The new Kiyohara was a tall man, so imposing that he was nearly a full head taller than Kiyohara's current body.
"And you are...?"
Kiyohara looked at this another version of himself and immediately felt that he did not resemble an ordinary human.
After all, what kind of normal person had horns growing out of their head?
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
In the shinobi world, besides the Ōtsutsuki Clan, the only people he could think of with horns were Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
"You may call me Akakaku. My clansmen are people you're definitely familiar with. Kinkaku and Ginkaku."
Akakaku Kiyohara spoke calmly.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku had been two of Kumo's most notorious criminals in history.
During the alliance ceremony between the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage, they had launched a coup, assassinated both leaders, and dragged Kumogakure into a dark period of chaos.
Akakaku possessed long crimson hair that flowed all the way to his waist.
As he floated within Kiyohara's consciousness, his hair resembled a flickering mass of scarlet flames.
"You participated in that coup?"
"No. But I went there to watch."
Akakaku Kiyohara shook his head.
"At the time, my strength was still inferior to Senju Tobirama's. I tried persuading Kinkaku and Ginkaku, but they were far too arrogant. They truly believed they could succeed."
"I see."
Kiyohara nodded.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku were undoubtedly powerful, but defeating the Second Hokage had involved no small amount of luck.
They had caught Tobirama completely off guard, preventing the famous master of forbidden techniques from making full use of his vast arsenal.
In the end, Tobirama had no choice but to escort the Hokage Guard Unit away before remaining behind alone to hold off the enemy.
The reason was simple.
Tobirama knew the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
If he had truly been pushed into a corner, he could have summoned Hashirama back to the battlefield at any moment, or even resurrected his former subordinates.
Since Chiyo, the Second Mizukage, and many others knew about the technique, it was obvious that Tobirama had actually used Edo Tensei during wartime.
It was only because the technique was so inhumane, violating the boundary between life and death, that it had eventually been classified as a forbidden jutsu.
'This future wasn't bad at all.'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
He studied Akakaku's appearance.
Like Kinkaku and Ginkaku, Akakaku possessed a pair of black horns.
However, Kinkaku's hair was golden, while Ginkaku's was silver.
Perhaps their names were simply derived from the color of their hair.
"So... you're able to control the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths?"
Kiyohara asked curiously.
The reason Kinkaku and Ginkaku could freely wield the five legendary treasures left behind by the Sage of Six Paths was simple.
They were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths.
Strictly speaking, they belonged to one branch of his bloodline.
"Of course."
Akakaku admitted it openly.
"Your bloodline feels strange."
His translucent body floated closer as he slowly circled Kiyohara.
"It gives me the feeling that we share the same origin... yet it's also like you're the missing half of me."
He suddenly looked surprised.
"Another me... could it be that you're an Ōtsutsuki?"
He had never expected that this version of himself from another timeline would have achieved such smooth success.
Although they were technically the same individual, they existed upon entirely different timelines.
Because of that, every version of them had experienced completely different lives.
"I can only be considered half an Ōtsutsuki. I'm still missing just a little."
Kiyohara pinched the air with his thumb and forefinger, indicating that the gap was only a tiny bit.
Akakaku suddenly felt that this version of himself was showing off in an extremely understated way.
"Why is your chakra reserve so enormous?"
Kiyohara asked another question.
His perception had become incredibly sharp now.
He could clearly sense that Akakaku possessed an immense quantity of chakra.
Although their clan naturally possessed chakra reserves far beyond those of ordinary shinobi, enough to rival some members of the Senju Clan...
This was still excessive.
By Kiyohara's estimate, Akakaku's chakra reserve was already approaching twenty Kakashi units.
If he inherited all of Akakaku's chakra, then his own reserves would nearly rival the complete Nine Tails.
"Besides possessing the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths... I also have part of the Nine Tails' chakra."
Akakaku answered calmly.
He snapped his fingers.
A pale crimson cloak instantly enveloped his body, bubbling with chakra.
It was unmistakably a Tailed Beast Cloak.
"The Nine Tails' chakra!"
Kiyohara's eyes widened slightly.
He had nearly forgotten.
The physique of Kinkaku and Ginkaku's clan was extraordinarily unique.
If the Uchiha Clan had inherited the Sage's Eyes, and the Senju Clan had inherited the Sage's Body...
Then Kinkaku and Ginkaku's people had undoubtedly inherited something entirely different.
The Sage of Six Paths' stomach.
Or perhaps more accurately...
His ability to devour.
They had simply been swallowed alive by the Nine Tails.
Yet while trapped inside its stomach, they had literally eaten the Nine Tails' flesh.
By consuming its flesh, they had permanently obtained a portion of Kurama's chakra.
Even after death, when resurrected through Edo Tensei, they were still capable of using that chakra.
