While Tamura Zairo was soaking in the medicinal bath, far away in Konoha, Shimura Danzō had already received intelligence about Zairo's abnormal performance.
The report had been delivered via a summoned beast—fast and discreet.
"Discovered an operative who embezzled the funds Yunshin Village used to purchase supplies.
Received praise and rewards from the Third Raikage.
Became the student of the Raikage's nephew.
Also showed signs of growing close to the Raikage's son."
Looking at the brief report, Shimura Danzō fell into thought.
Only after a long while did he recall that precocious little brat from years ago.
"I remember that kid also had a childhood sweetheart."
Thinking of those two children back then, Danzō's impression of them was still quite vivid.
Their cultivation talent had been average at best, but their minds had matured far too early—perfect material for spies.
Coupled with the fact that the boy possessed only a single Lightning attribute, Danzō had arranged for him to be sent to Yunshin Village.
Originally, it had been nothing more than a casual move—a spare chess piece meant to replace an old asset there who was close to death.
Who would have thought that this tiny pawn would develop so well on his own?
"These are their files."
A masked ninja at his side presented two dossiers.
Danzō took them and flipped them open.
At the top was a black-and-white photo of Tamura Zairo.
Below it was his name:
Tamura Ritian.
This was Tamura Zairo's original name in this world.
He had been born without a surname. However, after his parents learned that their son had been recruited by Lord Danzō's department, they had chosen the surname Tamura—modeled after Danzō's own surname.
Of course, such a self-assigned surname was not officially recognized.
In this era, surnames carried extraordinary meaning. They were symbols of status and identity, not something just anyone could claim.
Looking at that name, Danzō could not help but think of his old companion, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
After briefly reminiscing about their past missions together, Danzō casually skimmed the file. There was nothing particularly noteworthy.
Both children's talent lay primarily in their prematurely mature minds. Their cultivation aptitude was mediocre—especially that boy.
Only the girl showed outstanding talent in medical ninjutsu. In the future, she might very well reach Tsunade's current level of medical skill, making her a rare asset.
Still, what Danzō valued more was Yakushi Nono's intelligence-gathering ability.
The core of ninja warfare was intelligence. The very establishment of Root had been for this purpose.
One useful piece of intelligence was worth far more than a single jōnin.
Konoha did not lack geniuses or jōnin—if anything, they had a bit too many.
"Raise his clearance level to B."
After reviewing the boy's file, Danzō issued the order.
Originally, he had been nothing more than a lowest-tier pawn. But now that this piece had increased its own value, its clearance naturally had to rise as well.
"Yes."
The masked ninja acknowledged and put the two dossiers away.
"Have our people over there contact that boy.
Tell him to probe Yunshin Village's upcoming war plans and their progress in utilizing tailed beasts."
After some thought, Danzō issued another command.
He had long seen that all the great ninja villages were preparing—the Second Shinobi World War was about to erupt. The only question was where it would begin.
Yunshin Village was a purely martial village. Its upper echelon consisted almost entirely of hardline hawks who advocated plundering and expansion. Over the years, they had seized countless secret techniques and talents.
During the First Shinobi World War, if not for the betrayal of Gold and Silver Brothers that had gravely wounded Yunshin Village, that war would not have ended so easily.
Because of this, Yunshin Village's intentions were crucial. The earlier they were understood, the better Konoha could prepare.
Then there were the tailed beasts.
Danzō had personally witnessed the terror of the Nine-Tails. A single Tailed Beast Bomb was enough to destroy heaven and earth. Once such a weapon entered the battlefield, it would spell catastrophe for any side.
Leaving aside Danzō's orders, on the other side, Tamura Zairo was pulled out of the bath once the medicinal power had fully permeated his body.
A medical ninja immediately used healing ninjutsu to accelerate the repair of the cracks in his bones.
"This is… human?"
Barely managing to sit up, Tamura Zairo examined the fragment of a tooth in his hand—something he had found at the bottom of the tub earlier.
"One of the main ingredients is bone from the Kaguya clan,"
Yotsuki A nodded. "Several of the materials in this secret medicine are extremely rare. This time, we used part of the bones from a Kaguya clan jōnin."
In the entire shinobi world, only the Kaguya clan possessed bones that surpassed the natural limits of bone hardness.
That was precisely why medicinal solutions refined from their bones were so effective at strengthening one's skeletal structure.
"Humans really are great medicine."
Tamura Zairo sighed, completely unrepulsed.
Humans were, after all, just one species among countless living beings. If animal parts could be used as medicine, there was no reason humans could not.
Especially in a world where bloodlines and kekkei genkai existed, using such materials was far more effective than using ordinary beasts or ninja animals.
Only the materials of the Three Great Sage Lands—those capable of senjutsu—might compare.
If necessary, I wouldn't even mind a bowl of bone-ash rice.
In this world—where even terrorists despaired—only the strong had dignity and control over their fate.
The weak were worth less than dogs.
"This is my understanding of Lightning Release and several practical Lightning-based nin-taijutsu,"
Fukai said, taking out a scroll he had prepared in advance and handing it over.
He had already reviewed this student's file and knew Tamura Zairo possessed only a Lightning attribute, so he had prepared these notes ahead of time.
"And this one's from me,"
Yotsuki A added, producing his own scroll.
"It includes Lightning Abuse: Horizontal and the advanced Lightning Abuse: Level Chidori Dance.
"Battles change in an instant. There are always times when you don't have time to draw your blade. Having an extra option never hurts."
Inside were not only his cultivation insights on Lightning Release and body refinement, but also the two hand-blade nin-taijutsu techniques—both executed with the hand blade.
Nin-taijutsu consumed far less chakra than external-release ninjutsu.
The most basic Lightning Abuse: Horizontal consumed only as much chakra as a D-rank technique. With just a bit more chakra, his junior brother could barely begin practicing it.
Of course, the prerequisite was mastering Lightning nature transformation—this was the core of Lightning Abuse.
"Thank you. I'll study them carefully!"
Tamura Zairo was deeply moved and silently praised his past self for that risky gamble.
This was an enormous win.
"Oh right—do you want these two ninja blades?"
Tamura Zairo unsealed a storage formula from one of his armor plates and took out a pair of sealed ninja blades.
They were standard Yunshin-style ninja blades, about one meter long—well-suited for Yotsuki A and Fukai.
These had been the first blades he commissioned. However, this style didn't suit his thrust-focused sword philosophy, so after some time he had sealed them away and later redesigned and forged a new set in the miaodao style.
Fukai, who specialized in swordsmanship, picked one up and gave it a few swings.
When he infused chakra into it, the bright blade immediately flared with dazzling lightning.
"Excellent blade!"
Feeling how smoothly chakra flowed through the metal, Fukai's eyes lit up.
This blade was far superior to the one he had used before.
It clearly contained far more chakra-conductive metal, and the balance was perfect for power generation. It was obviously a masterwork.
A truly rare treasure.
Yotsuki A picked up the other blade and tested it as well, infusing his Lightning chakra with clear interest.
Although his primary path was his clan's inheritance—the hand blade—unarmed combat always had its limits.
Having a good blade would naturally be better.
This sword was light, under four jin, and perfectly matched his speed-focused, burst-oriented fighting style.
"This is too valuable."
After appreciating it for a while, Fukai sheathed the blade and handed it back to Tamura Zairo.
If it were an ordinary ninja blade—even one of excellent quality—he could accept it.
But this blade was no ordinary weapon. Its value was likely well over a hundred million ryō.
Such a precious gift… he could not accept it.