Black markings spread out, crawling across his skin like veins.
Curse Mark Transformation — Stage One!
"Wind Release: Vacuum Spheres!"
After forming seals, Kiyohara spat out a rapid volley of wind shots. Their piercing power was tremendous—snake heads exploded into pulp, chunks of flesh scattering across the ground.
More than a dozen giant serpents instantly became headless corpses, dropping limply.
Surprise flashed in Orochimaru's eyes, but he didn't stop. He brought his hands together, and his chest suddenly swelled.
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
A denser, larger swarm of snakes erupted from his mouth—so many they formed a living sea.
Hundreds—thousands—of serpents writhed forward, surging toward Kiyohara as if to drown him whole.
Kiyohara formed Fire Release hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Three massive fire dragons roared out, tearing through the snake tide.
The heat ignited the snakes instantly; the air filled with the stench of burning.
Where the dragons passed, the swarm turned to ash.
But Orochimaru was no longer where he'd been.
The moment he spat out the snakes, he leapt into the air. His right arm hardened into a pale, bone-white color—like real snake bone.
Snake Limb Hardening!
Kiyohara didn't dodge. He raised his right arm to block.
CLANG!
A metallic impact rang out.
On top of the curse-mark boost, Kiyohara layered Earth Release: Earth Spear hardening and Steel Release hardening—his skin gleamed like black iron.
Orochimaru's hardened limb slammed into it without even leaving a white mark.
Kiyohara shoved back, and a huge force transferred through—Orochimaru went flying, crashing into a tree.
CRACK! The trunk snapped. Orochimaru's right arm bent at a grotesque angle—broken.
Yet Orochimaru smiled.
"Impressive. Your body strength and reaction speed have both improved…"
He didn't finish before closing his mouth.
Because Kiyohara had already appeared in front of him, his fist whistling through the air toward Orochimaru's face.
Orochimaru opened his mouth instead.
His jaw tore wide to his ears—then he shed like a snake, spitting himself out through his own mouth.
The newly emerged Orochimaru was perfectly intact. The body Kiyohara hit collapsed, shriveling rapidly into something like an empty skin.
Orochimaru-Style Substitution!
"Enough, Kiyohara-kun. Your curse-mark transformation is truly strong."
Orochimaru licked his lips, eyes blazing with excitement.
"Even more perfect than I expected. How stable is it? Any side effects?"
Kiyohara released the curse mark; the black lines faded slowly.
"So far I haven't noticed any obvious side effects, but prolonged use still feels like a burden."
He revealed part of the truth and hid the rest—like what "prolonged" actually meant. That kind of key detail could be exploited if leaked.
Orochimaru nodded and pulled out a scroll.
"As a reward for showing me the curse mark, take this."
Kiyohara accepted it and opened it: Soft Physique Modification—a technique that drastically increased flexibility and extensibility by altering the body's structure through special training.
"Kiyohara-kun, your fighting style leans toward sheer power. That's good—but too rigid and you break."
Orochimaru continued.
"Flexibility matters too. If you can bend, you can endure heavier impact. If you can stretch, you can slip past lethal strikes at the critical moment."
"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama."
"Heh… do take good care of your body, Kiyohara-kun."
Hearing that from Orochimaru made Kiyohara feel… oddly uncomfortable. It sounded like someone telling him to "maintain" his body.
"Orochimaru-sama."
Just as Orochimaru was about to leave, Kiyohara called out.
"Could you give me another dose of White Snake Power?"
Kiyohara figured Orochimaru would defect not long after the war ended. The hidden human-experiment lab inside Konoha was a landmine—bound to explode sooner or later.
So he planned to squeeze out whatever he could while he still could.
Orochimaru looked a little surprised.
Extracting White Snake Power wasn't easy—was Kiyohara giving it to other people?
After a moment's thought, Orochimaru didn't refuse. He was rarely stingy with geniuses.
"Here."
He tossed over a sealing scroll.
Kiyohara caught it—and Orochimaru's body melted into the shadows and vanished.
When Kiyohara opened the scroll, he found there was a generous amount of White Snake Power inside.
He remembered Orochimaru's "Eight Branches Technique" true form—maintaining that state probably required an enormous supply.
But once you reached that point… whether you were still human or already a snake was hard to say.
"Still worth researching," Kiyohara murmured, nodding slightly.
As usual, he'd run a full lab analysis back at Konoha to make sure there were no hidden traps.
Only after confirming it was clean would he let others use it.
He could even use it as a reward.
Then he looked at the other scroll.
"Soft Physique Modification really is a great get," he thought.
Steel Release gave defense; curse-mark transformation boosted output; add soft-body flexibility, and his close-range toolkit became far more versatile.
More importantly, it reduced joint and ligament damage—extending combat longevity.
