"Got it!"
Yeyue Ai nodded and said, "There's not much to say about Iwagakure. The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, emphasizes village unity and military strength. Only his son, Kurotsuchi's father, Kitsuchi, shows any standout potential. Then there's the Four-Tails Jinchūriki—Rōshi. He participated in a battle earlier and has power clearly above jōnin level."
"As for Sunagakure, the main figures are the three who visited previously: Ye Cang, Karura, and Rasa. All of them are elites within the village."
Kirigakure is brimming with dangerous up-and-comers. According to recent intel, they're assembling a team of elite swordsmen—what they call the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The fat guy we captured earlier was part of their early training batch, and the blade he wielded is one of the seven legendary swords."
Yeyue Ai's expression soured as he moved to the last village.
"Konoha... is full of prodigies. Every one of them seems tied to a powerful clan—Uchiha, Hyūga, Aburame, Nara, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, even remnants of the Senju. Their Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques make them far superior to common shinobi. It's like the whole village is made of geniuses."
Yeyue Ai didn't try to hide his frustration. Compared to that, the Hidden Cloud's number of bloodline limit clans was pitiful. Even among the few they had, real geniuses were rare.
Tamura Hao thought for a moment and asked, "What about civilian talents? Are there any in Konoha worth paying attention to?"
"There's one—Namikaze Minato. He's around your age, still enrolled in the Ninja Academy. But he has already bested peers from the Uchiha, Hyūga, and even the Senju clans. By now, he might already be close to tokubetsu jōnin level. He applied for early graduation at age eight, but the Third Hokage personally postponed it. Also, Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin has reportedly taken him as a personal disciple. He's demonstrated numerous ninjutsu in the academy and is highly respected by the staff."
Yeyue Ai's tone changed—he was genuinely interested now.
"A true civilian defeating elite clan children? That's rare."
Hao shook his head. "He's no true civilian. At most, a descendant of a fallen shinobi clan. You can't perform at that level without some kind of inherited potential. This world is built on bloodlines."
In his mind, Hao couldn't reconcile the concept of "civilian" with Minato's performance. He seemed like he had cheats activated—more gifted than Kakashi, even. From what Hao remembered, Minato had all five chakra natures, which was incredibly rare and simply not something civilians could achieve.
The amount of chakra Minato wielded was also absurd—far beyond what a so-called civilian should have. Even legends like Jiraiya and Orochimaru had unique qualities: Jiraiya with his massive reserves and summoning contracts, Orochimaru with his snake-like physiology and innate curiosity. Those weren't ordinary people.
"Agreed," Yeyue Ai nodded. "And don't forget—he has a surname. Most true civilians don't."
Real civilian ninjas were like Hao himself—minuscule chakra reserves, poor physical constitution, and no family name of power to lean on. Even given the best jutsu, a true civilian couldn't use them properly.
Thankfully, Hao's insight and comprehension were exceptional. It helped compensate for his chakra disadvantage—somewhat.
Sadly, being a jinchūriki was out of the question. Tailed beast vessels needed massive chakra capacity to survive the fusion. Hao lacked the foundation for that.
"If he had the chakra capacity," Yeyue Ai muttered, "I'd suggest sealing one of the Hachibi's severed tails inside him. He'd become a pseudo-jinchūriki and skyrocket in strength."
"But that's not possible. So let's move."
"They've nearly finished packing. Father's still in a war meeting. Come with me and listen in," Ai said.
They weren't in the Land of Lightning anymore. The longer the Raikage stayed outside the village, the higher the risk. It was time to head back.
Tamura Hao quickly followed. He also longed to return to Kumogakure—to continue developing his techniques and learn more Lightning Release ninjutsu. He had his sights set on something ambitious: Chidori.
Not that he was obsessed with Chidori per se. But it had incredible potential as a foundation. Uchiha Sasuke used it as a base to develop two powerful S-rank jutsu: Raikiri and Kirin.
Especially Kirin. That technique harnessed natural lightning, meaning it consumed very little chakra—perfect for someone like Hao with fragile reserves. He could use it to punch far above his weight class, bypassing the need to learn dozens of unrelated jutsu.
But Hao didn't just covet Konoha's Lightning techniques. Hidden Cloud had its own legendary Lightning Release jutsu—techniques he admired even more.
There was the Lightning Release Armor and the Hell Stab used by the Third Raikage—powerful, fast, and brutal. And in the future, Killer Bee would wield the Supersonic Lightning Sword, a jutsu that amplified blade sharpness to terrifying levels.
Fukai, his instructor, also knew that technique. It imbued swords with lightning in a way that surpassed even Wind Release in cutting power. Combined with Hao's dual swords—Big Cat and Little Cat—the results would be devastating.
More importantly, the Supersonic Thunder Blade technique was a blessing-type jutsu, not a projecting one. That meant it consumed far less chakra. It was ideal for a low-reserve shinobi like Hao.
All he needed was ten times more chakra than he currently had. That wasn't an exaggeration—his natural capacity was that pathetic. Age and body limits made it worse. He was holding on by talent and sheer willpower.
They entered the main command tent, where many high-level shinobi had gathered. At the center sat the Third Raikage.
When he saw his son and disciple arrive, he gave a rare smile—especially toward Hao.
That brain's really something.
Hao and Ai silently took their places behind the main platform and listened as the senior commanders debated.
There were several critical issues to address: relocating the surviving Uzumaki clan to Kumogakure, strategies for the inevitable escalation into a full-scale war, and what to do with their special prisoner—Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the Hokage's eldest son.
"We can't just kill the boy," said Dodai. "He's a high-value target. His death might only provoke Konoha into launching a vengeful counterattack. But if we hand him over to Sunagakure... Konoha's Shimura and Sarutobi clans are on the front lines against Suna. Let them bleed there."
He continued, "This will make the Sarutobi family hesitate and possibly split their focus. And since we wiped out many elite Shimura and Sarutobi shinobi in our raid, this could help Suna break through and invade deeper into the Land of Fire."
Dodai tapped a scroll.
"Also, according to intel from that Sand puppeteer we captured, the Second Kazekage created a forbidden technique—Human Puppets. They can turn elite corpses into even stronger puppets. If we send Konoha corpses along with the hostage, Suna might use them against Konoha. Maximum damage."
A few disagreed.
"We should send him to Iwagakure instead. Konoha stationed the Senju clan on that front. Let's drive a wedge between the Hokage and the Senju."
The Third Raikage pondered, then decided.
"No. Send him to Sunagakure. The Land of Earth is too close to us, and Ōnoki is a sly fox. Better to let Sunagakure benefit than hand power to the Rock. This could help us later."
That wasn't his real motive, of course. In truth, the Third Raikage wanted to use this war to crush the Senju clan completely.
He didn't want another First Hokage emerging to upset the power balance. If there was a chance to end the Senju, he'd take it.
Tamura Hao's mind turned. Shinnosuke was still alive, which meant there was always the possibility he'd be traded back to Konoha. That was dangerous.
Even if killing him outright wasn't possible, crippling him was. If Hao could maim him—say, sever a leg or arm—it would prevent any future rise to power.
At the very least, it would guarantee Konohamaru Sarutobi would never be born.