Kiyohara raised his other hand.
A faint mass of purple-black chakra slowly gathered in his palm.
It was a special Yin Release chakra he had learned to refine that day from Dark Medical Ninjutsu. After adding Yang Release power infused with Asura's chakra, it had become extremely pure.
And since the dose was very small, its effects would last at most one or two hours.
The mass of Yin Release chakra drifted out of Kiyohara's palm and slowly seeped into Kurenai Yūhi's body.
Kurenai's body trembled slightly.
She could feel a strange chakra flowing through her.
Wherever that power passed, her senses became abnormally sharp.
She could hear the insects chirping outside the window, and her vision had improved a great deal too.
"What is this?"
Kurenai asked in confusion.
"A ninjutsu that enhances the five senses," Kiyohara said.
This counted as one application of Dark Medical Ninjutsu.
Kurenai instantly understood something. She bit her lower lip and looked at him.
"You jerk…"
She gave Kiyohara a light smack.
Then Kiyohara gently patted her on the head.
Kurenai crouched down.
…
A night passed.
Morning light filtered into the room through the gap in the curtains.
Kiyohara opened his eyes.
He lowered his head and looked at the face resting on his arm.
Kurenai was still fast asleep.
Her long, curled hair was scattered across the pillow.
Her eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes, and the corners of her lips curved upward slightly, as if she were having a good dream.
Kiyohara looked at her.
What had happened last night flashed through his mind.
Then he suddenly realized something.
Dark Medical Ninjutsu really could enhance the five senses.
Sight, hearing, touch…
Those sensations could be amplified to a level ordinary people could hardly imagine.
What would that mean in battle?
It would let someone detect enemies sooner and judge attacks more accurately.
But in other situations…
Kiyohara looked at Kurenai and carefully slipped his arm out from under her.
Kurenai stirred, her brows knitting slightly, but she didn't wake up.
Kiyohara gently tucked the blanket over her, then stood up.
After doing a little simple cooking in the kitchen, Kiyohara walked to the bedside table, picked up a pen, and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper.
"Breakfast is in the kitchen. Don't forget to eat."
The next moment, Kurenai was the only one left in the room.
The sky gradually grew brighter.
Kurenai's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
She sat up, the blanket slipping down and revealing her fair skin.
Her mind gradually cleared, and she remembered what had happened the night before.
She turned her head and saw the note on the bedside table.
"At least you've still got a bit of conscience."
…
At the Hokage building, Kiyohara sat in his office with a stack of documents piled in front of him.
The inauguration ceremony was only a few days away, and there was no shortage of things to prepare.
He picked up one of the documents and skimmed through it quickly.
It was a construction plan for the casino in the back mountain area.
He picked up his pen and signed his name on it.
Then Kiyohara immediately moved on to the next file.
Before long, he had handled most of the government work.
Then a question suddenly crossed his mind.
Would the Nine-Tails incident still happen?
In the original story, on the day Kushina gave birth, Obito took advantage of the barrier's weakest moment to invade, snatched away the newborn Naruto, released the Nine-Tails, and caused that disaster.
But now, a lot of things had changed.
Minato Namikaze was still alive. Kushina was still alive. Naruto had not been born yet.
And Obito…
Kiyohara frowned slightly.
Obito had already clashed with him before and knew how strong he was.
If Obito still intended to follow the original plan, that would be no different from walking straight into a trap.
But what if he gave up?
Then the Nine-Tails incident would never happen.
But Kiyohara didn't think so.
When Obito became obsessed, no one could stop him.
And besides, Black Zetsu was behind him. So was Uchiha Madara.
They would not give up so easily.
"I need to be ready."
Kiyohara pulled his thoughts back.
Whether the Nine-Tails incident happened or not, he had to prepare.
Because Konoha now was his Konoha.
Private property was sacred and inviolable, and Kiyohara naturally had no intention of letting anyone come wreck it again.
......
Two hours later, Kiyohara had an Anbu operative lead him to the Anbu base.
"Hokage-sama."
The Anbu ninja guarding the entrance dropped to one knee, his masked voice filled with respect.
Kiyohara gave a slight nod and stepped into the base.
Inside were an equipment room, an intelligence analysis room, a rest area… everything one would expect.
