This was the mysterious truth of pure chakra. Tamura Hiroshi smiled and slowly raised his hand to cover the upper half of his face. His left eye peeked out between his fingers as his laughter grew louder and louder.
"Ha… ha… HAHAHAHA!"
After all this time, finally, it was his turn—Tanaka Haruki, no, Tanaka Sunlight—to rise. The name his parents had given him truly felt prophetic now.
At this moment, I, Tamura Hiten, have arrived!
From today onward, I'll use the most efficient, most scientific—no, the most patient—approach to crush everyone in my way… or die trying!
"Hey! Little Hiroshi, did you eat a dead rat or something? Why the hell are you laughing like a maniac?!"
Just as Tamura Hiroshi was reveling in his dramatic future and laughing like a comic book villain, a booming lion's roar echoed from upstairs. He froze immediately, a shiver running down his spine.
"S-sorry Aunt Ruth! I was just reading a really exciting part of a novel. Got carried away! I'll keep it down next time!"
Tamura Hiroshi quickly apologized and closed the window tightly.
I need to keep a low profile for now. Play it smart. The name "Tamura Hiten" is way too flashy. Better to keep going by Tamura Hiroshi for the time being.
After calming down, he once again connected to the broken jade fragment in his consciousness, spending some of his destiny points to boost his comprehension. He used this boost to delve deeper into chakra refining techniques, attempting to understand and perfect them.
Chakra in the ninja world wasn't like the internal energy or "true qi" from the cultivation novels of his previous life. There was no energy storage center like a dantian. Chakra could only be refined as it was used.
The refining process required blending the body's life force with spiritual energy, turning it into chakra—somewhat like generating stamina. The ratio of spiritual energy to physical energy needed to be roughly 1:1.
Of course, there were exceptions—like special kekkei genkai chakra, or Sharingan abilities, where the spiritual component was much higher.
Tamura Hiroshi didn't have any bloodline limits or yin-yang chakra natures. His only affinity was for lightning-style. So he had to work with the basic 1:1 blend.
Luckily, perhaps due to having lived two lifetimes, his spiritual energy was significantly stronger than his peers'. That allowed him to refine chakra faster and with better control. He had already mastered chakra threads and learned tree-climbing and water-walking earlier than most.
Now he needed to use the golden finger's comprehension boost to refine and perfect his chakra cultivation technique.
While Tamura Hiroshi was immersed in training, across the village, in the Raikage's office, the Third Raikage was experiencing a storm of emotions.
He sifted through the personnel files of his disciples, then paused to glance at the box of erotic novels sitting beside them. His face twisted in a mix of confusion and horror.
Dodai (土台), standing nearby, tried to blend in with the furniture—eyes on the floor, nose still, heart silent—trying to minimize his presence as much as possible.
As for Yeyue, no one knew where he'd run off to. One thing was certain—he wasn't going to show up in front of his father today.
"Is it too late for me to regret this now?"
The Third Raikage covered his face, visibly distressed. He had a terrible feeling about the future.
No wonder that brat only revealed this side of himself after he'd agreed to take him on as a disciple. The kid was playing him like a fiddle.
Dodai wisely kept his mouth shut. This was a storm the Raikage would have to weather himself.
"...Is this stuff really profitable?"
Eventually, the Third Raikage calmed down just enough to ask the question, staring incredulously at the stack of erotica.
Dodai, seeing an opening, replied:
"According to our market analysis, his books cover a wide range of topics, appealing to readers across all ages—young, old, male, female. He's extremely productive too. He releases about one 100,000-word novel every month. Each book sells for 10,000 ryo. And because he's the top author at his publishing house, his revenue split is 90/10—he keeps 90% of the profits."
Dodai's tone became more impressed as he continued.
"Currently, around 70% of the shinobi in the Hidden Cloud Village are fans of his books. Even 30% of ordinary civilians read them. Based on our early projections, he's already accumulated close to 2 billion ryo, and that number keeps growing. His early works are still selling, generating continuous passive income. If this pace continues, his earnings could surpass the entire Hidden Cloud Village's revenue in just a few years."
Dodai had always suspected top writers made a lot of money, especially since he himself spent 120,000 ryo a year just to collect every volume. But after investigating, the numbers were even more staggering than he had imagined. And this was just Hidden Cloud. Konoha likely had even better sales, especially since many of the character names were "coincidentally" the same as known clans there, making the stories more immersive for readers.
"This is… how you make money?"
The Third Raikage was dumbfounded. He knew the village's finances inside out. Yet here was one kid—barely ten years old—out-earning the entire system.
"People are under a lot of pressure," Dodai offered. "Especially shinobi. Constant missions, killing… they need some kind of release. Reading helps dull the darker parts of their heart."
He coughed lightly.
"I know it helps me think more clearly. Puts me in a zen-like state."
"…He's only ten years old. Just five when he started writing. How does a five-year-old come up with this stuff?"
Dodai didn't have a solid answer either, but offered a theory.
"Well… we know from our intelligence that the Third Hokage of Konoha was once caught using secret techniques to spy on bathhouses. His student, Jiraiya, frequently peeped on women and was chased around town by angry mobs. One time, he even clashed with the Uchiha clan, who were running the Konoha police department."
Dodai flipped a page in his notebook.
"When the boy came to our village, he was only six or seven. Still, he managed to sneak into women's bathhouses, citing 'research.' He also worked part-time in Kabukicho. Seems he gathered a lot of… material. At school, he frequently borrowed historical books, particularly those involving major ninja villages and clans."
It was the only plausible explanation they had.
The Third Raikage's eye twitched violently.
Should I clean this mess up now… before it destroys the village's reputation?
After a long, tortured silence, he finally made a decision.
"Classify all of his personal information as top secret—same level as the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails. Got it?"
Dodai nodded.
"He's practicing swordsmanship, right? Let's assign Fukai as his team leader."
Tamura Hiroshi had enormous potential and was a cash cow to boot. For the good of the village, the Raikage was willing to sacrifice his own dignity.
Such was the burden of leadership.
Besides, if done right, maybe no one would even find out. It would be the best of both worlds.
They'd need someone trustworthy to watch over the boy. His eldest nephew, Fukai, was perfect—skilled in ninjutsu, swordsmanship, and tailed beast control. He was even being considered as the next jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails.
This way, the Raikage wouldn't have to deal with the kid directly—and avoid exposure.
If this ever got out, we'd be the laughingstock of the entire ninja world…
He wasn't shameless like Sarutobi Hiruzen, after all.
"One more thing—think of a way to explain what happened today. Shimura Danzō won't be easy to fool."
The Raikage's eyes narrowed.
The mention of Shimura Danzō sent a chill through the room. That man was crafty, dangerous, and ruthless.
"The 1 billion ryo donation might already be known. There could've been a leak," he continued.
Dodai nodded, having anticipated this.
"No problem. We've already identified some enemy agents inside the village. We'll clean them up quietly. Let them assume whatever they want—it's not Konoha. This is the Hidden Cloud."