Naruto Card King

Haruto Saito had just said that Kazumoto Soichiro would die soon, and sure enough, he was right!

Kazumoto Soichiro was indeed dead—killed by Haruto himself!

And now, Haruto was telling Minato Namikaze that if he didn't do as he was told, he would soon face a bloody disaster.

Minato wasn't stupid—he immediately understood what Haruto meant. His heart tightened in his chest.

After all, he was still young. To him, Haruto Saito was an overwhelmingly strong existence, someone he had to look up to. And just moments ago, Haruto had killed a man in the middle of the street and walked away unscathed. Now, Minato couldn't help but worry about his own safety.

Even with his calm personality, a trace of nervousness appeared on his youthful face.

"Hah! I'm just messing with you." Haruto suddenly chuckled, leaning back in his chair. He grinned again and said, "But what I said about reading people? That's real! You need to understand—you're special! I may not be able to clearly see your future, but I can sense things… It's like an innate ability, a perception that comes naturally to me."

The tension on Minato's face gradually faded. He composed himself and asked, "Haruto-sama, did you seek me out just because you think I'm special? Just to encourage me to graduate early?"

"Yes, but that's only the first step." Haruto nodded. "Stop wasting your time! Look at the young powerhouses in the village—who among them didn't graduate early? Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru… they all graduated from the Academy at six years old!"

Minato frowned slightly and countered, "But… what does that have to do with you, Haruto-sama?"

That question caught Haruto off guard.

He couldn't just outright say that he wanted to take Minato as a personal disciple. That would seem too eager and might have the opposite effect. If Minato didn't graduate, Haruto wouldn't be able to take him as an apprentice, which meant he wouldn't be able to discuss the Flying Thunder God Technique with him.

"We are destined to be deeply connected in the future." Haruto once again took on a mysterious tone. "When I saw you, I felt it. That's why I'm here—to help you grow stronger, to make you a ninja, an outstanding ninja. You want to be Hokage, don't you? You shouldn't refuse my help."

Minato stared at Haruto in silence, unsure of what to say.

It was too strange.

"Think it over carefully," Haruto said as he stood up, placing money on the table. "I'll come find you again."

With that, he disappeared into a swirl of black mist.

Haruto didn't expect to convince Minato in just one conversation. That wouldn't be realistic. This was only their first interaction.

Minato sat there in a daze for a while before finally snapping out of it.

He glanced at the money Haruto had left, then at his bowl of ramen. Not wanting to waste it, he finished his meal before getting up and leaving.

The twilight sky deepened, and the evening clouds burned red like blood.

Haruto returned to Tsunade's mansion.

She wasn't home, leaving him alone.

He was used to solitude.

After heading to his room, he immediately shut himself in and started studying the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll. To gain card fragments from discussing techniques, he needed to have his own understanding of them. That meant he had to fully grasp the scroll's contents. Even if he couldn't immediately make progress in mastering the technique, he had to at least comprehend the text.

Night quietly fell.

Candlelight flickered in Haruto's room as he remained focused on his research.

At the same time…

News of Haruto's public execution of Kazumoto Soichiro had spread like wildfire throughout the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

The Uchiha clan was the first to find out.

Soon after, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, learned of it, followed by Danzo, the Hyuga clan, and others who had been keeping an eye on Haruto.

Their first thought was the same—if Haruto had killed someone in broad daylight, then that person must have been a problem.

No one suspected Haruto of wrongdoing.

Even Danzo wasn't concerned—he didn't believe Haruto would make such a foolish mistake as killing an innocent person without reason.

But there was another group that received the news as well—the Samurai Delegation from the Land of Iron, led by Mifune.

Previously, only a select few knew that Haruto was the Black Samurai, but due to this incident, the information had spread widely. Now, even the general public in the Hidden Leaf knew the truth.

It was inevitable that the news would reach the ears of the delegation's ninja.

Mifune never would have guessed that the Black Samurai who had negotiated with him earlier—and even extorted three hundred million ryo—was actually a mere eleven or twelve-year-old kid!

At the time, he had only thought that Haruto was a bit short. But it had never crossed his mind that the Black Samurai was just a child.

After all, being short didn't necessarily mean being young.

Even the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was short and thin.

Haruto sat cross-legged on a cushioned seat, a handwritten copy of the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll spread out before him.

His brows furrowed.

As expected, there were many difficult concepts that he struggled to grasp. It would take time and deep thought to fully understand even the basics.

Hmm?

Haruto suddenly lifted his head.

With a flick of his wrist, he swiftly stored the scroll in his Inventory Space.

Someone was approaching.

Four people in total.

Three stopped outside the mansion's main gate, while one entered the courtyard and moved swiftly toward the main building.

Using Hyper Perception, Haruto instantly identified the intruder's movement path.

The person's aura was somewhat familiar.

Whoosh!

A presence appeared outside the window.

Then, a voice called out, "Mifune wants to see you. He's outside. Will you meet him?"

It was Uta—the Anbu ninja from the Hidden Leaf, one of Haruto's former bodyguards.

"Meeting me?" Haruto's eyes flashed. "He knows who I am?"

"He knows," Uta confirmed.

"Does the Hokage know he's here?" Haruto asked.

"This meeting was approved by the Hokage," Uta replied.

"Hm…" Haruto fell silent, considering the situation.

The Black Samurai Armor was on him right now.

With Mifune's strength, if he decided to attack, Haruto wouldn't stand a chance.

But since Hiruzen Sarutobi had allowed this meeting, it meant the Hokage wasn't worried. The likelihood of Mifune making a move was extremely low—unless he had a death wish.

Besides, while Haruto had the armor, the Imperial Edict was still in the Hokage's possession. Mifune wouldn't dare steal one without the other.

"…Alright, let him in," Haruto finally said.

A few moments later…

Inside the main hall of the mansion.

Dressed in a black robe, Haruto greeted Mifune.

Mifune had only brought one attendant, while the other two figures outside—besides Uta—were also Hidden Leaf Anbu, one of whom had the codename Sōmu.

"Mifune-dono, visiting so late at night… what brings you here?" Haruto didn't bother with formalities. This wasn't an official meeting, after all.

Mifune studied Haruto's youthful face before suddenly asking:

"Black Samurai… have you been having nightmares lately?"

"…What?" Haruto's eyes widened.

"How did you know?"

"To be precise, ever since you unlocked Black Armor Teleportation, you've been waking up from nightmares every night," Mifune said expressionlessly.

"You dream of black mist, ghostly shadows, bloody hands, masks, and agonized screams. Am I right?"

Haruto's pupils shrank.

So that's why he had been suffering from nightmares!

"The nightmares are a side effect of the Black Samurai Armor," Mifune continued, speaking faster now. "Each time you have one, the armor irreversibly harms its user."

Then he raised a single finger.

"One hundred million ryo!" Mifune declared.

"You pay me that much, and I'll cure you. Otherwise… you won't live much longer."