"Madara, that kid Kiyohara who can use Magnet Release has gone toward Rin."
White Zetsu reported the situation to Madara.
Madara gazed at the shattered rock in the distance, then slowly closed his eyes.
"The stage has finally reached its climax."
A faint crimson light flickered across Madara's scarlet Sharingan.
Everything he had done was for one purpose, to bring Obito into darkness.
To allow Obito to grasp the true power of the Uchiha clan.
For this, he had controlled the Third Mizukage and ordered an attack along the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire.
All the powerful figures who might interfere like Minato, Orochimaru, and the rest had been drawn away elsewhere.
"As long as the plan succeeds, I don't care how ugly the process is."
Madara looked down at his aged, withered hands.
He did not have much time left.
He had to quickly choose someone who could replace him.
If Obito failed to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan no matter what, Madara would immediately activate his backup plan.
There were so many with Uchiha blood—he did not have to hang himself on a single tree.
But time was running out. He no longer had the luxury to carefully prepare more candidates.
Delay only invited disaster.
The best possible plan was to successfully shape Obito this time.
"Go to the scene. I need to observe everything in real time," Madara said.
He would use White Zetsu as his eyes, to see everything happening on the battlefield.
"Yes, Madara."
White Zetsu withdrew, melting back into the wall.
Madara closed his eyes but before him was not darkness. Instead, his vision connected directly to White Zetsu's field of view.
...
On the other side.
Kiyohara was adapting to the power of the Sharingan.
"It seems I've inherited the Uchiha bloodline," Kiyohara murmured.
He realized that activating the Sharingan did not consume much chakra for him—at least, not to the extent of Kakashi's near-collapse.
"Indeed. You inherited the Uchiha blood that came from me."
The spiritual form of Uchiha Kiyohara appeared.
The three tomoe in his eyes spun continuously.
"Then do you know Izanagi and Izanami?" Kiyohara asked.
Izanagi and Izanami were forbidden techniques of the Uchiha clan, requiring specialized learning to use.
Sasuke, for instance, never learned Izanagi, and only learned of Izanami after Itachi demonstrated it to him.
If the middle-aged Sasuke from Boruto had known Izanagi, he wouldn't have lost an eye so easily.
Trading an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan for a Six-Tomoe Rinnegan was a wildly profitable deal by any measure.
Unfortunately, whether due to lack of time, lack of knowledge, carelessness, or chakra exhaustion, Sasuke still lost that eye.
And without the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, Sasuke could only sit at the same table as Naruto who had lost the Nine-Tails.
"I can use Izanagi, but not Izanami," Uchiha Kiyohara replied.
His handsome face was identical to Kiyohara's current appearance, though tinged with a deeper, melancholic aura.
"Once we're back, teach me that and also those Fire Release and Lightning Release techniques," Kiyohara said.
In terms of ninjutsu, he had just inherited one technique as well—the classic Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
It conveniently filled the gap in his lack of Fire Release.
When traveling outdoors, he could even use Fire Release to start a fire.
And against Wind Release users, Fire Release gave him a natural advantage.
Among the five chakra natures, fire countered wind, though it was countered by water.
"That's fine," Uchiha Kiyohara said, agreeing without hesitation.
After that, Kiyohara chose the tallest tree nearby and leapt up.
Standing atop the highest canopy, he gazed out over the lush mountain forest below.
From time to time, plumes of smoke rose—places where battles were unfolding.
The single tomoe in Kiyohara's Sharingan slowly rotated as he observed the movements below.
"Help me locate Rin and Kakashi," Kiyohara asked.
With each additional tomoe, the Sharingan's base abilities increased.
A three-tomoe Sharingan's dynamic vision and perception far surpassed that of a one-tomoe.
"Alright… let me take a look," Uchiha Kiyohara said.
His spirit rose higher into the air.
In the dim twilight, his Sharingan looked like streaks of red light flashing within his eye sockets, capturing every detail of the terrain.
"I've got their location, they're over there," he said, pointing in a direction.
Kiyohara followed his gaze.
The Sharingan's perception was inferior to the Byakugan, both in clarity and range.
