Chapter 99

At the end of December, the harsh winter arrived.

Snowflakes began to dance in the sky over Konoha, and the river's surface was covered with ice.

After completing the last mission of the year, Ryūri stayed at home.

If nothing special happened, this situation would likely continue until mid-January of the following year, before she would consider taking on another mission.

Opening the door, one could see a thick layer of snow covering the ground in the courtyard outside.

Shirashi sat opposite Ryūri, with a table between them.

Yingwu, the shadow dancer, placed the tea and pastries on the table and then retreated silently to the side, occasionally stealing curious glances at the two.

For her, who was not yet half a year old, the relationships between humans sometimes seemed overly complicated.

For example, in her observation of others, she found that they had only one father and one mother.

But her father was indeed only one, yet she had two 'mothers.'

Moreover, her brother, Tōshōgun, had a peculiar body. She often used her shadow blade to remove his head and examine it, trying to find out why he could always remain lively and never die.

But after a long period of observation, she found nothing special inside.

His body, both externally and internally, was made of soft clay, and there seemed to be no special substance beyond that.

Not only was his physique different from normal humans, but the words he spoke were also incomprehensible, making normal communication impossible.

These things were indeed difficult for her, who was not yet half a year old, to understand.

"I've heard some things about Kakashi in the village recently. It seems he's had conflicts with many teams."

Ryūri picked up her teacup and took a sip of the hot tea.

"Isn't that to be expected? Ignoring the safety of his teammates and focusing only on completing the mission will naturally make his teammates dissatisfied and exclude him."

Shirashi shrugged and said.

"Sometimes, I really can't understand what the higher-ups are thinking. Kakashi has become this way, and they are partly to blame."

Ryūri snorted.

In her view, Kakashi's thoughts were indeed extreme.

But if you think about it, wasn't it the inaction of the higher-ups that led to Kakashi's current state?

"To maintain the balance of power in the village, our Hokage cannot take on these responsibilities proactively. Therefore, the existence of the Root organization becomes meaningful."

Shirashi looked at the snowflakes dancing in the courtyard, falling gently to the ground, and said with a smile while enjoying the beautiful snow scene.

To better manage Konoha, the Hokage must maintain a bright and just image, becoming a role model and leader for all Konoha ninjas and villagers.

But in such a vast Konoha, it's impossible to completely avoid any dirt. Where there is light, there is bound to be darkness.

Therefore, with a bright and just Hokage, someone must also bear the dark side to better protect the village's interests and order.

Thus, the Root organization, which bears all the darkness and sins of Konoha, was born under the consistent push of the higher-ups.

From the moment it was born, this organization had the worst reputation, doing the dirtiest work, and its leader, Danzō, was known as the 'Shadow of the Shinobi.'

This was because of his ruthless and merciless methods, willing to do anything to achieve his goals.

Such a dangerous figure, with a group of equally extreme-minded ninjas under him, had handled countless dirty deeds in secret, making the 'Shadow of the Shinobi' name well-deserved.

To be honest, in this regard, Shirashi admired the political acumen of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

This arrangement, from a strategic perspective, had no major flaws.

But the problem was that the measures taken by the Third Hokage after that were a typical failure—

Allowing the Root organization to grow unchecked, not restricting it thoroughly when necessary, and lacking the strong hand to control this vast darkness were all issues.

For the high-ranking officials who made major mistakes, there was no immediate and substantial punishment, and the subordinates whose interests were harmed were not properly appeased. This directly led to a serious lack of distinction between personal and public matters, losing credibility.

Therefore, the balance maintained on the premise of indulging the Root organization not only did not benefit Konoha but often consumed the village's internal strength, putting Konoha's future in an awkward situation of reverse growth.

If a great war broke out, Konoha might face a very difficult battle, even the risk of destruction.

As for whether Konoha could produce a great hero to turn the tide, Shirashi could not predict.

The future was simply too unpredictable.

And Shirashi himself was not very interested in such matters.

By that time, he would have already left Konoha, and whether Konoha was destroyed or reborn, he could just watch from the sidelines.

"By the way, take this. I've finished making it, and it took quite a bit of time."

Shirashi suddenly remembered something, took out two black metal rings from his pocket, and placed them in front of Ryūri.

"What is this?"

"It's similar to the chakra restrictor you gave to the genin for training. The difference is that this is a specially reinforced chakra restrictor, suitable only for jōnin."