Most ninja ended up with a body full of old injuries.
Funnily enough, weaker ninja who only took minor chores could often live peacefully into old age.
After storing the scrolls, Kiyohara returned to camp.
Passing Tsunade's tent, he paused.
The light was still on inside, and he could faintly hear liquid being poured into a cup.
Working this late?
Kiyohara lifted the flap—and froze.
Tsunade sat in her folding chair with a bottle of sake and a small cup in front of her.
Her cheeks were flushed, her gaze unfocused—she'd clearly had a lot.
When she saw him, she jolted, nearly dropping the cup.
"K-Kiyohara? This late…?"
"Sensei, are you sneaking alcohol?" Kiyohara raised an eyebrow.
Tsunade looked guilty for half a second—then puffed up her chest and spoke righteously.
"I'm your teacher. What's wrong with drinking?"
Kiyohara sat opposite her and glanced at the bottle.
"That's the third one, isn't it?"
"None of your business!" Tsunade glared, but with drunken watery eyes it carried no real threat.
"Since I came here, I basically haven't had a drink."
She patted her chest—her "snowy peaks" bouncing—like she was listing hardships she'd endured.
Kiyohara thought about it… she wasn't wrong.
Since arriving, aside from gambling with them to unwind, Tsunade had mostly been buried in paperwork without a chance to drink.
"Come on. Drink with me."
"I'm not old enough to drink."
"Stiff as a board," Tsunade pouted, then drained her own cup and sighed in satisfaction.
"After fighting a war, there's been no good life."
She shook her head. Back when she wandered the world with Shizune, she'd had at least some freedom. Now she was stuck managing Konoha's mess.
"The war won't last much longer," Kiyohara said.
"Hope so." Tsunade poured herself another mouthful.
The sake glossed her lips, making their lines look wetter and clearer.
"By the way, Sensei—does the Strength of a Hundred Seal only store normal chakra?"
Kiyohara asked curiously.
The Yin Seal was essentially an internal "container": you store chakra, then unseal it when needed.
But did the stored chakra have to be neutral?
What if it were Fire chakra? Lightning chakra? Or even… senjutsu chakra?
He even wondered if it could store ocular power—which was also chakra, a special kind of Yin chakra. After all, the Uchiha inherited the Sage's Yin power; the Sharingan itself was a Yin symbol.
"That question…" Tsunade blinked, caught off guard. She really hadn't considered it.
"Don't mess around," she warned, lips parting slightly. "Wait until your Byakugō Seal pattern actually forms first."
She studied him and noticed his progress seemed faster than a few days ago—strange.
In the end, she chalked it up to age. A ninja's chakra capacity grew as they matured; the "golden years" were when the body and spirit were at their peak, and with training you could reach your physical ceiling. After that, it declined.
By that logic, Kiyohara still had a few years to grow before his true "prime."
And yet… even now, his chakra pool already felt absurdly large.
"Yes, Sensei," Kiyohara nodded.
He wasn't going to recklessly tinker based on a hunch.
But experiments were still possible. He could one day isolate the "chakra absorption" portion of the seal and test it on summoned creatures—once his sealing skills were good enough.
Tsunade nodded and took another drink.
"You're learning fast… faster than I expected. Any problems with chakra control?"
Kiyohara did have a few questions.
Teacher and student fell into a steady back-and-forth. Time slipped by.
Gradually, Tsunade's speech slowed. Her eyes glazed over.
She was completely drunk.
"Carry me back, brat," she said, stretching lazily. The weather had turned chilly; sleeping here could easily mean catching a cold.
Kiyohara wanted to ask: couldn't she just activate a thought and flush the alcohol out?
But he didn't. He simply bent down and hoisted her onto his back.
At least it was better than being Jiraiya's student and having to cross-dress—Naruto had spent those three years using Sexy Jutsu to "inspire" Jiraiya, and even ghostwriting parts of his books.
Tsunade slumped heavily against Kiyohara's back—two thick "cushions" bouncing against him the moment he lifted her.
He turned his head slightly and saw Tsunade's chin resting on his shoulder.
He adjusted his grip and, for the most stable carry, slid his hands to support her hips.
Tsunade was full-figured; she wasn't light.
Of course, with Kiyohara's current physical condition, he could carry her for kilometers without strain.
Because of the alcohol, her lips looked even redder than usual, slightly parted, her breath carrying a faint sweet sake scent—not the sour stink of cheap booze, but something lightly fragrant.
Her face was close to his ear; the warm breath made it itch.
Kiyohara guessed that was also the Yin Seal's effect—keeping her in a youthful, healthy state. Without chakra, though, it would fail until she replenished it.
He carried her out into the night and toward her private tent.
A wind gusted. Tsunade shivered and tucked closer against his back.
