The next morning, Kiyohara was awakened by a faint itch on his forehead.
It was a strange sensation.
Not like a mosquito bite, but a numb, itchy feeling coming from beneath the skin itself, as if something were slowly flowing under it.
He opened his eyes. Outside the tent, the sky was already bright.
Kiyohara sat up and raised a hand to his forehead.
The skin under his fingertips felt smooth, but the itching was definitely there, and it seemed to be spreading outward from the center of his forehead.
His expression shifted slightly. He got up and walked to the basin of water in the corner of the tent.
The clear water reflected his face.
His black hair was slightly messy, and there was still a trace of sleepiness in his eyes, but on his forehead…
Kiyohara leaned closer to the water, his pupils shrinking slightly.
The diamond-shaped mark that had previously only been half-finished was now completely formed.
A purple diamond seal, identical to Tsunade's, sat squarely in the center of his forehead.
It's done?
Instinctively, Kiyohara circulated chakra.
He could feel that the mark on his forehead was like a valve, currently closed.
But if he wanted to, he could open it at any time and release the chakra stored inside.
With a thought, Kiyohara activated the Yin Seal.
Vein-like markings spread outward from his forehead like blooming petals.
And he could feel it—his entire body seemed to be overflowing with chakra.
"If that's the case… maybe I can try combining the curse mark with the Yin Seal?"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
At its core, the curse mark was also a kind of sealing technique.
And that curse mark could store natural energy, then combine it with his own chakra at any time to form curse mark chakra and instantly enter a transformed state.
That meant this kind of energy could indeed be stored.
If he could combine the traits of both, then the endurance of his Mount Myoboku Sage Mode could also improve.
Until now, every time Kiyohara entered curse mark mode and Mount Myoboku Sage Mode, he had been using the same stored pool of chakra.
It was powerful, but the downside was that it drained much faster.
That was why Kiyohara always aimed to end fights quickly.
And once the natural energy in the curse mark was used up, he couldn't immediately enter curse mark mode again. He had to wait for it to build back up first.
"Maybe I should go take a look at the Dragon Vein…"
Kiyohara fell into thought.
What if the thing stored inside the seal was Dragon Vein chakra instead?
Could he use that chakra to strengthen himself?
The reason Anrokuzan had been able to freely use Dragon Vein chakra in the ancient kingdom of Roran was, at its core, because he had built towers designed to channel and receive it.
Once he left that environment, he no longer had that advantage.
That was why he had gone to such lengths to develop a puppet army. Those puppets could store chakra too, allowing him to use them to conquer the Five Great Nations.
"A Dragon Vein jinchūriki…"
Another thought occurred to Kiyohara.
He had considered becoming a Dragon Vein jinchūriki before.
But because he lacked the necessary materials, it had never been completed.
Kiyohara thought over which option would be the best one.
After all, unlike tailed beasts, the Dragon Vein didn't have the weakness of fearing the Sharingan.
"What if I turned it into something like soldier pills?"
That was another possibility.
For example, he could carve curse marks or Yin Seals into certain materials, then fill them with Dragon Vein chakra.
"…Forget it."
Kiyohara suppressed the many thoughts crowding his mind.
The Dragon Vein definitely had tremendous development potential.
But right now, the main priority was still completing the second lingering wish and inheriting the full Yotsuki bloodline.
At the same time, he also wanted to learn Black Lightning.
…
After washing up, Kiyohara noticed that things were unusually noisy outside.
He asked a nearby ninja and found out that Sunagakure's handover unit had arrived.
Baki walked at the head of the group, his expression as grim as ever. The losses Sunagakure had suffered in this war were far worse than they appeared on the surface.
Kiyohara had Baki and a few of Sunagakure's higher-ups wait in the tent while he went to find Tsunade.
Because of the drinking the previous night, Tsunade had woken up later than usual.
"Kiyohara…"
Pakura watched Kiyohara's retreating back.
Naturally, she had heard the news that he had killed the Third Mizukage.
"How the hell is this brat getting stronger like he's strapped to a rocket?"
Pakura felt an intense sense of pressure.
To avoid losing any chance of revenge later, she decided to challenge Kiyohara on the very last day.