Anbu ninja in black uniforms moved briskly through each section.
But whenever they recognized the face of the person entering, every one of them would stop, bow slightly, and then continue on.
Anbu was Konoha's most special institution.
It answered directly to the Hokage and handled intelligence, assassinations, and special missions.
But Anbu, having just gone through a transfer of power, could not be said to be absolutely loyal to Kiyohara.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his arm and called for support, Kiyohara figured quite a few Anbu would still choose to follow him.
After all, Hiruzen had been the longest-serving Hokage.
"Gather all squad captains."
Kiyohara stopped walking and spoke to the Anbu ninja following behind him.
"Meeting room in ten minutes."
"Yes!"
The ninja vanished in a blur, using the Body Flicker Technique to leave quickly.
…
A short while later, several people stood inside a room.
The Anbu squad captains all wore the same black uniforms. Their masks had been removed, revealing faces both young and weathered.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke sat in the first seat on the left. There was now an extra scar on the face that somewhat resembled Hiruzen's.
He felt a little emotional inside.
He still remembered the first time he had met Kiyohara.
Back then, Kiyohara had only been a genius who had caught his father's attention. Brilliant, yes, but still just a junior.
And now, that same young man was sitting at the highest level of power in Konoha.
The door opened.
Kiyohara walked in.
All eyes immediately fell on him.
He took the main seat and folded his hands on the table.
"I called you here today for two things," Kiyohara began.
"First, Anbu needs to be reformed."
He went straight to the point.
The meeting room fell silent for a moment.
Shinnosuke frowned slightly.
"Hokage-sama, the Anbu structure was established in the Second Hokage's era and has been used ever since without issue…"
"The times have changed," Kiyohara interrupted him.
"In the Second Hokage's era, Anbu only needed to carry out missions. But now, what we need is more than just a blade that can follow orders."
His gaze swept across the room.
"Starting today, Anbu will be expanded, and several new special squads will be created."
"First, the Anbu Taijutsu Special Operations Squad. Might Guy will serve as its captain."
He looked toward Might Guy, who was sitting in the corner.
Guy froze for a second, then sprang to his feet, clearly not expecting to receive a position like this.
"Kiyohara—no, Hokage-sama! I will absolutely live up to your trust and let the flames of youth burn even brighter within Anbu!"
That display made several other Anbu ninja's eyelids twitch.
No matter how they looked at it, Might Guy's style simply did not match Anbu at all.
Still, since it was the Hokage's order, there wasn't much they could say.
"I believe in you, Guy," Kiyohara said with a slight smile.
The fake nuclear deterrent was the Nine-Tails. The real nuclear deterrent was actually Might Guy.
In the state of the Gate of Death, Guy's Night Guy far surpassed the power of a Tailed Beast Bomb.
If any ninja without Six Paths Madara's regeneration took that attack head-on, they would probably be split in two on the spot.
"The second squad, the Anbu Lightning Release Special Operations Squad, will be led by Hatake Kakashi."
Kakashi, seated beside Guy, lifted his head at the announcement.
"Yes," Kakashi said.
His reaction was far calmer than Guy's.
Quiet discussion rose inside the meeting room.
Shinnosuke's brows tightened.
Setting up new squads and appointing new captains… normally, those matters should have been discussed with the Hokage's advisors first.
But Kiyohara had made the decision directly, completely disregarding the advisors' opinions.
Kiyohara ignored the murmurs.
He raised a hand and lightly tapped the table.
The discussion gradually died down.
"The second matter."
He paused briefly.
"Starting today, the base salary of every Anbu member will be tripled."
The room was instantly shaken.
Shinnosuke's eyes widened slightly.
"Tr-tripled?"
His voice was full of disbelief.
He thought he must have heard wrong.
Kiyohara nodded.
"Tripled."
He repeated it for him.
"On top of that, there will be extra mission subsidies, from S-rank missions down to C-rank missions. Housing subsidies, meal subsidies, and more."
"If someone is injured on a mission, all medical expenses will be fully covered, and they'll also receive additional compensation."
"If someone dies on a mission, their family will receive enough compensation to live on for the rest of their lives. Their children will be given priority admission to the Ninja Academy, and even if they attend an ordinary school, they will be given priority job placement after graduation."
