Inside a unit in Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, a teenager looked at the longsword that had snapped once again from training, his expression not looking too good.
My teacher's expression has grown more and more abnormal these past few days, and when he looks at us, it carries an even greater sense of intolerance and helplessness. Calculating the time, the Second Great Ninja War will probably begin soon, right?
Recalling the teacher's expression over the past few days, Tamura Hiroshi sensed something was amiss.
As a time-traveler who had defected from the village of Earth, he had been resistant upon figuring out that this was the world of Naruto; after all, this was a bullshit world where even terrorists were yearning for peace and fighting for it!
Especially now that nearly ten years had passed since the official end of the First Shinobi World War, and the Second Great Ninja War was about to start.
Yet he was on the verge of graduation, and even if he intentionally failed to gain the approval of his supervising teacher, he most likely would not be sent back to the Ninja Academy to study for another year, but instead would be kept behind to prepare for the war.
Thinking of the impending Great Ninja War, Tamura Hiroshi wore a face full of sorrow.
Right now, the ninjas in the village are all preparing for the war, and even the few Jonin teachers from the school have been summoned away. I suppose no outstanding supervising Jonin will come to lead the class.
Students from ordinary classes like mine will probably just have a Chunin assigned to lead and instruct us, so wanting to learn good jutsu from the supervising teacher is unrealistic.
Don't look at how the Konoha 11 in Naruto could all obtain guidance from supervising Jonin; those people were from elite classes, just like the elite classes from his past life, full of geniuses.
Even among the Konoha 11, Sakura Haruno, Tenten, and Rock Lee, who seemed like ordinary commoners, were not simple either, or rather, anyone with a surname in this world was not an ordinary commoner.
Because commoners did not have surnames, Tamura Hiroshi did not have one, or at least his parents hadn't. His current surname was chosen by his father on the day he was accepted into Root so that he wouldn't be looked down upon within Root, while his current given name was formed by combining and compressing the names his parents had given him, which also happened to correspond with the name from his past life—the original name had been too embarrassing, and the karma too heavy for him to bear.
And being a commoner meant having mediocre talent, mainly manifested in Chakra Quantity; his father had been thirty years old when he passed away, yet his chakra quantity was still quite touching, struggling even to release a D-rank jutsu, while he himself was now ten years old, yet the chakra inside his body would run out after sequentially releasing the Basic Three Jutsu once.
With this kind of strength, going to the battlefield meant definitely becoming cannon fodder.
I can't drag this out anymore!
Looking at the calendar, graduation day was half a month away. Tamura Hiroshi took a deep breath and made a decision that went against the Will of Fire and the Will of Lightning.
He had to give it a fight, otherwise he would die on the battlefield.
Without delay, he retrieved two pre-prepared storage scrolls from the secret compartment under the bed, and directly left his home to head toward the Raikage Building.
Kumogakure was different from Konoha. Konoha was built on a patch of flat land, whereas Kumogakure was entirely composed of mountains towering into the clouds, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, preventing enemies from easily striking, while simultaneously increasing the difficulty of going up.
Fortunately, Tamura Hiroshi could also be considered a ninja. Not only had he constantly imitated the physical training of those three hard-working guys from Konoha, but he also had the assistance of chakra, making his physical constitution far surpass ordinary people, and he reached the Raikage Building before long.
However, he did not go to the mission hall side of things, but rather to the intelligence department.
"I am Tamura Hiroshi, a student of Class 9, Year 5 at the Ninja Academy. I have an A-rank intelligence report to report to Lord Raikage. You can first transfer these two storage scrolls to Lord Raikage, and Lord Raikage will definitely see me after reading them."
Tamura Hiroshi handed the two storage scrolls he brought to the middle-aged ninja sitting behind the desk, and also attached his student ID card.
He was still a student at the Ninja Academy. At this stage, the system was different from when the plot began; at least here in Kumogakure it was different. Children entered school at age five, with a five-year schooling system, meaning they could graduate at ten years old.
"A-rank intelligence! Brat, do you know that falsely claiming intelligence of this level is a very serious matter?"
The middle-aged ninja was startled, and even the old man drinking tea by the office window couldn't help but look over.
"I will take responsibility for my words!"
Tamura Hiroshi wore a look of solemnity and earnestness. If he didn't have his Golden Finger, how could he possibly take such a risk to come here?
