"He's back," Mikoto nodded.
According to their usual routine, tonight was time for another secret gathering.
"It's getting late; I'll head back first. My treat this time," Mikoto said after an hour of small talk, paying the bill before taking her leave.
Kushina was left sitting there alone, feeling utterly bored.
Her social circle currently consisted of only three people.
Minato had introduced his three Students to her, but unfortunately, they weren't very close.
She sat there dazed for a while by herself before heading home.
...
Kiyoshi's Home.
Having returned home, Kiyoshi held an ordinary katana and began his training, attempting to infuse [Wind] Style chakra into it.
His previous ninja sword had already been sent through a contact to the Ninja Cat clan to be reforged.
His requirements were to add more chakra metal to the blade and to have that red stone embedded into the crossguard.
Kiyoshi had fleeced 500,000 Ryō from the Land of Demons and immediately invested nearly 400,000 of it into his new weapon.
Once war broke out, there wouldn't be much time to send weapons away for maintenance.
Therefore, Kiyoshi wanted to increase the durability of the sword as much as possible in one go to prevent it from breaking too quickly.
*Hum...*
A piercing cutting sound began to swirl around Kiyoshi's katana as he struggled to maintain the balance of the chakra.
As he expected, he obtained a "Apprentice Wind Style Ninja" Trait, with current progress at 5%.
Kiyoshi's learning ability was now much faster than before.
Even learning an unknown C-rank ninjutsu from scratch didn't take much time.
"Wind Style... besides cutting, it should also be able to increase my speed," Kiyoshi thought to himself.
Currently, he only knew the basic Body Flicker Technique, and at most, he could increase his speed slightly by stimulating his body cells with Lightning Style chakra.
Now with Wind Style, he could continue to stack that speed.
Wind Style chakra can form a "compressed airflow layer" around the body, reducing the friction coefficient between the body and the air through high-speed currents, achieving the effect of reduced air resistance.
As the sun dipped toward the west, Kiyoshi was drenched in sweat.
He didn't know how many days and nights he had sustained this kind of training.
Since arriving at the Hidden Leaf, Kiyoshi spent the vast majority of his time in training.
Unless Kiyoshi could kick the Six Paths and punch Isshiki, he wouldn't stop to rest more often.
At that moment, a new green Trait appeared before Kiyoshi.
"You have obtained the Trait: [Fatigue Resistance (Green)]."
[Trait: Fatigue Resistance (Green).]
[Requirement: Repeat various tedious training exercises to establish a subconscious habit.]
[Progress: 1%.]
[Effect: Your muscle memory can optimize the efficiency of movements, reducing unnecessary energy consumption. Endurance in prolonged battles is increased, and your sense of fatigue is reduced by 20%.]
[Note: Can be further advanced in the future.]
"Endurance, huh? I wonder how it factors in with physical strength," Kiyoshi wiped his sweat and took off his chainmail, revealing a sturdy upper body.
He already had a [Muscle Memory (White)] Trait, which improved his muscle memory by 10% compared to average people.
However, it couldn't wash away incorrect muscle memory.
The way the human body exerts force in many movements is incorrect—simple things like running or squatting—it's just that it isn't noticeable in daily life.
Once years and months pass, however, it forms hidden injuries.
The 20% reduction in fatigue from the new green Trait was secondary; the important part was the preceding text stating "muscle memory can optimize the efficiency of movements."
Kiyoshi opened the Trait panel and found that the previous [Muscle Memory (White)] had turned into a grayed-out locked state.
It seemed that green Traits, besides being synthesized for advancement, could also advance based on his actions.
One day in the future, the effect of the Trait might not even require the brain to think; various parts of the body could directly perform conditioned reflex responses to stimuli, maximizing movement speed and reaction capacity.
This actually felt a bit like Ultra Instinct.
Kiyoshi closed the Trait panel.
Sometimes instinctive reaction speed far exceeds consciousness because it doesn't need to pass through thought at all.
In that case, Kiyoshi could react immediately if someone attempted an ambush.
His survival ability was greatly enhanced.
*Knock knock.*
Just as Kiyoshi wanted to continue training for a while longer, he noticed someone knocking on the door.
Kiyoshi gave the white snake a look. The white snake understood immediately, slithering over quickly and skillfully opening the door with its tail.
"A snake!"
