"Kiyohara-kun is really diligent. You only returned from the front lines not long ago, and you're already training again."
"I'm used to it."
Kiyohara walked beneath a nearby tree and sat down.
"What about you? Didn't you go to the Medical Department today?"
Rin followed him over and sat beside him.
"Today is my day off."
She opened the notebook she was carrying.
"I finally have some free time, so I wanted to organize everything I've learned recently."
Kiyohara glanced at the notebook. The handwriting inside was neat and elegant.
"You've written quite a lot?"
"Mm."
Rin nodded and opened it for him to see.
The pages were densely packed with notes, recording the principles behind various techniques as well as important points regarding chakra control.
"These are all things Kiyohara-kun taught me, along with some of my own ideas."
Rin raised her head and smiled.
"I was afraid I'd forget, so I wrote everything down."
Looking at the carefully organized notes, even Kiyohara could not help admiring Rin's dedication.
"There are probably very few people who can surpass you in medical ninjutsu now."
Kiyohara said sincerely.
Rin truly was a genius in this field. She learned incredibly quickly.
Or rather, anyone capable of mastering the Mystical Palm Technique was far from ordinary.
For truly average medical shinobi, the Mystical Palm Technique was something they could only dream of reaching.
"I still can't compare to Kiyohara-kun."
Rin shook her head.
She had never felt proud or complacent.
Every time she looked at Kiyohara, she felt as though she were staring up at a towering mountain.
The two chatted for a while.
Most of the time, Kiyohara listened while Rin spoke, only occasionally adding a comment.
His own knowledge regarding water release medical techniques had only reached a basic level during his time studying in Suna. After that, he had left the research entirely to Rin.
Now he discovered that Rin had developed many interesting ideas and improvements on her own.
Naturally, he absorbed all of that knowledge as well.
The sun gradually sank toward the horizon.
After talking for so long that their throats became dry, Kiyohara took out a water flask and handed it to Rin.
"Thank you."
After expressing her thanks, Rin accepted it and drank.
"Oh, right."
As if remembering something, she reached into a cloth bag beside her and took out two rice balls wrapped in cloth.
"I made some rice balls. Would Kiyohara-kun like to try one?"
She handed one to him.
Kiyohara accepted it and unwrapped the cloth.
The rice ball was triangular, wrapped with a layer of seaweed. The rice had been packed firmly together, and a plum filling could be seen peeking out from the center.
He took a bite.
The rice texture was excellent.
The sourness of the plum blended together with a slight sweetness.
"Not bad."
Kiyohara nodded approvingly.
Rice balls were one of the standard foods carried by shinobi and he had eaten countless of them.
Even so, Rin's rice balls genuinely tasted good.
Hearing his praise, Rin happily picked up her own rice ball and began eating it in small bites.
Kiyohara watched her.
Rin's pink tongue lightly brushed across her lips, removing a grain of rice that had accidentally stuck there.
Noticing his gaze, she looked up.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
Kiyohara withdrew his eyes.
"I was just thinking that you'll definitely become a wonderful wife someday. The kind of wife and mother everyone admires."
"K-Kiyohara-kun, what are you saying...?"
Rin had never expected him to say something like that.
Wasn't it a little too early to be talking about such things?
Could it be that Kiyohara-kun liked women like that?
Countless thoughts immediately began running through her mind.
Several days passed.
Throughout that time, Kiyohara had been gathering intelligence regarding Karatachi Yagura.
Besides using Konoha's intelligence channels, he also frequented the black market to collect information.
With the Flying Thunder God Technique at his disposal, his mobility had increased tremendously.
Eventually, he obtained useful news.
Recently, Karatachi Yagura had been active near the Land of Waves.
It was a tiny island nation composed of numerous small islands. The country possessed almost no shinobi forces of its own. Its economy was poor, and its people lived in poverty.
It could be considered one of the smallest nations in existence, located among the islands south of the Land of Fire.
"That fast?"
The spirit of Hyuga Kiyohara emerged from his body and floated beside him.
He could not help expressing amazement at Kiyohara's intelligence-gathering abilities.
"Mm. If you ask around through enough channels, information comes quickly."
Kiyohara nodded.
Although Yagura was a powerful figure within Kiri, he was not yet a jinchūriki.
Because of that, tracking his movements was not particularly difficult.
"When are we leaving?"
Hyuga Kiyohara asked curiously.
"Right now."
Kiyohara turned his head and glanced toward Konoha.
Tsunade had gone gambling today and probably would not return until evening.
