"Yeah, yeah, looks like I was overthinking it."
Kakashi patted his head and smiled.
"After all, that matter is really troublesome."
"How so?" Kiyosuke asked.
"You've heard about the missing kekkei genkai shinobi, right?" Kakashi said.
"I have. The Storm Release user from Kumogakure, the Steel Release user from Iwagakure, the Dark Release user from Kirigakure, and the Swift Release user from Sunagakure. Those four disappeared."
Kiyosuke tapped his cup, and the liquor inside flared into flames. He raised an eyebrow. The stuff was strong.
"Right. We found traces of them—at the border of Grass, Fire, and Earth, around the Mount Shumisen."
"That's good news, isn't it? So why'd you come back?"
Kakashi replied,
"Sasuke was scouting with Naruto when the enemy ambushed them. They were both injured, so we had to retreat. I've already reported it to Tsunade-sama, and she's sent out ANBU to investigate. But if things really are what I suspect… then the next one to disappear from Konoha will be me."
"They're after your Sharingan?" Kiyosuke asked.
"Exactly," Kakashi said.
"Not long after I received Obito's Sharingan, a man named Hiruko came to me. He placed a Puppet Curse on me and sealed away the memory of that encounter. Only recently did it resurface."
"Hiruko? I thought he was dead."
Kiyosuke remembered hearing the name from Orochimaru. Hiruko had once been a childhood friend of the Sannin. But later, when the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen discovered his secret forbidden jutsu research, he sent the Sannin to hunt him down. Everyone thought Hiruko had died back then.
Apparently not.
"No. He wanted to use me to complete his forbidden technique."
"If I'm not mistaken, it was some sort of fusion ninjutsu," Kiyosuke said. He thought for a moment, then connected the dots with the missing shinobi, and his eyes widened.
"I see… Swift Release for speed, Steel Release for defense, Dark Release to absorb and return jutsu, Storm Release for large-scale offense… and then your Sharingan for insight and ninjutsu replication. That would make him a perfectly balanced warrior."
Hiruko's forbidden fusion ninjutsu devoured others into his body to gain their abilities. If he consumed all five—including Kakashi—then speed, power, defense, destructive force, and perception would combine into a terrifying whole. Factoring out certain risks, Hiruko's strength could indeed dominate the world.
"So that's why you want to learn the Reverse Four Symbols Seal from me, to deal with him?" Kiyosuke shook his head.
"No way. Why didn't you tell me sooner? Come on—we'll go to the Mount Shumisen together and take that bastard out."
Kakashi shook his head.
"No. That won't work. Your flames would be absorbed by Dark Release. Storm Release would tear through you. Swift and Steel are nightmares to handle. Kiyosuke, this enemy is seriously dangerous."
He hated saying it, but it was the truth. Kiyosuke could be called unmatched under heaven—but against a foe wielding four kekkei genkai at once? He couldn't let his friend risk his life.
He had already lost one precious friend. He couldn't lose another.
"Hey, don't make it sound like flames are all I've got," Kiyosuke snorted.
"I'm still the strongest in Konoha. Hiruko sure knows how to pick his targets—he ignored the Uchiha and went for you."
"He probably understood the Uchiha clan's situation back then. Maybe he feared the clan might one day be wiped out," Kakashi said.
If not for Kiyosuke, the Uchiha would already be reduced to just Sasuke and Itachi. Instead, they were still alive and active. Thanks to Fugaku's efforts, the clan's reputation had even improved. At least now, villagers no longer looked at them with fear.
Their law enforcement wasn't as extreme as before—they were actually fair.
If the Uchiha had remained the same as they were back then, Hiruko never would've chosen them. He didn't need an Uchiha. He only wanted the Sharingan.
Kakashi, on the other hand, was the Fourth Hokage's disciple—a genius with limitless potential. Hiruko could count on him to live long enough for the forbidden jutsu to be perfected. Then, when the time was right, he'd consume Kakashi and gain the Sharingan… without risking the fate of the entire Uchiha clan.
"Fair point," Kiyosuke said, setting down his cup.
"So what are you going to do?"
"I'll wait and see. I can't let Obito's eye—entrusted to me—be used for something so twisted,"
Kakashi said, touching his left eye.
"Sooner or later, we'll have to deal with Obito too," he added to himself.
Kotoamatsukami's cooldown was almost up. It was nearly time to act.
Just then, both men lifted their heads, staring out the window.
The once-clear blue sky had turned dark. Clouds gathered overhead, heavy and oppressive, carrying the weight of an approaching storm.
A phantom figure appeared above the village. A boy with white hair tied in a ponytail, clad in a long white robe. Bandages wrapped around his face, leaving only the upper half visible—red eyes glowing from pale skin.
His voice boomed like thunder, resounding through Konoha and echoing across all five great villages, projected for the world to see.
"I am a shinobi of Konoha. My name is Hiruko!"
"Tch. Unbelievable. Konoha sent shinobi to kill him, and he still dares claim he's one of us. Shameless bastard. All he's doing is stirring up trouble for the village," Kiyosuke muttered under his breath.
Even if the other villages didn't fully believe it, the seed of suspicion would spread—and trouble was inevitable.
"Through the Chimera Technique, I have absorbed the kekkei genkai of the four great villages. Once I obtain a fifth, I will become invincible—the ultimate lifeform, an immortal shinobi! With this power, I shall ignite the Fourth Great Ninja War and bring the world under my rule!"
With those words, Hiruko's projection vanished. The clouds scattered. The sky cleared, blue and bright again, as though nothing had happened.
"Tch. More trouble for Konoha," Kiyosuke said.
"I'll head to Kirigakure and calm things down there. You deliver a message to Tsunade-sama—and have her seal that Puppet Curse on you."
Without another word, Kiyosuke leapt out the window.
Kirigakure's Mizukage, Terumī Mei, wasn't the type to lose her head and attack Konoha over this. But the Daimyō of the Land of Water? That was less certain. Best to have Mei explain things directly.
Clearing the village, Kiyosuke rose into the sky and shot off toward Kirigakure.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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