Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 6 The Bond of Roots

After undergoing a thorough examination led by Ye Yue Ai, Tamura Hao noticed Ye Yue Ai's hesitant expression and couldn't help but laugh, "Brother Ye Yue, we're practically brothers now, so just say what you want to say."

When will your next big work be released?

Ye Yue Ai looked around and, seeing that no one was around, asked in a low voice.

He's a huge fan of his junior, having bought every single one of his masterpieces and eagerly awaiting the next one.

Although this junior brother is very prolific, publishing one book a month, each around 100,000 words, it's still not enough to read.

He finished reading the book on the first day he bought it, and he's been craving it for the past two weeks.

When he saw that this was what Yotsuki Ai asked, Tamura Hao's eye twitched, and he replied helplessly, "The manuscript has been submitted to the publishing house and should be in the printing process. It should be available for purchase on the first of next month."

"Junior brother is so prolific!"

Ye Yue Ai gave a thumbs up, her desire growing even stronger.

Thankfully, I'll be able to get it in another week.

"Do you need to change your accommodation?"

He then asked about another matter. He had spoken with this junior brother during the inspection and knew that his residence was in a civilian area, which was complicated and not very good.

"No need. Lord Tsuchidai seems to have some ideas. It's better for me to stay there."

Shaking his head slightly, Tamura Hao could roughly understand Tsuchidai's meaning. Simply put, he wanted him to be a semi-double agent in order to trick Shimura Danzo and Konoha.

He is not opposed to this; only by demonstrating sufficient value can one reap greater rewards.

"Alright, I'll ask an elder from the clan to live nearby and keep an eye on things for you. If there's any danger, use the explosive tag immediately. It's best to make some preparations at home so that the elder can come to your rescue as soon as he sees any movement."

Ye Yue Ai took out a stack of high-level explosive tags and handed them over. He had just had them fetched, and there were a hundred of them.

"Thank you, senior brother!"

Tamura Hao gratefully accepted the stack of explosive tags; he needed them for self-defense and confidentiality right now.

"Work hard. What Konoha can give you, we can give you even more."

Patting the boy on the shoulder, Ye Yue Ai had high hopes for this junior brother and did not want him to make the wrong choice in the future.

As for their identity as spies, that doesn't really matter. As long as they genuinely integrate into the Hidden Cloud Village and have sufficient value, the Hidden Cloud Village can accept them.

It should be noted that the Hidden Cloud Village itself is extremely eager for talent, and in recent years it has launched many expeditions to seize talent and secret techniques. Those who genuinely join the village are treated quite well.

They could tolerate those kinds of people, let alone this junior brother.

"I've got it. I definitely won't let my senior brother and teacher down."

Nodding solemnly, Tamura Hao truly did not want to return to Konoha, much less work under Shimura Danzo. There was no future there; it would be difficult to rise to the top, and his life might even be in danger.

Just look at how many people died in Konoha in the original story, how many ninja clans were wiped out, and how even the two founding clans were destroyed in the end. The darkness and bloodshed hidden in this are unimaginable.

It was even leveled many times later on, truly a case of simple folk customs suffering many disasters!

Therefore, although Konoha is powerful, with many geniuses among its ninja clans and a deep foundation, this is both its strength and its weakness. It causes internal conflicts to pile up and become increasingly complex, and if one is not careful, getting caught up in them will lead to its demise.

Among the five great ninja villages in the ninja world, Kumogakure has the best reputation and the fewest rogue ninjas, especially during the reign of the Third Raikage.

Konoha is a given; it's riddled with problems.

Since the Third Mizukage took office, Kirigakure has implemented a bloody mist policy, killing its own people with great relish, let alone an outsider like itself.

Sunagakure is all sand, with few resources and secret techniques to pass down, and I don't like making puppets.

As for hand-building a Gundam, sorry, he doesn't have that ability.

Iwagakure is also relatively xenophobic, and has many internal problems.

Unless he could become the Third Tsuchikage's disciple, but given the Third Tsuchikage's cunning nature, it would be too difficult to persuade him; at the very least, he would resort to genjutsu interrogation.

Therefore, the Hidden Cloud Village is relatively better, mainly because the Third Raikage is easy to talk to in some ways and is a man of his word.

That's why he dared to reveal his identity as a spy.

After talking with Ai Yozuki for a while, Tamura Hao and Ai Yozuki left the Raikage Building and returned to their respective apartments.

He immediately took out explosive tags and wires and set them up in the room, not even leaving the walls, ceiling and floor untouched, to prevent anyone from sneaking in silently and slitting his throat.

"First hurdle passed!"

With a sigh of relief, Tamura Hiroshi took off his clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

Despite his feigned composure, he was actually incredibly flustered inside, his inner lining soaked with sweat.

This is a gamble; if you lose, you will surely die. Even if the odds of winning are high, it is still a risk, and the pressure you bear is unimaginable to ordinary people.

Fortunately, they succeeded in the end. Although they only passed the first hurdle, it was the most crucial one.

As long as I remain loyal to Kumogakure, uphold the Will of Lightning, abandon the Will of Fire taught by Danzo Shimura, and demonstrate more value, there shouldn't be any major problems.

"How are you doing now?"

Tamura Hao pulled a photo from the bottom of the bedside table drawer and stared at the blonde girl in it with a strange look in his eyes.

The reason he was able to obtain the mission to infiltrate Kumogakure and take the opportunity to escape from Shimura Danzo's side was largely due to the scheme he devised around this girl.

Five years have passed, and I wonder how she is doing.

However, given his excellence, he certainly wouldn't have fared badly under Danzo Shimura's command.

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, Tamura Hiroshi pasted the photo back under the drawer.

The reason for keeping this photo was mainly to mislead some people, to make Shimura Danzo think that his bond was still intact, so that the old man would not send someone to kill him.

At the same time, I can use this as an opportunity to make plans for the future, since that old guy has quite a few good things in his possession.

"What did you feel before?"

Tamura Hiroshi pondered the unusual feeling he had when he entered the Raikage's office. At that moment, he felt as if some kind of power had entered his body, or more precisely, his mind.

At the time, I thought it was some kind of illusion-based reconnaissance technique, after all, that was the Raikage's office.

But later, he asked Ye Yue Ai indirectly and found out that it wasn't true.

Moreover, when the firearms were displayed in the training room later, I also had a strange feeling, as if something had entered my head.

Even after returning home, I had that eerie feeling once, while taking a shower.

So what exactly is it?

After pondering for a while without finding a solution, Tamura Hiroshi closed his eyes, focused his attention on his head while refining his chakra.

Refining chakra activates both mental and physical life forces, so you should be able to sense anything unusual happening in your mind.

It would have been fine if I hadn't been refining my chakra, but as soon as I started, it was as if something had been triggered. The chakra in my head area instantly surged into the depths of my brain, as if it had been swallowed up by some kind of being.

Then, as if sensing something, the chakra in other parts of his body rushed uncontrollably to his head, and at the same time, Tamura Hao's consciousness also entered a pitch-black void.

(End of this chapter)