"Ringo, as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, you should have your own independent time, right?"
Kiyoshi turned to look at Ringo, who was examining the earthen wall.
"I still have that right." Ringo nodded.
Otherwise, how could so many people want to join the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
The Kirigakure Anbu even had to obey the orders of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in many situations, just one step away from the Kirigakure upper echelons.
It was a symbol of power and glory.
"Then you stay here for a while."
After saying that, Kiyoshi hurriedly finished explaining and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave.
"Hey!"
Ringo wanted to call out to Kiyoshi, but he had already disappeared.
"He is treating me like a handyman." Ringo puffed up her cheeks in anger.
"He... seems to be gone."
Yukari cautiously looked at the unapproachable Ringo.
"Do you think I don't know he's gone?" Ringo pretended to be fierce.
Yukari was startled when she saw her full row of shark-like teeth.
Although she was from the Uzumaki clan, she had unfortunately not received proper ninja education.
Her strength was at most Chunin level.
This was only counting the situation with the Adamantine Sealing Chains, which was the only offensive sealing technique she knew.
The other sealing techniques were too useless. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so controlled by others for so long.
She would have left the war-torn Land of Grass long ago and gone to the Land of Iron, where there were no ninja, only samurai.
"Quickly make the bed, I want to sleep later."
Ringo threw a package to Yukari from her bag. A faint scent of meat wafted from inside.
Yukari was slightly stunned. This thing was much easier to swallow than the dry rations Kiyoshi had given her.
She wasn't a picky eater, but if she could eat something good, why not?
This changed Yukari's impression of Ringo somewhat, thinking that she was a soft-hearted person.
'That Uchiha... Kiyoshi, should be that kind of person too.' Yukari thought.
Kiyoshi said he wanted to conduct research on her, but in the end, he was just a hands-off boss.
This place was said to be an experimental base, but it was more like a safe haven to protect her.
She asked, "He... when will Kiyoshi come back?"
"Who knows?" Ringo shook her head.
Next time she sees Kiyoshi, she will definitely extort some benefits from him.
...
After the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Iwagakure's logistics were greatly affected.
The territories of the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire were not adjacent. The best solution for the Land of Earth to send troops to Konoha was to go through the Land of Grass.
After the crucial point of Kannabi Bridge was destroyed by Konoha, the Iwa ninjas on the front lines could not get timely logistical support, and the situation suddenly reversed.
Jiraiya, who was guarding the other battle lines, led ninjas to deal with the Land of Earth.
The Hyuga clan and other ninjas with strong reconnaissance abilities went south to be wary of the Land of Water.
The Land of Water and the Land of Fire were only separated by a near sea, and the isolated island sandwiched between the two sides, that is, the Land of Whirlpools, had already been destroyed.
Some Kiri ninjas even occupied that isolated island, using it as a transit point to continuously send troops to the mainland.
After Kannabi Bridge, Konoha got a chance to breathe.
The major defense lines showed signs of improvement. The war was showing a trend of easing.
When Kiyoshi returned, Kakashi was already lying in Konoha Hospital.
All members of Team Minato and Team Mikoto received the title of hero.
Even the Uchiha, whose merits the Konoha upper echelons wanted to suppress, received so-called honors.
The Konoha upper echelons also conveyed this dedication, unafraid of difficult tasks, to the students of the Ninja Academy.
Ninja Academy.
"On the day of Kannabi Bridge, Konoha gave birth to three heroes with Sharingan, one of whom had his name engraved on the memorial tablet, and the remaining two are constantly contributing to the village."
Hiruzen finished speaking to the students below.
The students listened with enthusiasm, feeling the 'Will of Fire' burning.
Kiyoshi listened calmly in the back. Returning to Konoha required handing over the mission, including his activity log in the Land of Grass.
He had already prepared the disguise for these.
Kiyoshi, unable to find the person at the Hokage Building, arrived at the Ninja School, where the graduation ceremony was being held, after a reminder from a fellow Anbu member.
"Look, everyone, this is Kiyoshi, one of our heroes."
Hiruzen suddenly pointed towards the back, in Kiyoshi's direction.
Kiyoshi's calm face transformed into a gentle smile.
"This is all we should do, Hokage-sama. We are all inheritors of the 'Will of Fire.' Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire will never be extinguished."
Kiyoshi spoke Hiruzen's favorite famous quote.
As expected, Hiruzen's face broke into a smile after hearing it.
Behind him, Koharu and Homura, who were also conducting the graduation ceremony for the new generation, also had faint smiles on their faces.
The only person Kiyoshi didn't see was Danzo. That old fellow was hiding in some dark corner.
"Isn't that Kiyoshi-senpai?"
Below, Yugao stood on her tiptoes, looking at the figure in the distance, and spoke to Hayate.
"Cough, cough... It is Kiyoshi-senpai." Hayate coughed.
He remembered this older brother, Kiyoshi.
Back then, Kiyoshi saw that he wasn't feeling well and temporarily helped him alleviate it with medical ninjutsu.
Hayate believed in his heart that this was a great person. His childhood sweetheart, Yugao, had the same thought as him.
"He's really amazing." Hayate exclaimed.
"Hmph, one day I, Anko, will also be praised like that." Anko harrumphed.
Her teacher was one of the Sannin, the famous Orochimaru.
With such strong teachers, she would definitely not be weaker than Kiyoshi in the future.
Recently, Orochimaru had also been talking about the power of the Cursed Seal, saying that if there was a chance, he would arrange one for her as well.
Anko felt a little inferior, seeing Kiyoshi constantly being valued by Orochimaru.
Now that she realized she could soon have even more powerful strength, she couldn't wait to show off to Kiyoshi.
"Yotsuki Kiyoshi..."
In another corner of the graduation ceremony, Atsui looked at Kiyoshi, who was speaking on the stage.
He silently clenched his fist. The Third Raikage fought against ten thousand Iwa ninjas and ultimately died.
Kiyoshi had also transmitted this information.
This caused many of Kumogakure's deployment plans to be disrupted by Konoha, catching them off guard.
But... the newly appointed Fourth Raikage, A, still wanted them to win over Kiyoshi.