Since coming into this world, Shiba Kiyokawa hadn't yet experienced true combat against shinobi from one of the Five Great Nations.
Which meant… he never had a clear grasp of where his strength stood.
Sure, he had already earned considerable respect within Akatsuki.
But everyone knew that in minor villages, ranks were often exaggerated.
If you wanted a real measure of skill—you had to fight shinobi from the Five Great Villages.
So in the next moments, Kiyokawa became fully focused, pushing himself to his sharpest edge.
What he didn't know was—his opponent wasn't just a Chūnin.
He was a Tokubetsu Jōnin—a Special Jōnin of Iwagakure.
Kiyokawa started by tossing his straight-blade into the air and forming hand seals.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Draw!"
This was a basic C-rank Lightning-style jutsu he'd learned from internal Akatsuki sparring sessions. Nothing fancy—but it fit his style perfectly.
A bolt of lightning shot from the sky and struck the blade midair.
Its hilt was wrapped with insulated cloth that Kiyokawa had prepared in advance.
As the blade dropped, Kiyokawa caught it in his right hand—now glowing with crackling blue arcs—and surged forward like a thunderbolt.
The Iwa Tokubetsu Jōnin was stunned.
He recognized the jutsu—it was a common one. But it was supposed to just summon lightning to attack the enemy from above.
How did this kid turn it into a weapon enchantment?
There really was something unusual about this shinobi!
He'd already suspected Kiyokawa possessed a dōjutsu, and now he was even more certain.
But the truth was… Kiyokawa had no dōjutsu.
He just worked his brain like his life depended on it—because it did.
The Iwa shinobi dodged the first strike, but Kiyokawa's footwork was tight and aggressive. His follow-up blade attacks came in rapid, relentless succession.
Soon, the Jōnin was forced to block with a kunai.
But the moment their weapons clashed, pain surged up his entire arm—the lightning coursing through Kiyokawa's blade left it numb and burning.
Gritting his teeth, he threw away the kunai and leapt backward, narrowly avoiding a rising slash that nearly disemboweled him.
Still, that desperate move bought him a second to breathe—and in midair, he quickly weaved hand signs.
"Earth Style: Earth Lance Volley!
An upgraded version of Falling Earth Spears—this jutsu summoned multiple sharpened stone spikes beneath the enemy's feet.
But he didn't stop there. The moment he landed, he formed more seals and slammed his palms to the ground:
"Earth Style: Fissure!"
The earth beneath him violently quaked, shockwaves spreading outward in a dome.
Storage racks collapsed like dominoes, dust filled the air, and even the walls cracked.
Nearby, the merchant Ando shrieked like a deranged prairie dog.
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!"
The last remaining Iwa genin guarding him shouted with glee:
"Yes! Got him! That Rain shinobi's toast!"
The older Tokubetsu Jōnin, panting hard from the chakra drain, wore a relieved expression as well.
In the center of the cracked warehouse floor, their enemy's body was impaled on one of the stone lances, hand still clinging to that lightning-etched blade.
Hmph. So much for shinobi from a minor nation.
But just as he was feeling smug—POOF!
The "corpse" exploded into a puff of smoke.
A shadow clone.
That lightning-etched sword fell to the floor alongside the vanishing clone—a calculated misdirection that had completely fooled them.
In the next instant, one of the collapsed storage cabinets burst open.
Shiba Kiyokawa come forth from the debris and smoke, sending the Tokubetsu Jōnin into full-blown panic.
The enemy's chakra reserves were nearly depleted.
From his first "Falling Earth Spears" to the last two jutsu, he'd already burned through four high-consumption techniques.
He was basically on early Naruto "one-jutsu-per-fight" levels of spent.
And yet, he had fought hard.
Now, with Kiyokawa rushing at him again, the older shinobi could only desperately fling a kunai before scrambling to form hand seals once more.
But this time… Kiyokawa didn't jump to evade.
He'd noticed earlier—after the enemy had cast that combo of Earth jutsu—how badly he was gasping for air.
Which told him one thing: his chakra was low.
Add that to what he'd just confirmed in melee range: his taijutsu was clumsy and unrefined.
Kiyokawa made a judgment call:
There's no way he'll choose to go for close combat now.
So, instead of dodging, he tossed a few lazy shuriken, more for show than threat.
Then he pivoted and charged toward where the Jōnin's gaze had just shifted.
As expected, the enemy didn't want a brawl.
The shuriken struck a log.
Substitution Jutsu.
And just as he turned to flee, Kiyokawa finished forming his own seals.
"Lightning Style: Thunderclap Piercer!"
Electric chakra surged around his arm and hand like a blade.
Ditching his sword, he instead turned his hand into a lightning-infused spear—just like Kakashi's fateful strike on Rin—and drove it through the Jōnin's heart.
From a distance, the last Iwa genin stared, mouth agape, in utter disbelief.
Everything had flipped in the blink of an eye!
With his dying breath, the Iwa Tokubetsu Jōnin clutched Kiyokawa's arm and rasped:
"How… how do you keep seeing through our jutsu? Do you have… a dōjutsu? Are you… really a Jōnin? Someone so young…"
Kiyokawa coldly withdrew his hand, confirmed the kill, then finally offered a reply:
"I don't have a dōjutsu."
"I just have a brain."
What, only eye techniques let you read your enemy's moves?
Why not use your brain cells instead?
Don't you have one?
The Iwa Jōnin's eyes widened in fury and disbelief.
But… he never got the chance to respond.
With the troublesome opponent eliminated, Kiyokawa swiftly finished off the last remaining genin, then restrained the panic-stricken merchant Ando, who had already wet himself.
The string of Iwa casualties had shattered Ando's mind.
Now, all he could do was beg.
"Please don't kill me! You Akatsuki said you believed in mutual understanding, right? I understand you now! I really understand! So you can't kill me!"
Kiyokawa sneered, unmoved.
He turned away, gaze drifting toward the window.
From the very start, Konan had flown out with the Iwa squad's team leader, drawing him away from the warehouse.
Their fight had attracted the attention of the rogue Rain shinobi who had been patrolling outside.
Ando's eyes lit up with renewed hope as he saw them arrive.
But in the next second, Kiyokawa exited the warehouse—and killed all of them in mere seconds.
Ando collapsed again, howling in terror like a groundhog caught in a thunderstorm.
"AAHHHH! Why?! You can't just kill them! They're locals—Rain Country natives!"
"Didn't Akatsuki always preach about mutual understanding? They weren't with Iwagakure! They weren't!"
The only answer he received was a brutal slap across the face—a full-force, open-palm strike from Kiyokawa.
In the air above, Konan—still locked in fierce battle—had no time to chastise Kiyokawa's cruelty.
Instead, Ando's panicked screeches echoed in her ears.
And every word of his… had pierced her heart.
Her thoughts twisted in turmoil.
Their ideals…
Yahiko's dream…
Their teacher's teachings…
How… did everything turn into this?