Inside the tent, Tsunade had just finished processing a stack of medical paperwork. She rubbed her brow, and with her sharp senses, she could make out faint chatter outside. She snorted.
"That brat Kiyohara really has too much energy."
Shizune, holding Tonton, looked worried. "Tsunade-sama… won't sparring in private cause trouble?"
Tsunade waved a hand dismissively, lifted the glass tumbler beside her, and only after the strong liquor burned down her throat did she speak, lips parting slowly.
"Relax. Anyone Orochimaru bothers to value isn't some reckless fool. I've been watching that kid for days—aside from hanging around Kurenai and Rin a bit too conspicuously, his mind is glued to training. He knows his limits."
If Kiyohara hadn't been grinding every day, Tsunade might've suspected he was two-timing.
As she spoke, she stood and lazily stretched her impressive figure. The fullness of her chest swayed slightly; in the dim tent light, faint blue veins could be seen beneath her pale skin.
Heavy fatigue sat on her face after a full day of work. She let out a small yawn.
"I'm going to drink a few more and then sleep properly. Shizune, if you're curious, go watch for yourself."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied.
She found herself genuinely curious—just how strong was that boy Kiyohara now?
"Then… who do you think will win, Tsunade-sama?" she asked.
"Kiyohara," Tsunade answered casually, already walking out.
"Kiyohara…" Shizune murmured, watching Tsunade leave.
Tsunade seemed surprisingly confident in him.
She couldn't help wondering why.
...
Night fell.
The riverside clearing was lit by cold moonlight and the camp's scattered firelight.
Rin had heard from Kakashi that Kiyohara was going to spar an Uchiha, so she came to watch too.
"Kakashi, who do you think will win?" Rin asked.
"Hard to say," Kakashi replied, shaking his head.
One side had the Sharingan. The other had Magnet Release.
A clash between two bloodline users.
Honestly, Kakashi couldn't call it.
"Shisui, Kakashi," Asuma said, strolling over from the distance with both hands in his pockets.
On the way back earlier, he'd overheard Kiyohara's conversation with the two Uchiha.
This wasn't just Asuma being emotional. The Uchiha were Konoha's largest clan; they really did have teeth.
Once awakened, the Sharingan granted copying, hypnosis, chakra-reading, enhanced dynamic vision, and more.
Asuma felt that any one of those abilities alone could qualify as its own bloodline limit.
And yet a single eye had them all.
"You of all people should feel the gap," Asuma said. "You've got Obito's Sharingan transplanted."
Kakashi fell silent, then nodded.
He understood the Sharingan's strength better than anyone.
If it had a drawback, it was that outsiders couldn't shut it off.
But for Uchiha like Tekka and Shisui, there would be no such burden.
"I'm rooting for Kiyohara," Kurenai said brightly.
She stood beside Rin, her red eyes fixed on the familiar figure in the clearing.
Against two Uchiha she barely knew, of course she'd support her comrade.
While the spectators talked, Kiyohara and Shisui completed the Seal of Confrontation.
"Please guide me, Kiyohara-senpai," Shisui said politely.
He was younger, so he used "senpai."
"Likewise, Shisui," Kiyohara replied.
The instant the hand seals finished, both of them moved!
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—
Shisui's fingers were suddenly packed with eight kunai. They flew toward Kiyohara's vital points in a lethal spread.
Uchiha throwing skill lived up to its reputation—the kunai collided midair, altering their trajectories into chained, overlapping angles that were extremely hard to defend against.
But Kiyohara's reaction speed was just as frightening.
Almost the moment Shisui threw, Kiyohara's hands dipped into his pouch and shuriken snapped out in a sharp burst.
Clink-clink-clang-clang!
A dense storm of crisp impacts exploded. Sparks sprayed.
Kiyohara's shuriken struck the kunai at the sides and tails with precise timing, breaking their pattern. Both weapons scattered harmlessly to the ground.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Without any pause, Shisui's seals completed the moment his kunai were deflected.
His chest expanded, and he spat out a massive fireball—over three meters wide.
Flames rolled and churned, heat so intense the air itself warped.
Facing the surging fire, Kiyohara formed seals at speed. His chakra shifted nature and refined into magnetism.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
Iron sand erupted from the thermos at his waist, transforming into a dense black rain that shot straight into the fireball.
Hiss-hiss-hiss!
Iron sand and flame collided. The heat instantly melted the leading grains, bursting into a thick cloud of smoke.
But the sand behind it surged forward relentlessly, punching through the smoke and the fireball itself—then spearing toward Shisui's chest!
"What?"
Tekka's pupils tightened.
It was his first time seeing a Magnet Release user fight—and he hadn't imagined it could pierce a fireball like that.
Kiyohara's strength now compared to the chūnin exams was like night and day.
That growth rate was absurd—faster than even elite Uchiha shinobi like him?
How?
Was Magnet Release really that strong?
"Kiyohara, you've got this!" Kurenai couldn't help shouting, hands clenched in front of her chest.
In the clearing, Shisui's face showed a flicker of surprise as the iron sand screamed in—but his movements didn't slow at all.
He kicked off hard, drifting backward while twisting his body. The iron sand grazed past his clothes by a hair.
At the same time, Kiyohara vanished.
Only a few slowly falling leaves remained in his place.
Leaf Body Flicker.
Kakashi's exposed right eye widened slightly.
Kiyohara's flicker speed looked even faster than before.
Had the bloodline awakened further, boosting chakra reserves and body activity?
Kakashi could only guess.
Kiyohara's kunai flashed with cold light, stabbing for Shisui's back.
But Shisui reacted as if he had eyes behind him.
At the last instant, he spun—
Clang!
He caught Kiyohara's strike cleanly with his own kunai.
After a brief contest of strength, both stepped back half a pace—then, in the same motion, each drew the blade strapped to their back.