Shirashi emphasized this point.

If a genin or chūnin wore this level of chakra restrictor, although it wouldn't be life-threatening, they wouldn't be able to perform jutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu smoothly.

These three combat methods all rely on the circulation of chakra within the body to be released.

Especially for taijutsu, the faster the chakra circulates within the body, the stronger the taijutsu. Conversely, the slower the chakra circulates, the harder it is to perform taijutsu effectively.

Ryūri put one of the black metal rings on her left hand.

On the surface, her body showed no change, but only Ryūri knew that the speed of chakra circulation in her body, though not completely stopped, was no faster than a turtle's crawl.

Given this severely restricted state of chakra circulation, it would not be easy to train the chakra circulation in her body to return to normal.

Then, Ryūri looked at the second metal ring, wondering what would happen if she put it on.

One ring had already slowed down her chakra circulation so much that putting on the second one might really bring her chakra to a 'standstill.'

Shirashi seemed to read Ryūri's thoughts, took a sip of tea, and said slowly, "It's better to take it step by step. Even for you, wearing one chakra restrictor is the limit right now. Once you get used to the first one, you can put on the second one for training. Since you'll be resting in the village for a while, with your abilities, overcoming the first chakra restrictor within a month shouldn't be too difficult."

"A month? Does it really need that long?"

Ryūri was not convinced by the one-month timeframe.

She expected to complete this training in about half a month.

"This is a conservative estimate. The stronger a ninja's chakra, the more chakra they need to control, and the harder it is to overcome the restrictor."

Shirashi explained a bit.

"Then I'll go try it out. How about you, want to come along?"

Ryūri stood up from her seat and invited Shirashi to the training ground to test her current strength under the restricted state.

"I'll pass. I have work to do later."

Shirashi shook his head and declined.

"You're getting lazier. If you keep this up, I'm worried your skills will deteriorate. Last time, your taijutsu was already quite rusty."

Ryūri frowned, dissatisfied with Shirashi's current lazy attitude towards training.

"That's not a problem. Don't worry, Yingwu can protect me."

Shirashi said with a smile.

Although he was proficient in many chakra nature transformations, it was all for his research.

Specializing in various elemental jutsu and mastering them would only分散 his energy, making it a bit counterproductive.

Because, whether it was Tōshōgun or Yingwu, they were all part of him, and in a strict sense, they were also a manifestation of his strength.

Shirashi believed that this was his unique way of becoming stronger.

If his strength was insufficient, he could create a 'clone' that could adapt to any environment and fight enemies.

As long as this power was in his hands, that was enough.

Seeing that Shirashi was unmoved, Ryūri huffed and went to the training ground alone.

Watching Ryūri leave, Shirashi continued to drink his hot tea and enjoy the snow outside.

"Alright, back to work."

Shirashi finished speaking and slowly stood up.

The moment he stood up, Yingwu transformed into a black shadow, moving like lightning on the floor, and actively merged into Shirashi's shadow, disappearing.

As Shirashi's current personal guard, Yingwu often followed him closely, protecting the life of this creator.

◎

Konoha Year 42, February.

At this time, the Ninja Academy would have a few days off, and students didn't need to attend classes.

In late January, after the New Year Festival, Ryūri had already resumed her jōnin duties and went to the Hokage Tower to take on missions.

It seemed that only Shirashi was idle.

Occasionally, a cute little girl named Rin would come to him to learn some medical jutsu.

Of course, behind this cute little girl, there was always a guy named Obito, who could be called a 'god licker' of the goddess.

This guy seemed to be in the same class as Kakashi, and Shirashi often heard him talk about surpassing Kakashi.

But Shirashi thought this was a bit unrealistic.

Kakashi graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of five, became a chūnin at six, and the word 'genius' was not enough to describe his exceptional talent.

As for Obito, this kid would say he would work hard, but then he would encounter old ladies in trouble on the road, and the training would be forgotten.

Shirashi didn't know how to comment on this kid's constitution, saying he had a 'peach blossom' destiny... but why were the ones attracted to him all old ladies?

Or were the old ladies attracting him?

A 100% 'old lady' constitution?

No matter how you looked at it, this was a very strange kid.

"Hey, Obito, it's already so late, don't you need to go home?"

Shirashi looked up and shouted loudly to Obito, who was doing physical training by hanging upside down on a snow-covered branch.

Shirashi, who had nothing to do recently, sometimes accompanied Obito in training.

