Tamura Hao arrived at the bathhouse and entered a private room. He paid for the bath-scrubbing service, as previously arranged. Not long after, a nondescript-looking attendant entered.
Tamura Hao stepped out of the pool casually and lay on the wooden platform beside it, ready for the service to begin.
"Danzo's men came looking for you?"
The "attendant" was actually Dodai, using a transformation technique. This had been their code — if Tamura Hao came here, it meant there was movement on Danzo's side.
Meeting in public wasn't safe. There were too many eyes, possibly even Konoha's own informants planted inside the Land of Lightning.
"He asked about the village's war preparations and our progress in handling the tailed beasts. I said I might be able to get the Sword of the Thunder God."
Tamura Hao kept his explanation concise. There was no need to elaborate. With Dodai's intelligence background, he could easily deduce the deeper meaning.
As expected, Dodai fell silent, deep in thought.
Danzo's interest didn't surprise him. If he were Danzo, he'd also want intel on how the other villages were preparing. Every one of the Five Great Nations was likely engaged in similar espionage.
"Given your current status as a genin and Fukai's role, there's only so much you'd realistically know. I'll pass you some general strategic-level intel — just enough to let Shimura Danzo infer a few things."
After considering for a moment, Dodai shared minor updates — nothing classified, but plausible enough for someone in Hao's position to realistically uncover.
Then, he gave further advice.
"Offer the village's broader war goals first. Then treat the tailed beast handling and the Whirlpool Country operation as your bargaining chips — use them to secure the Thunder God's Sword. Just be aware: it takes a massive chakra reserve to wield. It likely won't suit you directly."
Dodai had read reports of the Thunder God Sword — the one used by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It had a built-in lightning chakra mechanism that amplified its edge. It was rumored Kinkaku and Ginkaku had survived a direct strike thanks only to their partial transformation using the Nine-Tails' chakra.
"I don't intend to use it for battle," Hao explained. "I want to use it to help train in lightning-nature transformation. Once I'm done, I'll hand it to the village. Maybe we can use its internal structure as a prototype for scalable ninja tools that help more people train lightning release. That would be a significant merit, right?"
He had thought it through. The Thunder God Sword's chakra burden made it unusable in long-term combat, especially without Tobirama's chakra or Flying Thunder God mastery. Besides, Hao already had Big Cat and Little Cat — twin swords tailored to his fighting style.
The sword's true value lay in research and mass-production potential, not personal use.
"That's a sharp idea."
Dodai was briefly surprised, then his eyes lit up.
He recalled the Six Paths Ninja Tools — the treasured tools sealed with Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Among them was the Bashōsen, a fan capable of summoning attacks of all five nature transformations. If properly studied and replicated, it could drastically aid chakra nature training across the village.
He realized he had been too focused on battlefield use, overlooking training support.
"You younger folks think differently — more creatively."
Dodai chuckled in admiration. If this worked, it could fast-track a new generation of jōnin.
Nature transformation was a major bottleneck. While shape transformation could be trained through repetition, elemental affinity development required guidance and innate understanding — something many shinobi lacked.
"With this third contribution," Dodai continued, "your achievements will hit S-rank level. One more like this and you'll be in line for serious promotion. Do you want anything in return?"
Hao answered seriously.
"Does the village have a Sharingan? I've heard it dramatically enhances dynamic vision. I'm planning to develop a high-speed combat style, so I need sharper perception to keep up with the bursts."
He paused.
"Also, I need help improving my chakra reserves. I'm making good progress in technique, but my chakra volume is still my weakest link."
He was thinking long-term. Following the Chidori-style path like Uchiha Sasuke required more than technique — it needed the ability to perceive high-speed motion, something normal eyes couldn't do. During his previous spar with Fukai, no matter how clever his blade work was, he couldn't land a blow.
He couldn't even see Fukai's fastest attacks, let alone parry them. And that wasn't even Fukai going all out — with full Lightning Release Body Enhancement, the gap would be even wider.
Dynamic vision had become a critical weakness.
And the Sharingan? It was known to be the best eye for tracking motion. Unlike the Byakugan's all-around vision or the Rinnegan's versatility, the Sharingan excelled in high-speed close-quarters combat.
In typical Hidden Cloud style, they'd likely preserved captured Sharingan. Unlike the Hyuga's Byakugan, which had the Caged Bird Seal to destroy it on death, the Sharingan could be harvested.
"We do have a few Sharingan samples," Dodai admitted. "They were taken in past conflicts with the Uchiha. But transplantation into non-Uchiha shinobi hasn't gone well. The Sharingan constantly drains chakra when not deactivated — and non-Uchiha can't turn it off. Even the Third Raikage struggled to maintain one."
He gave Hao a pointed look.
"Your chakra is barely genin-level. A transplanted Sharingan would drain you dry in minutes."
"I'm not asking for a transplant. I just want to study it — figure out how it enhances vision and maybe find other ways to simulate or reproduce the effect."
Hao had read enough to know transplanting a Sharingan without being an Uchiha came with huge risks. Even Kakashi Hatake, a battle-hardened genius with jōnin-level chakra at age twelve, became severely limited after receiving Obito's eye. Hao's body was nowhere near that level.
Dodai nodded.
"All right. I'll report to the Third Raikage and arrange access to the research division. We've been studying various kekkei genkai, plus cells from the Hachibi's old hosts. Maybe you'll see something the others missed."
He was increasingly impressed. This kid's brain worked differently — he saw potential in every angle, not just power, but in process and infrastructure.
"Thanks, Master Dodai!"
Hao was genuinely excited. Tailed beast flesh and chakra research was right up his alley.
Ordinary shinobi couldn't absorb tailed beast chakra without going berserk or being marked. But Hao had his own "cheat" — a mysterious ability to purify chakra and remove lingering consciousness traces. That alone made tailed beast chakra viable for him.
And chakra from such creatures could solve his low reserves. It could even enable several of his longer-term plans.
Joining the research department could unlock everything he needed.
"The Third and I are placing high hopes on you," Dodai said suddenly. "When he eventually retires, you may take my role and assist the Fourth Raikage. We have plenty of strong fighters, but not many thinkers."
He meant it. Cloud didn't lack strength — it lacked visionaries. Hao could become a critical strategist in the future Raikage's administration.
"I'll do my best, Lord Dodai — I won't disappoint either of you."
Hao spoke earnestly. He had to rise in standing. Only with higher status could he avoid becoming cannon fodder and gain access to the tools he needed to survive — and win.