"A student of the Ninja Academy!"
The middle-aged ninja earnestly looked at Tamura Hiroshi for a good while, then took the student ID card to inspect it, and only after confirming it was real did he look at the two storage scrolls.
"What is inside these?"
"Scroll number one seals one billion ryo, which you can inspect. The items sealed inside scroll number two are top-secret and can only be unsealed in the presence of Lord Raikage."
Tamura Hiroshi still maintained a solemn and earnest expression, but the words he spoke caused the two people inside the office to stand up abruptly.
"One billion ryo!"
Both of them stared fixedly at that scroll, unable to understand how a brat could possibly possess such an astronomical fortune.
One had to know that currently at the Bounty Office, even an ordinary Jonin only had a bounty of ten million ryo, an Elite Jonin was worth twenty million ryo, and only those with special status would reach thirty million ryo.
Just how many Jonin was this one billion ryo worth!
The middle-aged ninja looked at the old man. If it really was one billion ryo, then this brat's problem was huge.
The old man didn't say much. After calming his emotions and giving Tamura Hiroshi a deep look, he took the storage scroll marked with a one and opened it. After confirming there was no problem, he formed hand seals and unsealed it, and instantly ten boxes appeared.
Opening one box to take a look, inside were neat and tidy banknotes, all of the largest denomination. Calculated according to the volume of the box, this single box should be one hundred million ryo.
The old man was even more shocked, and then opened all the other boxes, conducting a meticulous inspection. Only after confirming there was no problem did he seal them back into the scroll.
"Come with me to see Lord Raikage."
The old man glanced at the second scroll without opening it. After greeting Tamura Hiroshi, he walked out of the office carrying the two scrolls.
Regardless of what intelligence that brat possessed, or what was inside the second scroll, on the strength of those ten billion ryo alone, he was qualified to see the Raikage.
One billion ryo in itself was not a small amount, let alone the fact that recently the village was precisely in a time of lacking funds, and Lord Raikage had lost his temper several times.
Tamura Hiroshi quickly followed, and before long arrived outside the Raikage Office on the top floor.
After waiting outside the door for a short while, he was granted an audience. The old man first unsealed the first storage scroll, revealing the ten boxes within.
And just as the money reached the Third Raikage, Tamura Hiroshi dazed out for a split second, feeling as though something had entered his head, yet unable to sense what it was. At this moment it was also inconvenient to carefully perceive it, so he could only earnestly lock eyes with the Third Raikage.
He had to admit that he truly lived up to being the strongest Raikage in history; that kind of aura was no exaggeration, making him feel immensely oppressed just looking at it.
"You step down first!"
The Third Raikage looked at the ten boxes, then looked at the teenager putting on a brave face, and finally waved his hand to signal the old man.
The old man didn't say much, glanced at Tamura Hiroshi, and turned to leave.
"Brat, what intelligence do you have to tell the old man?"
The Third Raikage was extremely curious; the combination of one billion ryo and a ten-year-old kid was too bizarre, and there had to be a problem.
Dodai and Yozuki A at the side were also curiously sizing him up, curious about the source of that ten billion ryo, and equally curious about the intelligence he spoke of.
"Cough... The intelligence can be put for later. This time I came mainly wanting to take Lord Raikage as my master, and these one billion ryo are my discipleship gifts. I ask Lord Raikage to please accept them."
With a dry cough, Tamura Hiroshi forced himself to calm down and stated that he was here to apprentice.
As soon as these words came out, even with the Third Raikage's mental fortitude, the corners of his eyes couldn't help twitching slightly, and Yozuki A and Dodai also wore strange expressions.
Could this be considered bribery?
"Although one billion ryo is not a small amount, wanting to become the old man's disciple is still not enough."
Steadying his majestic expression, the Third Raikage did not flatly refuse, and his gaze landed on the second storage scroll.
One billion ryo was indeed not a small amount, especially during this critical period; whether it was himself or the village, both were severely lacking in money.
With these one billion ryo, they would be able to purchase more supplies, and the upcoming Great Ninja War would also be somewhat easier.
However, compared to these one billion ryo, that kid seemed to attach even greater importance to the second storage scroll, and the things inside it were definitely more important than one billion ryo.
Yozuki A and Dodai also looked over at the second storage scroll.
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