"I do."
Kiyoshi smiled.
"...Mm."
Rin Nohara didn't quite dare to look at Kiyoshi. She quickly lowered her head and ate her meal in silence.
"By the way, Kushina, when will Lord Minato return to the village?"
Kiyoshi picked up a piece of meat and asked nonchalantly. Kushina's cooking was actually quite good; Minato Namikaze loved it. She was like an upgraded version of Sakura—lively yet high in emotional intelligence, skillful, and unlike Sakura, she wouldn't do something like make a soldier pill taste terrible.
"Minato... I don't know."
A trace of loneliness flickered in Kushina's eyes. Since the war broke out, Minato Namikaze hadn't returned to the village. Naturally, the two of them hadn't seen each other. Although some conflicts had built up in the past, Kushina still longed to see him deep down.
"Minato is doing it to achieve his dream. When he comes back, he might even run for Hokage!"
Kushina wasn't the type of woman to dwell in sorrow; she quickly looked at things from an optimistic perspective.
"Hokage, huh."
Kiyoshi's eyes flickered, but he said nothing more. Kushina was right; during this war, Minato Namikaze's title, the Yellow Flash, would pierce through the Third Great Ninja War, earning him immense personal prestige. Unfortunately, that wasn't the deciding factor.
In terms of battlefield contribution, the scouting ability of the Hyuga clan's Byakugan was unrivaled. In terms of tracking enemies, the Inuzuka clan's olfactory secret techniques were invaluable. The Yamanaka clan's intelligence transmission, the Nara clan's provision of medicinal herbs... these clans all had outstanding elites.
Yet, why was only Minato Namikaze given such weight? The answer was simple: his background was clean, and he was Jiraiya's disciple!
If you trace the lineage, you'll find that Minato Namikaze was part of the Hokage faction from start to finish—in fact, every Hokage was! The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was the biological brother of the First, Hashirama Senju. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the Second's disciple. Minato, who became the Fourth in the original story, was Hiruzen's grand-disciple. Because Jiraiya was Hiruzen's disciple.
The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, goes without saying—the First's granddaughter and the Third's disciple. By the time of the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi, he was the Fourth's disciple. The Seventh Hokage, Naruto, had even deeper connections. In a sense, he was the same person as the First—both being reincarnations of Asura. He had deep ties with every Hokage except the Second; he was truly "red and expert."
Only the Acting Hokage would be an outsider, like the 7.5th Hokage, Shikamaru Nara. After Naruto was sealed in *Boruto*, Shikamaru served as Acting Hokage, though without a formal position, counting as only half a Hokage.
In summary, if you don't have background or nepotism, don't even bother competing for Hokage. The other clans are just too far removed. As for the Uchiha? They were just trash by the roadside; they should stay exactly where they were told.
"I'm going to become Hokage, too!"
Obito, who was eating, suddenly let out an excited shout. He hadn't realized at all that as an Uchiha, wanting to be Hokage was a fool's dream.
Of course, Kiyoshi wasn't interested in these politics. He only craved for himself to become incomparably powerful and master his own destiny. To those at the Six Paths level, positions like Hokage or Mizukage were laughable.
Only power was eternal. Only after becoming a Six Paths level existence, or even surpassing it, would Kiyoshi stop to rest for a moment before continuing forward.
"Idiot," Kakashi said venomously. No matter the time, Obito never seemed to grow more steady.
"Good luck, Obito! Minato-sensei is very strong!"
The gentle Rin Nohara comforted and encouraged Obito as usual. The atmosphere at the table gradually became lively.
An hour later, everyone began leaving Kushina's house. Through this meal, the distance between Kiyoshi and Kushina had narrowed slightly. After all, the previous conflict hadn't been fully resolved, leaving a minor rift between them. It just lacked a spark to ignite it.
'Kannabi Bridge is coming soon.'
Before leaving, Kiyoshi took a look at Rin, who was talking with Kakashi. Rin's breaking point was already right in front of her. She would naturally end up begging him for help.
...
Evening.
The night breeze blew through Kiyoshi's courtyard; the previously dense weeds had been completely cleared away. This was easily accomplished using Wind Style ninjutsu. It could be said that ninjutsu was changing lives.
"Please."
Kiyoshi poured a cup of tea for Rin.
"Thank you," Rin thanked him politely. "Kiyoshi, I want to ask... is that training really useful?"
A hint of doubt had arisen in Rin. Her training with Kiyoshi had been going on for a long time. She was no longer a child who knew nothing.
"Of course it's useful."
Kiyoshi drank a cup of tea, a smile on his lips. This "account" was almost fully leveled. He then said calmly: "Do you feel a heat throughout your body? And has it been getting harder to suppress lately?"
"Yes," Rin said suspiciously.
Her talent in medical ninjutsu was high; she learned everything quickly. Hospital already regarded her as one of their geniuses. Another genius was Kiyoshi.
She realized that, theoretically, this method could barely manage to accelerate another person's comprehension of [Lightning] style. She had believed in it originally, but after seeing Kiyoshi with that blonde woman... Just thinking about it made Rin involuntarily rub her legs together.
"This is because I'm using a new type of technique."
A black chakra glow ignited at Kiyoshi's fingertips. It was the effect of performing [Dark Medical Ninjutsu]. Initially, having Rin accept his chakra was only to let her adapt to it. Once Kiyoshi obtained Moryo's power, he began consciously accelerating the changes in Rin.
"I know a jutsu that can stimulate human potential. What you're feeling now is a normal phenomenon. Didn't I tell you that in the tent last time?" Kiyoshi said indifferently. During the time on the front lines, Rin had asked him several times, and Kiyoshi had brushed her off each time.
"Really?"
"Really," Kiyoshi said with a straight face. He wasn't lying; [Dark Medical Ninjutsu] did have such capabilities. It just came with a price. For example, becoming addicted to Kiyoshi's chakra. That was Rin's cells craving evolution. After all, under Kiyoshi's deliberate control, those tiny doses wouldn't diminish Rin's life force at all.
"Come, let's continue our previous training. How can one slack off on the path of cultivation?"
Kiyoshi reached out his hand. He decided to increase the dose for Rin.
Rin was silent for a moment. Thinking of Kakashi's indifference when killing on the battlefield, she chose to reach out her hand. If this continued, Kakashi would go astray and sink deeper and deeper. She had to spend more time with Kakashi to set him straight.
*Sizzle...*
Electric arcs danced gently. The lightning illuminated the faces of Kiyoshi and Rin. From time to time, rising and falling blue lights shone from within the inner room.
***
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