Naruto: Starting by Teaching Tsunade Modernization

After Mikoto Uchiha met Haku, she didn't immediately return to Konoha. Instead, she continued leading him in pursuing Raiga Kurosuki.

Her strength was more than enough to protect Haku.

At the same time, she began teaching Haku some foundational Ninjutsu knowledge.

Although Haku possessed the rare Ice Release ability, he had never received any formal training and had no basic understanding of what it meant to be a ninja.

Fortunately, he was still very young, so it wasn't too late for him to learn.

Meanwhile, after leaving Konoha, Haruki returned once again to Owarayama mountain fortress.

He was concerned that ten thousand Konoha ninjas wouldn't be able to control twenty thousand from Kumogakure.

After all, with such an overwhelming numerical advantage, if anything went wrong, it could be extremely dangerous.

In addition, when he returned to Konoha earlier, he hadn't come back empty-handed.

He brought back vast quantities of food supplies.

Supplying three thousand ninja was no small task.

After delivering the grain into the warehouse at Owarayama fortress, even with his Sage Body, Haruki felt drained.

Using the [Flying Thunder God Technique] to travel back and forth nearly drained half his chakra.

On top of that, he had also unleashed several large-scale [Wood Release] techniques.

Replenishing his chakra this quickly was impossible.

Any ordinary ninja would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

Stepping out of the granary, Haruki saw the captured Kumogakure ninjas still lying on the ground and gave a slight nod.

His [Wood Release] techniques held remarkably long.

It was highly satisfying.

He entered the main hall where Fugaku Uchiha was interrogating a Kumogakure ninja using Genjutsu, his Sharingan eyes activated.

Haruki glanced over and was slightly taken aback—it was a teenage girl.

She had long white hair and dark brown skin.

Even though Haruki had seen many Kumogakure ninjas, someone with coloring like this was rather rare.

She resembled the dark-skinned elves from old anime series.

According to his instructions, Fugaku was supposed to start with Jonin-level prisoners first.

Why was he interrogating a girl?

Still, Haruki didn't interrupt the process.

After all, maintaining Genjutsu wasn't easy.

From his appearance, Fugaku clearly wasn't faring well—his face was etched with exhaustion, as if his body had been completely drained.

Continuously using the Sharingan for so long—even someone like him couldn't withstand it.

Plus, he didn't possess the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Each use of the Sharingan could affect only one person at a time.

Both his ocular power and chakra had significantly declined.

In the original setting of the anime, during the Third Great Ninja War—meaning right now—Fugaku was supposed to witness his friend's death and awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

But after Haruki's interference, not only had he failed to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, Fugaku hadn't even participated in much combat. His sole role now was assisting with interrogations.

No one could have anticipated such an outcome.

The Uchiha Clan, originally intending to achieve great deeds, had ultimately been reduced to mere assistants for the Anbu.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Haruki considered whether he should find a way to help Fugaku awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

As soon as the interrogation finished, Fugaku immediately sensed a wave of hostility. Instinctively turning around, he met Haruki's piercing gaze, making his heart tighten.

This caused him to wonder—could it be he did something wrong and offended Haruki?

Gathering his courage, Fugaku stepped forward and bowed respectfully, asking, "Lord Haruki, when did you return?"

"Just now."

Haruki's gaze shifted to the young girl still under the genjutsu and he asked, "Who's this?"

"Mabo," Fugaku replied with relief, seizing the opportunity to change the subject. "Don't let her age fool you—she's remarkably composed and intelligent. She serves as the Fourth Raikage's secretary."

"I see."

After Fugaku mentioned it, Haruki recalled that indeed there was such a character in the original story.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, she had served as part of the command team alongside Shikaku Nara and others.

Her strength was at jonin level, nothing remarkable in itself.

But she did master a space-time ninjutsu technique called the Heavenly Transfer Technique.

This technique could teleport any object to any location instantaneously at light speed, without limitations on conditions or regions.

At first glance, it appeared somewhat similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique.

However, if used to transport people, the person must possess an extremely strong physique; otherwise, they would be ripped apart.

In the original story, only the Fourth Raikage and Tsunade had successfully teleported before.

After a brief exchange between the two, Mabo finally awakened. Upon noticing Haruki, her body shuddered slightly, then she fell into silence, saying nothing.

Clearly, Haruki had left an extremely deep impression on her—or perhaps more accurately, a lingering psychological scar.

Fugaku waved his hand, and immediately someone led her away for accommodation.

Among the three approaches Haruki had just proposed, she belonged to the category of high-ranking personnel worth trying to win over.

