"Five days…"
Hiruzen slowly walked into the courtyard, his footsteps crunching over the charred, lightning-scorched wood fragments scattered across the ground.
"Only five days, and you've already mastered the jutsu I gave you."
Kiyohara shook his head and replied,
"It's because the scroll the Hokage-sama gave me was extremely detailed. I merely followed the methods written on it and practiced accordingly."
His expression was full of humility.
His talent was indeed exceptional, but even so, it could not be separated from the guidance of Uchiha Kiyohara's spiritual form.
Among the Uchiha clan, Lightning Release and Fire Release were practically specialties.
It could be said that only through the combination of strengths did his progress become so astonishingly fast.
Even Kakashi's speed in mastering Lightning Release techniques back then had not been as fast as his current pace.
"There's no need to be modest,"
Hiruzen said, looking at Kiyohara's humble demeanor, momentarily unsure of what else to say.
He himself had shown remarkable talent from childhood, which was why he had been taken in as a disciple by Tobirama Senju.
Later on, after mastering all five basic chakra natures, he had gone on to learn the vast majority of Konoha's ninjutsu.
Some enthusiasts even claimed that he knew every ninjutsu and forbidden technique in Konoha.
That was certainly exaggerated, but aside from a very small number of techniques, Hiruzen truly had learned almost all of them.
Yet now… he was old.
Even if he was still in his middle years, in just a few more years his strength would inevitably decline rapidly.
Looking at Kiyohara's youthful, immature face at this moment, Hiruzen could not help but feel a trace of disorientation.
On Kiyohara's face, he saw his own past self.
And on that same face, he also saw the shadow of Orochimaru.
'No wonder Orochimaru is so close to Kiyohara,'
this thought flashed through Hiruzen's mind.
He already knew that Kiyohara had been assisting Orochimaru, and now he finally understood why Orochimaru valued him so highly.
After all, his eldest disciple was, at heart, an extremely proud person.
Aside from carrying out missions, Orochimaru immersed himself entirely in his experiments. Those who wanted to curry favor with him often couldn't even find where he was.
But still…
As certain matters came to mind, Hiruzen frowned slightly.
Orochimaru was also far too close to Danzo.
That was not a good thing.
Hiruzen did not want Orochimaru to stray down a crooked path.
"Please, have a seat, Hokage-sama,"
Kiyohara said, bringing out a stool from inside his house for Hiruzen, then sitting down himself.
Originally, there had only been one stool at home. But the day Rin had come over to cook, she had not only left behind a set of kitchen utensils, but also an extra stool.
Kiyohara's words interrupted Hiruzen's thoughts.
He gave a light cough, refocused his gaze on Kiyohara, and sat down.
Lighting his pipe, he took a deep draw and exhaled wisps of white smoke.
"I'm very familiar with the development process of this technique. Even with a detailed scroll, an ordinary jonin would need at least a month to initially grasp it."
He carefully observed Kiyohara.
"Your Lightning Release chakra nature transformation is already more refined than that of many jonin who specialize in Lightning Release."
Kiyohara fell silent for a moment before speaking,
"I just put in more effort."
Hearing this, Hiruzen smiled.
Intelligence reports from the ANBU showed that Kiyohara's Wind Release was also quite strong.
And the Earth Release: Earth Spear he frequently used was itself a difficult B-rank Earth Release technique.
One chakra nature alone might be explained away but to have such solid attainments in so many different chakra natures… could that really be explained by effort alone?
Effort could certainly lead to great heights, but the prerequisite was time—time piled up over years.
Talent, however, could shorten that time infinitely.
And how old was Kiyohara now?
Hiruzen slowly rotated the pipe in his hand and said,
"This isn't something that can be achieved through effort alone. You possess true shinobi talent."
"Perhaps,"
Kiyohara nodded.
He did have talent—
though that talent had been stacked layer upon layer through many different factors.
"Kiyohara, have you tested your chakra nature?"
Hiruzen asked.
"I seem to be missing Water,"
Kiyohara replied.
Missing the Water chakra nature…
Hearing this, Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
The five basic chakra natures generated and restrained one another, and he himself had even created a technique like Five Release Great Combo Technique.
In his youth, he had also earned the empty reputation of being the "Strongest Hokage."
Of course, Hiruzen knew his own limits. Compared to the true "God of Shinobi," Hashirama Senju, he was still far inferior.
That was true strength, so great that even Uchiha Madara, empowered by the Nine-Tails, had fallen at Hashirama's hands.
