Inside an apartment unit in Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, a young boy stared at the long blade that had snapped once again due to his cultivation. His expression was grim.
"The teacher's expression has been getting stranger these past few days. When he looks at us, there's even a hint of reluctance and helplessness. Judging by the timing… the Second Ninja War should be about to begin, right?"
Recalling his teacher's recent demeanor, Tamura Zairo sensed that something was wrong.
As a transmigrator who had slipped over from Earth Village, once he figured out that this was the Naruto world, he resisted it with all his heart. After all, this was a ridiculous world where even terrorists longed for peace and fought for it!
Especially since it had been nearly ten years since the First Ninja War officially ended—the Second Ninja War was about to erupt.
And to make matters worse, he was on the verge of graduating. Even if he deliberately failed to gain the approval of his squad-leading teacher, chances were he wouldn't be sent back to the academy for another year. Instead, he would be kept behind to prepare for war.
At the thought of the imminent ninja war, Tamura Zairo's face grew heavy with worry.
"All the ninja in the village are preparing for war. Even several jōnin teachers from the academy have been mobilized. Most likely, there won't be any outstanding jōnin left to take on new teams.
"For students like me from an ordinary class, they'll probably just assign a chūnin to lead us. Wanting to learn any high-level ninjutsu from a squad leader like that is unrealistic."
Don't be fooled by how the Twelve Konoha Genin in Naruto all had jōnin instructors. They were elite classes—like the so-called 'rocket classes' from his previous life—filled entirely with geniuses.
Even those who seemed like ordinary civilians among the Twelve, such as Haruno Sakura, Tenten, and Rock Lee, were far from simple. Or rather, in this world, anyone with a surname wasn't truly an ordinary civilian.
Because true civilians had no surnames.
Tamura Zairo himself originally had no surname either—at least, his parents didn't. His current surname was one his father hastily chose on the day Tamura Zairo was accepted into Root, so that he wouldn't be looked down upon there. As for his given name, it was a compressed combination of the names his parents had chosen, conveniently corresponding to his name from his previous life.
The original name was far too embarrassing—and the karmic burden far too heavy. He couldn't bear it.
Being a civilian meant average talent, most noticeably reflected in chakra reserves. When his father died at thirty, his chakra capacity was still pitiful—casting even a D-rank ninjutsu was a struggle. Tamura Zairo was now ten years old, yet after performing the three basic transformation techniques once each, the chakra in his body would be completely exhausted.
With strength like that, going to the battlefield meant certain cannon fodder.
"I can't delay any longer!"
Glancing at the calendar and seeing that graduation was only half a month away, Tamura Zairo took a deep breath and made a decision that went against both the Will of Fire and 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 long prepared from a hidden compartment beneath his bed, then left his home and headed straight for the Raikage Building.
Kumogakure was different from Konoha. Konoha was built on flat land, while Kumogakure consisted of towering mountain peaks—easy to defend and difficult to attack, but also far harder to climb.
Fortunately, Tamura Zairo was still a ninja. He had long emulated the three legendary "grinders" of Konoha in training his body, and with chakra enhancement, his physique far surpassed that of ordinary people. It didn't take long for him to reach the Raikage Building.
However, instead of heading to the mission hall, he went to the Intelligence Division.
"I am Tamura Zairo, a student from Class Nine of Year Five at the Ninja Academy. I have A-rank intelligence to report to Lord Raikage. I'd like to first hand over these two sealing scrolls for Lord Raikage. Once he sees them, he will definitely agree to meet me."
Tamura Zairo handed over the two sealing scrolls, along with his student ID, to the middle-aged ninja seated behind the desk.
He was still an academy student. The current system was different from the one at the beginning of the main storyline—at least in Kumogakure. Children enrolled at age five, studied for five years, and graduated at ten.
"A-rank intelligence? Kid, do you know how serious it is to falsely claim intelligence of that level?"
The middle-aged ninja was startled. Even the elderly man drinking tea by the office window couldn't help but look over.
