"…Focus."
Kiyohara's voice came from in front of her, carrying a hint of laughter.
"I-I am focused!"
Kurenai shot back.
That feeling… was completely different from just looking at him normally.
When Kiyohara was dressed, all you could really tell was that he had a great physique. Only when you actually touched him could you feel the strength hidden beneath those smooth lines.
His muscles were firm, like steel that had been forged and tempered, yet they still carried the warmth unique to a living body.
Time gradually passed.
The steam in the bathroom grew thicker and heavier.
But that didn't affect Kiyohara in the slightest.
It didn't dull his touch or his senses, either.
If anything, it added a hazy kind of beauty.
Like staring into an abyss—when you look into it, it looks back at you.
None of it escaped Kiyohara's notice.
Kurenai could only press her lips together, lower her eyes, and keep doing what she was doing.
Before long, she finished washing his back.
"That should be enough…"
she said softly, her voice a little unsteady.
"I'm done with your back."
Kiyohara turned around.
The water rippled with the movement, lapping toward her before flowing back again.
Kurenai instinctively shrank back a little, but the tub was only so big—where could she possibly go?
Kiyohara looked at her.
The steam blurred the view, but not for his eyes.
Kurenai's face was so red it looked ready to drip blood, and her crimson eyes were clouded with moisture.
Tiny droplets clung to her lashes, trembling when she blinked before sliding free.
They traced down her cheeks, along her jaw, down the side of her neck, and disappeared farther below.
Her arms instinctively crossed over her chest, though they didn't really hide much.
The water only came up to just below her chest, leaving a pale curve half above the surface. When the water rippled, even more of her outline could be glimpsed.
"W-what are you looking at…"
Her voice kept getting smaller.
"You."
Kiyohara answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Kurenai choked on her words.
She wanted to say something, wanted to argue, wanted to glare at him—but when she looked at Kiyohara's face, nothing came out.
Kiyohara really was handsome.
That thought suddenly crossed her mind.
And it wasn't the first time, either.
But more than anything, what mattered most to her was his heart.
Even back when they were in the Ninja Academy, Kiyohara had always felt different from everyone else.
If she had to put it into words, he was more flexible somehow. Less rigid than most other shinobi.
And he had always been good to her.
"…Idiot."
Kurenai muttered.
"There are still other places, aren't there?"
Kiyohara said.
As the saying went, if you're going to do something, do it properly.
"Hmph."
Kurenai shut her eyes and scrubbed a little harder.
Though around the eyes, she still secretly left the tiniest slit open to sneak a look.
Then Kiyohara turned on the hot water.
Splash.
The hot water ran over smooth, pale skin and dripped downward.
"Still want to keep going?"
Kiyohara asked.
"…No more!"
Kurenai glared at him—but it was far more of a pout than an actual glare.
"You bully."
"How exactly am I bullying you?"
Kiyohara raised a brow.
"You were the one who said you wanted to help me bathe."
Kurenai opened her mouth to argue, only to realize he was telling the truth.
She really had offered to help him bathe. She really had followed him back to Konoha, gone into the bathroom, and now…
"Th-that still doesn't mean…"
She couldn't finish.
Kiyohara suddenly leaned in and dropped another kiss on her forehead.
"Alright. I'll stop teasing you."
He stepped back and stood up.
Droplets slid down the firm lines of his muscles before falling back into the water, sending up little splashes.
Kurenai's gaze followed one of those droplets without thinking.
Then she jerked her head away, her face so hot it felt like it might catch fire.
"Y-you should get dressed already!"
"What's the rush?"
Kiyohara picked up a bath towel and slowly dried himself off.
Kurenai stayed curled up in the tub, with only her head sticking out.
Kiyohara crouched by the tub, holding out a clean towel toward her.
"Come on out. Don't soak too long."
Kurenai looked at him, then at the towel, then at her shoulders, which were already turning a little pink from the heat. Her face reddened again.
"…Turn around."
"Alright."
Kiyohara smiled and turned his back.
Only then did Kurenai stand up from the tub and quickly snatch the towel to wrap herself in it.
The towel was large enough to cover most of her body, but not enough to hide the pale legs extending beneath it.
She stepped barefoot onto the wet tile floor, leaving a trail of damp footprints behind her.
"Okay."
she said softly.
