That was a tall man, even larger than the current Kiyohara by a full size.
"You are…?"
Kiyohara looked at this new future version of himself and felt that he didn't look entirely human.
What decent person had horns on their head?
Kiyohara stroked his chin.
In the shinobi world, aside from the Ōtsutsuki clan, the only ones with horns seemed to be Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
"You can call me Red Horn. You're definitely familiar with my clansmen: Kinkaku and Ginkaku."
Red-Horn Kiyohara spoke.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku were the most vicious criminals in Kumogakure's history.
They staged a coup during the alliance ceremony between the Raikage and the Hokage, killed the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage, and dragged Kumogakure into the abyss.
He had long fiery-red hair, falling loose to his waist.
Floating in Kiyohara's mind, he looked like a flickering flame.
"Did you take part in the coup?"
"No, but I went to the scene and watched."
Red-Horn Kiyohara said.
"At that time, my strength was inferior to Senju Tobirama's. Although I advised Kinkaku and Ginkaku against it, they were still arrogant enough to believe they could succeed."
"I see."
Kiyohara nodded.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku were indeed fairly strong, but defeating Senju Tobirama had involved a degree of luck.
They had caught Tobirama completely off guard, leaving the legendary forbidden-technique master no time to use many forbidden techniques.
He could only evacuate with the Hokage Guard and stay behind alone to cover their retreat.
The reason was simple. Senju Tobirama also knew Impure World Reincarnation.
If things truly became impossible, he could have reincarnated Senju Hashirama at any time, or reincarnated some of his former subordinates.
The fact that this technique was known by people like Chiyo and the Second Mizukage clearly meant that Senju Tobirama really had put it into use on the battlefield.
It was only because it was too cruel and violated the taboo between life and death that it was preserved as a forbidden technique.
'This future is pretty good.'
Kiyohara thought.
He looked at Red-Horn Kiyohara's hair.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku's horns, like Red Horn's, were black.
However, Kinkaku's hair was gold, and Ginkaku's hair was silver.
Were they named according to hair color?
"You can control the Six Paths Ninja Tools left behind by the Sage of Six Paths?"
Kiyohara asked curiously.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku could freely manipulate the five great ninja tools left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.
The reason was simple. They were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths.
Strictly speaking, they were also a branch of the Sage's descendants.
"Of course."
Red-Horn Kiyohara admitted it openly.
"The bloodline in you feels very strange to me. There's a sense of shared origin, but also like it's the part I'm missing."
Red-Horn Kiyohara's semi-illusory body approached Kiyohara and circled him once.
"Past me, could you be Ōtsutsuki?"
Red-Horn Kiyohara said in surprise.
He had not expected this past version of himself to have had such smooth development.
Although they were all the same individual, they had been distributed into different timelines.
That meant everyone's experiences had changed as well.
"I can only count as half of one. I'm still a little short of a true Ōtsutsuki."
Kiyohara extended his thumb and index finger, pinching the air to indicate that he was still missing just a little bit.
"…"
Red-Horn Kiyohara suddenly felt that this future version was being a little too humble in a showy way.
"Then why is your chakra volume so enormous?"
Kiyohara raised another question.
His current sensory ability was very strong, and he could also feel that Red-Horn Kiyohara's chakra reserves were huge.
Although their clan's chakra reserves were considered large among ninja clans and could be compared to some Senju clan members, this was still far too much.
By Kiyohara's estimate, Red-Horn Kiyohara's chakra reserves were close to over twenty Kakashi units.
If he inherited Red-Horn Kiyohara's full chakra reserves, his own chakra amount would almost approach the complete Nine-Tails.
"Besides the Six Paths Ninja Tools, I also possess part of the Nine-Tails' chakra."
Red-Horn Kiyohara said calmly.
He snapped his fingers, and a pale-red, bubbling Tailed Beast Cloak instantly covered his body.
"This is the Nine-Tails'…!"
Kiyohara's eyes widened slightly.
He had almost forgotten that Kinkaku and Ginkaku's clan had an extremely special constitution.
If the Uchiha clan inherited the so-called "Sage's eyes," and the Senju clan inherited the "Sage's body," then Kinkaku and Ginkaku's clan had undoubtedly inherited the Sage of Six Paths' stomach, or perhaps his devouring ability.
