"Asuma!"
A rough, booming voice rang out.
Asuma turned his head and saw a tall, rugged-looking shinobi walking toward him while carrying two lunch boxes.
The man wore an honest, almost simple-minded smile, and the arms exposed outside his sleeves were covered in scars.
"You haven't had dinner yet, right? I picked up an extra portion, it's for you."
The rugged shinobi handed over the lunch box.
Asuma looked at the man's overly enthusiastic smile and the strange glint in his eyes that made him slightly uncomfortable, and a chill suddenly ran down his spine.
"N-no need—"
Asuma took half a step back.
"I've already eaten."
"Don't be so polite. You just rotated off duty, you must be hungry."
The rugged shinobi stepped closer again.
"How about we eat together? I still have some sake in my tent—"
"I really already ate!"
Asuma hurriedly waved his hands.
"Well— I suddenly remembered I still have something to report to the captain, I'll be going first!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he practically fled.
The rugged shinobi scratched his head as he watched Asuma's retreating figure, muttering somewhat disappointedly, "Why run so fast… I wasn't going to eat you."
Inside the tent, Kiyohara and Kurenai heard the conversation outside.
Kurenai could not help but laugh. "Asuma is still as popular as ever."
Kiyohara smiled as well, but the smile quickly faded.
He finished organizing his shinobi tool pouch and looked at Kurenai. "Kurenai, get some rest early."
Kurenai nodded and prepared to return to her own tent.
The two of them were in the same squad, so their tents were set up very close to each other, practically neighbors.
Kiyohara returned to his tent and went to sleep.
A night passed.
When Kiyohara woke up from his tent, the sky had not yet fully brightened.
From the distance came faint rumbling sounds of ninjutsu collisions. That was the night raid unit still entangled with the scouts of Sunagakure.
Of course, this was also thanks to Kiyohara's increasingly sharp hearing.
Some movements that others could not detect had gradually become audible to him.
However, being too sensitive was not always a good thing, for example, there would be a lot of noise when trying to sleep.
Kiyohara planned to find a way to make his five senses more controllable.
He got up, did a simple wash, changed into his combat uniform, and checked his shinobi tool pouch: shinobi blade, kunai, shuriken, wire, medical supplies, and that gourd filled with iron sand.
After that, Kiyohara found a place, set up a pot, and began making breakfast.
He did not bother to look for firewood. Instead, he placed his hand directly under the black pot.
As fire-style chakra surged, waves of heat appeared in his palm, rapidly heating the pot.
It did not take long before Kiyohara finished preparing a simple breakfast.
For a shinobi with a large chakra reserve like him, doing this was not difficult.
Kiyohara made a few extra portions. He first delivered one to the nearby Kurenai and Rin, then went to find Tsunade.
Tsunade's tent was lit.
When Kiyohara lifted the curtain and entered, Tsunade was sitting at a simple table, looking over a frontline casualty report.
Her blonde hair was slightly messy, and there were faint shadows under her eyes, clearly indicating she had not rested much the previous night.
"Sensei."
Kiyohara placed the lunch box in his hand onto the table.
"Have something to eat."
Inside the box were simple rice balls and miso soup. The rice balls contained pickled vegetables and dried fish, while the soup was made from dried kelp and seasoning.
Tsunade raised her head and glanced at Kiyohara. A rare, tired smile appeared on her lips. "You still have the mood to make this."
She accepted the box and took a bite of a rice ball.
She chewed slowly, as if savoring a delicacy.
In reality, on such a harsh frontline, being able to eat something this neat and orderly was already a luxury.
"Sometimes I feel…"
After swallowing the rice ball, Tsunade spoke softly, "Your cooking is basically my sanity recovery potion in this hellish place."
Kiyohara sat down across from her. "How are things today?"
Tsunade took a sip of soup and shook her head. "Not good. More than twenty wounded were sent in last night, six critically injured, three couldn't be saved. Sunagakure's offensive hasn't weakened, it's actually intensifying."
She set down the bowl, took out a small box from under the table, and handed it to Kiyohara. "This is for you."
It was a box of milk. The packaging was crude, but on this resource-strained frontline, it was already a rare item.
