Orochimaru had once seen Mist shinobi who possessed two or even three different kekkei genkai. This alone was proof that the potential of the human body was not limited to a single bloodline limit.
"I've thought about it," Kiyohara said, "but it's too difficult."
"I was thinking that if lightning nature could also be integrated, perhaps it would be possible to develop even stronger electromagnetic control abilities. Or maybe combining earth release with yang release, to see whether it could enhance earth-release ninjutsu."
The moment these words were spoken, even Kakashi turned his head, shock flashing in his single exposed eye.
Kakashi had always believed that creating the Chidori on his own was already impressive enough.
But now he realized, there were always people stronger than himself.
Kiyohara had actually already considered continuing to synthesize additional kekkei genkai.
"Kiyohara," Minato said gently, "developing new jutsu is a good thing, but creating a kekkei genkai is extraordinarily difficult. I've already spent three years constantly testing and refining my techniques just to develop new jutsu. Kekkei genkai involve changes on a genetic level, the difficulty isn't even in the same league."
Orochimaru, however, held a different view.
Was Kiyohara's ancestry truly that of ordinary civilians?
Several decades ago, before Konoha was founded or even centuries earlier—what country had Kiyohara's ancestors lived in? What kinds of kekkei genkai might they have awakened in history?
All of that was unknown.
Orochimaru had long noticed that the village rarely recorded history in detail. A man like Uchiha Madara, who had clearly been one of the people to name Konoha itself, was barely mentioned in the records, spoken of only vaguely.
In just a few short decades, Hashirama and Madara had already become figures that felt almost legendary.
Though Kurenai and Rin did not fully understand these theories, they could still sense just how astonishing Kiyohara's ideas were.
"It's just trying things out," Kiyohara said with a smile, his words half-true and half-false. "Even if I fail, improving my other nature transformations along the way wouldn't be a bad outcome."
In truth, he was simply planting a seed in everyone's minds.
Throughout the journey, deliberately displaying different chakra natures and precise chakra control was itself a form of psychological groundwork.
Once that seed had been planted, everything that followed would already have a framework of expectation.
That way, if Kiyohara truly displayed some unusual bloodline limit in the future, others would only sigh at his efforts and perhaps speculate that, like the Terumi clan, he possessed multiple bloodline limits.
Kiyohara's ultimate goal was simple: to continuously rationalize his own actions.
Shinobi, even with the immense power of chakra, were still human at their core. They felt pain, they cried, they laughed.
Naturally, they also possessed greed, anger, and obsession—countless flaws.
After all… where there are people, there is the shinobi world.
Orochimaru suddenly burst into laughter. The sound echoed through the earthen shelter, carrying a strange sense of delight.
"Interesting. Kiyohara-kun, I really like the way you think."
He stepped in front of Kiyohara, golden slit pupils locking onto his eyes.
"I've mastered all seven chakra nature transformations. In theory, I could attempt to fuse any kekkei genkai—but in practice, I haven't created a single new one. Do you know why?"
Kiyohara shook his head.
"Because bloodline limits are not merely the fusion of chakra," Orochimaru's voice dropped into a low, heavy tone. "They involve the body's adaptability to chakra, the expression of genetic factors, and even compatibility on a spiritual level. This is a systematic process—it's not as simple as one plus one equaling two."
He paused, then suddenly changed the subject.
"But if you truly want to walk this path, Kiyohara… I can offer some help. My laboratory has research materials on chakra natures and kekkei genkai. They might be useful to you."
It was bait—Kiyohara knew that.
Orochimaru wanted to observe him, study him, uncover the secrets hidden within his body.
But it was also an opportunity.
After all, his body was more than capable of supporting it.
The inheritance or awakening of a kekkei genkai was like Ōnoki suddenly comprehending the Second Tsuchikage's Dust Release, a sudden chemical reaction.
"Then I'll be in your care, Orochimaru-sama," Kiyohara said respectfully.
Outside the earthen shelter, the rain continued to fall.
...
The next day, the caravan set off again.
The rain had lightened somewhat, but the sky remained gloomy.
At around two in the afternoon, an anomaly suddenly appeared in Kiyohara's perception.
"There are chakra signatures," he said quietly inside the carriage. "Three hundred meters ahead, on the right hillside, five people."
Almost at the same time, Orochimaru opened his eyes.
"Likely Iwagakure."
Minato nodded. "Looks like they were drawn by the caravan. Orochimaru-senpai, how about letting the younger ones get some practice this time?"
Minato had noticed the chakra signatures even earlier, and at the same time sensed that they weren't particularly strong.
Orochimaru licked his lips. "Exactly what I was thinking. Minato and I will oversee things—Kiyohara-kun, you and the others go test yourselves."
The order was given.
The carriages came to a halt, and the merchants panicked, scrambling to hide behind the wagons.
Five Iwa shinobi emerged from the hillside.
They wore earth-yellow uniforms and masks, with the two at the front being especially burly.
"Konoha escorts?" one Iwa jonin sneered. "Just sending out a few brats? Kill them, and we'll split the goods!"
Another jonin had already begun forming seals.
"Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!"
The ground shook as stone spikes erupted and surged toward the caravan.
