Across the shinobi world, small changes begin to shake the balance of power.
"So sleepy… I even went to bed early yesterday…"
Tenten sighed softly.
She had originally planned to study late into the night, but before she could finish even a few pages, exhaustion had overtaken her and she ended up falling asleep.
If only I had more chakra…
Moments like this made her deeply envy people like Souma and Naruto.
Their chakra reserves were monstrous.
Compared with them, her own chakra pool was tiny.
Even compared with Lee and Neji, she had noticeably less.
"Eh?"
Tenten stepped out of her personal workshop and immediately froze.
A chakra storage device was sitting in the courtyard.
If she remembered correctly…
This was the first prototype of the chakra tool.
Only she and Souma had copies of it.
So how had one suddenly appeared here—and been left in her yard?
Tenten scratched her head, puzzled.
She stepped closer.
Then she noticed a note tucked into the inner edge of the device.
After pulling it out with some effort, she unfolded it.
Her expression instantly changed.
A Tailed Beast…?
Eight-Tails chakra?!
Tenten's thoughts immediately jumped to the recent visit from Kumogakure's shinobi.
Her expression became extremely complicated.
So…
Souma really had gone to the Hidden Cloud Village.
And somehow obtained Gyūki's chakra.
She nervously looked around.
"Stop looking," Souma said calmly from behind the wall as he jumped down. "There's no way a Cloud shinobi would appear here. And even if they did, they wouldn't understand what's inside that device."
Earlier he had been training his chakra armor in the nearby forest so he wouldn't wake her.
The moment he sensed Tenten stepping outside, he came back.
"Did you get hurt?" she asked immediately.
"No."
Souma shook his head.
"I optimized it. As long as you don't actively release it, there's no chance of it escaping. As for what it does… you should understand better than anyone."
The original purpose of the chakra tool was simple—
Chakra replenishment.
As one of its creators, Tenten naturally understood how it worked.
But this version…
Contained Tailed Beast chakra.
That made her uneasy.
After hearing Souma's reassurance, she cautiously approached.
She placed her hand on one of the four outlet seals on the device.
A moment later—
Shock flashed across her eyes.
A steady stream of chakra began flowing from the device into her body.
More importantly—
The chakra had clearly been processed through special sealing techniques.
Normally Tailed Beast chakra was extremely violent.
But this chakra felt… surprisingly stable.
Once it entered her body, it behaved almost like ordinary chakra.
It could be used immediately.
"You made this specifically for me?" Tenten asked softly.
She looked at Souma with obvious emotion.
But then she lowered her head.
"I… don't think I deserve something like this."
Souma reached out and gently rubbed her head.
"Not exactly," he said with a small smile. "People with talent for space-time ninjutsu are extremely rare. Even I wouldn't say my own aptitude is particularly strong."
"But your talent in that area is undeniable."
"Be confident, Tenten. You're a genius."
"If you master Flying Thunder God—or even the Flying Thunder Formation: Guiding Thunder technique I used today—you'll be more valuable than many jōnin."
"Flying Thunder Formation… Guiding Thunder?"
Tenten thought for a moment.
Then realization dawned on her face.
"You used space-time ninjutsu to transfer the Tailed Beast Bomb, didn't you? Where did you send it?"
"Out at sea near the Land of Lightning," Souma replied casually. "There's a region there where thunderstorms are constant. Ships avoid it anyway."
"I see…"
Tenten looked down at the chakra tool in her hands.
Her heart was pounding with excitement.
In the end—
She couldn't bring herself to refuse it.
The chakra supply was simply too tempting.
With enough chakra, she could create shadow clones to assist with her studies.
Before, she had constantly struggled with time and energy.
Now—
She could finally train multiple disciplines simultaneously.
"Even with extra chakra, shadow clones still place the same strain on your mind," Souma reminded her. "Don't create too many."
"Okay!"
Tenten nodded enthusiastically.