After being swallowed by the Nine-Tails, they had gained the Nine-Tails' chakra simply by eating its flesh.
Even after they died and were brought back by Impure World Reincarnation, they could still use that chakra.
And after obtaining this power, they were not even affected by the tailed beast's will.
Gaining chakra by eating it was extremely rare in the entire shinobi world.
Whether Naruto, Kushina, or the first Nine-Tails jinchūriki Uzumaki Mito, all of them were inseparable from "sealing."
It was equivalent to opening a dedicated chakra space for a tailed beast inside the body and establishing a connection.
The jinchūriki could then use the tailed beast's chakra through that connection.
However, this space was unstable and could be influenced from the outside.
Once the tailed beast's chakra was extracted, the jinchūriki would die.
By the late stages of the Shinobi World War, there were far too many methods to extract tailed beasts during battle.
That was why Kiyohara had never considered sealing a tailed beast inside himself.
Aside from the Ten-Tails, the power of the One-Tail through the Nine-Tails seemed to Kiyohara to do more harm than good.
Otherwise, Uchiha Madara would not have chosen to use the Nine-Tails as a summoned beast instead of sealing it inside himself as a chakra battery pack.
Kiyohara's future use of dragon vein chakra was also planned through external methods.
If he obtained Red-Horn Kiyohara's devouring power, wouldn't he be able to consume large amounts of dragon vein chakra or other tailed beast chakra and continuously gain strength?
Judging from the original story, their own cells seemed capable of continuously producing tailed beast chakra.
Thinking this, Kiyohara's gaze became a little hotter.
From this perspective, the artificial tailed beast plan really needed to be strengthened.
He should quickly complete the dragon vein container, then devour that container and thereby make that power usable for himself.
"Then how did you die?"
Kiyohara immediately raised his greatest doubt.
Since Red-Horn Kiyohara had some of the Nine-Tails' chakra, how had he died?
Red-Horn Kiyohara's brows furrowed slightly.
"I went to the moon and fought Ōtsutsuki Toneri's father. In the end… I narrowly lost."
Kiyohara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The moon? You know the location of the passage to the moon?"
"I do."
Red-Horn Kiyohara nodded.
"It's within the Land of Fire, in an extremely remote place. Beneath a valley there, a passage to the moon is hidden."
Hearing this, Kiyohara immediately recalled the plot of the movie.
The moon.
The Ōtsutsuki clan.
The giant Tenseigan.
Toneri.
Those words flashed quickly through his mind.
"How strong was his father?"
"Decent, but he should have been weaker than Toneri."
Red-Horn Kiyohara said.
Ōtsutsuki Toneri was the moon's Ōtsutsuki clan member with the purest bloodline.
In that regard, neither his father nor the members of the Ōtsutsuki main family could compare to Toneri.
After all, the moon branch was only descended from the line of Hamura Ōtsutsuki, the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths. They were not true Ōtsutsuki.
"I see."
Kiyohara calculated the timing. The current Ōtsutsuki Toneri should only be a few years old.
In a while, he would secretly descend from the moon to Earth with his father to look for a wife.
Hinata, whose Byakugan purity was extremely high, caught their attention, which led to the movie's plot.
"Then what is your final wish?"
"Go back to Kumogakure once."
Kiyohara froze. He had not expected this wish to be so simple.
He was in Kumogakure right now.
Suddenly, Kiyohara seemed to realize something and looked at the urn where Red-Horn Kiyohara had emerged.
Sure enough, there was a Kumogakure mark on it, with a slash through it.
It was the mark of a rogue ninja.
"That's all?"
"Yes."
Red-Horn Kiyohara nodded.
"Although I didn't take part in Kinkaku and Ginkaku's coup, I later still had a conflict with the village and eventually defected, becoming a rogue ninja."
Red-Horn Kiyohara explained to Kiyohara that he had not gone back to look at the village in a very long time, so this counted as a small lingering obsession.
Kiyohara nodded.
"This is very simple. I'm currently in Kumogakure."
Red-Horn Kiyohara's eyes widened slightly.
Then he emerged from Kiyohara's body.
A semi-transparent illusory figure appeared in the room where only Kiyohara was present.