But compared to ordinary human vision, it was an overwhelming advantage.
At last, Kiyohara spotted Kakashi and Rin.
He also saw Kurenai, Genma, Ebisu, Might Guy, and seven or eight other Konoha shinobi escorting a group of medical Rin in another direction.
Meanwhile, Kakashi and Rin were fighting as they retreated, with Mist shinobi and Mist ANBU relentlessly pursuing them from behind.
"This doesn't look good," Kiyohara muttered.
Kakashi continuously hurled kunai tied with explosive tags, trying to slow the pursuers.
BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions briefly blocked the Mist shinobi—but soon, footsteps echoed from the opposite side of the forest.
They were surrounded.
"They've caught up again…" Kakashi said, shielding Rin behind him.
"Rin, don't be afraid. If we keep moving, reinforcements will arrive. We're almost back at the camp," Kakashi reassured her.
He was afraid Rin might give up, so he deliberately spoke of hope.
But the Mist ANBU and shinobis seemed tireless, endlessly chasing them down.
Kakashi's chakra and stamina were steadily draining.
"The White Fang's son? That's all you've got!"
A Mist ANBU formed hand seals and unleashed a barrage of water bullets forward.
Water Release: Water Hail!
Kakashi's two-tomoe Sharingan tracked the bullets' trajectories through the air, knocking them all aside with his kunai.
As soon as that ANBU finished his technique, another stepped in.
A whip of flowing water formed in his hand and lashed toward Kakashi.
Water Release: Water Flow Whip!
Kakashi blocked it once again, but the ANBU immediately retreated a step, clearly intending to wear him down.
Kakashi realized this as well, his expression beneath the black mask growing heavy.
"Kakashi…" Rin whispered.
Watching him protect her, guilt flooded her heart.
She felt like nothing but a burden.
It was always like this—she always got captured, always needed others to save her.
It had been the same at Kannabi Bridge.
If she hadn't been a medical shinobi, but a combat-oriented one, maybe she wouldn't have been taken.
Then Kakashi, Kiyohara, and Obito wouldn't have had to risk their lives for her.
"I'm… so weak…"
Rin truly felt it.
If only she were stronger.
But now, it seemed Kakashi would die here alongside her.
There were at least thirty Mist shinobi surrounding them—and another thirty Mist ANBU.
Even an elite jonin would struggle to escape such a force.
They had become birds trapped in a cage.
Rin realized this with deep despair.
Figures of Mist shinobi slowly emerged from both ends of the forest.
At their head stood a tall man carrying a pair of strangely shaped swords on his back.
He had thick lips, dark skin, and a rare head of green hair.
"Finally caught you."
The man raised his hand, and the bandages wrapped around the twin blades were torn apart inch by inch, revealing their true form beneath.
Crack.
The blades of the twin swords merely brushed against each other, yet a surge of electricity erupted between them.
The electric arc illuminated the dim mountain forest—and also lit up Kakashi's pale face.
"Lightning Blade… Fang…"
Kakashi recognized the weapon at once.
"You are… Raiga Kurosuki."
"Exactly."
Raiga laughed, his laughter echoing through the forest.
"Thank you for helping us complete the final adjustments to the Jinchūriki. As repayment, I'll make sure you die a little more pleasantly with me personally seeing you off to your grave."
He lifted the bizarre twin blades, clashing them together as a crackling arc of lightning shot straight toward Kakashi.
Relying on the dynamic vision of his Sharingan, Kakashi barely managed to dodge the attack.
"So, you've transplanted an Uchiha's Sharingan, huh?"
Raiga glanced at Kakashi's mismatched eyes of one red, one black and let out a light chuckle.
So, what if he had a two-tomoe Sharingan?
He began smashing the twin blades together repeatedly, one electric arc after another snapping and crackling, scorching the air until a burnt smell spread throughout the forest.
...
"Kakashi won't be able to hold out much longer."
After watching for only a few seconds, Kiyohara could already tell that Kakashi had fallen into a disadvantage.
That was only natural. Along the way, Kakashi had been fighting almost nonstop; the fact that he could last this long was already impressive.
