"Hehe! Asuma, I told you Kiyohara would win."
Kurenai turned her head and spoke triumphantly to Asuma Sarutobi, who was standing behind her.
Asuma's face clearly showed his embarrassment and frustration.
'These Uchiha, every one of them boasts to high heaven about their invincible eyes! Yet they still lost to Kiyohara?!' Asuma fumed internally.
Losing was one thing, but they had also made him lose face in front of his goddess! He felt utterly depressed.
"A Kekkei Genkai really is a good thing," Genma noted from the sidelines. Today, he wasn't dangling a senbon from his mouth, giving his lips a rare day off.
"Before Kiyohara revealed his Kekkei Genkai, I didn't see you performing much better than him," Kurenai pointed out sharply.
Genma choked on his words.
He thought about it carefully and realized he really couldn't find a way to refute it. Kiyohara was already an excellent combatant before; the current Magnet Release was simply adding overwhelming force to an already solid foundation.
While the teenagers bickered, Shizune stood further back in the shadows, holding the lightly grunting pig, Tonton. Her dark eyes were unable to hide her amazement.
'Not only is he blindingly fast, but his insight into the battle and his ability to adapt mid-combat are outstanding. No wonder Lady Tsunade regards him differently,' Shizune thought, her evaluation of Kiyohara rising several notches.
Seeing the sparring end with Kiyohara's victory, Shizune quietly turned around. Carrying Tonton, her figure blended into the night as she hurried back toward the command tent.
When she entered the tent, a strong scent of alcohol immediately hit her face.
Tsunade was sitting casually by a low table. Her cheeks were flushed with an alluring, drunken red, and her eyes were slightly glazed; she had clearly drunk quite a lot. Several empty sake bottles stood before her, and she still held a cup of unfinished strong liquor in her hand.
"Oh, Shizune. You're back?" Tsunade lazily lifted her eyelids. "So, that brat wasn't beaten too badly, was he? The Uchiha's Sharingan isn't that easy to deal with."
Despite her earlier claim, Tsunade actually felt the statistical probability of Kiyohara winning against an elite Uchiha was incredibly low.
Shizune walked to her side and gently set Tonton down on a cushion.
"Lady Tsunade, you bet right. It was Kiyohara who... won."
"He won?"
The hand Tsunade used to hold her wine cup paused mid-air. "You're saying he beat that Uchiha Shisui kid?"
Tsunade was genuinely puzzled. She had intentionally guessed against the odds just to be contrarian, and yet he actually won?
"Yes." Shizune nodded with certainty, then briefly described the course of the battle, highlighting the supersonic Iron Sand shower and Shisui's voluntary admission of being slightly inferior in the close-quarters exchange.
Tsunade listened, stunned for a moment. Then, she tilted her head back and drained the remaining liquor in her cup. She exhaled a breath of hot air heavily scented with alcohol.
"Tsk. I didn't expect the kid to actually have that much skill. I just said it casually, and he really pulled it off?"
She smacked her lips, a look of profound helplessness appearing on her face.
"If only half of this luck could be shared with me at the gambling table..."
"..."
Listening to Tsunade's complaining, Shizune didn't know how to respond.
Currently, Tsunade's debts were piled as high as a mountain. Shizune couldn't comprehend why Tsunade still thought about gambling. She genuinely believed she could rely on a single, massive jackpot to pay off all her debts, constantly promising she would "never gamble again once they were cleared."
"Lady Tsunade, please... gamble a little less," Shizune could only advise her mentor with a tired sigh.
"I know, I know," Tsunade waved her hand dismissively.
She rubbed her still-throbbing temples, her tone shifting, becoming sharp and irritable. "Sunagakure's offensive has intensified again recently. The heavy metal poisons they use are very troublesome; many of our frontline ninja have been affected."
Tsunade tapped her finger rhythmically on the tabletop. "Further analysis and the synthesis of mass-produced antidotes require more precise instrumentation. This can only be completed by returning to the Village, or going to the secure laboratory set further back from the front lines."
Going to the rear laboratory required a specialized escort. Given her status as a Sannin and her current crippled state regarding blood, traveling alone was out of the question. Although the interior of the Land of Fire was relatively safe now, she couldn't take any chances. Moreover, it was best to have a small, elite guard; a massive convoy would attract too much enemy attention.
Seeing Tsunade's frowning reflection in the polished wood of the table, Shizune suggested at the right time, "Lady Tsunade, if you need guards, Kakashi Hatake and Kiyohara might be excellent choices. Kakashi is the son of the White Fang, and Kiyohara's Body Flicker technique is incredibly fast, and his combat reactions are sharp. He performed flawlessly in the battle just now."
"The brat Kiyohara? Just him?"
Tsunade instinctively wanted to refute it. He was just a Chunin kid; what use could he be in a high-level escort?
But the words reached her lips, and she swallowed them back.
Chunin was just an arbitrary rank. To be able to fight evenly with a genius of the Uchiha Clan, force the opponent to use the Sharingan, and still have them admit to being physically outmatched—how could this level of strength belong to a mere ordinary Chunin?
The boy undoubtedly possessed the combat strength of a Jonin.
She leaned back in her chair, her full chest rising and falling slightly as her mind quickly filtered through the available Jonin in the camp.
Someone good at defense? Someone good at tracking?
But regarding raw Body Flicker speed and on-the-spot adaptation... it seemed that in this camp, one really couldn't find anyone more suitable than Kiyohara.
'This kid... his growth speed is indeed startling,' Tsunade had to admit internally. Perhaps taking him along really could save a lot of trouble. She would requisition two more veteran ninja to round out the squad, and the security would be airtight.
