If he were to consume the Chakra Fruit, Kiyohara felt that the Rinnegan would probably be born directly as well.
Although the original story never went into much detail about it, there was no doubt that there were differences between the various Rinnegan.
Gold, blue, red, purple.
Since they were different, there naturally had to be distinctions in quality, with different levels and grades.
Kiyohara felt that Kaguya's Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan should represent the highest level currently revealed.
Judging purely by the numerical values of her overall abilities, Kaguya at her peak after consuming the Chakra Fruit might even have been stronger than Otsutsuki Isshiki.
The problem was that Kaguya's combat skills were simply too poor, preventing her from fully utilizing the strength of her own abilities.
After all, everyone who fought her later on was fighting a weakened version of Kaguya.
Kaguya had divided her chakra and given birth to the Six Paths brothers.
That was why she became so obsessed with reclaiming the chakra possessed by the two brothers later on.
And even the Sage of Six Paths, despite existing only as a spirit, could directly transmit his power from afar, forcefully creating two Six Paths-level combatants in Naruto and Sasuke.
Otherwise, Kiyohara really could not figure out how Sage Mode Naruto combined with Kurama and Sasuke with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan could possibly defeat Six Paths Madara.
Perhaps the only option would have been to wait until Six Paths Madara became careless, then have Black Zetsu cooperate from within and launch a surprise attack?
Kiyohara thought about it for a moment before temporarily putting these thoughts aside.
In any case, he had no intention of creating a full-powered Kaguya.
Kiyohara placed the report on the table.
"After the Hashirama cells undergo an inactivation treatment, they can be injected into a shinobi's body to activate the inhibitory factors ahead of time. The formal transplantation can then be performed afterward."
"This way, the assimilation rate of the Hashirama cells can be artificially suppressed. The recipient can still obtain an enhancement without having to worry about the cells turning against them."
"If this method works, it will not be limited to the Uchiha clan. Every shinobi in Konoha will be able to receive Hashirama cells."
"Their chakra reserves, vitality, and resistance to genjutsu will all increase significantly. Furthermore, the requirements for receiving the treatment will be extremely low. There will be no need to screen for suitable physiques as we do now, nor will they have to bear the risk of transplantation failure."
Konan's eyes widened slightly.
Although she was not a medical shinobi, she had spent a long time in the ANBU and had learned quite a lot about Hashirama cells.
If the "vaccine" Kiyohara was talking about really succeeded, Konoha's overall combat strength would undergo a qualitative leap.
Having a top-tier powerhouse like Kiyohara stationed in Konoha was already enough to make other countries wary. If every shinobi under his command became powerful as well, Konan could not imagine what the other nations could possibly use to compete with Konoha.
"When are you planning to begin promoting it?"
"There's no need to rush."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"First, we'll conduct further experiments on Kosuke to confirm the stability and reproducibility of the inhibitory factors. Once we've accumulated enough data, we'll begin a trial program with the ANBU. From there, we'll gradually expand it to all jonin, and eventually cover the entirety of Konoha."
This kind of matter could not be rushed.
Kiyohara had no intention of accomplishing everything in one step. He wanted to make every necessary preparation first and ensure that there were no hidden problems.
"By the way, have you eaten yet?"
Kiyohara suddenly asked.
"Eaten?"
They had just been discussing Hashirama cells, and now the topic had abruptly shifted to food, leaving Konan momentarily stunned.
"No."
She shook her head.
"Let's go take a look at your house."
Kiyohara spoke as he stepped forward.
"My house?"
Before Konan could say anything else, Kiyohara had already wrapped an arm around her waist.
In the next moment, the two of them appeared inside Konan's home.
Kiyohara had visited once before and had left a Flying Thunder God kunai behind, allowing him to teleport directly here.
"I..."
After arriving at her own home, Konan instinctively glanced toward the kitchen, as though she wanted to say something.
However, Kiyohara had already walked over.
Inside Konan's kitchen, several days' worth of unwashed dishes were piled up in the sink. Half-prepared ingredients were scattered across the counter.
Kiyohara fell silent.
Konan turned her head to the side, and the faint blush on her cheeks deepened slightly.
Her lips moved as though she wanted to explain herself, but in the end, she merely let out an extremely quiet grunt through her nose.
"I forgot to wash the dishes."
Hearing that, Kiyohara shifted his gaze from the sink to the counter.
Several plates and seasoning jars had been left there. One small dish contained chopped green onions of wildly different sizes. Some pieces were as fine as strands of hair, while others were as thick as finger joints.