As long as he returned early enough, nobody would notice that he had left.
As for the current Yagura, Kiyohara did not consider him a threat.
Without the immense chakra reserves of the Three-Tails supporting him, many of the techniques Yagura displayed in the original story simply could not reach their full power.
"Let's go."
The next moment, Kiyohara vanished from where he stood.
…
Land of Waves.
Dense mist blanketed the entire island.
Kiyohara stood atop a seaside reef.
Below him, waves continuously crashed against the rocks.
Ahead stretched an endless sea of white fog.
He had never visited the Land of Waves before, but he had been to the Land of Rivers.
The southern coastline of the Land of Rivers connected with the southern coastline of the Land of Fire. Once he reached this general area, the rest of the journey could be completed quickly.
Byakugan!
Kiyohara closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his pupils had transformed into a luminous white.
Throughout the journey, he repeatedly used the Byakugan's telescopic vision and penetrating sight to observe his surroundings.
After searching for nearly two hours, just as he was considering returning tomorrow instead, he finally discovered traces of his target.
At the island's northwestern corner, hidden within a secluded bay, was a Kirigakure fleet.
Five ships.
Approximately thirty shinobi.
And aboard the largest vessel was a chakra presence that stood out distinctly from all the others.
The aura felt remarkably young.
Yet its chakra fluctuations were unusually stable, carrying a calmness and maturity that did not match its apparent age.
Karatachi Yagura.
Kiyohara deactivated his Byakugan, put on his mask, and disappeared once more.
…
The bay.
Kirigakure's fleet was anchored along the shore.
Flags attached to the masts fluttered gently in the sea breeze.
On the largest ship stood a shinobi whose appearance resembled that of a young boy.
Karatachi Yagura possessed a baby-faced appearance, yet beneath his left eye was a scar resembling a stitched wound. A bundled weapon was strapped across his back.
At this moment, he was gazing toward the distant ocean.
The Land of Waves was incredibly poor.
That fact had caused Yagura to seriously consider whether Kiri should simply purchase control of the region outright.
For an island nation like the Land of Waves, whoever controlled the maritime lifelines effectively controlled the country's wealth, politics, population, and everything else.
Furthermore, because of its strategic geographical location, deploying Kirigakure shinobi here could place pressure on Konoha while easing logistical burdens.
"Lord Yagura."
A mist shinobi emerged from the cabin and knelt on one knee.
"The reconnaissance team has reported back. There are no abnormalities in the surrounding waters."
Yagura nodded slightly.
"You've worked hard."
He turned around, about to say something else.
Suddenly, his expression changed.
Because at some unknown point, an additional person had appeared on the deck.
Only then did the surrounding mist shinobi react.
Weapons were instantly drawn as they surrounded Kiyohara.
"Who are you?!"
"Protect Lord Yagura!"
"Don't let him escape!"
Kiyohara simply looked at Yagura.
The black pupils in his eyes turned crimson.
Three tomoe slowly revolved within them.
Yagura's pupils contracted sharply.
"An Uchiha...!"
He immediately shifted his gaze away, not daring to meet Kiyohara's eyes directly.
"Who are you?"
From that brief glance, Yagura had already recognized that the masked man belonged to the Uchiha Clan.
However, because of the mask, he had no way of knowing exactly who this Uchiha was.
"All of you, stand down."
"Lord Yagura!"
"Stand down."
The Kirigakure shinobi hesitated for a moment.
In the end, they retreated toward the edges of the deck, though none of them lowered their weapons.
Yagura stared fixedly at Kiyohara.
"You came to kill me?"
"No, no, no."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"I only came to take something."
"What thing?"
"One of your eyes."
Yagura's brows furrowed slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Kiyohara raised his right hand.
A layer of flowing Water Release appeared around it, wrapping his entire hand in constantly moving water.
"You can choose to hand it over yourself."
He paused briefly.
"Or I can help you with that."
"Interesting."
Yagura felt that the man standing before him was an outright madman.
To speak such outrageous words so casually.
Without hesitation, he pulled out the club-like shinobi tool strapped to his back. The weapon's front end was hooked and decorated with green flower ornaments, allowing it to amplify Water Release techniques.
Kiyohara looked at the strange weapon and thought it appeared rather bizarre.
Unfortunately, the stranger the weapon, the faster its owner usually died.
Yagura charged forward immediately.
His figure flashed.
The weapon was already in front of Kiyohara's face.
The mist shinobi standing behind him could not even clearly see Yagura's movement. They could only marvel inwardly at Lord Yagura's speed.