He turned his head, as if sensing something.
"It really is… Kumogakure's aura… I remember this smell."
Kiyohara also withdrew from his mind.
This final wish was truly simple. Kiyohara had practically speedrun it.
A light orb floated out from Red-Horn Kiyohara and merged into Kiyohara's body.
In that instant, Kiyohara's cellular activity began rising continuously.
Kiyohara frowned slightly. This time, he felt that his physical energy had increased far more than his spiritual energy.
A stabbing pain came from deep within his bones, constantly stimulating him, as if something were growing outward from his marrow.
The veins at Kiyohara's temples bulged slightly.
At the same time, the skin on both sides of his forehead began to swell, and two black horns slowly pushed out, a whole section longer than when they had first awakened.
His skin also began turning red, as if he had been soaked in boiling water. White steam rose from his pores.
That steam grew denser and denser, forming a thin layer of white vapor around him and enveloping his entire body.
After about ten minutes, the white steam gradually dispersed.
Kiyohara opened his eyes and lowered his head, looking at his hands.
He slowly clenched his fists, his fingers making cracking sounds.
A sense of fullness and power radiated from the inside out.
"Whew…"
Kiyohara exhaled.
The breath he released even blasted a small pit into the ground.
At the same time, a large amount of taijutsu skill and Lightning Release ninjutsu flooded into his mind.
For example, Lightning Release: Shockwave, which turned Lightning Release chakra into a high-frequency vibrating waveform released from the palm, instantly paralyzing an opponent's nervous system.
And Supersonic Vibration Lightning Blade, which infused Lightning Release chakra into a blade and used ultra-high-frequency vibration to grant the blade near-indestructible cutting power.
Kiyohara closed his eyes, digested the information one by one, then opened them again.
"Then…"
Kiyohara decided to conduct an experiment.
He took a blue scroll from the sealing scroll at his waist, unfolded it, and undid the sealing formula on it.
Above the scroll floated a small piece of Three-Tails flesh, only the size of a fingernail.
This was a portion of Three-Tails flesh he had extracted from Nohara Rin's body. Originally, it was meant to be used for artificial tailed beast experiments.
For the Three-Tails' enormous body, this tiny piece of flesh could recover in the blink of an eye.
"If I swallow this now, will I gain the Three-Tails' chakra?"
Kiyohara looked at Red-Horn Kiyohara floating beside him.
That semi-transparent phantom had his arms crossed, his fiery-red hair swaying slightly.
"You can, but you'll need to adapt."
Red-Horn Kiyohara said calmly.
"The more chakra there is, the longer the adaptation time needed. I took a long time to adapt to the Nine-Tails' chakra before I could use it freely. As for the Three-Tails… with your current constitution, it should be much faster."
Red-Horn Kiyohara paused, his gaze falling on Kiyohara.
"However, you have my bloodline and life force on the level of Hashirama cells. Even if you fail, you can force the tailed beast chakra out of your body and won't suffer lasting side effects."
Kiyohara nodded.
He had the same idea, which was why he planned to start the experiment directly.
Even if he failed, he would not be harmed much.
The next moment, Kiyohara sent that piece of flesh into his mouth.
The Three-Tails' chakra transformed into countless violent torrents, charging wildly in all directions from his stomach.
But Kiyohara's cells were even more dominant.
Those cells, repeatedly tempered by Ōtsutsuki bloodline, White Snake cells, and multiple kekkei genkai, began automatically suppressing the Three-Tails' chakra the instant they sensed foreign chakra invading.
Dark-red markings appeared on Kiyohara's skin. These were the traces left by the Three-Tails' chakra moving through his chakra pathways.
Those markings began at his abdomen, spread up along his torso, climbed his neck, crawled over his cheeks, and finally gathered around his eyes.
In that instant, both his eyes changed at the same time. His left eye revealed the pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan, while his right eye became the pale-white Byakugan.
Two kinds of ocular power surged out simultaneously and collided with the Three-Tails' chakra.
The Three-Tails chakra's counterattack rapidly weakened.
Those wild torrents began becoming docile. They slowly flowed through his chakra pathways, eventually merging into his cells and fusing with his own chakra.
Kiyohara opened his eyes.
He raised his right hand, palm facing upward.
