Hidden Leaf Village, Hokage Building.
Sunlight streamed through the window, spilling onto the floor of the Hokage's office. Hiruzen Sarutobi stood by the window, pipe in hand.
"Kiyoshi, you performed excellently on this mission to the Land of Demons."
Hiruzen wore a smile of approval.
"Not only did you complete the mission successfully, but the Land of Demons Daimyō even sent back a formal letter of gratitude."
Hiruzen flicked the ash from his pipe. The mission was originally just to escort the Priestess; Kiyoshi's actions were essentially extra credit.
However, he had handled it perfectly, demonstrating the wisdom of a Hidden Leaf ninja in dealing with emergencies.
This would further enhance Hidden Leaf's reputation, making clients more willing to entrust their requests to such a village.
Kiyoshi lowered his head slightly, his tone calm:
"Lord Hokage flatters me. This was merely my duty as a Hidden Leaf ninja. Besides, I couldn't have done it without the help of others, such as Lord Minato..."
Kiyoshi did not claim all the credit for himself, making sure to mention that the others had contributed significantly.
"We definitely put in a lot of effort this time."
Asuma Sarutobi had a lollipop in his mouth, with only a section of the stick poking out.
While Kiyoshi was inside helping the Priestess, they were outside dealing with quite a few terracotta soldiers, leaving them breathless with exhaustion.
"Haha, you've all worked hard. Minato, Yūki, you should take some time to rest."
Minato Namikaze quickly and modestly replied that it was no trouble.
Yūki, however, had his hands wrapped in bandages—bandages Kiyoshi had applied during the journey back.
But Kiyoshi hadn't performed any actual treatment, claiming his equipment was insufficient for delicate surgery.
This caused the wounds on Yūki's hands to drag on, and they had now become infected with pus, making the act of weaving hand signs a stinging agony.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Yūki nodded. For the time being, he indeed couldn't go out on missions.
Afterward, Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed the group, who had rushed back from their journey, allowing them to collect their pay and go home to rest.
He remained behind, continuing to puff on his pipe.
His son, Asuma Sarutobi, had been part of this mission. Seeing his son show promise made Hiruzen very gratified.
However, he was more worried about something else.
Friction had been increasing lately. His wife, Biwako Sarutobi, constantly complained to him that the hospital was understaffed.
After thinking it over, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned a group of people, intending to discuss measures to prevent war and how to immediately enter a state of combat readiness once war broke out.
...
Nighttime.
The Hyūga clan compound.
After the meeting ended, Hiashi Hyūga gathered the clan members, standing solemnly in the center of the hall.
"Everyone, Lord Hokage mentioned in today's meeting that the situation in the ninja world is unstable, and war may break out at any time."
Hiashi Hyūga's voice was low. "We must be fully prepared. At the same time, we need to adjust our relationships with other clans—especially the Uchiha clan."
While at the Hokage building, Hiashi Hyūga had heard Hiruzen Sarutobi mention several times how Team Minato and Team Yuki had perfectly completed their mission to the Land of Demons.
There was no shortage of praise for a specific member, Kiyoshi Uchiha.
Reflecting on Kiyoshi Uchiha's genius performance during the Chunin Exams, Hiashi Hyūga intended for the clansmen to adjust their strategy.
With war potentially breaking out at any moment, fostering good relations with the Uchiha was entirely beneficial.
In war, everything is secondary to strength.
The Uchiha were clearly excellent teammates. If war truly erupted, mutual assistance was the best path.
The crowd in front of Hiashi was divided into left and right sides.
The left were the Main House, and the right were the Branch House.
Located within the Main House, Ginka Hyūga's face shifted slightly when she heard the clan head mention the "Uchiha clan," and a faint sense of unease rose in her heart.
No wonder she couldn't find Kiyoshi Uchiha after the Chunin Exams; it turned out he had been out on a mission.
Hearing Hiashi Hyūga significantly shift his previous policy, Ginka's expression soured.
If Hiashi were to find out about what she had done, a harsh scolding would be the least of her worries.
"Ginka, what is it?"
While Hiashi Hyūga was speaking at length above, Nobuhiko Hyūga looked at Ginka.
He was Ginka's fiancé.
Normally, the Main House only married within the Main House. However, if the Main House became particularly scarce in certain periods, they would also unite with Branch House members to avoid the birth of deformed children from inbreeding.
"No... it's nothing."
Ginka's heart tightened, and she quickly shook her head, saying it was nothing.
She peeked toward Natsu Hyūga in the Branch House.
She found that Natsu was also looking at her.
