"Let me try it."
Swordsman Kiyohara sounded like a chain-smoker who hadn't had a cigarette in ten days and just spotted a fresh pack.
Kiyohara understood and relaxed his grip on his body.
The next moment, Swordsman Kiyohara's will flowed in like water, taking over his arms. He reached out and wrapped his hand around the new sword's hilt.
Cold, solid—and somehow familiar.
He gave it a small test swing.
The blade sliced the air with a whispering hiss.
He pushed a thread of chakra into it.
Vmmm—
The faint blue patterns along the blade seemed to come alive, glimmering softly as chakra flowed through the metal with ease.
Almost no resistance. It felt completely different from infusing normal tools.
"A fine blade," Swordsman Kiyohara couldn't help but say aloud.
"The chakra conduction… is excellent. If only I'd had something like this back then…"
His tone carried clear regret.
"Then why didn't you make yourself a good sword?" Kiyohara asked, honestly curious.
With that level of strength, he should've had no trouble affording one.
"Because I believed power shouldn't come from external things. I thought I should reach the point where I could pick up a tree branch and still fight just as well," Swordsman Kiyohara answered.
"…"
Kiyohara felt this future version of himself might be a bit too arrogant.
Even Six Paths Madara got cut in half by Sasuke's enchanted Kusanagi without so much as a chipped edge.
In this world, fighting with a good weapon versus a bad one were two entirely different things—unless your style barely used weapons at all.
"So what'd you do with the extra money?" Kiyohara asked.
"Most of my mission pay went into buying so-called kenjutsu scrolls circulating on the market. You know Kosuke-sensei has incredible swordsmanship, but his repertoire is limited. I wanted to absorb the strengths of many schools and forge my own path…
"But out there, nine out of ten scrolls are fakes or incomplete junk. I wasted a lot of money and time. The ones truly worth learning were very few," Swordsman Kiyohara said.
So he's a sword nerd… and an easy mark, Kiyohara thought, half enlightened, half exasperated.
His future self had walked plenty of crooked paths in pursuit of the sword.
Then a light bloomed inside Swordsman Kiyohara's chest.
It flowed into Kiyohara like a warm current, and he immediately felt another shift in his talent.
His spiritual energy solidified and grew again; his senses sharpened.
This was clearly the tempered willpower and mental strength of a seasoned swordsman being passed on.
Right after that, a warm, surging vitality poured through his limbs like a hot spring, nourishing his meridians and muscles.
This is… Yang-natured talent, Kiyohara realized.
Swordsman Kiyohara had possessed a strong Yang affinity, and that talent was now layered on top of Kiyohara's own faint Yang nature.
That meant medical ninjutsu would come easier from now on.
And finally—the most important part—was the sword.
A flood of insights about basic sword mechanics, footwork, distance control, and the foundational application of chakra in sword techniques surged into his mind.
He hadn't mastered Leaf-Style: Willow yet, but his fundamental understanding had jumped to a whole new level.
All the tricky, hazy pieces that had required endless trial and error now clicked into place.
This was the foundation laid over twenty years in that future.
Kiyohara was very satisfied.
Even if it wasn't a full fusion, he'd have no trouble outclassing his old self as a sword user.
He couldn't wait to test it.
With the new blade in hand, his hands flashing through seals felt a hair faster.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Stream!"
Crackle!
Almost as soon as he formed the seal, blue arcs raced up the blade, hissing sharply.
He let his body flow through some of the basic Leaf-Style forms that had just lodged themselves into his instincts—diagonal cuts, straight thrusts, upward sweeps.
The motions were still a little rough; muscle memory would need time. But the way he generated force had changed entirely.
Every swing came from a clearly traceable chain—from the soles, through the waist and hips, into the arm.
The blade followed the body; the strikes were heavier, more grounded.
True waist-and-leg unity.
The shopkeeper, watching from the side, felt a flicker of surprise.
"Customer, your swordwork is impressive—very solid foundation. You don't see that often," he said, genuinely impressed despite a touch of flattery.
The lightning faded from the blade. Kiyohara sheathed the sword and hung it at his waist.
He only smiled lightly at the compliment, saying nothing more.
He quickly paid the remaining balance, thanked the shopkeeper again, and left with the new sword at his hip.
One wish down; now he had to handle the second.
He needed to raise his strength as much as possible before Madara's plan fully unfolded.
That sense of urgency still weighed on him.
Watching Kiyohara's retreating figure, the smith stroked his chin and muttered:
"A chakra-metal sword and that kind of solid kenjutsu… that's the form of someone who's drilled the basics seriously for years."
For someone that young to have such skill—it hinted at a real prodigy.
It reminded him of the White Fang.
Who knew what heights Kiyohara might reach?
"Hope I see him again someday," the smith said, shaking his head.
He knew one thing: as long as you were alive, anything was possible. Once you were dead, it was all gone.
...
Not long after Kiyohara returned to the base, new orders came down.
This time, it was a reconnaissance mission.
They were to move into an area where Mist shinobi might be infiltrating, identify their movements and troop deployment, and gather as much intel as possible.
When Kiyohara saw the assignment, something stirred inside him.
It was the perfect chance to test his new power—and his new sword.
And… Mist activity meant Mist shinobi—meaning Ao might be there.
His chance to complete the second wish.
The team formation had changed a bit.
In addition to Kiyohara, Kakashi, Rin, and Genma, two Hyūga clan members had been added.
The higher-ups had specifically assigned them to enhance the squad's scouting capabilities.
One was a slightly older male in his twenties, Hyūga Nobuhiko.
The other was a girl of about eighteen or nineteen, Hyūga Ginka.
Given their main-branch pedigree, something felt off to Kiyohara.
Oh no… Ao wouldn't be targeting their Byakugan, would he?
~~~
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