Half a month passed quietly.
During that time, he made new progress on Samehada's cloning. The data he gathered from Kakashi turned out to be extremely useful.
Nono Yakushi had also made a breakthrough, so Kiyohara decided to try transplanting the Ketsuryugan into a Samehada clone and create a weapon capable of controlling blood.
So he went to the orphanage.
He stood in the courtyard and looked at the now-familiar building in front of him.
With his periodic donations, the orphanage had grown much larger than before, and Nono Yakushi had even hired two new caretakers.
"Kiyohara-kun."
Nono Yakushi's voice came from the doorway.
She was wearing that thick black nun's habit, and behind her round glasses her eyes held a gentle smile.
The heavy clothing concealed her figure, but the slim lines of her wrists and neck still hinted at the softness hidden beneath the habit.
"Dean Nono."
Kiyohara gave a slight nod and followed her inside.
In the room, several cultivation tanks sat on a lab table against the wall, each filled with pale green nutrient solution and strange biological samples of different shapes.
The moment he stepped in, the first thing Kiyohara noticed was the largest tank.
Inside it, a silver-gray fish swam slowly through the solution, its scales gleaming with a metallic sheen under the light.
But its eyes looked completely out of place against that body.
They were scarlet.
"Just as you asked, I transplanted Ketsuryugan cells into the Samehada clone."
Nono Yakushi walked up to the tank and lightly tapped the glass.
The fish inside seemed to sense something. It slowly turned around and looked at Kiyohara with those red eyes.
At that instant, Kiyohara felt a ripple of Yin Release chakra.
"The success rate was higher than expected."
Nono Yakushi opened her records.
"Out of more than a hundred samples, three successfully fused with the Ketsuryugan traits. Two died from rejection. The rest survived, but the cellular fusion was incomplete, so they're just ordinary clones."
She paused and pointed to the fish in front of them.
"This one fused the best. The special Yin Release chakra detected in its blood is extremely close to the original Ketsuryugan."
"And the cost?"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
He remembered Nono Yakushi saying there was a major flaw.
"Short lifespan."
Nono Yakushi said.
"These clones have even shorter lifespans than the previous generation. At most, around five years."
"I see."
Kiyohara actually thought that was acceptable.
Unless it was some peerless divine weapon, five years was already long enough before replacing it anyway.
And if each generation kept improving, there was no reason they couldn't solve that flaw eventually.
To him, it felt similar to the artificial clones the Land of Earth would create decades later—powerful, but short-lived.
Kiyohara walked up to the tank and held out his hand.
Chakra flowed from his fingertips into the nutrient solution.
The fish seemed to sense it and slowly swam closer, pressing its head near the glass.
"The Ketsuryugan can control blood."
Kiyohara was curious how far this fish could take that ability.
All of his experimental subjects had been created by fusing Samehada's cells with the cells of the Binding Fish clan, producing an entirely new species.
Even though they were technically clones, they didn't actually look like Samehada at all.
They had even developed sexes—some male, some female.
This one in front of him was female.
Kiyohara planned to test it first, then let Kurenai use it.
After collecting more data, he could move on to the next generation.
"Show me its transformation."
Nono Yakushi nodded and pressed a few switches on the control panel beside the tank.
The nutrient solution began draining away, and the silver-gray fish settled at the bottom, then began to change shape.
A moment later, a short blade about forty centimeters long appeared inside the tank.
The blade was slender and cold-looking, and embedded in the guard was a scarlet eye—the manifested Ketsuryugan—slowly turning.
Kiyohara opened the tank and took hold of the hilt.
The feel of it traveled into his palm.
The moment he poured chakra into it, faint red lines appeared across the blade, spreading like blood vessels.
Kiyohara raised the knife and pointed it at an empty glass beaker sitting on the lab table.
With a thought, the few droplets of water left inside the beaker suddenly gathered together and turned a deep red.
Blood.
Of course, the droplets weren't truly blood, but with chakra flowing through the blade, its ability let him manipulate any liquid and, if he wanted, turn it into the form of blood.
"Very good."
Kiyohara lowered the blade and nodded in satisfaction.
This weapon had even more potential than he'd expected.
