Shorai watched Tsunade's silhouette disappear into the shadows of the nearby hotel, his expression unreadable. Beside him, Naruto was still breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the spot where the Sannin had stood.
"Shorai. I don't know whether to thank you or scold you... Care to explain your behavior?"
Jiraiya stepped into his line of sight, his face uncharacteristically somber. "It could have cost us everything. You getting injured is one thing, but the mission itself could have been compromised." His tone shifted, becoming sharp and inquisitive. "Who taught you to speak like that? What have you experienced to have such an understanding at your age? It was as impressive as it was concerning."
Shorai remained silent, staring forward as his thoughts turned inward. 'Was it an act of impulse?' He wondered, his gaze drifting toward his chest where the Stone rested. 'I chose this. That is the reality.' He had intended to needle her, to force her to face her own hypocrisy—but he had come dangerously close to crossing a line that would have ended in his own death.
"Shorai! Are you there?" Jiraiya raised his voice, his patience fraying.
"My mistake, Jiraiya-san. I pushed too hard," Shorai finally replied, letting out a measured sigh. "But what's done is done. Regardless of what 'small talk' she had with Orochimaru, the seeds Naruto and I planted should be enough to take root."
"I hope you're right." Jiraiya shook his head, his tone softening with a hint of pride. "You held your ground impressively. But what did you do to make her freeze like that? For a second, her eyes went hollow."
"Genjutsu," Shorai replied flatly. "I simply showed her the mirror of her own trauma."
Naruto looked between them, his expression a mixture of confusion and growing nervousness.
"Boy, that's cold..." Jiraiya stared at Shorai, his eyes sharpening as a faint, oppressive aura leaked from his frame. "Let me give you the advice of an experienced old man. Unrestrained thoughts leak into actions far faster than you realize. The only difference is how you justify them to yourself afterward. Tell me—did a particular Elder try to push his views on you?"
Shorai met Jiraiya's gaze without blinking. "Jiraiya-san, the last thing I would do is succumb to the disorderly thoughts of others. Especially people who treat me as a tool for their own selfish ends. I can assure you: I am not a tool. I have always been... proficient at understanding the essence of things. Peace and order are paramount."
"Careful, Shorai," Jiraiya warned. "That is a dangerous path."
"Paramount," Shorai continued, his voice taking on a clinical edge, "but only to the point where they don't work against the very good they strive to protect. I know of whom you are speaking. My philosophy is neither the naive romanticism of your master nor the cold control of Danzo. I understood early on that morality isn't binary. There are grey areas where the only choice is the lesser of two evils."
Jiraiya leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Are you really twelve? I can't remember the last time I heard a child speak with such sophisticated detachment. If what Naruto said about your library attendance is true..." He paused, the realization clicking. "You were unsupervised. The ideas you've comprehended on your own... they aren't for children. They require guidance to prevent them from becoming poisons."
"True," Shorai conceded with a nod.
"You agree?" Jiraiya looked momentarily baffled. "Are you acting right now?"
"I am simply unique, Jiraiya-san." Shorai exhaled, looking toward the night sky. "I have studied the research of the past and weighed the theories of the present. Iruka-sensei and the Third were my confidants, and while I am grateful you care, it doesn't change my approach: analysis, cause, and effect. If you understood my concept of the 'Dao Heart,' you would be more at ease. I view my position as a bridge between what is necessary and what is right. It is entirely situational."
Jiraiya's face softened, and he let out a long, weary sigh. "I suppose peaceful times made me forget what it was like for youngsters during the wars. Friends, lovers, parents... they died so fast it hardened the survivors until they were unrecognizable. You look like someone who lived through that psychological wringer."
"Only an unwavering will allows a person to move forward while keeping their self-awareness intact," Shorai said, glancing at a bewildered Naruto. He added with a small smile, "My friend here has the will. He just hasn't caught up to the self-awareness yet."
"You sound like a tired old man in a boy's body," Jiraiya muttered, rubbing his face. "Every sentence is a lecture. It's like you're treating the adults like children. It's unsettling."
"Hey! Hey!" Naruto finally cut in. "What is all this strange talk? Did Shorai do something bad?"
"Nah," Jiraiya replied, his expression tired. "He just impressed me. And maybe scarred me a little. What a pair I've ended up with."
Naruto blinked, then remembered the stakes. "Right! Shorai! What was that about mastering the Rasengan? Is that for real?"
"I didn't lie, Naruto." Shorai raised his palm.
In an instant, blue chakra began to stir in his hand. With surgical precision, the threads of energy spiraled and condensed, forming a perfect, shimmering sphere that hummed with contained violence.
"Ho-ho!" Jiraiya beamed with pride.
"No way!" Naruto gasped, his expression cycling through shock and envy before settling into pure determination. His fists trembled. "I'll master it! I won't lose to you, Shorai!"