Even more astonishingly...
After acquiring this power, they were completely unaffected by the Nine Tails' will.
Obtaining chakra simply by eating another being was almost unheard of throughout the entire shinobi world.
Whether it was Naruto...
Kushina...
Or even the very first Nine Tails jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito...
Every single one depended upon sealing.
The tailed beast was confined inside a dedicated chakra space within their body, creating a permanent connection.
Through that connection, the jinchūriki could draw upon the tailed beast's chakra.
However, that chakra space was unstable.
Outside interference could disrupt it.
Once the tailed beast's chakra was extracted...
The jinchūriki would die.
By the latter stages of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, there were simply too many methods capable of forcibly extracting tailed beasts during combat.
That was also why Kiyohara had never once considered sealing a tailed beast inside himself.
Apart from the Ten Tails, the benefits of possessing any of the One through Nine Tails were, in his opinion, greatly outweighed by the drawbacks.
Otherwise...
Madara would never have chosen to keep the Nine Tails as a summoned beast instead of sealing it within himself as an endless chakra battery.
Even Kiyohara's future plans regarding the Dragon Vein chakra involved utilizing it externally rather than sealing it inside his body.
But...
If he inherited Akakaku's ability to absorb chakra through devouring...
Then couldn't he simply consume enormous amounts of Dragon Vein chakra?
Or even the chakra of other tailed beasts?
Wouldn't that allow him to continuously strengthen himself without end?
Judging from the anime...
It almost seemed as though their own cells could continuously produce tailed beast chakra after acquiring it.
At that thought...
Kiyohara's gaze became noticeably more heated.
If that was truly the case...
Then the Artificial Tailed Beast Project definitely needed to be accelerated.
He had to complete the Dragon Vein vessel as quickly as possible.
Then...
He would simply consume the vessel itself and permanently make that immense power his own.
"So..."
Kiyohara asked another question, voicing the greatest doubt in his mind.
"How did you die?"
Since Akakaku had already obtained a portion of the Nine Tails' chakra...
How could he possibly have died?
Akakaku frowned slightly.
"I went to the moon then fought Ōtsutsuki Toneri's father."
"In the end..."
"I lost."
Kiyohara narrowed his eyes.
"The moon?"
"You know where the passage leading there is?"
"I do."
Akakaku nodded.
"It lies somewhere deep within the Land of Fire. In an extremely remote valley, beneath which is a hidden passage leading directly to the moon."
Upon hearing that...
Scenes from the movie instantly surfaced in Kiyohara's mind.
The moon.
The Ōtsutsuki Clan.
The gigantic Tenseigan.
Toneri.
One keyword after another flashed rapidly through his thoughts.
"How strong was his father?"
"He was decent."
Akakaku shrugged.
"But he should still have been weaker than Toneri."
Ōtsutsuki Toneri possessed the purest bloodline among all the moon's remaining Ōtsutsuki.
Neither his father nor the surviving members of the main family could compare to him in that regard.
Ultimately...
The moon's Ōtsutsuki lineage had merely descended from Ōtsutsuki Hamura, the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths.
Strictly speaking...
They were no longer true Ōtsutsuki.
"I see."
Kiyohara silently calculated the timeline.
At the present moment...
Toneri should still only be a child.
Before long, he and his father would secretly descend from the moon to Earth in search of a suitable bride.
Hinata's extraordinarily pure Byakugan would eventually catch their attention.
That was precisely what would lead into the events of the movie.
"So..."
"What was are your last wish?"
"Go back to Kumo one last time."
Kiyohara froze.
He had not expected the wish to be so simple.
Because...
He was already in Kumo.
Suddenly, Kiyohara seemed to realize something.
He looked toward Akakaku's urn.
Sure enough...
Etched upon it was Kumogakure's symbol.
Across that symbol was a deep slash.
The unmistakable mark branding someone as a missing-nin.
"That's all?"
"That's all."
Akakaku nodded.
"I wasn't involved in Kinkaku and Ginkaku's rebellion."
"But later on, I eventually fell into conflict with the village anyway."
"I defected and became a missing-nin."
He smiled faintly.
"It's simply been too many years since I last returned."
"So I suppose..."
"I still carried a little attachment."
Kiyohara nodded.
"That's easy."
"I'm already inside Kumo."
Akakaku's eyes widened slightly.
The next moment...
He flew out of Kiyohara's consciousness.
A translucent phantom materialized inside the otherwise empty room.
He slowly turned his head, as though sensing something in the air.
"So it really is... the scent of Kumo..."
"I remember this smell..."
Kiyohara also withdrew from his mental world.
This last will had been unbelievably simple.
He had practically speedrun the entire process.
Another sphere of light floated out of Akakaku's body.
It drifted into Kiyohara before disappearing inside him.
