The Cat-masked figure stepped from the shadow beyond the lamplight.
Purple hair stirred beneath her mask as she approached, her posture straight and purposeful.
"Shorai," she said flatly. "Hokage Tower. Now."
Shorai nodded once.
"Understood."
Cat's gaze flicked briefly toward Ino. Her expression remained hidden behind the mask, but her voice softened slightly.
"You had a short window. You used it. Just do not keep command waiting."
Then she vanished in a quiet blur.
Ino watched the leaves settle.
"Is something wrong?"
"I do not think so." Shorai gave her a small smile. "Anything truly serious will probably wait until tomorrow."
Shorai paused, then lowered his head slightly.
"Ino, I had a wonderful time. Thank you."
Her smile softened, though curiosity still lingered in her eyes.
"I should be the one thanking you, Shorai-kun. He-he."
She stepped forward and gave him one last quick hug.
They held each other for a moment before pulling apart.
"Pleasant dreams," Ino said.
"Pleasant dreams, Ino."
Shorai watched until she entered the flower shop. Only then did he send a thin pulse of chakra through the nearby streets.
Cat's signature waited on a rooftop two buildings away.
He jumped upward, landing beside her without a sound.
"What is the urgency?" he asked.
"You know the answer."
"I had assumed the leaders were occupied with Tsunade-sama's appointment."
"They are." Cat looked toward the Hokage Tower. "That does not remove the need for your report."
Shorai inclined his head.
"Understood. My apologies."
Cat studied him for a moment.
"You were not wrong to make time for her," she said. "But when an order arrives, Shorai, you answer it."
"I will."
"Good. Follow me."
—
The Hokage Tower was quieter than usual.
The hallways carried the stillness of a village holding its breath. Hiruzen's absence had not faded from the building; it lingered in every guarded doorway, every lowered voice, every ANBU operative moving through the corridors.
Cat led Shorai into a secure chamber on the upper floor.
The door shut behind them with a muted click.
Shikaku Nara sat at a low table, a notebook, several sealed folders, and a map of the Fire Country arranged before him. Jiraiya occupied the sofa nearest the window, one arm resting across its back. Tsunade sat opposite him in a side chair, posture relaxed but eyes sharp. Shizune stood behind her shoulder, holding a small stack of medical notes.
Eagle and Boar stood against the far wall.
Koharu and Homura sat together near the table. Neither elder looked pleased to be excluded from information that had evidently been discussed before Shorai arrived.
Shikaku looked up as Shorai entered.
"Sit."
Shorai moved to the indicated cushion and knelt.
"Good evening, Lady Tsunade. Lord Jiraiya. Lord Shikaku. Honored Elders."
Homura frowned.
"Boy, you took your time."
"An ANBU runner reached me only moments ago," Shorai answered evenly. "I came as soon as I received the summons."
Koharu's eyes narrowed, but Shikaku raised a hand before she could continue.
"This is a restricted debrief," he said. "Everything stated in this room is classified until Tsunade-sama approves otherwise. Jiraiya-sama will provide the mission summary. Shorai will speak only to what he directly observed. We will not speculate beyond the evidence."
His gaze shifted to Jiraiya.
"Begin."
Jiraiya's expression lost its usual looseness.
"I located Tsunade, as requested, and returned with her to Konoha. Naruto accompanied me."
He turned toward the elders.
"You assigned Shorai as an additional escort under special authorization. I accepted that arrangement."
Tsunade folded her arms.
"Good thinking. Somehow, I returned alive."
Jiraiya gave her a sidelong look.
"You're welcome, Tsunade."
"Do not start."
Shikaku's pen moved steadily across the page.
"Continue."
"During the search, Akatsuki operatives Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame attempted to capture Naruto." Jiraiya's voice hardened. "Their objective was clear. They wanted the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki alive."
The room fell still.
Koharu's mouth tightened.
"Akatsuki has moved openly against Konoha?"
"They moved against Naruto," Jiraiya corrected. "That distinction matters."
Shikaku looked toward Shorai.
"Your direct observations, Shorai."
Shorai lowered his gaze briefly, arranging his thoughts.
