Dinner passed without incident. But as they parted, Izumi Orange gazed at his face and said softly, "You're so handsome. Don't die."
"I have no intention of dying."
The barbecue restaurant was quieter than ever. Tonight, they were its only customers.
The owner took the money Izumi Orange handed over and sighed. "You two are teachers at the Ninja Academy, right?"
"How can you tell?"
"Only the Ninja Academy's staff and the hospital workers haven't gone to the front lines. But the hospital staff are so busy they barely have time to breathe, so that leaves the Ninja Academy. It wasn't hard to guess."
They paid and left.
The streetlights along Konoha's roads cast a dim glow. Izumi Orange's shadow stretched long before gradually fading into the darkness.
With his hands in his pockets, Byakuya made a stop at the market.
It was around seven. Though the weather had turned cold and darkness fell early, from past experience, there should still have been vendors selling vegetables at the market.
Most of them were villagers who grew vegetables in their own gardens. Since they didn't have enough to justify opening a shop, they spread cloths on the ground along the streets designated by the village and called out to passersby.
Their prices were far higher than elsewhere.
But there was no helping it. Konoha was practically a city unto itself, with a large population and huge daily consumption. Supplies shipped in from outside couldn't keep up with demand.
He stood at the street corner.
The market was deserted.
There was nothing there.
"So this is what war is like? It drastically changes the ordinary routines we used to take for granted?"
The flower shops were still open. They were run by the Yamanaka Clan—or rather, every one of the village's prestigious clans had its own businesses.
The "Pig" in the Ino-Shika-Cho trio ran the many flower shops scattered throughout Konoha. As for what they did behind the scenes, Byakuya had no way of knowing.
After all, the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques could read the memories of the dead and transmit information over long distances.
That had to be a lucrative business.
When he got home,
Byakuya casually put on a mask and headed into the depths of the forest outside the village.
Effort brought rewards, and hard work bore fruit.
The limited-time tasks issued by the Fate Grid were difficult, but their rewards were generous. It was only fair.
Byakuya reviewed what had gone wrong last time, and his training went much more smoothly this time.
It wasn't until the middle of the night,
as he listened to the forest's strange and varied sounds,
that he brought up the panel.
Heaven Rewards Diligence, Perseverance Leads to Success Limited time: 6 days: Release chakra from the tip of your index finger, form one hundred water droplets on the surface without letting them spread, and maintain them for thirty seconds (52/100) Reward: Improved chakra control
His progress was faster than he'd expected.
There was plenty of time left to complete the task. It wasn't worth sacrificing sleep.
Sleep was also one of the most important ways to restore chakra.
Besides completing Fate Grid tasks, Byakuya had to train in the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He'd put Water Release: Water Severing Wave aside for now and try again once his chakra control improved.
Meanwhile, the idea of developing a new Storm Release technique was gradually taking shape in his mind.
During the Fourth Shinobi World War in the original story, Uchiha Madara, who was close to the Sage of Six Paths in strength, had used a technique called "Sage Art: Storm Release Light Fang."
He fired a laser from his mouth, a chakra beam much like the one from Water Release: Water Gun Technique.
The Storm Release: Torrent Lightning he'd developed from Water Wave could be focused on a single point, but it still retained Water Wave's nature as a wide-area impact technique.
Now he had Senju Tobirama's Water Release: Water Severing Wave scroll, which also explained the technique's principles.
He could use Uchiha Madara's Storm Release: Light Fang as a model, apply the principles of Water Severing Wave, and develop a Storm Release technique of his own.
Byakuya also knew that the two techniques had entirely different chakra natures.
The beauty of Storm Release was that it was a Kekkei Genkai formed by combining Water and Lightning chakra. That gave him room to experiment.
"A new technique requires excellent chakra control. I have to finish the limited-time task before I can start working on it."
"Danzo still hasn't given me a new mission. He's definitely cooking up something big."
"The new mission will probably involve the Sand Ninjas on the western front or the Mist Ninjas on the eastern front."
The two fronts posed different levels of danger. Sunagakure, weakened by constant infighting, was bound to be safer than the treacherous Kirigakure.
With Kirigakure's brutal methods of training its ninja, even a moderately powerful Mist Ninja would be hard to deal with.
That was assuming his mission against Sunagakure didn't make him run into an enemy like Pakura again.
"Wait, is the Third Mizukage of Kirigakure still alive at this point?"
Byakuya had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leap to the outskirts of the forest when the thought suddenly occurred to him. "Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura didn't seal the Three-Tails inside himself until after Nohara Rin died."
He racked his brain, but the original story's timeline for the Third Shinobi World War was so muddled that he couldn't recall anything useful.
Back home, he sank into the bathtub.
Byakuya murmured, "The Third Shinobi World War only started recently. Konoha has established defensive lines against Iwagakure and Kumogakure on the main battlefield. Sunagakure in the Land of Wind is facing trouble both inside and out, and Rasa probably only recently secured his position. With Iwagakure's invasion having failed, they might lie low for a while. In the east, Kirigakure is still looking for a chance to land. The question is, when will the Seven Ninja Swordsmen show up... Wait."
He suddenly sat upright in the tub.
"Namikaze Minato is being held up on the main battlefield by Killer B and the future Fourth Raikage, while the Third Raikage is fighting Iwagakure. Is he going to die surrounded by the Iwa Ninja?"
Even with his bird's-eye view, he had so little information about the battlefields that he couldn't draw any firm conclusions.
"Forget it. What does it have to do with me?"
"As long as I keep my head down and survive, that's all that matters."
Byakuya's expression darkened. "If Danzo let me find out about someone like Izumi Orange, he definitely wasn't up to any good."
Sure enough,
the next day, Hiroya came to see him, beaming with excitement.
"Byakuya, I really became the Ninja Academy principal! The great Third decided to step behind the scenes and become the Konoha Ninja Academy's honorary principal!"
"Congratulations, Principal Hiroya."
"Please, sit down. There's something else."
"What is it?"
Hiroya took several deep breaths, tamping down his excitement, then solemnly handed him a scroll.
"This is your new mission."
"Have you read it, Principal?"
"I'm not qualified to know what this mission entails."
Byakuya didn't rush to open it. "When does it start?"
"They said you have four days to prepare. Try to bring as many supplies as you can carry."
"I understand. Principal Hiroya, is there any news from the village?"
"Yes. Namikaze Minato has been fighting increasingly well on the Kumogakure front. We've received word of many victories."
"How are the Kumogakure and Iwagakure fronts going?"
"I'm afraid I don't know."
"All right. I'll be going."
"Byakuya, your salary will be ten times higher this month."
"Huh?" His first thought was that there had to be some trap waiting for him. "Why?"
"You completed two important missions for the Root Organization. The higher-ups are rewarding you."
This was bad.
When things seemed too good to be true, they usually were.
Root had already rewarded him for those missions.
With Hiroya watching, he opened the mission scroll.
Byakuya's expression darkened instantly.
The mission seemed simple enough.
Make contact with Pakura of Sunagakure. Tell her that Konoha wanted an alliance, have her relay the message to Sunagakure's leadership, and bring back their decision.
Danzo, you old bastard! You're shoving me straight into a fire pit!
Before you continue