At that instant...
The vitality of every cell within his body surged dramatically.
Kiyohara frowned.
This time...
The increase in physical energy far exceeded the increase in spiritual energy.
An intense pain erupted deep within his bones.
It felt as though something were growing outward from the marrow itself.
The veins at his temples bulged.
At the same time...
The skin on both sides of his forehead began swelling.
Two black horns slowly emerged.
Compared to his first awakening...
They had grown nearly another section longer.
His skin gradually turned red.
It was as though his entire body had been submerged in boiling water.
White steam poured continuously from every pore.
The vapor became denser and denser until it formed a thin white mist around him, enveloping his entire body.
About ten minutes later...
The steam gradually dispersed.
Kiyohara slowly opened his eyes.
Lowering his head, he examined both hands.
He clenched them tightly.
Crack.
Crack.
His fingers produced crisp popping sounds.
A tremendous feeling of overflowing strength spread from deep within his body.
"Haa..."
He slowly exhaled.
Even the breath leaving his mouth blasted a small crater into the floor.
At the same time...
An enormous amount of taijutsu experience and Lightning Release techniques flooded into his mind.
One of them was Lightning Release: Shock Wave, a technique that transformed Lightning Release chakra into high-frequency oscillating waves before releasing them from the palm, instantly paralyzing an opponent's nervous system.
Another was Supersonic Lightning Blade, which infused Lightning Release chakra into a sword while vibrating the blade at an extremely high frequency, granting it cutting power so terrifying that it could slice through nearly anything.
Kiyohara slowly closed his eyes, carefully digesting all of the newly acquired memories and knowledge. Only after organizing everything in his mind did he open them again.
"Then..."
He decided to perform an experiment.
Reaching toward the sealing scroll fastened at his waist, he took out a blue scroll, spread it open across the floor, and released the fuinjutsu formula engraved upon it.
Hovering above the scroll was a tiny piece of flesh, no larger than a fingernail.
It belonged to the Three Tails.
Back when he had extracted Isobu from Rin, he had secretly preserved a small fragment of the Three Tails' flesh. Originally, he had intended to use it as experimental material for his Artificial Tailed Beast Project.
Considering the enormous size of the Three Tails itself, losing such a tiny piece of flesh was insignificant. It would recover before anyone even noticed.
"If I eat this now... will I obtain the Three Tails' chakra?"
Kiyohara looked toward Akakaku Kiyohara, who floated quietly beside him.
The translucent phantom folded his arms across his chest as his crimson hair drifted gently around him.
"You will."
Akakaku nodded calmly.
"But you'll need time to adapt."
"The greater the amount of chakra, the longer the adaptation period. It took me a very long time before I could completely master the Nine Tails' chakra. As for the Three Tails..."
He paused before continuing.
"With your current physique, it should be much faster."
His gaze swept over Kiyohara's body.
"Besides, you've inherited my bloodline, and your vitality has already reached the level of Hashirama's cells. Even if the experiment fails, you'll simply force the tailed beast's chakra back out of your body. There won't be any lasting side effects."
Kiyohara nodded.
That had been his exact reasoning.
Even if the experiment failed completely, it would hardly injure him.
The next second, he placed the tiny piece of flesh into his mouth and swallowed it.
Almost immediately...
The Three Tails' chakra erupted inside his stomach like countless violent torrents, surging wildly in every direction.
However...
Kiyohara's own cells were even more overbearing.
His cells had been tempered over and over again by the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, White Snake cells, and numerous bloodline limits.
The instant they sensed an unfamiliar chakra invading the body, they instinctively began suppressing the Three Tails' chakra.
Dark crimson markings gradually appeared across the surface of Kiyohara's skin.
Those markings traced the route the Three Tails' chakra traveled through his chakra pathways.
Beginning at his abdomen, they slowly spread upward along his torso.
They climbed his neck.
They reached his cheeks.
Finally, they converged around his eyes.
At that very moment...
Both of his eyes transformed simultaneously.
His left eye blossomed into the intricate pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
His right eye became the pure white Byakugan.
The power of both dōjutsu surged outward at the same time, colliding directly with the Three Tails' chakra.
The tailed beast's violent resistance rapidly weakened.
The raging currents gradually became gentle.
Instead of crashing recklessly through his body, they slowly flowed along his chakra network before finally merging into his cells, fusing completely with his own chakra.
Kiyohara slowly opened his eyes.
He raised his right hand, palm facing upward.
A sphere of water formed above it.
It floated steadily in his palm, condensed purely from Water Release chakra.
"It seems..."
"My Water Release has become stronger."
Kiyohara rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Rin's Water Release had been so exceptional precisely because it had been empowered by the Three Tails' chakra.
Although he had not yet completely adapted to Isobu's chakra...