After all this time training, plus reflecting on her previous defeat, she had grown much stronger too.
In her eyes, Kiyohara must have consumed a great deal over the past few days, and might even be injured.
If she attacked now, she might have the advantage.
…
"Sensei, the sun's already up and roasting your butt."
Kiyohara said as he pulled open the tent flap.
The curtains were thick enough that the wind couldn't move them.
Tsunade's sleeping posture was a mess.
Kiyohara had clearly tucked her in the night before, but now the blanket had been twisted into a bundle and trapped between her legs.
As he stepped inside, sunlight streamed in through the opening and fell across her body.
She was wearing pale blue cropped pants, stretched taut from lying on her side.
Her peach-like hips and curves were dusted with golden sunlight.
What Kiyohara had just said was meant quite literally.
The sun really was shining on her butt.
"Hm?"
Tsunade was still half-asleep.
Seeing that, Kiyohara had no choice but to go over and send some of his chakra into her to help sober her up faster.
The area around Tsunade's tent was always occupied by Shizune and other female medical ninja.
So Tsunade was usually pretty casual in there.
In fact, the only male ninja who was normally allowed into that area was Kiyohara.
"Sunagakure's unit is here. We're doing the handover."
As Kiyohara's chakra moved through her body, Tsunade felt pleasantly warm and couldn't help giving a soft little hum.
"Ah… right. Sunagakure."
Her mind gradually cleared.
"I forgot to tell you yesterday. The old man's orders came through."
"Konoha's forces are withdrawing from the Land of Rivers coastline in one day. All subsequent defense there will be fully handed over to Sunagakure."
Tsunade turned to look at Kiyohara, about to say something else—but suddenly stopped.
Her gaze landed on his forehead.
The diamond mark that had previously only been faintly visible was now fully solid.
"Your Yin Seal…"
There was clear disbelief in Tsunade's voice.
"It's complete?"
Kiyohara lifted a hand and touched the mark on his forehead, nodding.
"That's right."
Yeah. I did it.
The tent fell quiet for a moment.
Tsunade sat up and yawned, her eyes narrowing into slits.
Then she opened them, reached out, and lifted Kiyohara's chin so he had to tilt his head up slightly. Her golden-brown eyes carefully examined the mark.
After a long while, she let go and looked him over again.
Kiyohara stood there, and after being tempered by repeated battles, much of the youthful softness had already faded from him.
And with all the stacking effects from his growth, he had developed much faster than others his age, making him look taller and more mature than most people his age.
A strong sense of unreality suddenly washed over Tsunade.
She remembered the first time she had met him. Back then, he had already shown talent, but he was still just a junior who needed her guidance.
And now…
"The new wave really does overtake the old."
Tsunade gave a soft sigh, but the corners of her mouth lifted in satisfaction.
As a teacher, raising a disciple like this brought a sense of accomplishment no gambling victory could ever match.
"That's because you taught me well, Sensei."
And that was true.
Tsunade really did hold nothing back. She taught him everything she had.
Her only flaws were maybe that she kept tempting her disciple to drink and… borrowed money without ever paying it back.
Tsunade waved a hand.
"Cut it out. Your own effort and talent are what matter most."
She paused, then continued seriously.
"Now that the Yin Seal is complete, I'll teach you the Strength of a Hundred Technique and Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth before long. Those are the seal's true applications. Once you master them, as long as you have enough chakra, if your head is still attached, you're basically impossible to kill."
A gleam flashed through Kiyohara's eyes.
That was exactly the line he had been waiting for.
Rich Lady Tsunade was dropping loot again.
"Thank you, Sensei."
"Yeah, yeah."
Tsunade turned toward the tent flap.
"Come on. Let's finish the final handover with Sunagakure first."
"All right."
Master and disciple quickly headed toward Sunagakure's tent.
…
The handover period passed in the blink of an eye.
Konoha's camp became extremely busy during that time.
The shinobi dismantled tents, sorted supplies, and destroyed classified documents that couldn't easily be taken back.
Meanwhile, the Sunagakure ninja gradually moved in, reinforcing and modifying the existing defenses to better suit Wind Release and puppet techniques.
