While Haruki was still soaking in the medicinal bath, news of his unusual performance had already reached Konoha. The report had been delivered via a summoning beast—fast and efficient.
"He uncovered the spy who embezzled Kumogakure's funds for purchasing supplies, earned praise and rewards from the Third Raikage, became the student of the Raikage's nephew, and has even grown close to the Raikage's son."
Staring at the concise intelligence report, Danzo Shimura fell silent. After a long moment, the image of a precociously mature child from years past surfaced in his mind.
"I remember that boy had a childhood companion—a girl he grew up with."
Danzo's impression of those two children was still vivid. Their talent in ninjutsu had been mediocre at best, but their mental maturity far exceeded their peers—ideal qualities for spies.
Coupled with the fact that the boy possessed only a single Lightning-nature chakra affinity, Danzo had sent him to Kumogakure.
At the time, it had merely been a casual move—a disposable chess piece meant to replace an aging asset there.
Who would have thought that this insignificant pawn would develop so well on his own?
"These are their files."
A masked Root operative stepped forward and handed over two dossiers. Danzo flipped them open. At the top was a black-and-white photograph of a young boy, beneath which was written a name:
Tamura Riten.
This was Tamura Haruki's registered name in this world.
He had originally had no surname. After his parents learned that their son had been recruited by Danzo's department, they fabricated the surname "Tamura," inspired by Danzo's own name.
Naturally, such an invented surname carried no true recognition. In this era, surnames bore extraordinary significance—symbols of status and lineage—not something just anyone could claim.
Seeing that name, Danzo couldn't help but think of his old companion, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After a brief moment of reminiscing about their past missions together, Danzo casually skimmed the files. There was little of note.
Both children's strengths lay mainly in their early-developed minds. Their training talent was average—especially the boy's.
Only the girl showed notable promise, particularly in medical ninjutsu. Given time, she might even reach Tsunade's current level—an extremely rare talent.
Even so, Danzo valued Nono Yakushi's intelligence-gathering abilities far more.
At the core of ninja warfare lay intelligence.
Root itself had been established precisely for that purpose.
A single valuable piece of information could outweigh the worth of an entire jōnin.
Konoha did not lack talent or elite ninja—if anything, it had too many.
"Promote his clearance level to B-rank."
Danzo closed the file and issued the order.
Once merely a low-tier pawn, the piece had now increased in value. Its status naturally needed to rise accordingly.
"Yes."
The masked operative acknowledged and withdrew the dossiers.
"Have our people there make contact with him. Order him to investigate Kumogakure's upcoming war plans—and their progress in utilizing the tailed beasts."
After a moment of thought, Danzo gave the command.
He had long sensed that the great ninja villages were already preparing. The Second Great Ninja War was imminent—the only question was where it would ignite.
Kumogakure was a pure martial village. Its leadership was overwhelmingly hawkish, favoring expansion and plunder. Over the years, they had seized countless secret techniques and talents.
If not for the betrayal of Kinkaku and Ginkaku during the First Shinobi World War—an event that crippled Kumogakure's strength—that conflict would not have ended so easily.
Thus, Kumogakure's intentions were critical.
The sooner they were understood, the better Konoha could prepare.
Then there were the tailed beasts.
Danzo had personally witnessed the terror of the Nine-Tails. A single Tailed Beast Bomb was apocalyptic—once deployed on the battlefield, it spelled annihilation for any side.
---
Meanwhile, after the medicinal bath's effects had fully permeated his body, Tamura Haruki was lifted from the tub and treated by a medical-nin, who accelerated the healing of the fractures in his bones.
"Is this… human?"
Struggling upright, Haruki examined a fragment of broken tooth he had found at the bottom of the tub.
"One of the main ingredients is bone from the Kaguya Clan," A replied with a nod.
"This batch used parts from a Kaguya jōnin."
Across the entire shinobi world, only the Kaguya Clan possessed bones that exceeded the natural limits of durability.
That was why medicinal baths refined with their bones were so effective at strengthening skeletal structure.
"So humans really are the greatest medicine of all."
Haruki sighed, entirely unfazed.
Humans were living beings like any other. If animal parts could be used as medicine, so could human ones.
Especially in a world with kekkei genkai and inherited bloodlines—medicinal effects derived from humans far surpassed those of ordinary beasts or even ninja animals.
Only materials from the Three Great Sage Regions—creatures capable of senjutsu—might compare.
If necessary, he wouldn't even object to bone-ash mixed rice.
In a world where even terrorists despaired, only the strong possessed dignity—and control over their own fate. The weak were worth less than a pet.
"This scroll contains my insights into Lightning Release, along with several practical Lightning-style taijutsu techniques. Study it over the next few days. If you have questions, I'll answer them when we meet again."
Fukai handed over a scroll he had prepared in advance. Knowing Haruki possessed only a Lightning affinity, he had tailored these notes specifically for him.
"And this one's from me."
A produced another scroll.
"It includes my experiences with Lightning Release and body refinement—as well as Lariat and the advanced Lariat: Lightning Dance.
"In battle, there are moments when you don't have time to draw a blade. Having an extra option never hurts."
Lightning-style taijutsu consumed far less chakra than most outward-projected ninjutsu. Basic Lariat in particular cost no more chakra than a D-rank technique. With just a bit more growth, Haruki would be able to practice it.
Of course, mastering Lightning nature transformation was a prerequisite—that was the core of Lariat.
"Thank you. I'll study them carefully."
Haruki was genuinely moved—and silently congratulated himself for his earlier gamble.
The payoff was enormous.
"Oh, right. Would you like these two ninja swords?"
He released a sealing formula from a segment of his armor and produced a pair of standard Kumogakure-style blades.
"They were the first ones I had forged, but their design didn't suit my style. I later commissioned another set."
Each sword was about a meter long—perfectly suited for Fukai and A.
Fukai, a dedicated swordsman, picked one up and gave it a test swing. When he infused chakra into the blade, dazzling arcs of lightning rippled across its surface.
"A fine blade!"
He could feel how smoothly chakra flowed through it. This sword was far superior to his previous one—clearly forged with a much higher proportion of chakra-conductive metal. Its balance was impeccable.
A rare treasure.
A tested the other blade as well, channeling his Lightning chakra into it with great interest.
Though he primarily relied on his clan's hand-blade techniques, bare-handed combat always had its limits. A quality weapon would only expand his options.
The sword was light—under two kilograms—but perfectly suited for his high-speed, close-combat style.
"This is far too valuable."
After careful inspection, Fukai sheathed the sword and returned it.
If it had been an ordinary blade—even a high-grade one—he might have accepted it.
But this sword was exceptional. Its value easily exceeded a hundred million ryō.
Such a gift was simply too precious to accept.