What kind of form Kiyohara would ultimately take was something even he himself could not determine.
An ultimate lifeform?
After all, in theory, there had never been a living creature capable of completely adapting to the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts, senjutsu, and various bloodlines all at once.
Kiyohara alone possessed two bloodlines originating from the Sacred Lands.
That meant he already possessed factors associated with longevity and an extended lifespan.
And if all the various advantages he possessed were stacked together, Kiyohara essentially had the chakra of the One through Ninth Tailed Beasts, plus the Ten-Tails itself, giving him the chakra reserves of ten Tailed Beasts in total.
Even Kaguya had only been the jinchuriki of a single Ten-Tails.
Kiyohara closed his eyes and quietly sensed the changes taking place within his body.
The power left behind by Red-Horned Kiyohara had already been completely integrated into his network of meridians.
Ever since he defeated Toneri's father, Kiyohara had been able to sense a faint, almost imperceptible connection between himself and the Golden Tenseigan in the moon.
It was an extremely weak connection, like a thin thread stretching across an enormous distance, barely perceptible yet somehow tethered to his eyes.
Kiyohara opened his eyes.
Deep within his pitch-black pupils, a faint light-blue ring flashed for an instant before disappearing without a trace.
"The embryonic stage... it has progressed another step."
He muttered quietly to himself.
Toneri's father's final attack had indeed been extremely powerful.
At the instant Kiyohara had taken that attack head-on, he could feel as though something had stimulated his eyeballs. The embryonic development that had previously remained dormant had suddenly become violent and intense.
Now, the throbbing had subsided, but that faint sense of movement deep within his eyes had not disappeared.
Kiyohara withdrew his thoughts and began dealing with the aftermath of the battle.
After returning to Konoha, the door to the office was pushed open.
Tsunade walked inside. Her long blonde hair was somewhat disheveled, with several strands hanging loosely beside her ears. It was obvious that she had hurried over from the gambling hall.
There was still a faint smell of alcohol lingering on her, but there was not the slightest trace of drunkenness in her brown-golden eyes.
"I heard you got into a fight with someone outside the village. What happened?"
Her gaze swept over Kiyohara from head to toe. When she saw the several tears in his robes caused by the violent shock waves, her brows furrowed even more deeply.
She walked up to Kiyohara, reached out, and pulled open his collar to check whether he had suffered any injuries to his chest.
Kiyohara allowed her to examine him without resistance and said, "It was someone from the Moon."
"The Moon?"
Tsunade froze.
Her eyes widened, and her face was filled with disbelief.
"There are actually people living on the Moon?"
"Yes."
Kiyohara nodded.
"There have always been people living on the Moon. They are descendants of Otsutsuki Hagoromo's younger brother, Otsutsuki Hamura. Their ancestors migrated to the Moon a thousand years ago. This time, they came down because they were looking for a suitable wife for one of their descendants."
Tsunade needed quite a long time to digest everything he had just said.
She released Kiyohara's collar, sat down in a chair, and rubbed her temples.
"There are people living on the Moon... descendants of Hamura... looking for a wife?"
"Are you sure you're not joking?"
"I'm not."
Kiyohara sat down in another chair and poured himself a cup of tea.
He took a sip before briefly recounting his confrontation with Toneri and his father.
He omitted the part about his own resonance with the Moon and merely explained that his opponent had called upon a certain weapon on the Moon to attack him, which he had blocked using his Susanoo Great Buddha. In the end, his opponent had lost an arm and fled.
Tsunade remained silent for a long time after hearing the story.
"How strong was he?"
"Very strong. If he hadn't lost his support at the final moment, it would have been difficult to say who would have won."
Kiyohara answered honestly.
"The power of the Golden Tenseigan is indeed extraordinary. It is practically like an orbital cannon, capable of striking wherever it is aimed."
After all, that was a power capable of pushing or even destroying an entire planet.
Tsunade sighed.
"The shinobi world is becoming more and more unstable. First the Akatsuki, and now people from the Moon. What will appear next? The Sage of Six Paths himself?"
"Who knows?"
Kiyohara spread his hands.
In the future, the Sage of Six Paths himself really would appear.
However, certain conditions had to be fulfilled first.
"Sensei, you don't need to worry about these things. I'll take care of them."
Kiyohara reassured her.
He did not continue the subject. Instead, he put down his teacup and stood up.
"I'm going to take a bath and change my clothes. Do you want to come with me, Sensei?"
A faint blush appeared on Tsunade's cheeks, but she did not refuse.
She stood up and followed Kiyohara toward the resting room behind the office.
...
Meanwhile, at the border of the Land of Fire, deep within a certain mountain range...