As for the Land of Rivers—
It was just a small country between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, existing mainly as a buffer between the two great ninja nations.
A small nation with no hidden village naturally had no real voice in such matters.
In the original story, it had also been the main battlefield where the Akatsuki extracted Shukaku, leading to multiple battles like Team Guy intercepting Kisame and Team Kakashi rescuing Gaara.
"This is a lot."
Kiyohara let out a sigh.
As vice-captain, he had to handle a massive amount of handover paperwork.
It wasn't until night that he finally finished it all.
He stepped out of the main tent and took a deep breath of air tinged with the smell of the sea.
He hadn't walked far when a figure blocked his path.
Pakura stood there with her arms folded over her chest, her orange-and-green hair stirring lightly in the night wind.
Her tight sleeveless top still outlined the smooth curve of her back, making her pale skin stand out all the more.
"Kiyohara."
Her emerald-green eyes burned with fierce determination.
Kiyohara stopped.
"What is it?"
"A spar."
She got right to the point.
"Right now."
Kiyohara raised a brow.
Wow. Bold.
She really just walked up and challenged him like that. Did Sunagakure even know about this?
"You know I killed the Third Mizukage."
"So what?"
Pakura lifted her chin, the fighting spirit in her eyes only growing stronger.
"I know you're strong. But I've improved a lot lately too. I want to know how big the gap still is between us."
There was a stubborn pride in her voice that was uniquely Sand shinobi.
It was the kind of resolve that insisted on testing the answer personally, even if failure was likely.
A ninja, after all, was someone who endured.
In Sunagakure's traditional view, a ninja was someone who could endure unreasonable circumstances, endure the sandstorms, and still keep fighting.
And a ninja was someone who overcame adversity.
Even if blades rained down from above, a ninja's resolve would not waver.
That was nin.
That was what it meant to be a ninja.
So Kiyohara nodded and accepted her challenge.
"All right."
Since Pakura wanted to spar, Kiyohara wouldn't mind having a punching bag to vent on either.
The two of them moved to a relatively open area outside the camp.
Pakura rapidly formed hand seals, drawing out a large amount of chakra and combining it into Scorch Release chakra. The air around her began to distort and heat up.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
Several orange-red fire orbs condensed around her, each about the size of a head, but the heat contained within them was intense enough that Kiyohara could feel it even from a distance.
This was Pakura's signature technique—one that could instantly evaporate all the moisture in an enemy's body and kill them without leaving a trace.
Kiyohara stood where he was and formed seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
A massive fireball roared from his mouth and collided head-on with Pakura's scorch orbs.
Boom!
The clash of flame against flame unleashed a terrifying heat wave. The moment Pakura's scorch orbs touched the Great Fireball, they began to melt away, swallowed whole by the larger blaze.
Pakura's pupils contracted and she retreated rapidly.
She had expected Kiyohara to use the Sharingan or Magnet Release, but instead he had answered her with nothing more than basic Fire Release.
And the power of that Fire Release…
"You're only using Fire Release?"
Pakura steadied herself.
"Didn't you want a spar?"
Kiyohara replied, small flickers of flame still dancing between his lips.
"I'm using Fire Release, you're using Scorch Release. Seems fair to me."
Pakura clenched her teeth and formed seals again.
That Kiyohara really did enjoy looking down on people.
She was Pakura of the Scorch Release!
This time, she drew even more chakra from her cells. The number of fireballs floating around her increased from five to ten.
"Scorch Release: Flame Wheel!"
The ten fireballs arced through the air from multiple directions toward Kiyohara.
They collided against each other in midair and split into dozens of streaking trails of flame.
Kiyohara took a breath, his chest visibly swelling, then exhaled slowly.
A massive burst of fire erupted, forming a spiraling tornado of flames.
The fiery tornado shattered Pakura's Scorch Release technique, reducing it to nothing but heat.
The ground around Kiyohara was scorched black.
The earth turned visibly charred, and the nearby trees were burned down to carbon.
Pakura froze where she stood, her hands still locked in the last hand seal.
Her eyes reflected Kiyohara's calm figure, and behind him, the terrain that had been completely transformed by that overwhelming heat.
The gap.
A huge gap.
