Fate: I Will Eventually Become the Hero of Justice

Chapter 26

A scapegoat. Shirou understood that in order to conceal his identity as a Master, he needed a substitute Master or scapegoat to serve as a decoy so he can disguise himself as Caster. This will solve one of his problems, but...

Despite this realization, deep down he still desired to have another scapegoat take his place as a Servant, yet he knew there was no way to make it happen.

The distinctive aura of Servants is easily recognizable, it's the same with his unique aura brought by his Saint Graph. But this is only when he was activating it. This is why Matou Zouken initially failed to see through him as a Servant, underestimating him and ultimately resulting in defeat.

However, when considering someone to act as a substitute, Shiro couldn't bring himself to use an innocent person as a sacrifice. After much contemplation, he could only choose someone who is extremely nefarious. Thus, the only viable option was Uryuu Ryuunosuke who still roams free as a murderer.

Trying to enter the deadly whirlwind of the Holy Grail War and then attempting to escape from it? Impossible! Ryuunosuke is simply elusive and difficult to capture.

The only thing for certain is that this individual is still in Fuyuki City. However, it is of little concern as he is no match for Shirou. Even someone like Ryuunosuke, who managed to evade justice in the technologically limited 1990s, would not be able to evade capture in today's world of nationwide surveillance cameras, instant internet access, and DNA tracking technology.

It is sufficient to demonstrate to him the true meaning of justice in a harmonious society. And with his mastery of magecraft, Shirou now possesses the ability to match the technological advancements of 2019.

There is a basic form of magecraft known as "Search," which uses a strand of hair from the targeted individual to locate their whereabouts. Even though Shirou may not be aware of this particular magecraft, it is ingrained in the spiritual foundation of Emiya. The range of the search is determined by the amount of magical energy used in the magecraft.

Shirou's magical attribute is at a level of C, which is sufficient to use the "Search" magecraft to locate Ryuunosuke within Fuyuki City. However, this magecraft is only effective against ordinary individuals as a true magus has many ways to counter it. Fortunately, as Ryuunosuke has not yet summoned his servant, he remains an ordinary person and thus, can be easily found by Shirou using this magecraft.

With a well-constructed plan in place, Shirou visited the police station at dawn and used "Suggestion" to obtain a strand of hair found at the scene of Ryuunosuke's kidnapping. Utilizing this strand of hair, he spent three hours tracking down Ryuunosuke, who was hiding in a small, dilapidated house in Shinto and on the brink of starvation.

Upon seeing Shirou, Ryuunosuke was perplexed. Shirou then employed a powerful form of "Suggestion" to hypnotize him into believing that he was a Master. Shirou brought him to a relatively secluded tattoo shop in Shinto. Using "Suggestion" again to influence the tattoo artist, the artist followed Shirou's instructions and tattooed command seals onto Ryuunosuke's right hand.

Shirou had previously considered using tattoos to conceal the seals, but it was not feasible with his parent around, as "Suggestion" can be easily undone when there is a lack of consistency between the brain's cognition and reality. Furthermore, as a mother, Mrs. Fujimaru would not have been pleased to see her son getting tattooed.

The idea did not come to him later when he was trying to escape Fuyuki City. At this point, these elaborate actions are no longer necessary, as it would be more advantageous to create a Master and have them sacrifice themselves instead.

Ultimately, the tattoo artist makes a living with their skills and the tattoo on Ryuunosuke's hand looks very realistic and like a true Command Seals just by looking at it. After the tattoo was completed, Shirou used "Suggestion" again to make the artist forget about this incident. He also did not pay him, not because he wanted to avoid paying, but because doing so would create an inconsistency with reality and could cause the artist to have doubts, which might break the "Suggestion" and increase the chance of this matter being exposed.