Kiyohara accepted it, somewhat surprised. "Milk?"
"Drink more, help you grow."
Tsunade said.
Kiyohara laughed. "Sensei, I'm already quite well developed."
He was already much taller than average people, with a strong physique and broad shoulders, definitely outstanding among his peers.
"Still far from being a man."
Tsunade replied casually.
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow. "I'm not small."
Whether man or boy, neither liked being called small.
The moment the words came out, both of them froze for a second.
A faint blush appeared on Tsunade's cheeks as she glared at him. "You little brat…"
She felt that when interacting with Kiyohara, she was easily led astray and ended up saying things that sounded ambiguous.
Kiyohara smiled and wisely did not continue the topic.
At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded from outside the tent.
"Lady Tsunade, urgent situation!"
A messenger shinobi rushed in, panting. "The third defensive line at the frontline is in crisis. Sunagakure's Scorch Release user Pakura is personally leading the attack and has already broken through the first line of defense!"
Tsunade's expression instantly turned serious.
"Pakura? She came personally?"
"Yes, her Scorch Release is too powerful. Our shinobis simply cannot block it. Already more than a dozen—"
The messenger did not finish his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.
Nara Enchu had sent him to inform Tsunade and request that a group of medical shinobis be dispatched to the battlefield.
Tsunade stood up and looked at Kiyohara. "You lead the team, Kiyohara. Pakura's Scorch Release is a bloodline limit, combining the nature transformations of wind and fire. Do not take her attacks head-on, it is far more dangerous than ordinary fire style."
"I understand."
Kiyohara nodded.
The two quickly left the tent. At the same time, Tsunade ordered Shizune and the medical unit to prepare.
Casualties would soon increase.
The frontline was three kilometers from the main camp.
Tsunade remained at the camp, while Kiyohara, along with Kurenai, Shizune, and several other shinobis, reached the third defensive line in less than half an hour.
What was called a defensive line was no longer recognizable.
The earthen fortifications and cover that had once been built were melted by extreme heat. The ground was charred black, with wisps of smoke rising.
Several corpses lay on the scorched earth, their forms horrifying. They were not burned black, but rather looked as though all moisture had been drained from them, their skin clinging tightly to their bones, eye sockets sunken, like dried corpses.
And the one responsible for all of this stood at the front of the battlefield.
It was a tall female shinobi.
Her long hair, a blend of orange and green, was tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, with two strands hanging down in front of her face.
She wore the standard uniform of Sunagakure, yet her smooth back was left exposed.
Even from a distance, Kiyohara could clearly see her face. Her features were delicate, and a confident curve lingered at the corner of her lips.
Even more eye-catching was her figure.
Her curves were striking, her chest full and prominent, her waist astonishingly slender, and her legs long and straight, radiating the unique charm of a mature woman.
The "hero of Sunagakure," Pakura.
At this moment, Pakura slowly raised her hand.
Above her palm floated an orange-red fireball about the size of a fist.
At first glance, the fireball seemed unremarkable, but through Kiyohara's Sharingan, he could clearly see that two types of chakra were swirling within it.
Wind-nature chakra formed a rotating inner current, while fire-nature chakra burned along the outer layer.
The two nature transformations fused perfectly, producing a qualitative change.
It became Scorch Release chakra.
"Scorch Release…"
Kiyohara muttered softly.
At that moment, Pakura moved.
With a casual wave of her hand, the fireball drifted forward. Its speed was not particularly fast, but its area of effect was wide.
A Konoha shinobi who tried to defend himself with an earth-style wall had barely raised it when the fireball curved around the barrier and struck his body.
There was no explosion, no burst of flames.
At the moment of contact, the fireball seeped into his body like water soaking into a sponge.
Then, a horrifying scene unfolded.
The shinobi's body began to tremble violently.
The moisture in his skin visibly evaporated, shrinking and wrinkling at an alarming rate.
His eyeballs shriveled within their sockets, his lips cracked, and his hair turned dry and fell away.
In just three seconds, a living shinobi turned into a dried corpse and collapsed to the ground.