"Thank you, Souma!"
"Oh, right," Souma added. "Quietly inform Kazusa and Kakashi-sensei. For now, don't tell anyone else."
"This Eight-Tails only evolved from a single tentacle. The chakra supply isn't huge."
Souma had his own priorities.
Tenten, Kazusa, and Kakashi were his teammates.
Naturally they would be the first to benefit from this new tool.
As for Guy—
Taijutsu relied far more on stamina than chakra.
He didn't need it nearly as much.
Still…
With three chakra-poor users relying on it, the miniature Eight-Tails' recovery speed might become an issue.
The battery life is still too short…
Souma began thinking about other potential "chakra batteries."
At the same time—
A new idea had been forming in his mind since yesterday.
An extremely bold one.
If Obito could create the Ten-Tails…
Then maybe he could create an artificial Ten-Tails himself.
Even if it couldn't match the original's power, its chakra output would still be enormous.
As for the foundation of the synthesis…
Hashirama cells.
Of course—
For now, it was only a concept.
Hidden Cloud Village.
The Fourth Raikage stared at the message delivered by a Konoha messenger hawk.
After reading it, he fell into deep thought.
Then he summoned Darui.
Darui was his most trusted subordinate—and the candidate he believed most likely to become the next Raikage.
Darui entered the office and bowed.
"Lord Raikage."
"Read this," the Raikage said, handing him the message. "Samui sent it back from Konoha."
"Yes."
Darui carefully read the report.
Then his brows furrowed.
"Konoha has this many shinobi?"
"That doesn't match the intelligence we collected."
"Exactly," the Raikage replied.
"Even if that brat Souma is capable, he couldn't possibly produce so many ninja in just two or three years."
"There must be exaggeration."
He crossed his arms.
"What I don't understand is this—Samui is extremely reliable. Why would she send back a report like this?"
The report itself was short.
It simply described what Samui had observed in Konoha and confirmed that Hidan had indeed been killed by Konoha shinobi.
She never explicitly stated her conclusion.
But every line of the report carried the same implication—
Konoha is not an enemy we should fight right now.
The Raikage found that infuriating.
Just as he was about to explode—
Another messenger hawk cried outside the window.
Darui quickly opened it.
The hawk flew inside.
He removed the sealed message.
As he read it, his expression slowly changed.
"Lord Raikage… Samui sent additional analysis."
"She believes the Konoha police force might include civilians who aren't true ninja. But their other forces remain extremely strong."
The Raikage took the report.
He quickly scanned it.
Samui had written about Atsui becoming friends with Might Guy.
She included observations about Guy and Rock Lee.
And one particular detail stood out—
In Konoha, an enormous number of people trained in taijutsu every day.
Many children ran laps around the village daily.
Even the Konoha hospital seemed to provide specialized services for this training.
After reading everything, the Raikage finally understood.
Darui had been right.
Konoha…
Had changed dramatically.
It was no longer the weak target it once appeared to be.
The Raikage slammed his fist against the desk.
"Damn it!"
"Killer B's situation was definitely caused by that brat!"
"But we have no evidence… and we don't even know how strong he really is."
"And then there's the Akatsuki."
He thought about Kakuzu and Hidan.
His expression darkened.
Those two might have been tracking Souma.
But they could just as easily be targeting the Tailed Beasts.
The ANBU reports about Itachi and Kisame's movements seemed to confirm Konoha's warnings.
Akatsuki.
Konoha.
And the steadily strengthening Hidden Stone Village.
The Raikage sighed heavily.
Starting a war right now would be suicidal.
His father would beat him senseless in the afterlife.
He looked at Darui.
"What should we do?"
"I think I should go to Konoha personally," Darui said.
"Konoha doesn't want war either. Otherwise they wouldn't show such strength."
"I'll investigate and see if we can establish cooperation."
"Good idea," the Raikage said.
"But not you."
He stood up.
Darui looked confused.
