The Forgemage of Konoha

The Mission

Shirō busied himself with his kunai and scrolls. "Watch carefully," he said. "This technique has quite a few hand seals."

With that, he began forming seals while Nakamura and the others observed with serious expressions.

Five seconds passed… and Shirō was still weaving hand seals.

Ten seconds… still forming.

Nakamura and the other two: "..."

By the time thirty seconds had passed, Shirō finally completed the jutsu. His current hand seal speed was decent—barely reaching three seals per second, which was actually impressive by ordinary standards.

Back in his old world, Shirō had once seen a forum post claiming some shinobi could perform twelve hand seals per second. At the time, he thought it was nonsense. But now? Now he knew—it wasn't.

Technically, even Shirō could reach twelve per second if it was just forming empty seals. But the real challenge lay in coordinating Chakra with the seals. Without that synchronization, it was meaningless—just empty gestures.

Anyway, the point was this: the Sealing Technique he just performed was excellent for hand seal practice… but incredibly tedious.

Shaking out the numbness in his hands, Shirō muttered, "Eighty-three seals in total."

Nakamura and the other two stared at him like he was some kind of lunatic. Even Nakamura, a seasoned jonin, would take about twenty seconds to get through that sequence. For one particular member of their squad, this was nothing short of a nightmare.

Predictably, Shikamaru exploded. "Are you insane?! There's no way I'm learning a technique with that many seals! I'd rather die on a mission!"

Uchiha Taiyi didn't say anything, but the scowl on his face spoke volumes.

"Hehe, Nakamura-sensei," Shirō said cheerfully, "please supervise them well. This technique is excellent for refining their hand seal proficiency."

Immediately, Shikamaru and Taiyi turned their pleading eyes to Nakamura, praying for mercy. But their hope was in vain.

"Don't worry," Nakamura said with a grin. "I'll personally supervise your practice."

Shikamaru and Taiyi: Orz…

Nakamura glanced at his depressed students and then at the smug Shirō, who was grinning like a fox. With his years of experience, Nakamura could tell immediately that the jutsu had value. If even a Genin like Shirō could see its worth, how could he not?

Despite the high number of seals, Shirō had managed to execute the technique twice that day before his chakra began to wane. And even then, he still had enough chakra left for one or two more activations. That kind of efficiency in a training technique was rare.

It was precisely this balance—difficulty, practicality, and chakra cost—that made the technique valuable. It could even be practiced mid-mission without draining one's stamina excessively.

Shikamaru, of course, didn't care about all that. He was just lazy.

But since Nakamura had given the order, they had no choice.

So, with the sun still high in the sky, Nakamura had Shirō begin instructing the others.

Shikamaru cursed his luck. Why, oh why, had he ever agreed with Shirō earlier? If he could rewind time, he'd slap his past self!

Now, all he could do was grit his teeth and start practicing.

While Shikamaru fumed, Shirō was in high spirits. After all, sharing suffering was a great way to relieve your own. Truly, the ancients did not lie.

Fortunately, both Shikamaru and Taiyi learned the technique quicker than expected. The only real challenge was the sheer number of seals, and both were considered geniuses—so they picked it up within a day.

After training, they didn't immediately disperse. No matter the era, a shared meal was always the fastest way to build bonds.

Naturally, the captain paid.

Shirō had only just recovered from a week in the hospital, and his own wallet was bone dry. Living off his mother's support, he wasn't about to treat anyone to a meal with his parents' money.

Besides, Nakamura wasn't the kind of person to let his students pay on their first team outing.

It was during this meal that Uchiha Taiyi's attitude toward Shirō began to change. A full day of joint training had given him a new appreciation for Shirō's abilities.

Shirō took note and was quietly pleased.

After all, they'd be going on missions together—it was better to get along.

Plus, Uchiha clan members made reliable allies when they weren't brooding or going rogue. They were powerful, loyal, and rarely petty—until they snapped.

Take Uchiha Obito, for instance. A kind, selfless boy who helped old ladies cross the road… until his crush died. Then he turned into a world-ending terrorist. Sure, Madara manipulated him, but it just showed how terrifying the Uchiha could be once they turned dark.

Still, Obito had good intentions deep down. He genuinely believed he was saving the world—just got led astray.

As his thoughts drifted, Shirō returned to the present and faced his greatest enemy yet—dinner table competition.

"Hey! Leave some for me, you two pigs!"

"Haha! First come, first served!"

"What?! Nakamura, you old miser! May the Hokage curse you to a lifetime of loneliness!"

"You brat! That's seriously messed up!"

---

Night Divider

The next morning, Shirō woke up early. Today was his first official mission as a member of Nakamura's squad.

Nakamura had informed them yesterday that the mission was significant and that they'd be gathering at the village gate first thing.

Their get-together hadn't lasted long—partly because of the mission, partly because Nakamura's wallet was still recovering. He had a fiancée to think of, after all.

When Shirō reached the gate, Nakamura and Uchiha Taiyi had just arrived as well. Shikamaru, however, was nowhere to be seen.

But Shirō wasn't worried. That entire clan was full of geniuses… and every one of them was incredibly lazy. It was practically hereditary.

Sure enough, Shikamaru strolled up exactly on time.

"Yo. You guys are early."

The three ignored him. Shirō and Taiyi turned to Nakamura, waiting for the mission details.

"This one's a bit tricky," Nakamura began. "Shikamaru, we're going to need you to take this seriously."

"No problem, sensei," Shikamaru replied lazily. "So, what's the job?"

"We're tracking a squad of rogue ninja. According to intel, they consist of one Jonin, three Chunin, and four Genin."

"...!!!"

All three Genin stared at Nakamura, stunned.

That kind of lineup was no joke—they were severely outmatched on paper.

"The village is short-handed right now," Nakamura explained. "We've been assigned this task out of necessity. That's why I'll be counting on you, Shikamaru."

For once, Shikamaru dropped the lazy act. Taking the intelligence scroll, he began studying it carefully.

Shirō and Taiyi didn't interrupt—they watched in silence.

After a while, Shikamaru looked up, brow furrowed.

"We should head out. The enemy was last spotted in the Land of Rivers. I have a general strategy in mind, but I'll need to refine it as we travel."

"Alright," Nakamura nodded. "We're not in a rush yet. Let's move."

"Yes, sir!" the three choruses.