"I am so incredibly sorry, Lord Shiro, but it seems there currently aren't any B-rank missions specifically related to the Land of Waves on the board," the mission administrator said, chuckling nervously and rubbing the back of his neck.
The man was sweating bullets. The boy standing before him was Konoha's freshly minted 'Number One Genius'. The administrator had originally hoped to swiftly and efficiently process his request to build a good rapport with the rising star.
He never expected his attempts at networking to hit a bureaucratic wall so quickly. It was incredibly awkward.
"It doesn't matter what the rank is," Shiro replied calmly after a moment of thought. "Anything heading to the Land of Waves will do."
The specific parameters of the mission were entirely irrelevant to him. His only goal was a legitimate excuse to travel to the Land of Waves so he could harvest Gato's vast, illicit fortune.
"Oh! In that case, there is one!" The administrator's face lit up in relief. He quickly rummaged through the lower-tier files and pulled out a slightly dusty C-rank mission scroll.
"Here we go. It's a basic investigation task regarding a string of disappearances," the man explained, unrolling the parchment. "Because the Land of Waves is impoverished and lacks a hidden village of its own, they rarely have the funds to commission high-ranking shinobi. Therefore, most missions originating from there are classified as C-rank by default."
"I'll take it," Shiro said without a second thought, extending his hand.
---
After accepting the scroll, Shiro only gave the mission details a cursory glance as he walked toward the village gates.
*'Several disappearances reported near the primary shipping company...'* Shiro read the brief. *'Eyewitnesses report sightings of a tall swordsman carrying a massive blade, often accompanied by a masked attendant.'*
Shiro suppressed a smirk. He didn't even need to engage his brain to know exactly who was behind this 'mysterious' C-rank mission.
Zabuza Momochi and Haku.
Tucking the scroll into his jacket, Shiro exited the Mission Center.
Back inside, the administrator watched him leave, a deep frown creasing his forehead.
"Lord Shiro was unusually fixated on securing a mission to the Land of Waves, even accepting a lowly C-rank task just to go there... Could there be something far more dangerous hidden within those parameters?" the man muttered to himself, his imagination running wild.
As the undisputed peak of Konoha's younger generation, Shiro definitely wouldn't waste his time on a mundane missing persons case for no reason.
"You there!" the administrator barked at a junior clerk. "Pull the file on that Land of Waves mission again. Initiate a full background check on the employer and re-evaluate the threat level immediately!"
Only after ordering the reinvestigation did the administrator feel slightly more at ease.
Meanwhile, Shiro was experiencing a rare moment of genuine novelty. Having transmigrated into this world over a decade ago, this was actually his very first time stepping foot outside the massive, protective walls of Konohagakure. The dense forests and winding dirt roads beyond the gates felt entirely new.
However, the moment Shiro stepped past the final checkpoint, his peaceful departure was interrupted by a familiar face.
Well, not exactly an 'acquaintance,' but certainly a familiar character.
"Oh! Are you heading out on a mission as well? I recognize you, Shiro!"
A young man with silver hair tied in a ponytail, wearing round spectacles, stepped out from the shade of a tree. He offered a warm, refined, and incredibly polite smile.
"You probably don't know who I am yet. I'm your senior from the Academy, Kabuto Yakushi!"
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, putting on his most disarming, friendly expression. This carefully crafted persona of the 'helpful, clumsy senior' was the key to how he so easily gained the trust of almost everyone he met.
But today, it seemed he had encountered a brick wall.
Shiro didn't even slow his pace, nor did he make any move to accept Kabuto's extended hand for a handshake.
"Haha, it's perfectly normal that you don't recognize me," Kabuto chuckled awkwardly, smoothly withdrawing his hand without missing a beat. "I actually just returned to the village after completing a long-term gathering mission."
Shiro stopped and turned to look at him, his dark eyes cold and analytical. He silently watched the master spy put on his clumsy act.