His Water Release techniques had already received a noticeable enhancement.
"Not bad."
Akakaku looked at the sphere of water chakra in Kiyohara's palm with obvious surprise.
"That's much faster than I expected."
He carefully examined Kiyohara from head to toe.
His gaze repeatedly shifted between the pair of black horns on Kiyohara's forehead and the chakra gathered in his palm.
"Your physique..."
"It really is superior to mine."
"If I had possessed a body like yours back then..."
"I might not have lost to Toneri's father."
He spoke with a faint sigh.
"When someone first begins adapting to tailed beast chakra, there normally isn't any visible reaction at all."
"But your Water Release has already been strengthened."
"That means you've already adapted to part of it."
Kiyohara dispersed the chakra sphere and casually rolled his shoulders.
"If an actual tailed beast swallowed you whole..."
Akakaku added with a trace of regret.
"Your adaptation speed would probably become even faster."
Kiyohara simply shook his head.
"There aren't any wild tailed beasts anymore."
All nine tailed beasts already possessed their own jinchūriki.
Even the so called Complete Tailed Beast Transformation merely involved the jinchūriki temporarily materializing the tailed beast through its chakra.
The one doing the fighting was still the jinchūriki.
It was not the tailed beast's true body.
Trying to repeat what Kinkaku and Ginkaku had experienced, allowing himself to be swallowed alive before eating the flesh of a tailed beast from inside its stomach, was practically impossible in the current era.
"It seems... your timeline comes after mine."
Akakaku lowered his head to look at his own body.
His translucent figure had already begun fading away little by little.
"What about your second last wish?"
Kiyohara looked at him.
Akakaku slowly raised his head.
His dark eyes reflected Kiyohara's figure.
"Go to the moon."
He answered without hesitation.
"I lost to Ōtsutsuki Toneri's father."
"I've never been able to accept that defeat."
Kiyohara nodded slightly.
This wish was difficult...
Yet at the same time, surprisingly simple.
By now, Toneri's father had already given both of his Byakugan to the gigantic Tenseigan on the moon.
Without those eyes, his own strength was far inferior to that of his son.
As long as Toneri himself was prevented from controlling the giant Tenseigan...
His father should not be a match for Kiyohara.
"I understand."
Kiyohara replied.
Akakaku smiled faintly.
He gazed quietly out the window for a long while.
Then...
His entire body transformed into a streak of light and flew back into the urn floating inside Kiyohara's mental world.
The lid slowly closed.
The crossed-out Kumogakure missing-nin symbol engraved upon the urn glowed briefly within the darkness before fading into silence once again.
As usual...
Kiyohara wrapped another layer of sealing chains around the entire mental space.
It had already become one of his habits.
Every version of Kiyohara received exactly the same treatment.
After all...
Even another version of himself might someday stab him in the back.
He could never afford to lower his guard.
Besides...
He preferred not to have anyone disturbing his thoughts or accidentally witnessing anything inside his mind.
Once he finished reinforcing the seal...
Kiyohara spent some more time adapting to his newly acquired strength.
His chakra reserves had increased substantially once again.
The amount of chakra flowing through his body had become even more abundant.
Only afterward did he head toward Tsunade's room.
...
Tsunade was lying face down across the bed.
The blanket only covered her waist, leaving her smooth, fair back completely exposed.
Her long golden hair spread messily across the pillow, with several strands hanging over the edge of the bed.
Beneath the thin blanket...
The graceful curves of her hips and figure remained clearly visible.
Kiyohara quietly sat beside the bed.
He reached out and gently placed his palm against the center of her back.
Tsunade's eyelashes trembled slightly.
She never opened her eyes.
The moment she sensed Kiyohara's familiar chakra, she merely let out a sleepy murmur.
Instinctively...
Her body arched slightly as she unconsciously leaned closer toward him.
Kiyohara lowered himself.
...
Half the night quietly passed.
The moonlight had already shifted to the opposite side of the room.
Now...
Tsunade rested against Kiyohara's chest.
Her golden hair lay scattered across his arm and pillow.
Her cheek pressed gently against him while her fingertips absentmindedly traced unknown patterns across his chest.
"...Why do I suddenly feel like I've become weaker?"
She suddenly spoke within the darkness.
Supporting herself slightly with one arm, she looked at Kiyohara.
Her amber-brown eyes shimmered softly beneath the moonlight.
They carried unmistakable confusion.
Yesterday...
Kiyohara definitely hadn't been this overwhelming.
If she had to describe it...
It felt as though he had suddenly unlocked an entirely new gear.
"I've recently gained some new insights into Yin-Yang Release."
Kiyohara answered casually.
His tone remained completely calm.
"The life of a genius is just this plain and unremarkable."
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him before laying back down on his chest.
"Oh, right."
Kiyohara lowered his head.
