Regarding Pakura, Suna chose the second condition: to sign a ten-year non-aggression treaty, to remain neutral in Konoha's conflicts with Iwa and Kiri, and to provide a certain level of support when necessary.
This meant that, at the very least, Konoha's western front would enjoy stability for the next decade.
Although, in Kiyohara's view, it was rather ironic.
Because Sunagakure could practically be called professionals when it came to backstabbing.
Alliances were things that existed to be betrayed.
Of course, the current ceasefire was indeed a consensus between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, and also the best possible choice at the moment.
The draft agreement still required the formal signatures of the two Kage, but the results achieved at the negotiation table had already satisfied Hiruzen greatly.
On the evening of the day the preliminary agreement was signed, Tsunade took Kiyohara to the casino.
"Finally, I can relax a bit."
Tsunade stretched lazily, her graceful figure becoming even more pronounced. The soft curves of her body swayed slightly, like a trembling pudding.
"These past few days, my head has been filled with treaties and clauses. It's so annoying."
She complained openly.
"It's already over, sensei," Kiyohara comforted her.
Sometimes he felt as though he were the teacher and Tsunade was the student.
"I need to properly reward myself."
Tsunade declared that she had truly worn herself out.
Very quickly, she walked with practiced ease to her usual dice table, while Kiyohara stood at her side.
"Place your bets!"
The dealer's eyes lit up at the sight of such a big target, and he began shaking the dice with excitement, already thinking about what he would have for dinner tonight.
After all, every expense would be paid for by the gambling losses of Lady Tsunade.
Once the game began, Kiyohara occasionally reminded Tsunade how she should bet.
Over these days, Tsunade's gambling skills had not improved much, but Kiyohara's had become significantly better.
With his immense spiritual energy and sharp thinking, even without the Sharingan, he could learn anything quickly.
With Kiyohara's help, after Tsunade won five consecutive rounds, the pile of chips in front of her had grown into a small mountain.
"Kid, you've got some luck," a gambler beside them said enviously.
Without Kiyohara, Tsunade would have definitely lost miserably.
"It's the good luck my disciple brings me."
Tsunade proudly wrapped an arm around Kiyohara's shoulders, completely unaware that this action pressed her soft chest against his arm.
Kiyohara's body stiffened slightly, but he quickly relaxed.
He continued to focus on observing the dice, while multitasking at the same time.
Inside his body, Lightning nature chakra was slowly circulating through his meridians, following the chakra flow technique of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, tempering his muscles and bones.
Steel Release and Earth Release: Earth Spear could only strengthen the skin.
Therefore, the muscles, bones, and internal organs inside had to be trained by Kiyohara himself.
Only by integrating both internal and external strength could he avoid suffering severe damage.
Otherwise, techniques like Gentle Fist, which inflicted internal injuries, could directly damage his insides.
Although he possessed the Power of the White Snake and the Mystical Palm Technique, allowing him to heal quickly in a short time, it would still affect the course of battle.
After all, in the shinobi world, Gentle Fist was not exclusive to the Hyuga clan, though they were the most famous practitioners of it.
Similarly, aside from the Eight Gates, there were many other forms of Strong Fist taijutsu.
With Kiyohara's exceptional chakra control, he guided Lightning nature chakra through his entire body like fine currents of electricity. Each cycle slightly enhanced the activity of his cells, causing a subtle transformation in his physique.
From the outside, he merely appeared to be accompanying Tsunade in gambling, but internally, he was undergoing intense training.
Three hours later, Tsunade finally stopped, thoroughly satisfied.
She had won some money. Although it was insignificant compared to her debts, it was enough to put her in a good mood.
"Come on, Kiyohara, go with me to check the mission board."
Tsunade brought him directly to the Hokage building.
She browsed through the mission listings, while Kiyohara looked toward another section where long-term or special missions were posted.
Very soon, he found his target.
B-Rank Investigation Mission: A large sea monster suspected to be a summoning beast has appeared near the shores of the Land of the Sea, attacking fishing vessels. Shinobi are required to investigate and either drive away or eliminate the creature. Reward: four hundred thousand ryo.
"Sensei, this one."
Kiyohara pointed at the mission sheet.
Tsunade leaned in to take a look. "The Land of the Sea… it's along the way. Alright, we'll take this one."
She went to the counter to handle the procedures.
