His voice dropped slightly.
"I hope Samedo won't be too disappointed.
He seemed very confident that I'd go back."
He spoke with a soft, calm tone—yet every word pressed directly onto Samui's pressure points.
Raizen knew her well.
He knew she cared about her family.
He knew Cloud valued his Sharingan.
He knew her guilt would guide her actions.
Compared to Cloud's Eight-Tails or Two-Tails, he was worth far less.
But compared to Samui and her family… he outweighed them completely.
Silence filled the room.
"…What do you want?" Samui finally asked, her voice low.
Raizen smiled at last.
Cloud's envoy indeed understood things quickly.
"My request isn't high."
He leaned slightly closer.
"Give me another ninjutsu scroll. A taijutsu-based lightning technique—D-rank will do."
He spoke calmly, but his eyes were fixed on her.
Samui—standing a head taller than him—had to look slightly downward. The lamp above cast two deep shadows across Raizen's face.
"…D-rank?" she echoed, visibly relieved.
Her arms folded naturally under her chest—a posture she often used—yet this time it looked more like she was supporting something heavy.
D-rank ninjutsu was nothing.
If Raizen had insisted that day, Samedo might have given him several more without hesitation. Techniques for Academy-level or genin-level use weren't capable of causing trouble.
Anyone from a clan received extra training anyway.
Only civilian-born students were restricted to E-rank in the Academy.
"Fine," Samui said at last.
She loosened her glove, revealing a layer of white bandage around her wrist.
Hidden beneath it were several small sealed scrolls.
With a soft puff, the seal opened. She pulled out a pale yellow scroll and tossed it to Raizen.
"This is a Lightning-Style taijutsu scroll. It stimulates cellular activity—Lightning Release: Iron Body."
He didn't open it. Instead, he tucked it away and lifted his gaze to her again.
Samui's features carried an exotic beauty ...sharp nose, well-defined contours.
And her figure… full, strong, and with an elegant scent that lingered in the air.
Quite a sight.
Deep inside, Raizen's mind began producing a faint, special chakra.
The Uchiha clan didn't awaken their Sharingan only through pain.
What they needed was a powerful emotional surge—any feeling intense enough to shake the mind and trigger the release of special chakra.
Even the Mangekyō didn't always come from grief.
Sasuke awakened his only after learning the truth about Itachi....
a wave of shock, guilt, admiration, and conflicting love.
Sarada awakened hers because no one, not even her father, believed her sense of identity.
And Raizen didn't need to rely on pain either.
For him, beautiful things could also trigger emotional resonance.
And Samui… was certainly a "beautiful thing."
Perhaps sensing Raizen's unhidden gaze, Samui frowned lightly.
"Is this not enough to show Cloud's sincerity? If you return to the Hidden Cloud, even A-rank or S-rank techniques aren't impossible."
"Thank you, Miss Samui," Raizen replied, withdrawing his gaze. "It seems Cloud is indeed sincere."
There was, of course, another sentence he didn't speak aloud:
But this is only today's sincerity.
A single D-rank jutsu could never fill his stomach.
He chose a taijutsu technique only because it would strengthen his body faster.
And for now, learning anything higher than D-rank would be a waste of effort.
Raizen never expected a large reward from Samui.
Whether she would give him anything at all was uncertain.
But this wasn't about reward. It was about opening a door.
A small door.
He understood perfectly well: with his current identity and strength, it was impossible to demand anything truly valuable from Kumogakure.
If he pushed too hard, he would only raise suspicion.
Better to lower his posture, play the harmless youth, and accept something trivial.
A mere D-rank jutsu as a request posed no threat. No tension, no reason for Samui to question his intent.
It was simply a test—an exploration of where Samui's boundaries lay.
Raizen stood quietly under the dim lantern outside the sushi shop.
The warm glow behind him stretched his shadow across the street.
"We'll meet again next time… Miss Samui."
He slipped the scroll into the inner pocket of his gear pouch and walked away without another word.
This was not the end.
This was only the beginning.
Today he asked for a D-rank technique.
Next time, he would need to show deeper sincerity.....and extract something greater.
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