"Hmm. I understand," Tsunade didn't make a decision immediately. She waved her hand. "Let me think about it more. You go rest first."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Shizune bowed respectfully and exited the tent.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp.
Inside a brightly lit, heavily guarded tent, the sharp-eyed Uchiha Yakushi was bent over his desk, writing rapidly.
He was a veteran Uchiha Jonin and the trusted right-hand man of Clan Head Fugaku Uchiha. He was responsible for handling the clan's external political affairs and intelligence summaries on the front lines.
At this time, the tent flap was lifted, and Uchiha Tetsuho walked in, looking somewhat nervous.
He had just returned to the Uchiha sector with Shisui when he was told by a clansman that Yakushi was looking for him. His heart hammered in his chest. After all, in the highly publicized sparring match with Kiyohara, the Uchiha had technically lost.
"Lord Yakushi, you were looking for me?" Tetsuho asked respectfully, bowing his head.
Yakushi didn't look up. The tip of his brush continued moving across the parchment with a rhythmic, rustling sound. His tone was perfectly flat. "I heard you and Shisui went to spar with the commoner named Kiyohara tonight?"
"Yes." Tetsuho's heart tightened. He honestly recounted the entire process, omitting nothing—including Shisui's voluntary admission of defeat, handing over the custom Ninja Cat shuriken, and the final, respectful words Kiyohara had spoken to them.
After hearing Tetsuho's narrative, Yakushi finally stopped his brush. He looked up at the younger man.
"To be able to defend the Uchiha's glory and keep a promise... is very good," Yakushi stated, offering a rare affirmation.
But then his tone shifted, carrying a crushing hint of political pressure. "However. Losing... doesn't that also tarnish our Uchiha Clan's absolute reputation?"
Tetsuho immediately felt an invisible, suffocating pressure envelop him. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He opened his mouth, wanting to argue that Shisui hadn't used his full, lethal strength, but in the end, he lowered his head. "It was... my lack of consideration."
Seeing Tetsuho's nervous, sweating state, Yakushi's stern expression softened slightly. His tone became deeply meaningful. "However, this Kiyohara... to possess such overwhelming strength at this age without an Uchiha pedigree is indeed a rare, terrifying talent. He is worth befriending."
He picked up the intelligence report he had just written and gently blew on the wet ink. "In the future, you are to have more contact with him. Exchange pointers. Progress together. Do not be stingy with your money or your ninja tools. Maintaining a good relationship with him has no downsides for the family, or for you personally."
"Yes, Lord Yakushi," Tetsuho hurriedly responded.
But in his heart, Tetsuho secretly complained: 'Don't be stingy with money? Easy for you to say! That's all my personal allowance being spent!'
But he didn't dare show an ounce of dissatisfaction on his face.
"Hmm. You may go," Yakushi waved his hand dismissively.
After Tetsuho left, the tent returned to silence.
Yakushi carefully sealed the letter with the Uchiha crest. His gaze passed through the gap in the tent to look at the deep, dark night outside.
"The Third Hokage... is already old," Yakushi murmured in a low, calculating voice. "After this war ends, the Konoha high command will inevitably face a massive reshuffling. The position of the Fourth Hokage might not be out of reach for us to fight for."
His eyes carried the dark pride and bottomless ambition unique to the Uchiha Clan.
"To allow Clan Head Fugaku to take that final step... relying on the Uchiha's strength alone is not enough. We need to win over more supporters in the Village who have massive future potential and political influence."
"This genius youth with the Magnet Release bloodline is undoubtedly a prime target worth investing in," Yakushi concluded. "Perhaps he is still politically insignificant now, but who can say for sure about the future?"
The next day, before the early morning mist rolling off the ocean had completely dispersed, Kiyohara was conducting his morning training in a secluded clearing at the edge of the camp.
'Four days left until the arrival of the Last Words Letter,' he noted internally.
He didn't engage in high-intensity Taijutsu or Ninjutsu clashes today. Instead, he sat cross-legged on a flat rock, holding an old scroll in his hands.
The unfolded part of the scroll was a detailed anatomical diagram and the chakra control theory for the C-Rank Medical Ninjutsu, the Regeneration Technique.
Just then, the faint sound of footsteps approached from the path.
"Kiyohara?" a gentle female voice called out.
Kiyohara looked up and saw the short, black-haired girl standing not far away, a perfectly measured, polite smile on her face.
"Shizune. Good morning," Kiyohara put away the scroll and stood up. He noticed that Shizune seemed to have come with a specific purpose.
"Morning, Kiyohara," Shizune stepped closer. Her gaze inadvertently swept over the scroll he had just been studying.
'Studying so early? He's not only incredibly talented, but also fiercely hardworking...' she noted with approval.
Shizune quickly explained her purpose.
"It's like this: Lady Tsunade needs to travel to a secure laboratory in the rear to handle classified research on Sunagakure's heavy metal toxins. The journey requires a three-man escort detail. Lady Tsunade noted your Body Flicker speed and your combat adaptation skills. She wants to ask if you are willing to accept this mission."
Kiyohara thought for a moment, analyzing the political value of the request, and then nodded in agreement.
"No problem. It is my honor to serve Lady Tsunade."
He had been waiting for an opportunity to solidify his relationship with the Sannin. Even if he could only pry a few advanced insights about Medical Ninjutsu from her during the trip, it would be a massive net positive.
Seeing Kiyohara agree so readily, Shizune smiled warmly. Her gaze fell on the medical scroll again, and she couldn't help asking, "How is the studying going? That specific technique requires extremely high, microscopic chakra control. Many ninja who specialize in destruction find it practically impossible to even start the foundation."
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