The shinobi guarding the village gate also recognized Kiyohara and Tsunade.
After going through a few simple procedures, the group finally returned to Konoha.
When Kiyohara and Tsunade had departed, they had brought a force of one thousand shinobi with them.
But now that they had returned, more than three hundred people were missing.
Even so, those casualties were already considered relatively acceptable.
After all, that had been Kiri's largest invasion of the Land of Wind.
The main defensive duties had been handled by Suna, but Konoha had still paid a considerable price as well.
By the time Kiyohara and Tsunade finished reporting and handing over everything to Hiruzen inside the Hokage Building, dusk had already fallen.
The moment they stepped out, Tsunade practically charged straight toward the gambling hall.
"Tsunade-sama, you just got back. At least go home and rest first…"
Shizune hugged Tonton in her arms and hurried after her, her voice filled with helplessness.
"Rest for what?!"
Tsunade did not even turn her head.
"It's been so long since I touched Konoha's dice. My hands are itching!"
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Kiyohara shook his head before walking toward Tsunade's residence.
He did not have much luggage anyway. Most of his belongings were stored inside sealing scrolls.
"Kiyohara-kun, then I'll head home first too."
Rin spoke softly.
Her parents were definitely worried about her, so she wanted to return as early as possible.
Kurenai also spoke from the side.
"I should go too. My father came back today as well."
Kurenai looked at Kiyohara.
Ever since what had happened between them previously, the relationship between the two had become much closer.
Kurenai even blinked at him meaningfully, clearly implying that he should come visit her later.
"Alright, you two go ahead."
Kiyohara nodded.
Afterward, he chatted briefly with Kakashi and Might Guy before preparing to leave as well.
"Guy, in a few days I'll notify you to come to Training Ground Three. There's someone I want you to train."
"Someone for me to train?"
Guy looked puzzled.
"That's right. Help strengthen his body a little."
Kiyohara replied casually.
He was honestly curious how powerful a healthy Itachi would become.
An Uchiha Itachi who had trained his physique from childhood onward probably would not fall sick so easily, right?
Inside the gambling hall, smoke drifted thickly through the air.
Tsunade sat in front of a slot machine, her eyes fixed on the spinning symbols.
Several empty glasses were already piled beside her, and her cheeks were flushed red, clearly showing she had drunk quite a bit.
"Hit! Hit!"
Tsunade suddenly slapped the machine as three identical symbols lit up across the screen.
Ding ding ding.
Coins poured out with a crisp sound, but the amount was pitifully small.
"How is it only this much…"
Tsunade grumbled unhappily as she shoved another coin inside.
Shizune stood nearby, hesitating to speak. She had already tried persuading Tsunade three times, and every single time Tsunade had insisted, "Just one more round and I'll win it all back," only to lose even more.
Two hours later.
Tsunade stared at the three mismatched symbols that had stopped on the screen, her fist slowly tightening.
The money pouch beside her had become completely flat.
Not only had she failed to win, she had lost a huge amount instead.
"Tsunade-sama…"
Shizune spoke cautiously.
"We should head back now."
Tsunade inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling.
Her raised fist hovered above the slot machine, her knuckles turning pale from the force.
She was so furious she nearly smashed the entire machine apart with one punch.
But once she remembered that she would have to pay compensation afterward, her clenched fist slowly relaxed in the end.
She stood up and walked toward the exit without looking back.
"So boring."
She muttered quietly.
"It's still more interesting playing against that brat Kiyohara. At least I managed to beat him a few times."
Shizune finally let out a sigh of relief and quickly followed after her.
At Tsunade's residence.
Kiyohara was currently taking a bath in the second floor bathroom.
Hot water flowed over his body, washing away all the dust and exhaustion from the journey.
He closed his eyes, letting the stream slide across his skin while enjoying the relaxation spreading through his muscles.
As more and more future timelines stacked together and as he gradually grew older, his body had undergone very obvious changes.
His physique had become increasingly firm and well proportioned. His shoulders were broad, the outlines of his chest and abdominal muscles clearly visible. The lines of his arms and legs were smooth yet powerful, filled with explosive strength.
"I wonder, if I keep practicing Sage Arts every single day, just how long will I actually live?"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Perhaps because of the toad bloodline influence, his vitality seemed to be increasing far faster than before.
And unlike before, he had not encountered any bottleneck at all. Instead, it was steadily rising bit by bit.
Kiyohara estimated that if he fully inherited the complete Yotsuki bloodline, his vitality would continue growing even further.
And once he obtained the bloodlines of the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan as well, he felt that the potential of his physical body would probably reach an absurd level.
