"I shall leave this matter to you."
The Third Raikage turned back to look at the cold and arrogant blonde woman standing before him. The Hidden Cloud possessed two Tailed Beasts; the person in front of him was the vessel for the Two-Tails, the Jinchuriki Yugito Nii!
The Hidden Cloud did not possess sealing techniques as powerful or refined as those of the Hidden Leaf. Controlling a Tailed Beast required an incredibly steep price. Even now, while Yugito could control the Two-Tails, the effort she had put in along the way to achieve such results was unimaginable.
Once the Uchiha were integrated into the Cloud and naturalized, they could attempt to let these Uchiha with bloodlines become Jinchuriki. This was all for the future grand plan of the village!
Yugito Nii took her orders and withdrew. Her exquisite face remained expressionless, though a flicker of curiosity toward Kiyoshi flashed in her eyes. She was aware of the village's plan to win Kiyoshi over. They were even adopting soft policies, fearing they might trigger his rebellious streak.
"I'll see for myself if he's truly such a genius."
...
Uchiha Stronghold.
"Captain Fugaku, are you alright?" Yashiro Uchiha asked, looking at Fugaku Uchiha, whose complexion looked poor.
Fugaku waved his hand, signaling that he was fine.
"Fugaku?"
Mikoto, dressed in capable ninja attire, had just arrived. As a Jonin, it was impossible for her to sit safely in the rear at a time like this. The village only needed a portion of clansmen with some strength to maintain order; other matters were managed by the ANBU.
"Are you injured?" Mikoto asked hurriedly, seeing Fugaku looking exhausted.
"Lord Fugaku isn't injured. He actually used an Uchiha secret technique to defeat the enemy..." Minato spoke up, explaining the situation to Mikoto. Kushina and Mikoto were best friends; through Kushina, he had met Mikoto several times and they weren't strangers.
"Uchiha secret technique? Fugaku, this is..." Confusion flashed in Mikoto's eyes. She had never heard of this.
"I'm tired." Fugaku offered no further explanation and prepared to turn into his tent.
"Wait, Fugaku! If something is wrong, you can talk to me," Mikoto said, not understanding why Fugaku seemed like a completely different person.
"Next time."
Under normal circumstances, he would have explained patiently. But the death of his companion had left Fugaku in deep grief. He had no energy for anything else. Fugaku turned, but just as he was about to step inside, he added: "Mikoto, Kiyoshi performed well in this mission. Go pick out some new ninjutsu for him."
"Fugaku!" Mikoto called out again, but Fugaku had already disappeared inside.
Her heart was filled with doubt. What on earth happened to him? Moreover, that chakra she felt from him earlier felt somewhat foreign, as if the chakra had been stained with black ink.
"Follow me, Kiyoshi," Mikoto beckoned.
Kiyoshi nodded and followed. In Fugaku's heart, Mikoto might not even be as important as his fallen comrade. After all, losing a comrade allowed him to open the Mangekyo Sharingan, which meant Fugaku was devastated. Later, when it was Mikoto's turn, Fugaku chose to give up resistance, letting Itachi kill both himself and Mikoto. If he had chosen to resist, how could Mikoto, who was a housewife at the time, have gone against Fugaku's wishes? Fugaku never even asked for Mikoto's opinion; it was a choice made in the heat of the moment.
"I don't know many ninjutsu at the moment, so I can only teach you what I know," Mikoto said apologetically, looking back once they reached a tent.
"It doesn't matter. Mikoto-san must be very tired from the journey. I'll learn whatever you teach me," Kiyoshi said with a slight smile. Rather than letting her perish in the future, it was better for him to save her.
"No wonder you're popular with the young girls; you're so silver-tongued. Even Tsunade was made to laugh by your praise before," Mikoto's lips curved into a beautiful arc. Yet, there was a trace of loneliness in her eyes; today, Fugaku hadn't treated her nearly as well as Kiyoshi did.
Even though Mikoto knew Fugaku was in a bad mood, she had worried about him and proactively applied to come here, traveling for several days and nights without rest. Yet Fugaku hadn't even offered a simple "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not that I like to praise people, it's just the truth. Your eyes look like they have stars in them, Mikoto-nee." Under the flickering lamplight of the tent was Kiyoshi's innocent face. He wasn't like the rigid and unromantic Fugaku. He knew how to... cherish "Sister Mikoto."
"Come, tell me what you want to learn?" Mikoto chuckled, her inner gloom dissipating slightly.
"I want to learn [Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame]," Kiyoshi stated his request.
"That's a B-rank ninjutsu. It's too difficult; you should pick another one," Mikoto shook her head gently. Her ponytail, tied simply with a black ribbon, swayed against her back. A few stray strands of hair fell over her shoulders, giving her a slightly disheveled look from the journey. It created a sense of unbridled charm.
Ocular power pulsed in Kiyoshi's eyes, but he gently suppressed it. There was a time and place for everything. If one always submitted to desire, they would instead become a slave to it.
After suppressing it, he actually felt his mental energy rise. Kiyoshi realized that mental energy was tied to one's knowledge, will, and state of mind. A small event could trigger a change.
"How about this? Mikoto-san has been traveling hard; let me serve you a cup of tea." Kiyoshi walked to a corner of the tent and picked up a simple cup. He unsealed a tea bag from a scroll on his person.
Mikoto stepped closer, curious to see what he was doing. She saw Kiyoshi pour cold water into the cup, drop the tea bag in, and hand the cup to her.
Mikoto raised an eyebrow and parted her red lips: "Cold water won't brew the tea."
"Mikoto-san, are you sure it's cold?"
Mikoto paused and looked closely. The surface of the calm water was actually beginning to bubble, and wisps of steam were rising!
"!"
How was this possible? Cold water turning into hot? She had seen with her own eyes that Kiyoshi had only put in an ordinary tea bag, without any heating process. Suddenly, Mikoto looked at the bottom of the cup. Sure enough, the palm supporting the base of the cup had turned a slight red.
He was refining Fire style chakra to boil the water!
It was the first time Mikoto had seen anyone brew tea like this. The cup was just an ordinary water cup; it could easily shatter if roasted even slightly. Yet Kiyoshi's chakra control had reached such a terrifying level. Was it because Nono Yakushi taught him well, or was his talent just that staggering? Mikoto had a premonition it was the latter.
"Please, Mikoto-nee." Kiyoshi handed the cup over. Along the way, he thoughtfully wrapped the surface of the cup in Water Style to cool it down. By the time Mikoto held it, the cup wasn't hot to the touch, and the tea inside was perfectly brewed and fragrant.
'Has his chakra control already reached the Jonin level?' Mikoto thought to herself, feeling awed by Kiyoshi's talent. No wonder Fugaku wanted this child to establish bonds within the clan.
***
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