who made it to Jōnin were masters of motivation. Even ordinary words, when spoken by them, could light a fire in their students.
Could rank really have a buff to charisma?
Shirō mused as he walked back with them.
---
When they returned to their lodgings, everyone gathered to share what they'd learned. Unfortunately, none of the intel was useful—most matches were one-sided and revealed nothing new.
For the next day's matches, they decided to send two other eliminated teams to scout for more information. Shirō and Minato stayed behind to train quietly, saving their energy for the third round of assessments.
Around noon, the scouts returned, but—just as expected—there was still no valuable intel.
---
By now, the participants for the third round had been confirmed:
Konohagakure: 6
Sunagakure: 6
Iwagakure: 6
Yugakure (Hidden Hot Water Village): 3
Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village): 3
Kusagakure (Hidden Grass Village): 3
A total of 27 competitors.
The format was as follows: the first round would be one-on-one duels, with one participant getting a bye. The 14 winners would advance, then duel again to narrow down to 7. From there, the 7-to-3 stage would take place—meaning one competitor would have to fight twice to decide the top three.
The final round would be a round-robin between the top 3. Whoever defeated both of their opponents would be crowned champion.
This meant that both strength and luck would be critical. For example, getting the bye in the first round not only saved energy but also prevented opponents from gathering intel on your fighting style. Conversely, the 7-to-3 stage offered no rest between matches, making stamina and adaptability crucial.
What made it even more complicated was that the third assessment would take place in half a month—giving everyone plenty of time to train specifically against their first-round opponent once the matchups were announced.
---
Nakamura and the others who went to draw lots finally returned.
"Captain, what's the verdict?"
"Not bad. Here—take a look. Oh, and the bye went to someone from Hidden Hot Water Village."
"Tsk, what a waste."
"Relax, nothing to regret. This is the match roster. We've got work to do, so we'll leave you to it."
"Understood, Captain."
Shirō laid out the roster:
Shirō vs Heijō Masamura – Rasa's teammate
Minato vs Hidden Hot Water Village shinobi (non-notable)
Rasa vs Mai – Minato's teammate
Kitsuchi vs Hidden Hot Water Village shinobi #2
Sasori vs Koshikawa Yoshiyuki – Iwagakure, Kitsuchi's teammate
Watanabe Akira (Iwa Captain) vs Shinji
Tai yi vs Takigakure shinobi (non-notable)
Shikamaru vs Kusunoki Kaoru – Sasori's teammate
Mibu Sukezane vs Takigakure shinobi #2
Yanagihara Masamune vs Kusagakure shinobi (non-notable)
Takigakure Captain vs Kusagakure shinobi
Midnight Chen Ichirō vs Kusagakure shinobi
Watanabe Akira's two teammates in an internal match
The matchups were considered fair, as they were drawn by the leading shinobi from each village.
Still, the lineup wasn't particularly favorable for Shirō's side. Minato had an easy opponent, but others—especially Shirō—faced strong challengers.
Fortunately, they had half a month to prepare. In two days, they would begin gathering detailed intel for targeted training.
Shirō, however, had a unique advantage—his fighting style changed drastically depending on which Noble Phantasm he projected. Anyone training specifically against his past methods would be in for a nasty surprise.
Of course, strength trumped strategy in the end.
---
The blacksmith still hadn't finished Shirō's new weapon—it had only been sent that morning—so he turned his focus back to studying magecraft.
This time, both his main body and his shadow clone studied in parallel. Shirō was close to mastering a technique that allowed him to borrow magical energy, and he intended to push through the last hurdle quickly.
The shadow clone continued focusing on that, while Shirō himself began studying another fundamental spell: Displacement Magic.
Displacement Magic was basic, often dismissed as a novelty. But in the hands of a genius, even basic magic could be honed to terrifying effect.
Shirō wasn't aiming for that level—at least not yet. He simply wanted to create spatial shifts that would help in constructing his Magic Workshop. The problem was that standard Displacement Magic only worked within a workshop.
What he wanted—moving between two distant points—would require more research.
He suspected Medea could achieve it easily. After all, he didn't need to reach the scale of shifting parallel worlds, and the suppression force of this world seemed far weaker than that of the Type-Moon dimension.
The Ōtsutsuki clan's reality-breaking abilities and the overwhelming destructive power of his Noble Phantasm releases only reinforced that belief.
Yes—this world's suppression was weak. And that meant possibilities.