On the other side, Toneri and his father, who had been severely injured by Kiyohara, had already left Konoha far behind.
The bandage around Toneri's father's severed arm had already been replaced with a clean one, but his complexion was still pale.
Toneri walked beside him on his left, afraid that his father might collapse at any moment.
After witnessing Kiyohara's terrifying strength and seeing how drastically the shinobi world had changed, the father and son did not immediately return to the Moon.
"Father, should we return to the Moon?"
Toneri asked.
"No."
Toneri's father shook his head.
"If we return now, we may expose the passage between the Moon and Earth. We need to make sure that no one is following us. Let's find a safe place first."
He raised his head and looked toward the endless mountain ranges in the distance.
Although he had lost his Byakugan, his sensory abilities remained intact.
There were several places deep within these mountains that would be very suitable for hiding.
Furthermore, the changes in the world below had far exceeded his expectations. Toneri's father intended to travel around the shinobi world for a while and see what this place had truly become.
The two continued forward.
After walking for approximately an hour, Toneri's father's footsteps suddenly stopped.
He immediately moved Toneri behind him, raised his head, and stared toward the forest ahead.
"Come out."
A spatial vortex appeared at the edge of the forest.
The vortex slowly expanded as it rotated, and a figure stepped out from within.
A tiger-patterned mask.
A black cloak decorated with red clouds.
A pair of crimson Sharingan.
Obito stood at the edge of the forest, staring at the father and son before him.
Another figure stood behind him.
Pain.
"We are the Akatsuki. I know that you have a grudge against Kiyohara of Konoha. We do as well. Why don't you join us and work together to overthrow this rotten shinobi world?"
Obito spoke calmly.
Toneri's father's expression immediately darkened.
He was already furious.
He had just been brutally beaten by Kiyohara, and his injuries had not even fully recovered. Now, a group of ignorant shinobi from the lower world had blocked his path and were even asking him to lower himself by joining some unknown organization.
"Who are you?"
Toneri's father asked coldly.
"Who I am isn't important."
Obito took a step forward.
"What matters is that we can cooperate. You come from the Moon and possess tremendous power. We have a common enemy, the Hokage of Konoha. If you are willing to join the Akatsuki, we can..."
Before he could finish speaking, Toneri's father interrupted him with a cold laugh.
"Cooperate? You?"
Toneri's father looked down on Obito and the others completely.
In his eyes, everything in the lower world was merely struggling to survive.
Once Toneri reached adulthood and obtained a suitable Byakugan, he would be able to obtain the Tenseigan.
With that power, they would be able to destroy the failed world created by the Sage of Six Paths and create a new world of peace.
"It seems you still haven't realized your situation."
Obito frowned.
He could clearly sense the arrogance radiating from his opponent.
But the other party, just like himself, had been unable to defeat Kiyohara.
So what right did he have to be arrogant?
"You go."
Obito looked toward Nagato.
When it came to offensive techniques, Nagato was more skilled than him.
"An ignorant insect that doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."
Toneri's father snorted coldly.
The chakra surrounding his body suddenly surged violently.
He could not be bothered to waste another word.
He raised his hand and fired a highly concentrated cannon of compressed air directly toward Obito and Pain.
The two sides immediately clashed.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Pain extended one hand.
An invisible repulsive force field spread outward from Pain as its center.
The invisible repulsive force exploded with tremendous force and collided violently with the compressed air cannon.
A violent shock wave swept across the surrounding area.
The ground instantly cracked, countless web-like fissures spreading across the earth.
"It had no effect..."
Nagato, who was hiding in the distance and controlling Pain, frowned.
He immediately severed the chakra connections to his other puppets and concentrated all of his chakra into on Pain.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A far more enormous shock wave erupted outward.
Seeing this, Obito immediately activated Kamui to avoid being caught in the blast.
Toneri's father, however, was not so fortunate.
He immediately responded.
A blue chakra barrier formed around his body, but the power of Shinra Tensei far exceeded his expectations.
The barrier lasted only a brief moment before shattering with a thunderous explosion.
The remaining repulsive force sent his entire body flying backward, smashing violently into the mountain wall behind him.
Rocks shattered.
Dust filled the air.
Toneri climbed to his feet and immediately ran toward his father.
But the instant he took a step, Obito's figure appeared in front of him.
That crimson Sharingan looked down at him.
"As expected. You were injured during your battle with Kiyohara."
Obito extended one hand toward Toneri.
"You're asking for death!"
Toneri's father once again established a connection with the 'Golden Tenseigan' on the Moon and regained complete authority over its power.
Just as Obito's fingers were about to touch Toneri's collar, a pillar of light descended from the heavens.
