Good Morning, or Good Evening. I Hope to See You Again, Lord Raikage.

Land of Lightning,

Kumogakure's reception room.

The room was crowded, with ninja wearing Kumogakure forehead protectors constantly coming and going.

Every high-ranking figure whose name mattered was seated inside. As for the one sitting in the seat of honor, it was undoubtedly this village's Fourth Raikage, Ai!!

Clang...

"I was a failure. I hardly ever noticed whether the sunlight was bright or not, because I had no time.

"My parents couldn't support me, and I wasn't highly educated. Alone, I searched for a future in the city.

"I found many jobs, but none of them hired me. Maybe no one liked someone who wasn't good at talking, didn't enjoy socializing, and hadn't shown enough ability.

"I spent three whole days eating only two loaves of bread. Hunger kept me awake at night. Fortunately, I had paid a month's rent in advance, so I could keep living in that dark basement instead of going outside to endure the unusually freezing winter wind.

"Finally, I found a job. I worked nights at a hospital, watching over the morgue.

"The hospital was even colder at night than I had imagined. The corridor wall lamps weren't lit, and it was dark everywhere. I could only rely on the faint light leaking from the rooms to see where I stepped.

"It smelled terrible there. From time to time, dead people would be delivered stuffed into body bags, and we would help carry them into the morgue.

"It wasn't a very good job, but at least it let me afford bread. I could also use the idle hours at night to study. After all, no one wanted to come to the morgue unless a body needed to be delivered or taken away for cremation. Of course, I still didn't have enough money to buy books, and