"Oh, right, brat. That psychological therapy idea you mentioned before… maybe you should bring it up with the old man too."
As if suddenly remembering something, Tsunade said this to Kiyohara.
The moment he heard that, Kiyohara nodded.
What Tsunade meant was the idea he had mentioned before—using genjutsu in combination with treatment to heal patients psychologically.
Kiyohara had started calling it psychological medical ninjutsu.
If it could actually be implemented, it would count as a real reform of the medical system.
After all, a great many ninja carried psychological trauma.
If you looked closely, you would realize Kakashi had psychological trauma, Obito had psychological trauma, and Tsunade's hemophobia spoke for itself—a textbook case of trauma.
The entire ninja world was basically one giant psychological scar.
That was one of the flaws built into the shinobi system.
Because for ninja, being tools came first. Being people came second.
The next morning, after breakfast, Tsunade eagerly dragged Kiyohara off to the Hokage Building.
When they reached the Hokage's office door—
she raised her leg.
Bang!
The office door was kicked wide open.
Inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting behind his large desk, reviewing paperwork. The sudden noise startled him so badly his hand jerked, and his pipe nearly fell onto the desk.
He looked up, his brows immediately knitting together, the words already on his lips:
"Danzo, you again— hm?"
He had been just about to tell Shimura Danzo to pay for the door he had slammed last time, but once he saw who was standing there, he swallowed the rest of the sentence.
It wasn't Danzo.
It was Tsunade.
And behind her stood the handsome Kiyohara.
"Tsunade?"
Hiruzen set down his pipe and rubbed at his brow.
Of his three students, Tsunade had always been the most bold and reckless.
And truthfully, Hiruzen had always spoiled her a bit. After all, Tsunade was as politically spotless as it got.
"What are you doing here? And this door—"
"Old man, skip the pleasantries."
Tsunade cut him off immediately, clearly trying to prevent him from bringing up the cost of the door.
She had only gotten excited at the thought of squeezing some extra reward money out and had kicked it without thinking. Who would have guessed the lock was so flimsy?
Then she strode into the office, pulled over a chair without the slightest hesitation, and sat down with one leg crossed over the other.
"I'm here to get Kiyohara some extra benefits."
She got straight to the point.
Her golden-brown eyes fixed directly on Hiruzen.
Hiruzen let out a sigh.
He knew this student of his far too well. Once she put on this posture, if he didn't give a satisfactory answer today, that door probably really was done for.
Though, as things stood, it was already halfway there.
"The matter of rewards is still being assessed."
Hiruzen chose his words carefully.
"This battle involved a large number of shinobi. The distribution of rewards, as well as pensions for the fallen, all takes time…"
"I know."
Tsunade cut him off.
"But Kiyohara is different."
"He's the biggest contributor to this victory. He killed three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, took the Executioner's Blade and Samehada, and now even the Third Mizukage died at his hands. Old man, be honest with yourself—could you have done all that at his age?"
Hiruzen: "…"
The hand holding his pipe paused.
He almost blurted out "unfilial student."
Girls really did become impossible to keep once they grew up. The moment she took on a student of her own, her loyalties shifted outward.
Granted, Kiyohara was also a Konoha ninja, but the way Tsunade was acting—like she was demanding candy for her own child—suddenly reminded Hiruzen of the way Mito Uzumaki used to indulge Tsunade back in the day.
It seemed Tsunade truly had accepted this student from the bottom of her heart.
That actually made Hiruzen feel quite gratified.
Truthfully, he himself had once considered taking Kiyohara as a student. But in the end, because of his age, he had let Tsunade do it instead.
Now, it seemed the outcome had turned out well.
Even though Kiyohara carried Uchiha blood, he was already firmly tied to the Hokage line of succession and influence.
And according to what Hiruzen knew, Kiyohara had recently developed another bloodline limit called Storm Release.
That bloodline limit was usually associated with shinobi born in the Land of Lightning. It was extremely rare anywhere else.
Not even the Land of Water had ninja capable of truly fusing Water Release chakra and Lightning Release chakra like that—they mostly only had composite techniques at best.
Hiruzen turned to look at Kiyohara.
Kiyohara stood straight and tall, a full head taller than Tsunade, and the diamond mark on his forehead gave him an extra cold, handsome edge.