"You mean…?"
"I'll go myself."
Darui's expression immediately changed.
"What if the Akatsuki attack again while you're gone?"
"Both Konoha and the team we encountered prefer quick decisive battles," the Raikage replied calmly.
"They won't make a move so openly right now."
"And they just lost a member. It'll take time to replace him."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Mabui. Use the Heavenly Transfer Technique. Send Samui a message."
"Tell her I'm coming personally."
"Have her notify the Hokage."
"Lord Raikage, please reconsider—"
"Reconsider what?"
The Raikage slammed his fist down again.
"Konoha is evolving rapidly. If I don't see it with my own eyes, the next crisis might be ours!"
Despite his temper, the Fourth Raikage was no fool.
Years ago, the incident involving Hizashi Hyuga had damaged relations between Kumo and Konoha.
The two villages had never truly been friendly since.
If Konoha had really become as powerful as the intelligence suggested—
Then Kumogakure needed to reconsider its entire stance.
Mabui glanced at Darui.
Finally, she nodded and stepped aside.
As soon as the Raikage finished writing the message, she prepared the technique to teleport it to Samui in Konoha.
Konoha.
Samui glared coldly at her younger brother.
Atsui stood beside her like a child who had been caught misbehaving.
But he clearly didn't regret it.
"Sis, I learned those techniques with my own effort!"
"With your own effort?"
Samui almost laughed.
She glanced around before lowering her voice.
"We're in Konoha—not the Hidden Cloud Village."
"You think they would just teach you techniques for free?"
"You wouldn't understand," Atsui said confidently.
"You're too cold-blooded to appreciate the passion of youth!"
"???"
Samui inhaled deeply.
Her fists twitched.
After several seconds, she waved him away.
"Go. Just don't reveal any of our village's secrets."
"Or I really will kill you."
She wasn't joking.
"Relax!" Atsui grinned, flashing his bright teeth.
"We're just a group of passionate taijutsu researchers!"
"Maybe I'll even learn some new techniques!"
"I'll prove I can become an outstanding ninja too!"
Samui silently watched him leave.
She increasingly suspected bringing him along had been a terrible mistake.
Not only had he failed to help—
He seemed completely influenced by Konoha already.
And it had only been a day.
Did Konoha brainwash him?
She decided to secretly follow him.
Soon—
Samui fell silent.
Atsui was training with two Konoha ninja who appeared to be father and son.
They were running laps around the village.
Practicing handstands.
Punching drills.
It was genuinely just taijutsu training.
Not only had Atsui not suffered any losses—
He had clearly gained valuable experience.
"…What exactly is Konoha doing?"
Samui muttered.
Are they running some kind of charity program?
Impossible.
Just as she was thinking—
"You might want to find a safer place."
"?"
Samui froze.
She immediately turned and grabbed the hilt of her sword.
"I'm a peaceful person," Souma said lightly. "I just wanted to warn you."
"A space-time technique just opened nearby centered on your position. If it's your village's communication method, I won't interfere."
"Hah."
Samui scoffed.
She didn't believe him for a second.
No one could sense space-time fluctuations like that.
If someone could…
Their perception ability would have to be—
Her thoughts stopped.
A letter suddenly appeared in midair and dropped in front of her.
Samui looked down at the message.
Then she looked back at the calm, smiling boy beside her.
For a moment—
She couldn't tell whether he had simply guessed…
Or whether he had truly sensed it.
After a brief pause, she said politely,
"Since it's a communication message… I'll excuse myself."
Souma waved casually and jumped down from the wall.
He had only passed by.
His real destination was the ANBU headquarters.
Because Tsunade had finally agreed—
To let him study Hashirama's cells.
Meanwhile, Samui returned to her room.
As she opened the letter, one thought lingered in her mind.
That boy's sensory ability is terrifying…
Which meant—
Their movements the other day…
Had probably been exposed from the very beginning.
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