There were also several plums nearby that had not yet been prepared. Their skins had already begun to wrinkle slightly.
"Are you sure it's not because your cooking is simply terrible?"
Kiyohara asked in surprise.
"How could that possibly be!"
Konan immediately defended herself, completely abandoning her usual aloof demeanor.
"Looks like you're only good at origami and flower arranging."
Kiyohara said.
When it came to cooking, Konan really did not have much talent.
Konan fell silent.
She turned her head away and reached out to push the plate of chopped green onions farther into the corner of the counter.
The corners of Kiyohara's mouth lifted slightly.
He did not continue teasing her. Instead, he simply raised his hand.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Kiyohara's figure disappeared from the kitchen.
Konan turned around and stared at the place where he had vanished.
She thought that Kiyohara had become disgusted with her and felt inexplicably disappointed.
"Damn guy. Is it really such a big deal that I can't cook?"
Konan wondered whether she should find someone and properly learn how to cook.
But who should she ask?
For a moment, Konan found herself in a difficult position.
Rin?
Konan remembered that gentle girl. If she recalled correctly, Rin seemed to be quite good at cooking.
However, before she could think about it for long, Kiyohara reappeared in the kitchen.
There was now a fresh river fish in his left hand, and its tail was still vigorously flicking from side to side.
The fish had silvery-white scales and was about as long as an adult's forearm. Its gills were still opening and closing faintly.
"Silver-Scaled Fish. They're at their fattest this time of year."
Kiyohara placed the fish on the counter and casually took the kitchen knife hanging on the wall.
The blade flashed coldly beneath the light.
He struck the fish on the head with the back of the knife, and it immediately stopped moving.
Konan leaned against the kitchen doorframe and watched him skillfully clean and prepare the fish.
"You're going to cook?"
Konan knew that Kiyohara could cook.
"Otherwise, are you going to do it?"
Faced with Kiyohara's question, Konan immediately shut her mouth.
Soon, Kiyohara placed the cleaned fish on the cutting board and made several diagonal cuts along both sides of its body.
He then took salt, soy sauce, and several spices whose names Konan did not recognize from the seasoning rack and evenly rubbed them over the fish.
The grill was heated over the stove.
The moment the fish was placed on it, it released a soft sizzling sound.
The distinctive fresh and savory aroma of fish being roasted gradually spread throughout the kitchen.
Konan unconsciously took half a step forward.
She had been living in Konoha for a long time, so it was not as though she had never eaten good food.
Kiyohara occasionally brought her meal boxes. Sometimes there would be grilled eel, while other times there would be fried tofu.
She had tried all of them, and every dish had been prepared exceptionally well.
But the aroma of this grilled fish was different from all of those meals.
Perhaps the fish itself was exceptionally fresh.
Perhaps Kiyohara had simply controlled the heat with incredible precision.
Whatever the reason, the fragrance was more enticing than anything she had smelled from his cooking before.
That was especially true because she had always liked grilled fish.
Before long, the grilled fish was ready, exactly as Konan had been anticipating.
Kiyohara placed it on a white porcelain plate.
Konan accepted the chopsticks he handed her and picked up a piece of fish, placing it into her mouth.
The fish was tender and juicy, while the flavor of the soy sauce and spices had completely seeped into the meat.
"It's even better than before."
Konan raised her head, the chopsticks still holding a second piece of fish suspended in midair.
"How did you make it?"
"With care."
Kiyohara replied calmly.
With the Sharingan, it was only a matter of time before his skills improved.
Even Kiyohara in his normal state possessed terrifying dynamic vision.
He could control the heat with absolute precision.
Of course, he would never tell her that.
If he explained everything, then it could no longer be called cooking with care.
As the saying went, genuine affection was not always enough to win someone's heart. Sometimes, knowing the right tricks was what truly mattered.
Konan did not ask any further questions.
She lowered her head and continued eating.
Her chopsticks moved back and forth between the fish and the rice.
Before long, half the fish had been reduced to nothing but bones.
She had a very elegant way of eating. She picked up small pieces at a time and chewed them slowly, her eyes narrowing slightly in satisfaction.
Kiyohara sat across from her and watched her eat while he also picked up his chopsticks.
Outside the window, the sky had already grown completely dark.
Only the lingering warmth from the stove remained in the kitchen.
The light illuminated Konan's profile and made the blush behind her neck clearly visible.
After eating the final bite, Konan put down her chopsticks.
Only a complete fish skeleton remained on the plate.
She raised a hand and gently wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of it before meeting Kiyohara's gaze.
"Thank you."
Kiyohara chuckled.