The Uchiha really were something else, Hiruzen thought to himself.
No wonder the boy had been handsome since he was little.
Kiyohara had no idea what Hiruzen was thinking. He only found it a bit strange for an old man to look at him like that.
If he did know, he would probably just shake his head and say that he had been born handsome on his own merits.
After all, the Uchiha bloodline had only come to him later.
"Kiyohara."
Hiruzen finally spoke.
"What reward do you want?"
Kiyohara stepped forward.
"Hokage-sama, I want permission to consult the Scroll of Seals."
"The Scroll of Seals…"
Hiruzen took a pull from his pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Tsunade grimaced in disgust and waved her hand. The motion cut through the air with a sharp sound, the gust blowing the smoke aside.
Hiruzen's eyelid twitched at the sight, and he slowly put his pipe away.
"It contains dangerous forbidden techniques sealed away by generations of Hokage. The difficulty of learning them is extremely high, and if you're careless, the backlash can destroy you. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
Kiyohara nodded.
"To protect Konoha and uphold the Will of Fire, I'm willing to take any risk. Only by mastering greater power can I protect more comrades in future battles."
The words sounded grand and impeccable, so politically correct they were almost textbook-perfect.
And yet, hearing them, Hiruzen couldn't help smiling.
He was old. He loved hearing young people say things like that.
Especially when the young person in question genuinely had the ability to live up to them.
"Good, good."
Hiruzen said it twice, his eyes full of satisfaction.
He suddenly found himself remembering the old days, back when Tobirama and Hashirama had still been alive.
Back then, Tobirama-sensei would eagerly create some new technique and run over to Hashirama-sama saying:
"Big brother, I invented another ninjutsu!"
"Oh? Is it a Water Release technique?"
"No…"
"Then let's ban it."
"…"
And so the Scroll of Seals had gradually gotten thicker and thicker, to the point where it was almost a personal archive of Tobirama Senju's forbidden ideas.
Most of the techniques recorded there were still in the rough developmental stage. Because they were too dangerous or too unusual, they had been sealed away instead of allowed to circulate.
"Bring the Scroll of Seals."
Hiruzen said into the shadows.
An Anbu shinobi appeared soundlessly, saluted, and vanished.
While they waited, Tsunade kept one leg crossed, her expression slightly more relaxed now.
Not long after, the Anbu returned carrying a huge scroll.
Hiruzen accepted it, undid the first layer of seals, and slowly spread it out across the desk.
Kiyohara's eyes moved over the densely packed technique names and annotations.
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags—using a summoning formula to infinitely cycle explosive tags, theoretically causing endless chain explosions as long as you started with a single tag.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique—creating physical clones, but at the cost of splitting chakra evenly; if misused, it could exhaust the user's life.
Spirit Transformation Technique—detaching the spiritual body from the physical one, allowing for reconnaissance or direct attacks on an enemy's soul.
One after another, dangerous and powerful forbidden techniques were all recorded there.
But Kiyohara noticed something.
There was no Impure World Reincarnation.
And no Living Corpse Reincarnation.
He immediately understood.
The ultimate taboo techniques involving life and death were probably being kept separately by Hiruzen.
Kiyohara guessed Orochimaru must have found the Impure World Reincarnation in some hidden forbidden chamber in Konoha, and then spent a month getting a preliminary grasp on it.
And inside that chamber, Orochimaru had only taken the scrolls for Living Corpse Reincarnation and Impure World Reincarnation.
Which meant the most important forbidden arts were not actually in this Scroll of Seals.
Kiyohara's gaze continued downward until it stopped on a particular name.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
"That technique…"
Noticing his gaze, Hiruzen explained:
"It's a space-time ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage. It allows instantaneous movement to a marked location. But the risks are high, the chakra consumption enormous. If the calculations are off even slightly, you could teleport into the ground, or onto an enemy's kunai…"
"And maintaining the spatial coordinates requires an extremely high level of mental focus, as well as incredible neural reaction speed and more. Among all the ninja who have tried to learn it over the generations, only a handful ever succeeded."
Of course Kiyohara already knew all that.
In the whole of Konoha, only Minato Namikaze could use it right now.
