Root's Bond

After Yozuki A led him through a thorough examination, Tamura Hiroshi noticed Yozuki A wearing a hesitating expression and couldn't help smiling. "Big Brother A, we can be considered fellow disciples now. If you have something to say, just spit it out."

"When is your next masterpiece coming out?"

Yozuki A looked left and right, and seeing that no one was around, he finally lowered his voice to ask.

He was a loyal fan of this junior brother of his, having purchased every single masterpiece and constantly looking forward to new ones.

Although this junior brother was very prolific—putting out a book a month, with each one hovering around one hundred thousand words—it still wasn't enough to satisfy him.

He had finished reading the previous book on the very first day he bought it, and for the better part of the month, he had been craving more.

Seeing that Yozuki A was actually asking about this, the corner of Tamura Hiroshi's eye twitched slightly as he helplessly replied, "The manuscript has already been submitted to the publishing house and should be printing now. You'll be able to buy it on the first of next month."

"Junior brother is prolific!"

Yozuki A gave a thumbs-up, feeling an even stronger desire rise within him.

Good thing he could get his hands on it in just another week.

"Do you need to change your residence?"

He promptly brought up another matter. During the examination just now, he had communicated with this junior brother and learned that his residence was in a commoner district, where the alleys were a labyrinth and not very nice.

"No need. Lord Dodai seems to have some ideas, and it's better for me to stay there."

Giving a slight shake of his head, Tamura Hiroshi could roughly understand Dodai's meaning. To put it simply, it was to make him a half-double agent, using that position to plot against Shimura Danzō and Konoha.

He didn't find this repulsive; only by displaying sufficient value could one reap greater rewards.

"Alright, I'll have an elder from the clan move nearby to keep an eye on things for you. If there's danger, use an explosive tag at the very first moment. It's best to set up some traps inside your house, and once that elder spots the commotion, he'll rush over to rescue you immediately."

Yozuki A took out a stack of high-grade explosive tags and handed them over. These were the ones he had just had someone fetch, a full hundred of them.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother!"

Tamura Hiroshi gratefully accepted the stack of explosive tags. He currently needed these items for self-defense and secrecy.

"Work hard. Whatever Konoha can give you, we can give you more."

Patting the young man's shoulder, Yozuki A thought highly of this junior brother and didn't want him to make a wrong choice in the future.

As for his identity as a spy, it really didn't amount to much. As long as he sincerely integrated into Kumogakure and possessed sufficient value, Kumogakure could accommodate him.

One had to know that Kumogakure itself had an extreme thirst for talent. Over the years, they had launched external raids multiple times to seize talent and secret art inheritances. Once those people genuinely joined the village, they were all given favorable treatment.

If they could accommodate those people, let alone this junior brother.

"I've noted it down. I definitely won't let Senior Brother and Teacher down."

Nodding solemnly, Tamura Hiroshi truly didn't want to go back to mix in Konoha, nor did he want to work under Shimura Danzō. There was no future there, making it difficult to get ahead, and it even carried the threat of losing one's life.

Just look at how many people died in Konoha in the original work, how many ninja clans were wiped out, and in the end, even the two founding clans were destroyed. The darkness and bloodshed hidden within that were simply unimaginable.

Later on, it even got leveled a few times. Truly, the local customs were honest and disaster-ridden!

Therefore, although Konoha was powerful, possessed numerous ninja clan geniuses, and had a deep foundation, these were both its strengths and its weaknesses, causing layer upon layer of intricate internal conflicts. A moment of carelessness when getting roped into them would mean a cold end.

Among the Five Great Ninja Villages in the ninja world, the one with the best reputation was Kumogakure, and it also had the fewest rogue ninjas, especially during the reign of the Third Raikage.

Let's not even mention Konoha; it was full of pitfalls.

Kirigakure had started implementing the Blood Mist Policy ever since the Third Mizukage took power, slaughtering even their own people with joyous abandon, let alone someone like him who was an outsider.

Sunagakure was full of sand, lacking in resources and secret art inheritances, and he didn't like messing with puppets.

As for building a Gundam with his bare hands, apologies, he didn't have that ability.

Iwagakure was relatively xenophobic, and its internal issues were also numerous.

Unless he could also become the Third Tsuchikage's disciple, but given the personality of that old fox the Third Tsuchikage, persuading him was far too difficult—at the very least, it would come with a round of genjutsu interrogation.

Thus, a relatively better choice was Kumogakure, mainly because the Third Raikage's personality was, in certain aspects, very easy to talk to and meant what he said.

Precisely because of this, he dared to expose his identity as a spy.

After exchanging words with Yozuki A for a while, Tamura Hiroshi parted ways with him, leaving the Raikage Building to return to his apartment unit.

He immediately took out explosive tags and thin wire to set traps throughout the room, not even sparing the surrounding walls, ceiling, and floor, preventing anyone from quietly sneaking in and slitting his throat.

The first hurdle is past!

Letting out a long breath, Tamura Hiroshi took off his clothes and stepped into the bathroom to take a shower.

Although he had put on a calm front earlier, on the inside he had been panicking like crazy, his undergarments soaked through with sweat.

This was a gamble; once he lost, he would undoubtedly die. Even though the odds of winning were high, he was still taking a risk, and the pressure he bore was unimaginable to ordinary people.

Fortunately, it succeeded in the end. Although he had only cleared the first hurdle, it was the most crucial one.

As long as he remained loyal to Kumogakure in the future, upheld the Will of Lightning, discarded the Will of Fire taught by Shimura Danzō, and displayed even greater value, there wouldn't be any problems.

How are you doing now?

Fingering a photo from beneath the bedside table drawer, Tamura Hiroshi looked at the yellow-haired girl in it with an unfathomable gaze.

Back then, the reason he was able to secure the mission to infiltrate Kumogakure and seize the opportunity to break away from Shimura Danzō's side relied to a large extent on the scheming he had done regarding this girl.

Five years had passed, and he didn't know how she was doing.

Judging by her excellence, she definitely wasn't doing badly under Shimura Danzō's command.

Letting his thoughts drift for a moment, Tamura Hiroshi pasted the photo back beneath the drawer.

The reason he kept this photo was primarily to deceive certain people, making Shimura Danzō's side think his emotional bonds still existed, so that old geezer wouldn't send people to wipe him out.

At the same time, he could also use this to plot something in the future; that old geezer had quite a lot of good things in his hands.

What was that feeling earlier?

Tamura Hiroshi pondered the abnormal sensation he had felt when walking into the Raikage Office. At the time, it felt as though some kind of force had entered his body, or more accurately, entered his head.

He had thought it was some kind of genjutsu-type investigative method back then, considering it was the Raikage Office, after all.

Later on, however, he had indirectly asked Yozuki A and found out it wasn't.

Moreover, when he subsequently displayed firearms in the training room, a similar inexplicable feeling had appeared, as if something had entered his head.

Even when he returned home, he had experienced that bizarre sensation once more, right while he was taking a shower.

What on earth was that?

Pondering for a while without figuring it out, Tamura Hiroshi closed his eyes, refining chakra while focusing his attention on the region of his head.

Refining chakra would cause spiritual power and physical life force to become active. If something abnormal was happening inside his head, he should be able to perceive it.

Yet no sooner had he started refining chakra than something was triggered: the chakra in the head region instantly surged toward the depths of the brain, as if swallowed by some kind of entity.

Following that, the chakra in other parts of his body seemed to sense something, rushing uncontrollably toward his head, while Tamura Hiroshi's consciousness simultaneously arrived in a pitch-black, illusory space.