He stood up, gathered the plate and chopsticks, and placed them in the sink.
"I'm leaving."
Konan followed him to her feet and leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching as Kiyohara opened the door and disappeared from sight.
The door closed softly.
The house suddenly became quiet.
The only sound was the faint dripping of water from the incompletely closed faucet, each drop landing on the plate in the sink.
Konan stood at the entrance to the kitchen, her gaze falling upon the pair of chopsticks Kiyohara had used.
She looked left and right.
After confirming that there was no one around, she walked over somewhat guiltily.
The chopsticks were resting on their holder, and the tips still had a faint sheen of oil from the grilled fish.
For some inexplicable reason, she reached out, picked them up, and held them tightly in her palm.
Konan suddenly remembered Kiyohara's passionate kiss.
Her cheeks instantly became hot.
She shook her head vigorously, causing her short blue hair to sway.
She placed the chopsticks into the sink and turned on the faucet.
She watched the stream of water wash away the oily sheen from the bamboo chopsticks until every trace of grease had been cleaned away.
Only then did she turn off the water.
"What is wrong with me?"
Konan felt that Kiyohara seemed to be appearing in her thoughts more and more frequently lately.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Wind, deep within an uninhabited desert...
The scorching sun had baked the dunes until they turned pale, while the air distorted under the intense heat, forming layer upon layer of shimmering waves.
There were no human settlements within a radius of a hundred li, nor was there even the slightest trace of a shinobi's chakra.
Only the wind carried grains of sand over the tops of the dunes with a howling sound, leaving countless parallel ripples across the surface.
Kiyohara stood at the top of a sand dune, his long black hair swept backward by the hot desert wind.
He raised his left hand, palm facing upward.
A dark-red chakra surged from his palm.
The density of the chakra was extraordinarily high, and unstable waves that resembled bubbles rolled continuously across its surface.
Pure Nine-Tails chakra was directly extracted from within Kiyohara's body and condensed into shape within his palm.
Then, the mass of chakra began transforming into Yin-Yang Chakra.
Using a ratio of two parts Yin-Yang Chakra to eight parts ordinary chakra, Kiyohara mixed and compressed the energy in his hand until it formed an ultra-dense sphere of chakra.
The surrounding air was drawn along by the rotating currents around the chakra sphere, forming a miniature sandstorm that swept up the grains of sand beneath Kiyohara's feet and sent them flying in every direction.
Tailed Beast Bomb!
The dark-red, high-density sphere of chakra expanded in his palm until it reached several meters in diameter.
The chakra on its surface rolled more and more violently.
Kiyohara held the Tailed Beast Bomb, a destructive force powerful enough to flatten an entire mountain, with one hand.
Then, with a gentle push, he sent it forward.
The instant the Tailed Beast Bomb left his palm, it struck a barren rocky mountain in the distance.
A dazzling white light erupted from the point of impact, turning half of the sky an intense, searing white.
Within that blinding radiance, the rocky mountain began collapsing from its summit downward.
The pulverized stone was swept outward by the shockwave, raising a gigantic wall of sand hundreds of meters high across the desert.
The enormous wave of sand continued rolling outward for nearly half a minute before gradually settling down.
When the dust finally cleared, a hemispherical crater more than several hundred meters across had appeared before Kiyohara.
Standing atop the sand dune, Kiyohara lowered his left hand.
His breathing remained steady, and the amount of chakra he had consumed was nothing more than a drop in the ocean to him.
"The Nine-Tails' chakra really is enormous."
He lowered his head and looked at the palm of his left hand.
A few strands of dark-red chakra still lingered on his palm. They curled around his fingertips for a moment before slowly dissipating into the air.
In terms of sheer chakra reserves, the Nine-Tails stood head and shoulders above the other eight Tailed Beasts.
Its chakra was not only vast, but also extremely dense. When the same technique was powered by the Nine-Tails' chakra, its destructive power seemed to be considerably greater.
Kiyohara closed his eyes and slowly circulated the Nine-Tails' chakra through his body's chakra pathways.
A layer of golden chakra light began to appear across the surface of his skin.
At first, it was merely a faint golden mist. Then it gradually became denser and brighter, until it finally transformed into a layer of blazing golden flames that covered his entire body.
Kurama Mode!
The golden chakra cloak surged around his body.
Six magatama-shaped chakra markings appeared around the collar, while even more intricate black markings covered the lower part of the cloak.
His long black hair was lifted by the currents of chakra, the ends of his hair appearing and disappearing within the golden flames.
Kiyohara opened his eyes and flexed his fingers.
