The Forgemage of Konoha

The Gathering

"Huh? Yamada-sensei, what's wrong with your eyes? Why are you blinking so much?"

Yamada, "Mmp." That's why he was worried.

Yamada's wife turned around and shot him a meaningful look. After years of marriage, Yamada instantly understood her message: "We'll talk about this at home."

"Your teacher is fine. Keep going—Big Sister is listening." She smiled sweetly, which only made Yamada's anxiety worse.

Shirō, seeing Yamada's defeated expression, almost burst out laughing. Fortunately, he'd mastered the art of feigned innocence after years of playing the "cute younger brother." He managed to hold it in and continued,

"Oh, Yamada-sensei didn't do anything serious. He just exchanged some information and left."

"Oh? How did they exchange information?"

Yamada, who had just begun to relax, instantly tensed up again. He had a terrible premonition—Shirō wasn't done yet.

"Mouth-to-mouth, of course. How else would they share intel?" Shirō said with an utterly sincere expression.

"Oh? Is that so?" Her smile widened, though her eyes turned sharper. "Shirō-kun, why don't you and the others go play for a bit? Your teacher and I have a little something to discuss."

Then she turned to her husband and narrowed her eyes. "Isn't that right, my dear?"

Yamada was stunned. This kid's ruthless! He closed his eyes in resignation and muttered bitterly, "Yes…" In his heart, he swore never to show affection in front of this little monster again.

As he followed his wife away, Chong Jie and Qing Yu—who had witnessed the entire exchange—turned to Shirō with wide eyes.

"What?" Shirō asked, feigning confusion. "Why are you two looking at me like that?"

"N-nothing! We just remembered we have something to do!" Chong Jie stammered. He and Qing Yu quickly fled as if escaping a battlefield.

"Tch, how boring." Shirō clicked his tongue.

Of course, Shirō wasn't trying to ruin anyone's marriage. Yamada and his wife were deeply affectionate—years of being together had made their bond unshakable. Shirō knew this would barely leave a dent in their relationship. Still… Yamada was definitely in for a rough night.

---

"I'm home," Shirō called out as he stepped into his house.

"Welcome back! Are you tired?" his mother asked warmly.

"I'm okay, Mom. Where's Dad?"

"He went to visit an old friend. Are you hungry? I didn't know you'd be back so soon, so I didn't prepare anything."

"It's fine. I'm heading to see Kushina-nee in a bit anyway. I brought something for them."

After washing up and changing, Shirō gathered the gifts he'd prepared and headed toward Kushina's home. He made sure to arrive in the evening—he wouldn't dare show up the next day. That would've been suicidal.

His home wasn't far from Kushina's, which was how they'd first met—just a chance encounter during a walk. But today, as he approached, he saw Minato already there. Shirō froze. If he went in, he'd be bombarded with "dog food." If he didn't, Kushina might come out and drag him in.

Unfortunately, before he could decide, Minato spotted him.

"Oh, Shirō-kun! Why are you standing outside? Come in."

...Fine, let's just get this over with. Shirō sighed internally and stepped inside.

"Big Sister, this is for you. And Minato-san, here's something for you too."

"My, Shirō-kun, how thoughtful," Kushina said with a wide grin. "Perfect timing. Minato and I were just about to head out to dinner. You're coming with us!"

"Eh? I—I shouldn't interrupt your date…"

"What are you talking about?" she teased. "This isn't a date—it's a gathering. We're introducing you to some folks."

"Really? Who?"

"You know them—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru. You know, the Sannin? The ones you said you fought alongside against Hanzō the Salamander." Her grin turned devilish.

Shirō froze.

Ah, crap… I bragged too much last time, didn't I? He'd completely forgotten Kushina actually knew the Sannin.

Minato chuckled. "Kushina, go easy on the kid. It's normal for children to embellish a little."

"Hmph! That little brat tricked me back then."

"Big Sis, I already apologized, haven't I? Can't you let it go?"

"I had let it go. But now I'm mad again! You got a problem with that?!"