The chunin on duty recognized Tsunade and spoke respectfully, "Lady Tsunade, this mission requires at least two jonin or tokubetsu jonin to form a team."
"I'll go with my disciple."
Tsunade pointed at Kiyohara.
"Our strength is sufficient."
The chunin glanced at Kiyohara and then recognized him as the rising figure who had recently gained widespread fame.
Even among jonin, there were differences in strength.
A powerful jonin could easily defeat several others of the same rank.
Kiyohara clearly belonged to the powerful category.
The chunin nodded and recorded it. "Understood. The mission duration is one month. Please depart within three days."
By the time they left the Hokage building, night had already fallen.
Lanterns along the streets gradually lit up one by one.
"Finally, I can leave the village and get some fresh air."
Tsunade took a deep breath of the night air.
"Political negotiations really don't suit me."
"You did very well, sensei," Kiyohara said.
"This agreement is very beneficial for Konoha."
"I was forced by that old man."
Tsunade clicked her tongue, though there was a smile in her eyes.
"But being able to help still means I didn't waste my time as his disciple."
As they passed the market, Kiyohara stopped. "Sensei, go back first. I'll buy some ingredients. How about we celebrate tonight?"
"Celebrate?"
Tsunade's eyes lit up.
"I want to eat chicken!"
"Alright, we'll have a big chicken meal," Kiyohara replied.
Tsunade's love for chicken was on the same level as her love for alcohol.
Soon, Tsunade left, humming a tune.
Kiyohara entered the market to select ingredients for the evening.
The chicken had to be firm in texture, the vegetables fresh, and he needed to replenish some seasonings as well.
"Kiyohara-kun?"
A familiar voice came from behind him.
He turned around and saw Rin standing by a fruit stall, holding a bag of strawberries in her hand.
She was wearing a white coat, her hair loosely tied behind her head, looking as though she had just finished her work in the medical unit.
"Rin."
Kiyohara glanced at what she was carrying.
"Buying strawberries?"
"Mm, they're very sweet lately."
Rin walked over and naturally opened the bag.
"Want to try?"
Kiyohara did not refuse. He picked up a bright red strawberry and put it into his mouth.
"It really is sweet."
The two stood very close to each other.
So close that Rin felt as though Kiyohara had leaned in.
Watching him eat the strawberry, her cheeks suddenly flushed slightly.
This action felt a bit too intimate.
But Kiyohara did not seem to find anything wrong with it, so she felt too shy to say anything.
"How have you been lately?" Kiyohara asked.
"How's your control over that power inside your body?"
At the mention of this, Rin shook her head, suppressing the blush on her face. "It's much better than before. I also exchanged for some Water Release ninjutsu."
She raised her right hand, and a layer of blue chakra appeared in her palm.
This was her own chakra.
But as Rin continued to channel it, a trace of red began to mix into the blue.
The chakra of tailed beasts was red, a common trait shared by all nine tailed beasts.
However, when they were combined into the Ten-Tails, the color would turn a pale bluish white.
Kiyohara ate another strawberry.
Looking at Rin's slightly flushed cheeks, he suddenly said, "Your chakra control has improved a lot. Do you want to go to Training Ground Three and try it out?"
"Now?"
Rin blinked, the bag of strawberries in her hand swaying gently.
"Mm, it's a good chance to test the results of your recent training."
Kiyohara smiled.
"I also need to stretch my muscles a bit."
He wanted to use the Sharingan to observe the ninjutsu Rin had exchanged for with her battle merits, and incidentally, guide her… or rather, pick up a few things along the way.
Rin hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright."
The two of them walked side by side toward the training grounds in the eastern part of the village.
"In a moment, you can go all out. I'll control my strength."
Rin turned her head to look at him. Under the dim light, Kiyohara's profile was half in shadow and half illuminated, his features sharp and defined.
She suddenly recalled the discussions she had heard in the medical unit a few days ago, about the battle in the Land of Rain and the rumors of Kiyohara withstanding Hanzo's iaido slash head-on.
The boy in front of her looked no different from how she remembered, but Rin knew that he had already gone very far, so far that she could only look up to him.
This was what people called a genius.
Rin felt that those who were born in the same era as Kiyohara might ultimately all be overshadowed by his brilliance.
People often only remember the one who comes first.
"Kiyohara-kun…"
Rin spoke softly.
"Is what happened in the Land of Rain true?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… the part about you defeating Hanzo."
