"By the way."
Tsunade suddenly remembered something.
"How's that beauty-preserving technique of yours coming along?"
Kiyohara nodded.
"It's basically done. I taught it to Rin, and the effect is already obvious."
Tsunade raised a brow.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Kiyohara held out a hand.
"Want to try it, Sensei?"
Tsunade hesitated for a moment, then reached her hand over anyway.
Kiyohara took it, and chakra flowed from his fingertips.
Body Pathway Derangement!
Tsunade's body trembled slightly.
She could feel that unfamiliar chakra traveling up her arm, leaving behind a faint tingling sensation wherever it passed.
"Don't resist."
Kiyohara's voice reached her.
Tsunade relaxed.
That chakra continued upward, through her shoulder, past the side of her neck, and finally gathered in the center of her forehead.
Then it began to condense.
Tsunade could feel a warm sensation spreading across her forehead.
The feeling became clearer and more concentrated.
Kiyohara opened his eyes and let go of her hand.
"Done."
Tsunade instinctively touched her forehead.
The skin beneath her fingertips was smooth. There was nothing there.
But the warmth was still present.
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded.
Then he gave Tsunade the same explanation he had given Rin: the chakra would automatically form a miniature sealing cycle at her forehead, and after that, only a small amount of chakra would be needed to maintain the beauty-preserving effect.
Tsunade blinked.
She carefully examined the changes inside her body.
It was true. She could feel a tiny chakra whirlpool on her forehead.
And its circulation didn't interfere at all with the storage or release of the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
"So you actually managed to make it."
"That's only because you taught me well, Sensei."
Kiyohara smiled.
Tsunade let out a small huff and took another swig of alcohol.
"Cut the sweet talk."
She set the bottle down and touched her cheek.
It was true.
Her skin felt even softer and smoother than before. Nourished by chakra, it felt slippery and supple, like she had just finished a full skincare treatment.
"The effect actually seems pretty good…"
she muttered quietly.
Then Tsunade kept drinking. Seeing that she was already tipsy, Kiyohara reminded her,
"Sensei, drink a little less and get some rest."
He walked over to Tsunade and reached out a hand.
Still drunk, Tsunade hadn't even realized what was happening before the scenery around them began to twist.
In the next instant, the two of them were standing in another tent.
This one was the tent Tsunade used for sleeping.
The one from before was more for work.
Tsunade stood there, rubbing her slightly blurry eyes.
"Flying Thunder God really is convenient…"
she muttered, swaying unsteadily.
Kiyohara guided her to the bed, crouched down, and took hold of her ankle.
Tsunade's body stiffened slightly.
The warmth of his hand came through her skin.
Then she felt her shoes being gently removed.
Kiyohara placed them neatly aside, pulled over the light blanket nearby, and gently covered her with it.
"Sleep."
He stood up.
Tsunade lay there, watching Kiyohara take care of her.
Her golden-brown eyes reflected his figure.
This wasn't the first time.
Whenever she got drunk, it was either Shizune or Kiyohara who took care of her afterward.
"Kiyohara."
"Yeah?"
"Sometimes I feel like I'm the student, and you're the teacher."
There was a trace of emotion in Tsunade's voice.
Kiyohara smiled.
"Don't say that, Sensei."
Tsunade looked at him.
After a moment, she suddenly said,
"Oh, right. Be careful during the operation in a few days."
"I know."
Kiyohara nodded.
"You think I'll lose, Sensei?"
"Don't underestimate the enemy."
Tsunade said.
"Then are you going to give me some lucky charm, Sensei?"
Kiyohara asked.
He wanted to see if Tsunade still had anything valuable on her. After all, the Senju clan had once been enormously wealthy, and now everything effectively belonged to Tsunade alone.
At most, she had only sold off unimportant things. Something truly significant, like the First Hokage's necklace, she would never sell.
Because for Tsunade, debt was at worst just a nuisance to her reputation.
Hearing that, Tsunade looked at him.
She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly sat up and leaned toward him.
Before Kiyohara could react, he felt something warm and soft press against his forehead.