A pure-white torrent of light scorched the surrounding air until it twisted and distorted. Wherever the light touched, rocks melted and trees were instantly reduced to ash.
Obito's Sharingan caught the danger at that very moment.
He abandoned his attempt to seize Toneri and immediately activated Kamui.
His body disappeared into a spatial vortex.
Pain, however, was not so fortunate.
The white pillar of light struck him directly.
In that instant, his body was completely swallowed by the white radiance.
Not even ashes remained.
Meanwhile, Nagato, who was hiding nearby and controlling Pain, was also affected.
The pillar of light covered an area far larger than expected, and Nagato barely managed to escape its range.
He had concentrated most of his chakra into Pain, so this large-scale attack caught him completely off guard.
"Cough..."
Nagato barely reached the edge of the blast before blood poured from his mouth.
A large mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
His body crashed heavily onto the ground, and most of his internal organs had already been shattered by the attack.
Toneri's father stood on higher ground.
The bandages covering the stump of his severed left arm had already been blown apart by the shock waves.
Blood flowed down from his remaining right arm and gathered into a small pool on the ground.
He gasped heavily for breath.
"Father!"
Toneri ran over and supported his father's swaying body.
"Go."
Toneri's father spoke in a deep voice.
He took one last look in the direction where Obito had disappeared.
Then, with one arm around Toneri, he leaped into the air.
The two figures transformed into two streaks of white light and disappeared into the distant sky.
The forest gradually fell silent again.
All that remained on the ground was a massive crater left behind by the white pillar of light.
A spatial vortex appeared.
Obito's figure stepped out from within it.
He stood at the edge of the crater and lowered his head, staring at the scorched earth at the bottom.
The expression beneath his mask was extremely ugly.
Again.
It had happened again.
Yet another power far beyond the level of conventional ninjutsu.
First there had been Kiyohara's Mangekyo Sharingan and Wood Release.
Now there were the Tenseigan possessed by this father and son from the Moon, along with that terrifying white pillar of light.
Damn it!
Why were there so many powerful people in the shinobi world?
Black Zetsu slowly emerged from the shadow behind him.
"We failed."
Obito could hear the wariness in Black Zetsu's voice.
"Those people from the Moon are actually this powerful."
This was also Black Zetsu's first time fighting someone from the Moon.
In the past, the Otsutsuki living on the Moon had rarely interfered with the affairs of the shinobi world.
Black Zetsu had never imagined that they possessed such terrifying power.
"Power at this level is no longer something a single member can deal with."
Black Zetsu continued.
"We need more pawns. More manpower. If those people from the Moon cannot be brought over to our side, then they must be dealt with as quickly as possible."
He absolutely did not want anyone interfering with his plans.
"You saw it yourself. He destroyed Pain with a single attack."
Obito shook his head.
Black Zetsu remained silent for a while before speaking.
"Take Nagato and leave first. We cannot afford to lose the Rinnegan."
Obito nodded.
His figure disappeared once again into the spatial vortex.
The next day.
The Land of Rain.
Nagato lay on a bed.
His abdomen was wrapped tightly in layers of bandages, but blood was still slowly seeping through them.
His complexion was as pale as paper, and there was not the slightest trace of color remaining on his lips.
Yahiko stood in front of him, holding a sheet of paper that he had just finished writing.
"I've already notified Konan."
Yahiko spoke as he looked at the wound on Nagato's abdomen, his brows tightly furrowed.
"That guy was far too ruthless. He didn't just destroy a large portion of Nagato's internal organs. He also left some of his chakra inside the wounds, and the medical ninjutsu of our medical shinobi has no way of removing it."
"It was my carelessness."
Nagato looked at Yahiko.
Although the two of them had their disagreements, the moment Yahiko learned that Nagato had been seriously injured, he had rushed here immediately.
That gesture caused a warm feeling to rise in Nagato's heart.
Yahiko folded the letter carefully and placed it inside the leg ring of a shinobi crow.
The shinobi crow spread its wings, flew into the curtain of rain, and headed in the direction of Konoha.
...…
Konoha.
The Hokage's office.
When Konan pushed open the door, Kiyohara was in the middle of reviewing documents.
He raised his head.
The moment he saw the expression on Konan's face, he immediately put down the pen in his hand.
"What happened?"
"Nagato is seriously injured."
Konan walked over to the desk and placed Yahiko's letter on it.
Kiyohara picked up the letter and glanced over it.
The handwriting was extremely hurried and messy, clearly written under emergency circumstances.
Nagato had suffered severe internal injuries, and the residual chakra inside his body could not be removed. His condition was critical.
Kiyohara had already guessed why Nagato had been so seriously injured.
There was really only one possibility.
