Especially Hyūga Hiashi—his stern face kept drifting back toward Kiyohara from time to time. Those pure white eyes narrowed slightly, like he was weighing something.
Kiyohara naturally noticed the look.
The Hyūga clan head…
Kiyohara suddenly remembered that, to prevent their bloodline from leaking out, the Hyūga had even created the Caged Bird Seal—arguably the most extreme form of slavery in the shinobi world.
Once a clan member died, or someone tried to take their Byakugan, the seal would automatically activate and destroy the brain and the Byakugan.
That's why when Hyūga Neji died in front of Naruto, his eyes were closed. If they'd been open, Naruto might've only seen shattered eyeballs.
But… the Hyūga are kind of fighting themselves, aren't they…?
Kiyohara mulled it over.
Gentle Fist is actually strong. The Byakugan's potential isn't weak either.
The problem is the Hyūga in their current era don't fully realize that power. The reasons are simple:
First, they've grown stagnant—no new Gentle Fist techniques.
Second, they lack chakra reserves.
Kaguya's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack is, in concept, very similar to the Hyūga's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, yet the power difference is absurd.
And the irony is: the Caged Bird Seal was meant to protect the Byakugan from being stolen—yet it created the split between Main House and Branch House.
The Main House are the "true inheritors," while the Branch House exist to protect them.
Worse, "Main House" isn't just one person. Even within the same line, if there are multiple descendants, only one becomes the inheritor.
In Hinata's era alone, there was even another line—Hyūga Kō—also Main House, though ranked a bit lower than the clan head's daughter Hinata.
Factional splits are normal. What's not normal is that the Branch House is born with an inherent "missing 1%," and they're forbidden from learning higher Gentle Fist secret techniques.
Neji was simply too talented—he wasn't allowed to learn, so he forced his way to understanding on his own. That's why Hiashi was shocked.
If Neji had been born Main House, how far could he have gone?
Instead, because of the Main/Branch divide, he couldn't even learn all of Gentle Fist.
And without anyone developing new techniques, later generations could only live off old foundations.
I wonder if there'll ever be a "Hyūga Kiyohara."
Kiyohara rubbed his chin, thinking of something surprisingly serious.
If one of his futures placed him in the Branch House… would he inherit the Caged Bird Seal?
No… the seal gets released right before death, doesn't it?
Kiyohara remembered that when Neji was dying, the Caged Bird Seal activated and the mark on his forehead disappeared.
As for Edo Tensei Hyūga Hizashi having the seal—that was likely because the reincarnated body perfectly imitated the original, even recreating the curse mark.
While Kiyohara was thinking, Hiashi was watching him too.
Hiashi recalled the intelligence on this young man:
Promoted to jōnin just two years after graduating as a genin. Possessed the Sharingan and Magnet Release. Studying under Tsunade. Highly skilled in medical ninjutsu. Strong combat ability…
A Uchiha bloodline that had leaked outside the clan—and yet this person had reached this level.
Hiashi's fingers tapped his knee unconsciously.
He thought about the Hyūga's internal situation… all those complicated rules and shackles.
What if Hyūga blood had leaked out too?
Could someone out there also produce a genius like this?
The thought tightened his chest.
No—Hyūga Byakugan must never leak.
But… what if someone really did "revert" and awaken a pure Byakugan bloodline, like rare cases in history?
Hiashi decided that after the meeting, he would thoroughly re-check the genealogy and all branch lines.
After all, the Hyūga even had distant relatives—the Kohinata clan.
They carried Hyūga blood, but it was so diluted they could no longer awaken the Byakugan, and were therefore removed from the Hyūga.
The meeting continued.
Hiruzen assigned other tasks: responsibilities for each unit, logistics and supply, intelligence networks…
Every detail was debated.
Kiyohara listened while watching everyone's reactions.
When Nara Shikaku spoke, his logic was razor-clear and his tactical suggestions were practical. Yamanaka Inoichi supplemented key points on intel work. Akimichi Chōza focused on logistics. The Inuzuka suggested deploying more ninja dogs for reconnaissance…
Each clan, each jōnin, played their role in the larger system.
