The progress described in the report was going very smoothly.
Kiyohara estimated that, after all these years of leading Konoha, the number of Konoha shinobi had increased considerably. As a result, there were also many more talented shinobi who were capable of becoming jonin.
The current policy happened to be highly beneficial to this group of people.
"Should we establish another rank above jonin as well?"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The term "Elite Jonin" had actually always been a description of strength rather than an official position.
Within the shinobi world, the official ranks consisted only of Genin, Chunin, Special Jonin, Jonin, and Kage.
Kiyohara felt that the gap between jonin and Kage was simply too large. It might be worthwhile to make some adjustments.
Thus, while reading through the report, Kiyohara also took the opportunity to tease and play with Kurenai.
It did not take long before Kurenai straightened her slightly disheveled clothes and left the office with the documents that had already been signed.
Before leaving, she turned around and glared at Kiyohara one more time. Her ruby-like eyes were filled with a mixture of reproach and lingering moisture.
The door gently closed behind her, and the office became quiet once again.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Hokage Tower.
A figure emerged from the cracks between the floorboards, revealing a face that was half black and half white.
"The location of the Four-Tails Jinchūriki has been confirmed."
Black Zetsu began speaking.
"Northeastern Land of Earth, around the volcanic geothermal region of Mt. Enkyū. That old fellow Rōshi has hidden himself inside the belly of an active volcano. He is cultivating there with the help of the lava and the Four-Tails' chakra."
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow slightly.
No wonder Rōshi had been able to develop Lava Release.
"What about the Six-Tails Jinchūriki?"
"We are still tracking Utakata's whereabouts."
Black Zetsu sounded somewhat irritated.
"There is still no definite information about him from Kiri either. However, I have already had White Zetsu spread out and search several locations where he might possibly be hiding. At the latest, we should be able to find him within three days."
"Three days is too long."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"Two days."
Black Zetsu fell silent for a moment.
He instantly realized something.
Kiyohara and Uchiha Madara were both terrible bosses!
Still, Black Zetsu nodded.
"Within two days, I will give you his exact location."
His body gradually melted into the wall and disappeared from sight.
Kiyohara withdrew his gaze.
Jōgan Kiyohara now had only this one remaining will to fulfill. Kiyohara had to complete it before the other Kiyohara completely disappeared.
Not long afterward, the door was pushed open again.
This time, Konan entered.
She was not wearing the standard vest of the Anbu today. Instead, she had changed back into the dark blue cloak of the Akatsuki, though she had added a short gray cloak belonging to Konoha's Anbu over it.
Her short blue hair, which she had not trimmed recently, had grown somewhat longer over the past few months, making her neck appear even more slender.
She placed the folder in her hand on the desk.
"This month's Anbu mission summary."
Konan's voice was as cool and calm as ever.
"The patrol team in the eastern district discovered three abnormal chakra fluctuations along the border. People have already been dispatched to investigate. Also, a message came from the Land of Rain. Nagato is almost out of his old medicine."
Konan deliberately mentioned Nagato.
After all, the reason she had initially come here was because of Nagato.
Kiyohara opened the folder and glanced through it before closing it again.
"I've already had Rin adjust the formula for the new medicine. Its effects last nearly twice as long as before, and the side effects are also considerably weaker. Have a summoned beast deliver it in a couple of days."
Konan nodded slightly, but unlike usual, she did not turn around and leave.
She stood in front of the desk, her eyes fixed on Kiyohara as though there was something else she wanted to say.
"Is there anything else?"
"I have been in Konoha…"
Konan paused for a moment.
"Have I been staying here for too long?"
"Yahiko is taking care of Nagato, so there should not be any problems for the time being. But as for the affairs of Amegakure, I am one of the founding members of the Akatsuki. I cannot keep hiding under Konoha's protection forever."
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"I have adapted to life here, but the better I adapt to it, the more guilty I feel toward Yahiko and Nagato."
Kiyohara rose from the Hokage's chair.
He walked around the desk and stopped in front of Konan.
He was nearly a head taller than her, and from where he stood, he could clearly see her beautiful face.
Although Konan had never cultivated the Yin Seal, her face was still flawless.
Kiyohara reached out and gently grasped her chin, lifting her face.
"You feel guilty because you have been living too comfortably."
Konan's eyes widened slightly, but she did not argue.
"When you were in Amegakure, you spent every day worrying about the organization. From morning until night, there was hardly a moment when you could stop."
"But after coming to Konoha, you have a fixed salary, a clean room, and hot meals provided on time. You no longer have to worry about whether an enemy will attack tomorrow."