"Having six chakra nature is already extremely impressive,"
Hiruzen said as he patted Kiyohara on the shoulder.
As an Uchiha, Kiyohara naturally possessed Yin chakra.
And since he had learned medical ninjutsu, that meant he also had Yang chakra.
Calculated this way, he was only missing one chakra nature.
Shinobis who had all seven chakra natures fully developed were exceedingly rare, only a handful, like Kakashi, possessed such completeness.
Wait…
Hiruzen suddenly reconsidered.
Developing additional chakra natures from scratch was indeed difficult.
But for someone like Kiyohara, who already had deep mastery over multiple chakra natures, perhaps he could draw parallels and achieve breakthroughs. He could not be judged by ordinary standards.
Still, this was ultimately speculation—an estimation of future strength, of "potential."
Reality was full of uncertainties.
Hiruzen had seen many geniuses who shone brilliantly in their early years, only to fade into obscurity later on.
"Trying to chew too much at once will only lead to indigestion. I plan to further refine what I already know first,"
Kiyohara said.
"Very good,"
Hiruzen nodded slightly.
Calm, steady, neither arrogant nor impatient.
"Seeing talent like yours, I actually don't want to send you to the battlefield,"
Hiruzen continued.
Kiyohara raised his head and met Hiruzen's gaze.
"War devours far too many things, including geniuses,"
Hiruzen's voice grew heavy.
"But I also understand that flowers grown in a greenhouse can never truly mature. Even my own son, Asuma, is on the battlefield right now."
The message was clear: even the Hokage's son received no special privileges.
If one must go to war, then one goes to war.
"I understand, Hokage-sama,"
Kiyohara replied.
That was only natural.
Otherwise, dissatisfaction would brew among the other shinobi, and morale would collapse.
This was the example a leader had to set.
At this point in time, Hiruzen was still in his prime years, still harboring ambition.
As for whether he would become corrupted in old age, lost in the intoxicating incense of power—that was a matter of differing opinions.
At the very least, in the present era, Asuma truly had gone to the battlefield, even if not to the frontmost lines.
Hearing Kiyohara's response, Hiruzen took another draw from his pipe.
After exhaling, he seemed to recall something and asked casually, as if without intent,
"By the way, I heard you went to the Uchiha clan grounds a few days ago?"
"Yes,"
Kiyohara answered frankly.
"Lord Fugaku invited me over."
"Oh? And what did he say?"
"Lord Fugaku said that Uchiha blood flows through my veins, and that the clan would welcome my return at any time."
Kiyohara relayed the words truthfully without embellishment and without concealment.
Hiruzen nodded slightly, the glow of his pipe flickering in the night.
"And what do you think?"
"I've never lived among the Uchiha clan. I feel more comfortable staying in the village."
This answer seemed to greatly satisfy Hiruzen.
He nodded and said,
"There's no rush. This kind of matter does require time to consider. Shisui went with you as well, didn't he?"
"That's right. Shisui brought me in."
"I see."
Hiruzen had originally intended to use Shisui as a bridge to ease the strained relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan.
But now it seemed that Kiyohara might be an even more suitable candidate.
Even if Kiyohara were to form bonds with the clan later on, he would inevitably never be as close as those who had grown up living within the clan since childhood.
Most members of the Uchiha clan would likely regard Kiyohara as an "outsider."
And that kind of identity, at times, could instead become a "good blade."
Such a position could connect both sides, yet would not completely lean toward either of them.
"Work hard," Hiruzen said at last, patting Kiyohara on the shoulder before turning and walking out of the courtyard.
"You'll be setting off for Kikyo Mountain tomorrow. Get some rest early tonight."
"Take care on your way, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen's figure disappeared into the night, leaving behind only the faint scent of secondhand smoke.
Kiyohara stood in the courtyard, looking at the wood chips scattered all over the ground.
That old man Hiruzen had probably come to conduct a loyalty test on him.
Back when three Uchiha had knocked on his door, the Hokage had likely already received the news.
'In the future, I'll have to be even more careful while training,'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
Hiruzen possessed the "Telescope Technique," which allowed him to spy on others.
When experimenting with ninjutsu or training, he would need to be careful not to expose anything unnecessary.
"With this, Danzo probably won't dare act openly against me anymore,"
Kiyohara reasoned inwardly.
Moreover, since Hiruzen had publicly acknowledged him as a genius, that "genius" persona was essentially firmly established.
If he revealed even more jutsu later on, it would not be too difficult to explain.
After all, a shinobi who was eager to learn could truly master many techniques as long as they had access to the right channels.
