Inside a small apartment in Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, a young boy stared at the long blade in his hands—snapped once again during training. His expression darkened.
"Sensei's demeanor has been getting worse these past few days. When he looks at us, there's pity… and helplessness mixed in. If I count the timing right, the Second Great Ninja War is about to begin, isn't it?"
Recalling his teacher's recent behavior, Tamura Haruki sensed something was wrong.
As someone who had transmigrated from another world, once he realized this was the Naruto world, his first reaction had been resistance. After all, this was a ridiculous place where even terrorists dreamed of peace—and fought desperately for it.
Worse still, it had been nearly ten years since the First Great Ninja War officially ended, and the Second was on the verge of breaking out.
The problem was that he was about to graduate.
Even if he deliberately failed to earn his instructor's approval, chances were high he wouldn't be sent back to the Academy for another year. Instead, he would be retained—prepared for war.
At the thought of the coming ninja war, Haruki's face filled with worry.
"Everyone in the village is preparing for war now. Even several jōnin instructors from the Academy have already been reassigned. Chances are, there won't be any elite jōnin coming to lead new teams anymore.
"For ordinary students like me, they'll probably just assign a chūnin as our squad leader. Wanting to learn high-level ninjutsu from a team leader like that is unrealistic."
People often looked at the Twelve Rookie Ninja of Konoha and assumed it was normal for them to be trained by jōnin—but they were all elite-class students, like top-tier prodigies.
Even those who seemed like ordinary civilians among them—such as Sakura Haruno, Tenten, or Rock Lee—were anything but simple. In fact, in this world, anyone with a family name wasn't a true civilian.
True civilians had no surnames.
Haruki himself hadn't originally had one either—at least, his parents hadn't. The surname "Tamura" was something his father hastily chose on the day Haruki was accepted into ROOT, so that he wouldn't be looked down upon. As for his given name, err... Just an ordinary name perhaps.
Being a civilian meant mediocre talent—most noticeably in chakra reserves.
When his father died at thirty, his chakra capacity was still pitiful. Casting even a D-rank ninjutsu had been exhausting. Haruki himself was now ten years old, yet after using the three basic techniques—the Clone Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu, and Transformation Jutsu—once each, his chakra was completely depleted.
With this level of strength, going to war meant certain death as an extra.
"I can't delay any longer."
Glancing at the calendar, he saw that graduation was only half a month away. Haruki took a deep breath and made a decision that went against the Will of Lightning.
He had to gamble everything.
Otherwise, he would die on the battlefield.
Without hesitation, he retrieved two sealing scrolls he had prepared long ago from a hidden compartment beneath his bed, then left his home and headed straight for the Raikage Building.
The Hidden Cloud Village was nothing like Konoha.
Konoha was built on flat land, while Kumogakure stood atop towering mountains that pierced the clouds—easy to defend, difficult to attack, but equally difficult to climb.
Fortunately, Haruki was already a ninja. He had long imitated Konoha's infamous "three workaholics" in physical training, and with chakra reinforcement, his physique far surpassed that of ordinary people. It didn't take long before he reached the Raikage Building.
Instead of going to the Mission Hall, however, he headed straight for the Intelligence Division.
"I'm Tamura Haruki, a fifth-year student from Class Nine of the Ninja Academy. I have A-rank intelligence to report to the Raikage. Please forward these two sealing scrolls to him first. Once he sees them, he'll definitely agree to meet me."
As he spoke, Haruki handed the two scrolls to the middle-aged ninja seated behind the desk, along with his student identification.
He was still an Academy student. At this point in time, the system differed from that seen at the start of the canon story—at least in Kumogakure. Children enrolled at age five, studied for five years, and graduated at ten.
"A-rank intelligence?" the middle-aged ninja exclaimed. "Kid, do you realize how serious it is to falsely claim information of that level?"
Even the elderly man sipping tea by the office window looked over in surprise.
"I'll take responsibility for every word I've said."
Haruki's expression was solemn. If he had any cheat ability to rely on, he wouldn't be risking himself like this.
"A Ninja Academy student…"
The middle-aged ninja studied Haruki carefully for a long moment, then examined the student ID. Only after confirming it was genuine did he turn his gaze to the two sealing scrolls.
"What's inside?"
"The first scroll contains one billion ryō. You're free to inspect it. The second contains classified material—it can only be unsealed in front of the Raikage."
Haruki's face remained serious, but his words made both men spring to their feet.
"One billion ryō?!"
They stared at the scroll in disbelief. Neither could comprehend how a child could possess such a staggering sum.
At the current exchange rates, a jōnin's bounty was only ten million ryō. Even elite jōnin rarely exceeded twenty million, and only those with special status reached thirty million.
One billion ryō was worth how many jōnin lives?
The middle-aged ninja looked to the elder. If this amount was real, then this child's background was deeply problematic.
The elder said nothing. After steadying himself, he took the scroll marked "One," opened it, confirmed it was intact, and performed the necessary hand seals to unseal it.
Ten large chests appeared instantly.
Opening one revealed stacks of banknotes, neatly arranged, all in the highest denomination. Judging by the volume, each chest held roughly one hundred million ryō.
The elder was shaken.
He opened and carefully inspected the remaining chests, then resealed everything once he confirmed there were no issues.
"Come with me. We're going to see the Raikage."
Without opening the second scroll, the elder gestured for Hao to follow and left the office with both scrolls in hand.
Regardless of what intelligence the boy claimed to possess—or what lay within the second scroll—one billion ryō alone warranted an audience with the Raikage.
Especially now.
The village was short on funds, and the Raikage had lost his temper over it more than once.
Haruki followed closely. Before long, they arrived outside the Raikage's office at the top floor.
After waiting briefly, they were summoned inside.
The elder unsealed the first scroll again, revealing the ten chests before the Third Raikage.
At the moment the money appeared before him, Haruki froze slightly.
Something seemed to enter his mind—something indistinct and unfamiliar. There was no time to examine it closely. He forced himself to stay focused and meet the Third Raikage's gaze directly.
He finally understood why the Third Raikage was considered the strongest in history.
That oppressive presence was no exaggeration—it weighed heavily on him just to stand there.
"You may leave."
The Third Raikage glanced at the chests, then at the boy struggling to remain calm, and waved the elder away.
The elder said nothing, gave Haruki a final look, and exited.
"Now then, kid," the Third Raikage said slowly, "what intelligence do you have to report to me?"
A ten-year-old child and one billion ryō—this combination was far too abnormal. There had to be more to it.
At the side, Dodai and A studied Haruki with equal curiosity—both the origin of the money and the so-called intelligence intrigued them.
"Ahem… The intelligence can wait."
Haruki coughed lightly and forced himself to speak steadily.
"I came here today primarily to ask you to accept me as your disciple. These one billion ryō are my formal gift of apprenticeship. I respectfully ask the Raikage to accept it."
For a moment, even the Third Raikage's eye twitched.
Dodai and A wore expressions that were… difficult to describe.
Was this a bribe?
"One billion ryō is indeed a large sum," the Third Raikage said evenly, maintaining his authority, "but it's not enough to make you my student."
Still, he didn't outright reject the proposal.
Instead, his gaze shifted to the second sealing scroll.
The money mattered—especially at such a critical time. With it, the village could purchase more supplies and face the coming war under better conditions.
But compared to the one billion ryō, the boy clearly valued the second scroll more.
Whatever was inside was undoubtedly even more important.
Dodai and Yotsuki A also turned their eyes toward the second scroll.