"Then…"
Kiyohara raised his arm, chakra pouring out through the meridians in his hand as invisible magnetic forces surged outward.
From the gourd at his waist, iron sand streamed toward his palm, condensing into a spindle-shaped projectile.
The wind stirred by it sent Kiyohara's long hair whipping wildly, like a mass of black flames dancing in the air.
Crackle!
The densely packed iron sand triggered pale-blue electric arcs.
Generally speaking, the training of any elemental ninjutsu could be divided into three stages.
The first stage was strengthening chakra nature transformation.
For example, wind release involved infusing wind chakra into a leaf until it was sliced apart.
Kiyohara's Magnet Release similarly focused on repeatedly refining and controlling the nature of "magnetism."
The second stage was increasing the instantaneous output of chakra.
Kakashi's Chidori, for instance, activated the cells in his arm in an instant, allowing them to accommodate far more lightning chakra and pushing the output to an astonishing level.
However, such an excessive amount of chakra could just as easily injure the user themselves.
The third stage was fusion with the technique, bringing the jutsu under perfect control.
At present, Kiyohara's "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Projectile" had reached this stage.
Layer upon layer of overlapping talents caused his spiritual energy to rise continuously.
As a result, his focus sharpened, his perception of fine details improved, and his chakra control increased accordingly.
As more and more chakra was infused, the iron sand projectile expanded further, circular coils of iron sand forming around it.
When Kiyohara felt his chakra consumption was nearly sufficient—
Hiss!
A black streak of light shot forward, accompanied by a sonic boom that shattered the air as it flew into the distance.
Driven by electromagnetic force and Kiyohara's amplified chakra output, the electromagnetic projectile traveling at three times the speed of sound crossed the vast distance in only a few seconds.
...
Just seconds before Kiyohara fired the projectile, neither Raiga nor Kakashi had any idea that someone several kilometers away had launched a sniper attack.
At that moment, Raiga was savoring the thrill of the hunt.
Back then, the White Fang of Konoha had chased them like dogs, now it was time to collect that debt from the White Fang's son!
"Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Strike!"
Raiga prepared to unleash his signature technique.
BOOM!
A gigantic pillar of lightning more than three meters in diameter descended from the heavens, striking directly at Kakashi's position.
Even before the lightning arrived, the violent ionization made Kakashi's hair stand on end, his skin prickling with numbing pain.
There was no way to dodge it!
Alarms blared wildly in Kakashi's mind.
In his current condition, escape was impossible.
Gritting his teeth, Kakashi prepared to take it head-on.
At the very least, in the final moment, he would do what he could for Rin.
He would uphold the promise he had made with Obito!
But just as the lightning pillar was about to strike—
A spindle-shaped projectile drew closer and closer.
One thousand meters. Five hundred meters. One hundred meters…
Then, in the next instant, the wind roared.
Squch!
A spray of blood burst forth, splattering across Raiga's face.
The right hand that had been gripping his blade was gone.
The lightning release technique he had just unleashed instantly dissipated.
The sudden stench of blood left Raiga stunned for a brief moment.
Wait… where's my hand?
Dazed, he turned his head, only to see that his arm had been blasted into minced flesh, while one of the Kiba swords was hanging from a tree dozens of meters away.
It wasn't just Raiga who failed to react in time.
Facing him, Kakashi and Rin were equally frozen.
So too were all the Mist shinobi and ANBU present.
Aside from a small number of shinobi who had honed their bodies to an extreme degree, most shinobi were fragile enough that a single stab from a kunai could be fatal.
Caught off guard by Kiyohara's ambush, they naturally had no chance to respond.
Even Six Paths Madara would have had his heart ripped out cleanly if ambushed by Black Zetsu.
After all, "sensory perception" was an active ability, no one would casually be alert for a ninjutsu attack coming from several kilometers away.
"Someone's attacking us!"
The intense pain was what snapped Raiga out of his stupor. He raised the Kiba blade in his left hand and ordered the Kirigakure forces to go on alert.
"At this distance, the accuracy still isn't perfect."
Kiyohara's Sharingan stared at Raiga in the distance.
He had originally intended to blow the man's head clean off.