A water sphere formed from Water Release chakra floated above his palm.
"My boost to Water Release ninjutsu seems to have increased a little?"
Kiyohara stroked his chin.
The reason Nohara Rin's Water Release was so strong was the enhancement from the Three-Tails' chakra.
He had not completely adapted to the Three-Tails' chakra immediately.
But in terms of Water Release ninjutsu, he seemed to have received a decent boost.
"Not bad."
Red-Horn Kiyohara looked at the chakra sphere in his palm, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.
"Much faster than I imagined."
He looked Kiyohara up and down, his gaze moving between Kiyohara's forehead horns and the chakra in his palm.
"Your constitution… really is stronger than mine. If I'd had a body like yours back then, perhaps I wouldn't have lost to Toneri's father."
Red-Horn Kiyohara said.
At the earliest stage of adaptation, there should have been no reaction at all.
Now Kiyohara's Water Release ninjutsu had already received a boost, which meant he had adapted to part of it.
Kiyohara withdrew the chakra and moved his shoulders.
"If you were swallowed into a tailed beast's stomach, your adaptation speed should be even faster."
Red-Horn Kiyohara added, his tone carrying a trace of regret.
"There are no wild tailed beasts now."
Kiyohara shook his head.
The nine tailed beasts currently all had their own jinchūriki.
So-called complete tailed beast transformation was only the jinchūriki using tailed beast chakra to condense a temporary physical form. In essence, it was still the jinchūriki controlling it, not the tailed beast's true body.
Wanting to be swallowed into the Nine-Tails' stomach and chew on its flesh like Kinkaku and Ginkaku was almost impossible in this era.
"It looks like your timeline is later than mine."
Red-Horn Kiyohara lowered his head and looked at his body. The semi-transparent phantom was slowly fading.
"What is your second wish?"
Kiyohara looked at him and asked.
Red-Horn Kiyohara raised his head. His dark eyes reflected Kiyohara's figure.
"Go to the moon."
Red-Horn Kiyohara answered immediately.
"I lost to Ōtsutsuki Toneri's father, so naturally I'm unwilling."
Kiyohara nodded slightly.
This wish was both difficult and simple.
Ōtsutsuki Toneri's father had already contributed his Byakugan and merged it into the giant Tenseigan on the moon. His own strength was far inferior to his son Toneri's.
If Ōtsutsuki Toneri were prevented from using the giant Tenseigan, he should not be Kiyohara's opponent.
"I understand."
Kiyohara said.
The corner of Red-Horn Kiyohara's mouth curved upward, and he looked out the window for a while.
Then his entire body transformed into a streak of light and sank back into the urn inside Kiyohara's mind.
The lid closed, and the Kumogakure rogue-ninja mark on it lit up in the darkness for a moment before falling silent again.
As usual, Kiyohara added a layer of sealing chains outside his mental space, habitually protecting his privacy.
This had already become Kiyohara's habit. He did it for every future version of himself.
After all, even his future selves might stab him in the back. Kiyohara could not afford to be careless.
Moreover, Kiyohara did not want to be disturbed or seen doing certain things.
After finishing all this, Kiyohara continued adapting to his power for a while.
This time, his chakra reserves had increased quite a lot as well, making his chakra even thicker.
Then Kiyohara walked to Tsunade's room.
Tsunade was lying on the bed, her blanket only covering up to her waist, revealing her fair, beautiful back.
Her golden hair was scattered across the pillow, a few strands hanging over the bed's edge.
Beneath the blanket were high, full curves. Even through the thin fabric, the rich, rounded outline was visible.
Kiyohara sat by the bed and reached out, pressing his palm against her back.
Tsunade's eyelashes trembled, but she did not open her eyes.
She sensed Kiyohara's chakra immediately. She merely let out a vague hum, her body arching slightly as she instinctively rubbed toward him.
Kiyohara leaned down.
…
Half the night passed.
The moonlight had shifted to the other side of the room.
Tsunade lay on Kiyohara's chest, her golden hair scattered across his arm and the pillow. Her cheek was pressed against him, and her fingertips drew unknown patterns on his chest.
"Why do I feel like I've gotten weaker?"
In the darkness, Tsunade suddenly spoke.
