CHAPTER 10:Class Teacher

For the next half month, Tamura Hao didn't go outside to train. He even requested a formal leave from the ninja academy, choosing instead to stay home to work on manuscripts, refine chakra control, and further develop his super-strength techniques.

The days passed quickly. That morning, Tamura Hao used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself, delivered his manuscripts to the bookstore for scheduled publication, and then returned home to prepare for a significant day.

First, he donned his customized armor, which cost 100 million ryo to craft. The core was a mesh of chakra-conductive alloy, lightweight yet durable. Protective plates were fitted over his forearms, calves, chest, back, and shoulders.

According to the craftsman, the armor weighed under ten kilograms but had the durability to resist C-rank ninjutsu. Its flexibility also absorbed impacts, reducing blunt damage.

Next, he put on a tailored leather outfit made from the hide of a chakra-mutated beast. The material had natural resistance to elemental ninjutsu—particularly Fire Release techniques. At the very least, it could prevent minor burns from low to mid-rank fire jutsu.

"He kind of looks like a younger version of President Sarutobi, but not quite as handsome," Hao remarked to himself in the mirror, grinning slightly.

He especially liked his new boots. Unlike standard open-toed shinobi sandals—comically ill-suited for kicking—his were closed, reinforced leather boots. The toes and heels were reinforced with the same chakra alloy as his armor, ideal for augmenting his taijutsu strikes.

After a quick stretch, he approached the weapon stand, removed two swords, and sealed them into specialized summoning scrolls embedded in his arm guards. Each scroll bore a kanji: "猫" (Cat).

Indeed, the arm guards were modified ninja tools. The embedded sealing formulas were similar to the scroll gauntlets worn by Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke during the Fourth Great Ninja War, allowing for instantaneous weapon summoning.

Fully equipped, Tamura Hao made his way to the academy.

His classmates barely reacted when he entered. Although his outfit was unusual, most simply gave him a passing glance. Hao had always maintained a low profile in school. With few friends and modest grades, he blended into the background.

Shortly afterward, the instructor entered and gave a brief speech before unrolling a scroll and announcing team assignments.

Every class was structured so all students could be placed into teams of three. However, last year, a violent dispute between two students resulted in one blinding the other with a kunai during a sparring match. The aggressor was expelled, and the victim could no longer qualify as a shinobi.

As a result, this year's class had one student left without a team.

That student was Tamura Hao.

Fortunately, the Third Raikage had already planned for this. Hao would not be merged with another team or left behind. Instead, he would be directly mentored by a special jōnin instructor—an unusual honor for a fresh graduate.

Once the room emptied, a young man entered and looked at Hao—the last student still seated.

"Tamura Hao?"

"Present, sensei!"

Hao stood up and bowed respectfully, assessing the visitor. The man's distinctive long, half-white, half-green hair matched the intel he had researched.

Fukai, the previous generation's jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails—though not yet a jinchūriki at this point. In fact, Killer Bee might not have even been born yet.

Fukai silently studied the calm boy in front of him. He felt no arrogance or nervousness in Hao—only composure.

"Take a seat. Let's talk," Fukai said, sitting atop a desk.

"I'm Fukai, a jōnin of Kumogakure. I specialize in Lightning Release, lightning body techniques, and lightning-enhanced kenjutsu…"

He introduced himself without fanfare, still curious about this unusual assignment.

Half a month ago, the Third Raikage had summoned him and reassigned him from his mission roster—ordering him to train and guide a single child. Shortly after, the Raikage's cousin, Dodai, also approached him, repeating the request. Neither elaborated much, but Fukai understood that the boy must be special.

After asking around, he learned that the child had uncovered and exposed a spy within the village. That spy had nearly stolen 1 billion ryo in funds meant for purchasing war supplies from the Land of Iron.

Tamura Hao had found the stolen funds and turned them in, preventing a catastrophic loss.

Such accomplishments at his age were unheard of.

"I'm Tamura Hao. You can call me Xiao Hao if you'd like," Hao said calmly. "I specialize in taijutsu and swordsmanship. My chakra affinity is lightning, but I have limited chakra reserves, so I focus heavily on chakra control. I hope to learn a lot from you, sensei."

He also mentioned his recent training with chakra threads, a technique traditionally used by Sunagakure's puppet-nin. Despite being a Kumo ninja, Hao had adapted the method to hone his chakra control and multitasking ability.

Currently, he could maintain six threads simultaneously, each extending up to three meters and performing fine motor tasks.

"That's impressive," Fukai muttered.

For an academy graduate to even climb trees or walk on water was considered decent. But chakra thread manipulation was advanced—it was a step toward chakra shape transformation, which was normally taught only at the chunin level or in specialized villages like Suna.

The fact that Hao had also begun experimenting with Lightning Release transformations—despite lacking formal training—was even more astonishing.

"It's just that my chakra potential is below average," Hao said with a trace of frustration. "Even with intense training, I'll never have the reserves of someone like the Raikage or Killer Bee. So I've decided to master control and make every drop count."

His words were honest. He hated how much of the shinobi world revolved around bloodlines and innate talent. Children of elite clans inherited power and techniques, while the rest struggled to catch up—if they could at all.

He had once tried the intense physical training methods attributed to people like Might Guy and Rock Lee, but his body couldn't handle it. His muscles nearly broke down, and he required daily visits to medics and expensive herbal treatments just to maintain his health.

He suspected that even Konoha's so-called "hard work trio" had some kind of hidden lineage—perhaps distant connections to the Senju or other powerful bloodlines. Normal humans didn't regenerate like that.

That's why he chose chakra control as his foundation.

"You made the right choice," Fukai said, nodding solemnly. "Chakra quantity is mostly inherited. If you push beyond your capacity, you risk internal damage. But control? That can be mastered—and in battle, precision often outweighs power."

He didn't mention it aloud, but he was aware that the village had been conducting forbidden experiments involving the flesh of the Eight-Tails, hoping to artificially boost chakra capacity.

So far, those experiments had yielded no usable results—certainly nothing close to the Golden and Silver Brothers, whose chakra mutated after ingesting the Eight-Tails' flesh during the First Shinobi War.

Fukai had no intention of letting this boy become a test subject. From what he'd seen so far, Tamura Hao was already carving his own path—clever, careful, and capable.

And most importantly, he was loyal to the village.

This was going to be an interesting assignment.