She really had improved over this period. Her control over Scorch Release had become finer, and her chakra reserves had grown as well.
But in front of Kiyohara, those improvements seemed laughably insignificant.
Kiyohara hadn't even gotten serious.
"That's enough."
Kiyohara spoke first, breaking the silence.
"Let's stop here."
He waved a hand.
From his point of view, Pakura had too many weaknesses.
The biggest limitation on her was chakra reserves.
No matter what kind of technique she developed, the size and number of her Scorch Release fireballs would always be restricted by how much chakra she had.
As he spoke, Kiyohara removed his forehead protector.
After wearing it for so many days in a row, the metal edge had left a faint red mark on his skin. It was uncomfortable.
Pakura's eyes followed the motion instinctively, then stopped at his forehead.
The diamond-shaped mark was clearly visible in the moonlight.
"The Yin Seal?"
Pakura stared.
"You completed the Yin Seal? When?"
Kiyohara held the forehead protector in one hand and glanced at her.
"A few days ago."
"That's not fair!"
The words burst out of Pakura before she realized it, and there was a trace of grievance in her voice she hadn't even been aware of.
"You used the Yin Seal's power and then told me you were only using Fire Release…"
"I didn't use the Yin Seal."
Kiyohara cut her off.
"That Fire Release just now was my own chakra."
He paused, then added,
"And you're saying it isn't fair? I used Fire Release, and you used Scorch Release. A bloodline limit against an ordinary elemental release—who exactly has the unfair advantage here?"
Pakura froze.
She opened her mouth, wanting to argue, only to realize Kiyohara was right.
Scorch Release was a bloodline limit. On the level of ninjutsu, it naturally stood above ordinary Fire Release.
If anyone had the advantage in terms of fairness, it had actually been her.
Then why…
Why had the result been like this?
Kiyohara looked at the changing expressions on Pakura's face and knew she had fallen into self-doubt.
He said nothing more. He tied the forehead protector back on and turned to leave.
After a few steps, he stopped, still without turning around, and said lightly:
"Looking at your back, what a waste."
Pakura's head snapped up.
"A waste of what?"
"Your talent."
Kiyohara's voice drifted back on the wind.
"One last piece of advice. Be careful of the people around you, Pakura. Not every comrade is worth trusting."
With that, he didn't stop again. His figure gradually disappeared into the shadows between the trees.
Pakura stood alone on the sand. She lowered her head and looked at her own hands, her palms slightly red from the hand seals she'd just formed.
"Betrayal…"
she repeated under her breath, frowning.
Kiyohara's words were strange, baseless, and made no sense.
She might not have been universally beloved in Sunagakure's shinobi circles, but she had never truly made enemies there.
And among the civilians, she was deeply admired.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was harsh, yes, but he had always seemed fair…
And yet, for some reason, Kiyohara's words still left behind the smallest crack in her heart.
"Ridiculous."
In the end, Pakura shook her head and cast aside the distracting thoughts.
She clenched her fists, and determination lit her eyes once more.
No matter what, her training could not stop.
Kiyohara's strength had shown her a higher mountain.
Even if the gap was enormous, she would climb it step by step.
She would absolutely wash away this humiliation one day.
…
Before long, it was time for Konoha's forces to withdraw in full.
Sunagakure's shinobi stood lined up on both sides of the camp, watching their allies depart.
Baki stood at the front and gave a formal bow to Tsunade and Kiyohara.
"Thank you for Konoha's support. Sunagakure will remember this bond."
Tsunade returned the gesture. Kiyohara gave a small nod.
As if Sunagakure not stabbing them in the back wasn't enough already, and they were talking about remembering favors.
For Sand, betrayal was practically a traditional art form.
The troops moved eastward along the coastline and were expected to return to Konoha in three days.
The road remained peaceful. After losing the Third Mizukage, Kirigakure was clearly mired in internal turmoil and had no time to organize another large-scale offensive.
As the sun rose and the moon fell, Kiyohara and the others once again returned to the Land of Fire and continued toward Konoha.
When the village gates finally came into view, many shinobi let out sighs of relief.
They were home at last.
Kiyohara walked at the front of the formation, looking at the familiar Hokage Rock in the distance.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!