Early the next morning, when Shiraishi woke up, he stood silently before the mirror for a moment, studying his own reflection.
Those fragmented memories surfaced again—scattered, disordered flashes. No matter how hard he tried to grasp them, they slipped away, leaving behind only vague impressions. After a brief pause, he steadied his breathing and calmed his mind.
Before leaving, Maki had thoughtfully placed a freshly laundered set of clothes by the door. Shiraishi put on the teal-colored long robe, fastened his Sunagakure forehead protector, and stepped out of his small courtyard.
The sunlight over Sunagakure was unusually harsh today.
As Shiraishi walked through the village streets, he noticed familiar faces smiling at him—friendly, approving smiles.
The Quicksand Valley mission had been nothing short of stunning.
Single-handedly killing three rogue ninja—one of whom was a puppet master with strength close to jōnin level—had instantly made Shiraishi famous. Overnight, he became the acknowledged genius of Sunagakure's younger generation.
And that wasn't all.
The consecutive submission of two self-developed, high-potential ninjutsu had firmly solidified his reputation.
In less than a single day, his name had spread throughout the village.
It was obvious that someone was deliberately fanning the flames, pushing Shiraishi into the spotlight—making him a focal point within Sunagakure.
Before heading to Ebizō's residence, Shiraishi made a detour to visit the Jogaki family.
As one of Sunagakure's top ninja tool–crafting clans, this visit had a specific purpose: commissioning a weapon forged using a special technique.
"Deep-Sea Mithril… this is the material you want used?"
Jogaki Hayato—Jogaki Shikasa's father—was already past forty. As the finest weapon craftsman of the Jogaki clan, and given his son's relationship with Shiraishi, he personally handled the commission.
When he saw the material listed on the order, his eyes lit up.
The rewards Shiraishi received—two ninjutsu submissions and an A-rank mission—had largely been spent acquiring this rare resource from the Land of Water. Since he lacked the proper trade channels, he had entrusted the task to the Jogaki family.
Deep-Sea Mithril was an extremely rare mineral native to the Land of Water. It shared certain properties with mercury but possessed far stronger chakra adhesion. Many nations had tried—and failed—to craft effective ninja tools from it.
The core issue was instability.
The material's structure was notoriously difficult to control, making it nearly impossible to shape into a stable weapon.
However, when Shiraishi unfolded his design draft and handed it over, both Hayato and his wife were immediately drawn in.
"So that's it…" Hayato murmured.
"Only by using this method can Deep-Sea Mithril's properties be fully realized."
"I understand," he said after a moment. "I'll give it a try."
Shiraishi's blueprint was only a preliminary framework. Deep-Sea Mithril was merely the foundation. Once the weapon was completed, he intended to conduct further processing and modifications himself.
After all, a weapon forged from Deep-Sea Mithril was meant to be his trump card.
Even the Jogaki family didn't need to know too much.
After bidding the couple farewell, Shiraishi headed straight for Ebizō's residence—located within Sunagakure's most valuable land: the Oasis Ring.
The Oasis Ring occupied only one-tenth of the village's total area, yet it boasted the finest living conditions. Sunagakure's true great clans, the Kazekage and the Council of Elders, all resided here.
Ebizō lived in a large estate within the ring, shared with his elder sister, Chiyo.
The two enjoyed the highest level of treatment Sunagakure could offer.
On most days, their routine was simple—fishing, board games, and idle leisure. As senior elders, they rarely handled trivial matters; those were left to the Kazekage. Their role was to advise, not manage.
Beyond their living quarters, the estate housed many restricted facilities—important puppet mechanisms, preserved secret pharmaceutical formulas, and classified techniques.
By all rights, such assets should have been under the Kazekage's control.
But without the elders' consent, Sunagakure itself had no authority to touch them.
Ebizō wore the same plain clothes as the day before.
With reading glasses perched on his nose, he sat in his study, copying excerpts from several books. From time to time, he burst into hearty laughter.
Shiraishi entered politely.
The atmosphere shifted for a brief moment—then quickly returned to normal.
Seeing him, Ebizō smiled broadly.
"So, Sunagakure's young genius has arrived."
"Elder," Shiraishi greeted simply.
Ebizō waved his hand, assuming the posture of a strict senior.
"Ten days," he said. "Read everything on the first and second shelves in this study. Write down any questions you have. I'll come back after ten days."
From beginning to end, Ebizō never mentioned taking Shiraishi as a disciple.
Instead, he left him alone in the study.
As Sunagakure's foremost strategist, Ebizō had mastered more ninjutsu than anyone else in the village. He possessed four chakra natures—Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire.
Beyond battlefield techniques acquired over the years, he had also developed several original jutsu with other attributes. Their power was average, but their theoretical depth was exceptional.
Most of the books here were his personal collection—advanced chakra theory, geography, climate, and cultural studies from various nations.
The scope was astonishingly broad.
Watching Ebizō stroll out cheerfully, Chiyo—who was fishing nearby—couldn't help but comment.
"Your way of choosing disciples is really something. You just lock him in a study and make him read?"
She couldn't quite understand her brother's approach.
Over the past decades, many shinobi had sought to apprentice under Ebizō. Most had been driven away by this very ten-day reading trial.
She had thought Shiraishi would be different.
After all, his genius was the talk of the entire village.
Yet not only did Ebizō leave him in the study—he made it harder.
Previously, candidates were given fifteen days to read just the first shelf.
Shiraishi had only ten days—and twice the material.
Inside the study, Shiraishi calmly put on his glasses.
In moments, he scanned the entire room.
Page after page, the contents were automatically recorded and stored within the device.
Beyond enhancing his abilities and collecting data, the glasses possessed auxiliary functions—such as image-text storage. Though the internal database was empty, it could be used for rapid scanning and preservation.
Once the entire study had been archived, Shiraishi removed the glasses.
He selected several key books, opened them, and began reading carefully—scribbling concise notes along the margins as he went.
The ten days had begun.
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