Nagato must have gone to make contact with the Otsutsuki father and son.
Otherwise, there were not many people in the shinobi world who could leave Nagato in such a miserable state.
Kiyohara was not surprised by this outcome.
Although Toneri's father had been severely injured by him, given the physical constitution of the Otsutsuki clan, it was not strange for him to recover part of his combat strength after a short period of rest.
Furthermore, the greatest advantage possessed by the Otsutsuki father and son was that they could control the Golden Tenseigan.
This was not an ordinary Tenseigan.
According to the description in the official wiki, the Golden Tenseigan had a diameter of twenty meters.
It was filled with countless Byakugan and the chakra of Hamura.
How could an ordinary Rinnegan possibly contend against something like that?
Moreover, Nagato was incapable of displaying the true power of the Rinnegan.
Only Madara himself could truly bring out the full power of the Rinnegan.
"Can you save him?"
Konan looked at Kiyohara, her voice filled with pleading.
"I can save him."
Kiyohara answered without hesitation.
Konan raised her head.
A glimmer of hope appeared in her blue eyes.
"But..."
Kiyohara's tone suddenly changed.
"Konan, I've helped you so many times. Don't you think I deserve some kind of compensation?"
Konan's body stiffened slightly.
She looked at Kiyohara's expression and immediately understood what he meant.
After spending so much time with Kiyohara, she understood his personality better than almost anyone.
This man never helped someone for free.
"You..."
Konan bit her lip.
She lowered her head, and her short blue hair covered half of her face, leaving only the tips of her ears visible. They had already turned faintly red.
"...I can fulfill one request of yours."
Konan nodded.
Kiyohara stood up and walked over to her.
He raised his hand and placed it on Konan's shoulder.
In the next instant, the figures of the two disappeared from the office.
Amegakure.
"Kiyohara!"
There was a clear sense of relief in Yahiko's voice.
Kiyohara did not bother with pleasantries.
He walked directly to Nagato and raised his right hand.
A layer of emerald-green chakra appeared in the palm of his hand.
The penetrating vision of the Byakugan had already seen through the bandages and clearly revealed Nagato's condition.
A large portion of his internal organs had been destroyed.
The residual Tenseigan chakra was embedded throughout his flesh like countless fine needles, preventing the wounds from healing.
"Your injuries are severe."
Kiyohara spoke as his gaze fell upon Nagato's abdomen, his brows drawing together slightly.
There were traces of Hashirama's cells inside Nagato's body.
At this moment, those Hashirama cells were engaged in an intense conflict with the residual Tenseigan chakra, making Nagato's injuries even more complicated.
The Hashirama cells wanted to devour the Tenseigan chakra.
The Tenseigan chakra was fighting back.
The two forces were engaged in a fierce struggle inside Nagato's body, completely ignoring whether their host could withstand the conflict.
"Can you heal me?"
Nagato asked.
"Yes."
Kiyohara raised his right hand.
The green chakra in his palm became even denser.
He pressed his palm against the wound on Nagato's abdomen.
Yang Release chakra seeped into Nagato's network of meridians and began peeling away the remnants of Tenseigan chakra layer by layer.
The Tenseigan chakra possessed a subtle similarity to a certain power within Kiyohara's own body.
Every time Kiyohara's chakra came into contact with the residual chakra, a tiny resonance would occur.
Kiyohara could clearly sense that the residual chakra was gradually being devoured by his own chakra.
This was an unexpected gain.
Kiyohara continued the treatment.
Before long, he had separated the fragments of Nagato's destroyed internal organs from the surrounding flesh.
He then used Yang Release chakra to stimulate the growth of new tissue.
At the same time, he separated another portion of his chakra and used it to suppress the rampaging Hashirama cells within Nagato's body, forcing them back into the network of meridians surrounding the area where they had been transplanted.
After a while, Kiyohara finally withdrew his hand.
"Done."
Kiyohara straightened up and shook the remaining traces of blood from his fingers.
"The residual chakra has been completely removed, and your internal organs have been repaired. However, you've lost far too much strength. From now on, you'll need to rest for quite a long time."
Nagato gasped heavily for breath.
His face, which had previously been as pale as paper, had finally regained a trace of color.
His breathing had also become much steadier.
He raised his hand and touched his abdomen.
Beneath the bandages, the skin had already healed almost completely, leaving behind only a shallow scar.
"All right."
Nagato nodded.
Yahiko stepped forward and extended his hand toward Kiyohara.
"Thank you so much, Kiyohara. If it weren't for you, Nagato might have..."
"You don't need to thank me."
Kiyohara shook Yahiko's hand.
"Nagato is my partner. Saving him is only natural."