Occasionally going out to relax was good for physical and mental health.

He didn't want to go bald at such a young age.

"Not yet, I've only been training for less than an hour."

Looking at the sky, it was still a while before dark, and Obito didn't give up on training.

"It's because you spent a lot of time with three old ladies this afternoon."

"Mind your own business! You can go back first if you want. You're just a freeloader, what are you being so arrogant about?"

Obito panted heavily while doing pull-ups upside down.

Seeing him sweating profusely in the cold weather, it was clear he was training seriously.

"191... 192... 100... Ah!"

Panicking, Obito's chakra on the soles of his feet malfunctioned, separating from the branch, and he fell headfirst to the ground.

His head was buried in the snow, and his body was twitching slightly.

Shirashi blew a puff of white breath between his palms, rubbed them, and stood there watching, not offering any help.

This kind of idiot always had a strong vitality and boundless energy.

"Cough, cough!"

Sure enough, Obito struggled out of the snow, spat out all the snow in his mouth, and coughed violently, his face red.

"Damn it! Just eight more and I would have reached two hundred!"

Obito said with a look of frustration.

"Give up. Kakashi could do better than you two years ago. The gap between you is getting bigger."

Shirashi said.

"It's just a chūnin. I'll definitely graduate from the Ninja Academy next year!"

Obito made a bold statement.

Although Shirashi didn't think Obito had that kind of talent, this spirit of not giving up and striving to catch up was commendable.

"You try your best. If you activate the Sharingan in the future, you might really be able to do it."

Shirashi didn't want to crush Obito's confidence.

This guy was optimistic, but his brain was always missing a few screws. Training wasn't just about shouting slogans.

Kakashi's self-discipline was even more rigorous than Obito's.

Geniuses aren't scary; what's scary is that geniuses work harder than ordinary people.

Therefore, following the normal trajectory, Shirashi didn't think Obito could catch up to Kakashi.

Obito was about to smile when Shirashi added, "But I think with your talent, you probably won't activate the Sharingan in your lifetime. After all, you're the bottom of the class. The Sharingan is a dōjutsu that only elite Uchiha ninjas can activate."

"You bastard! How dare you look down on me! Taste the anger fist of the Uchiha clan!"

Obito jumped up from the snow and launched a fierce punch at Shirashi.

Dealing with this brainless kid was indeed troublesome.

But as an object of entertainment when bored, he could bring a lot of joy.

Without thinking, Shirashi sidestepped, letting the furious Obito fall face-first into the snow.

"I've told you many times, if you can't control your body, don't use such exaggerated punches. The first time you fought me, it was the same. In battle, this is a fatal mistake, easily exploited by enemies for a one-hit kill."

"It's because you said I would never activate the Sharingan in my life!"

Obito sat on the snow, arms crossed, pouting and looking away, seemingly ignoring Shirashi.

Thinking about it, that was indeed the case.

For Uchiha clan ninjas, not being able to activate the Sharingan meant being the bottom of the class.

Obito had always wanted to prove his strength, and the Sharingan was a symbol of the Uchiha clan's power.

No wonder he was angry.

"My point is, not activating the Sharingan might actually be a good thing for you."

Shirashi walked over, pulled Obito up from the snow, and said.

"Huh? Why?"

Obito looked puzzled.

"Because you're an idiot. If an idiot activates the Sharingan, it would be like the end of the world. Think about it, isn't that the case?"

Shirashi said seriously.

"You freeloader bastard, take another anger fist!"

In the snow, Obito's loud roar echoed.

...

"Don't think that just because you bought me dumplings, I'll forgive you! When I activate the Sharingan, it will be your end! Be prepared!"

On the way back, Obito ate the dumplings Shirashi bought for him and threatened him fiercely.

"No problem, Ryūri will protect me. Your Sharingan won't work on me."

Shirashi brought out his strongest shield—Uchiha Ryūri.

"..."

Obito felt a bitter taste in his mouth, a bit sour.

"Hey, can't you accept my challenge like a man?"

Obito was at a loss with this guy.

In terms of being shameless, he, Uchiha Obito, admitted that this guy was the strongest.

"I'm a medical ninja, so I don't need to focus on strength. Of course, if you want to compete in medical jutsu, I'm always ready."

Shirashi said with a carefree smile.

"..."

Obito took a deep breath.

Calm down.

Stay cool.

Don't get angry.