To balance the sudden surge in his Spiritual Energy, Kiyohara began practicing Taijutsu.
He wasn't a specialist, nor was the Missing-nin, so he stuck to simple calisthenics—push-ups, squats, and forms.
"Hey, you..."
Kurenai pushed open the gate. She froze.
Kiyohara was in the middle of a set. He was wearing only shorts. Sweat trickled down his chest, highlighting the lean, defined contours of his muscles.
Kurenai, raised in a strict household, quickly lowered her gaze.
'How can he be so... casual?'
Being shirtless was normal for training. But combined with that face? Her heart rate spiked.
"What's wrong?"
Kiyohara wiped his forehead, raising an eyebrow.
He didn't see the issue. Ninja bodies were tools; maintenance was required.
"Nothing."
Kurenai bit her lip. She tried to visualize him as a large vegetable. 'He is just a radish. A sweaty, handsome radish.'
"The mission location is set," she stammered. "The Eastern Front."
"East?"
Kiyohara stroked his chin. "Toward the Land of Water?"
"Yes. Southeast."
Kiyohara frowned slightly.
'The Hidden Mist.'
If Madara wanted to start the tragedy, he needed the Mist Village involved.
Judging by Obito's hair length in the anime, several months pass between his "death" and the death of Rin.
'I have time,' Kiyohara calculated. 'Another twenty days until the next Letter. I can develop.'
"I'll be at the rendezvous point tomorrow," Kiyohara said.
Kurenai nodded and hurried away, her face still slightly flushed.
'No time to forge a sword,' Kiyohara sighed, looking at his savings. 'I'll stick to Kunai. Maintenance on a blade is too expensive anyway.'
The next day, the team assembled at the Konoha Gate.
Minato Namikaze was leading them again. Their previous temporary captain had stepped on an explosive tag and died—a common fate in this war.
"Kiyohara," Minato smiled, seeing the boy arrive. "I heard about your promotion. The Village prepared an extra reward for your performance."
He handed Kiyohara a scroll.
"A scroll?"
Kiyohara opened it.
Wind Release: Gale Palm (Fūton: Reppūshō).
It was a C-Rank jutsu.
In the ninja world, Rank indicates learning difficulty, not necessarily power. A mastery-level C-Rank jutsu can kill just as easily as an A-Rank.
Gale Palm was a utility technique—it compressed air to accelerate shuriken or knock enemies back.
"Thank you, Lord Minato."
Kiyohara pocketed it. A free jutsu was a good jutsu.
This was clear evidence that the village was grooming him. Unlike the clans, his loyalty was considered "pure."
"Let's go."
The squad moved out toward the Eastern border.
Along the way, Kiyohara noticed a significant number of Hyūga Clan members traveling in the same direction.
'The Hyūga are moving to the Mist front,' he noted.
Konoha's main force and the Uchiha were tying down Kumogakure (Cloud). The Hyūga were deployed against Kirigakure (Mist).
This aligned with history: Ao of the Mist would eventually steal a Byakugan from a fallen Hyūga on this front.
They arrived at the logistics base—a fortified camp near a river.
"Your mission is surveillance and supply transport," Minato instructed.
"Understood."
Kiyohara accepted immediately.
It was boring, low-risk work. Perfect for someone waiting on a cooldown timer.
"This kind of mission?" Genma scratched his head, bored already. "Seems too easy."
"This is normal difficulty," Kiyohara corrected him. "Kannabi Bridge was a Boss Fight. This is the daily grind."
Two weeks flew by.
Kiyohara lived a peaceful life. He guarded rice carts and trained.
With the Missing-nin's merged talent, his Wind Release affinity had skyrocketed. He self-taught Gale Palm in days.
One evening, by the stream near the camp.
Kiyohara stood on the bank.
Ram. Snake. Tiger.
He clapped his hands together.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
WHOOSH!
A compressed blast of air erupted from his palms.
It struck the water surface with the force of a cannonball.
The stream caved in, exposing the cobblestones below. A fish, unable to escape the pressure change, was blasted onto the grassy bank, flopping helplessly.
"Dinner," Kiyohara grinned.
He stepped forward to grab the fish.
DING.
Suddenly, an electronically synthesized female voice echoed in his mind.
[Please check your Last Words Letter and Urn. Properly bury your relics.]
Kiyohara froze.
Joy lit up his eyes.
'It's here!'
Counting the days... it was exactly one month.
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