She propped herself up slightly. Her brown-gold eyes glistened in the moonlight, and her gaze fell on Kiyohara's face with a trace of confusion.
Yesterday's Kiyohara had clearly not been this intense.
If she had to describe it, it was like he had unlocked a new gear.
"I recently gained some insight into Yin-Yang Release."
Kiyohara said casually, his tone calm.
"A genius's life is just this simple and unadorned."
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him and lay back on his chest.
"By the way, Teacher, do you want to train in senjutsu?"
Kiyohara lowered his head and looked at her.
A cursed seal was essentially a lower substitute for senjutsu, allowing the user to gain the support of natural energy for a short time.
But true Sage Mode, whether in amplification or stability, was far beyond anything a cursed seal could compare to.
In the past, Tsunade's chakra reserves were actually not especially enormous.
Her strength relied more on the chakra stored over many years in the Yin Seal, as well as her extreme precision in chakra control.
But such a foundation was far from enough to cultivate senjutsu. Absorbing and balancing natural energy required a sufficiently deep chakra pool as the foundation.
The first prerequisite for anyone cultivating Sage Mode was having a large amount of chakra. The more chakra one had, the less likely they were to be devoured by the power of nature.
The second requirement was learning how to absorb natural energy and control it to refine senjutsu chakra.
Kiyohara really wanted to experience what Tsunade in Sage Mode would be like.
After all, Sage Mode greatly amplified physical strength and raised control over every part of the body to a new level.
If Tsunade could master it…
"I can't learn it."
Tsunade shook her head.
"I tried before in Shikkotsu Forest. I don't have the talent. I trained for a while, but Lady Katsuyu said the chakra in my body wasn't enough to suppress natural energy. Forcing it would only backfire."
"Just because it didn't work in the past doesn't mean it won't work now."
Kiyohara's words carried implication.
Tsunade froze, then seemed to realize something. She closed her eyes and began trying to sense the natural energy in the air.
A moment later, Tsunade felt that the natural energy that had once been violent and difficult to capture had become much clearer in her perception.
More importantly, when she tried guiding a small strand of natural energy into her body, her chakra actually suppressed it steadily, without the near-loss-of-control she had felt in the past.
"This is…"
Tsunade opened her eyes, her brown-gold gaze full of confusion.
She lowered her head and looked at her hands, then raised her head and looked at Kiyohara.
Kiyohara only smiled faintly without speaking.
While she was still puzzled, she suddenly raised her hand and touched her still-warm lower abdomen. Then she immediately realized.
That was the location from which chakra was spreading through her body, bit by bit nourishing her chakra pathways and cells.
Kiyohara's cells.
The village had once researched her grandfather's cells. Although she hated those experimental records, she still knew a bit about them.
Her grandfather's cells possessed astonishing vitality and invasiveness, able to change the host's constitution after transplantation.
And Kiyohara, like her grandfather, had awakened Wood Release.
His cells similarly possessed special characteristics.
In fact, because the owner of those cells was still alive, this power was gentler and more controllable than her grandfather's cells.
"So, for Teacher's growth, please keep working hard."
Kiyohara's voice came from above her head, carrying a hint of amusement.
Before Tsunade could react, he had already turned over above her.
Under the moonlight, Tsunade's low cry was blocked between their lips, leaving only the soft sound of wind and rain.
......
Over the next few days, Kiyohara stayed in the Land of Lightning.
He took the Anbu ninja to inspect several locations around Kumogakure and ultimately chose a mineral-rich valley as the site of the military base.
That valley was located about two days northwest of Kumogakure. It was surrounded by mountains on all sides, with dangerous terrain that was easy to defend and hard to attack.
Deep within the valley was a relatively flat open area, enough to accommodate several hundred ninja for stationing and training.
More importantly, the rock layers in that valley contained an extremely special kind of ore.
Kiyohara stood at an exposed section of the vein, holding a sample freshly knocked from the rock wall.
The ore had a strange texture somewhere between metal and biological tissue.
Its surface was dark silver. Touching it did not give the cold hardness of metal, but rather a soft feeling, like some kind of solidified flesh.
This ore was not common in the shinobi world, and its uses were relatively niche.
It could not be used to forge sharp ninja tools because it was not hard enough.