It was gone an instant later.
"This is your teacher's lucky kiss."
Tsunade let go, lay back down, and pulled the blanket over herself again.
"Go on."
She turned her face away, refusing to look at him.
Kiyohara stood there and touched his forehead.
The warmth of her lips still lingered there.
"Sensei, can your lucky kiss really bring me good fortune?"
"Rebellious student!"
Tsunade grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.
"I'm going to sleep!"
Kiyohara caught the pillow, smiling, and put it back beside the bed.
"Good night, Sensei."
Then he turned and walked out of the tent.
Moonlight spilled across him.
He touched his forehead again, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
Things with Tsunade had moved a step further again.
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
Honestly, if not for the teacher-student relationship and the age difference, he felt that things between him and Tsunade would already have progressed to the same stage as with Kurenai.
Still, none of that was a serious problem.
Sooner or later, he really was going to become a rebellious student.
…
After leaving Tsunade's tent, Kiyohara returned to his own.
The moment he lifted the curtain, he saw a figure sitting on his bed.
Kurenai.
She was wearing that light red nightdress, her long hair loose over her shoulders, her bare feet swinging gently at the edge of the bed.
"Kiyohara?"
She looked up, surprise flashing through her red eyes.
"You're back."
Then her nose twitched.
"Why do you smell like alcohol?"
"Sensei was drinking."
Kiyohara sat down beside her.
"I just got her settled so she could rest."
Kurenai nodded and didn't think much of it.
Then she stood, walked over to him, and naturally sat down in his lap.
Her legs parted in a straddling position.
Her arms looped around his neck.
"Kiyohara."
She looked at him seriously.
"My Wind Release has hit a bottleneck lately."
Kiyohara's hands settled at her waist.
Her waist was slender, but firm and strong.
Even through the thin fabric of her nightdress, he could feel the warmth of her body.
Kurenai's body was actually quite hot.
That was something Kiyohara knew very well by now.
"What kind of bottleneck?"
"Well…"
Kurenai thought for a moment.
"It feels like the power just won't go any higher. My chakra control is finer than before, and I'm more practiced with the techniques, but the power is still stuck at the same point."
Kiyohara nodded.
"That's easy enough to fix."
He paused.
"I've got an idea."
"What idea?"
"I could give you some of my cells."
Kurenai blinked.
"Your… cells?"
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded.
"There's a special kind of cell inside me that can strengthen the body and improve chakra affinity. If the fusion goes well, it should help you break through that bottleneck."
The White Snake power inside him was far purer and more orthodox than the artificial version Orochimaru had researched.
After all, how could an artificial product compare to a true white snake born and raised in Ryuchi Cave?
Kiyohara had inherited all of White Snake Kiyohara's bloodline.
If he extracted part of those cells and refined out the White Snake power inside them, Kurenai's chakra reserves would rise too.
"Would it be dangerous?"
"There'd be some risk."
Kiyohara nodded.
If the effect improved, then naturally the burden would increase as well.
Kiyohara could handle it effortlessly, but that didn't mean other people could, so it still needed refinement.
"I'll finish the experiments first, then give it to you."
Kurenai nodded.
"Alright."
Kiyohara was about to say something else when his brows shifted slightly.
Someone.
And that chakra signature… was unfamiliar.
But what really put him on alert was that he hadn't sensed how the person appeared at all.
It was as if they had simply materialized out of thin air.
"What is it?"
Kurenai noticed the change in him.
"Nothing."
Kiyohara patted her hip.
"Get down for a second. We've got a visitor."
Kurenai froze, then obediently climbed off his lap.
Kiyohara stood, blurred, and vanished from the tent.
…
In the forest some distance away, a warped vortex slowly took shape, and a figure stepped out of the void.
A tiger-striped mask. A black cloak. A single crimson eye visible.
Uchiha Obito stood atop a tree branch, peering through the leaves toward the brightly lit camp in the distance.
He had watched Kiyohara emerge from Tsunade's tent. He had also sensed another chakra signature inside Kiyohara's tent.