Lord Yagura would very likely become Kirigakure's Fourth Mizukage in the future.
No wonder he had ordered them to retreat.
It was because he was afraid of accidentally injuring his own people.
"Everyone, move farther back."
One of the Mist shinobi shouted.
"Hurry!"
The Kirigakure shinobi retreated another distance.
Meanwhile, at the front line, Kiyohara merely tilted his head slightly and effortlessly avoided Yagura's strike.
Too slow.
Kiyohara swung his hand backward.
Clang!
A dull impact exploded across the deck.
Yagura staggered back three steps.
Each step left a deep footprint in the wooden deck.
Lowering his head, he looked at his weapon.
A tiny crack had appeared on its surface.
"What incredible strength..."
He raised his head and stared at Kiyohara.
The other party had merely struck with the back of his hand, yet had nearly shattered his weapon.
Yagura frowned deeply.
He began recalling the powerful members of the Uchiha Clan.
Kiyohara?
Shisui?
Fugaku?
Or perhaps some other hidden expert from the clan?
However, Yagura did not dwell on the matter.
Kirigakure and Konoha were enemies.
If Konoha had dispatched an assassin to eliminate him, that was entirely reasonable.
The next moment, Yagura leaped directly onto the ocean surface.
In an environment like this, Water Release users enjoyed tremendous advantages.
Kiyohara's figure blurred.
His right fist shot forward.
"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"
Yagura swept his hand through the air, creating an oval-shaped mirror of water.
The mirror reflected the enemy standing before it.
Then a duplicate emerged from within the mirror itself.
An exact copy.
The duplicate could use the same techniques as the original target and possessed identical power.
Kiyohara looked at the second version of himself that had suddenly crawled out of the mirror with considerable interest.
"So this is the Water Mirror Technique..."
He neither dodged nor retreated.
Instead, he punched directly at it.
Boom!
The water clone that looked exactly like Kiyohara shattered instantly.
"What a pity."
Kiyohara shook his hand casually.
"It seems it can't completely imitate me."
The flowing Water Release surrounding his hand remained in motion.
Even a simple strike carried a sharpness comparable to a blade.
"!"
Yagura's expression darkened.
What was happening?
This was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation.
Under normal circumstances, even Tailed Beast Jinchūriki would be copied by this technique.
So why had it failed completely against Kiyohara?
Was this man not human?
Yagura could not understand how Kiyohara had bypassed the Water Mirror Technique.
In truth, even Kiyohara himself was somewhat surprised.
His guess was that it had something to do with the numerous bloodlines contained within his body.
Every technique had limits.
Kiyohara suspected that he had exceeded the limits of Water Release: Water Mirror Technique.
Yet he did not stop attacking.
He continued advancing toward Yagura.
Yagura had no time to evade.
He could only raise his left arm and block.
Bang!
Yagura's entire body flew away like a cannonball.
He skipped across the ocean surface as though he were a stone being thrown over water.
Only after tumbling more than a hundred meters did he finally stop.
"Haa...!"
His body, half submerged beneath the water, slowly floated upward.
Gathering chakra beneath his feet, Yagura stood once more upon the sea surface while breathing heavily.
His left arm throbbed with pain.
Even through his armor, the force of that punch had damaged the bones beneath.
"People perceive the world through their senses and understanding."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
"Yet they are also shackled by those same senses and understanding. But perception and understanding themselves are ambiguous things. Reality may be nothing more than a reflection in water, a flower in a mirror."
He had already decided to finish this quickly.
Since Yagura's strongest technique currently had no effect on him, Yagura possessed little advantage.
Originally, Kiyohara had expected the water duplicate to at least exchange a few blows with him.
Instead, it had been destroyed instantly.
"Just what method did you use...?"
Yagura looked up.
Kiyohara was already standing directly before him.
Within those crimson eyes, three tomoe slowly revolved.
Sharingan Genjutsu!
Yagura's consciousness blurred for a single moment.
Then he discovered something horrifying.
He could no longer control his body.
He remained frozen in place, maintaining the exact same posture while helplessly watching Kiyohara extend his hand toward him.
Yagura struggled desperately.
Yet he discovered that the only part of his body he could still move was his mouth.
Just as he was about to say something, Kiyohara's fingers had already reached his eye.
Puchi.
An eyeball fell.
Yagura felt a surge of unimaginable pain.
Blood ran down his cheek.
It dripped onto the ocean surface before being swept away by the waves.
Then Kiyohara's Sharingan rotated.
A trace of ocular power silently entered Yagura's body.
