"Enemy attack! It's Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Genma shouted, his senbon almost falling from his mouth.
"How is that possible? Where did they come from?!"
Hyūga Ginka's face went pale. Her Byakugan had clearly seen nothing moments ago.
This sudden strike was like a loud slap across the face of her absolute faith in the Byakugan.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Kakashi reacted instantly, forming seals almost the same instant the dragons appeared.
He slammed both hands to the ground.
Boom!
A thick wall of earth surged up from the ground, barely in time to block the incoming dragons.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The water dragons crashed into the wall one after another with heavy thuds. Water exploded outward, dirt and rock flying everywhere.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the trembling wall, but it held—just enough to stop the surprise attack.
"And he still has time to do that…"
Kiyohara noticed that someone had carved a few little dog heads into the top of the wall.
Only a dog-lover like Kakashi would "decorate" a defensive jutsu.
Kiyohara raised his voice:
"Everyone be careful. There's probably some kind of barrier or bloodline at work that can interfere with or outright block Byakugan sensing… the Red Eye!"
There were many possible explanations for how a Byakugan got stolen in the original—branch family betrayal, the squad being surrounded, main family negligence…
But right now, Ginka had just scanned the area and seen nothing—which suddenly made Kiyohara's worst-case guess a lot more likely.
There were very few ways to mess with a Byakugan.
Canonically, the only clearly stated ones were special lunar seals—and the red eye, plus a tiny handful of similar effects.
By elimination, the odds of their enemy having the red eye were very high.
"Red eye?" Kakashi repeated. It was the first time he'd heard of that bloodline.
"I haven't heard of it either," Rin frowned slightly, thinking Kiyohara must read a lot.
When it came to dōjutsu, she only knew about the Sharingan and Byakugan, plus a "Blood Dragon Eye" mentioned in dusty old texts—nothing that still existed in the current shinobi world.
Far away, in the hidden Kiri camp, Ao watched the Konoha squad through his water mirror.
When he heard Kiyohara casually name the red eye, surprise flared in his gaze.
"That brat… he knows about the red eye?"
Even in the Land of Water, it was rare and classified. How would a young Konoha chūnin know?
Had Kiyohara encountered it before?
Or did Konoha already have intel on them?
"What a sinful man… with a face like that, I almost feel bad we have to kill him," Mei said, green eyes on Kiyohara's reflection.
She was a sucker for good looks, and Kiyohara was easily the best-looking person she'd seen.
Ao shot her a glance. She might be a rising genius, but he was in command today.
"Don't feel pity for any enemy," he said. "Everyone—just like we planned. Split them, surround them, and focus on the medic and the Hyūga first!"
At his order, the Mist attack tightened into a more organized pattern.
"Damn it, so you dare make a joke of the great Hyūga clan!"
Nobuhiko's face went dark.
His Byakugan had seen nothing, yet now enemy shinobi were appearing one after another as if out of thin air. He felt like someone had played him.
He shouted and charged forward, eager to prove Hyūga's strength with Gentle Fist.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigra—"
He didn't get to finish.
The surrounding mist thickened again, so dense he couldn't see his own hand.
An instant later, his vision was filled with chaotic images, making him dizzy and disoriented.
If he turned off the Byakugan, he was completely blind in this fog.
"Haha! Hyūga kid—without your eyes, what are you?" a mocking voice rang from the mist.
A tall Mist jōnin with a scarred face—Tomodai—burst out of the fog.
His kunai whistled straight for Nobuhiko's chest.
Nobuhiko barely blocked, but without Byakugan insight or clear vision, he was immediately driven into a corner, forced onto the defensive by Tomodai's relentless strikes.
Meanwhile, other Mist shinobi rushed in under cover of the fog.
Their priority was obvious: take down the medic.
Rin.
In real battle, reducing enemy numbers was critical.
And medical ninja were always the ripest targets.
Only someone like Tsunade could excel at both medic and combat roles.
"Protect Rin!"
Lightning crackled in Kakashi's hand as he engaged two Mist chūnin, sparks flying in the haze.
Genma and Kurenai each took on their own opponents.
Rin became the focus of the assault. Three Mist shinobi broke through the outer ring and lunged for her.
"Rin, fall back!"
Kiyohara moved.
Shing!
He drew his new sword in a single smooth motion, the cold steel carving an arc through the dim light.
A step, a shift, and he was standing between her and the attackers.
"Ao… he's nearby. I can feel his chakra in that direction," Swordsman Kiyohara said suddenly, his tone laced with anger.
He'd never let revenge carry over to the next day in his life.
If it were up to him, he'd cut Ao down now and lay his head on a shrine.
"Got it. One thing at a time," Kiyohara answered, a chill running through him as he quickly calmed his future self.
Ao was no pushover.
He wouldn't have earned the right to transplant a Byakugan otherwise.
The next moment, as the Mist ninja's blade came down, Kiyohara stopped holding back.
He fused his newly gained kenjutsu understanding with his reflexes.
He slipped to the side, letting the straight cut whistle past, and snapped his own sword up.
Schk!
The edge caught the first attacker's wrist.
He screamed, weapon flying.
Almost in the same instant, the second Mist shinobi's kunai thrust in at Kiyohara's ribs.
Kiyohara's core fired; his body drifted back half a step like floating willow fluff, dodging the strike as his wrist twisted and the sword drove straight into the man's throat.
Thud.
Clean, efficient.
The man collapsed, clutching his spurting neck.
The third Mist ninja froze, fear flashing in his eyes, his motion stalling for just a beat.
Kiyohara seized the gap; chakra exploded from his feet.
"Body Flicker!"
His form blurred and reappeared at the man's flank, sword sweeping across.
Body Flicker might only be D-rank—the most basic of basics—but Kiyohara had learned it a long time ago.
He'd just rarely used it due to its chakra cost.
Crack!
Bone snapped; blood sprayed.
The third Mist shinobi fell.
In just a few breaths, three chūnin attacking Rin were cut down.
"Kakashi, once we finish these Mist-nin, you're coming with me to take out the one in charge. There's someone directing them—that's why they're moving so cleanly," Kiyohara shouted.
After the seven swords strike as one, the first target had to be the "command core." Same logic here.
This was their best chance. If needed, Swordsman Kiyohara could step in again.
When enemies meet, blood runs hot. Kiyohara was certain his future self would be more than happy to help him deal with Ao.
His body was stable now; he wouldn't be as strained as he'd been when Rogue Kiyohara possessed him.
"Alright," Kakashi said after a brief pause.
He couldn't shake the feeling that Kiyohara's swordwork was far sharper than last time.
Was it his imagination?
He shook his head and pushed the thought aside.
Whatever the case, Kiyohara was slowly revealing his true strength.
~~~
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