Kiyohara continued, "After living like that for a long time, it is understandable that you would begin to feel guilty."
Konan's chin tightened slightly beneath his fingertips.
"But that is not a reason for you to feel guilty."
Kiyohara released her and turned toward the cabinet in the corner of the office.
He opened the cabinet and took out a beautifully packaged paper bag.
"Take this."
Kiyohara handed it to her.
It was a secretary outfit.
Kurenai had one of her own. Sometimes her clothes ended up being torn apart by Kiyohara, so keeping spare clothes inside the Hokage Tower made it more convenient for her to change.
As for the windows of the Hokage Tower, Kiyohara had also made arrangements for them. They were one-way windows.
In other words, people outside could not see what was happening inside, while people inside could clearly see the outside world.
At the same time, Kiyohara had also placed barrier fuinjutsu around the area to prevent the sights and sounds inside from leaking out.
Konan accepted the paper bag Kiyohara handed her. She gave him a puzzled look before lowering her head and opening the package.
Inside the paper bag was a brand-new outfit.
The top was a fitted white blouse with a narrow dark blue ribbon tied around the collar.
The bottom was a black pencil skirt. The material was firm and neat, with a slit along the side.
Konan's cheeks instantly flushed bright red.
Why did this fellow Kiyohara have something like this stored inside a cabinet in his office?
"What is this?"
"A secretary's uniform."
Kiyohara folded his arms and leaned against the cabinet door.
"Kurenai has one. You're the second."
"I…"
Konan opened and closed her mouth, her light orange eyes filled with embarrassment and indignation.
"I am not wearing this."
"Try it."
Kiyohara smiled faintly.
"If it does not fit, I will have someone alter it."
Konan stood there holding the paper bag.
She knew Kiyohara's temperament. Once he had taken something out and handed it to her, he clearly had no intention of giving her much room to refuse.
She took a deep breath and suppressed the heat spreading across her cheeks before turning toward the resting room at the back of the office.
The door to the resting room closed behind her with a soft click.
Kiyohara leaned against the cabinet door and waited patiently.
When it came to beautiful women, Kiyohara's patience was always considerably greater.
Besides, he had just learned the location of the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, so his mood was quite good.
With his strength, he could naturally defeat the Four-Tails Jinchūriki with ease and directly obtain what he wanted.
After that would come the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
Kiyohara could not help but marvel at Black Zetsu's efficiency.
If Obito had not spent so much time dragging his feet in the original story, it would not have taken more than a decade to collect all the Tailed Beasts.
Seven or eight minutes later, the door to the resting room opened again.
Konan walked out from behind the door.
The black pencil skirt tightly outlined her slender waist, while the hem stopped above her knees, emphasizing the graceful curves of her figure.
What drew the most attention, however, were the black stockings covering her legs, extending all the way from her toes to beneath the hem of her skirt.
Konan had always possessed an excellent figure. However, she spent most of her time wrapped in the loose cloak of the Akatsuki, so very few people had ever been able to see the curves that were usually concealed beneath the fabric.
This secretary outfit happened to display those curves perfectly.
Konan's small face was stiff as she tried to maintain her usual cold and composed expression.
However, the tips of her ears had already turned completely red.
She turned her head to the side, deliberately avoiding Kiyohara's gaze, while one small hand unconsciously tugged at the hem of her skirt.
"Are you satisfied now?"
she asked.
"Very satisfied."
Kiyohara looked at Konan and spoke with a slightly teasing tone.
Not bad.
That expression was really not bad.
Kiyohara secretly nodded to himself.
Of course, he did not have any particularly strange preferences.
He simply found it amusing to see her looking dissatisfied while still having no choice but to follow his instructions.
Kiyohara reached out and took hold of her wrist, pulling her toward him.
Konan was caught completely off guard and was pulled directly into his arms.
Her knees, covered in black stockings, bumped against his legs. The fabric of the pencil skirt tightened slightly with the movement, producing a faint rustling sound.
She raised her head, her eyes reflecting Kiyohara's face.
Kiyohara lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.
Konan's body stiffened for a moment.
This was not the first time they had kissed.
The last time had been in Amegakure, when Kiyohara had pressed her against the wall of a corridor and kissed her until she could barely catch her breath.
Yet afterward, Kiyohara had not touched her again for a long time, as though that kiss had simply been a momentary impulse that he had forgotten about afterward.
She had thought he had forgotten.
But now, when his lips touched hers again, Konan realized that she had never forgotten that feeling.