Later on, the technique had even been broken down and split into a weaker variation—
the Flying Thunder Formation Technique.
That lowered the difficulty threshold, but required three people to use it at once.
Genma Shiranui would eventually learn it in the future, along with Raidō Namiashi and Iwashi Tatami, and the three of them would become the Fourth Hokage's bodyguards.
If Minato hadn't died so early—before he had enough time to teach it more thoroughly—those three would probably have had a far bigger place in the future than merely Special Jonin.
'For travel, surprise attacks, and emergency retreat, this technique is far better than most forbidden arts.'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
"I choose this one, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen stared at him for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Take it."
The moment those words fell, an Anbu shinobi handed Kiyohara a smaller separate scroll.
One look was enough for Kiyohara to know it contained only the Flying Thunder God Technique.
After all, the Scroll of Seals was a full encyclopedia. There was no way they were going to hand the entire thing over to him.
That was a Konoha state secret.
If this had been some ordinary civilian trying to steal it, they would have been thrown into prison long ago.
"If it proves too much for you, don't force it."
Hiruzen said.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Kiyohara accepted the scroll.
"Just one forbidden technique?"
Tsunade raised a brow from the side.
"Old man, don't be so stingy. Kiyohara achieved the great merit of personally killing an enemy Kage in battle!"
Hiruzen gave her a helpless look.
"With forbidden techniques, quality matters more than quantity. If he bites off more than he can chew…"
"Then at least add one normal technique too."
Tsunade pressed on stubbornly.
Hiruzen rubbed his temples, then finally took another scroll from a drawer.
"This is one of my own creations, the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique. It's not a forbidden art, but it's extremely practical in actual combat. Kiyohara, take this as well."
Kiyohara accepted the second scroll.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Only then did Tsunade nod in satisfaction. But then she seemed to think of something else.
"Oh right, old man, one more thing. Kirigakure's pulling back now, but Kumogakure…"
"Kumogakure is still extremely powerful and cannot be underestimated."
Hiruzen's expression turned serious.
"The Fourth Raikage is even more aggressive than his father, the Third Raikage. And the Eight-Tails jinchuriki has fully mastered the power of his tailed beast. The pressure on the Kirigakure front may be easing, but the Kumogakure front still needs heightened vigilance."
"Got it."
Tsunade waved a hand dismissively, but then her eyes shifted.
"But before that, old man, I want to apply for a research project."
"Oh? What kind of project?"
This time, Kiyohara answered:
"A project on psychological medical ninjutsu. I want to research combining genjutsu and medical ninjutsu to treat trauma and phobias. The theoretical foundation is already partially there, but it needs funding and equipment for real testing."
Hiruzen's eyes lit up.
As a Hokage who had lived through two Great Ninja Wars, he understood better than anyone how devastating psychological trauma could be to ninja.
Many excellent shinobi didn't die on the battlefield at all.
They were destroyed by what the war left behind.
"This project has real value."
Hiruzen nodded.
The moment Kiyohara heard that, he knew it was basically guaranteed.
Even Wang Duoyu would have invested in this.
Then Hiruzen continued:
"I approve it. Tsunade, you'll serve as the project lead…"
Hearing that, Tsunade's face brightened.
If she became the project lead, then surely the funding could be handled however she wanted, right?
It would be completely reasonable for some of that money to be used to reward someone as accomplished as herself.
As long as Tsunade felt like doing research, she could produce a pile of results anytime she wanted.
That was the absolute confidence of the number one figure in Konoha's medical field.
Hiruzen glanced at the slightly smug expression on Tsunade's face, then smoothly changed direction.
"However, the project manager will be Kiyohara, and the funding will be under Kiyohara's control and allocation."
Tsunade: "?"
The smile on her face froze.
"What is that supposed to mean, old man?"
Her eyes widened.
"You don't trust me?"
"What do you think?"
Hiruzen drew slowly on his pipe.
"The last time special medical department funds were allocated to you, one third of them ended up at the casino. This time, the project money will be much safer in Kiyohara's hands."
"Granted, your research results afterward more than compensated for it. But still, when money can be saved, it should be saved."
Tsunade opened her mouth to argue, only to realize she had nothing to say.
