Chapter 63: Volume 2 – Chapter 12: Walnut

Seeing that Reiji was completely fine, the Raikage burst into hearty laughter once again.

It had been a long time since such cheerful laughter had echoed through the Raikage's office.

After a while, his laughter gradually subsided.

"Raimei, you were extremely reckless during the operation to seal the Two-Tails! But you also bought valuable time for your comrades in the village.

After discussion, the village has decided to reward you with a house."

As he spoke, the Raikage pointed his thick finger out the window.

There, on the peak of a towering mountain, stood a cluster of homes built into the slope.

Only those who had made outstanding contributions to the village were eligible to live there.

Look at that! Hiruzen Sarutobi, come and take a look! That's what I call vision! That's what I call grandeur!

Just a casual stroll with the Two-Tails, and the Third Raikage rewards me with a penthouse suite.

Is this what Kumogakure is like?

I love it! Absolutely love it!

But Reiji shook his head resolutely.

Partly for the sake of his character persona, and partly because he had his eye on the Senju clan's mansion.

Once Rie got familiar with Mito Uzumaki and Tsunade, they could stay in that mansion long-term.

Then, once Mito Uzumaki went to join Hashirama Senju, and Tsunade left home after losing her brother and boyfriend...

That luxurious mansion would belong to the Sakuhō family!

With that in mind, Reiji put on an excited expression and said,

"Raikage-sama, I don't want the house. Could I get money instead? I want to buy weights for training!"

The Raikage paused for a moment, then looked at Reiji with a pleased expression and gave a slight nod.

"Alright then. Amai, take him to get the money!"

"How much?"

"Two million ryo."

The moment he heard the number, Reiji immediately recalled the currency exchange rate between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

1 to 1.2.

That meant over 1.6 million ryo in Land of Fire currency!

See that? That's what generosity looks like! Hiruzen Sarutobi, I'm talking to you!

Honestly, it's no surprise Kumogakure is so wealthy. The Land of Lightning has a unique geographic position, bordering only the tiny Land of the Moon.

So even though the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire are about the same size, Kumogakure's border defense expenses are much lower than Konoha's.

And although the Land of Lightning is full of tall mountains, the climate isn't too harsh. Its arable land isn't much less than Konoha's either.

Most importantly, Kumogakure doesn't have as many clans as Konoha.

Fewer people to split the pie with means more to share with regular ninja.

That's why the Land of Lightning is so warlike, yet has hardly any missing-nin.

At least from what Reiji remembered, every other country had rogue ninja in the Akatsuki—even tiny places like Yugakure.

Only the Land of Lightning had none.

Simple and brutal, yet surprisingly fair: whoever's strongest takes the lead.

Plus, with money to earn, you'd have to be a fool to become a missing-nin!

As Reiji and Amai left the office, the Third Raikage recalled how Reiji had been blasted away but walked off like nothing happened.

He couldn't help but marvel,

"That Raimei kid's tough! He's perfect for training in the Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"

Fukai, who had been quietly waiting in the Raikage's office, suddenly spoke up in a timid voice,

"Uncle... do you want him to become the next 'B'?"

At those words, the Raikage's smile gradually faded.

He stayed silent for a long while before slowly shaking his head.

...

After leaving the Raikage's office, Reiji followed Amai to her secretary's office next door.

The room was small—just a desk, a sofa, and a coffee table.

"Wait here, I'll get your money."

She motioned for Reiji to sit on the sofa, then walked behind her desk and began preparing the cash.

Reiji returned to his laid-back demeanor, casually glancing around the room.

Maybe it was all the talking, or maybe it was a surge of adrenaline from his teenage edginess, but Reiji suddenly felt thirsty.

"Secretary Amai, is the water drinkable?" he asked, pointing to the teacup and teapot on the desk.

"The tea's cold," Amai replied, not looking up as she counted the bills.

"That's fine," Reiji said casually.

He poured himself a cup, gulped it down, smacked his lips, and offhandedly remarked,

"This water's pretty good. Where's it from?"

Amai's hands froze for a split second, then resumed counting like nothing had happened.

"Bought it from the Land of Tea. You like it? I'll give you a bag."

Reiji waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Forget it, better you keep it for yourself."

...

Soon after, Reiji stepped out of Amai's office, carrying a small leather suitcase.