"Speak. What do you want?" Shiro demanded straightforwardly, cutting through the pleasantries.
Since Kabuto had deliberately intercepted him just outside the gates, it definitively meant the spy had an ulterior motive for approaching him.
"Heh, there's no need to be so defensive. I honestly just wanted to introduce myself and befriend our village's newest prodigy," Kabuto said smoothly, maintaining his standard, flawless smile.
"By the way, I heard this is your very first time leaving the village on a solo mission. It looks like you're heading toward the Land of Waves?" Kabuto reached into his pouch. "I happen to have a highly detailed topographical map of the fastest routes to the coast!"
Kabuto pulled out a folded parchment, intending to hand it over as a gesture of goodwill.
"Cut the crap. What exactly did Orochimaru send you here to do?"
Seeing Kabuto slowly trying to weave his web, Shiro decided he simply didn't have the patience to play along. He brutally and directly exposed Kabuto's true allegiance.
Kabuto's smile froze entirely.
*'This boy... he is terrifyingly perceptive. How could he possibly know that?!'* Kabuto was profoundly shocked internally, though his years of deep-cover training prevented him from physically recoiling.
It seemed the rumors severely underestimated Shiro. He was infinitely sharper than the old, complacent fools running the village!
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kabuto replied, his voice dropping an octave as the friendly facade vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating tone. He took a slow step closer to Shiro, leaning in slightly. "However... Lord Orochimaru *has* heard the recent, fascinating rumors about you. He admires your... unique talents greatly."
Kabuto paused, leaning closer to whisper in Shiro's ear.
"Especially regarding... the Wood Style."
Kabuto pulled back, fully expecting to see a flash of panic or shock on Shiro's face. After all, the boy's possession of the First Hokage's bloodline was considered an SSS-level Konoha secret, supposedly known only to the Hokage and clan heads. Exposing that a rogue S-rank missing-nin knew about it should have terrified him.
Instead, Shiro didn't even blink. He looked incredibly bored.
Kabuto mentally cursed. He had completely miscalculated. He had intended to use this highly classified information to seize the psychological initiative and put the boy off balance.
"Oh. Is that all?" Shiro scoffed, finding the situation almost comical.
It was genuinely amusing watching Kabuto trying so hard to assert dominance and act mysterious. The spy had only glimpsed the absolute tip of the iceberg regarding Shiro's capabilities, yet he arrogantly believed he had enough leverage to manipulate him.
"You talk a big game, Kabuto, but speaking of secrets... I actually know you quite well, too," Shiro said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Shiro's dark eyes locked onto Kabuto's. The intensity of that gaze made Kabuto feel as if his skin had been peeled back, exposing his very soul.
And for a deep-cover double agent whose entire existence relied on deception, there is absolutely nothing more terrifying in the world than being completely, effortlessly seen through.
"You jest," Kabuto forced a stiff chuckle, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. "I am a nobody. I am certainly not like Lord Shiro, the famous—"
Before Kabuto could finish his deflection, Shiro mirrored his earlier action. He stepped into Kabuto's personal space and leaned in close to his ear.
"Nonō Yakushi."
Upon hearing that specific name—the name of his adoptive mother, the only person he had ever truly loved, and the tragic victim of Danzo's cruelest manipulation—Kabuto's entire world ground to a halt.
He was completely stunned. His breath hitched in his throat.
Kabuto had prepared himself for Shiro to guess he was one of Danzo's Root operatives, or perhaps an agent for the Hidden Sound. He had countermeasures for those accusations.
But he never, in his wildest nightmares, expected the boy to utter *that* name. The most fiercely guarded, painful secret of his past.
Kabuto stumbled backward, his knees going weak. He nearly collapsed onto the dirt road, his eyes wide with raw, unfiltered shock.
"Well? Are you going to deny it?" Shiro asked, watching the master spy unravel with mild interest. He bet Kabuto wouldn't even try to refute it.
