Seeing the Third Raikage frowning in confusion, Tamura Hao finally felt at ease.
Good—he really hasn't read them!
"Those are all novels I wrote. They're extremely popular and have made me a lot of money. The ten billion ryō is my royalty income!"
He finally gave a legitimate explanation for the origin of his wealth.
When he first arrived in this world, he was obsessed with finding a way to grow stronger.
After realizing he had no "golden finger," average chakra reserves, and no inherited techniques or clan legacy, he knew his only path forward was through external power.
And the most powerful external asset in any world—even one where ninjas throw fire and lightning—was still money. But earning money in a world like Naruto, where even dangerous criminals longed for "peace," was no easy task.
It wasn't until he recalled the literary legacy of the future Sannin, Jiraiya, that inspiration struck. For the past few years, he'd been writing books, using his "innocent" child status to enter bathhouses, red-light districts, and even Kumo's Kabukichō equivalent to gather "material." Then he adapted those experiences into erotic novels tailored to the tastes and worldviews of shinobi society.
They sold like hotcakes.
"Novels?"
The Third Raikage was taken aback. Was it really possible to earn ten billion ryō from writing?
He turned and looked to his advisor, Dodai, for an explanation.
Dodai, who had spent far too much of his own secret savings on those scandalous books over the years, narrowed his eyes. "…If he's really the author of all those works, it's not hard to believe he could raise that kind of money."
He had long suspected a single writer was behind titles like The Tale of Kato Bin and Carefree Rogue Shinobi. That author had appeared out of nowhere around five years ago—meaning the child had started writing at the age of five.
A terrifying prodigy.
The Third Raikage noticed the strange expression on Dodai's face but didn't pursue it. His attention shifted to something far more important.
"What's the intelligence?"
Tamura Hao took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I was planted in Kumogakure by Shimura Danzo as an undercover agent to gather intelligence. But I had no choice—I was forcibly taken in. My parents died long ago. Now that I'm about to officially become a Kumo ninja, I want to live my life loyal to the Hidden Cloud."
That's right—his roots were in Konohagakure. Because he was able to extract chakra at age three, he drew the attention of Danzo Shimura and was inducted into his Root program for training. By five, he was smuggled into Kumo, replacing the grandson of a retired elder.
The real grandson had been abducted by Root agents. The old man was bribed and manipulated into raising Tamura Hao in his place. A year ago, the old man mysteriously passed away.
Tamura Hao was now cutting ties with his origin.
He knew how these things worked—confessing early was a sign of loyalty; waiting until after being exposed would be seen as excuse-making, or worse, deceit. He didn't want to risk ending up tortured, brain-probed, or subjected to genjutsu by Kumo's intelligence division.
He wanted to live. Openly. As a decent person.
The air went still. All three Cloud shinobi grew serious.
Tamura Hao's heart raced, but he stood firm and held the Third Raikage's gaze, making his intentions clear.
Dodai and Yeyue Ai stayed silent, waiting for their leader's verdict.
"Well said," the Third Raikage finally smiled, his stern face softening. "From today on, you are a shinobi of Kumogakure—and my personal student."
Even though the child's background was complicated, the Raikage wasn't concerned.
He'd spoken honestly, offered a billion ryō, and presented three weapons with immense battlefield value. That was sincerity.
More importantly, the kid's brain was priceless. If he could design those devices today, who could guess what he might create in the future?
And if he was a spy?
The Third Raikage smirked.
"Then send more spies like him."
Tamura Hao finally exhaled, his legs nearly buckling. A cold sweat drenched his back. The pressure had been immense.
Dodai and Yeyue Ai also looked relieved. They had started to admire the boy—especially the craftsmanship in those 'works of literature.'
It would've been a waste for it all to end here.
"Raikage-sama," Dodai said, suddenly inspired. "We could use his status as a former spy to reverse-feed misinformation to Shimura Danzo."
Dodai was Kumogakure's top strategist, a shinobi whose mind the Raikage trusted. He saw tactical value in the situation.
"You're in charge of that."
The Raikage approved immediately. As long as it benefited the village, even the darkest roots could bear useful fruit.
"Have him checked. Danzo is ruthless. He may've implanted something."
The Raikage gave the order calmly, as if he were requesting routine paperwork.
"Also—everything that just occurred is now classified at the highest level. No one outside this room is to know."
Finally, he turned to his son, Yeyue Ai, and added a warning look.
"Understood."
Tamura Hao bowed deeply.
"Disciple takes his leave!"
With relief flooding him, he followed Yeyue Ai out of the room.
Once they were gone, the Third Raikage walked to the wall. With a kunai, he carefully dug out the deformed bullets embedded in the stone.
Then he infused his fingers with Lightning Release and jabbed at the cratered surface, gouging new holes to resemble the impact points of his signature technique, Hell Stab.
Even though this was a private training chamber—off-limits to others—he couldn't take chances. Kumo had enemies with unknown ninjutsu, spies capable of infiltrating almost anywhere. If someone traced the unique damage patterns back to the prototype weapons, it could lead to trouble.
Dodai understood immediately. He stepped over and sealed the Vulcan Gun, Vulcan Cannon, and the Heavy Cannon into storage scrolls.
"That's a clever little brat," the Third Raikage said as he punched a final crater.
"Very clever indeed," Dodai agreed. From the powerful weapons to the bestselling smut to his calculated confession today, the boy had shown remarkable intelligence and guts.
"How long to develop them?"
The Raikage's tone grew serious again. He knew these weapons were still in prototype form. Materials, sealing tech, production—everything needed refinement. Even the boy's future ideas would take tremendous effort to realize.
Dodai had anticipated this.
"R&D will take five years at minimum. We'll need steel, mass detonating tag production, sealing specialists, and a specialized firearms corps trained to operate them. Ten years to full deployment."
He paused, then added with gravity, "And once we use them, the enemy will copy the designs. These weapons are too simple in principle. We'll only catch them off guard once—so our first strike must be decisive."
"…Ten years, huh?"
The Third Raikage exhaled, disappointed.
This war wouldn't last that long.
Kumogakure had already been weakened by the First Great Ninja War, especially after the rebellion of Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Not only had they turned traitor, but they had also slain the Second Raikage. Countless elite shinobi died putting them down.
This next war would be brutal.
The losses… immeasurable.