He recognized it.
Kurenai Yūhi.
Obito and Kiyohara had been in the same class, so naturally he knew the chakra of his classmates.
What Obito couldn't understand was why Kurenai would be in Kiyohara's tent so late at night.
And Rin?
Obito's hand clenched unconsciously.
His greatest wish in the past had always been to win Rin's attention.
But the warmth that should have been his had all gone to Kiyohara instead.
The thing Obito had longed for more than anything was something Kiyohara could take effortlessly.
And on top of that, Kiyohara still had unclear relationships with other women.
Why did Kiyohara get to have so much?
"Damn it…"
Obito's composure cracked.
He truly couldn't understand what the ninja world had turned into.
The world created by the Sage of Six Paths was a failed world.
"Damn it!"
White Zetsu emerged from his shoulder, grinning as it repeated his words.
"Obito, your emotions are really all over the place."
"Shut up."
"Do you want to go fight him? You've gotten a lot stronger too. Maybe you'd win."
"I said shut up!"
Obito hissed under his breath.
"I'm 'Madara' now. I'm not the old Obito anymore."
He took a deep breath and forced his emotions back under control.
"So, should we head back now?"
Obito fell silent.
He kept staring at the distant tent.
Then he spoke.
"No."
"No?"
"I'm going to test him myself."
White Zetsu blinked.
"Test what?"
"Test whether Kiyohara really has improved as much as the rumors say."
The moment he finished speaking, the flap of the distant tent suddenly lifted.
A figure stepped out.
Obito was immediately startled.
He had only just appeared less than ten seconds ago, and Kiyohara was already coming out?
Even through the night, Kiyohara could clearly see Obito in the distance.
Perhaps it was because he had inherited both the Sharingan and the Byakugan, or perhaps it was simply because his eye power had become so overwhelming, but Kiyohara's night vision had sharpened dramatically.
"He noticed us?"
White Zetsu sounded stunned.
"No way, we're this far out…"
Then Obito saw Kiyohara vanish.
The next instant, he was right in front of him.
So fast!
Obito instinctively leaned back while forming hand seals.
"Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!"
Combining Kamui's warped space with Fire Release, a massive spiraling inferno erupted in front of him and roared toward Kiyohara.
Kiyohara remained still and formed hand seals of his own.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A howling gale burst from his mouth.
The wind and fire collided, but instead of canceling each other out, the wind seized the flames and hurled them high into the air.
Boom!
The fire exploded in the night sky, lighting up half the heavens.
Kiyohara formed more seals and slammed a palm into the ground.
"Uchiha Flame Formation!"
Rumble!
A line of red chakra-fire shot outward from the two of them, tracing a circle, and a huge crimson barrier rose from the ground.
The barrier was cylindrical, made entirely of scorching flame.
The fire flowed over its surface, and the air shimmered from the heat.
The two of them were completely enclosed, cut off from the outside world.
This way, there was no danger of collateral damage.
This was Konoha's own base. If they fought in the middle of it, too many allies would get caught in the crossfire.
Kiyohara then fixed his gaze on Obito in the tiger-striped mask, flashed forward, and let Lightning Release chakra gather in his right hand.
Chidori.
Blue lightning crackled violently around his hand.
Seeing that, Obito's Sharingan spun.
Intangibility.
Kiyohara's lightning pierced straight through him.
But in the same instant, Kiyohara's left hand was already moving.
"Water Release: Water Blade!"
A blade of water extended from his palm and slashed across Obito's waist.
In his intangible state, Obito's body warped slightly, letting the water blade pass through too.
But those two attacks in quick succession created the tiniest opening in his phasing.
Kiyohara caught it and spread the fingers of his right hand.
"Lightning Release: Black Panther!"
Black lightning exploded from his palm and formed into a panther, lunging at Obito.
Obito gritted his teeth.
Intangibility!
The lightning panther passed through him.
But some of those black arcs clung to him.
They were tiny, but fiercely corrosive, and they made his skin feel as though it were burning away.
Obito felt stifled in a way he hadn't expected.