"Sensei..."
"Would you like to learn Sage Mode?"
At its core...
The Cursed Seal was merely an inferior substitute for true Sage Arts.
It allowed its user to temporarily harness natural energy.
However...
The real Sage Mode far surpassed the Cursed Seal in both power and stability.
In the past...
Tsunade's chakra reserves had never been considered especially enormous.
Her true strength relied upon years of chakra accumulated within the Strength of a Hundred Seal, combined with her unparalleled precision in chakra control.
But...
That alone was far from sufficient for training Sage Arts.
Absorbing natural energy required an exceptionally large chakra reserve as its foundation.
For anyone attempting Sage Mode...
The very first prerequisite was possessing tremendous chakra.
The larger one's chakra pool...
The less likely natural energy would overwhelm and consume them.
Only afterward came the second requirement.
Learning how to absorb natural energy and refine it into Sage Chakra.
Kiyohara was genuinely curious.
What kind of Tsunade would emerge after entering Sage Mode?
After all...
Sage Mode dramatically enhanced physical strength.
It also elevated one's control over every part of the body to an entirely new level.
If Tsunade could truly master it...
"I can't."
Tsunade gently shook her head.
"I already tried years ago at Shikkotsu Forest."
"I simply don't have the talent."
"I trained for quite some time."
"But Lady Katsuyu said my chakra reserves weren't sufficient to suppress natural energy."
"If I continued forcing it..."
"The backlash would eventually destroy me."
"That was then."
Kiyohara smiled meaningfully.
"It doesn't necessarily mean the same thing now."
Tsunade paused.
Then...
She seemed to realize something.
Closing her eyes, she carefully extended her senses toward the natural energy filling the surrounding air.
Moments later...
Her expression slowly changed.
The natural energy that had once been wild, violent, and impossible to grasp...
Now felt surprisingly clear within her perception.
More importantly...
When she cautiously drew a tiny strand of natural energy into her body...
Her chakra steadily suppressed it without any sign of losing control.
Nothing like the dangerous instability she remembered occurred.
"This is..."
Tsunade abruptly opened her eyes.
They were filled with disbelief.
She lowered her head, staring at both of her hands.
Then she looked back toward Kiyohara.
He merely smiled without saying a word.
As she continued trying to understand what had happened...
She unconsciously placed her hand upon her still pleasantly warm lower abdomen.
In that instant...
Everything clicked.
It was from that very place...
That chakra was slowly spreading throughout her body.
Bit by bit...
It nourished every chakra pathway.
Every cell.
Kiyohara's cells.
Years ago...
The village had extensively researched her grandfather's cells.
Although she despised those experiments...
She still knew much of the data.
Hashirama's cells possessed astonishing vitality and invasive properties.
After transplantation...
They could fundamentally transform the host's physique.
Kiyohara had awakened Wood Release just like her grandfather.
Naturally...
His cells possessed the same unique characteristics.
In fact...
Because their original owner was still alive...
Their effects were even gentler.
Even more stable.
Far easier to control than her grandfather's preserved cells.
"So..."
Kiyohara's voice sounded above her head, carrying a teasing smile.
"If Sensei wants to become stronger..."
"Please continue working hard."
Before Tsunade could even react...
He had already rolled over.
Under the pale moonlight...
The small cry that escaped Tsunade's lips was swallowed before it could fully leave her mouth.
Only the soft sounds carried by the night breeze continued echoing quietly through the room.
...
Over the following several days...
Kiyohara remained in the Land of Lightning.
Together with the ANBU shinobi, he surveyed numerous locations around Kumo before finally selecting a mountain valley rich with mineral deposits as the site for their future military base.
The valley lay approximately two days northwest of Kumogakure.
Mountains surrounded it on all sides.
Its terrain was steep and naturally defensible, making it exceptionally difficult to attack.
Deep within the valley stretched a relatively flat open plain, large enough to accommodate several hundred shinobi for permanent stationing and training.
More importantly...
The surrounding rock layers contained an extremely unusual mineral.
Standing beside one of the exposed veins, Kiyohara held a freshly extracted sample in his hand.
The mineral possessed a strange texture somewhere between metal and living flesh.
Its surface was dark silver.
Yet instead of feeling cold and hard like ordinary metal...
It felt strangely soft.
Almost like hardened muscle tissue.
This ore was relatively uncommon throughout the shinobi world.
Its applications were also rather specialized.
It could not be forged into sharp shinobi weapons because it simply lacked sufficient hardness.
However...
Its flexibility was exceptional.
Even more valuable...
It possessed excellent chakra storage capabilities.
Once smelted into fine threads and woven into mesh before being sewn beneath a suit of armor...
It greatly improved both flexibility and comfort without adding significant weight.