"Uchiha Itachi was controlled and exceptionally observant. He did not pursue uncertain openings, and he withdrew once Jiraiya-sama changed the battlefield conditions against him."
"His abilities?" Homura asked.
Shorai's expression grew more serious.
"Primarily genjutsu. It was beyond anything ordinary I have experienced. The pressure alone made it difficult to think clearly. When he used his ocular technique on Sasuke, I felt a sharp shift in his chakra—and a distortion in the space around us. Then Sasuke screamed and lost consciousness almost immediately."
Koharu glanced toward Homura.
"The same description Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, and Yūhi Kurenai gave."
"So that was the power of the Uchiha's dōjutsu?" Tsunade asked quietly. "The Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Shikaku nodded.
"Hatake Kakashi's report described the same effect. The available evidence supports that conclusion."
He wrote the note down.
"Other combat capabilities?"
"His taijutsu and reflexes were exceptional," Shorai said. "But his partner posed the more immediate problem in close quarters."
"Hoshigaki Kisame," Shikaku supplied.
"Yes." Shorai nodded. "He carried a living blade called Samehada. It consumes chakra through contact, but it does not appear to require direct contact with flesh. When Naruto's Kyūbi chakra leaked outward, Samehada absorbed it almost instantly."
Koharu's expression tightened.
"Did Naruto lose control?"
Jiraiya answered before Shorai could.
"No. He remained conscious. The chakra surfaced under supervision, and I contained the situation."
"That is not reassuring," Koharu replied. "The Nine-Tails' power is not something a child should be encouraged to draw on."
Jiraiya's eyes hardened.
"His name is Naruto. And he will need to understand the power inside him if he is expected to survive people like Akatsuki."
Homura leaned forward.
"If the seal fails—"
"Then we deal with it," Tsunade cut in. "You brought me back because Konoha needs a Hokage. Do not start questioning whether I understand that risk before I have even worn the hat."
The room fell quiet.
Tsunade's gaze moved from one elder to the other.
"Jiraiya is a seal master. Naruto has made progress under supervision. The details of his seal and training will remain restricted to those with a direct need to know."
Shikaku nodded once.
"Agreed. That information will be sealed under Hokage authority."
He wrote a brief note, then looked back to Shorai.
"The Akatsuki's escape method?"
Shorai glanced toward Jiraiya.
"After we disrupted their extraction attempt…" He paused. "I believe Itachi used a black flame technique. The flames continued burning without ordinary fuel and forced us to abandon pursuit in favor of containment."
"Whatever that technique was," Jiraiya said, "the flames could burn even fire-resistant surfaces."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
"That strong?"
"Yes." Jiraiya's expression darkened. "I managed to seal it, but not without difficulty. More accurately, I sealed the affected material before the flames could spread further."
Shikaku's pen paused above the page.
"A black Fire Release that continues until its target is consumed," he murmured. "That becomes a high-priority countermeasure issue. A technique of that scale likely carries a significant chakra cost, but we cannot rely on that assumption."
"It will not be countered by standing in front of it and hoping," Tsunade said. "Mark it as an avoidance threat."
Shikaku nodded.
"Understood."
He turned the page.
"Now, Orochimaru."
Jiraiya's expression hardened.
"After we found Tsunade, Orochimaru approached her. He offered to restore Nawaki and Dan to life in exchange for healing his arms."
Shizune's grip tightened around her papers.
"He used them to exploit Tsunade-sama's grief," she said quietly. "Even now, he treats people as pieces to be arranged for one of his experiments."
Tsunade's expression did not change, but her voice turned cold.
"He failed."
Shikaku glanced at Shorai.
"You were present throughout the confrontation?"
"Yes."
"What did you observe?"
Shorai took a measured breath.
"Orochimaru's arms were severely impaired. He avoided complex hand seals and did not use techniques that required sustained, precise chakra flow through his arms. Instead, he relied more heavily on substitution techniques, summons, weapons, Kabuto, and indirect attacks."
Koharu's eyes sharpened.
"You are certain?"