But its defining traits were strong flexibility and decent chakra storage capability.
After smelting this ore and drawing it into fine threads, then weaving it into a mesh and lining the inside of chainmail, one could greatly improve armor flexibility and comfort without adding much weight.
Beneath the heavy armor worn by the samurai of the Land of Iron, there was often such a layer of inner armor, allowing them to maintain agility on the battlefield.
Most of the annual production of this ore from the Land of Lightning was exported to the Land of Iron.
Kiyohara placed the ore back on the ground and brushed the debris from his hands.
Kiyohara also planned to use this material as one of the materials for the artificial tailed beast.
"This place."
He turned and spoke to the Anbu ninja behind him.
That afternoon, Kiyohara signed the formal agreement with Kumogakure.
The military base's site, scale, number of stationed troops, command authority—all terms were settled in black and white.
Konoha would send twenty Anbu ninja to be permanently stationed here, responsible for the base's daily operations and the management of mining nearby mineral veins.
Kumogakure would provide the base's infrastructure construction and logistics supply, while assisting in maintaining public order in the surrounding area.
The wording of the agreement was beautiful, full of phrases like "joint development" and "mutual benefit."
But everyone knew very well that this was a knife Kiyohara had stabbed into the heart of the Land of Lightning.
On the night the agreement was signed, Samui lay in her own room.
Moonlight shone through the window and fell across her crossed knees.
She was wrapped in a bathrobe, her short blond hair still somewhat damp, clearly having just bathed.
Just as Samui was worrying about where the Land of Lightning would go from here, there was suddenly a sound at the window.
Samui's body stiffened slightly, but soon relaxed again.
In all of Kumogakure, only one person could appear in her room so silently.
Kiyohara slowly walked up to Samui.
"Samui, don't forget what I instructed you to do."
Kiyohara said calmly.
Samui's eyelashes trembled. She bit her lower lip, then rose from her chair and knelt on one knee before Kiyohara, lowering her head.
Her damp blond hair slid from her shoulder, revealing the fair nape of her neck.
"Yes."
Her voice was low, but very clear.
Kiyohara took a Flying Thunder God kunai from his sleeve.
He handed the kunai to Samui.
"Place it somewhere suitable."
Samui received the Flying Thunder God kunai with both hands.
"I understand."
She said softly.
Kiyohara looked at her, nodded, then turned and left.
This chess piece had already been planted.
Samui's status in the original story was decent, so she should be able to infiltrate Kumogakure's upper levels.
......
Several months later.
Konohagakure.
The Hyūga clan's main family residence was decorated with lanterns and streamers, the entire estate filled with festive joy.
Today was the one-month celebration for the eldest daughter of the Hyūga main family, Hyūga Hinata.
After all, she was the first child of Hyūga clan head Hyūga Hiashi, so the scale of the event was not small.
Although the Hyūga clan's position in Konoha was not as prominent as the Uchiha or Senju, as a prestigious family possessing one of the Three Great Dōjutsu, the Byakugan, their connections and foundation were still deep.
Representatives from every major clan came to offer congratulations. The hall was filled with all kinds of gifts, from ninja tools to medicinal herbs, from fabrics to porcelain, dazzling in variety.
Kiyohara naturally also received an invitation and came here.
Today, he was not wearing his iconic Hokage robe. Instead, he wore a relatively formal black crested haori.
His black hair was tied behind him with a silver cord. The strands falling over his forehead covered part of his brows and eyes, making him look like a young nobleman from some family.
Hyūga Natsu had been waiting at the gate early. Seeing Kiyohara's figure, she quickly came to greet him.
The white sash around her waist was tied tightly, outlining her slender waist and the full curve of her chest.
"Hokage-sama."
Hyūga Natsu bowed slightly, her voice soft and respectful.
She led Kiyohara through the corridor into the hall and stopped beside the main seat.
"Please sit."
Kiyohara sat down.
Hyūga Natsu knelt beside him, holding the teapot with both hands and pouring him a cup of tea.
Kiyohara lifted the teacup, took a sip, and let his gaze fall on the hall.
Hyūga Hiashi was holding a small swaddle and exchanging pleasantries with several clan leaders who had come to congratulate him.
The baby in the swaddle showed only a small face, eyes closed, small mouth slightly open, breathing steadily.