Not only had it inherited Samehada's ability to absorb chakra, it had also fused with the Ketsuryugan's traits of controlling blood and amplifying genjutsu.
If he kept refining it...
Another thought came to him.
What if he transplanted the Sharingan into a similar clone?
He wouldn't need to cram eyes into an arm the way Danzo had. He could simply let these shapeshifting weapons reveal the power of the Sharingan at critical moments and use Izanagi.
That would be the perfect charm for self-preservation.
Who would ever think the Sharingan might be externalized?
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
These shapeshifting summon-type creatures were hugely underestimated by the ninja world. The more he looked at them, the more potential he saw.
Take Enma, for example—the monkey summon who could turn into the Adamantine Staff. If he'd had a Sharingan implanted, he could have captured Orochimaru on the spot.
Of course, the drawback would have been huge chakra consumption. A summon like that would have been reduced to functioning purely as a weapon.
Given the relationship between Hiruzen and Enma, that was obviously not something they would ever accept.
"Dean Nono, next we can try transplanting the Sharingan into the Samehada clones."
Kiyohara pulled a small bottle from a sealing scroll.
Inside, floating in liquid, was a pair of scarlet eyes—one of the Sharingan recovered from Danzo's base.
"All the research data is in there too. If you need any resources, tell me directly."
Nono Yakushi took the bottle and studied the eyes inside.
"...The Sharingan."
she said softly.
"If this gets discovered..."
"It won't."
Kiyohara cut her off.
"And even if it were discovered, it wouldn't implicate you."
Nono Yakushi looked at him for a moment, then finally nodded.
"I understand."
Back in Konoha, when Kiyohara returned to Tsunade's house, Kurenai was sitting in the living room.
She was wearing a dress today, her softly curled long hair spilling over her shoulders, a few strands falling across her chest and rising and falling with her breathing.
"Kiyohara?"
Kurenai looked up, surprise flashing in her red eyes.
"You're back."
"Yeah."
Kiyohara sat down beside her and took out the short blade from a sealing scroll.
Her gaze immediately fell to it, curiosity filling her eyes.
"What is this...?"
"It's for you."
Kiyohara handed the blade to her.
Kurenai froze for a moment, then took it.
It was lighter than she expected and sat comfortably in her hand. The scarlet eye in the guard was slowly turning, as if it were sizing her up.
"Is... is it alive?"
Kurenai asked in surprise.
"Yeah. It's a Samehada clone fused with Ketsuryugan traits."
Kiyohara said.
Pop.
The short blade in Kurenai's hand suddenly shifted into the shape of a fish.
Even though it was a fish, it showed no discomfort being exposed to the air.
That was because, like Samehada, it could survive on land just fine.
"Sign a summoning contract with her."
Kiyohara took out a blank summoning scroll.
Kurenai used blood to form a contract with the female fish.
"Try it. Pour chakra into it."
After the contract was made, Kurenai gathered chakra and fed it into the blade.
Pale blue chakra flowed from her palm into it.
The instant it did, the scarlet eye in the guard flared to life.
Kurenai widened her own eyes and found herself staring into that red eye.
She felt a strange connection form between them, like gaining an extra sense, an extra eye.
"She can control blood. Try it..."
Kiyohara checked with his senses—Tsunade wasn't home right now, so there was no problem.
Then he brought in a fish from the kitchen that had been meant for dinner and told Kurenai to test the weapon on it.
Kurenai raised the blade toward the fish in Kiyohara's hands.
With a thought, some of her chakra was consumed, and blood began seeping out from beneath the fish's scales.
"This... this is..."
"Blood."
Kiyohara caught one of the drops in his palm.
"But it looks pretty strained right now. It'll take practice. Its stronger point should be amplifying genjutsu."
Kurenai nodded.
She had already consumed enough chakra just doing that to equal the cost of casting a genjutsu.
She stopped controlling the blood in the fish.
"Try genjutsu on me."
Kiyohara said.
Kurenai nodded.
She cast a genjutsu on him and immediately realized the blade boosted its power by at least thirty percent.
"That's amazing..."
She dispersed her chakra, hugged the blade close, and looked at Kiyohara with her red eyes.
"This blade... you're really giving it to me?"
"Of course."
Kiyohara smiled faintly.
"I made it for you in the first place."