In the end, all she could do was let out a huff and turn her face away.
Kiyohara suppressed a smile and said seriously:
"Hokage-sama, rest assured. I will use the funding responsibly and ensure the project moves forward smoothly."
"Very good."
Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction.
Truthfully, whether money was wasted or not wasn't even the main point. After all, a limit had already been set.
As long as they produced real results before the funding ran out, Konoha would come out ahead.
Hiruzen simply didn't want to keep watching Tsunade sink deeper into gambling.
After a few more instructions, Kiyohara and Tsunade left the Hokage Building.
As they walked down the stairs, Tsunade suddenly gave Kiyohara a hard slap on the shoulder.
"Ahem… so, Kiyohara…"
Her eyes drifted elsewhere, and her voice turned a little unnatural.
"About that project budget… well, you know… your teacher's been a little short on cash lately, so…"
Kiyohara looked at Tsunade's expression, laughed inwardly, but kept a perfectly straight face.
"Don't worry, Sensei. The project funds will absolutely be used where they matter most. But…"
He paused, and under Tsunade's increasingly tense stare, he smiled faintly.
"The labor fees and consulting fees you deserve, Sensei, won't be missing even a single coin."
Tsunade's eyes lit up immediately.
She slapped him hard on the back and burst out laughing.
"Good brat! I didn't spoil you for nothing!"
The two of them returned to Tsunade's house.
This time it was Shizune's turn to cook, and she was in the kitchen getting lunch ready.
Tonton trotted around at her feet, and the moment it caught Kiyohara's scent, it immediately scampered over, letting out happy little snorts.
"Kiyohara-sama, Tsunade-sama, you're back."
Shizune poked her head out from the kitchen.
"Lunch will be ready soon. I tried making the braised pork Kiyohara taught me, though I'm not sure if the flavor came out right…"
"Thanks for the effort."
Kiyohara put the scrolls down and walked over to the living room window.
Outside was the small courtyard where he usually trained. The ground there had been paved with specially made stone, able to withstand high-intensity ninjutsu impact.
Several training posts stood in the corner, all of them scarred with countless marks.
He closed his eyes and took a slow breath.
From here on, it was time to make the most of the little time he had left to train.
…
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days passed.
Soon, it was the final day before the "Willbook" would arrive.
Kiyohara stood in the courtyard, holding a specially made kunai in his hand.
On the grip, he had carved his Flying Thunder God formula.
The formula Tobirama Senju had designed was a circular seal with six crisscrossing lines through it.
Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God formula was a phrase written as "Sword of Shinobi Love."
Kiyohara's own design was simply his name carved into the grip as the marker.
That wasn't fixed. The design could always be changed.
All that mattered was whatever symbol the user found easiest to release.
"The core of the Flying Thunder God Technique lies in marking and sensing spatial coordinates…"
Kiyohara continued his training with Flying Thunder God.
Of all the techniques he had learned so far, this one had by far the highest difficulty.
A moment later, Kiyohara flicked his hand and threw the kunai.
It buried itself into a wooden training post twenty meters away.
The next second, Kiyohara focused.
His chakra began flowing through his body along a specific meridian route, and his perception of space spread out like ripples.
He sensed that coordinate—that marked point—like a lighthouse in darkness.
Whoosh!
His body vanished.
Almost at the exact same instant, Kiyohara appeared beside the post, his hand gripping the kunai.
Success.
According to what Minato had once said, the Flying Thunder God Technique was essentially jumping between different spaces and times, which was why it produced the effect of teleportation.
But at the same time, if the coordinate calculation was even slightly off—or if chakra control wavered even a little—the consequences could be disastrous.
And the chakra consumption…
was even heavier than Kiyohara had expected.
'No wonder so few people in history ever managed to learn it.'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
For all that Minato was a civilian-born ninja, his chakra reserves were actually enormous.
After all, the very first requirement for training in sage arts was having a huge chakra pool. Otherwise, natural energy would simply devour the user.
Minato's issue had never been lack of qualification. It was just that his actual sage arts mastery wasn't very polished.
But he had still genuinely trained in sage arts successfully.
The sun slowly dipped lower.
A sheen of sweat appeared on Kiyohara's forehead, but his eyes only grew brighter and brighter.
~~~
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