Kiyohara planned to model it after the benefits system from the government structure in his previous life.
"All of this will be written into Anbu's new regulations," Kiyohara said.
For now, it was still only in the initial stages, but once his orders were issued, it would be formally implemented very soon.
At this point, Anbu had basically become an iron rice bowl with incredible benefits.
Kiyohara understood this perfectly well. People like Kakashi and Guy, who were driven by personal bonds, could loyally follow his orders.
But many Anbu ninja were people he had never interacted with. They might not be willing to work for a stranger, and Kiyohara didn't believe faith in the Will of Fire alone would be enough.
In his view, deep material interests were also necessary.
As long as the待遇 was high enough, Anbu would work like beasts for him.
The Anbu members listening were all stunned.
"That much, Hokage-sama?"
The Anbu squad captain codenamed Tiger looked astonished.
His son had fallen seriously ill, and medical costs had always been a heavy burden.
If this policy were really carried out, it would drastically improve his family's life, and his son would be able to get better medicine.
"Of course, Tiger," Kiyohara nodded.
Tiger was this ninja's codename. He specialized in taijutsu and possessed tremendous arm strength.
"But no other hidden village has ever done anything like this, right?"
The ninja codenamed Elephant voiced his concern.
"The Anbu system itself was something the other villages copied from us later. We have always been the pioneers of reform," Kiyohara said, shaking his head.
The Ninja Academy had been copied by the other villages too. It could be said that Senju Tobirama had invented countless systems in his lifetime and driven Konoha's development forward.
Other hidden villages had competed to imitate that framework, and in the end it became the broadly similar system used by all the major villages today.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Seeing that, Elephant could only stop pressing the matter.
"Does anyone else have any objections?"
Kiyohara stopped looking at Elephant and swept his gaze across the Anbu ninja in the room.
Elephant had once served as one of Hiruzen's Anbu bodyguards and was particularly outstanding in knowledge of secret techniques and analytical ability.
Kiyohara guessed that Elephant's concerns reflected what many others in the room were thinking.
In their eyes, tripled salaries, drastically reduced medical costs, huge compensation funds, priority school admission for children, priority housing allocation…
Benefits like that would sound like pure fantasy in any hidden village.
"Hokage-sama."
Shinnosuke stood up.
"I understand that you want to improve Anbu treatment, but to make all of this happen… Konoha's finances simply can't support it!"
Kiyohara looked at him.
"I know."
"Then you—"
"This money won't come from Konoha's treasury," Kiyohara cut him off directly.
"All of it will come out of my personal pocket."
The meeting room fell silent once again.
Shinnosuke froze in place.
From… his personal pocket?
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but had no idea what to say.
How much would all of this cost in a year?
And Kiyohara was going to pay for it by himself?
"Captain Shinnosuke, do you have any other questions?"
Shinnosuke slowly shook his head and sat back down.
"Since there are no more objections, then it's settled."
Kiyohara stood up.
The Anbu ninja all looked at one another.
Then, in the end, one person took the lead and shouted, "Loyal… ty!"
The others followed, shouting, "Loyal… ty!"
For a moment, cries of loyalty echoed nonstop through the room.
Kiyohara nodded in satisfaction.
"Starting tomorrow, Anbu's new regulations will officially take effect."
"Meeting adjourned."
He turned and walked toward the door.
When he reached it, he suddenly stopped.
Then he turned back and looked at Shinnosuke.
"Captain Shinnosuke."
"Yes."
"I appreciate your objections today. People who dare to speak honestly are valuable in any era."
Kiyohara paused.
"Keep it up."
With that, he pushed the door open and left.
Inside the meeting room, everyone exchanged looks.
Shinnosuke remained seated there for a long time without saying a word.
After leaving the meeting room, Kiyohara casually had an Anbu ninja lead him to the prison.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Purple Deer nodded.
Her mask was marked with purple stripes shaped like antlers.
Before long, Kiyohara and Purple Deer arrived at the prison entrance.
The ninja guarding the cells dropped to one knee.
"The Hidden Cloud prisoners are being held inside?" Kiyohara asked.
"Yes," the guard replied with a nod.
"Take me in."
The guard hurried to comply.
