The present era.
"So... this is Hoshizora Town?"
Standing on the final step of a space–ti transfer platform high above the clouds, Fujimoto Tōma looked down at the city spread beneath him like a scatter of lanterns across dark velvet.
This would be his new post.
Not assigned. Chosen.
Before this, Tōma had simply requested deploynt to whichever civilian zone had the highest ambient chakra density. The Shinobi Administration had reviewed the data, exchanged a few cautious looks, and recomnded Hoshizora Town without argunt.
Naturally, no one from the noble clans objected.
High chakra density ant higher chances of chakra anomalies, rogue technique echoes, or worse... chakra-born entities forming on their own. If soone volunteered to babysit a ticking bomb, the higher-ups would practically send a thank-you gift basket.
Tōma closed his eyes.
Chakra brushed against his senses like warm rain.
Yeah. Dense. Much denser than the frontier town where he first arrived in this world. Still nowhere close to the great hidden villages, where even stone walls carried faint chakra signatures from decades of techniques layered into them.
That part still bothered him.
If everything in this world could be infused with chakra... why couldn’t he stabilize chakra into permanent matter himself?
He suspected it touched the deepest rules of reality here. The kind of knowledge that separated legends from humans.
If soone fully understood chakra at that level...
Would they be able to create anything?
Change anything?
Beco sothing close to a god?
Tōma clicked his tongue softly and shook his head.
Speculating about ceilings you hadn’t even reached yet was just ego wearing a lab coat.
Focus on the ground first.
Since he was already in Hoshizora Town, there was one person worth visiting.
The rumored forr Research Corps captain now hiding here.
Tōma hadn’t asked for directions.
He didn’t need to.
He gathered a thin thread of chakra into his eyes.
The world peeled open.
Countless pale chakra pathways stretched across the town like spider silk in moonlight. Civilian traces. Residual technique marks. Dormant barrier anchors.
And then—
One thread burned crimson.
Dense. Stable. Refined to a ridiculous degree.
Definitely elite-level control.
Tōma followed it through quiet streets until he stopped in front of a slightly run-down storefront.
Mizuno Tools & Curiosities
He knocked.
"Coming!"
The man who opened the door was massive, wearing reflective glasses and a heavy mustache. His posture scread sealing specialist.
"You are?" the man asked.
"Takeda Jūzō," Tōma said calmly. "Forr Chief of Advanced Sealing Arts. Correct?"
The man paused.
"...You’re shinobi, then. New assignnt?"
"Sothing like that."
Jūzō stepped aside and let him in.
Inside the shop, another man leaned against the counter.
Light blond hair. Slight stubble. Relaxed posture that scread dangerously fake laziness. Dark green haori. Wooden sandals. Fisher-style hat tilted low.
"So fast, huh?" the man said casually. "Didn’t expect replacent staff this quickly."
"You’re Mizuno Kagetora," Tōma said. "Forr Research Corps Captain."
Kagetora studied him with half-lidded eyes.
"Yeah. And you are?"
"dical Corps Deputy Commander. Fujimoto Tōma. Temporarily reassigned to civilian-zone defense duty."
Silence.
dical Corps.
Reassigned to field defense.
Those words did not belong in the sa sentence.
Had the Shinobi Administration rewritten reality while they were in exile?
While they were still processing that, Tōma’s gaze drifted upward.
A black cat sat on a roof beam.
Watching him.
He watched back for two full seconds.
Then looked away like nothing happened.
"What brings you here?" Kagetora asked finally.
"I need a civilian-interface shell," Tōma said. "And housing. Quiet area. Good scenery."
Kagetora’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Those shells aren’t cheap."
"Money isn’t a problem. Also, if you have connections, find a house nearby."
Kagetora blinked once.
Then smiled like a rchant slling rain.
"Deal."
"Paynt thod?"
"Card."
Jūzō produced a reader like he’d rehearsed it.
Tōma tapped.
The balance belonged to his forr commander. A balance built on centuries of salary accumulation.
Money was just paper with stage fright.
"Shell will take a few days," Kagetora said. "Not high-demand inventory."
"House?"
"Ready at the sa ti."
"Good."
Tōma left to explore the town.
Inside the shop, the black cat spoke.
Male voice. Older tone.
"Kagetora. That one saw through ."
Kagetora nodded slowly.
"Yoru. Go check records. He didn’t hide his na. Should be easy."
The cat vanished.
Tōma walked the streets thinking.
Kagetora. Forr Research Captain. Power level unknown. Chakra presence almost perfectly hidden. That control alone was terrifying.
Takeda Jūzō. Sealing monster. Rumored to perform forbidden ti–space seals solo.
The cat.
Probably Shijōin Yoru.
Forr Stealth Corps Captain.
Two captains and a sealing grandmaster in one civilian town.
Hoshizora Town was not normal.
He liked it already.
The cat returned to the shop shockingly fast.
The reason was simple.
The entire Shinobi Capital was already gossiping about Tōma.
A dical Corps deputy had fought the Battle Division Captain inside the capital compound.
And won.
The fight destroyed half the Battle Division training complex.
The Grand Shinobi Council had sentenced both fighters to decades of confinent.
Then the Commander-General intervened.
Final punishnt: long-term civilian-zone deploynt.
Yoru double-checked everything.
Every record confird it.
Reality had apparently decided to beco absurd.
Kagetora listened quietly.
Then sighed.
He had... plans. For soone stationed long-term in the civilian world.
But if Tōma was that strong...
He’d notice defects imdiately.
Or worse. Break the system.
Better to give him a normal shell.
Regret tasted like green tea brewed too long.
Knock knock.
Tōma returned.
"Your shell and house are ready," Kagetora said instantly, smiling like nothing ever happened.
Tōma stepped into the civilian shell.
Flexed his fingers.
Then frowned.
Too fragile.
Push chakra output slightly and this thing would crack like dry pottery.
"This is your best model?" he asked flatly.
"It’s not weak," Kagetora said smoothly. "You’re just ridiculous."
"...Fair."
He let it go.
If they’d researched him, they knew he wasn’t hiding his strength anyway.
The house sat near forested hills and a river bend.
Remote. Quiet. Clean air.
Perfect.
"Happy?" Kagetora asked.
"Yes."
Then Tōma smiled faintly.
"One last thing."
"...Yes?"
"How much to spar with you three?"
Silence.
Then Kagetora laughed tiredly.
"Shop doesn’t offer that service."
"Unfortunate," Tōma said. "I’ll visit often."
Kagetora watched him leave.
And felt peace pack its bags and move out.
Tōma stood outside his new ho, looking over Hoshizora Town.
High chakra density.
Hidden monsters.
Exiled legends.
Yeah.
This place was going to be fun.
And sowhere in the shadows...
Sothing else was already watching him back.
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