Several streaks of golden light were pulled from his fingertips as the chakra moved with his fingers.
He raised his right hand, palm facing downward, and aimed it at a distant sand dune.
Attraction.
Golden chakra mixed with the ocular power of the Tenseigan surged from his palm.
The entire sand dune was ripped from the ground.
Hundreds of tons of sand and earth floated high in the air under the pull of the golden chakra, blocking out the sunlight and covering the sky.
Repulsion.
The sand dune was slammed back into the ground at an even greater speed.
It crashed down with a deafening roar and shattered apart, while the resulting shockwave pressed the surrounding sand into a huge circular depression.
Kiyohara withdrew his hand.
The golden chakra slowly contracted around his body before sinking back beneath his skin.
His extraordinary sensory abilities clearly told him that the amount of chakra currently gathered within his body was getting closer and closer to that critical point.
The chakra volume of the Ten-Tails.
He had already successfully adapted to the chakra of multiple Tailed Beasts. Once he gathered all nine portions of Tailed Beast chakra and fused them within his body, he would possess a level of power approaching that of the Ten-Tails.
The next moment, Kiyohara leaped down from the sand dune.
The airflow generated by his chakra blew a shallow depression into the sand beneath his feet.
The grains of sand slid outward the instant he landed, then gradually gathered together again, completely covering his footprints.
…
Konoha, Underground Laboratory.
The laboratory had been constructed dozens of meters beneath a secluded mountain on the outskirts of Konoha.
All four walls had been reinforced with special fuinjutsu techniques capable of isolating any leakage of chakra fluctuations.
The laboratory itself was several times larger than the largest operating room in Konoha Hospital.
Various instruments and pieces of equipment were neatly arranged across the anti-static floor.
Kiyohara stood before the central operating table.
A transparent cultivation tank had been placed on top of it.
The tank was filled with pale-green nutrient fluid.
Floating within the nutrient solution was an embryo-like object.
Its surface was covered in countless tiny formula markings, each one emitting a faint glow beneath the nutrient fluid.
This was the embryo of an artificial Tailed Beast.
Kiyohara had created it using the chakra of the Tailed Beasts within his own body combined with biological technology.
In theory, once the embryo fully developed, it would be capable of accommodating the fusion of multiple Tailed Beast chakras, thereby producing a chakra reaction similar to that of the Ten-Tails.
But theory was theory.
In actual practice, there were enough problems to give anyone a headache.
"We still need to conduct more experiments."
Kiyohara pressed the activation button on the control panel.
The fuinjutsu formulae surrounding the cultivation tank lit up simultaneously.
Several streams of chakra, each a different color, surged through the injection tubes at the bottom of the tank and slowly converged within the nutrient solution.
Multiple streams of chakra intertwined around the embryo, attempting to penetrate its interior.
At first, everything proceeded normally.
The glow covering the surface of the embryo gradually became brighter.
However, after less than three minutes, fine cracks began to appear across its surface.
The cracks spread downward from the top of the embryo.
Blinding white light seeped from every fissure.
Kiyohara slightly furrowed his brows.
He formed a hand seal with one hand and injected a suppressive sealing chakra into the cultivation tank.
The white light slowly receded, but the cracks did not heal.
The embryo trembled lightly twice within the nutrient solution.
Then, beginning from the cracks, it split into two halves and lost all signs of life.
Failure.
Kiyohara leaned against the edge of the operating table and tapped his fingers against its surface several times.
The problem lay in the strength of the container.
The artificial Tailed Beast embryo had been cultivated from biological materials.
Although those materials could imitate the environment required to contain Tailed Beast chakra, they were ultimately inferior to the bodies of genuine Tailed Beasts, which were themselves condensed from chakra.
When multiple Tailed Beast chakras attempted to fuse, they produced enormous fluctuations of chakra.
An ordinary biological container simply could not withstand them.
He needed to reinforce the container with a more advanced biological material until it became capable of enduring the complete fusion process.
"Perhaps I can try the Stone of Gelel."
Kiyohara stroked his chin. fuinjutsu
According to the setting from the movie, humans had once used this mineral to establish an ancient civilization.
And the mineral itself contained an enormous amount of chakra energy.
Even the mineral alone possessed various effects, including extending one's lifespan, treating injuries, and producing metal.
If he could incorporate the properties of Stone of Gelel into the artificial Tailed Beast's biological container, perhaps the problem of structural stability could finally be solved.
By the time Kiyohara left the laboratory, the sky had already grown dark.
He walked along the streets of Konoha on his way home.