The entire process was silent, yet it was far more terrifying than any bloody spectacle.
"So… this is Scorch Release…"
A young chunin's voice trembled.
Having witnessed it with his own eyes, Kiyohara gained the most direct understanding of its power.
Through the combination of extreme heat and wind force, it instantly evaporated all the moisture within the target's body.
Before death, the victim would endure the agony of boiling from within, yet no obvious external wounds would remain.
A cruel and efficient killing technique.
At the same time, Kiyohara's Sharingan captured even more details.
Scorch Release… the fusion of wind and fire…
A strong interest surged within him.
If he could master this bloodline limit, or at least understand its principles, the power of his fire-style jutsus would undergo a qualitative leap.
Just imagining combining the high temperature of his previously developed Fire Release Microwave Bullet with the dehydration properties of Scorch Release, what kind of terrifying killing move would that create?
Moreover, the hero of Sunagakure before him was the perfect specimen for study.
But Kiyohara could tell that Pakura was strong.
She had likely mastered such techniques in Scorch Release back when she was still in the academy or had just graduated.
"I have to capture her."
Kiyohara made his decision.
First, capturing Pakura alive would be a tremendous military achievement, allowing him to rise more quickly to the position of squad leader and gain a higher status within the Anbu.
Second, by studying her Scorch Release, he could further strengthen his own abilities.
At that moment, the voice of the frontline commander rang out, "Is there anyone proficient in wind release? Use wind release jutsu to disperse her fireballs!"
A Konoha jonin stepped forward. "I'll do it. I'm the most skilled in wind release here!"
His hands rapidly formed seals as he took a deep breath.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
A highly compressed sphere of air shot from his mouth, tearing through the air with a piercing screech as it sped toward Pakura.
Pakura did not even move her feet.
She simply raised her left hand and gave a casual wave.
"Wind Release…"
Invisible currents gathered in the air, forming countless wind blades that met the high-pressure sphere.
At the moment of collision, the compressed air sphere was effortlessly sliced apart and dispersed.
However, the remaining wind currents did not lose momentum and instantly struck the jonin's neck.
Blood sprayed into the air.
The jonin's eyes widened as he clutched his throat, but blood continued to gush through his fingers.
He staggered back a few steps before collapsing.
"How is that possible…"
A Konoha chunin could not help but mutter, "That was an A-rank wind technique…"
"Because Pakura is also a wind-release jutsu expert."
An experienced Konoha jonin responded in a deep voice.
"Scorch Release is the fusion of wind and fire. As its wielder, she is proficient in both. Her mastery of wind release far surpasses that of ordinary jonin."
The Konoha shinobis fell silent.
The title of Sunagakure's hero was clearly well deserved.
Kurenai stood beside Kiyohara, her face slightly pale.
She gripped her kunai tightly, her fingers turning white from the force. "What do we do, Kiyohara… her wind release is too terrifying…"
Even with the enhancement of the Power of the White Snake, Kurenai did not believe she could surpass Pakura in wind release.
After all, her main specialty was genjutsu, with wind release only as a secondary focus.
Her true talent and strength lay in genjutsu.
Unfortunately, against an opponent of this level, genjutsu would be difficult to use effectively.
Kiyohara looked at Pakura in the distance and suddenly smiled.
"It's simple." He said.
"I'll just take action myself."
With that, he no longer concealed his chakra.
Wind-nature chakra surged violently from his body, forming visible swirling air currents around him.
Dust from the ground was lifted, and the surrounding shinobis felt a powerful pressure from the wind.
Kiyohara was also a master of wind release.
Kurenai froze, staring at him in shock.
"Kiyohara, you…"
She looked at him in disbelief.
The surrounding shinobis were equally astonished. They had not expected Kiyohara's wind release to be this strong.
After all, he was best known for three things: Magnet Release, the Sharingan, and his body flicker technique.
"You all fall back and keep your distance."
Kiyohara continued, "Do not enter Pakura's attack range."
Whether it was her Scorch Release, wind release, or even fire-style techniques, they were all wide-area attacks.
If anyone was careless, they would easily be caught in the aftermath.
In the next moment, the ground beneath Kiyohara's feet exploded.