Her hands pressed against Kiyohara's chest. She instinctively wanted to push him away, but the force she used was so weak that it felt as though she were merely pressing against a wall.
Kiyohara's arm around her waist tightened slightly, pulling her body closer to his.
The buttons of her blouse pressed against his chest through the thin fabric, while the pencil skirt was squeezed into several shallow folds.
Konan's eyelashes trembled intensely, and a layer of moisture gradually appeared in her light orange eyes.
The faint masculine scent coming from Kiyohara caused her mind to go completely blank.
"I…"
"I am one of the Akatsuki…"
"So what?"
Kiyohara pulled back slightly.
"So… I cannot…"
Konan bit her lip.
"I am not that kind of…"
"We have done this before."
Kiyohara shook his head, somewhat surprised by how conservative Konan was.
"You do not need to be afraid."
Konan's hands slipped from his chest, and her fingers unconsciously grasped the sleeve of his robe.
When Kiyohara kissed her again, the fingers clutching his sleeve slowly tightened. Her knuckles turned white, yet she did not push him away again.
Her breathing gradually became more disordered, and moisture shimmered in her eyes.
Kiyohara's hand slid down from her waist and lightly patted the curve of her skirt.
Konan's body suddenly trembled. A muffled sound escaped from deep in her throat, and her legs, wrapped in black stockings, instinctively pressed together.
Kiyohara realized that Konan had a surprisingly curvaceous figure.
It was simply difficult to tell because she was usually wrapped in the oversized Akatsuki cloak. Beneath those loose robes, however, her figure was every bit as full and shapely as one might expect.
Just as Kiyohara's fingers were about to slip beneath the edge of her skirt, Konan came back to her senses.
She grabbed Kiyohara's wrist with one hand while pressing her other hand against his chest, creating some distance between them.
She breathed heavily, her white blouse rising and falling with every breath.
"I am a member of the Akatsuki."
Konan said it again.
Kiyohara looked at her current appearance and, in the end, did not continue to force the matter.
"Does that mean it would be fine as long as you are not a member of the Akatsuki?"
Konan raised her head, her misty eyes meeting Kiyohara's.
"What are you trying to do?"
"You should know what the Akatsuki is like internally right now."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
Konan's brows furrowed slightly.
Of course she knew.
The Akatsuki was no longer the same organization Yahiko had founded in the beginning.
Originally, the Akatsuki had been a spontaneous peace organization formed in the Land of Rain. Yahiko had gathered a group of like-minded shinobi through his charisma and ideals, hoping to use their own strength to bring an end to the civil war in the Land of Rain.
They also wanted to break free from the predicament of the Land of Rain constantly being infiltrated and manipulated by the major powers.
Those days had been difficult, but everyone had genuinely been fighting desperately toward the same goal.
But later, everything changed.
Obito's intervention had caused the Akatsuki to split into two distinct factions.
One faction consisted of shinobi who were native to the Land of Rain. They were still loyal to Yahiko's ideals. Although their methods had become more aggressive than before, their original purpose remained the same, to protect the Land of Rain.
The other faction consisted of S-rank missing-nin recruited from various countries. These people had no ideals of their own. They only obeyed strength and pursued their own interests.
Although Yahiko was the nominal leader, those missing-nin did not take him seriously at all.
Nagato spent most of his time recovering because of the enormous toll imposed by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, so there were few occasions when he could personally intervene.
Meanwhile, Obito's faction had continued infiltrating the organization from the shadows, gradually dragging the Akatsuki deeper and deeper into the abyss.
If Konan had not been in Konoha and used Kiyohara's influence to maintain a balance of power, the situation on Yahiko's side would probably have fallen completely out of control long ago.
"What are you trying to say?"
Konan raised her head.
"The Akatsuki has reached the point where it must be divided."
Kiyohara spoke directly.
"The conflict between the native faction of the Land of Rain and the missing-nin faction can no longer be reconciled. If you continue forcing the organization to remain intact, everyone will eventually be dragged into the same mess."
Konan fell silent.
What Kiyohara said made sense.
But what would dividing the organization actually mean?
It meant that those missing-nin would become uncontrolled enemies. It meant that the power the Akatsuki had accumulated over the years would have to be divided in two. It also meant that Yahiko and Nagato would lose more than half of their available fighting strength.
Kiyohara saw the concern in her expression and continued.
"From the very beginning, Yahiko and Nagato's ideals were never about establishing a huge organization of missing-nin. Their goal was to protect the Land of Rain. Those missing-nin were never truly your companions. They were nothing more than a group of hyenas taking advantage of your organization."
