"It's alright, Shizune. I've mastered the basics," Kiyohara said.
He walked to the corner of the tent, where a small wooden bucket was placed. Inside were a few fish he had caught from a nearby stream earlier that morning. One of the fish had a visible, bleeding gash on its side fin—an accidental injury from the hook.
Kiyohara extended his right hand, hovering his palm an inch over the injured fish.
He concentrated, isolating the Yang Release (vitality) chakra within his coils.
The next moment, a surge of vibrant, warm green chakra slowly flowed from his palm, covering the fish's wound.
Enveloped by the Mystical Palm Technique, the pale, torn flesh on the fin began to twitch. The cellular division accelerated wildly, healing the gash at a speed visible to the naked eye. After a few minutes, the wound was completely sealed, leaving only a faint scar.
"Mastered it so quickly..." Shizune thought to herself, her eyes widening slightly.
Lady Tsunade had only given Kiyohara those medical scrolls three days ago. Could he really achieve this level of cellular manipulation purely through self-study? It proved that his innate aptitude for Yang Release was monstrously high.
"By the way, when are we leaving for the laboratory?" Kiyohara asked, wiping his hand with a towel.
"In three days."
"I understand," Kiyohara nodded slightly.
'It seems I will receive the new Last Words Letter on the exact day the mission starts,' he calculated.
Fortunately, the threat level of this escort mission was low. The Land of Fire's interior had not yet been breached by the Hidden Mist, and the major conflicts with Suna and Kumo were currently deadlocked at the borders.
'By the time the Land of Fire is invaded deep into its core, causing domestic turmoil, it will likely be during the Battle of Kikyō Pass against Suna,' Kiyohara recalled from the timeline.
"Who are the other two guards?" Kiyohara asked.
"Lady Tsunade has requested Kakashi and Rin."
"Rin, huh," Kiyohara nodded. It was easier to coordinate with people he was familiar with.
However, his mind instantly flashed to the overarching plot. 'Madara Uchiha should be planning to abduct Rin in the coming months. I must keep a close eye on the movements of the Mist ANBU.'
A storm was coming.
The next day, Kiyohara shifted his training focus entirely to Genjutsu resistance.
After his spar with Shisui, he realized his current defense against illusions was his biggest critical weakness. If Shisui were to trap him in a Sharingan Genjutsu, he would be completely helpless.
Ordinary ninja did not possess Bloodline Limits like the Uchiha or the Kurama Clan to enhance their illusionary abilities. All they could rely on was constantly being caught in Genjutsu to build up a psychological resistance.
Commonly known as: Getting beaten up until you get used to it.
The essence of Genjutsu is to achieve mental incapacitation by invading a target's nervous system and manipulating the flow of chakra in their cranial nerves. Therefore, Genjutsu is effective against all living creatures, because even civilians possess trace amounts of chakra required to maintain biological life functions.
"Then here I come, Kiyohara," Kurenai said, holding a specific hand seal.
"Come on," Kiyohara nodded, bracing himself.
"Alright." Kurenai's ruby eyes narrowed.
Invisible Yin Release chakra spread out. Kurenai's chakra invaded Kiyohara's cranial network directly through his optic nerve. Vision is the most common and effective vector for Genjutsu.
Kiyohara felt the forest clearing sway violently. The surrounding ancient trees seemed to come alive. Thick, wooden branches whipped out like giant pythons, instantly wrapping around his torso and limbs, binding him tightly. A strong, claustrophobic sensation of physical restraint washed over his mind.
Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!
'A B-Rank Genjutsu...' Kiyohara was slightly surprised, unable to move his arms. 'Very well. Now she's playing with bondage, too.'
Kurenai was only a Chunin, yet she could flawlessly execute a Genjutsu that standard illusionists couldn't master until reaching Jonin. Having a clan legacy and a Genjutsu Master for a father was an undeniable advantage.
'Then... it's time to break it.'
Kiyohara mobilized the chakra flow in his core. His mental energy—which was several times denser than a conventional ninja's thanks to his inherited legacies—transformed into a massive spike of Yin Release. He violently forced his chakra to disrupt Kurenai's false cranial inputs.
"Release!"
As Kiyohara spoke the command, the distorted forest scene shattered like a broken mirror. The hallucination of the constricting branches vanished instantly. He remained standing in the real clearing, perfectly fine.
Kurenai panted slightly, her face full of shock.
"You... you broke it already?! That's too fast!"
Although she had just learned the technique and her chakra capacity couldn't unleash its true, paralyzing power, breaking free should have taken him at least several minutes of intense concentration.
"Hmm... maybe my mental energy is naturally larger than an average person's," Kiyohara shrugged.
'Mine is massive. You just have to bear with it,' he joked internally.
Every future version of himself he inherited granted him a massive spike in spiritual energy. With this stacking effect, unless he was staring down a Mangekyō Sharingan, standard Genjutsu users posed zero threat to him.
For the rest of the afternoon, Kurenai cast several different high-level illusions on him, including the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, which forced the target to witness their worst fears. But the results were identical. Kiyohara's disruption speed remained instantaneous.