He didn't notice the woman in high heels—completely silent in her movements—standing just outside the door, watching him leave with a single sharp eye fixed on his back.

Holding his precious money, Reiji left the Raikage building and found a smithy that looked totally low-end.

He was ready to commission a custom set of arm guards—just like the ones worn by the future Fourth Raikage.

As time went on, Reiji's physical abilities became increasingly monstrous, but the iron sand within his body had gradually lost its effect.

Worse still, the loose iron sand kept getting in the way—gathering inexplicably in strange places and blocking the flow of various bodily fluids.

It was incredibly annoying!

So, getting new weights had to be made a priority.

After briefly explaining his requirements and agreeing to return in two days, Reiji left the blacksmith's shop under the owner's strange gaze.

...

Back in Raimei's small apartment, he was just about to hit the bathroom to "detox" when the doorbell rang.

Clutching his rear, Reiji opened the door with an irritated expression.

Outside stood two men and one woman, all politely dressed—clearly ninja from the village.

"Hello, is this Raimei?" the middle-aged man in the middle asked.

Reiji nodded while absentmindedly picking his nose.

"Yeah, that's me. And you are?"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ryuto, the captain of this team."

He gestured to the cocky-looking boy and the expressionless girl beside him.

"This is Kohaku Kamitsuchi, and this is Yui Kumakawa."

"We'll be your new teammates from now on!"

The rather handsome older man smiled brightly, flashing white teeth as he extended a hand.

Reiji paused for a second, then extended the same hand he'd been using to clutch his rear and shook it.

"Sorry. Come on in."

After the handshake, Reiji invited the three into his home.

Raimei's apartment was small. Aside from the bathroom, there was only a bed and a low table.

Sitting at the table, Reiji drooped his eyelids and scratched his head.

"Sorry, no one told me I'd be joining a new squad. It's nice to meet you, and sorry I can't offer much."

Ryuto looked a bit surprised.

"Amai-sama didn't mention anything?"

"Nope." Reiji shook his head.

Ryuto chuckled awkwardly.

"Maybe she was just too busy and forgot."

Seeing how groggy Reiji looked, Ryuto took a moment to gather his thoughts, then began explaining.

"Raimei, here's the deal with our team. I'm a Chūnin and the team leader.

Yui and Kohaku are both Genin. Our previous member died on a mission.

So, the village has now assigned you to our team.

You're aware of the Tailed Beast rampage two months ago. Since then, we haven't taken any missions outside the village.

But with the Chūnin Exams just two months away, we'll probably be taking on a lot of missions in the near future."

If it had been any other Genin, Ryuto wouldn't have gone into so much detail.

But this was Raimei—the one who'd risked his life to save many of his comrades.

Though not publicly hailed as a hero, among those who fought in the Two-Tails incident, Raimei was deeply respected and appreciated.

After listening, Reiji took a moment, then responded in a lazy voice.

"So, Captain Ryuto, when do you plan to start taking missions?"

Hearing Reiji call him "Captain," Ryuto's eyes lit up. He lightly tapped his fist and said seriously,

"The sooner, the better."

Reiji nodded slowly.

"Captain Ryuto, it'd be best if we started in two days. I've ordered a batch of ninja tools, and they won't be ready until then."

He paused for a moment, then added,

"No need to bring me along to the Raikage's office to receive the mission. Just call me when it's time to head out."

His tone was calm, but the implication was clear: he didn't care what kind of mission it was.

This was one of Reiji's defining traits.

Raimei was never going to suddenly become polite and humble.

After losing comrades, he buried his arrogance deep within himself—it never went away.

This was something Reiji had spent a long time refining.

People rarely show the same face inside and out. Reiji's characterization of Raimei was:

Saved by a comrade, struck with grief, he buried that pain and moved forward. Outwardly he seemed laid-back and disinterested, but now and then, his old arrogance would flare up.

At the same time, he hated anything that interrupted his training.

The most logical character arc might've been to abandon arrogance altogether.

But Reiji questioned—was his bond with Okufu really that strong? Did they truly share such deep ties? Could that alone trigger such a dramatic change in him?

The answer was no.

Details make or break a character.

And Reiji prided himself on the details.

...

After sorting out the mission arrangements, Ryuto took the two team members and left Raimei's home.

Walking down the street, Kohaku—his usual arrogant expression in place—suddenly spoke.