His gaze lingered on Yahiko's face for a moment.
Just like in the anime, there were ideological differences between Yahiko and Nagato.
Yahiko advocated using peaceful methods to change the Land of Rain, while after experiencing far too many betrayals, Nagato had become more inclined to use force to intimidate the various nations.
But at least in the face of Nagato's injuries, those disagreements had temporarily been set aside.
Konan stood to the side.
Her tense shoulders finally relaxed.
Kiyohara remained in the hospital room for several more minutes, carefully observing Nagato.
Only after confirming that the flow of Nagato's chakra had completely returned to normal did he open the door and walk out.
'My Byakugan seems to have absorbed some of that chakra.'
Kiyohara pondered quietly.
He had absorbed a portion of the chakra contained within the Golden Tenseigan.
He wondered whether this would accelerate the development of his own eyes.
At that moment, footsteps came from behind him.
Kiyohara turned around.
Konan had followed him out of the room.
She walked up to him and stopped.
She raised her head, her blue eyes meeting his.
"Thank you."
Her voice was not as cold and distant as usual.
Kiyohara looked at her, the corners of his lips curling upward slightly.
"Just 'thank you'? We had an agreement, remember."
Konan's eyelashes trembled.
"You..."
Konan bit her lip.
Her blue eyes shifted to the side, and she did not dare to meet Kiyohara's gaze directly.
"...What do you want?"
Kiyohara did not answer.
He simply took one step forward, reducing the distance between them until only a single step remained.
Konan could feel his breath.
"Konan."
Kiyohara spoke.
"You know what I want."
Kiyohara had always considered Konan to be one of the most attractive women in the world of Naruto.
Although she had the appearance of an elegant and beautiful woman, she also wore a lip piercing and a navel piercing, creating a striking contrast between her dignified appearance and her somewhat daring style.
However, in terms of personality, Konan was actually quite conservative.
It was simply her appearance and manner of dressing that were somewhat more daring.
Konan's body stiffened slightly.
She raised her head.
Kiyohara's face was reflected in her eyes.
"Just this once."
Konan spoke softly.
Kiyohara raised one hand and placed it against the wall.
Konan instinctively closed her eyes.
Her long eyelashes trembled faintly.
Then Kiyohara lowered his head and kissed her.
Kiyohara could feel her hand gripping the fabric at his waist.
Her lips parted slightly, leaving a small gap, but she did not go any further.
After a long moment, Konan gently pushed him away.
She brushed her fingertips across her lower lip.
Her breathing was somewhat uneven.
"No tongue."
Konan's voice had returned to its usual coolness.
"I understand."
Kiyohara looked at her stern little face and answered with a smile.
Konan turned her face away.
Her short blue hair covered half of her face, leaving only her ears visible.
They were so red that they almost seemed translucent.
She took a deep breath and suppressed the heart that was beating wildly and without rhythm inside her chest.
Then she turned around and walked toward the other end of the corridor.
After taking several steps, she stopped again without turning around.
"I'm going to check on Nagato."
After saying that, she continued walking.
Her footsteps echoed through the corridor, moving several beats faster than usual.
The heels of her boots tapped against the stone floor, producing a rapid series of clicks.
Kiyohara leaned against the wall and watched the blue figure disappear around the corner of the corridor.
So this was something Konan could accept after all?
Once Konan was out of Kiyohara's line of sight, she leaned against the wall at the corner of the corridor and raised her hands to cover her face.
She closed her eyes and tried to calm her emotions.
When she opened her eyes again, they had already regained their usual cool composure.
However, the blush on her cheeks had not completely disappeared.
"Kiyohara!"
A voice suddenly came from the other end of the corridor.
Konan turned around and saw Yahiko walking toward her in large strides.
His orange hair had been slightly dampened by the rain, and his face carried an obvious expression of relief.
After Nagato's condition had stabilized, Yahiko had relaxed considerably.
"Why are you here?"
Yahiko stopped in front of Konan.
His gaze swept across her face before suddenly stopping.
"Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"
"I'm fine."
Konan quickly restored her usual cold expression and raised a hand to tuck the strands of hair hanging beside her temple behind her ear.
"It's just... a little stuffy in here. How is Nagato?"
"He's asleep."
Yahiko still looked at Konan for another moment.
"Are you really all right?"
"I'm fine."
Konan shook her head.
Seeing this, Yahiko did not question her further.
He leaned against the wall and stood beside Konan.
The two of them looked toward the gray curtain of rain outside the window at the end of the corridor.
Yahiko sighed.
"We have Kiyohara to thank for this."
"Nagato's injuries were far too serious. Without him, there was no way our medical ninjutsu could have dealt with that residual chakra."