"No, ma'am!" Shirō quickly shook his head. He wouldn't dare argue. The nickname Red Hot-Blooded Habanero wasn't just for show.

Minato laughed. "Alright, alright. We're running late. Let's not keep Jiraiya-sensei waiting."

"Hmph. All Shirō's fault!"

"Come on now, be nice to the boy." Minato placed a gentle hand on Kushina's head. K.O.

Shirō watched the whole scene in shock. So even the terrifying Kushina has a weakness… And it's Minato. Honestly, Minato was good-looking, kind, incredibly talented—and knew how to handle people. No wonder Kushina was smitten. He was practically born to be Hokage.

---

When they arrived at the restaurant, the Legendary Sannin were already waiting.

Minato stepped forward. "Sorry for the delay, Jiraiya-sensei."

"No worries. We just got here," Jiraiya replied. "So, this is the Emiya Shirō you mentioned?"

"Yes. Jiraiya-sensei, this is Shirō-kun."

"Hello, Jiraiya-senpai!"

"And this is Orochimaru."

"Hello, Orochimaru-senpai!"

"And Tsunade."

"Hello, Tsunade-nee!"

"…Wait, why are we 'senpai,' but she's 'nee'?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because Tsunade is Big Sister."

"…Is this kid even serious?"

"Do you have a problem with that, Jiraiya?" Tsunade said, cracking her knuckles.

"…Not at all."

"That's better!"

Seeing a pause in the banter, Shirō quickly offered his gifts. "Jiraiya-senpai, these are for you. And here's one for Orochimaru-senpai and Tsunade-nee too. I didn't know your preferences, so I picked up something simple."

"Oh? Polite kid."

"Hmph, of course! He's one of mine," Kushina declared proudly.

"Tch, such a waste of talent…"

"You're just jealous!"

Soon after, the food arrived, and the group began eating. Orochimaru, who had been mostly silent, finally spoke.

"I hear Shirō-kun developed a new Ninjutsu?"

"Ah, yes… It's still in the prototype stage. I based it on a fragmented secret technique from my clan, so it's not very usable by others yet."

That wasn't a lie—at least, not entirely. Shirō had "found" a note that read: Use chakra to enhance the body. That was it. A sentence so vague it barely counted. But no one else knew how incomplete it was, so he ran with the narrative.

"What do you plan to focus on in the future?" Orochimaru asked.

Kushina chimed in. "Right! You never mentioned your specialization."

"I don't have much talent in Ninjutsu," Shirō said with a bitter laugh. "So I plan to stick with Reinforcement Ninjutsu. That's already enough for me."

"Don't belittle yourself," Orochimaru said. "Anyone who can create new techniques at your age is exceptional."

"You flatter me. It's all thanks to the remnants of that clan technique. To be honest, I'm still struggling with basic Wind Release."

It was true. Even with Projection Magic, he could visualize every detail of a technique—but that didn't mean he could execute it perfectly. Like a math problem you understand on paper, but mess up when solving yourself.

His Magic circuits were tuned for magecraft, not chakra. His situation was only marginally better than Might Guy or Rock Lee.

"That's unfortunate. But if you keep refining your technique, you might restore the glory of your clan one day."

"Huh? Orochimaru-senpai knows about the Emiya Clan?"

The table grew quiet. Even Shirō was genuinely curious. Information was power in the ninja world.

"Well," Jiraiya said, clearly trying to lighten the mood, "don't keep us hanging, Orochimaru. What do you know?"

Orochimaru gave a small smile and answered, "Only fragments. The Weimiya Clan was known for combining Taijutsu and Ninjutsu in unique ways. But after a major incident, much of their heritage was lost. Perhaps Shirō-kun can one day reclaim that legacy."

"…I don't care about glory," Shirō said. "I just want to protect the people I care about."

A voice from the doorway interrupted him. "Wanting to protect others, huh? That's no small ambition."

They turned toward the entrance—and saw a young man with white hair step into the room.