Fire Shadow Mindset

"No problem, leave it to me!"

Tamura Hiroshi responded without a hint of hesitation. For him, any problem money could solve wasn't a problem at all.

"Good! Good! Good! From now on, our training depends on you. If anything comes up, just come to me—as long as it doesn't violate my principles, I'll handle it!"

Yozuki A laughed excitedly. With this junior disciple's guarantee, his own training from now on would be secure.

The foundation of Nintaijutsu was physical strength. The stronger the body, the greater the power of Nintaijutsu, so improving physical fitness was crucial.

But the human body had its limits. Simple training had limited effects; only by combining it with high-grade Secret Medicine could maximum gains be achieved, even breaking through the body's innate limits to some extent.

"Big brother, if you ever have this kind of good opportunity in the future, just tell your little brother. When it comes to money, I'll do my utmost to meet your needs."

Tamura Hiroshi was also very pleased. Though Yozuki A clearly intended to use his wealth to aid his own training, he didn't mind—there was nothing to mind about it.

A perfect group should have those with money contribute money, those with strength contribute strength, and those with resources contribute resources.

For Yozuki A to bring out this family-secret Secret Medicine was already impressive; this wasn't something you could buy with cash.

Fukai on the side grew even more puzzled, feeling like some major event had happened that he didn't know about.

"You're having a good chat!"

At that moment, a burly figure walked in—it was the Third Raikage.

"Teacher!"

"Dad!"

"Lord Raikage!"

The three of them quickly greeted him, though Tamura Hiroshi's call of "Teacher" made the Third Raikage's eyelids twitch involuntarily.

This disciple was too dangerous. One slip and his lifelong reputation would shatter.

Suppressing the urge to clean house on this disciple, the Third Raikage said sternly, "Take off your clothes. This Old Man will shatter your bones for you."

Seeing Tamura Hiroshi's stunned look, Yozuki A explained, "The Yozuki clan's heirloom Hand Blade requires Body Shattering training. Only by fracturing the bones can the medicine's power better seep into the bone marrow. After healing, the bones will be stronger."

"Teacher, go ahead!"

Tamura Hiroshi understood and stripped without any hesitation, signaling to the Third Raikage that he was ready.

He couldn't miss out on this kind of good fortune. A short period of pain was nothing compared to the suffering and hardship those three workaholics in Konoha endured.

The Third Raikage said nothing more. He raised his hand and rapidly struck Tamura Hiroshi's body, cracking every bone with precise strikes, even using exquisite technique to fracture the spine. Then he grabbed the grimacing, convulsing youth and dunked him into a wooden tub for a medicinal bath.

Though it was called Body Shattering training, it didn't mean breaking bones completely—just cracking them enough for the medicine to penetrate inside.

But this required extremely high-level skill. One mistake could cripple someone, especially on the spine. In all of Kumogakure, only the Third Raikage could do it.

He then used the same technique on his son and nephew, cracking their bones and placing them into tubs to soak.

Of course, this was mainly arranged for his son and nephew—an all-out effort to boost their strength and potential.

One was his son and successor; the other was his chosen candidate for the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki. Both would inevitably become pillars of the village, so the stronger their potential and power, the better.

"Teacher, don't you need to crack the skull to help absorb the medicine?"

Having recovered from the pain, Tamura Hiroshi asked. This kind of body tempering should be as perfect as possible—he didn't want any weak spots left behind.

"The skull already has gaps. No need to crack it."

The Third Raikage shot him a glare. He wouldn't dare touch the head. Cracking the spine without damaging the spinal cord was already the limit of his ability, and the skull truly didn't need it.

The skull naturally had cracks and gaps, and the jawbone connected to the teeth—medicine could seep through them. There would be no weak points.

"Teacher, don't you want a tub? Money's no problem. I don't just earn from writing novels—that Entertainment City in the village is mine. It's basically fully built now, and I should be pulling in about a hundred million in pure profit every month."

Tamura Hiroshi had great confidence in his money-making ability. He couldn't put everything into the novel business—that had its limits and would eventually saturate.

Not to mention the copycats. Relying on that for income wasn't a long-term plan. So three years ago, he'd secretly used the money from his novels to recruit people and break into the food and entertainment industry.

"Little Lamb Hotpot City?"

"That's yours?"

Yozuki A and Fukai were both stunned. They knew that Entertainment City well—it was carved out of a small mountain in the village. It started as just a Little Lamb Hotpot, which took the whole village by storm. They went there often themselves.

