Inside a small apartment in Kumogakure, in the Land of Lightning, a young boy stared at the long blade in his hands—now broken once again due to intense training. His expression was anything but pleasant.
"Teacher's expression has been getting worse these past few days. When he looks at us now, there's pity… and helplessness,"
Tamura Hao murmured to himself.
Judging by the timing, the Second Great Ninja War was probably about to begin.
As a transmigrator who had "escaped" from Earth Village and landed in the Naruto world, Tamura Hao had been resistant from the very start. After all, this was a ridiculous place where even terrorists dreamed of peace—and were willing to die for it.
What made things worse was the timing.
Nearly ten years had passed since the end of the First Great Ninja War, and now the Second was looming on the horizon.
And unfortunately, he was about to graduate.
Even if he deliberately failed to earn his instructor's approval, chances were high that he wouldn't be sent back to the Ninja Academy for another year. Instead, he'd simply be retained and prepared for war.
The moment he thought of the battlefield, Tamura Hao's face darkened.
"The village is already mobilizing for war. Even several jōnin instructors from the Academy have been transferred away. There probably won't be any elite jōnin left to lead graduating teams."
Someone like him—an ordinary student from an ordinary class—would most likely be assigned a chūnin instructor at best. Learning high-level ninjutsu from such a leader was unrealistic.
After all, the so-called "Twelve Rookie Nine" in canon were elite-class students—the equivalent of top-tier rocket classes back on Earth. Even those who appeared to be civilians, like Sakura Haruno, Tenten, or Rock Lee, were anything but ordinary.
In this world, having a surname already meant you weren't a true civilian.
True civilians didn't have surnames.
Tamura Hao hadn't had one either—at least, not originally. His parents had none. The surname "Tamura" had only been chosen by his father on the day he was accepted into Root, so that he wouldn't be looked down upon. As for "Hao," it was a compressed fusion of his parents' chosen names—conveniently matching his previous life's name.
The original one had been far too embarrassing.
And the karmic weight behind it was something he simply couldn't bear.
Being a civilian also meant mediocre talent—most noticeably reflected in chakra reserves. When his father died at thirty, his chakra capacity was still pitiful. Casting even a single D-rank ninjutsu was exhausting.
As for Tamura Hao himself?
At ten years old, after performing the three basic techniques—the Transformation, Substitution, and Clone Jutsu—his chakra would be completely drained.
With strength like that, going to war meant only one thing.
Cannon fodder.
"I can't wait any longer."
Glancing at the calendar, Tamura Hao saw that graduation was only half a month away.
He took a deep breath and made a decision—one that openly went against both the Will of Fire and the Will of Lightning.
If he didn't gamble now, he would die on the battlefield.
Without hesitation, he pulled two long-prepared storage scrolls from a hidden compartment beneath his bed and left his home, heading straight for the Raikage Tower.
Kumogakure was nothing like Konohagakure.
Whereas Konoha was built across flat terrain, the Hidden Cloud Village rose among towering mountain peaks. The terrain made it easy to defend and hard to assault—but also far harder to climb.
Fortunately, Tamura Hao was still a ninja.
He had spent years training his body relentlessly, imitating the legendary "three grind demons" of Konoha, and with chakra reinforcement on top of that, his physical condition far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
Before long, he arrived at the Raikage Tower.
He didn't go to the mission hall.
Instead, he headed straight for the Intelligence Division.
"I'm Tamura Hao, a fifth-year student from Class Nine of the Ninja Academy,"
"I have A-rank intelligence to report to the Raikage-sama."
As he spoke, he handed over the two storage scrolls along with his student identification.
"Please deliver these two scrolls to the Raikage-sama first. After he sees what's inside, he will definitely agree to meet me."
The middle-aged ninja behind the desk stiffened.
"A-rank intelligence? Kid, do you have any idea how serious it is to falsely claim something like that?"
Even the elderly man sipping tea by the window turned to look.
"I will take full responsibility for my words."
Tamura Hao's expression was grave and unwavering. If he had any kind of cheat ability, he wouldn't have taken such a risk.
"A Ninja Academy student…"
The middle-aged ninja examined him carefully, verified the authenticity of his ID, and then looked at the scrolls.
"What's inside?"
"Scroll One contains one billion ryō. You're free to verify it."
"Scroll Two contains something classified. It can only be unsealed in front of the Raikage-sama."
The words that followed caused both men in the office to stand up abruptly.
"One… billion ryō?!"
They stared at the scroll in disbelief.
An ordinary jōnin was worth ten million ryō at the Bounty Exchange. An elite jōnin—twenty million. Only those with special status exceeded thirty million.
One billion ryō?
That was worth dozens of jōnin.
The middle-aged ninja looked at the old man. If this was real, then this kid was a huge problem.
The old man said nothing. After calming himself, he took Scroll One, opened it, and formed hand seals to release it.
Ten large chests appeared in the room.
He opened one.
Neatly stacked banknotes filled the chest—maximum denomination. Judging by the volume, one chest equaled exactly one hundred million ryō.
After checking every chest carefully and confirming there were no issues, he sealed them back into the scroll.
"Come with me. We're going to see the Raikage-sama."
Without touching the second scroll, the old man turned and left.
Regardless of what intelligence the boy claimed to possess—or what lay within the second scroll—one billion ryō alone warranted an audience with the Raikage.
Especially now, when the village was desperately short on funds.
Tamura Hao followed closely. Before long, they arrived outside the Raikage's office at the top floor.
After waiting briefly, they were summoned inside.
The old man unsealed the first scroll again, revealing the ten chests.
And at the moment the money appeared before the Third Raikage, Tamura Hao suddenly froze.
Something seemed to enter his mind.
But he couldn't tell what it was.
This wasn't the time to investigate—he forced himself to focus and met the Raikage's gaze directly.
He finally understood why this man was hailed as the strongest Raikage in history.
The pressure alone was suffocating.
"You may leave."
The Third Raikage glanced at the chests, then at the boy who was clearly forcing himself to remain calm, and waved the old man away.
Once the room cleared, the Raikage leaned forward.
"Kid… what intelligence do you wish to report to me?"
A ten-year-old child.
One billion ryō.
The combination was far too strange.
At his side, Dodai and A were also studying the boy with curiosity.
Tamura Hao coughed lightly.
"The intelligence can wait."
"I came here today to request that the Raikage-sama take me as his disciple."
He paused.
"This one billion ryō is my gift of apprenticeship."
For a moment, even the Third Raikage's eye twitched.
Dodai and A wore expressions so strange they bordered on disbelief.
Was this… bribery?
"One billion ryō is not a small sum," the Raikage said slowly.
"But it is not enough to become my disciple."
His gaze shifted to the second storage scroll.
The money was valuable—especially at this critical juncture. With it, the village could procure far more supplies and ease the burden of the coming war.
But compared to the billion ryō…
The boy clearly valued the second scroll even more.
Whatever was inside was worth far more.
Dodai and A followed his gaze.
All eyes settled on the second scroll.