"Raimei isn't like how you described him, Captain.

I thought he'd look down on us! He did save a ton of people, after all."

Ryuto smiled and shook his head.

"No, Raimei's still plenty proud. Didn't you hear what he said about calling him when it's time for the mission?"

"What's wrong with that?" Kohaku asked, cocky but clearly confused.

"It means he doesn't care what the mission is—doesn't care how tough it might be. It means he believes his strength is above ours."

Hearing Ryuto's explanation, Kohaku instantly pouted and muttered under his breath,

"What's the big deal? He's just a Genin."

...

Time flew by, and two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Reiji had finally received his new weights.

Looking at the arm guards, each as thick as half his waist, he nodded in satisfaction. With some effort, he lifted his arm and gave the terrified blacksmith a thumbs-up.

With the weights secured, Reiji launched into his training.

Thanks to his character setup, he could train openly—no need to sneak around like he had to in Konoha.

His training plan was simple.

Hammer mountains!

Monkey D. Garp had trained by pounding mountains, and became one of the strongest in pirate history.

Reiji declared, "I'm going to learn that too! Once I've flattened the Land of Lightning into a plain, I'll have achieved true mastery!"

No sooner said than done, he left the village with his massive arm guards and found a towering mountain nearby to begin his training.

...

Three days passed in a flash.

When Ryūto's team went to the Raikage's office to take a mission, they got chewed out for showing up incomplete.

With no other choice, they had to go track down their newest teammate—Raimei.

They knocked at Raimei's place for a while, but no one answered.

Just then, an old woman from the next unit poked her head out.

"You're here for Raimei?"

Ryūto nodded and introduced himself.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Ryūto, Raimei's team captain."

The old woman smiled and nodded.

"That boy's not home. He's out training at Raidō Mountain, south of the village."

"Thank you."

Ryūto gave a slight bow, then led Kohaku and Yui, fully geared up, toward Raidō Mountain.

"This sucks. What's the point of going so far? Can't he train inside the village?" Kohaku grumbled.

"It's fine," Ryūto replied with a sunny smile.

Soon, the three of them had left the village and were heading toward the mountain.

From a distance, they began to hear muffled rumbling sounds ahead.

Sensing something strange, they exchanged glances and quickened their pace toward the source.

Circling the mountain, they finally found Reiji on the southern slope, sitting cross-legged with his back to them.

From where they stood, Reiji's massive right arm—encased in the oversized guard—was raised high.

Then he slammed it down.

The ground shuddered violently, and a deafening boom echoed in all directions.

Reiji immediately began scratching his head in frustration, clearly dissatisfied with the impact.

Ryūto swallowed hard as he looked at the web of cracks radiating out from Reiji's position, cold sweat dripping down his temple.

What... what is this guy? A monster?

Even in Kumogakure, a village full of walking muscle tanks, this guy could rank among the top!

Ahead of them, Raidō Mountain—once tall and majestic—now had a massive chunk missing, like it'd been bitten clean through.

Dear god... this is what he calls training? It's terrifying!

The two Genin beside Ryūto were completely speechless. Their jaws dropped wide open, drool leaking from the corners of their mouths.

In that moment, all their previous cocky and icy attitudes vanished, leaving only raw shock.

Now they understood why Raimei didn't care what kind of mission he got.

Because this guy was a monster!

"Boom!"

Another thunderous quake rocked the area as Raimei once again slammed his arm down, scratching his head in frustration.

The noise finally snapped the stunned trio out of their daze.

Ryūto swallowed again, wiped the cold sweat from his face, and—with Kohaku and Yui—cautiously approached Reiji.

But when they finally saw what he was actually doing, all three of their faces turned pitch black.

Beside Raimei was a huge pile of walnuts.

Walnuts.

And this lunatic was lifting his massive right hand and smashing them one by one.

"Boom!"

Another quake.

The walnut shattered, its defiant core crushed into powder as if declaring:

"I'm not afraid of being pulverized. If you want to eat me, you'll have to kneel and lick up what's left!"

Then Raimei went wild again, scratching his head furiously.

Sensing their presence, Reiji turned, scratched his bird's-nest hair, and gave Ryūto an awkward smile.

"Captain, sorry about that. Still struggling to control my strength."

Ryūto and the others stared at him in complete silence.