Guardian's Secret Spell

After beating Nawaki soundly, Satoru contentedly watched his senior brother regain control of his body and flee. Satisfied, Satoru returned home.

He discussed the matter of Orochimaru with his father, Mitokado Homura, and the father and son reached a basic agreement.

"That's for the best. Orochimaru is still a trustworthy person."

Mitokado Homura had a good impression of Orochimaru, the Third Hokage's most accomplished disciple.

"I didn't expect he had already noticed these things, but luckily he has no ill intentions."

Mitokado Homura knew Orochimaru's interests would likely resonate with Satoru, but he hadn't expected him to directly ask Satoru to assist his research.

The advisor pondered for a long time before making this decision.

Orochimaru was now Satoru's teacher, and this status ensured Orochimaru wouldn't harm Satoru.

Furthermore, he had no reason to harm Satoru. The method he proposed seemed somewhat awkward from Mitokado Homura's perspective.

Yes, it must have been a bit awkward for Orochimaru to ask for his student's assistance, and significant assistance at that, while being his teacher.

This wouldn't normally be an issue; it was perfectly normal for students to participate in their teacher's research. The problem was Satoru's extremely young age.

"Moreover, as he said, with both of us covering for you, even Danzō won't pay too much attention to you."

Mitokado Homura recalled the secret research project of Root that Orochimaru had told Satoru about.

"Satoru, you don't need to worry about Root's matters right now. That project is indeed something our village has been researching for a long time, but without much success."

"Even if Danzō's methods are questionable, his loyalty to the village is beyond doubt."

"That experiment is also for the village, but it's recently hit a bottleneck, and we were preparing to give up—this is the last attempt."

Sighing, Homura glanced at the thoughtful Satoru and cautioned him:

"Your main priority now is to get through this war. Don't overthink anything else."

"Okay, but today Orochimaru... Teacher said the Jonin have already started heading to the front lines. Has the situation become that dire?"

"Yes, that's true. That's why you must train diligently under Orochimaru. You might not even wait for the practical combat exercises to conclude before departing with the new Genin."

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses, his expression serious.

"The daily mission requests in the village have decreased significantly, while escort missions are gradually increasing."

"This is inseparable from the escalating tensions at the borders. Merchants traveling between countries are the most affected, and they are also the ones most willing to pay for peace."

"In the past, they had private guards, but now private guards clearly can't meet their security requirements. Hiring ninja has become their best option."

"But... with the tense borders between countries now, wouldn't these types of missions likely involve enemy ninjas?"

Satoru realized what this implied...

"That's right. These missions are generally B-rank or even higher, and the village cannot afford to turn them down. Therefore, you, led by Jonin, are the best candidates to carry them out."

Mitokado Homura nodded and smiled.

"And we encourage you to participate in these missions. This is the best preview before the war. With Jonin leading, the scale of enemy encounters won't be large."

"In a month, many Chunin will be mobilized for the village's defenses. At that time, there will be a shortage of personnel to complete these missions, and you will need to step up."

"Therefore, in a month, it will be time for you to intervene in the war ahead of schedule!"

"I see... War doesn't happen overnight. All the signs need to be carefully addressed."

Satoru nodded in understanding, feeling a newfound admiration for his father's work.

"Old man, dealing with so many complex affairs every day and finding appropriate countermeasures, the higher-ups work very hard too."

"..."

Mitokado Homura stared blankly at his son, who seemed to have suddenly changed his tune, and was momentarily unable to respond.

"What? You're not used to me caring about you occasionally!"

Satoru's face flushed slightly. He quickly finished his meal, dropped his bowl, and ran upstairs. Homura heard him call out as he left:

"Hurry up and eat. You have to work overtime again, right? Don't stay up too late!"

"Heh... Satoru has grown up..."

His nose stinging slightly, Homura took off his fogged-up glasses and began wiping them with the tablecloth.

"He's learned to care. It feels like I raised a fake son before, hahaha..."

Back upstairs, Satoru didn't sit at his desk but threw himself onto the bed.

"Old man... Heh, I'm actually getting sentimental."

Knowing he would soon be on the battlefield in a month, Satoru's mature mindset, which he believed came from his thirty-plus years of life, finally began to fluctuate violently.

Whether one experienced war or not would lead to two completely different lives.

Unlike the innocent children of the Shinobi World, Satoru, having experienced a longer, more comfortable period of peace, held a deeper reverence for war.

However, it wasn't fear.

"The next month is the final preparation. Since I'm here, war is unavoidable."

"Therefore, I need to prepare a few more trump cards that are more suitable for war!"

Satoru had almost mastered the war techniques Orochimaru had taught them, thanks to his astounding learning ability.

Support spells like Arcane Intellect had played a significant role in this.

Currently, Satoru had basic spells for offense, movement, acceleration, survival, and detection, but he still lacked a spell for stealth or long-distance assaults.

The Book of Medivh recorded some very advanced stealth spells.

Specifically, an invisibility spell that provided complete concealment, but Satoru hadn't yet grasped the casting principles for this part.

However...

Unlike ordinary mage lineages, Satoru inherited from the Tirisfal Guardian lineage.

Therefore, there was a secret inherited spell unique to the Guardian lineage that Satoru could learn right now.

And this would be Satoru's greatest trump card for a long time to come.

"I've been coveting this ability for a long time... Wahahaha!"

Satoru opened The Book of Medivh, which radiated a more brilliant arcane glow. After his comprehension reached 40%, Satoru accessed the spell's casting principles.

"Form Change: Raven!"

"Originally, I sealed this spell within Atiesh, but some young apprentice stole it from my Karazhan, which is how they learned it too."

The Book of Medivh contained a long string of complaints that left Satoru speechless.

"The world believes this kind of form change is a secret of the Guardian lineage. In reality, this deformation technique simply has no duration limit, can be cast instantly, and doesn't restrict movement, so it's not that mysterious."

"As for why it's a raven, leading to some patent disputes with the druids' shapeshifting spells regarding appearance, it's just because ravens are said to predict the future, but I tried, and it's useless."

"It doesn't matter if you want to transform into a Siamese cat, which that cat-lover Kel'Thuzad likes; you can change into whatever you can imagine."

"Perhaps you intend to turn into a bear and impersonate a druid, but remember, you're not as durable as they are."

Satoru: "..."