Kiyohara turned back to look at her.
The towel was wrapped tightly enough to outline the curves of her body.
Her wet hair hung over her shoulders, droplets still falling from the ends and darkening the edge of the towel.
Her face was flushed, whether from the heat or for some other reason.
"Let's go."
Kiyohara held out his hand.
Kurenai paused, then placed her hand in his.
His hand was warm and dry, the exact opposite of the humid air in the bathroom.
He led her out of the bath and into the living room.
"Do you want something to drink?"
Kiyohara asked.
"N-no… I'm fine."
Kurenai shook her head.
"I… I should head back. If it gets too late, someone might notice…"
Her voice grew smaller and smaller.
Kiyohara looked at her.
Under the lights, there was still a faint flush on her face, and his reflection was visible in her eyes.
"Alright."
Kiyohara said.
Then the two of them started getting dressed.
Kiyohara dried Kurenai's hair with Fire Release chakra, then dried his own.
After that, he wrapped an arm lightly around her waist.
Kurenai froze for a second, and then the scenery around them began to distort again.
In the next instant, the two of them were standing in front of a familiar row of tents.
The night wind brushed past them, carrying the scent of grass and trees and the lingering warmth of distant bonfires.
Kurenai blinked and looked around.
Konoha camp.
They were back.
"…That was fast."
Kurenai sighed.
Space-time ninjutsu really was absurdly convenient.
Then again, techniques like that were also unbelievably difficult to learn.
The only widely usable space-time ninjutsu was the Summoning Jutsu.
Even Reverse Summoning wasn't something just anyone could do.
"Well, of course it's fast with me around."
Kiyohara let go of her.
"Get some rest."
Kurenai glanced at him.
This time, she was the one who rose on tiptoe, pressed a light kiss to his lips, and then quickly stepped back.
"Good night."
As soon as she said it, she turned and ran toward her own tent.
After a few steps, she looked back.
Kiyohara was still standing there, watching her.
Her face turned even redder, and she hurried off between the tents.
Kiyohara stood there, watching her disappear into the night, the corner of his mouth lifting faintly.
Then he turned and vanished from where he stood.
…
When Kurenai returned to her tent, her heart was still pounding.
She sat on her bedroll with both hands over her burning face, her mind full of everything that had just happened.
The steam in the bathroom, Kiyohara's back, that kiss, and…
"Kurenai?"
A voice came from outside.
Kurenai jumped, quickly taking a few deep breaths to make herself look more normal.
"Rin? Come in."
The tent flap was lifted, and Rin Nohara stuck her head in.
"I thought I heard you come back just now…"
She stepped inside and looked at Kurenai.
"Huh? Did you take a bath?"
"Y-yeah… yeah."
Kurenai nodded and instinctively tugged at her collar.
"I… I bathed here in camp."
Rin didn't think much of it and sat down beside her.
"Oh, right. Kurenai, do you think Kiyohara-kun has gotten taller again?"
Kurenai froze for a moment.
"Taller?"
"Yeah."
Rin nodded.
"Every time I see him, I feel like he's grown a little more. It felt especially obvious today. I wonder how tall he's going to end up."
Kurenai thought about it.
"He'll probably… end up taller than Lord Minato, right?"
As she said it, the image of Kiyohara standing in the tub flashed through her mind.
Those broad shoulders, the smooth lines of muscle, that droplet of water sliding down his abs…
"Since he's always training in taijutsu, his build is also… really good. Really… big."
The words slipped out before she realized what she was saying.
Rin blinked.
"Big?"
She looked at Kurenai with open curiosity.
"How would you know? Kiyohara-kun is always dressed. Even during sparring, he only takes off his flak jacket, so you just see his upper body."
Kurenai's face turned bright red.
"I-I meant his muscles!"
she blurted out.
"His upper body muscles are really big, right? Y-you've seen them too, haven't you?"
Rin thought about it and nodded.
"That's true. Kiyohara-kun's upper body really is well-built. Especially when he's wearing chainmail, you can tell."
Then she added,
"And he looks really good in chainmail too."
Kurenai nodded frantically.
"R-right, exactly that…"
But as she spoke, more images kept flashing through her mind.
Not just his upper body.
Her face burned even hotter.
"Kurenai, your face is really red."
Rin looked at her with concern.
