An Exciting Moment 1

Tonight, Shiro couldn't sleep. He sat blankly in a tree by himself, quietly watching the moon. Even though he knew that moon was artificial and not the one he remembered, he still couldn't help looking at it.

Maybe that was nostalgia.

It was strange. Shiro had seen far too many cruel things in war, yet today, he was still affected by the brutal death of that nameless woman.

On the way back, Shiro kept questioning himself. Was this really right? Was it really right to kill so many people for the selfish desire to return home?

At first, Shiro had comforted himself with the cruelty of the world, believing that everything he did was forced upon him by this cruel world.

But as time passed, Shiro gradually understood that it was all just an excuse—an excuse to whitewash himself.

Over the past year, Shiro had already transformed from an otaku who got goosebumps at the sight of a small animal's corpse into an executioner who treated corpses as nothing.

In the end, he had become exactly the kind of person he hated most.

But I... can't stop anymore.

The longer Shiro stayed in this world, the more he missed his family and friends in the other one. This land ultimately belonged to Emiya Shiro, not to him, Shiro.

Even though Shiro had formed his own Kizuna in this world, he still wanted to go back—to the country where he had lived for more than ten years.

Fallen leaves always returned to their roots.

"Chirp! Chirp~"

The forest was very quiet in the morning, and it was hard to hear any other sounds.

After a night had passed, Shiro had completely reined in last night's thoughts. Nothing showed on the surface anymore. As usual, he discussed the mission with the others.

But there was really nothing to discuss. This mission's target had no impressive record, which was understandable. Most of these people lacked talent and belonged to the exiled sort.

The kind Shiro had killed before were already rare. That one had probably offended the higher-ups and been sent out here as punishment.

Therefore, this target would be handled by Shikaki alone. Shiro and Taichi had both taken action before, so it was only fair for Shikaki to have a turn too.

As for whether Shikaki was willing? Who cared? Nakamura was the captain!

Shiro actually understood Shikaki's feelings. After all, men always had thirty-something days every month when they didn't want to work.

But understanding was one thing. Shiro was still delighted that Shikaki was in charge of this mission. Other people's pain was the source of Shiro's happiness!

And for Shikaki, work was the most painful thing of all!

Since Shikaki was in charge, Nakamura and Shiro didn't need to come up with a strategy. After all, the three of them combined couldn't think as much as Shikaki alone.

They might not even think as well as Shikaki's worst-case scenario.

So, although they called it a discussion, they were really only deciding on a general direction and planning the route.

Usually, Shiro and the others left route planning to the smartest person. They definitely weren't deliberately messing with Shikaki—Shiro guaranteed it on his honor! (Shiro: That dog of an author is framing me again.)

Since the distance was relatively short, Shiro and the others arrived outside the target's town in only half a day.

As agreed beforehand, Shikaki would handle the mission target alone. Shiro and the others did not sit idle either. There happened to be a bandit hideout nearby that was part of another mission, so they would take care of it while they were at it.

It had to be said that this "rogue ninja" was a good man. Even in death, he had to lend Shiro and the others a hand. He was burning himself to light the way for others~

Leaving aside Shiro's wild thoughts over there, Shikaki lazily strolled into the town. He did not even remove his forehead protector, simply using the Transformation Technique to conceal himself. He was not afraid of being discovered.

Because whether he was exposed or not, the moment Shikaki saw his opponent, he could kill him instantly!

This was not arrogance, but the confidence of a clan ninja!

The gap between clan ninjas with inherited teachings and civilian ninjas was enormous. Most clan ninjas could already skillfully refine Chakra before entering the academy. Some could even perform ninjutsu, while most civilians did not even know what Chakra was.

The clearest example was the future Naruto. Because he lacked the proper education, he did not even know the definition of Chakra after graduation. He only knew one thing: he could never run out of the stuff.

Thus, the gap would gradually widen amid the abundant resources available to ninja clans. Only a small number of exceptionally gifted people could surpass them, such as Minato.

Of course, the Hokage would also help civilian ninjas in order to balance the power of the clans. But only Konoha was like this; most other ninja villages rarely promoted civilian ninjas.

Therefore, Shikaki almost felt embarrassed to crush this discarded failure with his intellect.

What disappointed Shikaki, however, was that there was no village intelligence point in this town. Otherwise, this mission would have been much easier.

But it was not much trouble for Shikaki. With only a slight deduction based on the intelligence he had obtained, Shikaki roughly figured out where his opponent was.

The rest was simple. He merely had to "run into" him at those locations one by one.

The facts proved that the Nara clan's brains were no joke. At the third location Shikaki calculated, he successfully "ran into" his target!

However, Shikaki also proved the Nara clan's laziness. The casually cast Transformation Technique was seen through at a glance.

Unfortunately, just as his opponent was about to pull out a kunai, Shikaki had already finished forming his hand seals.

"Shadow Possession Technique!"

There was nothing more to say. Without understanding the characteristics of Shikaki's ninjutsu, his opponent was immediately controlled! That was what made secret techniques troublesome: there was too little information about them, and they activated so quickly that without preparation, one simply could not react.

The rest was easy. Shikaki controlled the man and took an Explosive Tag from his ninja tool pouch, then stuck it onto himself. Naturally, Shikaki's own was just a blank sheet of paper.

Finally, art was explosion!

With a bang, not even a corpse remained.

Shikaki ignored the panicked townspeople and lazily headed toward the meeting point. As for the corpse? Sorry, Shikaki had no intention of putting it back together. That was far too troublesome.

Shikaki had already smoothly finished his task, while Shiro's group had only just arrived near the bandit stronghold. Same old arrangement: Nakamura watched the battle, Taichi launched sneak attacks from behind, and Shiro charged head-on.

After all, Shiro had the Projectile Weapon Amulet (Note 1), so he was not afraid of the enemy's arrows or Shuriken.

Shiro was rather unlucky in this regard. He had never encountered anyone who used a bow before, but once he could Project bow-type Noble Phantasms, archers started appearing everywhere.

There he was now, charging straight toward the mountaintop through a rain of arrows and the occasional flying Shuriken, completely ignoring them.

It was as though he possessed Protection from Arrows—able to deflect stray projectiles—and was entirely unaffected. Never mind the actual effect; that sight alone was incredibly shocking!

So by the time Shiro reached the mountaintop, Taichi had already killed everyone.

Shiro had nothing to say about that. Who told them to be so weak? Being weak was one thing, but they still dared to show off! Was a battlefield a place where one could afford to lose focus?

Note 1: Noble Phantasm Name: Projectile Weapon Amulet

Rank: D-

Owner: The King of Uruk from Sumerian mythology, the oldest Hero King in human history [Gilgamesh].

Appearance: A gold ornament shaped like a solar eclipse.

Legend:

Ability: Greatly increases the wearer's evasion rate, rendering projectile weapons below Rank D ineffective. Each time it nullifies an attack, the missing portion of the sun within the ornament grows larger. When the gap becomes as large as the sun itself, this Noble Phantasm completely disappears. In addition, if this Noble Phantasm is thrown at an enemy, it will emit light and heat like a tiny sun, its power proportional to the size of the missing portion of the sun.