Kurenai pressed her lips together, then quickly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you."
she said softly.
Kiyohara reached out and lightly wrapped an arm around her waist.
"I'm glad you like it."
"But there's one more thing."
"Hm?"
"I need your help testing its performance."
Kurenai blinked.
"How do you want to test it?"
"In real combat."
Kiyohara said.
"Use it against actual enemies, collect data, and see what still needs improvement."
Kurenai nodded.
"Alright."
"Then do we start now?"
"No rush."
Kiyohara let go of her.
"Eat first. Tomorrow."
Kurenai pressed her lips together and sat back down beside him, still holding the blade.
"Kiyohara."
"Yeah?"
"Does it have a name?"
Kiyohara thought for a moment.
"Not yet. What do you want to call it?"
Kurenai looked down at the scarlet eye in the guard and thought quietly for a while.
"Red Moon."
She lifted her head.
"Would Red Moon be okay?"
"Sure."
Kiyohara nodded.
The name didn't really matter to him.
As far as Kiyohara was concerned, the weapon's current performance was still a bit weak—not even as good as the original Samehada.
Or rather, once you got to the later stages, weapons didn't matter very much anymore.
In Six Paths–level battles, the only weapons that really still mattered were things on the level of the Kusanagi Sword, Truth-Seeking Orbs, or chakra black rods.
A few days later, at the Hokage Tower, when Kiyohara pushed open the door to the mission dispatch office, an Anbu operative immediately stepped forward.
"Jonin Kiyohara, Hokage-sama has assigned this mission to you."
He handed over a scroll.
Kiyohara opened it and quickly read through it.
[Mission details: Escort the client to the Land of Snow and assist in handling domestic matters. Client: Land of Snow Minister Asama Sandayū. Mission rank: A-rank. Reward: One million ryo, with possible additional compensation after completion.]
The Land of Snow...
Kiyohara's brow lifted slightly.
This was the plot from the movie.
Princess Koyuki Kazahana's uncle, Dotō Kazahana, was trying to usurp the throne. He had colluded with the Snow ninja and murdered the Land of Snow's daimyo.
Asama Sandayū or the royal family must have sensed the danger already, which was why they had asked Konoha for help.
In the original story, Kakashi had taken the mission, but failed.
The daimyo was killed, the princess was left stranded, and that became the beginning of the movie's plot.
More than ten years later, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi would help Princess Koyuki return to the Land of Snow, and Naruto would defeat Dotō Kazahana with the Rainbow Rasengan.
In the end, Koyuki would become the new daimyo of the Land of Snow.
Kiyohara closed the scroll.
"I understand."
As he walked out of the Hokage Tower, details about the Land of Snow surfaced in his mind.
That country was covered in snow year-round and known for its unique snow-style techniques.
They also possessed a special technology called chakra armor.
And given the extreme environment there, even an ordinary Water Release user could produce effects very close to Ice Release.
"That's worth looking into."
Kiyohara thought.
That kind of chakra armor, something that could significantly enhance a shinobi's combat ability, was definitely worth studying.
He went to find Kurenai first.
"You got a mission?"
Kurenai opened the door.
"Yeah. The Land of Snow."
"The Land of Snow?"
Kurenai blinked.
"That place where it snows all year?"
"Exactly."
Kiyohara nodded.
"Get ready. We leave tomorrow."
After saying goodbye, he went back to inform Tsunade and the others.
A mission like this, for the current Kiyohara, was simple enough that he could probably finish it quickly.
The only problem was that it was a team mission, so he needed the right people.
The next morning, at Konoha's main gate, Tsunade was standing there with her arms folded. Shizune stood beside her carrying a large pack.
"That brat Kiyohara sure is taking his time."
Tsunade muttered.
The moment she said it, two figures came walking toward them from inside the village.
"They're here."
Shizune said softly.
Tsunade raised a brow and watched as they approached.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Kiyohara said.
"Hmph."
Tsunade snorted.
"Let's go."
"Wait a second."
Kiyohara said.
He pulled out a large lump of white clay from his pouch.
Tsunade raised a brow.
"This is...?"
"Explosive clay."
Kiyohara crouched down and began kneading the clay with both hands while pouring chakra into it.