"Was the bath water too hot?"
"Y-yeah… yeah, it was a little too hot."
Kurenai immediately latched onto that excuse.
"I stayed in too long. I'm kind of lightheaded."
"Then get some rest."
Rin stood up.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Once Rin left, Kurenai let out a long breath and collapsed back onto her bedding.
She stared up at the roof of the tent, but those images still wouldn't leave her.
"…Idiot."
she muttered softly, though she wasn't sure whether she meant Kiyohara or herself.
Then she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow.
But the corners of her mouth still couldn't help curling upward.
…
As for Rin, once she stepped outside, she felt completely baffled.
Lately, Kurenai had been acting strange. Kiyohara too.
It felt like the two of them were hiding something from her.
But what?
Rin couldn't figure it out.
So in the end, she pushed the thought aside and decided to go back to polishing her medical notes.
"Mm. This way, I'll get to spend more time with Kiyohara-kun too."
That was what she told herself.
…
A few days later.
At the border of the Land of Grass, in an empty mountain valley.
Kiyohara stood atop a massive boulder with his eyes closed.
The instant those black eyes opened, they turned into a pale, luminous white.
Byakugan.
This was the power he had borrowed from Hyuga Kiyohara.
Even though it was only temporary possession, it was already enough for him to finish developing his final jutsu.
"Seventh Gate: Gate of Shock… open!"
Blue steam exploded from Kiyohara's entire body.
His skin began to redden, and veins wound across his forehead, neck, and arms.
The boulder beneath his feet began to crack under the pressure of the steam, broken stones tumbling down.
"Compress the air… inject chakra shockwaves into it."
"Let the two shockwaves overlap, and the power multiplies."
"Come on."
Kiyohara drove his right fist forward.
This was the technique he had been developing all this time.
If you looked closely, you'd see that his thumb was pressed between his middle and ring fingers before he clenched the fist, creating a special hand seal.
In that instant, the air compressed into a white fist-shaped mass.
Then, as it shot out, that white fist instantly turned red, bursting into flame.
When Kiyohara finally stopped, a huge crater had appeared in the distant hill.
And deep inside it, the shape of a massive fist mark was clearly visible.
"This time it finally worked."
Kiyohara thought to himself.
Through the Byakugan's vision, he could clearly see the chakra traces left behind in that fist-shaped impact.
First the air had been compressed, and then at the moment the punch was thrown, chakra had been injected into it and pushed forward.
The speed was so great that it caused friction with the air, producing flames.
In that sense, it was somewhat similar to Morning Peacock.
Then Kiyohara punched again.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
His left and right fists alternated rapidly.
A field of red拳-shaped shadows formed in front of him.
Each of them was more than ten times larger than his actual fist.
Boom!!!
The mountain wall in the distance trembled again.
Another fist mark appeared, even deeper than the last.
Kiyohara didn't stop.
He kept punching in rapid succession.
With every strike, another chakra fist roared forward.
A continuous chain of explosions thundered through the valley.
Broken rock flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.
By the time everything settled, the distant mountain wall had been completely transformed.
What had once been an intact cliff face was now covered in a dense web of fist marks. If Kiyohara had kept going, he probably could have reduced it to flat ground.
Kiyohara stopped and breathed heavily.
"This power…"
Hyuga Kiyohara's spirit floated beside him, those pale white eyes fixed unblinkingly on the mountain wall riddled with fist marks.
"…It's close to Evening Elephant."
he murmured.
"Not the fully realized Evening Elephant of all Eight Gates, but to reach this level of power with only the Seventh Gate…"
Even Hyuga Kiyohara sounded impressed.
The fact that this could actually be done was absurd.
"But there's still room to refine it."
Kiyohara shook his head.
Blood was still seeping from the web between his thumb and finger.
But he could feel those injuries healing rapidly.
In just a few breaths, they were gone.
"What are you going to call this technique?"
Hyuga Kiyohara asked curiously.
Kiyohara fell silent for a moment, looking at the mountain wall he had practically turned into a sieve.
"Eight Gods Air Strike."
Kiyohara said.
"Eight Gods Air Strike?"
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded.
Hyuga Kiyohara was about to say something else, but Kiyohara cut him off.
"Every punch I throw becomes a chakra fist. I can keep firing them off until my chakra runs dry."
