The Forgemage of Konoha

The 24-Character Mantra

The blessing effect of the Heroic Spirit Card fluctuated within a certain range, influenced directly by Shirō's actions. The more Shirō's behavior aligned with the Heroic Spirit's values and principles, the stronger the blessing he would receive. In simple terms, the Heroic Spirit had to approve of his actions—greater approval meant a more potent effect.

However, this blessing did not enhance the power of Shirō's Reinforcement Magic or Projection Magic. Instead, it influenced the rate at which he improved in them. If the compatibility between him and the Heroic Spirit was poor, the blessing's effect would still exist but only at its base level.

Fortunately, Shirō's compatibility with Emiya Shirou was decent. That said, Shirō wasn't someone who could dedicate his life to saving others or pursuing world peace like Emiya Shirou—who, even in death, continued to fight as a Counter Guardian under Alaya.

Shirō was just a regular person. He didn't hold such grand ideals. But there was a stroke of fortune: Emiya Shirou's values—selflessness, justice, and protecting others—echoed the mainstream ideals of Shirō's homeland in his previous life. As someone raised with the guiding principles of the 24-character socialist core values, Shirō had naturally internalized many of those beliefs.

Because of this, his cultivation speed was quite satisfactory.

Now, he was close to grasping Noble Phantasm Projection. However, due to Chakra limitations, he still couldn't fully materialize one. It wasn't far off though—lately, he could clearly feel his Chakra capacity increasing. He believed it wouldn't be long before he'd have enough to project even low-tier Noble Phantasms.

As expected, when one focused wholeheartedly on something, time flew by. Shirō felt like he'd only just begun training when night had already fallen.

Across from him, the father-son duo showed no signs of stopping—as though they hadn't even noticed the hunger setting in. Shirō, unfortunately, didn't have that same iron will. If this were a novel-reading or gaming competition, Shirō would confidently crush them both! Sadly, Jiraiya hadn't begun publishing his books yet, or at least The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja, which Shirō was particularly interested in.

Ahem, yes—that novel. Don't overthink it.

So, Shirō reluctantly interrupted their cultivation. Yes—reluctantly. Because whenever he did, the expressions on their faces made him feel like he had just committed some grievous crime.

"Has that much time passed already? All right then, Might Guy, let us burn our youth and welcome dinner with flaming passion! Let's frog jump to the restaurant!"

"Yes!"

"…"

Even though it wasn't the first time he'd witnessed this scene, Shirō still wasn't used to it.

But isn't that what friendship is? Tolerating each other's eccentricities. Maybe he had approached them initially for strategic reasons, but after two years of companionship, Shirō had formed a genuine bond with them.

"Shirō, what are you doing spacing out? Let's burn our youth together!" shouted Might Guy, who was already ahead.

Shirō shook himself out of his thoughts, smiled slightly, and followed.

"Coming."

In Konoha, how could one not eat ramen? It was just a shame that Ichiraku Ramen hadn't opened yet. Shirō really wanted to see what the legendary Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku looked like.

(Just kidding—Ichiraku isn't an Ōtsutsuki. Probably.)

Still, it wasn't like Konoha had no other good food. The main issue was money.

Shirō and Might Guy were only Genin. Their missions didn't pay much. After accounting for training costs, very little was left.

Don't assume that just because the Might family focused on taijutsu, their expenses were low. On the contrary, Might Guy, still in his formative years, had enormous nutritional needs due to his intense training regimen. Without proper sustenance, his physical development would have suffered. His father, Might Dai, was always willing to sacrifice his own meals to ensure Guy grew up strong and healthy.

Shirō's arrival had alleviated their burdens a little. His cultivation expenses were minimal, and he often had a bit left to spare. Though still far from wealthy, he was at least less desperate for resources.

That said, eating ramen every day still wasn't ideal. But Shirō couldn't bring himself to ask his parents for more money. He was mentally in his twenties, with his own income—he had too much pride to rely on pocket money.

"By the way, Uncle Might Dai, Guy should be starting the Academy next year, right?"

"Yes. He'll be four next year—old enough. I just don't know if he'll pass the entrance assessment…" Dai sighed, worried. Guy's taijutsu talent was exceptional, but when it came to ninjutsu and genjutsu, he was below average—even compared to Shirō.

"Don't worry. Might Guy works harder than anyone. He'll definitely make it in, right, Guy?"

"Yes! I definitely will!"

And even if he didn't, Shirō had a backup plan: ask Kushina to pull some strings.

His memory of the anime was hazy—he vaguely recalled that Dai might have begged the Third Hokage for Guy's admission. Maybe he even knelt. But Shirō wasn't sure—it wasn't clearly shown.

Regardless, he didn't care whether it happened that way in canon. If it did, so be it. The Third Hokage wouldn't allow someone into the Academy out of pity. If Might Guy had no potential, kneeling wouldn't have helped.

Genin's pride meant little to the Hokage—not unless you were a special case like Naruto or Sasuke.

From a realistic perspective, admitting an unqualified child was irresponsible. Ninja life was dangerous. Sending someone into that world without talent was akin to sending them to their death. Not to mention, training ninja consumed valuable village resources.

So Shirō believed that the Hokage must've seen some spark in Guy—and if so, Shirō was willing to help give that spark a better chance to grow.

"So, Might Guy! You must work even harder! Let's burn our youth for your Academy admission! First, quick-walk ten laps around the village!"

"Yes!"

"Hey! You just ate! Can't you take a break?!"

"Oh, Shirō! Youth knows no pause! Might Guy, let's go!"

"Yes, Father!"

"…"

Shirō was starting to get worried. Just now, when Guy invited him, he'd almost felt an urge to say yes.

He pictured himself in a green jumpsuit with a bowl cut—and immediately lost all will to live.

Shivering, Shirō fled home and decided to project some unspeakable objects to gain unspeakable experience… Anything to reset his mental state.

---

The Next Day

Shirō woke up early and headed to the training ground. This time, however, he wasn't meeting Guy and his father. He was there for squad training with Team Yamada.

Although they had graduated from the Academy a year ago, their squad hadn't had much coordinated training due to their mission schedule. As a result, they were currently assigned fewer missions and more time for training.

With many Leaf ninja being sent to the front lines recently, Yamada had taken time off to see off some comrades. That meant these few days were self-directed training.

Though it was called "team training," they actually trained separately. Shirō's progress and cultivation methods differed significantly from Qing Yu and Chong Jie's. Still, practicing together helped them understand each other's styles and improve coordination—a necessity since they were still a squad.

Even if they all knew Shirō would be leaving the team eventually, for now, they were still comrades with missions to complete. So team synergy still mattered.

"Yo, Shirō. You ready?" Yamada greeted him casually.

"No need to prep, I warmed up on the way," Shirō replied, adjusting his sleeves.

They were referring to a squad tradition: a combat assessment where all three Genin faced off against their sensei—much like Kakashi's famous bell test. Only in their case, it wasn't symbolic—it was a real combat drill, meant to gauge their actual growth.

This had become a regular practice in their squad—part test, part training, and part opportunity to avenge the humiliating defeats they'd suffered in the past.

"Come on, Sensei! We're ready!" x3