Kabuto was completely deflated. The psychological armor he had spent years building was shattered in an instant. He had approached Shiro believing he held the boy's ultimate secret as a trump card; instead, Shiro had casually crushed him with a single, devastating sentence.
"Forget it. Looking at you right now, you can't even string a coherent sentence together," Shiro sighed, losing interest.
He turned and simply walked right past the trembling spy.
As for killing him? Shiro couldn't be bothered. The current, base-level Kabuto wasn't even qualified to be a warm-up exercise. Now, if it were the Sage-Mode 'Dragon Kabuto' from the Fourth Shinobi War, Shiro might have entertained a brief spar. But ordinary Kabuto? Eliminating him held zero challenge or appeal.
"Danzo..." Kabuto rasped out, his voice shaking as he stared at the ground. "Danzo has heavily armed Root operatives stationed along the primary route. They are planning to ambush you."
Having his core shattered, Kabuto completely abandoned his mission and surrendered the intel. The fact that Shiro had seen through his entire existence with just a few words was something the usually arrogant spy simply couldn't process.
Shiro didn't stop walking. He acted as if he hadn't even heard the warning, disappearing down the forested path.
Only after Shiro's chakra signature faded completely did Kabuto let out a long, shuddering breath, his legs finally giving out as he sank to the ground.
*Too terrifying,* Kabuto thought, adjusting his glasses with a trembling hand.
The suffocating pressure Shiro naturally exuded was monstrous. Even when facing the chilling malice of Orochimaru or the oppressive darkness of Danzo, Kabuto had never felt so utterly powerless and exposed. It was as if no secret in the world could be hidden from those eyes.
"It seems my warning was entirely unnecessary," Kabuto muttered, a dark, slightly gleeful smirk returning to his pale face as he picked up the discarded map.
He had assumed a fresh graduate on his first solo mission would be vulnerable and need the intel. He couldn't have been more wrong.
"I'm afraid Danzo's men are marching straight into their own graves," Kabuto chuckled darkly, staring down the path Shiro had taken.
It served Danzo right for being foolish enough to target someone wielding the absolute pinnacle of the Wood Style.
---
"I have to admit, that Kabuto is quite the multi-talented logistics guy," Shiro mused.
Despite breaking the spy's mind, Shiro had smoothly swiped the detailed map from Kabuto's paralyzed grip as he walked past. Finding his way through the dense forests toward the coast was significantly easier with the annotated route.
*Did he really think I was arrogant enough to navigate blind on my first time out?* Shiro chuckled.
About an hour into his journey, deep within a silent, heavily wooded section of the road.
"Right ahead... that should be Danzo's welcoming committee," Shiro murmured.
Utilizing the massive sensory range granted by his Senju vitality, Shiro had detected the suppressed, icy chakra signatures of a dozen Root operatives lying in wait a mile ahead, perfectly positioned for an ambush.
"What a pity. I really don't have the time or the patience to play ninja games with you grunts today," Shiro sighed, clapping his hands together.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Using his own boundless chakra as a catalyst for life, Shiro didn't just manipulate existing trees; he forced the very earth to violently erupt.
*RUMBLE!*
In an instant, the entire section of the forest where the Root operatives were hiding was utterly decimated. Massive, jagged wooden trunks and thick, thorny vines exploded upward from the soil, growing at terrifying speeds to form an impenetrable, crushing thicket of timber.
The destructive, concussive power of the rapid growth was catastrophic. Furthermore, the Wood Style possessed the unique property of violently absorbing the chakra of anything it touched.
The elite Root assassins Danzo had sent didn't even get the chance to lay eyes on their target before they were impaled, crushed, and drained dry by the sudden, apocalyptic eruption of the forest.
For these nameless, faceless Root tools who didn't even warrant a mention in the grand scheme of the ninja world, it was an instantaneous, mercifully quick end.