"Mm."
Konan quietly acknowledged his words.
Yahiko turned his head toward her.
"I'm going to make some soup for Nagato. Can you stay here and keep watch for a while?"
"Okay."
Konan nodded.
Yahiko turned around and headed toward the stairs.
His footsteps gradually disappeared beneath the sound of the rain.
Konan shook her head forcefully, trying to drive all those chaotic thoughts out of her mind.
"Damn Kiyohara..."
She buried her face in her palms and muttered resentfully.
...…
Half a month later.
Konoha.
Training Ground Three.
Itachi stood in the open field, holding a practice kunai.
His dark eyes were fixed on the targets ten meters in front of him.
The targets were made from bundles of straw.
There were ten of them in total, arranged in a fan-shaped formation across the training ground.
A red circle had been painted at the center of each target.
Itachi took a deep breath.
His left hand reached into his shinobi tool pouch.
At the same time, the tips of his fingers drew out four shuriken.
His wrist flicked.
Four shuriken flew from his hand.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Four crisp metallic impacts rang out almost simultaneously.
All four shuriken had landed precisely within the red circles at the centers of their respective targets.
The kunai in Itachi's right hand spun once around his palm before he released it.
The kunai flew through the air and collided with three of the shuriken.
The impacts altered their trajectories.
The three shuriken changed direction in midair and struck three different targets.
Every single one hit the center.
Kiyohara stood behind him.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly.
Itachi's talent was not limited to genjutsu. His skill with shurikenjutsu was equally astonishing.
In the anime, even when he was only five or six years old, he was already capable of using shuriken to simultaneously strike multiple targets positioned in blind spots. That kind of spatial awareness and precision was something even many jonin could not accomplish.
However, Itachi's weak points were his physical abilities and the amount of chakra he possessed.
Both of these shortcomings had been supplemented by the Cursed Seal, so Kiyohara did not need to worry too much about them.
"Itachi, you've already mastered shurikenjutsu very well."
Kiyohara walked forward and patted Itachi on the shoulder.
"Today, I'll teach you a new ninjutsu, the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
Itachi's eyes lit up slightly.
"This is the technique that the Third Hokage is particularly skilled at."
Kiyohara took a shuriken from his shinobi tool pouch and held it between his fingers.
"The ordinary Shadow Clone Technique requires a large amount of chakra to create clones, but the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique is different. It applies the principles of the Shadow Clone Technique to the shuriken."
"After a single shuriken is thrown, it can split into countless shuriken while in midair."
He raised his hand and threw the shuriken toward the targets.
When the shuriken had traveled halfway through the air, it suddenly split into dozens of shuriken.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
All ten targets were instantly covered with shuriken.
Each target had at least five or six shuriken embedded in it, creating a dense pattern of blades.
Itachi stared at the targets covered in shuriken, a trace of amazement flashing through his dark eyes.
"The key to this technique is chakra distribution and timing."
Kiyohara continued explaining several important details to Itachi.
Itachi nodded and took a shuriken from his shinobi tool pouch.
The shuriken in his hand flew from his fingertips.
It trembled slightly in midair before splitting into two.
The two shuriken then split into four.
Four shuriken struck the target.
However, only one hit the bullseye.
The other three landed near the edges of the target.
"Not bad."
Kiyohara nodded.
For a first attempt, being able to split the shuriken into four and have most of them hit the target was already an exceptionally rare display of talent.
"You continue practicing here. Izumi, come with me."
Izumi froze for a moment before hurriedly following Kiyohara toward the other side of the training ground.
She held the kunai in her hand somewhat nervously, her peach-shaped eyes secretly glancing at Kiyohara.
What was their sensei going to teach her privately?
"Izumi, your speed and reaction time are among the best of your age group. However, your offensive power is still insufficient. The damage caused by ordinary shinobi tools is limited, and it is too easy for defensive ninjutsu to block them."
Izumi nodded.
A trace of dejection appeared on her little face.
"Therefore, today I'm going to teach you a Lightning Release ninjutsu, Lightning Release: Thunderclap Arrow."
This technique could gather Lightning Release chakra into the user's right hand and then release multiple arrow-shaped bolts of white lightning from the palm to attack an opponent.
Izumi's eyes immediately lit up.
Kiyohara raised his right hand and demonstrated the technique for her.
A tree trunk was instantly pierced through by white lightning.
The edges of the hole were scorched black by the electricity, and heat was still rising from it.
Izumi stared at the hole, her peach-shaped eyes widening.
"That's amazing!"
"Come on. Give it a try."
Kiyohara withdrew his hand and carefully explained to Izumi how to condense Lightning Release chakra, as well as the route the chakra needed to travel through her network of chakra pathways.