"Instead of allowing them to continue sucking the Akatsuki dry, it would be better to cut them off voluntarily, withdraw the native forces of the Land of Rain, and establish an entirely new system."
Konan's eyelashes moved slightly.
"A new system?"
"Amegakure."
Kiyohara slowly continued.
"Or rather, Akatsukigakure."
(TN: Village Hidden by Dawn/Daybreak or Hidden Dawn Village)
Konan's eyes widened slightly.
"Separate the native shinobi of the Land of Rain from the Akatsuki and establish a new shinobi village within the Land of Rain. The name can carry on the spirit of the Akatsuki and be called Akatsukigakure. Yahiko will serve as its first head."
"Do you think establishing a new shinobi village is that simple?"
There was a trace of bitterness in Konan's voice.
"The Land of Rain is sandwiched between the three great nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth. None of those great nations will allow a new shinobi village to rise right under their noses. The reason Hanzō was able to secure his position as the leader of Amegakure back then was because he proved his strength to the three great nations during the Second Shinobi War. But we…"
"Konoha will provide assistance."
Konan froze.
"Konoha will recognize the legitimate status of Akatsukigakure and provide initial material and technical support. A portion of the mission commissions from the Land of Fire will also be opened to Akatsukigakure."
"Why are you doing this?"
Konan asked, puzzled.
"I am not just playing around with you."
Kiyohara answered.
That was one of the reasons.
There was another reason as well.
The Akatsuki was currently causing far more trouble than it had in the original story. Its activities had become increasingly reckless, and sooner or later, provoking its own destruction was almost inevitable.
Even if Kiyohara did not intervene, the other major nations were already filled with resentment toward the organization.
But that was precisely the effect Kiyohara wanted.
He simply could not deal with Konan along with the rest of them.
Therefore, Kiyohara intended to carry out a righteous separation.
Konan's lips tightened slightly.
She had been with Kiyohara for quite some time now, so she knew there was no reason for him to lie about something like this.
With his strength and status, what kind of woman could he possibly be unable to obtain?
If he really regarded her as nothing more than a plaything, there would have been no need for him to put so much thought into her.
He had arranged an Anbu position for her, helped adjust Nagato's medicine formula, and was now even planning to help the Land of Rain establish Akatsukigakure.
Those were not the kinds of things one would do for a mere plaything.
Konan lowered her head and remained silent for quite some time.
When she finally spoke again, her voice carried a softness that she herself did not seem to notice.
"You have certainly become quite responsible."
"What about your other women?"
Konan gave a soft snort, a faint trace of jealousy appearing in her tone.
"Kurenai, Rin, Pakura, and even Lady Tsunade. Don't think I haven't noticed."
Kiyohara answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I just want to give everyone a home. Everyone is my wings."
Konan was stunned for a moment before once again letting out a quiet snort through her nose.
"Wings? Aren't you afraid that you'll have so many wings that you won't be able to fly?"
"I can fly."
Kiyohara laughed softly and raised his hand, giving her a light but unmistakable pat on the buttocks. The black stockings beneath the pencil skirt made a faint sound from the movement.
"And I can fly quite fast, too."
Konan bit her lower lip and glared fiercely at Kiyohara.
Unfortunately, there was still a trace of moisture in her eyes from earlier, making the glare far less intimidating than she intended.
She was just about to say something when footsteps suddenly sounded outside the office.
Konan's expression changed slightly.
Almost the instant she heard the footsteps, she began moving.
She quickly straightened the loosened collar of her blouse with both hands before tugging down the hem of her pencil skirt and smoothing out the shallow wrinkles in the fabric.
She raised her head and glanced at Kiyohara.
Kiyohara had already returned to his Hokage chair, looking as though nothing had happened at all.
Konan walked toward the window.
She placed one hand on the windowsill, vaulted silently through the opening, and disappeared into the shadows beneath the eaves.
The next moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Itachi walked inside.
He was wearing the gray vest of the Anbu, with a short sword strapped diagonally across his back. The Konoha forehead protector on his brow reflected a faint metallic sheen under the office lights.
He had grown considerably taller since graduating from the Academy, and the contours of his face had become much more defined than before.
He walked up to Kiyohara and bowed slightly.
"Kiyohara-sensei."
"What is it?"
"An unusual case has appeared in the experiment involving the transplantation of Hashirama Cells into members of the Uchiha clan."
There was a solemn expression in Itachi's dark eyes.