Konoha's war machine was running efficiently.
The meeting lasted two hours.
Near the end, Hiruzen also had Minato bring Nohara Rin to the battlefield.
Not every jōnin knew Rin was a jinchūriki.
Minato nodded solemnly, accepting the mission.
Hiruzen's intent was simple: sending Rin to Roran earlier was a test to see whether she would lose control. Now that they'd made a preliminary judgment, it was time to apply that asset to the war.
After all, Kumogakure had begun increasing their own tailed-beast deployments.
And Konoha lacked experience using jinchūriki in battle—Kushina had never gone out after becoming the Nine-Tails' host.
Minato didn't like it, but given the situation, there was no choice.
Hiruzen concluded:
"The front lines are under pressure. Konoha needs everyone's strength. Dismissed."
People stood and filed out in low voices.
Kiyohara waited as Tsunade approached.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
"No idea how many will die this time," Kiyohara said. War meant death—win or lose.
"War…" Tsunade thought back to the Second Great Ninja War. Peace hadn't even lasted long before the Third started. Even if this war ended—how long until a Fourth?
As they stepped out of the meeting room, Minato came over.
"Tsunade-sama. Kiyohara."
He smiled gently. "Looks like we'll be fighting together again."
"Tsunade-sama," Minato added, "please look after my little student."
"I know what Kiyohara can do," Minato said, looking at him. "Honestly, Kiyohara-kun is already excellent. I think he'll earn major achievements this time too."
"I'll do my best, Minato-senpai," Kiyohara replied.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries, then left the Hokage Tower.
Tsunade stopped him.
"Kiyohara."
"Yes?"
She looked at him and remembered Nawaki—joking with her one day, then stepping on a tag the next, gone forever. War was cruelly unpredictable.
"On the battlefield, med-nin are often the first targets. You have to save people—but protect yourself too. Remember that."
"I remember, Teacher."
She stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed.
"Go prepare. We leave tomorrow."
…
At the Sarutobi compound, Asuma wasn't wandering the streets like usual. He stayed home training.
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
Smoke billowed, but the power was clearly lacking.
Asuma frowned and formed seals again.
This time the flames were stronger—but still not what he wanted.
"Not enough… not even close."
He was still far behind Kiyohara.
Asuma took a breath and formed seals again.
This time he mixed in Wind nature transformation, trying to boost the Fire technique.
"Wind Release: Dust Storm!"
Wind fed the flames, and the fire surged—
but his control wasn't there. Sparks scattered, nearly igniting trees at the edge of the training ground.
Asuma scrambled to douse it with water, panting hard.
Then he heard soft footsteps behind him.
He turned and saw his father, Hiruzen, standing there.
Hiruzen didn't speak right away. He simply smoked quietly, eyes on the scorched marks on the ground.
After a long moment, he asked, "Training ninjutsu?"
Asuma didn't answer.
Their relationship had been quietly fraying.
No matter what Asuma did, he carried the label "Hokage's son," constantly compared to Hiruzen—the so-called strongest Hokage.
It crushed him.
"These past few days, you've been training constantly," Hiruzen said. "Did Kiyohara pressure you?"
Hiruzen already knew about Asuma and Kiyohara from Anbu reports.
"…Yes," Asuma admitted. He really was inferior right now.
"Your chakra control still needs work," Hiruzen said. "Your Fire chakra is too impatient, and you aren't fusing it with Wind properly."
He stood and looked at his son.
"But the direction is correct."
Then he added, "If you want to beat Kiyohara… this still won't be enough."
Hiruzen pulled out a pair of chakra blades and handed them over.
"These are chakra-metal trench knives."
The blades were shaped like knuckle knives.
Asuma froze. He hadn't expected this from the old man.
"Tch… th-thanks," he muttered, still stiff with adolescent stubbornness.
But to Hiruzen, that was progress.
If Kiyohara could give Asuma pressure, good.
Without rivals, people got lazy.
And it might even improve the father-son bond—after losing, Asuma would eventually come to ask for guidance.
Thinking that, Hiruzen felt even more favorably toward Kiyohara.
…
The next day.