He then reached out and placed his hand on Izumi's shoulder.
A small stream of lightning chakra flowed into her body, allowing her to directly experience the sensation of that chakra moving through her meridians.
Izumi closed her eyes and carefully sensed the way the chakra flowed through her body.
After Kiyohara removed his hand, Izumi began attempting to condense Lightning Release chakra herself.
With her Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, her chakra control had also improved considerably.
Several hours later.
Izumi sat on the ground.
A curved streak of lightning slowly dissipated from the palm of her right hand.
The bolt of lightning she had just released had pierced through the trunk of a small tree, leaving behind a small, charred hole.
Although its power was still far inferior to the casual attack Kiyohara had demonstrated, for someone her age, it was already an extraordinary achievement.
"Sensei, I did it!"
She raised her head, her face covered in sweat and a bright smile.
"Very good."
Izumi giggled twice.
Seeing her like this, Kiyohara reminded her of several important precautions regarding her training.
He then left a Shadow Clone behind to continue instructing the two children while he himself headed toward the Forest of Death.
The Forest of Death.
'I've almost completely adapted to the Eight-Tails' chakra.'
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow.
He had adapted to the Eight-Tails' chakra even faster than he had adapted to the Two-Tails' chakra.
Kiyohara extended his hand.
A tentacle condensed from the Eight-Tails' chakra emerged.
The tentacle was approximately as thick as an adult's arm, and its surface was covered with countless tiny suckers.
The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails had been imprisoned in the dungeon for far too long, so Kiyohara had naturally found a way to collect their chakra.
To a certain extent, a Tailed Beast's chakra could materialize into flesh and blood.
That was why Kiyohara had been able to collect their chakra so smoothly.
Kiyohara threw the tentacle into the air.
The tentacle spun several times before falling to the ground.
By the time it landed, it had already transformed into a figure that looked exactly like him.
Eight-Tails Style: Substitution Technique!
Kiyohara walked around the clone once.
Three tomoe appeared in his eyes as his Sharingan activated.
The three tomoe slowly rotated and focused, attempting to identify the difference between the clone and the original body.
The pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan appeared in Kiyohara's eyes as well.
Yet even the Mangekyo Sharingan was unable to distinguish the fake from the real.
"The Eight-Tails' power is indeed interesting."
Kiyohara deactivated his Sharingan, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
The Eight-Tails Style: Substitution Technique was a unique ability of the Eight-Tails.
A clone created from a severed tentacle could not even be distinguished from the real body by the Mangekyo Sharingan.
This kind of clone was different from a Shadow Clone.
It was a physical clone.
Even when attacked, it would not simply disappear.
Its durability was extremely high.
Its only drawback was that creating it required a tentacle to be consumed.
After devouring the Eight-Tails' flesh, Kiyohara had already adapted to the Eight-Tails' chakra.
"At my current level, my chakra reserves should be approaching the combined amount of two Tailed Beasts."
Kiyohara pondered silently.
His original chakra reserves had already far exceeded those of ordinary Tailed Beasts.
After continuously devouring the flesh of the Three-Tails and Eight-Tails, his chakra reserves had increased by another considerable amount.
The only limitation was the speed at which his body could adapt.
After continuously devouring the chakra of the Three-Tails and Eight-Tails, Kiyohara's body had developed a strange feeling of fullness.
He needed to allow his cells to completely digest the power they had already absorbed before he could continue devouring the chakra of another Tailed Beast.
That was why his adaptation to the Two-Tails had been somewhat slower.
Kiyohara guessed that this was a manifestation of his physical body rapidly evolving.
Every time he consumed a new source of power, the maximum amount of chakra his cells could contain would change.
His cells needed time to adapt to those changes.
Once he had completely digested the power of the Eight-Tails and Three-Tails, this feeling of fullness would disappear.
At that point, he would be able to continue devouring the chakra of the other Tailed Beasts.
He dispelled the Eight-Tails Style: Substitution Technique and continued practicing the Eight-Tails' other abilities.
One week later.
Deep within the Forest of Death.
Kiyohara stood beside a murky stream, holding a kunai in his left hand.
He raised the kunai and aimed it at the wrist of his right hand.
Then he cleanly cut downward.
Crack!
His right hand was severed completely at the wrist.
White bone was exposed at the cut, and blood sprayed violently into the air.
But at the exact moment the blood began to flow, the blood itself wrapped around the severed hand and pulled it back toward the stump.
The bones automatically aligned.
The muscles reconnected.
The skin covered the wound and healed.
Kiyohara moved his newly reattached wrist.
His fingers opened and closed with complete flexibility.
There was not the slightest difference from before he had severed it.
