"Orochimaru, you took far too long."
Jiraiya, clad in a suit of ninja armor, spoke as he greeted Orochimaru. His armor was the same style as Orochimaru's and Tsunade's—relics preserved from the era of the Second Great Ninja War.
"Heh heh. If I weren't the one leading the team, you wouldn't have seen them until tomorrow," Orochimaru replied.
"Haha, just a joke!" Jiraiya laughed heartily.
However, Orochimaru remained expressionless. Jiraiya laughed for a moment longer, but seeing that Orochimaru didn't find it the least bit amusing, he retracted his cynical expression.
"Asuma, give the scroll to Jiraiya."
Asuma blinked, realizing that the genuine scroll was indeed in his possession. He quickly handed the scroll over to Jiraiya. After accepting it, Jiraiya dispatched a ninja to lead Kiyoshi and the others to a spot where they could rest for the night.
Once only Jiraiya and Orochimaru remained, Jiraiya spoke up: "How did Kiyoshi Uchiha perform?"
Jiraiya asked the question because Tsunade had mentioned Kiyoshi when she lost a bet and came to borrow money from him. This prompted Jiraiya to recall the boy who had performed exceptionally well during the Chunin Exams.
"To be honest, even I find it startling," Orochimaru said, licking his lips.
The aptitude of the Uchiha clan was truly something one had to admire. But more importantly, it was Kiyoshi's mindset. Orochimaru believed that Kiyoshi was not a ninja who relied solely on Bloodline; his deep understanding of biological research suggested he conducted extensive private studies.
Ninjas with a scientific mind who sought to explore the truth were incredibly rare. Most ninjas simply studied nature transformations or trained based on experience to create a new jutsu. They didn't care about the underlying principles.
"Is that so," Jiraiya murmured.
He had traveled to every corner of the world in pursuit of the "Child of Prophecy"—someone who would either bring great change and lead the world toward a good path, or bring about a world-ending calamity and lead it toward destruction.
Eventually, he had met three children in the Land of Rain. Among them, the red-haired boy possessed the legendary eyes said to be held only by the Sage of the Six Paths—the [Rinnegan]. At that time, he was certain Nagato was the Child of Prophecy and carefully raised the three of them. Unfortunately, years had passed, and he rarely heard news of them; their correspondence had grown sparse.
Later, he thought Minato showed signs of being the Child of Prophecy. But now, Jiraiya saw Kiyoshi. The Great Toad Sage never explicitly said the Child of Prophecy couldn't be... an Uchiha, right?
"Heh heh. It seems only peeping on women's bathhouses can keep your attention focused," Orochimaru noted, seeing Jiraiya lost in thought.
"That's research! It's research, you hear? You don't understand the joys of being a man at all," Jiraiya waved him off, not wanting to deal with him. He watched Kiyoshi's departing figure in the distance. This level of talent was enough to command his full attention.
...
The tents at Jiraiya's base were the same as the ones at Kiyoshi's previous location—standard leaf military issue. After exchanging a few words with Kurenai and the others, Kiyoshi entered his private tent.
*Whoosh!*
A flame ignited in Kiyoshi's palm, followed by the sudden appearance of flickering lightning. The two combined into a scarlet electric arc dancing across his hand. Kiyoshi controlled it, letting it spread toward his wrist. The scarlet arc gradually took on a purple hue from Moryo's power, giving it an eerie, demonic quality.
'Once I learn Sage Art, it will likely augment my ninjutsu to a terrifying degree,' Kiyoshi thought.
Currently, with the [Natural Born Ninja (Purple)] Trait, he could learn any ninjutsu with great speed. His envisioned "Thunder-Fire Chakra Mode" would soon become a reality. If he layered Sage Art on top of that to create [Sage Art: Thunder-Fire Chakra Mode], he could achieve a secondary strengthening of his physique. Normal Sage Mode could be considered the first stage.
This was an uncharted path. Neither the three traditional Sage Modes nor the Cursed Seals had a precedent for using Sage Art to inversely augment the body in this specific way.
...
The next morning.
Someone came looking for Kiyoshi early. Kurenai dragged Kiyoshi out for breakfast, complaining that she was tired of eating dry rations on the road. When Kiyoshi arrived, he found a small pot set up.
Asuma was busily tending the fire and pouring water, clearly trying to show off his cooking skills in front of Kurenai. Not only was he there, but the rest of the mission team was present as well.
Natsu Hyuga stole a glance at Kurenai, who was chatting and laughing with Kiyoshi, and her gaze darkened slightly. Kiyoshi's interest in her might have just been a fleeting whim. But she had no way back. She had already given her most precious possession to him.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought occurred to Natsu. She was a healthy young woman of that age. During the events of the other day... there were no precautions taken. What if...
Thinking of this, Natsu's face turned pale.
"Natsu, are you feeling unwell?" Tetsu asked with concern.
"It's nothing," Natsu shook her head gently. There was a faint sense of 'you aren't worthy of asking about his child' in her demeanor.
"Come on, everyone, eat up!" Asuma distributed bowls, and everyone sat around the small pot. After traveling under high stress for so long, having a bowl of hot soup after a night's rest was the best thing possible.
"Not bad, Asuma. I didn't think you had it in you," Tekka said after taking a sip. While it wasn't exactly gourmet, it wasn't bad. He hadn't expected the "Crown Prince" to know how to do this.
"Hehe," Asuma chuckled. To leave a good impression on Kurenai, he had put in a lot of secret effort.
The group sat with their bowls of hot soup, chatting away. As the atmosphere grew warm, Natsu, who had been quiet with her head down, suddenly spoke:
"Kiyoshi... kun. I'm feeling a bit unwell. Could you check on me later?"
Kiyoshi stopped talking to Kurenai and turned to Natsu. "Where do you feel unwell?"
"My stomach," Natsu replied.
Their conversation caused the voices of the others to quiet down.
"What's the cause? Did you eat something strange?" Kiyoshi asked like a responsible medical ninja.
"It... it's..." Natsu stammered, unable to find the words, her earlobes turning red. Everyone present was a classmate. Regarding the events of that day... every time she recalled them, her face burned with embarrassment.
"What is it?" Tetsu asked urgently. If she had an upset stomach from eating something unclean, why didn't she just say so? What was she hesitating for?
"It might just be the schedule of the past few days. I'll check on you later," Kiyoshi interrupted, saving Natsu just as she looked like she might cry from shame. This prevented her tears from falling. Everyone there knew Kiyoshi was a medical ninja, so they took his response as perfectly normal.
***
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