The Fuma Taro incident was like a small stone tossed into a lake. The ripples were brief, but they had indeed changed the course of certain events.
The next morning, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi personally arrived at the orphanage. He wore ordinary clothes, having set aside the Hokage's imposing presence, and looked more like a kindly old man. He carefully examined Ling and Naruto, confirmed they weren't hurt, then gently asked what had happened the day before.
Ling played the part of a precocious child as usual, calm but seemingly powerless. He described how he had protected his younger brother, driving the oppressors away with his gaze and words.
"Ling, you did the right thing. Protecting your younger brother is an older brother's responsibility." The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, his gaze complicated as smoke curled around him. "But if something like this happens again, try to alert the nearby Anbu. Don't get into a confrontation with anyone so easily. You're still young."
Ling nodded obediently, but his feelings were more complicated. The Third Hokage's advice sounded caring, but it was also a restriction. He didn't want Ling to develop too much of a "sense of self-direction," even if it was for self-defense.
"As for the arrangements for you and Naruto," the Third Hokage said, changing the subject, "the village has decided to provide you with a separate home and arrange for someone to take care of your meals and daily needs. After all, living in an orphanage forever isn't a long-term solution."
Ling's heart stirred. A home of their own meant more privacy and less direct supervision. It was certainly a positive sign. It seemed that the "value" he had displayed yesterday—his ability and willingness to protect a Jinchūriki—and his subtle expression of "need" for better living conditions had worked.
"Thank you, Grandpa Hokage." Ling showed an appropriate amount of gratitude.
After the Third Hokage left, Ling didn't feel relieved. He understood that this was only the first step. Having a separate home didn't mean he was safe; surveillance would merely shift from the open to the shadows. He had to build up his strength as quickly as possible. His own strength wasn't enough—he also needed a force of his own, hidden in the shadows.
He thought of the first core member he had planned for: Kaguya Kimimaro. The genius boy who possessed Shikotsumyaku, was held captive by Orochimaru, and yearned to find meaning in his existence.
"System," Ling called inwardly, "is there a way to confirm Kimimaro's exact location and situation?"
[Beep! The host's request has been detected. The God-Tier Option Device's auxiliary function, the God-Tier Simulator, can now be activated. By expending a certain amount of mental energy, you can simulate specific targets or events and obtain the final results.]
A new function! Ling's spirits lifted.
"Simulate Kimimaro's current situation and exact location."
[Simulation will consume 10% of the host's mental energy.]
[Vision appears: A gloomy, damp underground prison, with rusted instruments of torture hanging on the walls. A white-haired young man crouches in a corner, dressed in rags, his gaze vacant and sluggish. Heavy shackles encircle his hands and feet, and his exposed skin is so pale it seems almost bloodless. Pale bone spurs erupt uncontrollably from his joints, bringing him excruciating pain. Beyond the prison, the faint rustle of a snake slithering can be heard, along with an eerie chuckle.]
[Location confirmed: Land of Rivers, an underground hideout in Otogakure [under construction].]
[Target's condition: Captive of Orochimaru, serving as a test subject and research specimen. His mind is filled with hatred for his own bloodline and confusion about his existence.]
The simulation ended. Ling felt a faint weariness of the mind, but the information was enough. Kimimaro was at the darkest point of his life, and therefore at his most vulnerable to being "rescued" and given hope.
The main question now was how to leave Konoha and travel to the remote Land of Rivers. With his current identity and the people watching him, that was practically impossible.
[Beep! A God-Tier Option has been triggered!]
[Option One: Infiltrate the Land of Rivers alone and rescue Kimimaro. Reward: Stealth Technique and a perfect disguise using the Transformation Technique. Risk: Extremely high. You may expose yourself, trigger a diplomatic conflict, or encounter Orochimaru.]
[Option Two: Issue an anonymous contract, hiring a bounty hunter or wandering ninja to carry out the rescue. Reward: Anonymous contact channel and basic disguise technique. Risk: Medium. The mission may fail, or information may leak.]
[Option Three: Rely on future members of "Dawn Wind," such as Uchiha Itachi, or on contacts within Konoha to help with the rescue indirectly. Reward: A slight increase in faction cohesion and access to intelligence on relevant individuals. Risk: Low, but the process will be slow and difficult to control.]
Option One was immediately ruled out. It was reckless. Option Three seemed safer, but help from afar wouldn't come in time, and Itachi's reliability still needed to be assessed. Option Two carried some risk, but with the system's reward, it might work.
"I choose Option Two."
[Choice confirmed. Reward issued: Anonymous contact channel [allows one-way transmission of information and escrow of funds through a special black-market rune], basic disguise technique.]
A flood of basic knowledge poured into Ling's mind: how to activate a specific rune with chakra, and how to adjust his facial muscles and build. Along with it, he sensed that he could establish a faint connection with certain distant, chaotic "information nodes." Those must be the anonymous channels provided by the system.
Funding was a problem. He was penniless. But the system seemed to have anticipated this.
[Beginner subsidy: Initial operating funds provided [limited amount], deposited into an anonymous account.]
Perfect!
There was no time to waste. In the dead of night, after confirming that Naruto was asleep and that the outside surveillance was between routine shifts, Ling quietly moved to the corner of the room. He gathered a tiny amount of chakra and, following the instructions in his mind, traced an intricate dark rune in the air with his finger. Only he could see it.
The rune flashed, then solidified, like a miniature portal.
Ling focused and entered all the details into the rune: the target to be rescued—Kaguya Kimimaro, with the appearance he'd seen in the simulation; the location—an underground base in Otogakure, Land of Rivers; the requirement—to rescue him safely and deliver him to a designated point on the border of the Land of Fire; and the payment—the initial funds provided by the system, set at a reasonable amount, neither so low that no one would take notice nor so high that it attracted attention.
Once the message had been sent, the rune quietly disappeared.
When it was done, Ling let out a long breath. This was his first time using the system to make arrangements behind the scenes and extend his reach. Failure wasn't what mattered; this marked the first substantial step toward establishing the "Dawn Wind" faction.
He returned to the bed and looked at the sleeping Naruto, his gaze firm.
"Naruto, just wait. Soon, your big brother won't be alone anymore. We'll build a force of our own, strong enough to change everything."
Far away in the Land of Rivers, in a gloomy prison, a white-haired boy curled up in pain, unaware of what the future held. Meanwhile, in the shadows of the Shinobi World, an inexplicable mission request had quietly found its way into certain channels.
The gears of fate had begun to turn faster.
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