The power would gradually dissipate over time.
But it would remain effective for long enough.
"Goodbye."
Having fulfilled the final wish, Kiyohara had no intention of staying any longer.
As for Yagura himself, Kiyohara planned to spare his life for now.
There was a very high chance that Obito would still choose to control Yagura through genjutsu in the future.
The ocular power Kiyohara had just implanted was a countermeasure.
He intended to make Obito believe that Yagura had been hypnotized by him.
In reality, Kiyohara would have already taken control first.
It was similar to Kabuto's situation with Sasori.
Sasori believed Kabuto was his spy.
In reality, Kabuto was Orochimaru's spy planted beside Sasori.
A spy within a spy.
The very definition of shinobi-world espionage.
In the blink of an eye, Kiyohara vanished.
Only Yagura remained behind, kneeling on the ocean surface.
Blood continued flowing from the empty socket of his left eye.
Only then did the distant Kirigakure shinobi dare approach.
"Lord Yagura!"
"Medical team! Quickly, call the medical team!"
Yagura allowed them to support him.
However, his gaze remained fixed on the direction where Kiyohara had disappeared.
"That man..."
he muttered quietly.
"Who exactly was he...?"
Deep down, Yagura already had a suspicion.
He felt it might truly have been Kiyohara.
Yet he had no proof.
After all, Shunshin no Shisui possessed speed and genjutsu of a similar caliber.
…
In a deserted valley.
Kiyohara finally stopped.
The spirit of Hyuga Kiyohara emerged from his body and floated beside him.
"Very efficient."
Hyuga Kiyohara nodded approvingly.
The wish had been completed cleanly and decisively.
Without the Three-Tails, Yagura's strength had been heavily diminished.
Techniques such as Coral Palm and Wild Sea Foam could not be used at all.
"So does this count as fulfilling the will?"
Kiyohara asked according to the usual process.
"It does."
Hyuga Kiyohara nodded.
Destroying one of Yagura's eyes had simply been an act of revenge.
After all, one of his own Byakugan had once been stolen.
"Thank you, my younger self."
Hyuga Kiyohara's body began glowing.
The light became brighter and brighter.
Eventually, it transformed into countless particles of light that surged into Kiyohara's body.
Kiyohara closed his eyes.
The particles merged with him.
He could feel his Byakugan changing.
Its purity was increasing.
The most direct result of that increased purity was obvious.
His vision became clearer.
Far clearer.
His field of view expanded dramatically.
He could see farther.
He could penetrate thicker materials.
He could perceive even subtler fluctuations of chakra.
Then he felt his chakra reserves surge upward.
The growth continued.
Finally stabilizing at twenty units.
Twenty Kakashis worth of chakra.
In addition, Kiyohara inherited several Gentle Fist techniques.
One of them was Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists.
The technique concentrated massive amounts of chakra into both hands before shaping it into two ferocious lion heads.
'When it comes to chakra reserves, I finally have enough endurance.'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
Although it was not yet at the absurd monster levels seen later in the anime, he still possessed the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
In reality, he was already ahead of the overwhelming majority of shinobi.
"Chakra quantity is only one part of the equation."
Kiyohara stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"You also need chakra output."
Thinking about the future, many of the shinobi revived through Edo Tensei possessed what appeared to be infinite chakra.
Yet that infinity was not truly limitless.
After being revived through Edo Tensei, one gained an immortal body.
Ordinary shinobi who exhausted their chakra completely would eventually die.
But Edo Tensei corpses had no such concern.
Even if they continuously extracted and expended chakra twenty-four hours a day, they would remain unharmed.
However, their chakra output remained fixed.
No matter how much chakra they technically possessed, there was still a limit to how much they could extract at one time.
A technique that could not be performed while alive due to insufficient chakra could not suddenly be used after death either.
The total reserves and output capacity were still there.
The clearest example was Edo Tensei Minato.
Even he once complained about lacking chakra.
When attempting to create an opening for Eight Gates Guy by teleporting two Truth-Seeking Orbs to Konoha's Hokage Monument, he immediately exhausted himself and lost consciousness for a short period.
Similarly, Edo Tensei Hashirama could not use Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
His revived body lacked the precision of Madara's perfected vessel.
His total chakra was insufficient.
As a result, he was restricted.
"Time to head back."
Kiyohara immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and began returning to Konoha.
Because his chakra reserves had increased significantly, he traveled even faster than he had on the way here.
Next came the final stage of the war.
And after that...
The birth of the next generation would begin.
(End of Chapter)