Using the recoil force, he accelerated forward with the Body Flicker Technique.
His speed was so fast that to ordinary shinobis, he left behind only a faint afterimage.
Pakura noticed Kiyohara immediately.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
As a priority target in Sunagakure's intelligence network, she had already reviewed his information.
A rising star of Konoha, Tsunade's disciple, possessing both the Sharingan and the Magnet Release bloodline limit, with strength far beyond his peers.
"Kiyohara…"
Pakura murmured his name, killing intent flashing in her eyes.
This young man had already been listed as a threat by Sunagakure.
Given time, he could very well become another Minato Namikaze, a major danger to Suna.
He had to be eliminated here.
Moreover, it was this very boy who had ambushed and injured her on the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire during their last encounter.
Her beloved disciple Maki had been captured, and Kiyohara was one of those responsible.
With both old and new grudges, Pakura intended to settle everything at once.
Seeing this, the other Konoha jonin gritted their teeth and continued fighting, trying to hold back Pakura's allies, the surrounding Sand shinobis.
But Pakura had already grown impatient.
She raised her right arm, her palm facing upward.
Chakra gathered within her palm.
A new fireball appeared.
But this fireball was different from the previous ones.
It was larger, with a diameter exceeding half a meter, its color a glaring bright orange, and within it one could see rapidly rotating currents of wind.
The fireball hovered above Pakura's head, radiating terrifying heat and light.
The surrounding air distorted from the intense temperature, and the ground began to smoke.
"That is—"
A Konoha jonin's expression changed drastically.
"Pakura's signature technique—!"
Another cried out in alarm.
Pakura's gaze turned icy as she let out a sharp shout, "Scorch Release: Super Steam Kill!"
The fireball suddenly burst apart.
Centered on Pakura, an orange-red wave of heat surged outward like a storm, covering a radius of dozens of meters.
Wherever the heat wave passed, the ground cracked instantly, grass turned to ash, and even the surface of rocks began to crumble.
Several Konoha shinobis who failed to retreat in time were swallowed by the wave.
Screams rang out, but quickly faded.
Their bodies rapidly dehydrated and shriveled within the heat, ultimately turning into dried corpses.
But Kiyohara did not retreat.
He stood where he was, allowing the heat wave to crash against his body.
A trace of surprise flashed through Pakura's eyes.
This was the first time someone had dared to directly endure her Super Steam Kill without retreating.
Yet what surprised her even more happened next.
A metallic sheen appeared on the surface of Kiyohara's body.
That was the hardening effect of Steel Release combined with Earth Release: Earth Spear.
Under the high temperature, his metalized skin began to redden slightly, but it did not melt, nor did it crack.
Immediately afterward, violent wind currents surged around his body.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Fierce winds wrapped around him, forming a flowing barrier of air that dispersed most of the heat.
Under the cooling effect of the wind, the redness on his hardened skin quickly faded.
Although Wind Release: Gale Palm was not particularly difficult to learn, it was an extremely versatile technique.
When used alone, it could repel targets, or when combined with shinobi tools, greatly enhance attack speed and lethality.
It could also be used to envelop the user in powerful winds.
For the first time, genuine astonishment flickered in Pakura's eyes.
Her Scorch Release was Sunagakure's proud kekei genkai, capable of instantly evaporating all moisture within a living body.
Ordinary shinobis would not even dare approach this high-temperature domain, as they would lose their combat ability from dehydration alone.
Yet this young shinobi of Konoha—
"Interesting." Pakura murmured softly, a faint curve forming at her lips.
She slowly raised her right hand, her five fingers slightly spread, and another orange-red fireball condensed above her palm.
But this was only the beginning.
A second, a third—within moments, eight head-sized fireballs hovered around her.
Within each fireball, high-speed wind currents could be seen rotating, and the thermal radiation they emitted distorted the air within dozens of meters, while white smoke rose steadily from the ground.
"Kiyohara—"
Pakura spoke his name, her voice filled with undisguised killing intent.
"Given time, you will surely become a grave threat to Sunagakure. Today, you will remain here."
