Every village has spies from other nations. As long as there are people, there are flaws, and where there are flaws, there is the possibility of exploitation. Thus, there was always a chance that their mission had already been leaked.
The morning light filtered through the mottled canopy, casting shifting, ethereal colors onto the faces of the group. After hearing Orochimaru's warning, the hearts of the younger ninjas sank slightly. Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi were also part of this mission.
"No need to worry too much," Orochimaru said, glancing back at them. With his strength, this mission was practically guaranteed. If it weren't, he wouldn't have allowed his teacher's son to be part of the team.
This was a request from the Hokage's wife to polish Asuma's resume; she doted on her youngest son heavily, which contributed to Asuma's somewhat casual and rebellious attitude. Once the war ended, the achievements gained on the battlefield would provide immense convenience for a ninja's future.
"No problem, Orochimaru-sama," Kiyoshi said. Unlike the solemn expressions of the others, his face was quite relaxed. At this stage, Orochimaru still operated with a moral baseline; if trouble arose, he would protect them.
"Heh heh, Kiyoshi-kun, regarding..." As they traveled, Orochimaru began to ask Kiyoshi various questions. Most were focused on biological research. Orochimaru brought it up casually, but to his surprise, Kiyoshi's understanding of biology was far deeper than before.
Orochimaru immediately realized that Kiyoshi had dissected many animals. As for... humans, Orochimaru didn't think Kiyoshi would engage in such deviant behavior yet; after all, even Orochimaru only conducted such research with Danzo Shimura's backing.
Kiyoshi noticed Orochimaru's gaze but didn't explain. He knew Orochimaru suspected him of private dissections. However, Kiyoshi hadn't actually crossed the line into human dissection. Most of his data came from feeding drugs to Raiga Kurosuki and harvesting a portion of his cells for study. Raiga was still imprisoned, fed once every three days by Ringo Ameyuri. Now that her deal was done, Kiyoshi didn't know how long she would maintain that habit.
Orochimaru stayed at the front, intentionally matching his speed with Kiyoshi. Seeing the two of them chatting and laughing, the other ninjas relaxed slightly. The atmosphere was no longer as heavy as it had been at the start.
But before they could fully let their guard down, Orochimaru suddenly stopped and made a cautionary hand gesture.
"How many?" Orochimaru looked back at Natsu and Tetsu, the two with the Byakugan.
"There are six of them, Stone Shinobi... they're already here!" Natsu cried out.
In the next instant: "Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"
The sound of shifting rock erupted abruptly in the darkness. Numerous sharp earth spears shot up from beneath their feet. Kiyoshi leaped into the air, summoning his ninja blade and severing all the spears extending toward him. He even had the surplus energy to clear the spears around a startled Kurenai.
"Don't lose focus in the middle of a war."
*Crackle!*
Lightning suddenly flared atop Kiyoshi's blade. It was no longer a vivid flame, but a liquid-like Lightning Style chakra adhering to the steel. Through long-term use of [Chakra Flow: Fire Style], Kiyoshi was able to apply those principles to Lightning Style by analogy. Even if his proficiency wasn't perfect, it was more than enough for this scenario.
"When a person dies too quickly, they don't even have time to realize they are dead."
Kiyoshi applied a bit more force, and the pale blue lightning turned a deep, blood-red. The radiance illuminated the surroundings, making Kiyoshi look like a god of fire.
[Chakra Flow: Fire-Thunder]!
Kiyoshi's figure vanished from his spot. Controlling the two different nature transformations on his blade, he lunged toward the enemy.
"!"
The ninja who had released the Earth Style felt a flash of red light in the dim forest. Immediately following that, he felt a strange warmth at his neck. He turned back only to see the terrified expression of his comrade. Before he could speak, his vision began to spin.
'Is that... my own body?'
*Thud.* The head hit the ground.
"Like a blooming flower, isn't it?"
The long, narrow shadow of Kiyoshi's blade sent a chill straight up the spines of the remaining Stone Shinobi. Too fast—way too fast!
It wasn't just the ambushing Stone ninjas who were terrified. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes with interest. That speed... could a standard [Body Flicker Jutsu] reach such a level? Orochimaru asked himself.
His own speed relied on other techniques to achieve such agility. Kiyoshi's move looked like he had integrated different nature transformations directly into the Body Flicker.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Earth Style: Earth Shore Return!"
The remaining five Stone ninjas frantically refined chakra to perform hand signs. Unfortunately, before their hands could complete the correct sequence, Kiyoshi's cold blade arrived.
*Poof.*
A cloud of white smoke erupted as Kiyoshi sealed his blade back into its scroll. Ignoring the stunned gazes of Asuma, Tetsu, and Tekka, he walked back with his back turned to the ninjas who were still mid-sign.
"Kiyoshi, you..." Kurenai's throat moved. She had wanted to use Genjutsu to hold them in place for him, but she realized it was no longer necessary. Their mental energy was plummeting abruptly. A few seconds later, their heads fell. Their spiritual energy fell into silence. This was... death.
'Indeed... I've grown stronger again.'
Among those five ninjas, there were some at the Jonin level. Yet, they were killed instantly by Kiyoshi. When speed reaches a certain threshold, it acts as a form of dimensional strike. A notification from the Trait panel rang in Kiyoshi's mind. By wrapping both [Lightning] and [Fire] Style around his blade, he had gained a new Trait.
[Thunder-Fire Blade (Blue)]: Allows the user to coat their weapon in both Fire and Lightning chakra. Effectiveness is limited by the user's physical durability.
'Not bad. I'll see if I can develop a "Thunder-Fire Chakra Mode" later,' Kiyoshi thought.
"Kiyoshi-kun, every time I see you, you bring me a different surprise," Orochimaru said, licking his lips with a long tongue that flickered like a snake's.
"Kiyoshi... seriously, what do you even eat?" Asuma gripped his newly forged chakra blades, completely unable to comprehend why Kiyoshi's growth curve was so absurd. He felt as though he had lived in Kiyoshi's shadow since childhood. Not only was the girl he liked close to Kiyoshi, but he couldn't even match him in strength!
"Just hard work," Kiyoshi said flatly. He wanted to say it was luck, but felt that would be too arrogant, so he went with hard work.
"Let's keep moving," Orochimaru said, giving Kiyoshi a deep look before gesturing for the group to follow. The rest of the journey was much smoother, and the group finally arrived at the intelligence delivery point.
***
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