Regardless of her true intentions, Mabo displayed great cooperation.

Haruki guessed she might be thinking something like, "The mountains will always provide firewood, so there's no need to rush."

And thoughts along these lines were likely to dominate among the Cloud Ninjas.

After all, when faced with the choice between life itself and Kumo, not everyone had the courage to choose the latter.

Haruki didn't mind such attitudes—they were actually the easiest to change.

Judging by the current Konoha lifestyle and education model, he was confident about completely reshaping their worldview.

It mirrored the concept of a television show from his previous life called Switching. When impoverished rural children got accustomed to affluent urban lifestyles, their minds would experience huge psychological differences and changes.

Generally speaking, it was nearly impossible for them to go back.

He spoke a few more words with him.

The biggest issue right now was manpower shortages.

Initially things were manageable, but as more Cloud Ninjas awakened, one ten-thousand-strong force would definitely struggle to control twenty thousand captives.

Haruki thought for a moment.

If numbers were lacking, clones would have to compensate.

He left behind a Wood Clone infused with one-fifth of his chakra reserves.

Should the Cloud Ninjas attempt a rebellion, dealing with them would be easy enough to handle.

However, doing so meant Haruki's main body had entered its lowest chakra state ever recorded.

Although still several times greater than that of an average jonin.

He dared to make this decision because the current battles had mostly subsided.

The ordinary armies of the Land of Lightning required little interference from him.

Kumo was beyond its prime and unable to cause further trouble.

As for other ninja villages, they probably wouldn't dare come again.

The commotion caused by Haruki using the Wood Release against twenty-five thousand ninja had been simply too grand.

Even before the battle started, it had drawn widespread attention across the ninja world.

His strength and the outcome of this war were probably already circulating among various hidden villages.

A certain high peak within the central region of the Otagata Mountains.

Deep within swirling clouds and mist stood a village.

That village was none other than Kumogakure.

Even on a clear day, the sound of distant thunder rumbled occasionally.

Fourth Raikage A had led nearly half the population away. The once-bustling streets now lay eerily silent.

Only the Raikage Building remained full of ninja.

Yet the interior was equally cold and lifeless—if not more so—the silence oppressive, almost suffocating.

A total of forty-three people, all remaining jonin in Kumogakure, along with Anbu members and administrative staff responsible for daily operations, stood gathered in the Raikage's office.

And seated at the Raikage's desk was Darui.

He had sustained injuries during the Chunin Exams earlier, and since someone of high status needed to remain behind to maintain order, he had been chosen.

But at that moment, Darui sat as silently as the rest.

His eyes fixated on the line reporting that Fourth Raikage A and Killer B, the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, had fallen in battle, with twenty thousand Cloud Ninja taken captive.

The first time he saw this information, he was convinced it was false—a fabricated rumor or doctored intelligence.

How could the mighty Raikage fall in battle?

But the Anbu wouldn't joke about something like this.

More unsettling was how disturbingly real the scenes described in the report felt.

Though it read like a scene from a novel, the level of detail was too precise—it could only have been written by someone who had witnessed it firsthand.

With trembling hands, Darui picked up the report, his eyes finally landing on one last sentence left by the Anbu:

"Flee now! Haruki has become another Hashirama Senju, the God of the Shinobi World. We are powerless—we can do nothing to stop this! Please, Lord Darui, flee now while you still can and preserve the final hope of Kumogakure!"

After delivering this message, the Anbu agent passed away.

It might as well have been his final words.

Darui lifted his head and looked at everyone present, forcing himself to remain composed.

"You've all surely already learned the terrible news, but we don't have much time left. We don't even have time to grieve or mourn properly. Once Konoha deals with its own matters, they'll march straight here. When that happens, we'll have no chance at all. So what should we do now?"

Silence filled the room.

After a long pause, Darui finally saw his teammate Samui give a slight bow, speaking calmly, "The report is very clear, Darui. You should take everyone and leave Kumogakure."

"…"

Darui gave a bitter smile.

He didn't want to run away—and he certainly didn't like it.

But it's frustrating that Samui was right.

This was their only option now.

In the face of such overwhelming power, any other action would be meaningless.

And even if they tried to escape, success wasn't guaranteed.

"We don't have time to think anymore, Darui," Samui reminded again. "We don't know when Konoha's forces will arrive. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes. If we delay further, we'll lose our chance completely. Do you really want to see the Raikage bloodline vanish from the ninja world forever?"

Darui shuddered, then steeled himself.

He stood, speaking solemnly, "Samui is correct. But even if we decide to flee, we cannot all leave together. The more people we have, the lower our chances of escape. It's cruel, but there's no choice."