Because of the evening breeze, Natsu's dark green hair, which grew down to her chin, obscured her expression. Coupled with her lowered head, Ginka couldn't make out her face.
She didn't dwell on it, nor did she activate her Byakugan to look.
The thoughts of a Branch House member weren't important.
Currently, only she and her servant, Natsu, knew about the incident.
With the [Caged Bird] Curse Mark in place, Natsu would definitely not dare to run her mouth.
Otherwise, before Ginka herself was punished, Natsu would definitely be the first to face her retaliation.
"As long as I explain things properly to Kiyoshi Uchiha, this matter will be covered up secretly, as if it never happened."
...
Upon returning home, Kiyoshi first took a bath and changed his clothes.
Space within a sealing scroll was precious; Kiyoshi had only brought one spare outfit.
But after being out for nearly half a month on the round trip, two sets of clothes were nowhere near enough.
*Plop.*
After his bath, Kiyoshi casually tossed a piece of meat onto a stainless steel plate on the floor.
"Hiss..."
The white snake immediately slithered over and began swallowing the chunk of meat Kiyoshi left.
Kiyoshi had never raised a summoned beast before; his attitude toward the white snake was like raising a dog.
However one raises a dog is how he raised the white snake.
"I need to make Hidden Sand fall into chaos first to have a proper excuse to connect with Mikoto."
Kiyoshi wiped his black hair with a towel, thinking about his next plan.
The war would last for several years, gradually increasing in severity.
The early stages wouldn't be too tragic.
And his current strength was much more composed than it had been over a year ago.
Only if Hidden Sand was in chaos could he plot for more benefits.
For example, another method to strengthen his dōjutsu power, which could also serve to temper himself.
Most importantly, the Uchiha clan would also participate in the war.
This way, Mikoto and Fugaku wouldn't end up together so early.
He would have a chance to intervene before the two confirmed their feelings, blocking the "spawn point" for Itachi's birth.
Just thinking about this caused Kiyoshi's dōjutsu power to fluctuate slightly.
His path to the Three-Tomoed Sharingan was in sight.
"I'll go to Orochimaru first to fish for some benefits."
After a moment of silence, Kiyoshi put the towel down and took out his ninja sword. He infused it with Fire Style chakra, using the high temperature to dry his hair.
Indeed, there were no hair dryers in the current Hidden Leaf; Kiyoshi had to do it manually.
The progress bar for the [Priestess's Sealing Formation (Green)] Trait had already unlocked and begun to rise slowly.
Once completed, Kiyoshi could synthesize a blue-tier "Priestess Reincarnated" Trait.
However, the specific effect was still unknown.
The next day, Kiyoshi went to find Orochimaru.
"Is that you, Kiyoshi-kun?"
Orochimaru looked at the figure entering the room carrying a bag.
The moment Kiyoshi stepped into the building, Orochimaru sensed his arrival.
He also possessed the [Yang Attribute].
"Lord Orochimaru, forgive my intrusion."
Kiyoshi smiled faintly.
"Heh heh, I couldn't be happier to see an outstanding talent like Kiyoshi-kun."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
He was serious.
If it weren't for his reservations about Nonō Yakushi still being in Hidden Leaf, he would definitely have taken Kiyoshi as a disciple or assistant.
Compared to Anko Mitarashi, Kiyoshi was simply far superior.
A talent dubbed a genius by the world, a mindset that surpassed the ignorant masses...
Kiyoshi possessed too many traits similar to his own.
And when one sees their own shadow in a junior, they often develop a favorable impression.
"I brought some fruit for Lord Orochimaru."
Kiyoshi didn't react much to Orochimaru calling him "Kiyoshi-kun."
If anything, everything was going according to his plan.
He wasn't a person of this world after all, but a transmigrator who knew the plot well.
It was just a "womb transmigration," and it took several years before his past-life wisdom awakened.
Every character has strengths and weaknesses.
In the ninja world, no one is perfect; everyone has their own greed, ignorance, and desires.
This included the Sannin like Orochimaru.
The pursuit of truth and eternal life essentially defined Orochimaru's entire life.
Kiyoshi guessed that the current Orochimaru had already begun human experimentation, but he didn't see any human organs here.
They were all animal organs.
He presented the image of an excellent scientific researcher.
This meant that at this stage, Orochimaru still had boundaries and reservations; at least, he wouldn't expose these things carelessly.
"Hey, why isn't there any for me?"
Anko Mitarashi popped out from nowhere and reached out her hand.
"I didn't know you were here."
Kiyoshi shook his head, thinking Anko was a bit too familiar.
"Ugh..."