The samurai of the Land of Iron typically wore precisely this kind of inner armor beneath their heavy plate armor, allowing them to retain remarkable agility even on the battlefield.
Every year...
Most of this rare mineral mined within the Land of Lightning was exported directly to the Land of Iron.
Kiyohara placed the sample back on the ground before dusting the stone fragments from his hands.
He had already decided...
This material would become another key component of his Artificial Tailed Beast Project.
"This is the place."
He turned toward the ANBU behind him.
"Let's build it here."
That very afternoon...
Kiyohara formally signed the agreement with Kumogakure.
The location of the military base.
Its overall size.
The number of stationed personnel.
The chain of command.
Every single clause was finalized in black and white, officially recorded in the signed treaty.
The agreement stipulated that Konoha would permanently station twenty ANBU shinobi at the new base, where they would oversee its daily operations while managing the mining and extraction of the surrounding mineral veins.
Kumogakure, on the other hand, would be responsible for constructing the base's infrastructure, providing logistical support and supplies, and assisting in maintaining security throughout the surrounding region.
The wording of the agreement was exceptionally polished.
Phrases such as "joint development," "mutual cooperation," and "shared prosperity" filled every page.
However...
Everyone involved understood the truth.
This military base was nothing less than a blade Kiyohara had driven directly into the heart of the Land of Lightning.
That very night, after the agreement had been signed...
Samui lay quietly in her own bedroom.
Moonlight streamed through the window, spilling gently across her crossed knees.
She wore only a bathrobe, and her short blonde hair was still damp from her recent bath.
As she lay there worrying about the uncertain future awaiting the Land of Lightning...
A faint sound suddenly came from outside the window.
Someone had landed on the windowsill.
Samui's body stiffened instinctively.
But almost immediately...
She relaxed again.
There was only one person in all of Kumo capable of entering her room this silently.
Kiyohara stepped inside and slowly walked over to stand before her.
"Samui."
His voice remained calm as always.
"Don't forget what I instructed you to do."
Her eyelashes trembled slightly.
She bit her lower lip before rising from her chair.
Then she knelt on one knee before him and lowered her head.
Her damp golden hair slipped over her shoulders, exposing the graceful curve of her pale neck.
"Yes."
Her reply was soft...
Yet completely resolute.
Kiyohara reached into his sleeve and produced a Flying Thunder God kunai.
Holding it out before her, he said,
"Place it somewhere appropriate."
Samui accepted the special kunai with both hands.
"I understand."
She answered quietly.
Kiyohara watched her for a brief moment before giving a slight nod.
Without another word, he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Another chess piece had been successfully planted.
In the anime...
Samui eventually rose to a fairly important position within Kumo.
There was every possibility that she would continue climbing until she infiltrated the village's highest levels of leadership.
...
Several months later.
Konoha.
The main residence of the Hyuga Clan had been lavishly decorated.
Lanterns hung throughout the estate, while colorful ornaments filled every courtyard.
The entire mansion radiated celebration.
Today was the full month celebration of the Hyuga Clan's eldest daughter.
Hyuga Hinata.
After all...
She was the first child born to Hyuga Hiashi, the clan head.
Naturally, the celebration was held on an impressive scale.
Although the Hyuga Clan had never reached the political prominence once enjoyed by the Senju or Uchiha...
As one of Konoha's great noble clans possessing one of the Three Great Dōjutsu, the Byakugan, their prestige and influence remained extraordinary.
Representatives from nearly every major clan had arrived to offer congratulations.
The grand hall was piled high with gifts.
There were shinobi tools.
Medicinal herbs.
Fine fabrics.
Elegant porcelain.
The assortment was dazzling.
Naturally...
Kiyohara had also received an invitation.
Today, however, he had not worn his iconic Hokage robes.
Instead...
He wore a formal black kimono paired with a traditional crested haori.
His long black hair had been tied neatly behind his head with a silver cord.
Several loose strands framed his face, giving him the refined appearance of a young nobleman.
Hyuga Natsu had been waiting outside the entrance long before the guests arrived.
The moment she spotted Kiyohara...
She immediately walked forward to greet him.
The white sash around her waist was tied snugly, accentuating both her slender figure and graceful curves.
"Hokage-sama."
She bowed respectfully.
Her voice remained gentle as always.
Leading the way, she escorted him through the winding corridors before entering the main hall.
She stopped beside the seat reserved near the place of honor.
"Please."
Kiyohara nodded before taking his seat.
Hyuga Natsu gracefully knelt beside him.
Holding the teapot with both hands, she quietly poured him a fresh cup of tea.
Kiyohara accepted it, taking a small sip before allowing his gaze to sweep across the banquet hall.
Not far away...
Hiashi stood speaking with several visiting clan leaders.
In his arms rested a tiny infant wrapped snugly in blankets.
Only her small face remained visible.
