"I'm just more relaxed around people I know better,"
Kiyohara replied casually.
"You mean… I'm closer to you than Rin is?"
Kurenai's voice was curious.
"What do you think?"
Kiyohara didn't answer directly—instead tossing the question back at her.
He reached out and ruffled her hair with a grin.
Her hair was soft, freshly washed, and still carried a faint trace of her morning shampoo.
"Hmph, knock it off."
Kurenai stepped back with a pout.
Didn't he know that messing with her head like that would stunt her growth?
If she ended up short, it would definitely be Kiyohara's fault.
"Here. What you asked for—Genjutsu notes."
She handed him a notebook filled with her personal insights.
"You're amazing, Kurenai."
Kiyohara was surprised. He'd only casually mentioned wanting to study Genjutsu, and she'd gone and written this up?
As expected—he had a soft stomach.
It was only right that he leaned into softer things.
"No reward?"
Kurenai crossed her arms, adopting an exaggerated air of frustration.
Kiyohara, amused, reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a small candy.
"For you."
Her eyes lit up.
'Next time, I need to bring my own sweets to the battlefield,' she thought as she eagerly unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth, letting her tongue play with the sugar.
In days like these, sweetness was a rare luxury.
"You're good with a sword, now you're dabbling in medical ninjutsu and Genjutsu too? You really think you can manage all that?"
Kurenai tilted her head, the candy still in her cheek.
"Maybe,"
Kiyohara answered as he flipped open the notebook.
Her handwriting was far more elegant than Tsunade's chaotic scrawl.
He had inherited the chakra natures of both Yang and Yin from his future selves, not to mention the Leaf Style: Willow—an S-rank Genjutsu sword art.
His affinity with illusions should be top-tier.
After all, mastering an S-rank skill was itself proof of talent.
His past life had simply leaned more into swordsmanship.
But now, he needed Genjutsu for another reason.
He lacked interrogation tools.
If he had Genjutsu, he could've interrogated Pakura's disciple, personally.
"You're kidding, huh?"
Kurenai didn't buy it. She leaned in beside him and flipped to a certain page in the notebook.
It described a basic D-rank illusion.
"Try this one."
She pointed.
Phantom Lantern Technique—a Genjutsu that projected a point of light, making others believe it was real.
"Hmm… like this, right?"
Kiyohara studied it briefly.
His spiritual energy was leagues above average.
Which meant his Yin Release chakra was abnormally strong.
He gave it a shot—and instantly succeeded.
In Kurenai's view, it was absurd:
he glanced over it, hesitated for a few seconds—
Then light bloomed from his fingertip.
"Wait… did you just cast Genjutsu on me?"
Kurenai blinked, stunned.
Did he just… pick it up that fast?
Could Kiyohara actually be… a Genjutsu prodigy?
He didn't just understand it—
he executed it on the first try?
"Isn't this just Genjutsu?"
Kiyohara waved the glowing finger near her face.
The shimmering light was real to her eyes.
He had actually learned it.
Kurenai's expression froze.
She couldn't help but feel like all her hard work was being undermined.
She remembered how long it had taken her to master that technique.
And this guy picked it up like it was a party trick.
"Maybe I'm just a little more diligent than most,"
Kiyohara said in a calm tone.
Really, he was just stacking the efforts of multiple future versions of himself.
They were all him—
he was just claiming those benefits early.
"What, afraid I'll surpass you?"
he teased, seeing Kurenai still sulking.
"Who—who's afraid of that? I'm not that petty!"
Kurenai puffed out her cheeks.
She wasn't the type to get jealous over someone else's progress.
"Very mature of you,"
Kiyohara grinned.
He coaxed her into sharing a few more Genjutsu techniques in exchange for some ninjutsu tips of his own.
"You know this much ninjutsu?"
Kurenai was surprised.
"Some I just know of, not how to use them."
Many of them came from his alternate selves.
Unless he had directly inherited them, he still had to master them himself.
They exchanged a few basic illusions and useful combat tips, then Kiyohara took his leave.
He planned to train in the woods beyond camp.
His goal: fully master Magnet Release and integrate it with his current skills.
Magnet Release had massive potential—
its ceiling was high, but required creative development.
Not long after he left, he overheard some passing med-nin chatting excitedly:
"Did you hear? Lady Tsunade's coming to the frontlines!"
"For real? That's amazing! With her here, the wounded actually stand a chance!"
"Yeah, I heard it's to prep for the next big battle—probably mass casualties—"
"Tsunade's really coming?"
Kiyohara's heart skipped.
That was… huge.
Rin's medical ninjutsu was great, but limited by age and experience.
Tsunade was a legend.
Even a single tip from her could elevate his self-healing and survivability.
The real question was:
'How do I get close enough for her to actually teach me?'
He paused in thought.
Tsunade's hemophobia should be pretty severe by now.
And her personality was… difficult.
Still, there were always two good entry points:
gambling and money.
He shelved the plan for now.
Out in the woods, Kiyohara began training his Magnet Release.
He summoned his alternate self—Magnet Release Kiyohara—to clarify a few doubts.
Then focused on refining his control over repulsion.
The more magnetic force he generated, the harder it became to control his footing.
He got launched several times, landing in awkward, dusty heaps.
But with his mental strength, innate talent, and his future self's guidance, he began to improve—
eventually achieving explosive acceleration over short distances.
Even faster than his full-speed Leaf Body Flicker.
And that was all to lay the foundation for what came next:
Flight.