Orochimaru had abandoned this hideout. Before leaving, he rigged the place with explosive tags, blowing it up and leaving behind a pile of rubble. Kiyosuke also chose to return to Konoha.
After escaping, Sasori and Deidara reported everything they had learned about Kiyosuke and Orochimaru to the leader of the Akatsuki—Pain.
Pain decided to put Orochimaru aside for now and instructed Kakuzu, Itachi, and Konan to head to the Land of Hot Water, where there was a mission that required their attention.
...
After returning to Konoha, Kiyosuke snuck into the classified archives on a dark, moonless night and stole documents related to the Edo Tensei technique. He wanted to see what unique insights the Second Hokage—creator of the jutsu—had left behind.
"Sasuke's been ignoring everyone lately. That guy is still as stuck-up as ever!"
Naruto chattered non-stop beside Kiyosuke's ear.
Kiyosuke said,
"Then just go talk to him."
"Did Itachi really leave the village?"
Naruto knew Sasuke was upset because of Itachi, but he had no idea what to do about it.
"Yeah. It's been almost a year now."
Kiyosuke said,
"Don't worry about it. He'll understand when he gets older.
"By the way, your grades lately haven't been great. Iruka-sensei told me you've been acting up these past few days."
"That's not true! That idiot Iruka-sensei tattled on me?!"
"You little brat... a few days ago you even got Rin to cover for you! Don't think you can use her good temper as a shield for your mischief. Stand still! Time for some family discipline!"
"No way! Aaah! Have mercy!!"
Naruto scrambled out of the yard in a panic. He was still young, but had already started training in taijutsu. Physically, he was far beyond other kids his age.
"Don't run! You're not getting any sleep tonight!"
Konoha residents once again saw a familiar scene.
Naruto had reached that age where everyone would get tired of his antics—always up to some sort of mischief. Thankfully, he hadn't gone and drawn graffiti on the Hokage Rock... or else the Third Hokage would probably be having a word with Kiyosuke.
After dragging Naruto back and giving him a beating, Kiyosuke checked his homework.
"You still can't do the Clone Jutsu?"
"Nope. No matter how I try, I just can't get it right."
Naruto tried performing the Clone Jutsu again. Two pale, human-shaped blobs appeared.
Naruto's chakra control was poor, and the Nine-Tails inside him constantly disrupted his chakra flow. That made learning this type of ninjutsu extremely difficult. But with enough practice, he'd get there.
"Here. I'll teach you the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It's way stronger than regular clones."
"Really? I wanna learn it!"
"Good. Follow me. First, watch how I form the hand seals... then..."
After Kiyosuke finished demonstrating, Naruto eagerly tried it himself.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof!
A soft, lifeless clone appeared. It couldn't even stand upright.
Kiyosuke stared at the floppy clone in silence.
This... was supposed to be Naruto's specialty. Was he still too young?
Still, as a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto already had more chakra than most chunin—possibly even more than Kakashi, a jōnin.
"Ah! This is so hard! I can't do this jutsu!"
"No, you can.
"Remember the Sexy Jutsu I taught you?"
Naruto took forever to learn anything else, but he picked up that one almost instantly.
He quickly nodded.
"Yeah, I remember! Sexy Jutsu!"
Poof!
A curvy, twin-tailed blonde bombshell appeared in front of Kiyosuke.
A faint mist artfully obscured the important parts. The jutsu was... shockingly effective.
Yeah... he's surpassed me in this jutsu.
"Next, I'll teach you something even stronger. It's called the Harem Jutsu.
"You need to master the Shadow Clone Jutsu first—but with it, you can summon a whole group of big sisters at once!"
Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Let me try!"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
Smoke exploded throughout the courtyard.
In an instant, fifteen "big sisters" appeared.
Kiyosuke covered his nose.
"In this field... you're a prodigy. Well, looks like you've mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu."
"Really?! That's awesome!!"
Naruto bounced with excitement.
Kiyosuke looked up with a sigh.
"Kiyosuke-sama, your nose is bleeding."
"I-it's the heat. I've been eating too much spicy food lately.
"Alright, cancel your transformation and go."
"Okay!"
Naruto happily trotted off.
Kiyosuke wiped his nose with a tissue and muttered,
"Why is this kid so talented in that area...?
"Did he inherit Minato's genius... in this of all things?
"If Kushina finds out, she's going to cry."
With that thought, he returned to studying the documents.
...
One month later.
Late at night. In a basement.
In front of Kiyosuke, a scar-faced man writhed in place.
His mouth was sealed with tape, and he groaned helplessly, eyes wide with fear.
"Your crimes would warrant dozens of executions.
"Consider it a mercy—I'm ending your wretched life quickly."
Kiyosuke unrolled a scroll inscribed with curse seals and placed it in front of the scar-faced man.
Then he took out a test tube containing a single strand of red hair.
It belonged to Kushina.
He and Rin had found it in Minato's house after both Minato and Kushina died. Originally, they had planned to ask Orochimaru to help with the resurrection. But now that Kiyosuke had learned the technique himself, there was no need to trouble him.
It was the perfect opportunity to test whether his Edo Tensei worked.
He had taken this man—a death row inmate—from Konoha's prison. He had been days away from execution anyway, so Kiyosuke used him as a test subject.
"Well then... let's begin."
He placed the red hair on the scroll.
Forming hand seals, he called out,
"Edo Tensei!"
He slammed his palm onto the scroll.
A surge of chakra flowed out.
Black sealing script emerged from his palm, wrapping around the scarred man.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!!"
Intense pain wracked the man's entire body.
Shreds like paper fragments appeared around him, rapidly enveloping him.
"Mmmmmmph!!!"
The paper formed into the shape of a red-haired woman.
She wore casual clothes, looked young and beautiful, with pale skin and dark eyes.
"Huh?"
Kushina opened her eyes.
She glanced around and saw Kiyosuke.
Tentatively, she asked,
"Are you... Kiyosuke?"
So much had changed, she barely recognized him.
"Yeah, it's me.
"It's been a long time, Kushina-san."
"Kiyosuke... you've grown so much!
"Wait—didn't I die? I should be in the Pure Land..."
"Ah, I used the Edo Tensei technique to bring you back.
"Do you want to see Naruto?"
"Yes! I want to see him! Where is he?!"
At the mention of her son, Kushina clutched Kiyosuke's arm eagerly.
"I want to see him right now!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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