Her eyes were tightly closed.
Her tiny lips were slightly parted as she breathed peacefully.
Several strands of dark blue newborn hair peeked out from the edge of the blanket, softly resting against her forehead.
This tiny child...
Would one day become the woman possessing the purest Byakugan in the entire shinobi world.
Kiyohara gently placed his teacup back onto the table.
Hiashi naturally noticed where his attention had fallen.
After excusing himself from the other clan heads...
He carried Hinata over.
"Hokage-sama."
He stopped before Kiyohara and bowed respectfully.
The slight movement startled the infant.
Soft cries immediately escaped from within the blankets.
"Let me see her."
Kiyohara reached out both hands.
Hiashi hesitated for only a single second before carefully handing over his daughter.
Kiyohara accepted the infant.
Lowering his head, he examined her wrinkled little face.
Then...
He gently infused a thread of warm chakra into her tiny body.
Almost instantly...
Hinata stopped crying.
Instead...
She blinked her large pale eyes and stared quietly at him.
Kiyohara carefully observed her.
As expected...
The purity of her Byakugan truly was astonishing.
An interesting thought suddenly crossed his mind.
If he continuously nourished Hinata with his own chakra from childhood onward...
Could she awaken the Tenseigan naturally?
After inheriting part of Akakaku Kiyohara's constitution...
His own body had grown increasingly closer to that of an Ōtsutsuki.
Even the nature of his chakra had begun changing.
That chakra naturally promoted the evolution of the Byakugan.
"This child..."
Kiyohara looked toward Hiashi.
"In the future, she will surely lead the Hyuga Clan to unprecedented heights."
Joy immediately flashed across Hiashi's face.
Kiyohara had already agreed to accept Hinata as his disciple.
Those words clearly demonstrated his willingness to deepen his relationship with the Hyuga Clan and truly fulfill that promise.
Although the Hyuga Clan possessed tremendous prestige...
They had always lacked a truly powerful supporter within Konoha's highest circle of authority.
If Hinata genuinely became Kiyohara's treasured disciple...
The Hyuga Clan's future status would become completely different.
"May your words come true, Hokage-sama."
Hiashi respectfully raised his cup.
Kiyohara simply lifted his teacup.
The two cups touched lightly.
...
After the banquet ended...
Kiyohara took his leave.
Hyuga Natsu escorted him all the way to the entrance.
Moonlight gently illuminated her figure.
"Please take care on your way home, Hokage-sama."
She bowed softly.
Her long hair slipped over her shoulders and draped across her chest.
Several years had already passed...
Yet she still clearly remembered the afternoon when she had first met Kiyohara.
Who could have imagined...
That the seemingly ordinary young boy from back then would one day achieve such unimaginable heights?
Kiyohara nodded politely before walking toward the estate's exit.
He had barely gone very far...
When a tiny figure suddenly darted out from beneath the roadside trees.
Uchiha Izumi.
Today she wore a light pink Uchiha robe.
Tiny Uchiha fan crests had been embroidered onto the cuffs.
The moment she saw Kiyohara...
Her peach blossom eyes lit up with excitement.
Even the tiny beauty mark beneath the corner of one eye seemed to rise along with her radiant smile.
"Kiyohara-sensei!"
She hurried over and stopped directly in front of him.
Looking up at him with a brilliant smile...
Her cheeks had become slightly flushed from running, while her breathing remained a little hurried.
Kiyohara stopped walking.
Looking down at the little girl before him...
He reached out and gently patted her head.
"Izumi."
"Yes!"
She nodded enthusiastically.
Her entire expression practically radiated happiness.
Sensei patted my head!
After rubbing her head for a while...
Kiyohara withdrew his hand.
He was beginning to suspect that this disciple of his was even more attached to him than he had expected.
After thinking about it...
He could only conclude that the Uchiha Clan simply possessed emotions that were far too intense.
Perhaps that was exactly why so many unstable geniuses eventually emerged among them.
"Your final examinations are coming up soon, aren't they?"
"Yes!"
Izumi nodded energetically again.
Her ponytail bounced from side to side.
"I hope you achieve excellent results."
After thinking for a moment...
Kiyohara reached into one of his sealing scrolls and took out an old notebook.
It was filled with notes he had written back when he himself had still been relatively weak.
Much of the content had originally come from the experiences of the Missing-nin Kiyohara.
Even today...
None of that knowledge had become outdated.
Izumi accepted the notebook with both hands, hugging it tightly against her chest as though it were a priceless treasure.
"I'll definitely do well!"
"I absolutely won't disappoint you, Sensei!"
Tiny flames of determination burned brightly within her peach blossom eyes.
Watching her...
Kiyohara couldn't help smiling.
Izumi's talent had always been greatly underestimated.
In the anime, she awakened her Sharingan even earlier than Itachi.