Orochimaru and Hiruzen each possessed at least thousands of ninjutsu, and the future Kakashi would be the same.
After that, Kiyohara began cleaning up the courtyard, preparing for the mission the next day.
At the same time, Hiruzen was walking home.
The figures of the ANBU followed him like shadows across the rooftops, but his expression did not change—or rather, he had already grown accustomed to this ever-present protection.
His home was located near the center of Konoha.
When he pushed open the courtyard gate, the lights inside were already on.
"Why are you back so late?"
A slightly reproachful female voice came from inside the house.
Sarutobi Biwako, Hiruzen's wife, stood at the entrance, still holding a cleaning cloth.
Though she was middle-aged, she was well maintained. At the moment, her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly dissatisfied with her husband's late return.
"Something held me up,"
Hiruzen said as he removed his Hokage robe and hung it on the rack.
"Shinnosuke waited for you for a long time before he just went back,"
Biwako sighed.
"He said the ANBU had something to report, but you weren't in your office."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke was Hiruzen's eldest son and currently the captain of the ANBU. He was steady in his conduct and deeply trusted by his father.
"I'll look for him tomorrow,"
Hiruzen said as he walked toward the living room.
The living room window faced the direction of the Hokage Rock.
At night, the Hokage Rock was illuminated by lights, the stone faces of the three Hokage quietly overlooking the village in the darkness.
Biwako brought over some tea and placed it in front of her husband.
"What's on your mind now? You look troubled,"
she asked.
Hiruzen accepted the teacup but did not drink immediately. Gazing at the Hokage Rock outside the window, he slowly spoke:
"Today, I met a child, a very talented child."
"For you to praise him like that, he must be something special,"
Biwako said as she sat down across from him.
"He's almost like me when I was young,"
Hiruzen said with a bitter smile.
"No, Biwako. He may be even more talented than I was back then. Although I mastered all five chakra nature transformations, I didn't possess any bloodline limits."
"What's the child's name?"
"Kiyohara."
Biwako fell silent for a moment before softly asking,
"Are you worried about him?"
"Worried and hopeful,"
Hiruzen said slowly after taking a sip of tea.
"A genius like that, if guided well, will become a pillar of Konoha's future. But if he strays onto the wrong path…"
He did not finish the sentence, but Biwako understood what he meant.
"What about Orochimaru? I heard that child is quite close to him,"
she asked.
As the Hokage's wife, Sarutobi Biwako was also aware of certain developments within the village.
"Orochimaru has been getting a bit too close to Danzo,"
Hiruzen replied.
Orochimaru's recent actions had become increasingly difficult to read. Those secret experiments in his laboratories though ostensibly done for Konoha always left Hiruzen with a sense that something was off.
"Alright, enough about that,"
Biwako said as she stood up.
"The food is still warm. I'll bring it over. Try to come back earlier in the future."
…
The next day at noon, Kiyohara gathered with Genma and Kurenai at the gates of Konoha.
This mission was to escort a batch of medical supplies to the front lines near Kikyo Mountain. The mission was ranked C, but due to the tense state of the war, it could be upgraded at any time.
"Let's go,"
Kiyohara said after checking the personnel. This operation involved multiple small teams transporting supplies together.
However, they would not depart simultaneously, but instead move out in a dispersed manner.
Seeing that both Genma and Kurenai had arrived, Kiyohara announced their departure.
With Orochimaru absent, he was the team leader.
Kurenai stood beside Kiyohara and secretly glanced at him.
Today, Kiyohara was dressed in a deep black shinobi outfit, with three massive ninjutsu scrolls strapped across his lower back.
Genma yawned, a senbon still clenched between his teeth.
"Let's get moving already. The sooner we arrive, the sooner we're done."
Behind him, there was also a large sealing scroll.
Inside these scrolls were the supplies that had been sealed in advance—the very items they were tasked with escorting.
"I'll check once more,"
Kurenai said quietly.
She was also carrying a sealing scroll. After confirming everything, the group set off.
Their pace was neither fast nor slow as they moved through the forest.
A group's marching speed was always determined by the slowest member.
If Kiyohara were alone, he could easily move faster.
But in that case, Genma and Kurenai would not be able to keep up.
…
The first day of travel passed peacefully.
By evening, the team set up camp in a forested area.
Using shuriken and copper wire, Kiyohara arranged several simple alarm traps.
Strictly speaking, silver conducted electricity better than copper.
But using silver wire would have been far too costly.
In the end, it all came down to one word—poverty.
