After A led him through a thorough series of examinations, Haruki noticed his senior looking like he had something to say but couldn't quite bring himself to. Haruki smiled.
"Big Bro A—we're fellow disciples now. If you've got something to say, just say it."
A glanced around. Only after confirming no one was nearby did he lower his voice and ask,
"When's your next major release coming out?"
He was a die-hard fan of his kohai's work. He bought every single volume and had been waiting desperately for the next one.
Even though his kohai (junior/underclassman) was unbelievably productive—one book per month, each around a hundred thousand words—it still wasn't enough.
He'd finished the last one on the very first day he bought it. For more than half a month now, he'd been craving the next installment.
Hearing that this was what A wanted to ask, Haruki's eyelid twitched. He answered helplessly,
"The manuscript's already been submitted to the publisher. It should be in printing right now. It'll be on sale on the first of next month."
"Kohai, you're a machine!"
A gave a thumbs-up, his desire somehow intensifying even more.
Thankfully, there was only a week left until he could get his hands on it.
"Do you need to change where you're living?"
A immediately shifted to another matter. During the examinations, he'd talked with Haruki and learned where he lived—a civilian district. The place was a maze, not very safe.
"No need. Lord Dodai seems to have plans. It's better if I stay there."
Haruki shook his head slightly. He could more or less guess Dodai's intent—put simply, they wanted him to act as a half double-agent, using him to trip up Danzō and Konoha.
He wasn't opposed to that.
Only by proving his value could he secure greater rewards.
"Fine. I'll have an elder from my clan move nearby to keep an eye on you. If anything happens, use explosive tags immediately. And you should set up some precautions inside your home. If there's movement, that elder will rush over at once."
A pulled out a stack of high-grade explosive tags and handed them over. He'd just had someone fetch them—there were a full hundred.
"Thank you, Senpai!"
Haruki accepted the stack gratefully. This was exactly what he needed right now—for self-defense and for keeping secrets.
"Work hard. Whatever Konoha can offer you, we can offer you more."
A patted the boy's shoulder. He genuinely thought highly of this student, and didn't want him making the wrong choice in the future.
As for Haruki's spy background, that wasn't a big deal.
As long as he truly integrated into Kumogakure and had enough value, the village could accommodate him.
Kumogakure had always been hungry for talent. Over the years, they had launched multiple operations outward—seizing skilled people and secret technique inheritances.
Once those people sincerely joined the village, Kumogakure treated them well.
If they could accept those people, they could certainly accept Haruki.
"I'll remember that," Haruki said, nodding solemnly. "I won't disappoint you or Sensei."
And he meant it.
He had no desire to return to Konoha—least of all to live under Danzō Shimura. There was no future there. It was hard to rise, and even survival wasn't guaranteed.
Just look at how many people died in the original history of Konoha, how many clans were wiped out. In the end, even the two founding families were nearly extinguished. The darkness and bloodshed hidden beneath the surface were beyond imagination.
Konoha even got flattened more than once in later years.
A "peaceful" village, sure—peacefully drowning in disasters.
Konoha was powerful, filled with prodigies and deep heritage… but that was both its strength and its weakness. Internal contradictions piled atop contradictions, becoming a tangled mess. Get dragged into it carelessly, and you'd die without even knowing why.
Among the Five Great Villages, Kumogakure had the best reputation—fewer missing-nin, especially under the Third Raikage's rule.
As for Konoha… there were traps everywhere.
Kirigakure had implemented the Bloody Mist policy after the Third Mizukage took power—killing their own people with enthusiasm. An outsider like him would fare even worse.
Sunagakure was nothing but sand, with limited resources and fewer secret jutsus, and he had no interest in becoming a puppet user.
And as for hand-building a giant puppet suit of armor… sorry, he wasn't that capable.
Iwagakure was also relatively xenophobic, with plenty of internal problems.
Unless he could become the Third Tsuchikage's student—which was nearly impossible. That old fox would at minimum subject him to a genjutsu interrogation.
So comparatively speaking, Kumogakure was the best choice—mainly because the Third Raikage was, in his own way, straightforward. When he made a decision, it was final.
That was exactly why Haruki dared to reveal his spy identity.
After chatting with A for a while, Haruki left the Raikage Building and returned to his apartment.
The moment he got home, he took out explosive tags and thin wire, setting traps throughout the room—walls, ceiling, floor, nothing spared—so no one could slip in silently and slit his throat.
"The first hurdle is cleared."
Letting out a long breath, Haruki undressed and went into the bathroom to rinse off.
He might have acted calm earlier, but inside, he'd been panicking like crazy. His underclothes had been soaked through with sweat.
It had been a gamble. If he lost, he would die—no question.
Even though his odds of success were high, it was still a risk, and the pressure was something ordinary people couldn't understand.
Fortunately, he had succeeded.
It was only the first hurdle, but it was the most critical one.
As long as he remained loyal to Kumogakure, upheld the Will of Lightning, abandoned the "Will of Fire" that Danzō had drilled into him, and continued proving his value, he should be safe.
"How are you now…?"
From beneath the bottom of his bedside drawer, Haruki pulled out a photograph. He stared at the blonde girl in it, his gaze turning distant.
Back then, a large part of the reason he had been able to obtain the mission to infiltrate Kumogakure—using it as a chance to break away from Danzō—had been because of a scheme involving this girl.
Five years had passed.
He wondered how she was doing.
Given how capable she was, she was probably doing very well under Danzō's command.
After letting his thoughts drift for a while, Haruki slid the photo back beneath the drawer lining.
He kept it mainly to mislead certain people—to make Danzō believe his "bond" still existed, so that the old man wouldn't send someone to erase him.
At the same time, Haruki could potentially use it for future planning.
Danzō possessed plenty of valuable assets.
"What was that feeling earlier…?"
Haruki recalled the strange sensation he'd experienced when entering the Raikage's office.
It had felt like something entered his body—more precisely, his head.
At the time, he'd suspected some kind of genjutsu-based inspection method. After all, that had been the Raikage's office.
But later, he'd asked A indirectly, and discovered it wasn't that.
And during the weapon demonstration in the training chamber, the same strange sensation had appeared again—like something slipped into his mind.
He even felt it once more after returning home—during his shower.
So what was it?
After thinking for a while with no answer, Haruki closed his eyes. He began refining chakra, while focusing his attention on his head.
Refining chakra caused mental energy and physical vitality to become more active. If something abnormal was happening inside his head, he should be able to sense it.
And sure enough—when he didn't refine chakra, nothing happened.
But the moment he started, it was as if something had been triggered.
The chakra around his head instantly surged deeper into his brain—like it was being swallowed by some existence.
Then the chakra in the rest of his body seemed to respond, rushing uncontrollably toward his head as well—
And Haruki's consciousness was pulled into a pitch-black, empty void.