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First Battle, Victory!
Shirō's first target was a chubby, middle-aged ninja.
According to the Exchange's intelligence, the man was skilled in the Body Flicker Technique—but it didn't specify which variant.
That was enough.
Shirō decided to use William Tell's infallible Released Trust Arrow.
Once within effective range, no matter how fast one's Body Flicker was, dodging this arrow was nearly impossible.
Of course, space–time techniques like the Flying Thunder God were an exception.
Still, the arrow wasn't truly invincible. It only guaranteed a "hit," not a kill. Its causality correction simply ensured contact—striking an arm or leg still counted. But even if the target managed to survive the initial shot, he wouldn't escape Shirō.
This man was merely a guard hired by a minor family. For such special targets, the Exchange had informants in place.
Once his death was confirmed, the mission would be settled immediately. Shirō would then go to a designated location to collect a voucher, which he could exchange for payment. As for who delivered it, the Exchange didn't care.
Of course, if one didn't want to wait, bringing the target's corpse directly also worked.
When Shirō arrived, the man was lurking in a shadowed corner of a residence, clearly on alert.
With Gray Snake's assistance, Shirō quickly located him—but he didn't act rashly. Instead, he tightened the Invisibility Cloth around his body, narrowed his eyes, and silently concealed himself.
The target was a family guard, and judging from the situation, some sort of transaction was underway inside. Shirō decided to wait. If he was lucky, he might pick up extra gains.
At this distance, the man was already dead. There was no need to rush.
If things went well, the harvest might exceed the bounty itself. And since Inoshita was nowhere to be found anyway, staking out this spot was the better choice.
So Shirō waited.
And waited.
Time dragged on.
Eventually, his patience ran thin. He sent Gray Snake forward to investigate, only to discover that the people inside were still arguing. Whatever the dispute was about, it didn't look close to being resolved.
After a brief consideration, Shirō abandoned the idea of waiting.
Storming in would create unnecessary variables.
Better to complete the mission cleanly.
Having made up his mind, Shirō projected William Tell's crossbow.
He drew a bead on the target.
The instant he invoked the Noble Phantasm and pulled the trigger, blue Texture surged up his leg.
He stepped forward—
—and charged.
The bolt flew.
The enemy barely managed to block it.
At the same moment, Shirō closed the distance and struck, his reinforced blow crushing the man's throat.
Death was instantaneous.
Shirō wasn't surprised that the target had managed to intercept the bolt.
He had tested this Noble Phantasm before: although it guaranteed a hit, blocking it oneself still counted as being "hit."
Only when the bolt was intercepted by a third party would the causality correction activate and force a redirected trajectory toward the true target.
And that secondary trajectory was far deadlier—after relaxing from the first impact, most opponents would never react in time.
That was why Shirō had once been confident he could kill that Cloud ninja.
Because the Raikage standing in front of him would instinctively block the arrow.
Shirō had trusted him to do so.
And it was precisely that trust which had doomed him.
But this target was different.
This man had no one to rely on.
He trusted only himself.
Which meant he maintained vigilance at all times—and so he managed to block the first strike.
Even so, the gap in strength was overwhelming.
From start to finish, less than ten seconds had passed.
In low-tier ninja engagements, assassination was simply the most reliable method.
After confirming the kill, Shirō severed the man's head and sealed it in a bag. He planned to bring it directly to the Exchange's local branch and trade it for a portable voucher.
This is saved on storage scrolls.
Shirō conserved resources wherever possible. Sealing scrolls weren't cheap, and poverty left no room for luxury.
Voucher secured, Shirō immediately rushed toward his next target.
If he was too slow, he would have to purchase updated intelligence.
That was an expense he preferred to avoid.
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Shirō's second target was an Earth Release specialist.
This time, the Exchange's information was clear: proficient in Earth Release: Hardening Technique, with extremely strong defenses.
According to rumors, he could withstand a C-rank ninjutsu without injury.
In Shirō's opinion, this was either exaggeration—or it wasn't simple hardening at all, but some kind of secret technique or kekkei genkai.
Ordinary Earth Hardening wasn't that impressive unless cultivated to a very high level and backed by massive chakra reserves.
Still, Shirō selected him precisely because he specialized in defense.
Against such opponents, Shirō had even greater confidence.
This round of Exchange missions wasn't just about money.
Shirō had a more important goal.
Training.
Specifically, practicing the release of various Noble Phantasms.
Releasing a Noble Phantasm wasn't as simple as calling out its true name. The chakra pathways had to circulate in precise patterns, synchronizing with Projection and activation.
That required repetition.
Proficiency directly determines release speed.
If Shirō's activation had been fast enough back then, Ai would already be dead.
Many Noble Phantasms could counter Ai.
The problem was timing.
And after enough battles, ninjas developed something akin to Mind's Eye—what most simply called intuition. When faced with lethal danger, the body reacted instinctively.
Shirō didn't need perfection.
He only needed to master a handful of practical Noble Phantasms.
For the rest, familiarity was enough. Projection itself carried echoes of the original wielder's experience.
And the best training ground was real combat.
Only in battle did every flaw reveal itself.
This—not money—was Shirō's true objective.
If profit were his sole concern, he could simply don a helmet to conceal his identity and sell explosive tags to wealthy clans.
The returns would be enormous.
And his identity would remain hidden.
But that path would dull his edge.
Shirō was still a ninja.
And combat proficiency was his lifeline.
So this was the most reasonable choice.
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By the time his thoughts settled, Shirō had already reached the town where his second target was staying.
He took a high vantage point and swept the area with Clairvoyance.
Not spotting the man outside, Shirō considered briefly, then summoned a cluster of small snakes and sent them into the town to gather information.
At the same time, he began moving in himself—quietly removing his mask and conspicuous equipment.
That outfit was far too eye-catching.
It was useful for intimidation, not infiltration.
Now, it would only alert his prey.
Not long after entering the town, Shirō—who had been strolling casually down the street—paused.
Then he turned and headed in another direction.
At that very moment, his target was still eating in an inn, completely unaware of Shirō's arrival.
The man was worrying about his next job.
He usually accepted missions from the Exchange, but most of the earnings went straight into indulgence.
After all, even if he wanted to convert money into strength, he lacked the channels. Ninjutsu weren't something you could simply buy.
Because of that, he only took missions when his funds ran low.
He had no idea that death was already walking toward him.
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