Anko suddenly felt that what Kiyoshi said made sense.
Thinking for a moment, she handed a paper cup to Kiyoshi, which was still steaming.
"This is red bean soup, do you want some?"
"No thanks."
Kiyoshi shook his head in refusal and turned toward Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru, I came here because I discovered some monsters."
Kiyoshi unsealed his scroll and took out several mutated bodies of the Land of Demons ninjas.
He had collected a few before he left.
"This power..."
Orochimaru's vertical pupils instantly locked onto the corpses of the monsters. He stepped forward to examine them and discovered they were all fueled by a strange chakra.
Such materials were fresh; he had never seen them before.
"Heh heh, if you find anything like this in the future, bring them all to me."
A look of interest appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.
After hearing Kiyoshi's theory about the persistence of the soul and will, he had begun researching in that direction.
This required a vast amount of material; the more samples he had, the sooner he could develop that kind of ninjutsu.
If he truly completed such a technique, he would no longer choose civilians.
He would choose ninjas with Bloodlines.
This required researching the compatibility and rejection of various physical bodies toward souls.
"Kiyoshi-kun, since you brought me such precious materials, I think I should give you something in return."
Orochimaru had Anko move the corpses to another laboratory.
He could tell at a glance that these had mutated from humans.
But the seemingly unintelligent Anko lacked such insight; the corpses on the ground either had three wolf heads or eight spider legs, looking nothing like humans.
She simply thought they were monsters acquired from somewhere.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
To get Orochimaru to take her as a student, Anko immediately began dragging the corpses toward the other lab.
"Is there any Wind Style ninjutsu? Lord Orochimaru, I'd like to learn about techniques in that area."
Kiyoshi spoke up.
Rashly asking Orochimaru for "Soft Physique Modification" had too low a success rate; it was better to take it step by step.
Obtaining Wind Style ninjutsu would fill a gap for Kiyoshi.
His chakra capacity was unusually massive, and with the bonus from dual Bloodlines and Traits, he could support the consumption of the Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Jutsu, so he could set that aside for now.
Wind Style was a higher priority.
Once he learned this, Kiyoshi could enchant his ninja sword.
Chakra Flow: Fire Release was definitely within the "Fire" category. With the addition of Wind Style, Kiyoshi estimated the flames would surge even more violently.
This was because it could trigger the blue Trait "Master of Chakra Nature."
His previous Wind Style could at most perform circulation and flow within his body; trying to apply it to his hand was very difficult.
"Any specific type you're interested in?"
Orochimaru was not dissatisfied with Kiyoshi's request; instead, he felt the boy's pursuit of ninjutsu and truth was just like his own.
Back then, he was also this eager to learn ninjutsu.
"I wonder if there is a ninjutsu that allows chakra to be infused into ninja tools, preferably with a [Wind] style nature."
Kiyoshi said.
With Wind, he could interfere with the shape transformation of the chakra flow.
For example, during battle, he could make the flames suddenly elongate; an enemy caught off guard would easily be injured.
"Heh heh, coincidentally, I've been looking at some Wind Style ninjutsu lately."
Orochimaru spat out a scroll from his mouth.
If Kiyoshi had come a few days earlier or later, Orochimaru would have had to take him to the bookshelves in his home.
"You usually use a long sword, right? This ninjutsu happens to help you better control the infusion of chakra into the blade."
Kiyoshi took the cleaned ninjutsu scroll from Orochimaru.
It was named Wind Style: Chakra Blade Film, a C-rank ninjutsu.
Kiyoshi immediately expressed his gratitude.
Anko, who had been busy inside for a while, finally emerged. Looking at Kiyoshi and Orochimaru conversing happily, she felt confused.
These two always enjoyed chatting about strange topics.
She reached out her small hand, holding the paper cup Kiyoshi didn't want, happily sipping the red bean soup.
If there were tricolor dango, it would be perfect.
Anko thought to herself.
Unfortunately, Kiyoshi didn't know how to appreciate fine food.
After a short exchange of pleasantries, Kiyoshi said his goodbyes.
Kiyoshi had only come to fish for benefits; now that the main business was done, there was no need to stay. He also needed to visit Nonō Yakushi.
He planned to ask Nonō if there were ways to strengthen a summoned beast; the white snake was currently acting like a mere ornament.
After Kiyoshi left, Orochimaru looked at Anko, who had finished her red bean soup and still looked like she wanted more.
"I am going to take you as my disciple, Anko."
"Ah!"
Anko put down her paper cup in pleasant surprise.
"However, the prerequisite is that you need to approach Kiyoshi Uchiha more often."
"Eh?"
***
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