While Kiyohara was bathing, Tsunade and Shizune also returned downstairs.
Although Kiyohara currently lived at Tsunade's home, the residence itself had originally been the mansion of the Senju Clan.
Kiyohara stayed upstairs and even had his own separate bathroom.
After arriving at the entrance, Tsunade bent down and removed her shoes before heading upstairs.
Her bare feet stepped lightly against the wooden floorboards as she climbed upward.
"Kiyohara?"
She called out several times. After pushing open the bedroom door and finding no one inside, she searched around for a bit before noticing the bathroom light was still on.
The bathroom door was made of frosted glass, so from outside only a blurry silhouette could be seen.
Even so, the outline of the figure inside was still vaguely visible.
When Tsunade walked into the living room, she happened to see this scene.
Her footsteps paused slightly.
On the frosted glass door, that blurry figure was currently wiping down his body.
Broad shoulders.
A tight waistline.
Long and powerful legs.
Tsunade blinked before suddenly realizing what exactly she was looking at, immediately turning her gaze away.
She walked over to the sofa and sat down, casually grabbing the kettle on the table to pour herself water, though her movements were somewhat flustered and a little spilled out.
Unlike Jiraiya, who loved visiting pleasure districts, the most chaotic place Tsunade had ever frequented was probably only the gambling hall.
As for hostess clubs and drinking establishments, Tsunade had never gone to such places before.
Naturally, she had never really seen someone with a physique like Kiyohara's.
When she treated Jiraiya's back injuries before, she had also seen his body.
And during surgeries in the past, she had seen the upper body muscles of countless patients.
But Tsunade still felt that none of them compared to Kiyohara.
"Tch."
She snorted softly.
This brat really was developing better and better.
For some reason, Tsunade suddenly felt an odd sense of raising and nurturing him herself.
At that moment, the sound of running water from the bathroom stopped.
One minute later, the door opened and Kiyohara walked out.
He only wore a pair of loose pants around his lower body. His upper body remained bare, and droplets of water were still dripping from his wet hair.
Beads of water slid down along his collarbone, making the lines of his muscles appear even more distinct beneath the light.
Tsunade subconsciously lifted her gaze, her eyes lingering on him for an instant before quickly moving away again.
"Sensei?"
Kiyohara gathered Fire chakra into his hand, creating visible waves of heat.
Then he used the heat from a short distance away to dry his hair. Very quickly, white steam rose upward as the heat evaporated the moisture.
"You're back. Did you win at gambling?"
"I lost everything."
Tsunade answered irritably. To cover up that momentary awkwardness, she deliberately put on a stern expression.
"You brat, after finishing your bath you still came out without properly putting on clothes?"
Kiyohara lowered his head to look at himself before lifting his eyes toward Tsunade, confusion appearing on his face.
"I'm in my own room. I just finished bathing and didn't have time to get dressed yet."
He paused before adding,
"And wasn't it Sensei who suddenly entered my room?"
Tsunade choked slightly at his response before glaring at him.
"What, now you're blaming me for disturbing you?"
"I wouldn't dare."
Kiyohara walked over to the wardrobe and began looking for clothes.
"I was only reminding Sensei that using unspoken rules on your disciple isn't very appropriate."
"You…"
Tsunade froze briefly before speaking in annoyance.
"You little brat, where did you even learn this kind of nonsense?!"
She stood up and strode over to him in a few quick steps, raising her hand to flick his forehead.
Only after knocking him once did she continue speaking.
"The older you get, the more outrageous you become!"
"Hurry up and get dressed!"
Tsunade spoke while stepping on his foot afterward.
Kiyohara lowered his head and saw Tsunade's foot extending from beneath the hem of her kimono, pressing lightly against the wooden floorboards.
The shape of her foot was beautiful, the arch exquisitely curved. Her toes were neat and rounded, her nails trimmed very cleanly, and the freshly applied red nail polish looked especially alluring.
That step from earlier had been extremely light, more like a touch than an actual stomp.
The cool and soft sensation brushed briefly across the top of his foot before vanishing.
"Sensei."
As Kiyohara slipped on the black chainmail undershirt beneath his clothes, he spoke casually.
"I'm the one being looked at here, so why does it somehow feel like I'm the one at fault?"
Tsunade had just picked up the cup inside Kiyohara's room to drink some water. Hearing that, she nearly choked.
She immediately set the cup down and rolled her eyes at him.
"Stop running your mouth. Tomorrow you're coming to the gambling hall with me. I'm winning back everything I lost today."
"Again?"
"What, you unwilling?"
"I'm willing."
