It really was just as it seemed.
Minato offered warm, reassuring words to Takano and Tobitake. He comforted them in front of the other supporting shinobi, his words as soothing as the gentle spring breeze.
Then, with a smile so sincere it could melt stone, he seemed to glow, like a radiant sun casting its golden warmth over everyone around him.
That powerful, amber light was impossible to resist.
After completing the handoff, Minato swiftly departed again.
From beginning to end, he hadn't so much as glanced at Arata in the crowd, much less given him a chance to step forward and speak.
That was how a true, village-renowned genius should behave.
And more importantly, it made it crystal clear, someone like Arata, an insignificant nobody, wasn't even qualified to curry favor.
But Arata felt perfectly calm. Not the slightest ripple of emotion stirred within him.
In truth, if one examined Minato and Naruto closely, it would become apparent that Minato was far more cold-blooded.
He never acted impulsively. He was always composed, always rational, and always chose the path with the highest probability of success based on the situation at hand.
To deal with someone like Minato, a man who drew all eyes yet remained a paragon of calm, was no easy task for someone in Arata's current position.
Everyone else looked upon Minato with awe, passionately discussing his charisma and the unmistakable brilliance that radiated from him.
Everyone except Takano.
"Arata… that technique, was that the one you mentioned before…?" Takano lay on a stretcher, turning his head slightly to peer at Arata with one open eye, his expression curious.
Arata nodded without hesitation.
"Yeah. The jutsu I've been diligently training with all this time, it's the Dead Soul Technique.
You're a veteran medical-nin, so I'm sure you've heard of it… I may not have much talent, but I've always worked hard to master a technique that suits me."
"…But that technique…" Takano sighed, momentarily lost for words, his face etched with concern.
The Dead Soul Technique, originally the signature jutsu of Kabuto, could disguise a corpse as someone else and manipulate it for a short period.
Although the corpses had virtually no combat ability, their movements and speech were indistinguishable from living people.
It was perfect for ambushing enemies or making clean escapes.
In the original timeline, Kabuto had once disguised a dead Anbu member to look like himself and used the puppet to approach the unconscious Sasuke.
When Kakashi stepped in to protect Sasuke, Kabuto posed as the downed Anbu and made a surprise escape through a shattered window.
As a medical-nin, Takano knew how the village trained war orphans, but he hadn't expected Arata to actually learn such a controversial jutsu.
It might've been acceptable during wartime, but once peace returned, using a technique that toyed with corpses could easily become a weapon for public condemnation if Arata's name ever gained recognition.
Takano whispered, "Even Nono Yakushi herself didn't use this technique. You should limit your use of it too. If the village asks me, I'll do my best to explain.
No matter what, you saved our lives, that's undeniable merit. Without your Dead Soul Technique, none of us would've made it out alive."
He still had many questions he hadn't asked.
Like why the Kirigakure shinobi under the jutsu's control had behaved so strangely.
Why, even after being hit repeatedly by Ao, even losing limbs, that corpse had remained ferociously aggressive.
Most importantly. 'Why had Arata's Dead Soul Technique lasted so long? And how had it endured such intense taijutsu combat?'
There were too many oddities. This wasn't how the technique was supposed to work. The original jutsu was never meant for relentless, high-endurance attacks like that.
But Takano didn't press the issue. Just hearing Arata claim it was the Dead Soul Technique was already doing him a favor, providing a cover story.
A comrade willing to risk his life to save others was someone worth trusting, no matter what jutsu he used. Takano felt it was his responsibility to help Arata shoulder some of the fallout.
After all, the only survivors who knew the truth were Ao and himself. The rest were dead.
Arata watched as Takano was carried off. The two exchanged a knowing look.
As for Tobitake? He'd long since passed out. If Minato hadn't arrived in time, the guy would be dead already.
In the original timeline, he was supposed to serve as one of the examiners during the written test of the Chunin Exams that Naruto and Sasuke took.
Of course, since Arata had come to this world, the very concept of "death" might change in the future. Perhaps death would become a different form of "life."
Two hours later, Arata had regained some strength and reported to the mission office. As expected, the mission was officially marked as a failure.
The reason? Despite eliminating the enemy, he had failed to follow Tatsuma's explicit orders to head to the northern border.
Failure to complete a mission was a big deal. No matter what had happened along the way, unless it led to overwhelming merit, it wouldn't be enough to cover up the failure.
"Just as I thought, another failure on my record. My Genin resume must look like a complete disaster.
When Naruto and Sasuke's generation comes around, those kids will probably laugh themselves silly reading my file."
Arata didn't care in the slightest.
In this era, the ideology of "the mission comes first" was at its peak.
The notion of "protecting comrades above all" was seen as heresy, it wouldn't become the norm until the Naruto-Sasuke generation, and even then, only after countless people had sacrificed themselves in war to slowly shift public sentiment.
Just as he was about to leave, a masked man blocked his path.
"Genin Yoshida Arata. Lord Tatsuma requests your presence."
"Lord Tatsuma… Understood."
Arata nodded solemnly and gave his reply.
Other shinobi moving hurriedly around them all paused to glance over in surprise.
"That guy's wearing a mask… Is he Anbu? But the pattern and shape look a bit off…"
"Why would someone from Anbu be delivering a message to a Genin?"
But soon, everyone lost interest and returned to their own urgent tasks, quickly preparing to head out to the frontlines.
…
Though technically under the Anbu umbrella, Root operated with its own entirely separate structure.
Tatsuma had summoned Arata not as a deputy commander of Root, but in his capacity as the deputy commander of the Medical Division.
"I've received Takano's verbal report. He said you used the Dead Soul Technique to catch the enemy off guard and kill them."
Tatsuma remained shrouded in his oversized robes, his cold gaze piercing through his sunglasses and locking onto Arata.
"So that girl actually taught you that technique… Even though you were one of the useless ones I discarded during selection, why would she choose to pass that jutsu to you?"