Everyone in the room nodded solemnly.

Understandably, given the uncertainty about how Konoha would treat them, this reaction revealed Kumo's unity.

After all, in previous Great Ninja World Wars, defeated villages usually met dire fates.

Tarui felt his eyes welling up despite himself.

However, he had no time for sorrow.

After discussion, only thirty ninja ultimately left Kumo Village, divided into ten squads dispersing in different directions to cover Tarui's squad's safe retreat.

As the heir of the Raikage bloodline, as long as Tarui escaped, Kumo would never truly fall.

In addition, most fleeing ninja were orphans with nowhere else to go.

Those who remained had children or family captured by Konoha and couldn't bear to abandon them, thus awaiting whatever fate had in store.

With complex emotions, Tarui glanced back one final time at the Cloud Hidden Village perched atop the mountaintop.

Finally gritting his teeth, he set off down the endless road of escape.

Kumo was almost the first village to receive the intel, naturally because they'd participated directly.

Besides them, another village acted just as swiftly.

Iwagakure.

Onoki fled frantically without daring to stop for even a moment.

Even after entering the Land of Earth's territory, he still felt utterly unsafe.

Only upon returning to Iwagakure did he finally stop, gasping for breath.

Most of his chakra had been consumed during his escape.

Now seeing familiar constructions, tears welled in his eyes unbidden.

But he clearly understood—he'd angered someone he should never have crossed.

Haruki!

Practically the new God of the Shinobi World!

Even if all of Iwagakure's ninja and Tailed Beasts joined forces, they wouldn't stand a chance against him.

Onoki now regretted deeply.

Regretted bitterly!

What had possessed him to do something so utterly foolish?!

Wouldn't staying home peacefully have been better?

Onoki sat there dazed; although Haruki hadn't pursued him, how would Konoha deal with them?

If it turned out like what happened to Kumo Village, he'd become an eternal villain.

He forced himself upright and returned to his office.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Akatsuchi, the Tsuchikage's personal escort, sensed chakra within the office and his expression changed instantly.

Despite his round frame, he moved with surprising speed—he burst through the door immediately.

"Tsu... Tsuchikage-sama? How come you've returned?"

Because Iwagakure was quite isolated and far from the Land of Lightning, the Anbu scouts hadn't reported back. Therefore Akatsuchi was greatly shocked upon seeing Onoki.

"Has the war already been won then?"

Hearing this, Onoki's face darkened instantly. The victory belonged to others alone—his Iwagakure gained nothing while losing five thousand ninja.

Even now, he didn't know how he'd explain this loss.

His mistaken decision caused enormous damage to Iwagakure, grounds enough to strip him of the Tsuchikage title.

But currently, an even graver matter existed.

Ignoring Akatsuchi's question, Onoki solemnly declared, "Immediately issue orders: all ninja currently outside the village must suspend duties and return immediately! Regardless of who it is, regardless of mission importance, all must comply! Anyone who disobeys will be branded a traitor and treated as such!"

Akatsuchi was completely stunned.

What the hell was going on?

He couldn't help but speak up. "Lord Onoki, if this happens, we will suffer massive losses in resources and standing."

"We're facing total disaster! How can you still worry about such trivialities?!"

Onoki seemed to have reached his limit—his tone suddenly rose sharply.

Akatsuchi stood frozen on the spot.

Had we already lost the war?

Even if we did lose, there was no need to go this far, was there?

From Lord Onoki's words, it sounded like he wanted every ninja to remain inside Iwagakure.

The tension in Onoki's body eased as he leaned back in his office chair, supporting his forehead with one hand while sighing deeply. "Akatsuchi…this is my mistake. I dragged Iwagakure to the brink of ruin."

"But I don't understand," Akatsuchi muttered.

Clenching his teeth slightly, Akatsuchi finally voiced his confusion. "Even if we lost, it was just five thousand shinobi. We could absorb that loss—the overall strength of our village hasn't weakened too much. We are still among the Five Great Villages. Why are we now facing a life-or-death crisis?"

"It's because of Haruki."

After a moment of silence, Onoki finally spoke, clearly reluctant to mention him. "We allied ourselves with Kumogakure… and encountered Haruki."

Akatsuchi took a few moments to recall who Haruki was.

"Just an ordinary Medical Ninja…"

"Medical Ninja? Hmph! He fooled us all!"

Onoki's eyes widened, filled with humiliation, anger, and even fear. "All gone! Raikage, the Eight-Tails—gone! By himself! One man killed over twenty-five thousand of our ninja!"