Of course, that didn't mean it was literally limited to eight strikes.
Just like Kaguya Otsutsuki's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack wasn't literally about throwing only eighty hits.
"Eighty Gods" was just the name, and its meaning probably carried connotations of calamity.
As for Kiyohara calling his version "Eight Gods," that was simply because the friction in the air made it burst into flame.
"Either way, that should count as fulfilling the wish."
Kiyohara said.
"Looks like it does."
Hyuga Kiyohara watched as a sphere of light emerged from within himself and then sank into Kiyohara's body.
At the same time, Kiyohara could feel his spiritual energy strengthen again.
His chakra reserves increased as well, and he inherited several Gentle Fist techniques Hyuga Kiyohara had never explicitly taught him.
But most importantly—
Kiyohara had inherited the Byakugan.
The sensation was strange, like a missing corner inside him had finally been filled in.
He could tell that using the Byakugan no longer placed the same kind of burden on him as before.
Then Kiyohara tried looking into the distance and discovered that his maximum visual range had reached fifteen kilometers.
Hinata's was only ten, after all.
The Byakugan offered a full three-hundred-sixty-degree field of vision, like a flashlight spread out into a wide circle. Everything within that circle could be perceived.
But if you focused that flashlight beam—narrowing it from a full circle into a fan-shaped cone—you could extend its reach and greatly increase long-distance vision.
Kiyohara could now do that effortlessly up to fifteen kilometers.
"That's definitely an impressive distance."
Kiyohara thought.
It counted as a major enhancement to his perception.
Then he tried something else.
Blue lightning crackled across his body, forming a cloak of electricity over him.
Crackle!
The arcs kept snapping and roaring.
Kiyohara looked at the lightning covering his body and realized it was consuming less chakra than before.
That made sense. One of the Byakugan's advantages was that it allowed its user to release chakra from all parts of the body.
Most jonin could only do that through specific chakra points.
Kiyohara had been able to release chakra across his whole body before as well, but nowhere near as efficiently as he could now.
…
After getting familiar with everything and heading back, Kiyohara noticed a hawk circling overhead, clearly searching for him.
When it landed on his arm, he removed the scroll tied to its leg and then fed it a bit of meat.
Kiyohara opened the small scroll and read the writing on it.
The contents were brief, but the implications were large.
Iwagakure had taken the initiative to seek peace. Konoha would organize a delegation to travel to Iwagakure and negotiate a ceasefire.
Recommended delegation members… Tsunade, Kiyohara.
After reading it, Kiyohara rolled up the scroll.
As expected.
He turned and started back toward camp.
…
Inside the command tent, Tsunade was seated at a low table with the same kind of scroll spread out before her.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up.
"You finished reading it?"
"Yeah."
Kiyohara sat down across from her.
"What do you think, Sensei?"
Tsunade set the scroll down, folded her arms, and leaned back in her chair.
Those golden-brown eyes rested on Kiyohara, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly.
"What is there to think about?"
"Obviously Iwa can't hold on anymore and wants a ceasefire."
She paused.
"And they're sending us because we've done this before with Suna and have the experience."
Kiyohara nodded.
"So are you going?"
"Of course I'm going."
Tsunade raised a brow.
"How could I possibly skip something like this? Besides…"
She suddenly leaned in and lowered her voice.
"I've been wanting to see the casinos in the Land of Earth for a long time."
Kiyohara laughed.
He knew she'd been thinking about that.
"Then I'll go with you, Sensei."
"Mm."
Tsunade nodded and leaned back again.
Then she seemed to remember something.
"By the way, didn't you say earlier that you wanted to modify the Strength of a Hundred Seal?"
Kiyohara paused.
He had mentioned it before, casually, in passing—something like, "If only I could break down the seal and separate out its anti-aging effect."
He hadn't expected Tsunade to remember.
"It was just a random thought."
he said.
"A random thought?"
Tsunade raised a brow.
"With your personality, you don't randomly think about things that have no use."
She paused, her golden-brown eyes fixed on him.
"Go on. What are you planning? Which little girl has you willing to go to all this trouble?"
Kiyohara looked at her.
Today Tsunade was wearing that familiar green coat over a gray sleeveless top.
"What are you staring at?"
Tsunade noticed his gaze and lifted a brow.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!