Kiyohara draped his outer robe over himself.
The chainmail he had just put on actually looked almost identical to tight innerwear from the outside.
There were many different styles of chainmail, including fishnet-like versions, but Kiyohara was not particularly fond of those kinds.
"Still, Sensei has to promise me something."
Kiyohara deliberately added another condition.
"If you lose past a certain amount, you stop."
Otherwise, once Tsunade got carried away, nobody knew how long she would continue gambling.
"Got it, got it."
Tsunade waved her hand dismissively before turning toward her own room.
"So naggy."
Her footsteps gradually faded as she walked upstairs.
Kiyohara remained standing in place, listening to the sound of the upstairs door opening and closing.
'I'll rest for a few days first, then accept missions related to Kumogakure and complete the second last will.'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
He lowered his hand. By now, his hair had already been completely dried by the heat.
Upstairs, inside Tsunade's room.
She leaned against the closed door quietly for a long while.
The light from the living room slipped through the crack beneath the doorway, carving a thin line of brightness into the darkness.
The room itself remained unlit. Only the faint glow from the streetlights outside filtered through the window, outlining the furniture in layers of dim shadows.
Tsunade raised a hand and touched her cheek.
It still felt warm.
That sudden acceleration of her heartbeat from earlier seemed to still echo faintly in her ears.
She was not some inexperienced young girl untouched by the world.
It was just…
"This brat…"
Tsunade muttered softly to herself.
In the past, the person who had stayed by her side the longest had been her younger brother Nawaki. After that came her teammates Jiraiya and Orochimaru, and later Dan.
But ever since the end of the Second Shinobi War, all of them had only become people she occasionally met.
Without realizing it, Kiyohara had somehow become the male who spent the most time around her.
She did not even know when she had gradually become accustomed to this kind of relationship.
Was it like master and disciple?
Or more like family?
Tsunade shook her head gently.
In such a short amount of time, Kiyohara had already grown into a powerful shinobi capable of standing on his own.
His growth speed was unbelievably fast, so fast that even she, as his teacher, sometimes felt caught off guard.
Was she proud?
Of course she was proud.
Being able to raise a disciple like this was an honor for any teacher.
But besides that?
Tsunade closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
For some reason, she felt like she was hiding a beauty away in a golden house.
Of course, in this case, the "beauty" was Kiyohara.
Tsunade shook her head again, forcefully throwing away those messy thoughts.
She closed the window and pulled the curtains shut, plunging the room completely into darkness.
There were still many things to deal with tomorrow.
Life had to continue moving forward.
Only occasionally, on quiet nights like this, would she allow her thoughts to wander a little.
Nothing more than that.
The next morning.
Kiyohara woke up early.
First, he informed Might Guy to wait for him at Training Ground Three. Afterward, he made a trip to the Uchiha compound and brought out Itachi, who was currently wearing a green bodysuit.
Under the sunlight, that bright green outfit looked painfully eye catching to Itachi.
Even now, he still had not forgotten the expression on his mother Mikoto's face after seeing him put on the green suit. She had looked like she wanted to say something but ultimately held herself back.
The memory gave Itachi an overwhelming sense of social death.
Right now, he was even somewhat afraid of what expression Uchiha Izumi would make if she saw him dressed like this.
Kiyohara noticed that although Itachi's small face remained expressionless, the slight twitching at the corners of his eyes completely exposed the struggle in his heart.
The corners of Kiyohara's lips lifted slightly.
The current Uchiha Itachi really could be easily controlled by him.
By the time Itachi awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, Kiyohara estimated that he himself would probably have awakened his own already. Perhaps he might even have achieved the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan by then.
Itachi followed behind Kiyohara with somewhat stiff steps.
"Sensei, where exactly are we going?"
Itachi finally could not hold back his question anymore.
"Training Ground Three."
Kiyohara did not even turn around.
"I found a special training instructor for you."
"A training instructor?"
A trace of confusion flashed through Itachi's eyes.
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded.
Originally, he had planned to look for Guy a few days later. But after thinking about it carefully, he decided it would be better to arrange everything sooner so it would not interfere with future missions.
By the time they arrived at Training Ground Three, Might Guy was already waiting there.
He wore the same green bodysuit as Itachi, only in a much larger size, and was currently doing handstand push ups while sweat sparkled under the sunlight.
"Kiyohara, and this is…"
Guy flipped upright in one motion. The moment his gaze landed on Itachi, his eyes instantly lit up.
"Ohhhhh! That outfit! Those determined eyes! I can already feel the resonance of youth!"
