Target: Kumogakure

"Did he say that?" Orochimaru was in charge of the Land of Rain front, Tsunade handled the Land of Wind front, and Jiraiya was responsible for the Land of Thunder front. The Three Sannin had all grown into figures capable of standing on their own, each somewhere between jonin and Kage. In another two years, they would surely become Kage-level powerhouses.

Tsunade had far too many worries on her plate. Preparing antidotes for Chiyo's poisons alone had already consumed a great deal of her time and energy. Even so, as a commander, she still kept an eye on promising subordinates. She thought highly of Oguri Hayashi. At only twelve, he was already a chunin and had a good head on his shoulders. With proper cultivation, he would certainly become a jonin capable of standing on his own. If he survived, he had a shot at Kage-level.

But unfortunately, Oguri Hayashi's ambitions went far beyond Kage-level.

Knowing that Six Paths Pain would one day destroy Hokage Village with a single move, knowing that the future Ten-Tails Jinchuriki Uchiha Madara would devastate heaven and earth, could Oguri Hayashi really accept Kage-level as his limit?

When Tsunade was over sixty and he himself was over forty, would he become Kage-level then?

What would be the point of that?

If he was going to do it, he would go big.

Oguri Hayashi had his own ambitions, but he also knew himself well. His Fire, Earth, and Lightning Release affinities simply left no room for further advancement.

If he had Wind Release, the path to cultivating the Rasengan would be right there before him. With the Fourth Hokage not yet famous and Jiraiya still without any clue, he could have easily passed himself off as a genius.

He could have created a Ninjutsu without hand seals of his own—the "Rasengan."

But he could not. Hokage Village had no profound high-level Ninjutsu in Fire, Earth, and Lightning Release.

The universally acknowledged strongest Lightning Release belonged to Kumogakure, the strongest Earth Release belonged to Iwagakure, and the strongest Fire Release did not belong to Hokage Village either, but to the Uchiha Clan.

What right did someone of Oguri Hayashi's status have to obtain the Uchiha Clan's secret techniques? The Uchiha Clan could barely train all the talented youngsters within their own family. Why would they give their clan's secret techniques to him?

In Hokage Village, the best affinity was Wind Release, followed by Water Release. After all, the Second Hokage specialized in Water Release. As for the Third Hokage, Dr. Sarutobi's so-called Mastery of all five elements was actually a combat style that relied on quick thinking. He could casually combine hundreds of Ninjutsu of different elements, leaving his opponents unable to defend against him. That was what made him the most troublesome.

But, but, but.

Important things had to be said three times: Dr. Sarutobi lacked a Ninjutsu that could decisively settle a battle.

Whether it was the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's Dust Release, the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Armor—one peerless in group combat and the other invincible in single combat—or even the Fourth Hokage's Space Ninjutsu, Flying Thunder God, and the Ninjutsu without hand seals, Rasengan, all of them far surpassed Dr. Sarutobi.

Against ordinary troops, Dr. Sarutobi was practically unbeatable. But after Impure World Reincarnation, he was not even as troublesome as the Second Hokage or the Second Mizukage.

His title of "Strongest Ninjutsu Hokage" looked like a joke.

Specialty, specialty, specialty.

This was a world where one exceptional move could carry you everywhere. Although Oguri Hayashi had been steadily practicing the Ninjutsu he had exchanged from the Hokage using ninja mission rewards, he had long since defined his own path to power.

His constant efforts to practice Lightning Release transformation and develop Chidori were the best proof of that.

But he knew that without the Sharingan's absurd dynamic vision, how much use could an A-rank Ninjutsu like Chidori truly have? He was completely gambling on luck.

But it was the only Ninjutsu that could highlight his strengths.

Before Kakashi developed it, it might become his Exclusive Ninjutsu.

But now, the appearance of those Reincarnators from the Infinite Hall had completely changed his life.

The Omni-directional Mobility Gear might not be especially useful in Ninja combat, but it was extremely convenient for daily use and travel. More importantly, it was a climbing tool.

The Invisibility Cloak allowed him to conceal his tracks without using Chakra when there were no Byakugan users around. For a ninja, that was its most important function.

As for the Multi-function Night Vision Goggles, they were practically equivalent to a Byakugan.

With equipment like this, why was he still hanging around Hokage Village?

With his three teammates beside him, if he wanted to stay in Hokage Village, he would have to hand these items over. Then his only real advantage would be gone. Was he supposed to wait for the next batch of Reincarnators from the Infinite Hall and slaughter each other all over again?

Time waited for no one. Who knew whether the Infinite Hall's next arrivals would be jonin-level ninjas?

So he decisively abandoned his three subordinates, put on the Invisibility Cloak, and vanished from the ranks of the Hokage Village ninjas.

He had just killed four enemy ninjas and spared his former three subordinates. It did not look like he had defected to another ninja village. Whether a wanted order would be issued for a chunin like him depended entirely on the commander's mood, and he knew full well that Tsunade, as a woman, had a woman's weaknesses.

Considering that he had left her a G36 rifle, there was a ninety percent chance she would not issue a wanted order.

Without a wanted order on him, what did he have to fear?

Without the slightest hesitation, he headed straight for the place he had always wanted to go but had never been able to reach.

Kumogakure.

Kumogakure specialized in Lightning Release, with taijutsu as its secondary focus. It was an ideal path of advancement in his eyes. Unfortunately, those were Kumogakure's closely guarded secrets. The Lightning Release Body Cultivation Technique was something only successive Raikage could even cultivate.

And this time, his sole target was the Raikage's office—the Book of Thunder, Kumogakure's secret manual hidden beneath layers upon layers of seals.

Hokage Village had a book like that as well, called the Scroll of Seals. But its value was far greater than the Book of Thunder's. The forbidden techniques inside—Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, Eight Gates Formation, Flying Thunder God, and more—were all closely guarded secrets. Even the Third Hokage had only learned one of them: the Reaper Death Seal.

Though the Book of Thunder was somewhat weaker, it still contained Kumogakure's closely guarded secrets. The Lightning Release Body Cultivation Technique had to be in there!

And what would allow him to take the Lightning Release Body Cultivation Technique out of Kumogakure was this Invisibility Cloak!

One had to know that Kumogakure had not yet obtained Hizashi Hyuga's Byakugan. That meant no one could discover him while he wore the Invisibility Cloak!

And the sheer cliffs of the Land of Thunder, an insurmountable barrier to ordinary Hokage Village ninjas, would be no challenge at all before this set of Omni-directional Mobility Gear.

With the two biggest problems solved, what was he waiting for?

Previously, he had thought he had plenty of time. The main storyline was supposed to take place more than a decade later, but after the Reincarnators appeared, his time suddenly became pressing once again.

Time waited for no one! Target: Kumogakure!

A word about bonus chapters. I have not signed a contract yet, and I have not even gotten a recommendation spot. Bonus chapters will depend entirely on recommendation votes: one bonus chapter for every 1,000 votes. For now, two chapters a day are planned. After signing, there will be two updates with a recommendation spot and one without. I hope everyone will actively vote and support the official release! Thank you all in advance.