"Good. That's the spirit," Shorai said, though his eye twitched as he added in a hushed mumble, "I refuse to call her 'Wisest Big Sister.' The mere thought is offensive."
Jiraiya let out a booming laugh, the tension finally breaking. "Alright, boys! Let's get some sleep. It's been a long day."
—
Later that night, after booking their rooms, a soft knock came at the door. Shorai opened it to find Shizune standing there, her face drawn with sorrow.
"Shizune-san. If this is about earlier, I have no personal enmity toward Lady Tsunade," Shorai said flatly. "I can apologize if my words were too sharp, but our goal remains the same."
"It's not just that," Shizune whispered. "It's about the necklace... you have to understand."
"What about it? A bet is a bet!" Naruto shouted from his bed. "She chose to wager it!"
"You don't know her!" Shizune's voice rose, cracking with emotion. "She used to be so kind... the village was her hope. Her love."
"Until she lost it all," Shorai finished for her.
Shizune nodded slowly. "The necklace is a burden. It always comes back to her—a cursed relic that only she seems able to bear while everyone else falls."
"She kept placing her dreams in others," Shorai observed, turning to Naruto. "And when they died, the necklace returned. It's not just a relic of the First Hokage; it's a memento of everyone she couldn't save."
Naruto went quiet, his irritation replaced by a heavy concern. He stood up, grabbing his jacket. "Shorai, if Pervy Sage asks, I'll be training. Three days is all I have."
As Naruto left, Shizune turned to Shorai with a pleading look. "Please, convince him. This isn't a game."
"I would be wasting my time," Shorai said softly. "But perhaps there is an irony in fate. Perhaps the fool who dreams of being Hokage is exactly the person that necklace has been waiting for." He smirked to himself, his voice dropping to a whisper. "He is the reincarnation, after all. It's simply returning to the original possessor."
—
The next morning, Shorai woke to the sound of Jiraiya's snoring. Naruto was already gone.
Shorai lay there for a moment, his mind drifting first to Tsunade's words the night before—to her trauma—then to Ino: the way her eyes had sparkled during the Heavenly Lotus Festival, and the weight of her gifts resting against his wrist.
'A choice. A willful choice,' he thought. 'Could it be that the Stone merely amplifies the sensation while the intention remains mine? If so… I am whole. I am conscious. My will is my own.'
'Reality responds to me. It does not define me.'
A new spark lit within him. He rose, prepared his equipment, and attempted to pulse his perception outward through the Reality Stone.
A distortion rippled through his senses. Shadows danced at the edge of his vision, briefly taking shape before collapsing back into featureless darkness.
'Rusty?' Shorai frowned and focused more carefully on his control.
Soon, he found Naruto miles away, his hands bloody and trembling as he struggled through the final stage of the jutsu.
After bringing Naruto some spicy miso ramen and offering a few technical pointers on chakra volume, Shorai headed to his own secluded clearing.
He summoned his two clones. "Stoic. Whimsical. Let's begin."
He triggered the Stone. The world groaned. Wind whispered through the clearing as the rocks seemed to pulse beneath his feet.
A yawn caught him off guard. His concentration fractured for a heartbeat.
The small pond he intended to carve never formed. Instead, the ground tore apart, a jagged canyon yawning open through the clearing.
"Shit!" Shorai severed the flow of power. The chasm vanished like a mirage.
"Getting rusty?" The Stoic clone asked, his voice like ice. "Distracted by your 'choices'?"
"A minor error," Shorai replied, his heart hammering. "I haven't used it enough lately."
"Then let's fix it," the Whimsical clone said with a smirk. "We've made progress with molecular stillness. If we suppress movement within the water long enough, we can create a freezing effect without relying on true Ice Release."
"An endothermic process," Shorai noted, his analytical mind taking over. "Drawing heat out rather than forcing more energy in."
"Exactly," Stoic added. "We also considered an inverse application of Fire or Lightning Release—absorbing thermal energy, or even disrupting bioelectric energy within a target. But the strain on our nervous system would be… extreme."
Shorai shook his head. "We are already carrying enough strain. A controlled ice simulation will suffice. There is no need to reinvent the wheel if it breaks our carriage."
His gaze lowered to the moisture gathering in Stoic's palm.
"For now, we focus on Water Release. Stall molecular movement, remove heat, and stabilize the result."
After a full day of grueling mental and physical training, the feedback from the clones hit Shorai like a physical blow. He collapsed into a 15-hour sleep, his body forced into a healing trance.
He woke at 9:00 PM the following night, his back aching from the rocky terrain. He quickly moved to the training grounds, spotting Naruto's small, orange-clad figure in the distance, still fighting against the impossible.
Then he saw her. Tsunade's silhouette stood half-concealed behind a nearby rock, watching the boy with an expression that was no longer cold.
'Please. Please, Naruto… don't fail me now,' Shorai thought as he stepped out from the trees. 'There is too much at stake.'