The Forgemage of Konoha

Destruction

Minato was silent for a moment after hearing Shirō's idea. Then he said,

"Shirō, do you think I mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique… or just how to throw a Flying Thunder God Kunai?"

"…," Shirō fell silent. He understood what Minato meant.

The Flying Thunder God Kunai was merely a marker. It was Minato himself who cast the Flying Thunder God Technique (Hiraishin no Jutsu)—a complex Space-Time Ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Simply projecting the kunai without understanding the technique's fundamentals was, in essence, a pipe dream.

Seeing Shirō's dejected expression, Minato smiled and added,

"If you really want to learn it, get permission from the Hokage. Once that's done, I can teach you myself."

"Sigh~ Forget it. I'll just stick to practicing my own Secret Skill."

Truthfully, Shirō had already obtained the theoretical structure of the Flying Thunder God when he projected the kunai. That was one of the benefits of Projection Magic—he could recreate an object and gain insights into its function. But theory alone wasn't enough.

First of all, Shirō understood his own limitations.

Although he'd studied Sealing Techniques under Kushina for some time and could recognize every individual symbol in the Flying Thunder God formula, recognizing them separately wasn't enough. It was like knowing the English alphabet but being unable to comprehend advanced grammar or vocabulary. You might know the letters, but not what the sentence means.

Thus, his grasp of Fūinjutsu was still at the elementary level—enough for minor seals, but far from enough for a high-level technique like Hiraishin.

Secondly, his schedule was already packed. Adding Flying Thunder God to the mix would spread him too thin.

So, Shirō politely declined Minato and chose instead to focus on learning the Shadow Clone Technique.

With this, his learning speed would increase dramatically. And indeed, Shirō managed to master it in a single afternoon.

Not because he was suddenly a genius. Nor because the Shadow Clone Technique was easy—it was a B-rank jutsu and known to require large Chakra reserves. No, it was because Shirō had already been secretly practicing it for days.

He was already on the verge of mastering it. Minato and Kushina's guidance merely gave him the final push he needed.

After all, this technique was a major cheat for Naruto in the original story—and one that could be learned. Shirōhad no reason to pass it up.

Of course, he wasn't as reckless as Naruto. He didn't dare split into dozens of clones. Just one was enough.

Previously, he'd been cautious about being discovered and practiced in secret, which had slowed his progress. But now, having officially learned it, he could finally use it more freely—especially to speed up his Magical studies.

Currently, Shirō's focus remained on fundamentals and theoretical accumulation.

---

———————Dividing Line——————

"I'm back," Shirōcalled out as he pushed open the front door. No one responded.

"Huh? No one home?" he muttered.

After confirming the house was empty, Shirō went to the training ground behind the house. It was quiet there—perfect for testing out new training routines.

This area was technically shared between his family and Okita's, though neither of them used it often. The main reason? Repairs.

As it was private property, any destruction would have to be fixed by the owners themselves. So unless the training was minimal, they avoided using it.

Thus, Shirō usually only came here when he needed stillness.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

With a poof, a clone appeared beside him.

He instructed the clone to study from a Magic scroll, while the main body began practicing hand seals—not for a Sealing Technique this time, but something else.

To an outsider, it might look like he was aimlessly cycling through various hand signs. But in truth, Shirō was dissecting the hand seals for Wind Release: Divine Gale (Fūton: Shinpu) and training in segments.

Unless someone was painstakingly tracking each finger sign, the misdirection was perfect.

The reason? Shirō guessed that Nakamura would be teaching him Divine Gale soon.

Not because he had any clairvoyance, but because it was the only large-area Wind Release jutsu Nakamura knew, and it synergized well with his friend Shimizu's style.

Given that the "Bloodthirsty Demoness"—Shirō's projection—amplified Wind Release techniques significantly, large-area jutsu were a natural fit.

Personally, Shirō felt that Wind Release: Thousand-Faced Wind would be more suitable, but unfortunately, Nakamura didn't know that technique. Shirō, of course, did, thanks to Projection Magic—but he lacked a believable source for how he'd learned it.

So for now, he chose practicality over optimization and settled on Divine Gale.

Why waste time mastering a high-compatibility jutsu if you can't explain how you got it?

With Projection Magic as a trump card, Shirō didn't lack power. He just needed to appear appropriately average.

Thus, his main body practiced segmented hand seals, while the Shadow Clone focused on Barrier Magic.

When Shirō's Chakra was running low, he dispelled the clone, absorbing its experience—a fundamental advantage of the Shadow Clone Technique.

After all, even practicing hand seals consumed Chakra. And so did his Reinforcement Magic and Projection Magic.

For now, his training cycle was efficient.

Eventually, though, his Chakra ran dry—after all, he was still under eight years old, and his reserves were modest at best.

This reinforced the urgency of his current goal: speed up the construction of his Magic Workshop. Once complete, it could draw from the underground spiritual veins to restore his Magic energy, or rather, Chakra.

Spiritual veins were a Type-Moon concept, but Shirō was convinced the Naruto World had equivalents—even if they were unnamed or referred to differently.

Based on Medea's knowledge inherited through the system, he was sure they existed.

---

As of now, Shirō's Magic Level was C++, comparable to a Kakashi without Sharingan—not bad at all. But that level described his adult potential.

At present, his Chakra pool was nowhere near enough to project high-rank Noble Phantasms.

He estimated that for the foreseeable future, he could only project C-rank Noble Phantasms. Anything higher would demand more Chakra than he currently had.

Hence, Projection Magic was demoted to secondary status for now.

Not because it was weak—but because his Chakra supply was the bottleneck, not his proficiency.

So, for now, Shirō merely trained Projection Magic daily to improve his speed and duration.

His main priorities were now Reinforcement Magic and Barrier Magic.

Of the two, Barrier Magic held more strategic value—especially if he could complete a Magic Workshop and create a stable mana regeneration zone.

Because when that happens, his Magus side could finally stand toe-to-toe with the world's strongest ninja.