Even though he hadn't modified his hands, that didn't affect his ability to do this at all.
Tsunade, Kurenai, and Shizune all watched his hands closely.
The lump of white clay rapidly changed shape, stretching and swelling.
A moment later, a giant white dragon stood in the open space.
This was the technique Deidara had developed: C2, the Dragon—a gigantic flying dragon made from explosive clay that could spit explosive clay projectiles.
But with Kiyohara's immense chakra reserves behind it, this dragon had grown far larger than Deidara's original version.
On its back, Kiyohara had also molded a square white little house out of clay.
"This... this is..."
Shizune stared with wide eyes.
Tsunade walked up to the dragon and reached out to touch its body.
"Made of clay?"
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded and kept shaping.
Tsunade circled around the dragon once, clearly impressed.
"When did you learn to do this?"
"Recently."
Kiyohara said.
"Come on. Get on and try it."
He jumped onto the dragon's back first and stepped into the little clay house.
Kurenai followed after him, then Shizune, and finally Tsunade.
The house was small, but it fit all four of them with room to spare.
There were a few simple cushions against the walls, and square windows that gave them a clear view outside.
"Sit tight."
Kiyohara's voice came from outside.
The next second, the dragon's body began to tremble slightly.
It slowly raised its head, braced with its limbs, and lifted off the ground.
Through the window, Tsunade watched the ground fall farther and farther away, the trees shrinking smaller and smaller until they became a blurred patch of green.
"It's really flying..."
Shizune pressed herself to the window.
"Amazing."
Kurenai had seen Kiyohara practicing this technique before, but this was the first time she'd ever ridden it over a real distance.
Sitting by the window, watching the clouds draw closer and closer, she couldn't help smiling.
Tsunade leaned against the window with her arms folded, watching the scenery shift outside.
"This is definitely a new way to travel."
She turned to Kiyohara.
"Kind of like a hot air balloon?"
"Something like that."
Kiyohara sat beside her.
This technique was perfect for long-distance travel, though they would still have to land somewhere at night to rest.
Only someone like Kiyohara—with huge chakra reserves and the support of the Strength of a Hundred Seal—could afford to use chakra this extravagantly.
The giant dragon glided through the clouds, much faster than traveling on foot, yet smooth enough that there was almost no shaking at all.
Inside the little clay house, Kiyohara had already prepared tea and sweets.
As the group snacked and watched the scenery outside, it felt less like a mission and more like an outing.
By evening, the dragon descended into a mountain forest.
Kiyohara put away the clay, and the group found a sheltered place to make camp.
A bonfire was lit, its orange glow jumping against the night.
After a simple dinner, everyone went back to their tents to rest.
Kiyohara had the night watch.
Inside the tent, Kurenai lay in her sleeping bag with her eyes closed, breathing evenly.
But her lashes trembled faintly.
Kiyohara turned to the side and lightly patted her hip.
Kurenai's body twitched slightly.
She opened her eyes and met Kiyohara's smile.
"What... what are you doing..."
she whispered, half-complaining.
"Inviting you over to sleep."
Kiyohara said as if it were perfectly natural.
"There are... there are other people outside..."
Kiyohara leaned toward her ear, his breath brushing against it.
"Don't you want to?"
Kurenai's ears turned red.
She bit her lip, then finally nodded.
"Then... be gentle..."
Kiyohara smiled.
...
No one knew how much time passed.
Eventually, the tent fell quiet again.
Kurenai curled up against him, her cheek resting on his chest as she listened to his steady heartbeat.
Her long hair lay scattered over the pillow, with a few strands stuck to her face with sweat.
"Kiyohara."
she said softly after a while.
"Hm?"
"About this... Lady Tsunade and the others... they won't notice, right?"
Kiyohara lowered his head and looked at her.
"They won't."
he said.
"I put up a soundproof barrier, and they're sleeping deeply."
Kiyohara had to admit that barriers really did improve life.
Only then did Kurenai relax.
She closed her eyes, ready to drift off—when she suddenly felt his hand move again.
She opened her eyes and met Kiyohara's dark gaze.
"You..."
"Go to sleep."
Kiyohara smiled.
Kurenai glared at him, but her eyes were already growing hazy again, her gaze turning soft and unfocused.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!