Her legs reflexively tightened around his waist; she clung to him like a koala.
As they walked, her chin slid a little more firmly onto his shoulder.
At her tent, Kiyohara carefully laid her on the bed.
He crouched and removed her shoes.
Her feet were pale; her ankles slender, the skin on the top of her foot thin enough to show faint blue veins.
Her toes were full and rounded, nails neatly trimmed and clean with a pearl-like sheen.
Kiyohara pulled the blanket over her, then noticed the water jug on the table.
He poured a cup and set it beside the bed—drunk people often woke thirsty.
Only then did he leave.
…
The next morning, Tsunade woke with a splitting hangover.
Sunlight speared through the tent seams, making her eyes ache.
Rubbing her temples, she called out by habit:
"Shizune, bring me water…"
Footsteps came. A cup was handed to her.
Tsunade gulped down most of it before her throat finally felt less parched.
She opened her eyes to speak—then froze.
It wasn't Shizune.
It was Kiyohara.
"Y-You…" Tsunade blinked.
Kiyohara pointed at the bedside.
"I poured that water last night. Shizune's outside making hangover soup—she'll bring it in soon."
Tsunade looked at the cup in her hand, then at the half-empty jug, and understood.
Fragments of last night rushed back: talking with Kiyohara, asking about his training, answering his questions, making him carry her… and then falling asleep.
"Next time, don't drink that much. It's not good for you," Kiyohara said.
Tsunade flicked his forehead with a finger.
"Now you're lecturing your teacher."
Even so, she added:
"Next time I won't drink that much."
As they spoke, Shizune's voice sounded from outside.
"Tsunade-sama, I'm coming in."
"Come in," Tsunade replied.
Shizune entered with the soup and overheard Tsunade saying she'd drink less next time.
She looked surprised—quietly amazed. Tsunade and Kiyohara's teacher-student bond really was good; he could persuade Tsunade where Shizune had failed countless times.
Shizune helped Tsunade drink the soup, and Kiyohara took his leave.
Back in his own tent, he began studying the scroll Orochimaru had given him.
Body Softening Modification was a systematic training regimen—basically a form of taijutsu.
Through special movements and chakra guidance, it stretched the limbs and gradually altered muscle and ligament structure until the body could move in ways normal people couldn't imagine.
Kiyohara tried the first exercise: bending his arm backward until his palm touched his shoulder blade.
A normal person would dislocate their shoulder. But following the scroll's chakra flow, Kiyohara's joints clicked softly—and his arm reached the angle without pain.
"Interesting…"
He kept practicing. Soft joint pops echoed faintly inside the tent.
The next few days were relatively quiet on the front.
Suna didn't attack again, as if that night raid had been a one-off.
But Kiyohara knew better.
It was the calm before the storm.
He also intensified his training in Soft Physique Modification.
Combined with curse-mark bodily reinforcement, his flexibility skyrocketed.
Now he could twist into extreme angles—he could even slide along the ground like a snake, and it was faster than normal walking.
Kiyohara finally understood why Orochimaru and Kabuto traveled like that sometimes.
Simple: it worked.
Though it looked too creepy, so Kiyohara rarely used it unless necessary.
If he truly needed speed, flying was still faster.
That afternoon, Anbu sent Kiyohara a message.
Might Guy's information had been entered into Anbu records, and his uniform request had been approved.
"Kakashi—take the uniform to Guy for me," Kiyohara said.
"Okay." Kakashi nodded.
He was curious too: what would Guy look like?
Not long after, Kakashi found Guy in his tent and handed him the uniform.
"This is the Anbu uniform?" Guy stared at it. "Looks… tight."
"Put it on," Kakashi said. He stood right there.
"Here? In the tent?" Guy's eyes widened. Even in a tent, it felt weird.
"I'll turn around. I won't look." Kakashi turned his back.
Kakashi had seen Guy's "little acorn" before—built like a tank, yet surprisingly… contrasting.
"Face me, Kakashi! A duel!" Guy roared.
Seeing Kakashi's expression, Guy immediately realized Kakashi was remembering that incident.
After a bit of noisy arguing, Guy finally swapped out the iconic green jumpsuit for Anbu gear and put on a mask.
Kakashi turned around, looked him over, and found that "Anbu Guy" actually looked the part—he carried more of a true taijutsu master's presence.
Then in the very next second, Guy erupted like a blazing fire of youth, thrusting up a thumbs-up. Even through the mask, you could hear the passionate shout:
"I will become the most dazzling ninja in Anbu!"
"…" Kakashi suddenly felt that recruiting Guy into Anbu might not have been a great idea.
Anbu was about to become "Bright Department."
"Come on, Guy," Kakashi said. "We'll go see Kiyohara. They'll tell you your new codename."
"No problem!" Guy nodded enthusiastically.
~~~
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