"I'll take responsibility for my words."
Tamura Zairo's expression was solemn. If he had any kind of golden finger, he wouldn't be risking his life like this.
"An academy student…"
The middle-aged ninja studied him for a long while, then took the student ID and confirmed it was genuine before looking at the two sealing scrolls.
"What's inside?"
"The first scroll contains one billion ryō. You can check it. The second scroll contains something classified—it can only be unsealed in front of Lord Raikage."
Tamura Zairo maintained his serious expression, but his words caused both men in the office to leap to their feet.
"One billion ryō?!"
They stared at the scroll, unable to comprehend how a mere child could possess such a massive fortune.
At the current exchange rates, a jōnin's bounty was only ten million ryō. An elite jōnin might be worth twenty million, and only those with special status would reach thirty million.
One billion ryō—how many jōnin was that worth?
The middle-aged ninja looked toward the elderly man. If it truly was one billion ryō, then this kid's situation was extremely serious.
The elderly man said nothing. After calming himself, he took a deep look at Tamura Zairo, then picked up the scroll marked "One" and opened it. After confirming it was intact, he formed hand seals and unsealed it.
Ten large chests appeared at once.
Opening one, he saw neatly stacked banknotes—all in the highest denomination. Judging by the chest's volume, each chest contained roughly one hundred million ryō.
The elderly man was thoroughly shaken. He opened and carefully inspected the remaining chests. Only after confirming there were no issues did he seal everything back into the scroll.
"Come with me to see Lord Raikage."
He glanced at the second scroll without opening it, then gestured for Tamura Zairo to follow as he left the office.
No matter what intelligence the boy possessed—or what was in the second scroll—the one billion ryō alone was enough to warrant an audience with Lord Raikage.
One billion ryō was no small sum, especially since the village was desperately short on funds lately. Lord Raikage had already lost his temper several times over it.
Tamura Zairo followed closely. Before long, they arrived outside the Raikage's office on the top floor.
After waiting for a while, they were finally summoned. The elderly man unsealed the first scroll again, revealing the ten chests.
And at the moment the money appeared before the Third Raikage, Tamura Zairo briefly froze. He felt something enter his mind, yet couldn't discern what it was. This wasn't the time to examine it, so he forced himself to focus and met the Third Raikage's gaze.
One had to admit—he truly lived up to being the strongest Raikage in history. That overwhelming presence made Tamura Zairo feel suffocated just looking at him.
"You may leave."
The Third Raikage glanced at the ten chests, then at the boy who was forcing himself to remain calm, and finally waved to dismiss the elderly man.
The old man said nothing more. After giving Tamura Zairo a final look, he turned and left.
"Kid, what intelligence do you have to report to this old man?"
The Third Raikage was deeply curious. The combination of a ten-year-old child and one billion ryō was far too strange—there had to be something behind it.
At the side, Dodai and Yondaime A also observed him with interest, equally curious about the source of the money and the so-called intelligence.
"Ahem… The intelligence can wait. This time, I mainly came to request that Lord Raikage accept me as his disciple. These one billion ryō are my apprenticeship gift. I ask that Lord Raikage kindly accept me."
Clearing his throat, Tamura Zairo forced himself to stay calm and stated his true purpose.
The moment the words left his mouth, even the Third Raikage couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye. Dodai and A wore equally strange expressions.
Was this… a bribe?
"One billion ryō is indeed a lot, but it's not enough for you to become this old man's disciple."
Maintaining his authoritative demeanor, the Third Raikage did not outright reject him. Instead, his gaze shifted to the second sealing scroll.
One billion ryō was extremely tempting, especially at this critical juncture when both he and the village were short on funds.
With that money, they could purchase far more supplies, making the coming ninja war much easier.
But compared to the one billion ryō, the boy clearly valued the second scroll even more. Whatever was inside had to be far more important.
Dodai and A also turned their attention to the second sealing scroll.