Three days later, at Konoha's gate—
Five hundred shinobi stood in formation. At the front were Minato and Tsunade.
Kiyohara stood at the head of the medical unit, with Shizune and other med-nin beside him.
"Move out!"
At Minato's command, the column began to march.
Villagers lined the road to see them off.
Day one went smoothly. They traveled roads within the Land of Fire, with supply points along the way—no need to sleep in the wild.
Even so, fatigue from the long march began to show.
At dusk, they made camp beside a stream.
Tsunade sat on a boulder, chewing a hard soldier pill, frowning.
"Disgusting…"
She grumbled but forced it down. Frontline supplies were limited—every bit saved mattered.
Even with privilege, Tsunade never pulled special treatment.
Just then, Kiyohara walked up and handed her something wrapped in oil paper.
"What's this?" Tsunade raised a brow.
"Open it."
She unwrapped it.
Inside were several rice balls—still warm.
"How did you—" she stared at him.
"I figured you wouldn't be able to stand rations," Kiyohara said.
In canon, Tsunade's appetite wasn't small.
Kiyohara wanted to strengthen his relationship with her… and also ask about Shikkotsu Forest later.
Hashirama's Sage Mode source was never clearly explained, but a common theory tied it to Shikkotsu Forest's Sage arts.
Besides curse marks, only three Sage Modes really stood out—linked to the three great sacred lands.
"Try it, Teacher," Kiyohara said.
Tsunade bit into a rice ball.
Soft rice, perfect seasoning. Even more surprising—inside was grilled chicken and a special sauce.
"This is…"
"Chicken rice ball," Kiyohara smiled. "I thought you might want chicken."
Tsunade didn't speak immediately.
She took another bite, chewing slowly.
Chicken aroma mixed with rice sweetness, sauce balanced perfectly.
Compared to rations, it was practically a feast.
"You brat…" she muttered, then added, "You really do know how to take care of people."
"It's what I should do," Kiyohara said. "I'm the student. You're the teacher."
Once Tsunade had eaten a bit, Kiyohara started asking about Shikkotsu Forest.
"You want a summon?" Tsunade assumed he meant a Shikkotsu contract.
She'd heard he already had an invisibility-capable chameleon summon.
"Yeah… I'm also interested in Sage arts," Kiyohara said.
In later "power creep" eras, only senjutsu and taijutsu stayed top-tier—otherwise ninjutsu got nullified or absorbed.
"You even know about senjutsu?" Tsunade arched a brow.
"I've heard Jiraiya-sama always claims Mount Myōboku, and talks about 'Sage Mode,' so I wondered if you could do it too," Kiyohara said.
Jiraiya's senjutsu wasn't a secret. Minato might even have some ability at this time, since he could summon Myōboku toads—though his endurance with it was poor.
Tsunade's expression tightened slightly.
"That idiot…" she muttered, thinking of Jiraiya, then licked a bit of oil from her lips.
"But I can't use senjutsu," Tsunade said. "Right now I've only seen Jiraiya and my grandfather pull it off."
Senjutsu demanded absurd talent; few could do it.
Then her tone turned serious.
"And it's dangerous. One mistake and you die."
She wasn't joking. Myōboku's failure mode was turning into a toad; Shikkotsu had similar risks.
Kiyohara understood—this was Tsunade worrying about him.
"I know, Teacher," he nodded.
"You don't know anything," Tsunade flicked his forehead with her finger. "If you really knew, you wouldn't be asking."
She looked at him for a moment.
Kiyohara loved ninjutsu—how could he not be tempted by senjutsu's massive amplification?
"…I can take you to Shikkotsu Forest and let you sign a contract," Tsunade said after thinking.
Kiyohara was her student now. At first she'd only planned to teach him a few months and be done—she hadn't intended to offer him a contract.
But the more she interacted with him, the more she realized his talent and character were genuinely good.
And Shizune's ceiling was obvious—she couldn't inherit Tsunade's full legacy.
Kiyohara, though… might actually have a chance.
Sometimes Tsunade even envied Jiraiya, because he'd had a student like Minato.
Now she was starting to feel like her own student wasn't bad either.