Itachi unconsciously stepped back half a pace under Guy's overly passionate gaze.
That dazzlingly white smile of his was honestly blinding.
"Guy, this is Uchiha Itachi, my disciple."
Kiyohara introduced him.
"For the next period of time, I'd like you to help train his physical foundation."
"Leave it to me!"
Guy gave a thumbs up.
"Let the burning passion of youth nourish this young sapling! Young man, what is your name?!"
"…Uchiha Itachi."
"Itachi! What a good name! From today onward, you are my partner on the path of inheriting youth!"
Guy excitedly grabbed Itachi's small hand.
"I will use the strictest and most passionate training to turn you into a taijutsu powerhouse! First, ten laps around Konoha, three thousand meters of handstand walking, and two hundred push ups. That'll be today's appetizer!"
The corner of Itachi's eye twitched again.
An appetizer?
Kiyohara patted Itachi on the shoulder.
"Endure it. This will benefit you. Guy's achievements in taijutsu are extremely profound. You can learn real things from following him."
Itachi inhaled deeply before nodding.
"I understand, Sensei. I'll work hard."
Watching Itachi begin the first training exercise alongside the boiling with passion Guy, running laps around the training ground, Kiyohara stood beneath the shade of a tree and observed for a while.
"Not bad."
Kiyohara muttered.
He was becoming increasingly curious about how strong a healthy Itachi's body could become.
After all, if someone strengthened their body from childhood onward, the probability of falling ill should decrease considerably.
After watching for a bit longer, Kiyohara turned around and left.
The remaining time could simply be entrusted to Guy.
He still had other matters to handle.
Hokage Tower, Mission Assignment Office.
Kiyohara carefully browsed through the rows of mission scrolls.
His eyes swiftly scanned through mission descriptions, locations, and rewards before finally pausing on an A rank mission.
[Escort and Negotiation Mission]
Content: Escort a merchant caravan to the border of the Land of Hot Water.
Rank: A Rank
Requirements: Led by a jonin, minimum three person squad.
Note: During the mission, there is a possibility of attacks from Kumogakure radicals. Participants must possess the strength to deal with elite jonin.
"The border of the Land of Hot Water… representatives from Kumogakure…"
Kiyohara pondered quietly.
This mission was not bad.
The mission location was within the Land of Hot Water, a place famous for its hot springs. It was also close to the Kumogakure frontlines, making it easier for Kiyohara to gather information.
He took down the scroll and walked toward the registration desk.
The person responsible for registration was a chunin. Upon seeing the mission scroll Kiyohara handed over, the man froze briefly.
He had recognized Kiyohara as the shinobi who had recently become famous for killing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and even the Third Mizukage.
Immediately, the chunin spoke with obvious admiration.
"Jonin Kiyohara, this mission… may require special approval from the Hokage-sama."
"Why?"
"Well… because…"
The chunin carefully considered his wording.
"Your performance on the battlefield recently has been far too outstanding. Kumogakure may react strongly if they discover your involvement."
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow.
"My infiltration abilities aren't that poor."
The chunin hesitated.
"Please wait a moment. I need to ask for instructions first."
A few minutes later, the chunin returned.
And behind him followed another person.
"Kiyohara, you want to take this mission?"
Minato's gentle voice sounded out.
At some unknown point, he had appeared in the hallway, his face carrying that same refreshing smile as always.
"Hokage-sama asked me to handle this matter."
Minato explained.
He had happened to be upstairs reporting mission details to Hiruzen earlier.
"Minato-sama."
Kiyohara nodded.
It really felt like Minato was everywhere.
But after remembering the Flying Thunder God Technique, Kiyohara suddenly found that perfectly reasonable.
"I think I'm suitable for it."
Minato accepted the scroll and examined it carefully before falling into thought for a moment.
"Indeed. With your strength, you should be capable of handling any unexpected situation."
He lifted his head and looked at Kiyohara.
"In that case, be extra careful."
Minato said seriously.
"I understand."
Kiyohara stored away the scroll.
By the time he left the Hokage Tower, it was already noon.
Kiyohara bought some food from the street vendors, then after thinking for a moment, headed toward the Yuhi residence.
When he knocked on the door, the one who answered was Kurenai herself.
She seemed to have just finished bathing. Her damp hair rested over her shoulders, and she wore a light red dress.
The moment she saw Kiyohara, her eyes immediately brightened.
"Kiyohara? Why are you here?"
A faint blush appeared on Kurenai's cheeks as she subconsciously tugged lightly at her dress.
"My father just happened to head out."
Kurenai welcomed Kiyohara inside.
(End of Chapter)