The Forgemage of Konoha

Shirō only allowed the system to carry out preliminary repairs. After all, caution was the better part of valor—staying discreet meant staying alive. If his chakra overflowed and caused muscle strain in a major battle, yet his meridians remained miraculously unscathed, it would raise suspicions.

In the shinobi world, especially one as full of crafty manipulators as Konoha, recklessness offered no rewards. Just look at Shisui Uchiha—a prodigy who could manifest a partial Susanoo with only one eye, yet he still fell prey to Danzo due to one moment of carelessness.

That was why Shirō firmly believed: as long as he remained discreet, he had already won. Ideally, he would stay under the radar until the very end.

Unfortunately, no one exists in a vacuum. Bonds form—unavoidable and inevitable. And if Shirō wished to protect those bonds, then his path would eventually diverge from secrecy.

For now, though, discretion still served him well.

---

In the following days, Shirō focused on cultivation—but not taijutsu. His body had not fully recovered, and he couldn't safely channel chakra for now. Instead, he turned inward, organizing the magical knowledge he had gained from projecting Rule Breaker.

As the legacy of Medea, a Magus of the Age of Gods, Rule Breaker carried immense magical knowledge. Even though the projection was imperfect, the information it offered was vast. It took Shirō nearly a week to organize and study only the section related to Reinforcement Magic.

He retained a selection of foundational spells and had the system erase the rest from memory. Shirō understood his current mental capacity had limits—keeping too much would only risk overwhelming his sanity.

More practically, Shirō realized he had no special talent for magecraft. He wasn't a complete novice, but he was far from a genius. For now, he would focus on establishing a solid foundation, hoping to better absorb other Heroic Spirits' magic in the future. That was the shortcut. He couldn't use it yet—but he hadn't given up hope.

After all, the Heroic Spirit card he inherited was incomplete, and the most glaring absence was the Reality Marble: Unlimited Blade Works—the magic closest to true sorcery, and Emiya Shirou's trump card.

Projection Magecraft by itself consumed enormous energy. Unlimited Blade Works, however, seemed to bypass that cost. If he could learn to manifest it someday, it would change everything. He was laying the groundwork now—one step at a time.

Shirō was also curious: what did his mental landscape look like? But that answer was still far away.

---

A week passed. His body had recovered. Today, he was discharged from the hospital. Apart from his parents, no one came to pick him up.

Understandable. Most people Shirō knew were shinobi—and shinobi had missions. Some had visited him during his stay, offered encouragement, and then returned to their duties. After all, they had their own lives to live. Missions meant survival, and survival meant food on the table. Who had the luxury to keep chatting endlessly?

Everyone had gone on missions.

Well—almost everyone.

There was one exception: Uzumaki Kushina. She hadn't gone on a mission. Instead, she'd taken a rare personal trip.

Even though Shirō couldn't sense the presence of ANBU, he was certain—just from basic reasoning—that there were at least a few tailing her. No one in their right mind would leave the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki completely unguarded. Even if Hokage trusted the Uzumaki sealing arts, it was foolish to allow Kushina to travel alone.

So yes, she was on vacation—but not unguarded.

---

That night, after celebrating quietly with his parents, Shirō returned to his room and resumed cultivation. He would meet his new teammates tomorrow, so he wanted to maximize his progress with a newly developed projection:

Noble Phantasm Name: Shooting Weapon Amulet

Rank: D-

Possessor: Gilgamesh, King of Uruk—the oldest recorded Hero-King in human history

Appearance: A golden ornament shaped like a solar eclipse

Effects:

Greatly increases the wearer's evasion rate

Automatically nullifies all projectile weapons below D-rank

Each time it nullifies an attack, the eclipse-shaped opening on the ornament grows

Once the gap becomes as large as a full sun, the Noble Phantasm disappears

If thrown at an enemy, it emits intense heat and light like a miniature sun. Its offensive power scales with how much of the eclipse is "open"

---

In Shirō's hands, the Shooting Weapon Amulet functioned like a budget version of Protection from Arrows. Shuriken, kunai, senbon—all qualified as "shooting weapons." In battles between Genin and Chunin, such weapons played a large role. Even some Jonin, particularly those with low chakra reserves (yes, that silver-haired copy-nin), relied on them.

So, for Shirō, this amulet was a lifesaver.

At his current level, he could Project the Shooting Weapon Amulet within two seconds—about as fast as Rule Breaker. But the stability and duration were lacking. Ideally, it should persist longer to maximize its defensive utility.

There was one drawback: if thrown to detonate, the resulting explosion consumed large amounts of chakra. Given that, Shirō rarely used that feature.

---

> "Trace, on."

Appraise the creation concept!

Conceive the basic skeletal structure!

Replicate the constituent materials!

Imitate the manufacturing techniques!

Empathize with the growth experience!

Reproduce the accumulated years!

Surpass and complete numerous processes!

With a flash of white light, the golden solar-eclipse-shaped ornament appeared in his palm. Shirō examined it, shook his head, dispelled it, and projected again. He repeated the process until his chakra reserves were nearly empty, then rested.

---

The next day, he received a summons to the Hokage's Office.

His new team assignment had arrived.

He already knew—Yamada and the others had told him when they visited. He'd even met the new members. Average types. If Shirō hadn't had a cheat-like system, he'd probably be just like them.

Without delay, he made his way to the Hokage Tower.

"Reporting: Emiya Shirō requests an audience."

"Ah, Shirō. Let him in," Hokage replied.

Shirō entered and bowed respectfully.

"Hokage-sama."

"No need to be so formal," Hokage said kindly. "Just relax."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

The Third Hokage observed Shirō for a moment, then smiled.

"How's the recovery?"

"Almost complete. Thank you for your concern, Hokage-sama."

"Good. You're a friend of Kushina's—so that makes you a junior of mine as well. Ah, Orochimaru left this for you."

Hokage produced a scroll from under his desk and handed it to him.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Shirō accepted it, slightly stunned.

So Orochimaru had left a contract scroll with the Hokage? That wasn't like him.

Maybe Orochimaru had discovered something during his research. Whatever it was, it didn't concern Shirō—for now. The Sannin hadn't yet fallen into darkness. He wouldn't kidnap Shirō for experimentation… not yet, anyway. And it wasn't likely that two minor magecraft systems would pique his interest that much.

While waiting for his new teammates to arrive, Hokage continued to chat idly with Shirō—but there was something beneath his words.

Subtle genjutsu. Ideological embedding.

The Will of Fire.

Whether Shirō would become a pillar of Konoha or not, Hokage saw no harm in planting the seed early. It cost nothing—and who knew what kind of tree that seed might grow into.