Kiyohara shook his head. "It wasn't just me. There were members of the Akatsuki, Nagato's summoned creatures, and support from my teacher Tsunade. I only did what I was supposed to do."
Although, at that time, he had not even used his full strength.
If Kiyohara had wanted to, he could have had Toad Kiyohara help refine chakra, further increasing his endurance.
Hanzo of the Salamander was already old. If it came down to chakra reserves alone, he likely would not be able to surpass Kiyohara.
His strength lay in his combat experience, his techniques, and his poison.
Unfortunately for him, Kiyohara possessed medical ninjutsu, and had also inherited techniques in poison usage from both Sasori and Tsunade.
So against Kiyohara, Hanzo was essentially left without any options.
'Kiyohara-kun is really humble,' Rin thought to herself. Despite accomplishing such great feats, he never boasted.
This kind of quality was especially rare among shinobi, particularly among those so-called geniuses who became arrogant the moment they achieved something.
"But everyone says you blocked Hanzo's iaido slash," Rin insisted, curiosity shining in her eyes.
Kiyohara did not deny it. He only said calmly, "That was to save someone. If I had stepped back at the time, the Akatsuki members behind me might have died."
As they spoke, Training Ground Three came into view. It was a wide, open training field, the ground covered with fine sand, with dozens of wooden posts and targets standing around it.
The two walked to the center of the field and stopped ten meters apart.
"Let's begin," Kiyohara said.
"You attack first."
Rin took a deep breath and formed hand seals in front of her chest.
Her training as a medical shinobi had made her accustomed to observing first, then acting.
She looked at Kiyohara. He simply stood there casually, without any stance at all, yet gave off a feeling that made it impossible to find an opening.
"Then… I'll begin."
As her voice fell, Rin rapidly formed seals.
Dragon, Ox, Rabbit, three seals completed within half a second.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
She bent forward and expelled a surge of water.
This was not a particularly powerful offensive ninjutsu, but its range was wide, and the water surged forward like a tide toward Kiyohara.
At the same time, Rin's left hand was hidden behind her back, three kunai already held between her fingers, using the water release to conceal their trajectory.
Kiyohara watched the incoming wave and also formed hand seals, his movements even faster than Rin's, so quick that the changes of his fingers were almost impossible to see.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A blazing fireball burst from his mouth, nearly three meters in diameter.
The moment the fireball collided with the wave, a sharp hissing sound erupted, and a large amount of white steam exploded outward, instantly enveloping the surroundings.
The temperature of the steam was high, forcing Rin to step back a few paces and narrow her eyes.
At that moment, three kunai pierced through the steam, shooting toward Kiyohara's upper, middle, and lower positions.
The timing was perfect, striking precisely when vision was obscured.
Kiyohara seemed to have anticipated it. He did not even look with his eyes, merely shifting his body slightly as the three kunai brushed past his clothes.
They struck the wooden posts behind him with a series of sharp thuds.
Immediately after, he raised his right hand, and between his index and middle fingers, he caught a fourth kunai that had quietly approached. That was Rin's true killing move, the first three had only been a feint.
"Not a bad tactic," Kiyohara commented, lightly tossing the kunai back.
Rin caught it, her heart tightening.
She knew Kiyohara was strong, but she had not expected him to be this strong. With his vision completely obscured, even the Sharingan should not have been able to see clearly.
Did he dodge everything purely by sensing?
Was this the instinct honed through countless life and death battles?
"Continue," Kiyohara said.
Rin nodded.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Chakra surged through her body, and a water dragon rose from the ground before her. The dragon looked vivid and lifelike, showing that Rin's chakra control was quite good.
With a silent roar, the water dragon lunged toward Kiyohara.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique!"
The fireballs Kiyohara released spread out like blooming flowers, each one colliding with the body of the water dragon.
As water and fire clashed, explosions sounded one after another, and steam spread once again.
But this time, Rin did not stop. While releasing the Water Dragon Bullet, she had already begun preparing her next technique.
At the moment when the steam was at its thickest, Rin slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
This was originally a signature technique of Kirigakure, but after long years of war with Kiri, Konoha had obtained some of their water release techniques.
However, these techniques were difficult to learn, and in most cases only shinobi from the Mist Village could master them.
Even when Konoha shinobi obtained them, very few succeeded in learning them.
"Is this the change brought by the Three Tails? It actually raised Rin's aptitude for water release this much…"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
It seemed that the Three Tails, which excelled in water release, had been continuously altering Rin's body.
