Rebellion
Shiro naturally did not stop his attack just because he was interested in the opponent's Ninjutsu. The words he spoke had the same effect as his mask—both subtly lulled the enemy into lowering their guard.
Even if it didn't work, Shiro lost nothing by trying.
More importantly, once he had analyzed the enemy's weapon, there were no longer any secrets left in that Ninjutsu. There was no reason to hold back.
After putting away his weapon, Shiro began calmly cleaning up the battlefield. With a Shadow Clone handling the finishing work and summoned snakes sealing off the perimeter, everything was perfectly under control.
In one word: stable.
Thus, Shiro leisurely began collecting the spoils of war.
"Holy crap! Ten million ryō?!" Shiro stared at the bill in his hand, utterly stunned by the massive number printed on it. "Are mountain thieves this rich now?!"
He had spent several years scrimping and saving—barely accumulating the equivalent of two Asumas' worth of pay—to fund the construction of his workshop. And this was directly one-sixth of that amount!
And this was only liquid assets. If the mountain stronghold itself were included, the total value would be even higher.
"Sure enough, having a backer is incredible," Shiro muttered. "Even a few no-name rogue ninjas can be this wealthy…"
Suddenly, he noticed a scroll tucked into the leader's clothes.
Shiro opened it casually—
—and froze.
The scroll slipped from his fingers, landing on the ground along with the money.
Written plainly across the opened section were the words:
Chakra Refining Technique
On its own, this would not have been noteworthy. Almost every ninja possessed such a method, especially rogue ninja.
But combined with the intelligence just transmitted from a dispelled Shadow Clone, the situation instantly became far more serious.
One of the clones had discovered a hidden training ground.
Along with it… several children who hadn't had time to evacuate.
Shiro's pupils shrank.
This didn't resemble a simple case of black eating black. This looked far more like the early stages of a rebellion.
And very likely—
a rebellion against Konoha.
At the same time, after receiving the clone's memories, Shiro immediately Projected the former leader's gauntlet, attempting to identify the Ninjutsu embedded within it.
When the information surfaced, Shiro's expression turned grim.
Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder.
This was a secret technique of the Fire Temple. Ordinary people couldn't learn it—let alone rogue ninja.
That fact alone made the implications chilling.
No wonder Shiro had reacted so strongly.
He did not pick up the scroll or the money again. Instead, he formed a hand seal and created another Shadow Clone, immediately dispelling it to relay orders.
All remaining Shadow Clones were instructed to thoroughly mark and record the battlefield.
Then Shiro stood silently, waiting.
Soon, streams of information flowed back as each clone dispersed one after another.
Only after the final memory returned did Shiro release a long breath.
He could finally leave.
Before departing, however, Shiro gathered the three corpses together and used a Sealing Technique to contain them. The seal was designed so that only Konoha's intelligence division could safely open it. Any attempt to forcibly break it would result in the complete destruction of its contents.
Afterward, Shiro fired a flare into the sky.
Then he left.
He didn't even take the money.
Was he crazy?
This was not something a small fry like him could afford to touch.
Whether the mastermind was a minister, a daimyō, or even the Fire Temple itself, none of them were enemies Shiro could provoke. This was a situation best handled by the Third Hokage and Konoha's upper echelons.
Cowardice, at times like this, was wisdom.
After all, no matter which side they belonged to, these were all official powers of the Land of Fire.
People often mocked the daimyō during the Fourth Great Ninja War—but in truth, their strength was anything but weak.
At least in the Land of Fire.
The Twelve Guardian Ninja were all elite jōnin-level combatants. That alone was enough to suppress countless small ninja villages.
In the original records, Chiriku had even fought the Undead Duo head-on and nearly won. While information advantage played a role, wasn't the ninja world itself built on information warfare?
Their strength was real.
Thus, Shiro's caution was entirely justified.
To minimize involvement, he barely damaged the battlefield, didn't take the money, and limited his contact to sealing the corpses.
Once everything was arranged, Shiro vanished into the forest.
Staying here any longer would only invite trouble.
---
While Shiro hurried away, actions were also unfolding elsewhere.
At Konoha's Ninja Academy, Higashimura looked helplessly at the silver-haired boy standing before him.
This was already the third time this week.
Each time, Kakashi came to apply for early graduation.
Sigh…
"Kakashi," Higashimura said helplessly, "I really can't help you. Hokage-sama has given explicit instructions—without Shiro's consent, I'm not allowed to submit your application."
"I already passed Shiro-ge's test."
"It's useless to tell me that," Higashimura replied. "Hokage-sama is personally in contact with Shiro. Even if I submitted it, it would be rejected. You should remain in school."
"…Understood."
Seeing there was no hope, Kakashi didn't argue further. He bowed politely and turned to leave.
Higashimura watched his retreating figure and sighed.
Kakashi's father had devoted his life to Konoha—yet died under a cloud of disgrace.
Fortunately, the boy still had good friends.
Otherwise, Higashimura couldn't imagine what kind of person Kakashi might have become.
That was also why he continued refusing Kakashi's request even without direct orders—because he could see Kakashi slowly emerging from his shadows.
Just like now.
"Kakashi! Let's duel!"
"No."
"Then let's run! From here to the training ground—ten laps—and back! The first one back wins! Ready!"
"I said I'm not competing!"
"Run!"
The instant Might Guy shouted, both figures shot forward.
Higashimura chuckled and shook his head. It has become routine lately. Every time Guy challenged Kakashi, Kakashi would verbally refuse—but the moment Guy shouted "start," his body would move on its own.
"They really get along well," Obito muttered.
"Hmph! None of them are stronger than the great me!"
"Obito, you lose every time, though." Rin turned back, smiling sweetly.
Obito's face instantly flushed. He turned away, huffing, "I—I let them win!"
"Hehehe~ Of course you did," Rin replied. "Then you'll beat them soon!"
"Yes!" Obito straightened immediately.
The three of them watched Kakashi and Guy race.
Obito still couldn't understand why those two spent so much time together. Was Rin not cute enough?
Then again… maybe this wasn't so bad.
That way, no one would compete with him for Rin.
And then they'd get married.
And have kids.
He'd name the first one. Rin would name the second—
Just as Obito was deep in planning his future grandchildren, Kakashi burst back into the classroom first.
"Damn it! I'll win next time!"
"There won't be a next time," Kakashi snapped. "I'm absolutely not competing with you again!"
--
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