Kakashi dashed forward in an instant, arcs of lightning gathering in his hand, the shrill cry of a thousand birds piercing the air.
But Kiyohara moved differently.
Instead of charging ahead, he leapt backward more than ten meters, widening the distance.
His hands formed seals.
"Magnet Release…!"
Black iron sand poured out from Kiyohara's thermos, shaping itself in front of him.
It condensed into dozens of spindle-shaped projectiles the size of walnuts, each one highly compressed, their surfaces smooth as mirrors.
Kiyohara held his hands in the air, lightning flashing between his palms.
"…Electromagnetic projectiles!"
Buzz—
Amid a low hum of electricity, the iron sand bullets began to levitate and spin, coils formed of black sand rotating rapidly.
The Iwa shinobi noticed Kiyohara's actions, but couldn't understand what he was doing.
"What kind of trick is that kid pulling?" a chunin muttered in confusion.
The next second, they understood.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The first volley, five projectiles, fired.
Electromagnetic acceleration granted them terrifying initial velocity. Nearly twice the speed of sound, the attacks tore pale blue trails through the air.
Supersonic techniques were extremely rare.
In the anime and manga, supersonic feats were usually shown through wind or lightning release.
Even then, such speeds were typically achievable only by jonin, and even among jonin, not everyone could do it.
The three Iwa chunin didn't even have time to react.
Pff! Pff! Pff!
The sounds of skulls shattering, throats being pierced, and chests being punched through rang out in succession.
Three bodies collapsed, blood mixing with rain and spreading across the ground.
The two jonin reacted slightly faster, hastily activating earth-release hardening at the final moment.
The projectiles slammed into their bodies with dull, heavy impacts.
Bang! Bang!
Both were knocked staggering backward, blood spraying from their mouths.
Their hardened skin blocked penetration, but the kinetic energy wasn't fully absorbed.
One shattered a shoulder blade; the other broke three ribs.
"What… what is this?!" one of the injured jonin cried out in terror, staring at the bone-deep crater in his shoulder.
The hardened skin had been smashed apart—his earth-release defense completely broken!
Taking advantage of the enemy's shock, a flash of silver streaked past. Kakashi's Chidori easily pierced the heart of the jonin with the shattered shoulder blade.
The last remaining jonin tried to flee, but Kurenai's genjutsu arrived.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
Phantom trees burst from the ground, wrapping around his legs.
Though it was only an illusion, that instant of delay was more than enough.
Shuriken needles from Genma rained down, sealing off every path of evasion.
Rin stood ready with medical ninjutsu at any moment.
Kiyohara had already begun preparing a second volley, manipulating iron sand to form new projectiles—but he soon realized it was unnecessary. Kakashi's kunai was already pressed against the final jonin's throat.
The battle ended.
From start to finish, less than forty seconds had passed.
Five Iwa shinobi, completely wiped out.
Zero casualties on Konoha's side, and minimal chakra expenditure.
Kiyohara retracted the iron sand, dispelling his magnet release.
He checked his chakra consumption and could clearly feel the recovery granted by the Power of the White Snake taking effect, the lost portion slowly replenishing.
"Kekkei genkai… truly an enviable ability," Orochimaru's voice sounded beside him. He had appeared next to Kiyohara at some point. "To achieve the same effect with pure lightning release would consume several times more chakra."
Kiyohara nodded, then did something that made everyone slightly uncomfortable.
Even though they had seen it many times before, watching Kiyohara methodically loot each corpse still made it hard to keep a straight face.
Most shinobi only collected intelligence-related items from bodies. Carrying sealing scrolls and stripping corpses down to little more than thin undergarments was truly rare.
"Looks like there's no particularly valuable intelligence," Kiyohara said, handing the encrypted documents taken from the Iwa shinobi to Orochimaru.
What disappointed him was the lack of any information related to Steel Release users.
...
By evening, the caravan reached the designated handover point.
The rain had temporarily stopped, though the sky remained overcast.
Someone was already waiting in the valley.
It was a blue-haired woman with a cold, composed appearance, her eyes calm beyond what seemed appropriate for her age.
Beside her were more than a dozen sealed wooden crates.
Kiyohara's heart skipped—Konan!
"You're that child from back then?" Orochimaru looked at her.
Blue hair, and a paper flower adorning her head.
The shape of that paper flower stirred Orochimaru's memories of a past mission to the Land of Rain with Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Back then, several children had come begging for food.
In the end, Jiraiya had chosen to stay behind and teach them for several years, a decision that Orochimaru had found almost maddening.
For the sake of some vague "prophecy," he had chosen to teach foreign shinobi for years before returning to the village?
Konan nodded slightly. She clearly knew Orochimaru, as well as Jiraiya and Tsunade.
After all, in the shinobi world, very few people didn't recognize the Three Legendary Sannin.
"That's right. We met once before. Escorting the medical supplies was a task our side commissioned from this caravan," Konan said.
Prices in the Land of Rain were simply too high, especially items related to shinobi.
To save money for the organization, Konan had chosen to import supplies from other countries.
As the others spoke, Kiyohara found himself wondering, would there one day be an "Akatsuki Kiyohara" in the future?
(End of Chapter)