Chapter 75: Kurama Yakumo
The branch family girl and Kamizuki Izumo raced toward the Hokage Tower.
Though it was never strictly enforced, there was an unspoken rule in the village: except for the ANBU and those on missions, shinobi shouldn't recklessly release chakra within the village—leaping across rooftops like monkeys and causing a scene.
After all, the village was home to countless civilians. Such behavior could easily disrupt public order.
That's why someone like Naruto Uzumaki, who ran around causing mischief and even painted graffiti on the Hokage Rock, was often scolded by Iruka.
At the moment,
the two raced across rooftops at full speed, arriving swiftly at the Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was overwhelmed with preparations for the Chunin Exams. Upon seeing them, he set down his scroll in confusion. "You two? What is it?"
"Hokage-sama, the game merchant may have entered the village," the branch family girl reported gravely, kneeling on one knee.
"Kamizuki, can you recall his appearance?"
At these words, Hiruzen's eyes suddenly widened, and even the pipe between his lips twitched.
Izumo froze and tried to recall—
but despite having just met the man, he found he couldn't picture the man's face. It was as if it had been obscured by fog.
The more he tried to remember, the less he could grasp.
Seeing Izumo struggle, Hiruzen sighed, "Don't force it. It may be a genjutsu…"
Just then,
the crystal ball on his desk—used to cast the Telescope Technique—lit up on its own.
A young, well-dressed nobleman was walking casually through the village streets. He looked up slightly and smiled politely toward the Hokage Tower.
"Honorable Hokage, I've come to observe the Chunin Exams, which I've heard so much about. Forgive me for intruding."
The crystal ball dimmed again.
In an instant, four ANBU wearing animal masks appeared. One of them shook their head and said, "No chakra fluctuations detected."
In Hiruzen's cloudy eyes, a deep sense of unease surfaced.
The Telescope Technique could only be activated unilaterally and required the user to lock onto the subject's chakra signature.
Hiruzen was certain he had never met this man, let alone shared his chakra with him.
Yet the mysterious game merchant had managed to reverse-cast the technique and perfectly time his message with the moment the two shinobi arrived to report.
This kind of skill—
It didn't involve cataclysmic power, but it defied reason.
Fortunately, the game merchant had expressed enough goodwill, which slightly eased Hiruzen's nerves.
He said, "Our village has always cherished peace. As long as no harm is done to Konoha, anyone is a welcome guest. You two may return to your posts—there's no need to overreact."
The game merchant, whose mysterious abilities had already shaken the ninja world, couldn't be treated as an enemy.
If possible, Hiruzen even wanted to recruit him—though he knew that was a long shot. Still, he had to show Konoha's goodwill.
"Inform all Konoha shinobi: under no circumstances are they to offend this noble guest."
That was the order Hiruzen gave.
He couldn't reveal the merchant's identity publicly, but since the man had entered as a noble, it was enough to warn shinobi to avoid offending anyone of noble status.
Elsewhere—
On a quiet and secluded street, Kurama Yakumo sat calmly on a bench, a drawing board placed before her.
She had a delicate and peaceful appearance.
Holding a paintbrush between her fingers, she painted the entire street onto her canvas—every passerby, every detail, rendered with lifelike precision.
And yet—
The nobleman sitting idly across from her on the sidewalk, no matter how hard she tried, could not be drawn.
Even with her exceptional artistic skill, whenever she tried to sketch him, her hand moved like a novice's—completely unsure of where to begin.
It was as if that man did not belong to this world, as though he existed beyond the laws of reality, impossible to capture.
The strange sensation filled her with frustration.
"Damn it, what's going on?"
Kurama Yakumo clutched her head in agitation, then abruptly slashed her brush across the canvas.
Crack!
Thunder roared overhead. A blinding bolt of lightning erupted from the sky, striking the middle of the street.
The bizarre phenomenon caused nearby pedestrians to flee in panic.
"I'm sorry for the disturbance."
Fang Yi smiled as he looked at the now-wary Kurama Yakumo. From his pocket, he pulled out a delicately wrapped piece of candy.
Snap.
He broke it in two, offering half to the pale-faced girl.
Yakumo looked around, astonished that someone had managed to approach her undetected.
Had her caretaker shinobi—assigned to watch over her around the clock—fallen asleep on the job?
She looked down at the candy in Fang Yi's hand.
Never take candy from a stranger.
Even a three-year-old knew that. And the man before her, clearly not from Konoha, was a complete unknown.
Yet—
"Thank you."
Kurama Yakumo took the candy without hesitation and popped it into her mouth.
She did it on purpose—
a small act of rebellion against Konoha.
She hated the village. Hated the Hokage. Hated Yūhi Kurenai for keeping her under watch.
Anything that would upset them—even if it was clearly wrong—she would do it.
"Kurama Yakumo."
Fang Yi's lips curled into a smile. He hadn't expected to find such a pleasant surprise while casually strolling the village. "Bloodline inheritor of the Kurama clan. Due to frail health, you couldn't become a shinobi, so you settled for being an artist."
[Kurama Yakumo (Gold)]: Exceptionally high spiritual power, possesses the ability to manifest illusion into reality.
Golden potential.
As expected, Konoha truly was a cradle of talent. Not only did it house countless secret technique clans, but even rare abilities like this were tucked away within it.
Hearing Fang Yi's words, Yakumo didn't react with anger. She simply asked calmly, "Mysterious noble sir, did you approach me just to say that?"
The fact that he had approached without alerting her 24-hour surveillance, and revealed her identity, was already alarming.
Fang Yi's tone remained warm. "You'd make an excellent player."
If he lacked leverage, he might need elaborate persuasion and roundabout tactics.
But as the owner of the Reincarnation Game, he didn't need that. He just had to offer the deal plainly.
"Player?"
Yakumo looked puzzled.
Confined to the Kurama estate, she rarely received news from the outside world. She had no idea that the Reincarnation Game had already become the talk of the entire shinobi world.
She was about to ask more when—
She suddenly froze.
"This is..."
Her eyes widened like a frightened rabbit.
The candy she had just swallowed felt like a burning fireball.
Waves of warm, domineering energy surged from her stomach to every part of her body. The chakra she had just expended to summon the lightning was instantly replenished.
Her chakra reserves... were increasing.
Her Kurama bloodline gave her extremely sensitive perception.
She could clearly feel it—her rising chakra wasn't a side effect,
but a direct result of her inherently frail body beginning to change.
Her cells were becoming more active, their vitality growing stronger right before her eyes.
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