"I left out of your line of sight for so long—aren't you afraid I might actually be an enemy using the Transformation Jutsu to impersonate me?"
Kiyohara asked half-jokingly.
"No, I know it's you."
Kakashi looked straight at him.
The Transformation Jutsu was one of the three basic techniques every genin must learn.
It was a jutsu with extremely broad applications. For those who had truly mastered it, their transformations could become nearly impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.
However—such perfection required mastery, and mastery demanded countless hours of practice.
Unless someone spent their entire life specializing in this single jutsu, its practical value remained limited. It was, in reality, quite easy to see through.
"As long as you're alright."
Kurenai's red eyes lingered on Kiyohara for a moment longer before she finally withdrew her gaze.
"That Mist shinobi… what happened to him?"
Kurenai asked softly, her lips parting slightly.
"He seemed to have some sort of mishap with the forbidden drug he took. It caused his jutsu to fail mid-battle, and I managed to kill him by sheer luck."
Kiyohara replied.
He had already erased all traces; no one would ever know what truly happened.
"I see…"
Kurenai gave a slight nod and stepped forward in her open-toed shinobi sandals.
Her shinobi sandals, like most, were open-toed. Kiyohara's eyes caught the sight of her toes—round and full, neatly aligned, nails pale pink like crescent moons.
Jade feet, he thought absently.
But he had no time for idle admiration.
He only wanted to leave this place quickly and go back to digest and adapt to the inheritance left behind by the Youth Kiyohara.
No matter how powerful an ability was, its true value depended entirely on the person wielding it.
Even Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the so-called progenitor of chakra, had lost despite possessing chakra far beyond even that of Six Paths Madara. She was so overwhelmingly powerful that Sasuke had been stunned someone like her could even exist.
Yet despite holding such a max-level account, she still managed to fumble it.
Here's a joke—
a Byakugan with 360-degree vision and no blind spots… failed to notice Sakura dropping down directly on top of her head.
"Serves him right, then."
Genma said, a senbon held between his lips without impeding his speech.
Any drug that temporarily boosts chakra will inevitably bring side effects and strain the body.
But casting ninjutsu is a delicate process—when your body can't keep up, a slight mistake means failure.
"Let's go back."
Kakashi said.
The intel they gathered was more than enough to report back.
The appearance of a shinobi capable of interfering with the Byakugan would definitely be taken very seriously.
Continuing to scout the area no longer had any purpose.
The enemy had already been alerted—any further investigation was doomed to yield nothing.
"Hold on."
Kiyohara spoke.
He looked at the eight or nine bodies lying on the ground and began diligently looting them.
"No one wants any of this?"
He asked as he stuffed a Mist jonin's armor into his sealing scroll, glancing back at the others.
Seeing everyone frozen in place with stunned expressions, Kiyohara merely turned back and continued working without pause.
"Then I'll take them all."
His movements were swift. Before long, he had cleaned up every piece of salvageable equipment.
Money was a wonderful thing.
His chainmail undershirt had blocked several deadly slashes earlier—it was already damaged and needed repairs, or he'd have to buy a new one.
Every mission had a battle damage ratio.
One had to calculate whether the mission reward could cover their expenses.
Otherwise—well, looting the battlefield for extra income was the only way.
If you were lucky enough to find chakra metal, you could sell it for a small fortune.
"..."
Kurenai shot him a reproachful, exasperated glance.
This guy was still like this—so inexplicably obsessed with money!
Not a shred of a real shinobi's dignity—only had eyes for money!
After Kiyohara finished packing, their journey back went much more smoothly.
Before long, they had returned to the base.
…
Konoha Forward Base, Command Tent
In the dim tent, Orochimaru's pale, slender fingers held the freshly submitted mission report.
As soon as he read the portion describing the Red Eye, those golden snake-like pupils narrowed sharply, blazing with extreme interest.
"I recall seeing mentions of it only in scattered old records… I never expected it to truly exist."
Orochimaru let out a low hiss-like chuckle.
And according to the report, it was a kid named Kiyohara who deduced its existence.
"Methods capable of interfering with the Byakugan are incredibly rare…"
He placed the report down. Had it been him on that battlefield, he too would likely have suspected it was the Red Eye.
If it were some kind of special barrier technique, Kirigakure would be able to mass-produce it.
If they could interfere with the Byakugan on a large scale, this war would have been far more brutal for Konoha.
"To draw away Ao, and recognize the Red Eye… he must have a decent knowledge."
Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips.
That was the part that intrigued him.
In his eyes, most genin who graduated after six years of academy training were—
well, essentially half-literate.
Most of their real education had to be supplemented later on.
But aside from medical-nin, most shinobi focused purely on fighting and carrying out missions efficiently.
Ancient or obscure knowledge especially about rare bloodline limits had been discarded into history books that few bothered to read.
"What's wrong, Lord Orochimaru?"
A Nara-clan shinobi walked in from the back of the tent and saw Orochimaru studying the report.
Members of the Nara clan were generally intelligent; aside from those forming the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, most served in analytical or strategic roles.
Kiyohara's outpost was under the supervision of Nara Shikatan, cousin of Nara Shikaku.
"Nothing. Add an additional hundred thousand ryō to Kiyohara's mission reward. Tell him it's from me personally."
Orochimaru said.
Finding someone with a mind even remotely similar to his own always evoked a faint sense of delight.
It was like discovering a literate man in the middle of a village of illiterates.
Even if that man's education was mediocre—he was still a rare gem.
"Yes, sir."
Nara Shikatan accepted the report and glanced at it—so it was the squad who discovered the Red Eye.
He departed.
Orochimaru remained in the tent, continuing to study the war map.
"Hehe… with this great war, I should be able to collect plenty of Kekkei Genkai samples."
His long tongue slid out to lick his lips.
This battlefield was perfect for someone like him to quietly make a fortune.
Every corpse was a treasure trove of research material.
…
Back at the Base, Kiyohara's Tent
"Orochimaru's sponsorship?"
Kiyohara had submitted his report and gone back to rest.
After a short nap to recover his strength, he was preparing to analyze the new inheritance when someone lifted his tent flap.
It was Kurenai.
"Yes. I didn't expect you to catch Lord Orochimaru's attention."
Kurenai said with surprise.
"Honestly, why do I always end up delivering messages? You should get out more yourself.."
She tossed him a pouch filled with money—the extra reward.
She really felt she had terrible luck.
She always happened to run into a superior officer who then asked her to deliver things to other squad members.
"To thank you, here's a lollipop."
Kiyohara said, pulling one out and offering it to her like payment for running errands.
Come to think of it, Kurenai had been reminding or informing him of things for years now.
They were long-time classmates.
And honestly—once she grew older, he wouldn't mind a closer relationship, flavor and depth included.
"?"
Kurenai's eyes widened.
He was giving her this as payment?
What shinobi could withstand such psychological damage?
"Don't want it?"
Kiyohara pretended to pull it back.
This was a sweet he usually saved these for relaxing during downtime. Sweets are rare luxuries in war, so most treasure it.
"I want it!"
Kurenai said quickly.
In the end, she chose submission.
After all, during missions, most of the time she only got to eat dry rations!
(End of Chapter)