The Sharingan's vision was incredibly powerful with three-tomoe Sasuke could see Deidara's nanobombs, and Sasuke's daughter could even see viruses in the air.
Even with just a single tomoe, Kiyohara's vision felt like looking through an eight-times scope.
"Looks like it's my turn to enter the field."
Kiyohara closed his Sharingan and used the repulsive force beneath his feet together with the Leaf Body Flicker Technique to close the distance at high speed.
As he flashed forward, his figure resembled a streak of black lightning.
"He's coming!"
A sensory-type Mist shinobi shouted in warning.
Someone capable of disabling Raiga's arm with a long-range technique was a threat no one could afford to ignore.
Kiyohara's figure drew closer and closer.
Squch!
A head soared into the air.
With a single slash, Kiyohara decapitated a Mist shinobi, the swing of his blade even stirring up a shallow wave of air.
What followed was like watching a wolf plunge into a flock of sheep.
Every time Kiyohara flickered, another life vanished.
"M-monster…"
"This guy is way too fast!"
The remaining Mist shinobi and ANBU were instantly shaken to the core.
Only when Kiyohara paused briefly to catch his breath did Kakashi and Rin finally realize—it was Kiyohara!
"Kiyohara… he's gotten even stronger…"
To Rin, Kiyohara seemed far stronger than he had been just a month ago.
It felt as though she and Kiyohara existed on entirely different timelines, flowing at different speeds.
Every time she saw him, he had changed dramatically.
There was a word that seemed tailor-made for him—
Genius.
"Kiyohara, you're here."
Only then did Kakashi find the spare strength to shove a soldier pill into his mouth.
"Be careful," Kiyohara said.
He looked at the Mist shinobi and ANBU steadily closing in, roughly fifty or sixty of them.
Drawing his shinobi blade, he coated it with iron sand so fine it was like dust, extending the weapon's reach.
"An Uchiha brat? No… wait—you're not from the Uchiha clan."
Raiga looked at Kiyohara's black hair and naturally imposing presence, mistaking him for an Uchiha at first glance.
After all, Uchiha shinobi, aside from the Sharingan, had another core specialization—
Drip Release.
They paid constant attention to their presence and aura.
"That doesn't matter," Kiyohara said calmly, raising his blade.
"What matters is that you should get lost now."
"Arrogant! Do you think you're an Uchiha?!"
Raiga laughed furiously, lifting the Kiba Blade with his left hand and pointing it at Kiyohara.
"You're just a brat who got cocky after landing a sneak attack. What are you being so arrogant for?"
He stared at Kiyohara's face.
He remembered it.
Back at the ruins of Uzushiogakure, when he was being chased by Might Duy.
They had passed by a retreating Konoha unit back then, casually glancing over the crowd and Kiyohara had been among them.
At that time, Kiyohara could only look up at him.
And now he dared to challenge him?
"What's your name? I remember the names of those I kill."
Raiga tightened his grip on the hilt as faint arcs of electricity danced around it.
"I don't tell my name to the dead."
"Hmph!"
Raiga instantly crossed a distance of ten meters.
Kiyohara stepped forward, meeting him head-on with his blade.
Clang!
The blades collided, sparks and lightning exploding from the point of impact.
Raiga's pupils shrank.
What monstrous strength!
And this kid's movements… they're too fast!
In his vision, every one of Kiyohara's actions was terrifyingly precise.
Suddenly, Kiyohara twisted his blade.
The iron sand shinobi blade softened instantly, dissolving into countless grains of iron that lashed out like a whip, coiling around Kiba Blade.
Raiga's expression changed, this iron sand sword had no fixed shape at all!
He hurriedly pulled back to retreat, but the iron sand clung to him like a shadow, creeping along the blade toward his arm.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Armor!"
Crackle!
Violent lightning burst from his body, blasting the iron sand away.
But in that very instant, Kiyohara had already closed in.
His right hand opened, fingers spread, palm aimed directly at Raiga's chest.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique."
Buzz!
A highly compressed wind blade erupted at point-blank range.
Raiga was blasted away once more, this time smashing straight through a rock wall, his entire body embedded deep into the mountainside.
(End of Chapter)