The iron door slowly opened.
Kiyohara stepped into the prison.
After looking around for a bit, he found the cell where Samui and Mabui were being held.
At that moment, the two women were sitting on a crude bed.
The instant they saw Kiyohara, both of them stiffened.
The cold eyes Samui always wore were now burning with anger.
It was this bastard who had kept them locked up in here all this time!
"You bastard!" Samui shouted.
"How dare you!"
The Anbu ninja behind Kiyohara barked sharply.
This prisoner actually dared to disrespect the Hokage.
"This is the Fourth Hokage-sama. Know your place!"
Samui's body froze.
Hokage?
She stared at Kiyohara in disbelief.
When had Kiyohara become Hokage?
Mabui reacted faster.
She quickly stood up, walked to the cell door, and bowed slightly.
"Kiyohara-sama."
Her voice was respectful and her posture humble.
There was no emotion visible on her refined face.
But inside, her mind was working furiously.
Why had Kiyohara come here?
To deal with them?
Or…
Now that they were prisoners, Mabui understood very clearly that both she and Samui needed to keep their place straight.
Compared to Samui, who only knew how to fight, Mabui—who had once served as the Raikage's secretary—was much sharper.
"What instructions does Kiyohara-sama have for us?"
Kiyohara looked at her.
This woman really was smart.
"The war is over," Kiyohara said flatly.
"Konoha doesn't insist on keeping you locked up forever. But if you want to be released, we need a bargaining chip."
Mabui's brow twitched slightly.
"What does my lord want?"
"Hidden Cloud's technological data," Kiyohara said.
"Medical equipment, ninja tool forging… everything you have, I want all of it."
Mabui fell silent.
Those materials were Hidden Cloud's secrets.
"I can release one of you first, as a sign of sincerity," Kiyohara added.
He planned to keep the Raikage locked up a bit longer and see how sincere Hidden Cloud really was.
Even now, Konoha and Hidden Cloud had still not reached an agreement, so the core prisoners were still being held in Konoha.
"You can discuss it between yourselves. Decide who goes."
At that, Samui let out a cold sneer.
"Release us? I don't believe you're that kindhearted."
Kiyohara looked at her.
That indifferent, pretty face was full of distrust.
"Fine. Forget it, then. In that case, your Raikage will probably have a hard time here."
Kiyohara turned and started walking toward the door.
Mabui's expression changed immediately.
"Kiyohara-sama!"
She called out at once.
"Please wait!"
Kiyohara stopped, but he didn't turn around.
Mabui took a deep breath and lowered her voice toward Samui.
"Samui, Raikage-sama is still in Konoha."
Hearing that, Samui remembered that the Fourth Raikage was indeed still being held here.
If she refused to lower her head…
Her fists slowly clenched.
Her knuckles turned white.
A long moment passed.
Then she drew in a deep breath and walked to the cell door.
"Kiyohara…-sama."
Her voice came out stiffly.
"I spoke out of turn just now."
Samui bit her lip as she spoke.
Kiyohara turned around.
The oil lamps on either side of the corridor cast sharp bands of light and shadow across his face.
There was no expression on that handsome face now.
"Samui, you're a jōnin of the Hidden Cloud. You should know the rules."
He paused.
"An apology should look like an apology."
Samui's chest rose and fell violently.
The prison uniform she wore was somewhat loose, but it still couldn't hide the full curves of her body.
As she breathed, those soft lines shifted beneath the fabric, drawing it taut.
She could feel Kiyohara's gaze slowly move down from her face.
It rested briefly on her chest.
Then moved away.
Her face grew slightly hot.
"S-sorry."
Her voice was low.
Kiyohara looked at her.
"Not enough."
Samui lifted her head.
Her eyes were so full of rage they looked ready to erupt.
But in the end, she suppressed it.
She took a deep breath.
Then slowly bent forward.
A deep bow.
"I'm sorry, Kiyohara-sama."
"That's still not enough. Come with me."
Kiyohara shook his head.
Words alone were not enough punishment.
Samui glanced at Mabui, guilt flashing in her eyes.
If not for her reckless outburst, maybe one of them really could have gone back.
She bit her lower lip and stepped forward to follow him.
Behind her, Mabui watched with a worried expression.