"No," Shorai replied at once. "But his condition suggested that he was unable to use the full extent of his power, rather than merely choosing to hold back against us. It is an assessment based on his combat choices and my medical training. I cannot diagnose him fully through observation alone."
Tsunade gave a small nod.
"His conclusion is reasonable. The damage goes deeper than muscle, nerves, or even the normal chakra pathways. Hiruzen-sensei's technique struck something closer to Orochimaru's spirit."
Homura's expression darkened.
"Can it be healed?"
"Orochimaru will try to find a way," Tsunade said. "Assume he has contingencies. Never assume he has accepted weakness."
Jiraiya added, "He still has body-transfer techniques available to him. His arms may be damaged, but he is not harmless."
Shikaku wrote for several seconds.
"Shorai," he said at last. "Your role in the battle?"
Shorai kept his expression neutral.
"I created openings where I could. I helped stabilize Lord Jiraiya after he was poisoned, used healing chakra when possible, and briefly disrupted Orochimaru's movements. Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya carried the battle."
Jiraiya snorted.
"Do not downplay it too much. He saved me from a strike that would have ended badly."
Tsunade's gaze shifted to Shorai.
"And he gave me an opening when I needed one."
Koharu remained unconvinced.
"A genin who can disrupt Orochimaru and contribute meaningfully against Akatsuki. Hiruzen kept more than one secret."
Before Shorai could respond, Tsunade spoke.
"He is a genin. That does not make him blind, useless, or incapable of learning." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Ask better questions."
The elder's lips thinned.
Shikaku closed his notebook.
"Enough. The immediate conclusions are clear."
He began counting them off.
"Akatsuki has confirmed interest in jinchūriki. Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame operate as a coordinated capture unit. Samehada is a living weapon capable of draining chakra. Itachi's black flames represent an extreme threat to containment and escape operations. Orochimaru remains active, injured, and dangerous."
His eyes moved to Tsunade.
"Once your appointment is formalized, Intelligence will prepare a restricted threat file on Akatsuki and Orochimaru. Jiraiya-sama will coordinate external intelligence. ANBU and the Barrier Division will review countermeasures surrounding Naruto."
Tsunade nodded.
"You have my authorization."
Koharu looked displeased.
"You speak as though the appointment has already been decided."
Tsunade gave her a thin smile.
"You called me back. I came back. We can stop pretending the decision is still a mystery."
Shikaku set his pen aside.
"Shorai, you are dismissed. Eagle, Boar, and Cat will review your operational status separately."
Shorai bowed.
"Understood."
As he rose, Jiraiya caught his eye and gave him a small nod. Tsunade said nothing, but a brief note of approval crossed her face before she turned back to Shikaku's maps.
The next stage of Konoha had already begun.
—
Eagle, Boar, and Cat followed Shorai onto the Hokage Tower rooftop.
The night air was cool. Below them, Konoha's lights stretched through the streets like scattered embers.
Eagle faced him first.
"Solid report."
"Clear, restrained, and accurate," Boar added.
Cat crossed her arms.
"You also made the elders uncomfortable. That was enjoyable."
Shorai raised a brow.
"I did not intend to."
"That is why it was enjoyable," Cat replied.
Boar gave a low laugh.
Then Cat's tone became more serious.
"You fought Akatsuki and Orochimaru within days of each other. That changes your threat profile."
"I understand."
"Do you?" Eagle asked. "Itachi saw your speed. Kisame saw your chakra control. Orochimaru saw enough to become interested. People like them do not forget useful information."
Shorai's expression stilled.
"Against Akatsuki, I showed only the lower stages of Swift Release and pressure-point combat. Orochimaru saw more, but beyond speed-based elemental techniques and taijutsu, there is little for them to identify."
Eagle studied him for a moment.
"Good. Keep it that way."
Boar folded his arms.
"Kakashi has had a reputation on his head since he was young. It changes how you travel, how you sleep, how you trust strangers, and how often you can afford to believe you are alone."
"I will keep that in mind."
"You will do more than keep it in mind," Cat said. "You will act like it."
Shorai nodded.
For a moment, the four stood in silence.
Then Eagle glanced out over the village.