"I'll take you tomorrow," Tsunade said, shoving the rest of the rice ball into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed up like a little hamster. "I'm tired."
Seeing that, Kiyohara couldn't help thinking: Tsunade always looked fierce and decisive, but sometimes the contrast made her weirdly cute.
…
Nearby, Rin and Kurenai sat by the stream resting.
"Rin, is Kiyohara's cooking really that good?" Kurenai asked casually as she washed her feet.
Shinobi sandals left toes exposed; after a day of marching, not washing felt gross to her.
Her pale toes flexed in the water.
"Yeah," Rin nodded. "A few days ago I ate at Tsunade-sama's place—Kiyohara-kun cooked. It was amazing, especially that dice tofu…"
She described that dinner in detail, and Kurenai listened, absorbed.
"Sounds really nice," Kurenai said, a little envious.
Damn it. Why did Rin get everything? Bracelet gift, Kiyohara's cooking…
And she got nothing!
She was going to be mad!
"I've never even tasted Kiyohara's cooking."
"If it's you, I don't think Kiyohara-kun would refuse," Rin said with a smile.
As they talked, Asuma walked over.
He was also heading to the Kumogakure front.
He held out a few bland compressed biscuits to Kurenai.
"Kurenai, eat something. It tastes meh, but it's efficient—restores stamina fast."
Kurenai looked at the gray biscuits, then remembered Rin's description of those carefully made dishes.
She pouted.
"No thanks. I'm not hungry."
Asuma froze. "But you barely ate today—"
"Asuma," Rin couldn't help laughing. "You really don't get girls' hearts, do you?"
"Huh?" Asuma looked lost.
Kurenai sighed. "I just… want something tasty. Like Kiyohara's cooking. Not these rock-hard biscuits."
Asuma's expression locked up.
He looked down at the biscuits… then at Kiyohara in the distance, talking with Tsunade, still holding another rice ball.
Suddenly he felt a cold wind.
Snowflakes drift, north wind howls…
A line of verse surfaced in his mind, absurdly fitting.
Then he remembered—Kiyohara used to say weird stuff like that back in the Academy.
He remembered a winter day with falling snow.
Even though it wasn't snowing now… Asuma felt like his heart was.
"…Uh," Asuma tried to say something, but Kurenai stood.
"I'm going to ask Kiyohara for ingredients. Maybe I can make soup."
Then she winked at Rin.
"Want to come, Rin?"
"Sure," Rin stood too.
The two girls walked off together, leaving Asuma alone, still holding the rejected biscuits.
No…
Asuma felt like he was always one step late.
If only he'd bought something good in advance.
"Asuma," Minato appeared quietly and patted his shoulder.
"Minato-senpai…"
"Girls can be like that sometimes," Minato said gently. "And Kiyohara really is attentive. We all fall short there."
Asuma gave a bitter smile. "Yeah… attentive, gentle, strong, and not bad-looking either. Basically perfect."
"No one's perfect," Minato shook his head. "I'm sure you have your own strengths."
"I get it," Asuma said.
Minato smiled. "Go rest. Tomorrow we enter dangerous territory."
Night fell, and campfires lit one by one.
Kiyohara sat outside his tent, checking a medical supply list.
"Kiyohara, you're still not resting?" Kurenai walked over, holding a bowl of vegetable soup. She'd gotten ingredients from him and cooked it.
She'd also noticed he always carried tons of sealing scrolls.
Sealing scrolls were convenient but expensive—not every shinobi used them.
"Almost done," Kiyohara accepted the soup and took a sip.
"How is it?" Kurenai watched his face.
"Pretty good," he said.
"My birthday's coming up," Kurenai said awkwardly.
Kiyohara remembered—yeah, it was soon.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"I… I want a bracelet like Rin's!" Kurenai's cheeks were red. "Yeah!"
Kiyohara's expression turned a little strange.
That bracelet had just been improvised from materials he found on the East Sea coastline.
He hadn't expected it to be that popular.
"Really," he said.
"Yeah. I think it's really cute," Kurenai smiled brightly.
Hmph. Now Rin has one, and I'll have one too.
~~~
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