"For most of the clan members, the fusion rate has been between forty and sixty percent. Their chakra levels have increased significantly, and the side effects have remained within a controllable range."
He paused before continuing.
"But there is one person whose fusion rate with the Hashirama Cells is extremely low, at approximately half a percent."
Kiyohara raised his eyebrows slightly.
"At that level of fusion, theoretically, the transplanted cells should not even be able to survive. Yet his body has not only accepted the Hashirama Cells, it has also stabilized them at an extremely low absorption rate. The cells are just barely maintaining themselves without producing any facial features."
No face.
That description made Kiyohara raise an eyebrow.
If that was the case, the Hashirama Cells would not affect the person's appearance.
It reminded Kiyohara of Uchiha Shin.
Shin also possessed a unique constitution. His body did not reject foreign transplants at all. Whether it involved cloning or transplantation, his body could perfectly accept the foreign tissue.
Danzo had relied on this characteristic to maintain a balance between the Sharingan and Hashirama Cells.
The arm attached to Danzo had originally belonged to Uchiha Shin. After Orochimaru finished experimenting on Shin, he cut off Shin's arm and transplanted it onto Danzo.
The situation of the Uchiha clan member described by Itachi was somewhat similar.
The difference was that this person absorbed only an extremely small amount of the Hashirama Cells, keeping their influence firmly within a controllable range.
"Interesting."
Kiyohara spoke.
"What is this person's name?"
"Uchiha Kōsuke. He is fourteen years old and graduated from the Shinobi Academy not long ago."
Itachi answered.
"His constitution is considered slightly below average within the clan. His chakra reserves are also unremarkable. He is the kind of person who would normally never attract much attention in a crowd."
"The less noticeable someone is, the more interesting they often become."
Kiyohara turned around.
"Tomorrow, bring him to Konoha Hospital. Have the medical shinobi perform a complete examination on him personally. I want to see how the Hashirama Cells are distributed throughout his body."
"Yes."
Itachi bowed and accepted the order before turning around and leaving the office.
The door closed again.
Kiyohara returned to the Hokage chair.
The shinobi world truly was filled with all kinds of extraordinary people.
A constitution like Uchiha Kōsuke's was essentially a naturally occurring control mechanism.
His cells possessed an instinctive ability to screen and suppress Hashirama Cells. They allowed only an extremely small amount to remain, reducing the risk of Hashirama Cell assimilation to the absolute minimum.
Since Hashirama Cells were too powerful, the solution was to continuously weaken and differentiate them.
In this way, no matter how powerful the cells themselves were, their influence would constantly be reduced.
It was impossible for a single Hashirama Cell to withstand the combined force of a shinobi's roughly one hundred and thirty trillion cells.
Perhaps the Ōtsutsuki could accomplish something like that, but Hashirama was still far from that level.
After all, even at the Six Paths level, Hashirama would already have considerable difficulty.
That was why, in the original story, aside from Might Guy, almost everyone else was essentially creating opportunities for Naruto and Sasuke, acting as support for the two of them.
If Uchiha Kōsuke's constitution could be fully analyzed and then replicated in other people, it would be an enormous boon.
"It is basically like a vaccine."
Kiyohara could not help but sigh.
"If Hashirama Cells could be turned into something resembling a vaccine, there would be no need for the current process of screening people's constitutions and making them undergo high-risk fusion surgeries."
Instead, just like inoculating people with cowpox, a tiny amount of specially processed Hashirama Cells could be injected into an ordinary person's body, allowing the body to gradually adapt to the power of Hashirama Cells while maintaining an extremely low absorption rate.
If this succeeded, it would not only benefit the Uchiha clan. The shinobi of the entire Konoha could receive Hashirama Cell inoculations.
Once the method was successfully popularized, the basic physical qualities of Konoha's entire shinobi population could be dramatically raised within just a few years.
One week later.
Land of Earth, Mt. Enkyū.
This active volcano towered considerably higher than the surrounding mountain ranges. Its summit was perpetually shrouded in sulfur-colored smoke and ash.
The rocks covering the mountain were dark brown, their surfaces filled with folds left behind after cooling lava had hardened, resembling countless enormous serpents that had become frozen in place around the mountain.
Kiyohara stood on a cliff on the eastern side of Mt. Enkyū.
Below his feet flowed a river of rolling magma.
The crimson-red lava moved slowly through the channel. The black crust that had solidified on its surface was repeatedly broken apart by the currents underneath, sending dazzling sparks flying into the air.
"So this is where the Four-Tails Jinchūriki trains."
Kiyohara rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
(End of Chapter)