He had spent the entire exchange basically getting hit, unable to find even a moment to breathe.
"Water Release: Twin Dragon Tempest Kill!"
Two water tornado dragons roared into existence at Kiyohara's sides and lunged at Obito from the left and right.
Intangibility!
The water passed through him.
But right behind that came Kiyohara's real body.
That hand struck again.
This time, Obito didn't have time to phase.
He could only raise an arm to block.
Bang!
The heavy impact exploded outward.
Obito was hurled backward into the edge of the barrier.
The flames behind him scorched his back.
He dropped to one knee, gasping.
His right arm trembled. The web between his thumb and forefinger had split open, and blood dripped from it.
Intangibility could ignore all attacks—but only if he could activate it in time.
Obito frowned.
He could only sustain phasing for five minutes at most before entering a long cooldown period.
So in practice, he normally turned it on and off repeatedly to stretch the total time as far as possible.
"You've improved, but not by much."
Kiyohara's voice came from in front of him.
Obito looked up.
Kiyohara stood not far away, wrapped in a cloak of dark green chakra, the image of a phantom serpent formed behind him.
Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode.
Even between the three tomoe of his Sharingan, a vertical line had appeared like a snake's pupil.
Obito took a breath and stood up.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and a crimson flash lit his eye.
The Mangekyō Sharingan's terrifying dynamic vision made everything seem slower.
"Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs Technique!"
Countless sharp wooden spikes burst out from his body.
Kiyohara spread his fingers.
He caught each of the incoming spikes one by one.
"Too slow."
Kiyohara said flatly.
Then he turned his wrist and hurled them back.
Faster now. Harder too.
Obito's pupils shrank.
Intangibility!
But this time there were too many spikes.
He avoided most of them, but three broke through his defense.
Wet crunch.
The spikes pierced through his right arm and left shoulder.
Blood sprayed out.
He let out a muffled groan and staggered backward.
They were too fast—fast enough that he couldn't phase his entire body in time.
Obito had only just steadied himself when Kiyohara was already in front of him.
He flattened his hand into a blade.
At its edge was the invisible sharpness of Wind Release chakra.
One slash.
Obito's right arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder.
He didn't even have time to feel the pain.
Because that same slash went straight through his chest as well.
Kiyohara's hand pierced his body and emerged from his back.
Blood burst from the wound and splashed across the ground.
Obito lowered his eyes and looked at the hand sticking through him.
White matter began to appear around the wound.
It spread rapidly, restoring his chakra.
White Zetsu?
Kiyohara's brows shifted slightly.
White Zetsu could bury itself deep inside a body and emerge when needed.
When Sasuke had been driven into a corner, White Zetsu had restored his chakra and injuries this same way.
Now Obito was using the exact same method.
Kamui!
Obito didn't leave behind a single threat or final line.
His body faded more and more until he vanished completely into the void.
Kiyohara stood still and watched him disappear.
At least he's quick to run.
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
Originally, Obito had only lost his left arm, and that side had been replaced with a limb made from Hashirama's cells.
Now Kiyohara had severed his right arm too.
If Obito kept replacing himself like this over and over, Kiyohara couldn't help wondering—at what point did he stop being human and become just another White Zetsu carrying Hashirama cells?
After thinking it over, Kiyohara dispelled the Uchiha Flame Formation.
His clash with Obito had already thrown the camp into chaos.
That column of fire reaching into the sky, and that massive red barrier, had alarmed everyone.
Kakashi was the first to rush out, Yamamaru in hand.
"Kiyohara?"
He froze for a second as he saw the figure walking toward him from the darkness.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"What happened?"
Kurenai also rushed out of her tent, already dressed like she was about to fight.
She ran up to Kiyohara and looked him over from head to toe.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"No."
Kiyohara took her hand.
"Who attacked you?"
Kurenai asked.
"Someone with the Sharingan and Wood Release."
Kiyohara's voice wasn't loud, but every person present reacted with shock.
The Sharingan and Wood Release?
Someone who possessed both those bloodline abilities?
"That can't be possible…"
~~~
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