Utilizing Body Flicker, Pakura escaped with her disciple Maki and the remaining Sunagakure shinobi under the cover of thick smoke, vanishing into the night after just a few flickers.
Tsunade sensed Pakura's chakra rapidly retreating and finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
Standing here, she had served more as a deterrent than an active combatant.
To truly engage in a fight… was still difficult.
Her face still pale, Tsunade closed her eyes. Shizune quickly stepped forward to support her, knowing full well about Tsunade's hemophobia.
"First and second squads, pursue! Everyone else stay behind and fortify the perimeter!"
Shirakumo Hayama, gripping his burned arm, gave out his orders.
Then he turned toward Kiyohara in the distance—his gaze carrying both surprise and approval.
Kiyohara slowly exhaled a deep breath and looked toward where Pakura had disappeared.
'Was that enough to fulfill Magnet Kiyohara's second wish?'
He'd only contributed partially to the battle…
But in the ninja world, the one who lands the final blow is often credited with the victory.
Kiyohara lowered his right hand, which was still trembling.
Unleashing Electromagnetic Coin twice had put a noticeable strain on both his chakra and his mental focus.
Magnet Kiyohara released his partial possession.
Kiyohara asked, "So… was that enough?"
The spirit of Magnet Kiyohara, already faint from repeated outings, looked even more translucent now. His silhouette glowed faintly with soft white light.
"It counts. She's always had the upper hand over me. Finally seeing her pushed back, even wounded… it's satisfying."
"Yeah?"
Kiyohara nodded slightly.
So in Magnet Kiyohara's timeline, Pakura hadn't been betrayed by the Sunagakure upper ranks or killed by a thrown shuriken.
Or perhaps… Magnet Kiyohara had died before he could ever witness that moment.
"I can feel it," the spirit murmured. "My resentment has faded… not entirely, but enough. You've fulfilled my will."
The glow around him intensified. His face began to blur, his features dissolving into flickering motes of light. Even his voice grew faint and ethereal.
"Past version of me… You're different from how I was, I can see that. But I hope that when you become strong enough, you'll speak and act like someone who truly carries power."
To him, living true to one's will was everything.
Even now, he didn't regret challenging the Fourth Kazekage.
Sunagakure needed an absolute leader, not one who survived through compromise.
His only regret… was not being strong enough.
And so his final words were:
"Remember — only speak your mind when your power is enough to back it."
The last of his form scattered into glowing white particles.
Most of the light flowed into Kiyohara's forehead like a flock of birds returning to roost.
The largest wisp dove straight into the urn.
The rest of the light entered Kiyohara's body.
BOOM—
A wave of cool energy surged through him.
He could feel it vividly—his spiritual power had leapt to a new level!
It was a massive spike.
This surge nourished his soul, sharpening his perception, increasing his focus, and accelerating his thought processes.
His mental and physical energy—drawn from his cells—merged and intertwined, causing his chakra reserves to break past their previous limit.
'This feeling…'
He could feel chakra coursing through his body, far denser and more dynamic than before.
'Definitely over 2 Kaka (Kakashi) units… maybe 2.2 after it finishes settling.'
That meant his chakra had surpassed twice the standard amount of Kakashi-level chakra.
This wasn't just about numbers.
It meant longer battles, stronger techniques, and the stamina to keep fighting.
Without chakra, even showing up in a final battle would just mean getting caught in Infinite Tsukuyomi and used as a battery.
Unless you got lucky like Sakura, and ended up beside Naruto and Sasuke just in time to shout, "I've finally caught up to them!"
Whether or not she actually did catch up… was obvious.
Even though Sakura was a top student with excellent chakra control—better than Sasuke, even—she was still a civilian-born ninja.
In the Databook.
Her "SPIRIT" stat was just 5.
Kakashi had far more chakra than her.
Aside from the chakra gain, Kiyohara also noticed something else—
His affinity and control over earth and wind chakra had improved significantly.
These two base elements formed the foundation of Magnet Release, and now his compatibility with both had increased.
That meant learning Earth or Wind jutsu would be much easier from now on.
And more—
'Huh?'
He also realized that his neural reaction speed had increased drastically.
And that made sense.
Magnet Release techniques, especially those like Electromagnetic Coin, required split-second responses.
Just like Chidori needed a Sharingan to prevent a user from losing control at high speeds—
his magnetic propulsion techniques demanded fast reflexes and precise timing.
Thanks to Magnet Kiyohara's legacy, he now had both.
'And then there's my magnetic field itself…'
The final change was the most fundamental—
His sense of magnetism had changed completely.
If controlling it used to feel like swinging a heavy, uncooperative hammer…
Now, it felt like flexing a muscle. Fluid. Instinctive. Effortless.
He had also inherited a series of new Magnet Release techniques:
Magnet Release: Iron Sand Surge — A wave-like defense that repels attacks, then pursues the enemy with rolling iron sand.
Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall — Functions like Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, but made from dense iron sand.
Magnet Release: Iron Sand Rain — Compresses iron sand into pellets and launches them like scattershot, blanketing a wide area.
Each was practical, powerful, and combat-ready, greatly expanding Kiyohara's arsenal.
"Your ninjutsu…"
Kurenai didn't know what to say.
"I've been working on this concept for a while," Kiyohara answered offhandedly.
To an outsider, the whole inheritance process had taken just a moment.
But inside his body, the changes were ongoing—
his very being was evolving toward a new plateau.