"Regeneration of severed limbs... or rather, reattachment of severed limbs. I've already become extremely proficient at it."
He had been capable of reattaching severed limbs before.
Now, however, the process was even faster.
"At my current level, even if my brain were cut off, it would probably still be very difficult to kill me."
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
The shinobi world possessed souls.
Consciousness resided upon the soul, and after the physical body died, the soul would return to the Pure Land.
However, Kiyohara's physical regenerative ability had already become so powerful that even if his brain were destroyed, he could completely heal it within an extremely short period.
As long as the healing process was fast enough, his soul would not leave his body.
Of course, this was only a theoretical deduction.
He had not yet become crazy enough to actually cut off his own head and use it as an experiment.
However, he had already tested injuries such as being cut in half.
Even if his body was severed at the waist, he could reconnect himself in an extremely short amount of time.
"I still need to strengthen my regenerative abilities further."
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
"The Eight-Tails' Ink Sealing Technique is also worth studying in greater depth. In the future, I can combine it with other fuinjutsu techniques."
He stood up from beside the stream and rolled his shoulders.
Then he headed back toward the village.
The gambling hall.
When Kiyohara pushed open the door to the gambling hall, a wave of noisy sounds immediately crashed over him.
The excited and frustrated cries of gamblers were mixed together, filling the entire place with a chaotic din.
His gaze swept across the gambling hall.
He quickly found Tsunade sitting in a corner.
There were only a pitifully small number of chips left in front of her.
The few remaining chips looked especially miserable compared with the piles that had presumably been there earlier.
"Big again."
The dealer's voice rang out.
The chips were collected.
Tsunade watched helplessly as her last few chips were swept away.
Her entire body slumped into the chair like a deflated balloon.
She was completely different from the confident and spirited woman she had been only moments ago.
"Sensei."
Kiyohara walked up behind her and placed both hands on her shoulders.
"You lost again?"
Tsunade gave a small hum.
"Let's go. I'll buy you a drink."
Tsunade raised her head.
Her lips were slightly pursed, and she looked as though she had suffered an enormous injustice.
Why did she keep losing every single day?
Whenever she was in front of Kiyohara, Tsunade would always reveal another side of herself.
Every time Kiyohara saw her like this, he found it amusing.
Normally, she was one of the legendary Sannin, a majestic figure whose medical ninjutsu stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.
But the moment she entered a gambling hall, she became the goddess of wealth at the gambling table, freely giving away all her money.
Tsunade stood up from the chair, stuffed the few remaining banknotes into her clothes, and followed Kiyohara out of the gambling hall.
The two walked side by side along the streets of Konoha.
The night breeze was slightly cool, blowing away some of the smell of alcohol from Tsunade.
Most of the shops on both sides of the street had already closed.
Only a few izakaya were still lit up.
"Sensei, how is your Wood Release training going?"
Kiyohara asked curiously.
The moment Wood Release was mentioned, Tsunade's expression brightened.
She turned her head, raised her chin slightly, and a somewhat smug smile appeared at the corners of her lips.
"I can already refine Wood Release chakra to a preliminary degree."
A trace of emerald-green light appeared in Tsunade's palm.
"That's fast progress."
Kiyohara praised her.
Although she was still far from the level of the First Hokage's Wood Release, she had awakened it entirely through the revival of her own bloodline.
Yugao and Rin had both received Kiyohara's chakra infusion, but Tsunade was the only one who had awakened Wood Release.
"Of course."
Tsunade lightly elbowed Kiyohara in the arm, a spirited and confident smile appearing on her face.
"Don't you think you should thank me?"
"Thank you for what?"
Kiyohara asked.
Tsunade turned her head toward him, and the smile at the corners of her lips became somewhat teasing.
"Oh? Thank you for what? Thank you for making me work overtime every day, you little brat?"
"Thank my cells. If I hadn't been replenishing your vitality every day, would your Wood Release have awakened this quickly?"
Tsunade's cheeks immediately turned red.
She turned her face away.
Her long golden hair slipped from her shoulder and covered half of her face.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Kiyohara smiled.
He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her slightly closer to him.
From here onward, all Kiyohara needed to do was wait for the new "Last Will."
At the same time, the Dragon Vein could now be tested by sealing it into the container of an artificial Tailed Beast.
Kiyohara had already reached a considerable level of mastery in space-time ninjutsu.
However, when it came down to it, he was truly skilled in spatial ninjutsu.
As for techniques involving time, Kiyohara had not mastered even one.
He was extremely curious.
The chakra of the Dragon Vein was powerful enough to influence time.
So what would happen if he managed to completely master the chakra of the Dragon Vein?
(End of Chapter)