Before her words had even fully fallen, all eight fireballs moved at once.
A scorching wave of heat engulfed the area where Kiyohara stood, the ground cracking instantly as the surface of rocks split apart with sharp snapping sounds, forming spiderweb-like fractures.
"Kiyohara-kun!"
From behind came Kurenai's alarmed cry.
Several Konoha jonin attempted to rush forward to assist, but the moment the foremost stepped into the high-temperature zone, the skin on his arm visibly shriveled and dried.
He groaned and hurriedly retreated, staring at his arm that had aged decades in an instant, his face pale with shock.
"Don't come over!"
Kiyohara's voice remained clear even within the heat wave.
He did not even turn back, simply raising his left hand in a gesture to stop them.
At the same time, his Sharingan had already activated.
Within his crimson pupils, the tomoe spun rapidly, capturing the trajectories of all eight fireballs with enhanced dynamic vision.
The first fireball came straight at him.
Kiyohara turned sideways, and it brushed past the edge of his clothing.
The intense heat instantly scorched the fabric, but his steel-hardened skin only felt slightly warm.
The second and third attacked from both sides.
Kiyohara pushed off the ground with force, retreating sharply backward.
The two fireballs collided at the spot where he had just stood and exploded.
The fourth descended from above.
Kiyohara formed hand seals at a speed so fast it left only afterimages.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall!"
The gourd at his waist trembled as iron sand surged forward, forming a barrier in front of him.
However, the moment the fireball touched the iron sand wall, it began to melt, turning into a pool of red-hot molten metal.
But that brief obstruction was enough to buy Kiyohara time to evade.
The remaining four fireballs followed one after another.
Kiyohara's figure darted rapidly across the battlefield, each step leaving deep footprints in the scorched earth.
Magnet Release chakra surged through his body as he broke directly through the encirclement.
Pakura's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
Her control over the fireballs was extremely precise. An ordinary jonin would have already turned into a dried corpse under such dense attacks, yet Kiyohara continued to evade them.
The other shinobis could only remain at the rear, as they lacked Kiyohara's resistance to heat.
To deal with Pakura, they would normally rely on long-range ninjutsu.
But with Kiyohara engaged in close combat with her, they could not recklessly release techniques.
Kurenai had already formed hand seals, ready to support Kiyohara at any moment.
"Got you."
On the battlefield, Kiyohara suddenly muttered.
His figure abruptly appeared behind two Sunagakure chunin.
The two were fully focused on maintaining the outer warning barrier and never expected anyone to break through Lady Pakura's attack network and reach them directly.
Kiyohara extended both hands, gripping the backs of their necks and lifting them up like chickens, then violently threw them toward Pakura.
"!"
The two Sand shinobis looked terrified, almost screaming.
Pakura's expression changed as the fingers of her right hand suddenly clenched.
She forcibly controlled the fireballs flying through the air.
Two of them abruptly changed trajectory, forcibly turning midair to avoid the two comrades being thrown.
But the other two were not so fortunate.
Pakura did not have time to control them.
They collided head-on with the incoming Sand shinobis.
In an instant, the fireballs seeped into their bodies like liquid.
Their bodies convulsed violently midair, their skin shriveling at a visible rate.
Even more horrifying, blister-like bulges appeared across their bodies, rapidly swelling before—
Bang!
A dull bursting sound echoed.
Their bodies exploded from within, yet instead of flesh scattering, a large amount of white steam erupted.
Their organs, muscles, and bones were instantly vaporized under the extreme heat, leaving behind only two nearly hollow, charred shells that fell to the ground.
"Internal Steam Kill…"
Kiyohara looked at Pakura.
Her Scorch Release could not only evaporate moisture from the outside, but also send the fireball directly into a target's body to detonate from within.
"You dare—"
Pakura's voice turned even colder.
Kiyohara's method of using her own comrades as shields and even probing the nature of her technique in the process was a blatant provocation and humiliation.
"You will regret this, tree brat."
Pakura brought her hands together in front of her chest, her long hair moving without wind.
The chakra fluctuations around her body surged dramatically, the eight fireballs reformed, and the temperature rose once again.
(End of Chapter)