"Let's stick to rotating watches tonight. I'll take the first shift,"
Kiyohara said as he looked into the night beyond the camp.
Leaving someone on guard at all times was the safest approach.
"I'll take the middle shift,"
Kurenai said as she took out her rations and bit into them.
The taste of these rations was naturally far inferior to fresh food, but during missions, this was all they had.
"Alright, then I'll sleep first,"
Genma said with a yawn. Finding a spot, he lay down and almost immediately began to snore softly.
After traveling continuously for an entire day, he was completely exhausted.
Kurenai sat by the campfire, feeling tired as well.
Long, monotonous travel was a form of torment for both body and mind.
She wanted to chat with Kiyohara to pass the time.
But she noticed that his expression was perfectly normal, showing none of the fatigue one would expect after a full day of travel.
Not only that, Kiyohara had gone alone to the canopy of a tree a hundred meters away, hiding himself among the branches to keep watch.
Kurenai looked at his back, hesitating to speak.
She lowered her head and glanced at her bare wrist. Though her skin was fair and delicate, it felt like something was missing.
She recalled the exquisite bracelet on Rin's wrist, said to be a gift from Kiyohara.
'Hmph, why didn't this guy think to give me a present too,'
Kurenai thought with a slight pout. "I was the one who met him first…"
But she quickly shook her head, casting aside those petty emotions.
They were on a mission now—she couldn't afford to be distracted.
Turning emotion into motivation, Kurenai began her own training.
She formed hand seals, her eyes flashing faintly as she started practicing genjutsu.
She had no intention of falling too far behind Kiyohara.
Meanwhile, Kiyohara also decided to train for a while.
He was responsible for the first two hours of watch, but that didn't prevent him from training at the same time.
The night sky was clear, a bright full moon hanging high and casting down silvery light.
Kiyohara raised his head to look at the moon, its light illuminating his face.
A faint layer of black coloration surfaced over his skin, as if a coat of dark paint had been applied.
Steel Release.
As his mastery of Steel Release grew deeper, he began to think about how to extend the hardening effect beyond the surface of the skin to strengthening internal organs and bones as well.
"Steel Release mainly resists cutting-type damage, but against blunt force or techniques that cause internal injuries, its defensive effect is limited,"
Kiyohara thought.
He was reminded of Kumogakure's "Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
That technique fused Lightning Release chakra into every cell of the body, stimulating bodily activity. It not only enhanced speed but also strengthened defense.
"However, it seems no one in Konoha has developed a ninjutsu-taijutsu technique like Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Even Kakashi's Chidori is limited to the hand…"
Kiyohara extended a finger. The black coloration faded, replaced by a tiny arc of lightning flickering around his fingertip.
Carefully, he guided this strand of Lightning Release chakra into the muscles of his palm.
Not external stimulation—but internal.
What he intended to do was use electrical currents to stimulate and strengthen his muscles.
This required extremely delicate control.
Lightning Release chakra was violent and difficult to handle. The slightest mistake could damage muscle tissue or even cause permanent injury.
Kiyohara closed his eyes and focused his attention on his right palm.
Muscle fibers, blood vessels…
The Lightning Release chakra, like tiny lightning serpents, burrowed between the muscle tissues, beginning to stimulate them in a controlled rhythm.
Sizzle…
A faint electrical sound echoed within his palm.
Kiyohara could feel the muscle fibers trembling slightly under the stimulation, as if undergoing countless minute cycles of contraction and relaxation.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked at his palm.
"If I can train through artificial stimulation, I can enhance muscle strength to a certain degree and amplify the effects of training even further."
"As expected, what truly limits a person's growth ceiling is the 'upper limit of physical talent.'"
His line of thought became increasingly clear.
The idea itself seemed simple after all, even ordinary people used electrical devices for muscle training but in practice, it was riddled with difficulties.
Because this was a double-edged sword: a slight misstep with the current could lead to reduced muscle function, soft tissue damage, or even muscle atrophy.
First, it required extremely high chakra control; otherwise, the Lightning Release chakra would spiral out of control.
Second, it demanded a deep understanding of Lightning Release nature transformation to accurately gauge the level of stimulation.
Third, maintaining this stimulation over time required an enormous amount of chakra.
Finally, it also required medical knowledge—an understanding of human anatomy to avoid damaging vital tissues.
All four were indispensable.
Kiyohara suddenly realized that this might be the prototype principle behind Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Only, the method used by Kumo was far more systematic and refined, having undergone countless improvements.
(End of Chapter)