"Earth Release: Rock Collapse!"
As the Prajñā Group launched their jutsu attack, the rocks on the cliff shattered instantly and came crashing down from above.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A wall sculpted with the head of a dog rose up and blocked the falling boulders. But seeing it made Kiyosuke pull a strange face as he muttered,
"You barely have any chakra, and you waste it carving a dog's head into the wall? What a waste."
...
Kakashi:
"That's what you're focusing on?"
With a sigh, he said,
"Let's fall back. It's our turn now."
"Retreat."
Kiyosuke raised a hand, and behind him, Kosuke Maruboshi and the two other Chūnin withdrew.
"This counts as my mission too. Let's go—end this in one sweep."
"Yeah."
"Earth Release: Rock Collapse!"
More rocks tumbled down. Kiyosuke leapt up, using the falling debris as stepping stones, and shot upward in an instant.
"That's amazing. And it's just taijutsu..."
Itachi was in awe. Was this the true power of Konoha's strongest?
"Now's not the time to be impressed. Let's move!"
"Right!"
Unlike Kiyosuke, the two of them avoided the falling rocks and ran straight up the sheer cliffside.
"Kill them!"
The female leader of the Prajñā Group fell back as her subordinates charged forward. Kiyosuke cracked his neck and said,
"It's been a while since I got to cut loose. Let's get moving."
He loosened up, then punched one of the Prajñā operatives square in the head. The mask shattered instantly, and the man was sent flying into a stone golem—completely motionless afterward.
"Go!"
The Prajñā Group charged fearlessly. Kakashi and Itachi surged ahead of Kiyosuke, cutting down the oncoming enemies with their blades.
Kiyosuke followed behind, using pure taijutsu to beat several of them to death. Seeing the situation turn dire, the female leader tried to escape—
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Suddenly, her body seized up. Pain shot through her neck.
She stiffened, realizing that a snake had coiled around her—and had bitten down.
Her limbs went numb, her vision darkened, and she collapsed to the ground.
Kakashi and Itachi swiftly finished off the remaining members of the Prajñā Group, leaving not a single survivor.
"Did you take care of her?" Kakashi asked.
"No. I'm thinking of bringing her back alive. Maybe we can extract some intel on the Land of Woods. Or... you want to hand her over to the Intel Division in ANBU?"
"No. Our orders were to eliminate them completely."
"Alright then."
The snake coiled around the female leader tightened violently—crushing every bone in her body. She died instantly.
Kiyosuke retrieved a scroll from her corpse and said,
"Let's head back."
"Right."
...
By evening, they returned to Konoha.
Kiyosuke and Itachi went to pick up their family after school.
As dusk settled, a silver-haired man with glasses arrived at Kiyosuke's house and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
Kiyosuke opened the door and squinted at the bespectacled young man before him.
"Kiyosuke-sama, good evening. I'm Yakushi Kabuto."
The man introduced himself with a smile.
"Orochimaru-sensei sent you?"
"You really are sharp, Kiyosuke-sama. Orochimaru-sama said you'd see through me right away."
Kabuto looked at Kiyosuke with genuine surprise. Back when he'd been sent to Konoha as a spy, Orochimaru-sama had warned him: My student will recognize you the moment he sees you. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened.
"Come in."
Kiyosuke let him in. By now, Shiro and Naruto had gone off to take a bath.
"Sit."
"Thank you."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, then asked curiously,
"If I may ask, how did you recognize me, Kiyosuke-sama?"
"Your aura."
"My... aura?" Kabuto looked puzzled.
"Like a snake's. Most of the people around Orochimaru-sensei are like that. Except for me and Anko, of course. Though even we resemble snakes in some ways."
Kiyosuke poured a cup of tea and crossed his legs.
"Anko and I are as ruthless as snakes in combat. You—you're just like a snake too, only you're much better at hiding it."
"I see..."
Kabuto didn't deny it.
"As expected of you, Kiyosuke-sama—Konoha's strongest shinobi."
"So, what's Orochimaru-sensei want?"
"He just wanted me to greet you. Also... I'll be staying in Konoha for quite a while."
"That's your business. Do whatever you want."
Kabuto being planted in Konoha as a spy had nothing to do with him. Even Orochimaru's future plan to destroy Konoha—Kabuto had little role in that. All he did was gather intel for Orochimaru.
"As expected, you're exactly as Orochimaru-sama described. You really don't care about these things."
"Because there's no need to."
"Then I won't take up any more of your time. Orochimaru-sama has been rather busy lately."
"Oh? He joined some group called Akatsuki, didn't he?"
"You know about that?"
"I have my own intel sources. Also—make sure to tell sensei something for me: staying in that group won't lead anywhere good."
"Understood. I'll relay the message. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
Kabuto stood and left. Kiyosuke nodded.
"Tch... joining Akatsuki. So eager to get the Rinnegan?"
Speaking of which, the Rinnegan...
If it were destroyed, Black Zetsu's entire plan would collapse. Without it, Infinite Tsukuyomi would be nearly impossible to activate, and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki would never be resurrected...
But...
He would take his time.
...
Life gradually returned to normal.
The Uchiha were being unusually well-behaved lately. With no signs of rebellion, the infamous Uchiha Massacre never happened. Things remained peaceful.
One day, however, Itachi approached Kiyosuke.
"A man wearing a mask invited me to join an organization called Akatsuki."
"You mean a masked man? With a swirling-patterned mask, only one eye visible?"
"Yes."
Itachi nodded.
He'd already reported it to Hiruzen Sarutobi, but the Hokage's response had been to encourage him to continue engaging with the masked man.
"Huh... That's interesting. Looks like that guy's got his eye on you."
Kiyosuke fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"I'll think about what to do next."
"Is this organization really that special?"
Itachi asked, confused.
"How should I put it... It's made up of rogue ninja, but every single one of them is extremely dangerous. For example, Hoshigaki Kisame from Kirigakure became a missing-nin after assassinating the Fourth Mizukage. He's likely part of that group now."
Though the Fourth Mizukage had since returned to normal, the fact that Kisame had tried to assassinate him was something Kiyosuke hadn't expected.
"Hoshigaki Kisame... I remember. He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"That's right. He's a real problem. And he's not the only one. Orochimaru-sensei is in there too."
"Orochimaru..."
"I'll bring this up with the Hokage. That organization is serious trouble. Itachi, you're probably going to be assigned a very difficult mission soon."
Kiyosuke already had a theory forming in his mind.
"...I understand."
Itachi nodded.