The moment the door opened, a white snake came into view. Ginka Hyūga was startled by the sudden sight and instinctively took a step back, a flash of panic crossing her face.
Standing behind her, Natsu Hyūga saw this and quickly lowered her head, struggling to suppress a smile at the corner of her mouth.
When she last came to Kiyoshi's house, she had seen this snake on the low table and was already prepared in her heart.
"Lady Ginka, that is the summoned beast raised by Kiyoshi-kun."
Soon, Natsu Hyūga regained her composure and explained to Ginka Hyūga.
Hearing this, Ginka Hyūga steadied herself and followed the white snake's silhouette with her eyes.
She saw the white snake slither slowly into the house after opening the door, stopping at the corridor between the inner room and the courtyard to pick up a piece of raw meat with natural, practiced movements.
"So it really is a domestic summoned beast..."
Ginka Hyūga thought to herself. She quickly rearranged her appearance and stepped into the house.
As she moved forward, Kiyoshi's figure gradually became clear.
He was standing in the center of the courtyard, bare-chested, sweat sliding down the lines of his firm muscles and glinting in the sunlight.
His chest rose and fell slightly with his breathing, and the muscle lines on his arms were distinct.
Kiyoshi's physique was robust but did not look clumsy; every muscle seemed meticulously sculpted and full of aesthetic beauty.
Each part was in its proper place, with no disproportionate areas or uneven alignment.
Ginka Hyūga's gaze lingered on Kiyoshi's body for a moment, and she couldn't help but feel surprised.
She didn't expect that Kiyoshi, whom she had never truly met face-to-face, possessed such a sturdy physique.
Then... Ginka Hyūga looked away.
She was a woman with a fiancé.
Staring at someone else would lead to rumors, especially within the feudal and old-fashioned Hyūga clan.
"So it's a visit from Lady Ginka. Please, come inside and sit."
Kiyoshi was bare-chested and wearing a pair of loose long pants, making his entire person look very tall and lean.
He was already a head taller than his peers.
Using Lightning Style to forge his body made it impossible for him to suffer from the muscle deformation caused by incorrect force application in traditional training.
Furthermore, the talent of the Yotsuki clan gave Kiyoshi a natural gift for physical fitness.
He was the type who, even if he stopped being a ninja, could go to the civilian world and make a living as an actor.
"...Yes."
Ginka Hyūga and Natsu Hyūga entered the inner room.
They politely removed their shoes and stepped inside in their white socks.
"Please, have some tea."
Kiyoshi used a tea bag he had fleeced from the Priestess. During the days he spent treating the Daimyō, Kiyoshi had used various excuses to make off with several items.
Including a whole tea set.
"Thank you."
Ginka Hyūga politely accepted the tea.
She sat in a seiza position before the low table, maintaining excellent noblewoman etiquette.
Natsu Hyūga stood behind her.
Kiyoshi set down the second cup of tea and gestured for Natsu Hyūga to come take it.
Natsu Hyūga looked at Ginka Hyūga, and seeing no objection, she sat in seiza next to Ginka and accepted the tea.
"Kiyoshi and Natsu are classmates, right?"
Ginka Hyūga smiled.
She first played the emotional card of the classmate relationship between Kiyoshi and Natsu Hyūga.
"That's right."
Kiyoshi nodded, sitting cross-legged opposite Natsu Hyūga and Ginka Hyūga.
Only a low table separated the two sides.
Kiyoshi wasn't used to seiza; he preferred sitting cross-legged or simply sitting on a stool.
"These are some gifts we brought."
Ginka Hyūga gave a look.
Natsu Hyūga placed the pastries she was carrying in front of Kiyoshi.
"Just a small token of appreciation."
Kiyoshi nodded slightly.
Ginka Hyūga couldn't quite read Kiyoshi's attitude, so she said tentatively:
"I think we had some misunderstandings in the past. Natsu should have mentioned this as well."
"A misunderstanding, huh... Natsu Hyūga-san did say that through her efforts, we have resolved our misunderstanding."
"Aha, I see."
Ginka Hyūga looked like she had reached a sudden realization.
It seemed Natsu Hyūga was decent after all, not as stupid as other Branch House members.
However, she didn't notice that Natsu Hyūga had already gripped the hem of her skirt tightly. A flash of bad memories crossed Natsu's mind, and her expression changed slightly.
***
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