A few strands of dark-blue newborn hair peeked from the edge of the swaddle, softly clinging to her forehead.
This was the woman with the purest Byakugan in the shinobi world, Hyūga Hinata.
Kiyohara set down the teacup.
Hyūga Hiashi had clearly also noticed Kiyohara's gaze. After excusing himself from those clan leaders, he carried Hinata over.
"Hokage-sama."
He stopped before Kiyohara and bowed slightly.
Hinata in his arms was startled by the motion and began crying softly.
"Let me see."
Kiyohara reached out.
Hyūga Hiashi hesitated for one second, but still handed the swaddle over.
Kiyohara took Hinata and lowered his head to look at that wrinkled little face.
He raised his hand and sent a gentle stream of chakra into Hinata.
Hinata, who had been crying softly, immediately stopped and instead opened her big eyes to look at Kiyohara.
Kiyohara observed carefully and found that Hinata's Byakugan purity was indeed exceptional.
He was very curious. If he gave Hinata his own chakra from childhood, could she awaken the Tenseigan on her own?
After all, after inheriting some of Red-Horn Kiyohara's constitution, Kiyohara had grown closer and closer to an Ōtsutsuki.
The nature of his own chakra had also been affected and could promote the evolution of the Byakugan.
"This child will surely lead the Hyūga clan to new heights in the future."
Kiyohara raised his head and looked at Hyūga Hiashi.
Hearing this, a flash of joy appeared in Hiashi's eyes.
Kiyohara had already agreed to accept Hinata as a student. These words clearly indicated that he was willing to deepen his connection with the Hyūga clan and truly put this master-student relationship into practice.
Although the Hyūga clan had no small reputation, within Konoha's power core, they had always lacked a sufficiently powerful backer.
If Hinata could become a student Kiyohara truly treated sincerely, the Hyūga clan's status would become completely different.
"May your words come true, Hokage-sama."
Hyūga Hiashi raised a cup of wine with both hands and toasted Kiyohara.
Kiyohara picked up his teacup and lightly touched it against his.
After the banquet ended, Kiyohara took his leave.
Hyūga Natsu escorted him to the gate, moonlight falling on her body.
"Hokage-sama, please take care."
She bowed slightly. Her long hair slipped from her shoulder and hung in front of her chest.
After several years, Hyūga Natsu could still remember the afternoon when she first met Kiyohara.
Who would have known that the unremarkable youth back then would achieve such greatness in the future?
Kiyohara nodded and turned to walk outside.
He had not gone far when a small figure darted out from the shadow of a roadside tree.
Uchiha Izumi.
Today, she wore a pale-pink Uchiha robe, with a small flame fan family crest embroidered on the sleeves.
Her peach-blossom eyes instantly brightened when she saw Kiyohara. Even the small beauty mark at the corner of her eye lifted slightly with her smile.
"Kiyohara-sensei!"
She ran up to Kiyohara, looking up at him with a bright smile.
Because she had run too fast, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her chest rose and fell lightly.
Kiyohara stopped and lowered his head, looking at the little radish before him.
He reached out and placed his hand on Uchiha Izumi's head, gently rubbing it.
"Izumi."
"Mm!"
Uchiha Izumi nodded, her entire body radiating the happiness of "Teacher touched my head."
Kiyohara rubbed for a while, then withdrew his hand.
Because he felt this student of his was clingier than expected.
For this, Kiyohara could only evaluate that the Uchiha clan had excessively abundant emotions.
That was why they produced all sorts of lunatics.
"You're about to have final exams, right?"
"Yes!"
Uchiha Izumi nodded again, her ponytail swaying gently with the movement.
"I hope you get a good result. These are some notes I wrote before."
Kiyohara thought for a moment and took out a notebook he had written when he was still weak from his sealing scroll.
These were insights he had obtained from the rogue-ninja Kiyohara back then, and even today, they were not outdated.
Uchiha Izumi accepted the scroll and held it carefully.
"I'll definitely do well! I absolutely won't disappoint Teacher!"
A small flame burned in Uchiha Izumi's peach-blossom eyes.
Looking at her like this, the corner of Kiyohara's mouth lifted slightly.
Uchiha Izumi's talent had actually always been underestimated.
