After a bit of looting, Kiyohara fished out five shuriken, two kunai, plus what looked like a map and a compass.
"There's a cipher on it," he said, looking at the strange symbols and marks.
This was one of the basics all ninja had to learn. If you wrote things plainly on a map, the enemy could grab it and instantly know your plans.
"Encrypted, huh?" Minato rubbed his chin. "Kurenai, you're a genjutsu specialist. Try interrogating him."
Unfortunately they didn't have any Yamanaka with them. The Yamanaka clan's secret techniques were perfect for extracting intel, but genjutsu worked too. Of everyone present, only Yūhi Kurenai specialized in illusions—perfect for interrogation.
"Alright, I'll try," Kurenai nodded.
She formed hand seals and cast genjutsu on the Iwa-nin Kakashi had captured. Under the illusion's influence, the man slowly started talking.
They were just one small squad.
To protect Kannabi Bridge as a crucial node, Iwagakure had set up a number of hidden outposts around it. Each post could support the others, widening their perimeter. If Kannabi Bridge was in danger, the others would rush to help immediately.
"No wonder after Kakashi transplanted the Sharingan and finished off the enemy, the rest of the Iwa troops swarmed him," Kiyohara thought.
Kakashi eventually collapsed from chakra exhaustion, and only Minato's intervention saved him and Rin. The reason Minato could arrive so precisely was simple: he'd given Kakashi a special kunai beforehand. Using the Flying Thunder God mark on it, Minato teleported straight to him.
Which also meant… Minato knew exactly where they were the whole time.
"Right, this is Kakashi's first mission as a full jōnin. This is my present to you," Minato said.
He took off his pack, rummaged a bit, and pulled out a special kunai engraved with "Sword of Shinobi Love," pronged like a three-pronged spear.
"It's a little heavy and the balance feels off at first, but once you get used to it, it'll fit your hand surprisingly well. Take it with you for this mission."
He hooked his index finger through the ring under the handle and demonstrated, then handed the kunai to Kakashi.
Here it comes, Kiyohara thought. He'd just been thinking about this, and now the canon scene was unfolding in front of him.
"I brought you this, Kakashi."
Rin smiled and carefully offered a customized medical kit with both hands. Everything inside had been modified for ease of use—her personal design.
"Thanks," Kakashi said, then turned to Obito and held his hand out.
The meaning was obvious: where's your gift?
"W-What's that hand supposed to mean? I don't have anything I want to give you," Obito grumbled.
Kakashi flicked his hand dismissively. "Forget it. It's not like it'd be anything useful. Useless junk would just weigh me down."
Obito immediately bristled, shouting about how he was an Uchiha and would one day surpass Kakashi.
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
Too bad Kakashi never gets the chance to return the favor. Obito and Rin will be stuck at chūnin level forever.
Come to think of it, once he got back, he should be promoted to chūnin too.
Maybe he ought to accept some gifts himself?
That thought popped into his head.
"Hey, when you made chūnin, did anyone give you gifts?" Kiyohara asked Rogue Kiyohara.
"I didn't have time for that crap. Improving myself was all that mattered," Rogue Kiyohara said, shaking his head. He chased power; otherwise he wouldn't have defected with Orochimaru.
"Alright, alright, that's enough arguing. We're about to enter the Land of Grass," Minato cut in.
Beyond the meadow loomed a towering mushroom forest, giant fungi growing from trees, each larger than a house.
"We'll rest for a bit here. I'll stay with you today, but tomorrow I have to leave," Minato said.
The front line was in bad shape—he had to reinforce it as soon as possible.
"Yes, sir," everyone replied.
After they found a more hidden spot to rest, Kiyohara started practicing Antidote Technique and Hemostasis Technique.
Hemostasis was simple—basically stitching. First you use suture thread to close the wound, then during battle you gather chakra at the injury to keep it from tearing open again.
Antidote Technique was trickier. You had to use chakra to separate toxins from the blood.
Normally, training involved pouring two liquids of different densities into a cup. Kiyohara used coffee and milk. To keep his pack light, he'd only brought a little of each.
Once the coffee and milk mixed, he began using chakra to manipulate the fluid.
Whoosh…
The liquid spun in the cup, giving him this weird "phase separation" feeling.
Rogue Kiyohara stood behind him, watching. Both techniques were ones Kiyohara had gotten from Tsunade—a total bargain.
"Eh? Kiyohara, you can do medical ninjutsu too?" Rin turned and saw what he was doing.
"Just started learning," he nodded.
Rin was a medical ninja, so she'd done all this before.
"Kiyohara, if you do it like this, it's faster…" she said, moving to stand beside him and explaining the tricks.
Kiyohara listened seriously, adjusting his control step by step according to her advice.
After taking the enhancer, his chakra reserves had doubled, easing his usual resource crunch. Burning some of it on training wasn't a big deal anymore.
"If only I could get my hands on a few more kinds of enhancers," he thought.
Infinite stacking was impossible, of course—but by using multiple types, pushing his chakra up to kage or elite-jōnin levels might not be out of reach.
According to Rogue Kiyohara, there were several more such drugs that could fully trigger the body's potential with minimal side effects. Sasuke was probably running that whole package.
The only pity was that Rogue Kiyohara didn't know the formulas; he hadn't been important enough in Orochimaru's inner circle.
That made Kiyohara think of the real world bodybuilding scene, with its occasional horror stories—straight into Steroid Planet. If you wanted a physique packed with corded muscle, you juiced up.
The shinobi world was the same at its core.
The most legendary juicer here was Yakushi Kabuto—bag after bag of forbidden drugs, then Orochimaru's cells on top, until he literally grafted Orochimaru's power into himself.
~~~
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