A few drops of nutrient fluid still clung to the sleeves of his robe, emitting a faint green glow beneath the moonlight.
After simply washing himself with a Water jutsu, Kiyohara returned home.
When he pushed open the door, Tsunade was lying facedown beside the low table in the living room.
Her long golden hair was not tied into a ponytail. Instead, it fell loosely over her shoulders.
The collar of her clothes was slightly open, revealing the enormous snow-covered mountains beneath her collarbone.
Several medical reports were spread across the table.
One of them had the red seal of Konoha Hospital printed across its header.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Tsunade pushed herself upright from the table and pulled her two long, fair legs back from the tabletop.
She turned around and met Kiyohara's gaze.
"Back from the laboratory again?"
Kiyohara walked over to Tsunade and naturally sat down beside her.
Then he directly rested his head on Tsunade's full, soft thigh.
Tsunade let out a soft hum and looked down at the troublesome disciple who was using her leg as a pillow.
Kiyohara's cheek was pressed against her thigh.
He wanted to look at Tsunade's face, but from his current position, all he could see was her forehead.
The rest of her face was completely blocked by the enormous mountains above him.
Tsunade raised her hand and flicked Kiyohara's forehead.
Thunk.
"Brat, don't you know anything about respecting your sensei?"
"I'm the most filial person in the world."
Kiyohara replied.
Tsunade froze for a moment before she could not help laughing.
This troublesome disciple was filial?
With him lying on her lap like this, there was absolutely nothing about his current behavior that could be associated with the word "filial."
Still, she did not push him away.
She merely shook her head helplessly and reached out to rub Kiyohara's head.
There was a degree of indulgence in her movements that she herself did not even notice.
"I heard you're planning to develop a Hashirama cell vaccine."
Tsunade's voice became somewhat more serious.
Although most of Konoha Hospital's daily affairs had been handed over to Shizune and Rin, a project on the level of the Hashirama cell experiments was different.
Every development related to the project would be sent to her desk immediately.
She naturally knew that Kiyohara had previously sent Uchiha Kosuke to the hospital for a comprehensive examination.
"Those cells..."
Tsunade paused.
Her fingers stopped briefly on top of Kiyohara's head before she continued gently stroking his hair.
"They're ultimately Grandpa's cells. Every time I see those things in the cultivation dishes, I can't help feeling a little strange."
"They'll be put into practical use soon."
Kiyohara did not raise his head.
"If Lord Hashirama knew about it, he would probably be happy too."
Tsunade remained silent for a while.
Her fingers continued gently rubbing his head.
"There's one more thing."
Kiyohara shifted into a more comfortable position.
Then he simply nestled directly into her arms, transforming into a complete "Man of the People."
Tsunade instinctively frowned and placed a hand on Kiyohara's head.
She had discovered that once Kiyohara got a taste of something good, he easily became more and more demanding.
"I plan to establish a new hidden village for the Land of Rain called Akatsukigakure."
Kiyohara spoke somewhat indistinctly as he gave Tsunade a simple explanation of the plan.
At times, Kiyohara became a little too enthusiastic, causing Tsunade to flick him on the head.
Even so, Tsunade understood what Kiyohara was saying.
"Akatsukigakure? You mean separating the members of the Akatsuki who are natives of the Land of Rain?"
There was concern in her voice.
"The Land of Rain is caught between the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth. That location isn't something you can take lightly. Hanzo was able to hold on back then because his own strength was formidable. During the Second Great War, Amegakure also proved its military strength to the three great nations. Now you're planning to establish an entirely new hidden village. Do you really think Onoki will agree to it?"
"With me here, nothing will happen."
Tsunade did not answer immediately.
She simply lowered her head and looked at Kiyohara with a gentle gaze.
From this angle, Kiyohara really did look like a child.
However, there were times when Kiyohara unconsciously allowed even the slightest trace of his chakra to leak out, and whenever that happened, Tsunade could feel an immense pressure that seemed as deep and vast as an abyss and an ocean.
She was the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju.
She had grown up beside her grandfather and believed that she had already witnessed what the power of someone standing at the absolute peak of the shinobi world looked like.
Yet Kiyohara's chakra reserves had now probably surpassed even those of her grandfather at his prime.
The deterrence represented by such power was indeed enough to make any great nation think twice before attempting to lay a hand on Akatsukigakure.
Tsunade sighed and suppressed the worries in her heart.
"Fine. You're the Hokage, so what you say goes."
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt something strange from the mountains beneath her.
At some point, Kiyohara had already shifted his body.
Using the baby cafeteria was one thing, but his hands were not staying still either.
(End of Chapter)