In the original story, she awakened the Sharingan earlier than Uchiha Itachi.
Such aptitude was rare even in the entire history of the Uchiha clan.
She was also currently the woman Kiyohara had met who awakened her eyes the earliest.
My student has the bearing of a Mangekyō user.
If Kiyohara supplemented Uchiha Izumi's Yang Release chakra in the future, he believed she had a real chance to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
However, Kiyohara did not want to help Izumi reach that level by transplanting Hashirama cells. That would be too ugly.
The power of the White Snake could achieve a similar effect.
Over these years, Kiyohara had been cultivating his own faction.
The Anbu ninja were only the outermost layer of power. The true core consisted of these students he had personally accepted.
He never accepted mediocre students. Once these children grew up one by one, a vast net covering the entire shinobi world would quietly be woven in his hands.
In the future, even if something changed, he would not need to handle everything personally.
Thinking this, he smiled and took Uchiha Izumi's small hand.
"Come. Your teacher will accompany you to the Third Training Ground and practice with you for a while. Let me see whether you've fallen behind in your recent training."
Uchiha Izumi blinked. Before she could react, she and Kiyohara had already arrived at the Third Training Ground.
...…
The Third Training Ground.
Kiyohara stood in the open area. Uchiha Izumi stood opposite him, holding a practice kunai with both hands. Her little face was full of seriousness.
"Come. Attack me at your fastest speed."
"Then I'm coming, Kiyohara-sensei."
Uchiha Izumi took a deep breath, then charged forward.
Her speed was already outstanding among her peers. The kunai spun once in her hand and stabbed toward Kiyohara from the right.
Bang!
Kiyohara extended a finger and directly blocked the kunai.
Uchiha Izumi was startled. She had not expected Teacher to be completely unharmed by a kunai.
Then she used the momentum of her charge, lowered her body, and swept the kunai upward toward Kiyohara.
Facing Uchiha Izumi's new attack, Kiyohara easily dealt with it.
Izumi's speed was indeed very fast.
Kiyohara guessed it was because her own talent was good. In terms of speed, she was even stronger than Itachi.
Uchiha Itachi's talent was stronger in genjutsu.
In terms of speed, Kiyohara felt that Uchiha Izumi was somewhat similar to Uchiha Shisui.
Should he teach Izumi the Phantom Body Flicker Technique?
Kiyohara pondered while dealing with Izumi's attacks.
If Izumi learned that technique, her speed would probably become even faster.
"Teacher is so… powerful."
Uchiha Izumi's heart was full of worship.
At the Ninja Academy, her speed could toy with those classmates.
But facing Kiyohara, it was completely insignificant.
So she continued refining even more chakra and pouring it into her arms.
In an instant, she swung the kunai repeatedly, bringing whistling wind with each strike.
But throughout the entire process, Kiyohara was not touched by Izumi even once.
His hands remained hanging at his sides, and he had not even moved his feet.
"That's enough, Izumi."
When Kiyohara saw that Izumi was about to run out of stamina, he took the initiative to stop her.
Uchiha Izumi braced both hands on her knees and gasped for breath.
"I… I can't…"
Her voice came in fragments. Her peach-blossom eyes were covered with a layer of moisture, though it was unclear whether it was sweat or something else.
Kiyohara walked up to her, crouched down, and extended his hand, sending in a stream of chakra.
"You've already done very well."
Kiyohara said.
"Your speed and reactions are already top-tier among people your age."
Uchiha Izumi raised her head, and light returned to her eyes.
"Really?"
"Really."
Kiyohara nodded.
A big smile bloomed on Uchiha Izumi's face, as if she had received the best gift in the world.
She sniffed hard, stood straight, and gripped the wooden kunai again.
"Teacher, one more time!"
Kiyohara looked at her, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Hokage-sama, the materials you requested are ready…"
An Anbu appeared in front of Kiyohara.
"I understand."
Kiyohara raised a hand and interrupted the Anbu ninja.
Seeing this, the Anbu ninja withdrew on his own.
Uchiha Izumi looked pitifully at Kiyohara, thinking he was about to leave.
"Izumi, come."
Kiyohara said.
There was no harm in continuing to spend a little time strengthening the bond between teacher and student.