"Tomorrow matters. Tsunade-sama's appointment is imminent. When the formal ceremony begins, report in ANBU uniform."
"Understood."
"And until then," Boar said, "you rest."
Shorai looked mildly offended.
"Am I really that transparent?"
"Twice unconscious," Eagle replied. "Several near-collapses. A habit of treating physical limits as suggestions. Yes."
Cat tilted her head.
"Try to get more rest. A few hours this evening clearly were not enough."
Boar glanced at her.
"What do you mean?"
Cat's eyes narrowed behind her mask.
"He was with the Yamanaka girl. Our little prince already has a girlfriend."
Boar's mouth twitched.
"You have it wrong. Shorai does not keep 'girlfriends.' He dates friends."
Eagle said nothing, but the faint shift in his posture suggested that he understood exactly what Boar meant.
Cat looked from Boar to Eagle, then back to Shorai.
"What does that mean?"
Shorai paused.
"It means we are dating."
Cat stared at him for a moment.
"That is not an explanation. That is just a fact."
Boar gave a low laugh.
"You had to be there for Professor Fox's lecture."
Cat's gaze moved between her comrades again, her confusion only deepening.
Shorai sighed.
"As Boar-san said, I do not have a 'girlfriend.' I tend to make distinctions for the sake of clarity. It has become a habit."
Cat paused.
"Are you trying to hide something, or is the mask becoming part of your identity, Fox?"
"The word is not entirely inaccurate," Shorai said. "It is simply incomplete."
His gaze shifted toward Boar.
"And it is definitely wrong when it comes from Boar-san."
Boar gave him an annoyed look.
"Wrong, you say…"
Shorai looked back toward Cat.
"In short, Cat-san, we are learning whether we can choose each other seriously—as people who may want a future together."
A beat of silence passed.
"That is the most Shorai answer possible," Eagle said.
Boar laughed under his breath.
"I feel sorry for the poor girl. In our line of work, she may end up waiting forever."
"A serious relationship? At your age?" Cat said, amusement clear in her voice. "Well, she seems capable."
Shorai looked toward the street below.
"She is," he said. After a moment, he added, "In many ways."
Cat's expression softened behind her mask.
"Then do not make her pay for your recklessness."
The teasing vanished from the rooftop.
Shorai met Cat's gaze, his expression faintly annoyed.
"Obviously."
Boar's shoulders shook as he suppressed a chuckle.
Cat only stared at him in sharp silence.
Eagle gave a final nod.
"Dismissed. Sleep while you can."
Shorai offered a brief bow, then disappeared in a quiet Shunshin across the rooftops.
—
His apartment greeted him with stale air, a thin layer of dust, and the familiar silence of a place left unattended for too long.
"It has been a while," he murmured.
He checked the seals first.
No disturbance.
Then, with a controlled pulse of chakra, he lifted the dust from the floor and shelves, gathering it into a small spiral before guiding it through the open window.
Only after the room was clean did he sit at the low table.
A notebook lay open before him.
Three words were written across the page in his own handwriting:
Stillness Before Acceleration.
Shorai read them again.
Still mind. Stable chakra flow. Water transformation. Wind adaptation. Lightning last.
He exhaled slowly.
"This should have been the correct beginning."
His habits with Lightning and Wind had trained him to accelerate, sharpen, cut, and move. They had built Swift Release—but they had also filled his chakra with restless motion.
Ice required the opposite: extraction, control, quiet, and a form of inner stillness he had never truly cultivated.
Shorai moved to his bed and sat cross-legged.
Then he activated the Reality Stone.
A faint current of wind rose around him. The room warped at its edges; colors thinned and bent before settling into a muted distortion.
Mind construct. Interface.
[Ready.]
Shorai formed the hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Two complete reflections appeared beside him in soft bursts of smoke.
The Stoic Clone opened his eyes first.
"So we are not sleeping."
"The timing is poor," the Whimsical Clone added, "but this is interesting."
"It is controlled training," Shorai said. "No excessive time dilation. No forced pathway alterations. We simulate the mental state first."
The Stoic Clone gave a small, approving nod.
"A survivable plan. Improvement."
Shorai closed his eyes.