Such aptitude was extraordinarily rare throughout the entire history of the Uchiha Clan.
Among every woman Kiyohara had ever met...
She was undoubtedly the earliest Sharingan awakener.
My disciple has the bearing of someone destined to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
If he could one day supplement Izumi's body with sufficient Yang Release chakra...
Kiyohara believed there was every possibility that she could naturally awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
However...
He had no intention of relying upon something as unsightly as transplanting Hashirama's cells.
That method simply wasn't elegant.
The power of the White Snake could achieve a similar effect anyway.
Over these past several years...
Kiyohara had quietly been cultivating his own power base.
The ANBU were merely the outermost layer.
His true foundation...
Was the group of disciples he had personally accepted.
He never accepted mediocrity for his student.
Once these children gradually matured...
An enormous invisible network would slowly spread across the entire shinobi world beneath his control.
Should unexpected events arise in the future...
He would no longer need to personally handle everything himself.
Thinking this...
He smiled before taking Izumi's small hand.
"Come."
"I'll accompany you to Training Ground Three."
"We'll train for a while."
"I want to see whether you've been slacking off recently."
Izumi blinked in surprise.
Before she even had time to react...
The scenery around them suddenly changed.
The two of them had already arrived at Training Ground Three.
...
Training Ground Three.
Kiyohara stood calmly in the center of the open field.
Opposite him...
Izumi gripped a wooden practice kunai with both hands.
Her tiny face was filled with determination.
"Come."
"Attack me with your fastest speed."
"Then... here I come, Sensei!"
Izumi took a deep breath.
The next instant...
She charged forward.
Among children her age...
Her speed was already exceptional.
The wooden kunai spun gracefully in her hand before thrusting toward Kiyohara's right side.
Bang!
Kiyohara casually raised a single finger.
The practice kunai stopped instantly against it.
Izumi's eyes widened.
She hadn't expected her teacher's finger to block the strike so effortlessly.
Using the momentum of her charge...
She immediately lowered her body.
Then she swung the kunai upward from below.
Facing her follow-up attack...
Kiyohara responded just as effortlessly.
Izumi truly was incredibly fast.
Kiyohara estimated that this was simply the result of her exceptional natural talent.
When it came to pure speed...
She was actually superior to Itachi.
Itachi's greatest talent lay in genjutsu.
In terms of movement speed...
Izumi reminded Kiyohara much more of Shisui.
Should I teach her the Body Flicker?
Even while casually defending against every attack...
Kiyohara quietly considered the possibility.
If Izumi learned that technique...
Her speed would probably become even more astonishing.
…
'Sensei... is so strong...'
Izumi's heart overflowed with admiration.
At the Shinobi Academy...
She could easily toy with nearly every student through sheer speed alone.
Yet...
Standing before Kiyohara...
That speed felt completely insignificant.
Determined not to give up...
She gathered even more chakra.
The chakra surged into both arms.
In an instant...
She launched a rapid barrage of consecutive slashes.
The wooden kunai cut through the air with sharp whistling sounds.
Throughout the entire exchange...
Not once did Kiyohara allow her to touch him.
His hands remained hanging casually at his sides the entire time.
He hadn't even taken a single step.
"That's enough, Izumi."
Once he noticed she was nearing the limit of her stamina...
Kiyohara finally called a halt.
Izumi bent over, supporting herself with both hands on her knees.
She gasped for breath repeatedly.
"I... I can't..."
Her voice came out in broken fragments.
A thin layer of moisture shimmered within her peach blossom eyes.
Whether it was sweat...
Or something else...
Even she herself could not tell.
Kiyohara walked over before crouching in front of her.
He gently placed a hand upon her shoulder and infused a stream of chakra into her exhausted body.
"You've already done very well."
He smiled gently.
"Among people your age..."
"Your speed and reaction time are already at the very top."
Izumi slowly looked up.
The light returned to her eyes.
"Really?"
"Really."
Kiyohara nodded without hesitation.
A brilliant smile instantly bloomed across her face.
It was as though she had just received the greatest gift in the world.
She sniffed once before standing upright again.
Gripping her wooden kunai tightly...
She declared enthusiastically,
"Sensei!"
"Let's do it one more time!"
Kiyohara looked at her, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Just then...
An ANBU operative suddenly appeared nearby.
"Hokage-sama."
"The materials you requested have all been prepared..."
"I know."
Kiyohara casually raised a hand, interrupting the report.
Understanding immediately...
The ANBU silently withdrew.
Izumi looked up at Kiyohara pitifully.
She had thought he was about to leave.
Instead...
Kiyohara smiled.
"Izumi."
"Come."
"We'll continue."
Spending a little more time strengthening the bond between master and disciple certainly wouldn't hurt.
(End of Chapter)