Just like how Roshi had learned Lava Release from the Four Tails, Son Goku.
Soon, dense mist spread out from her position. This was not ordinary water vapor, but a special mist infused with tailed beast chakra.
Within the mist, her perception would be enhanced, while her opponent's perception would be disrupted.
The mist quickly covered the area, reducing visibility to less than thirty centimeters.
Rin's figure appeared and disappeared within the mist, as if she had merged with the environment.
Kiyohara stood in the mist and closed his eyes.
Although the Sharingan could see through many illusions and disguises, this kind of pure water mist required a different response.
He quietly sensed everything: the flow of the air, the distribution of moisture, the fluctuations of chakra.
From the left.
Kiyohara turned instantly, raising his right hand. A water arrow brushed past his palm, leaving a faint white mark on his skin.
It was a high pressure stream of water condensed into an attack, fast and highly penetrating.
Kiyohara could feel Rin moving within the mist, constantly changing positions. Each attack came from a different direction, sometimes water arrows, sometimes water whips, sometimes even water projectiles shaped like kunai.
The rhythm of the attacks was fast, leaving almost no gaps.
Yet Kiyohara dodged them all.
To be honest, this mist would have worked on the Kiyohara of the past.
But now, it was not very effective.
If he wished, he could at any moment enter a cursed seal state or borrow the Sage Mode of Toad Kiyohara.
That would greatly enhance his perception, allowing him to locate Rin without relying on sight.
Right now, he was merely playing along with her, copying her ninjutsu to save on battle merits.
Kiyohara wanted to accumulate enough merits to exchange for the various forbidden techniques recorded in the Scroll of Seals.
Three minutes passed, and Rin stopped using water release ninjutsu.
The mist gradually dissipated, and her figure reappeared, her breathing slightly uneven.
Using ninjutsu continuously was a considerable burden on her chakra, especially a technique like Hidden Mist that required such fine control.
"Why…"
She looked at Kiyohara, who was completely unharmed, confusion in her eyes.
"Why were you able to dodge everything? You shouldn't have been able to see in the mist."
Kiyohara opened his eyes. "I didn't use my eyes. Every one of your attacks caused changes in the airflow, and the sound of the water arrows traveling through the air is enough to determine their trajectory."
"But you did very well."
Kiyohara thought to himself that even small ones could be quite cute.
"Your use of water release is very skilled, and your control over the attack rhythm is also good. Next, try that."
"That?"
"The power inside your body," Kiyohara said, looking directly into her eyes. "The chakra of the Three Tails."
Rin's body trembled slightly.
She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously tightening. "I… I'm still learning to control it."
"That's exactly why you need to practice."
Kiyohara walked up to her.
"If you lose control, I will stop you."
"Alright."
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Within her body, that dormant power began to awaken.
The first change was in the color of her chakra.
Within the blue chakra surrounding Rin, a trace of crimson quietly appeared, like ink dropped into clear water, slowly spreading.
Then came the change in texture. The originally gentle, flowing chakra became violent, like boiling magma, each surge carrying scorching power.
Rin frowned. She could feel the resistance of that power, the urge to devour everything.
She had to suppress it with her will, to guide it.
Even though the Three Tails had reached an agreement with Kiyohara, this step still had to be endured by Rin herself.
That was why becoming a jinchuriki depended on the quality of the vessel. Not just anyone could become one.
"I'm ready."
Rin spoke.
In the next instant, her speed increased several times over, almost turning into a blur.
This was not the Body Flicker Technique, but purely the explosion of physical ability. With the enhancement of tailed beast chakra, her muscle strength and neural response speed were greatly increased.
Rin's small fist was wrapped in moisture and crimson chakra.
Kiyohara raised his hand to block.
After entering the tailed beast chakra mode, Rin's strength was indeed considerable.
But compared to Kiyohara himself, it was still slightly lacking.
"Not bad!"
Kiyohara praised, while extending his left hand to grab Rin's wrist.
Rin quickly withdrew her fist, pivoted her body, and swept a kick toward Kiyohara's lower body.
The two exchanged blows rapidly within the training ground. Kiyohara did not use ninjutsu, responding only with taijutsu.
Because just now, within the mist, he had already copied the water release techniques he needed.
As long as he got close enough for a single glance, he could copy them.
"Don't rush, Rin," Kiyohara said.
(End of Chapter)