Create a safe mental portal to the Soul Space for myself and both clones. Construct, simulate, and guide a state of mental stillness and chakra flow compatible with Water transformation, potential Ice Release, and eventual Nature Energy use. Do not force physical adaptation. Stop if neural or chakra-pathway strain exceeds safe limits.
[Parameters accepted. Simulation begins.]
The apartment vanished.
Darkness unfolded around them—not empty, but deep and reflective, like still water beneath a moonless sky.
The crimson Reality Stone hung at the center of the swirling black mass. Half of it was illuminated by a strange, unfamiliar light.
The three Shorais sat in a line upon the black surface.
No wind moved.
No current trembled.
At first, Shorai found the silence irritating.
His chakra wanted to move forward. It wanted to sharpen into Lightning, ride the air as Wind, and sprint through pathways already conditioned for acceleration.
Each time the current stirred too quickly, the construct corrected it—not by suppressing it, but by returning it to balance.
Time passed.
The Stoic Clone remained unmoving.
The Whimsical Clone fidgeted for nearly an hour before finally settling.
Shorai counted his breaths until counting itself became unnecessary.
Eventually, his chakra stopped feeling like a weapon waiting to be drawn.
It became quiet.
When Shorai opened his eyes, he was back in his apartment.
The room was dark, but dawn had not yet come.
His body felt different.
His mind was calmer. His chakra moved more slowly, but not weakly. It felt precise—less wasteful, less eager to rush ahead of his intention.
For once, stillness did not feel like hesitation. It felt like control.
He lifted a hand.
Chakra gathered in his palm.
Not in the aggressive spiral of the Rasengan. Not in the sharp edge of Wind Release. Not in the violent pulse of Lightning.
It gathered quietly.
Cold spread across his fingers.
His breath became visible.
Shorai's eyes widened slightly.
Construct. Analyze my current condition and all environmental changes.
[Host body temperature is decreasing within controlled limits. Heat is being extracted and released through intentional chakra shaping. Current state remains incomplete. No authentic Ice Release manifestation detected.]
Shorai released a slow breath.
How close am I? Account for the mental training and the stillness state.
[Current probability of stable, authentic Ice Release manifestation remains low without sustained adaptation. With continued Water transformation, stillness conditioning, reduced Lightning-pattern interference, and safe pathway adaptation, projected probability rises to forty to sixty percent.]
Time frame?
[Several weeks under controlled conditions. Premature forcing risks chakra-pathway damage and increased Yin imbalance.]
"That is better than forcing it in a week," Shorai murmured.
The Stoic Clone gave a faint nod.
"Foundation before output."
"Yes."
The Whimsical Clone tilted his head.
"And the possibility is really for the authentic version?"
Shorai's gaze returned to his cooling palm.
Construct. Clarify. Is this an artificial imitation, or a genuine hereditary potential?
[Hereditary markers are compatible with the bloodline trait known in this world as Ice Release.]
Shorai went still.
Recheck.
[No change detected.]
Analyze my biological inheritance. Identify only verified lineage traits. Do not infer identities from insufficient data.
A brief pause followed.
[Host possesses a near-even division of parental hereditary traits. Maternal lineage carries markers compatible with the Yuki bloodline, originating in the Land of Water. Paternal lineage carries traits associated with ancestry from the Land of Lightning. Exact parental identities cannot be determined through biological analysis alone.]
Shorai looked at his palm.
The faint mist of his breath curled upward and vanished.
"A Yuki line," he said quietly.
The Stoic Clone's eyes narrowed.
"That explains the potential. Not the mastery."
"Nor why I ended up in Konoha," Shorai replied.
The Whimsical Clone smiled faintly.
"Your life has never enjoyed simple answers."
Shorai released a quiet breath of laughter.
"No. It has not."
He closed his hand, allowing the cold to dissipate gradually rather than forcing it away.
The next step was no longer a fantasy or an artificial shortcut. It was part of him—an inheritance that required patience, restraint, and a body capable of carrying it safely.
Shorai looked back at the open notebook.
Stillness Before Acceleration.
For the first time, the words did not feel like a restriction.
They felt like a path.