A Sudden Enlightenment

The Cloud Ninja were like hornets whose nest had been kicked over, swarming toward the figure in the Flying Squirrel Suit as he flew down the mountain.

He even spotted Yugito Nii, who was about his age, as well as the furious, roaring A—the future Fourth Raikage, already in his thirties.

What an adorable bunch.

Standing before the window of the Raikage's Office, concealed by the Invisibility Cloak, he was completely invisible to others while he could easily observe everything outside.

These Cloud Ninja really were adorably single-minded.

Of course, not every Cloud Ninja was like that. Dodai, the Lava Release user who would later obtain Hizashi Hyuga's left eye, pushed open the door to the Raikage's Office. Seeing the chaotic scene and the only traces of an enemy fleeing, the Dodai in his twenties or thirties merely snorted coldly before turning and storming off to arrange a pursuit and interception.

It seemed Kumogakure did have smart people after all. Only after Dodai had gone far away did Oguri Hayashi slowly leave the Raikage's Office along the path Dodai had taken.

The entirety of Kumogakure was in chaos.

The Third Raikage had already gone to war against the Stone Shinobi of the Land of Earth. Kumogakure was severely understaffed now, and since A, the future Fourth Raikage, was not a qualified Kage, the Third Raikage had specifically left Dodai behind to assist him.

Yet something like this had happened. The more Dodai thought about it, the more regret filled his heart. He loudly ordered the Jonin and Chunin still in the village not to panic, to seal off Kumogakure's exits and major cableways, and to absolutely not let the enemy escape!

This was not merely about Kumogakure's secret techniques. It was also a matter of Kumogakure's honor!

In other words, there had not been many ninja left in Kumogakure to begin with. Now, because the Book of Thunder had been stolen, the number of ninja in the village had decreased even further.

Until they caught his Shadow Clone, these people probably would not return.

But even if they did return, now that he had made progress in cultivating his My Style Secret Technique, they might not necessarily be his match.

He activated his goggles, found a house occupied only by children, and pushed the door open to enter.

He had clearly stolen Kumogakure's closely guarded secret scroll, the Book of Thunder, yet he pushed open the door and entered what appeared to be a middle-class home as naturally as though he were a native-born Cloud Ninja.

Because living space was limited, Kumogakure could not possibly have detached houses with private yards like Konoha. If Konoha's homes were single-family residences with a house and a small yard, then Kumogakure's homes were probably more like apartments of only twenty-odd square meters.

Of course, these apartment buildings had only one floor.

Although this house looked middle-class, there were not many people living nearby, and there were only two children inside.

That was precisely why Oguri Hayashi had chosen this house.

These two children were his hostages. If ninja came to attack him, he could at least make use of them.

Don't say that using children meant he had lost his humanity. He himself was only twelve. On a ninja battlefield, going to war at ten and dying at twelve was perfectly normal. He was merely a slightly older minor whose body had not even matured yet.

On a ninja battlefield, who cared whether you were a minor or not?

If those Konoha ninja had not been softhearted enough to spare Nagato back then, there would not have been the later disaster of a village being destroyed.

When he pushed the door open and entered, the two children were visibly stunned. Seeing Oguri Hayashi's skin color, so different from that of the Cloud Ninja, both of them grew tense.

"You're descendants of Cloud Ninja, right? You have some foundation in ninjutsu too."

The next second, his arms were already around the children's necks. His wrists bent slightly, and the kunai in his hands pressed against their chins, its sharp blades easily lifting their heads.

"But I'm already a Chunin. So, for the sake of your own lives, bear with it a little and cook for me for the next few days."

The boy and girl were easily restrained by him and instantly understood the gap between them.

They were descendants of ninja and had a clear understanding of how ninja strength was divided. One was eight and the other seven, and under the guidance of the adults at home, they had already begun training in taijutsu.

Yet despite being only four years younger than Oguri Hayashi, they could not even resist him.

Much less escape from his grasp.

Oguri Hayashi released them, swept the dining table in their living room aside, and cleared a large open space. "Starting today, the two of you will move your bedding here. You will eat and sleep within my sight."

He planned to wait here for two or three days, then swagger out through the Invisibility Cloak.

By then, Kumogakure would not have enough manpower to keep the outside sealed off indefinitely.

They would probably be even more worried about internal infiltration.

He carefully calculated his next steps, then placed the scroll on the ground and spread it open in one motion.

"You two, one of you come sit beside me. The other goes to cook."

Seven- and eight-year-old children were already old enough to cook. Naturally, they could not be compared to children from peaceful times. Both of their parents were out on missions, so the children could only cook for themselves. In the past, they could have asked ninja from the same village for help, but now everyone was on the battlefield, leaving the children with no choice but to do it themselves.

The two tensed up for a moment before the cold, indifferent girl said, "Atsui, go cook."

"Big sister..." the little boy with mushroom-cut hair called timidly.

"Go." The little girl with long golden hair was decisive as she barked the order.

The mushroom-haired boy could only go to the refrigerator, open it, take out ingredients, and begin cooking.

The little girl with long golden hair sat beside Oguri Hayashi instead, staring at him with a cold gaze like two sharp swords.

Oguri Hayashi looked up at her once, then stopped paying attention to her. His time was precious.

The first thing he needed to cultivate now was Lightning Chakra Nature Transformation. Among the B-rank Ninjutsu recorded inside, Lightning Armor was one of the ninjutsu born from Lightning Chakra Nature Transformation.

Chidori, Chidori Stream, and Chidori Sharp Spear were all techniques derived from this kind of Lightning Chakra Nature Transformation.

Lightning Armor was the same. Naturally, it contained the insights recorded by the Raikage ancestors of the Land of Thunder. Kumogakure was unlike Konoha: Konoha's three Hokage had all been ninja of different natures. Though all of them were formidable, Kumogakure's three Kage had all been Lightning-nature ninja. The Lightning Release cultivation insights recorded within were simply a treasure trove.

It was like a sudden enlightenment from Patriarch Bodhi, instantly opening a broad, sunlit path before Oguri Hayashi.

Just under a thousand recommendation votes short. I'll go write the bonus chapter for reaching one thousand votes first.

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