Since then, the Entertainment City had kept expanding, introducing countless new foods and novelties. But the boss behind it was always mysterious, never seen by anyone. They never imagined it was this youth.

Wasn't this kid only seven three years ago?

The Third Raikage was also quite surprised. He knew a fair bit about that Entertainment City.

"Can you actually get your hands on that hundred million?"

He sneered. He'd heard from Dodai about the situation there. Since the boss never showed up, the management had started getting ideas.

"Well, isn't that why I have you, Teacher? I'm willing to hand over fifty percent of the revenue as tax to the Raikage Building. And I want to expand the Entertainment City project across the entire world—especially opening branches in other hidden villages. For that, I'll need the Third Teacher's and the village's support."

Tamura Hiroshi grinned slyly. He'd long expected those people would have their schemes, which was why he'd never revealed himself. Back then, he'd used the Transformation Jutsu to change his appearance when recruiting people and set up a general development plan—all to avoid exposing his identity and getting swallowed up by them.

But now it was different. He had his teacher, the Third Raikage, backing him—the top dog of Kumogakure. What was there to fear?

If those people still dared to have any funny ideas, they'd have to see whether their heads were harder or the Third Raikage's Hell Stab was sharper.

Of course, he had to share the profits. Binding interests would ensure stability, and with the Third Teacher's and Kumogakure's support, he could expand the Entertainment City project across the entire Land of Lightning, and even the whole world—raking in money from everywhere.

"You've gone and schemed against This Old Man again—hand over a report to Dodai later!"

The Third Raikage shook his head with a wry smile, agreeing to the matter, then nodded in satisfaction. "This kind of medicinal bath is only effective before adulthood. Once the body's bones are fully grown, the effects weaken greatly. Besides, This Old Man's current physical condition can no longer be enhanced by such external aids.

What's more, some of the materials are limited—money alone can't get them. At this stage, supplying enough for the three of you to train is already the limit."

Though this clan's secret medicinal bath boasted astonishing effects, it had its limits.

Moreover, when he had cultivated the Black Lightning, his body had undergone a refinement. That was precisely why he could forge the Lightning Release Armor into the Strongest Shield.

In terms of physical prowess, he was unquestionably the foremost in the shinobi world today. Even the God of Shinobi of that era couldn't match him in pure physique—what made the First Hokage formidable was his monstrous Chakra.

"The medicinal bath requires three hours to absorb. After that, someone will come in and use Medical Ninjutsu to help you quickly repair the Bone Cracks. By then, you should be able to walk."

With that final remark, the Third Raikage turned and left.

He was far too busy at this stage to waste time here.

"Which master are you?"

Once the Third Raikage had left, Fukai finally asked in a low voice.

After Tamura Hiroshi mentioned earning money by writing novels, he had guessed at this student's identity.

He was something of a book fan himself, so he naturally knew how wildly popular those bestsellers were.

He just didn't know which of those masters this student was.

As for the identity of the Entertainment City's owner, while it surprised him, there wasn't much to say about it.

"All of them."

Tamura Hiroshi didn't hide it, answering frankly.

Since Yozuki A had brought Fukai along to enjoy this precious medicinal bath, it meant he was one of their own—no need for secrecy.

Not to mention, this man was his squad leader and teacher, someone he'd be spending a long time with. Some things couldn't be hidden from him, so it was better to just say it now.

"All of them?"

Fukai was puzzled. None of those nine masters seemed to be named "All of them," did they?

"Hahaha... sss—"

On the other side, Yozuki A burst out laughing, then winced as the pain from his bone injuries hit him, his face twisting—mostly from amusement.

Fukai looked over in confusion, not understanding why his cousin was laughing.

He knew this cousin was also a die-hard fan of those masters. In that regard, neither brother had any room to mock the other.

"I meant all of them—I wrote every single one of those books."

Tamura Hiroshi explained helplessly. Though the books themselves were embarrassing, they were all boys here—no need to stand on ceremony.

"All of them... sss—!"

Fukai froze, then was stunned, and as he jolted, the pain from his bone injuries made him hiss sharply, his face contorting.

"How did you manage that?"

It took him a good while to recover, still shocked and bewildered.

This student was only ten years old!

"Probably because I have the mindset of a village's shadow."

Tamura Hiroshi replied. In the future, Uchiha Itachi would possess the mindset of a Hokage—this Tamura's Hokage mindset was just as authentic.