"It really is fast..." Kurenai finally stopped, leaning heavily against a tree trunk, exhausted. She looked at Kiyohara, who appeared perfectly fine except for a slight sheen of sweat.
To possess such absurd Genjutsu resistance without a corresponding ocular Bloodline Limit was simply against common sense.
"How can a man ever say he's fast?" Kiyohara shook his head, resting his hands on his hips.
After training, Kiyohara headed to a nearby civilian village that served as a logistics transit station. He slipped into a discreet, unmarked shop.
"Boss. I want to repay the previous loan," Kiyohara placed a thick stack of Ryo banknotes on the counter.
It was almost the repayment date, and he needed to clear the 50,000 Ryo debt. This was the loan the "Rogue Ninja Kiyohara" from the first timeline had used to purchase the black-market steroids. The merchant in front of him was a regional manager for the loan shark syndicate.
The shopkeeper, a man with a greasy goatee, counted the money with a slick smile. "Kiyohara-kun, you seem to have plenty of money on hand recently."
Kiyohara ignored the probing comment, his gaze scanning the heavily secured shelves behind the counter. "I need a blank Summoning Scroll and a high-capacity Sealing Scroll."
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "Oh! A big spender today!"
He turned around, unlocking a reinforced cabinet and pulling out two pristine scrolls.
"The blank Summoning Scroll is 90,000 Ryo. The high-capacity Sealing Scroll is 60,000."
Kiyohara's mouth twitched beneath his mask. 150,000 Ryo. This was almost his entire life savings, accumulated from months of lethal missions and looting corpses on the Whirlpool island.
But he knew these were absolute necessities.
With a blank Summoning Scroll, he could finally attempt to find a Summoned Beast to sign a blood contract with. And a high-capacity Sealing Scroll was critical for his future looting efficiency. Leaving priceless enemy weapons on the battlefield because his pockets were full was physical agony for him.
After handing over the massive stack of cash, Kiyohara looked at the few measly thousands left in his frog wallet.
"Things related to Space-Time Ninjutsu are ridiculously expensive," Kiyohara sighed. He couldn't even imagine the generational wealth Tenten's family possessed to afford her endless barrage of sealed weapons.
"Space-Time and Fūinjutsu are the most profound fields in the world," the shopkeeper smiled, carefully wrapping the scrolls. "The ink requires specific chakra-conductive materials. The price is naturally high."
Kiyohara nodded, carefully stowing the scrolls in his flak jacket. In the Naruto world, Space-Time mechanics were basically black magic; the investment was mandatory.
Three days later, in the chilly early morning, Kiyohara arrived at Lady Tsunade's command tent on time.
Kakashi and Rin were already waiting outside. Rin was carrying a standard medical kit, a bright smile on her face.
"Good morning, Kiyohara-kun," Rin greeted softly.
"Morning," Kiyohara nodded.
Rin looked incredibly excited. "Lady Tsunade specifically requested a junior Medical Ninja to assist her during the trip. As a medic, Lady Tsunade has always been my absolute idol!"
Having the opportunity to work closely with the Medical Saint was a dream come true for her.
"Kakashi, we're on a squad together again," Kiyohara noted. Wartime logistics meant temporary squads were constantly being formed and dissolved based on mission parameters.
"Your combat strength is highly rated by command. That's probably why we were assigned as the primary guards," Kakashi replied casually, crouching down to check the explosive tags in his thigh pouch.
"If everyone is here, come in," Shizune called out, lifting the tent flap.
Kiyohara and Rin entered, but Kakashi remained outside, stating he would enter in a moment.
Inside, they found Lady Tsunade still lying in bed. Her long, pale golden hair was spread messily across the pillow. One fair, incredibly toned leg was sticking out from beneath the heavy blanket.
"Lady Tsunade, it's time to go," Shizune reminded her softly, having clearly been trying to wake her for a while.
"Mmm... five more minutes..." Tsunade mumbled vaguely, burying her face deeper into the pillow.
Shizune looked helplessly at the two Chunin, then raised her voice. "Lady Tsunade! Kiyohara and Rin have arrived!"
Only then did the Sannin sit up reluctantly, rubbing her sleepy brown eyes and yawning widely. "Got it, got it... I was actually awake a long time ago, I just ended up taking a nap." She scratched her messy hair.
After Tsunade finally dressed and strapped on her flak jacket, she handed Kiyohara a massive, heavy sealing scroll.
"You're carrying this. Inside are the classified experimental instruments and sensitive medical supplies we need for the lab."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Kiyohara took the massive scroll and strapped it diagonally across his back. It was nearly as large as the scroll Naruto carried during his Sage Mode training.
Kakashi finally entered the tent. Tsunade glanced at the silver-haired boy.
'He looks more and more like Sakumo every day,' Tsunade thought bitterly. Sakumo Hatake's suicide had been a catastrophic, senseless loss for the village. If the Third Hokage had just controlled the civilian public opinion in time, the White Fang would still be alive.
"Let's go," Tsunade ordered, her tone shifting to absolute, commanding authority. "Mission start."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" the three replied in unison.
The squad of four departed the coastal camp, heading deep into the forested interior of the Land of Fire.
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