"Kiyoshi, it is very good that you have such resolve."
Fugaku nodded, a hint of a smile appearing on his usually majestic and stern face. There was no harm in comparison—Kiyoshi's proactive attitude left him thoroughly satisfied.
"I... I'll go too."
Seeing Kiyoshi be the first to step up, Uchiha Tekka thought to himself that he couldn't let the Uchiha name fall behind, so he immediately raised his hand. With the first and second setting the stage, a third, fourth, and soon many more followed... Every Uchiha present raised their hand.
Even the anti-war faction among the Uchiha understood the logic of mutual dependence. Dojutsu clans had to have a consensus: protect their respective "eyes" at all costs! Once the Byakugan was completely leaked and circulated in the ninja world, the Uchiha's Sharingan would become the next target.
After all, Kakashi was still a Leaf ninja, the son of the White Fang. That was an entirely different concept from leaking the eyes to another village. In the latter case, the obtained Byakugan would become a tool for the enemy to strike back at Leaf!
"Kiyoshi, you didn't actually have to do this."
Once the headcount was finished and everyone sat back down, Mikoto turned her head toward Kiyoshi, showing her gentle profile.
"It's no trouble, Sister Mikoto. I want to make a name for myself in the clan. I'm not a child anymore," Kiyoshi said with a bright smile.
Mikoto looked at him, feeling that Kiyoshi was perhaps a bit too simple. However, being able to maintain one's true colors in the murky waters of the ninja world was no easy feat. Thinking of this, Mikoto felt a surge of maternal affection and a bit of heartache.
The scene of Kiyoshi standing on a chair to prepare tea for her and Nonō was still vivid in her memory. This child must have put in so much effort just to gain the recognition of others.
"Fine. Everyone go home and rest early tonight. Those on the list will gather at the settlement gate at five in the morning."
Fugaku scribbled down a list based on each person's personality and strength. Aside from the Uchiha going to support the Hyuga, there would be other ninja clans and commoner ninjas involved. The Uchiha also had to leave a certain number of members in the Leaf Military Police Force to maintain daily order in the village.
This was their duty. Since the prison also fell under the jurisdiction of the Military Police, prisoners were most likely to harbor ill intentions during wartime, so caution was paramount. Only the most heinous criminals would be sent to the international prison established in the Land of Grass.
Of course, by then, a ninja's skills would be stripped to prevent the leaking of village secrets. One could say that once locked in Hozuki Castle, there was no coming out—serving a life sentence there was a truly harsh punishment.
Under the moonlight, the clan members filed out. Kiyoshi merged into the crowd, following them. Unlike other clan members whose faces were filled with worry about whether they could return alive, Kiyoshi's expression was much calmer, and deep in his eyes, there was even a sense of anticipation.
Now that he had obtained the power of Senjutsu, what better place than a battlefield to familiarize himself with it?
***
The eternal sun baked the rolling mountains, making the air feel scorched. After traveling for several days in the high heat, the Uchiha unit led by Fugaku finally arrived at the southern front.
The air here was slightly more humid than the heart of the Land of Fire, yet it still carried a muggy heat. Many clan members remained armored for safety, their undershirts soaked with sweat.
Mikoto's ninja vest was drenched in fragrant sweat, and a few strands of her smooth black hair clung to her forehead.
"Why isn't Kiyoshi sweating at all?" She lightly wiped away some perspiration.
Up ahead, Fugaku was negotiating with the Hyuga ninjas at this outpost while all the Uchiha ninjas stood guard. Catching a glimpse, she noticed Kiyoshi was busy playing with a small pet snake.
As Mikoto walked closer, she inexplicably felt much cooler near him. It was as if the air around Kiyoshi was constantly flowing. It wasn't exactly a breeze, but something she couldn't quite name.
"Set up the tents. We move out for the mission in half an hour."
Fugaku finished his negotiation and informed the Uchiha unit to settle in. This half-hour was for both setup and rest. On the front lines, every second counted.
While Kiyoshi helped his clansmen set up, he saw bodies covered in white cloth being moved. Most were missing limbs; few remained in one piece. Kiyoshi was accustomed to this; the damage of ninjutsu far exceeded a ninja's defensive capabilities.
Taking a direct hit from a jutsu was no different for a human than being hit by artillery. Furthermore, ninjutsu could be combined, and the power of a jutsu released by multiple people would double, resulting in even more terrifying destruction.
"Kiyoshi!"
After Kiyoshi finished setting up his tent, a red silhouette was looking around. Seeing him, she quickly ran over. Behind her followed a burly man with a thick beard.
"Long time no see, Kurenai, Asuma," Kiyoshi spoke.
Since they were split up for missions after the Kannabi Bridge event, Kiyoshi hadn't seen Kurenai Yuhi. Kurenai had grown increasingly beautiful. Through her green ninja vest, the black chainmail at her collar was vaguely visible, and her smooth, slender legs were exposed.
However, above the thigh, she wore tightly wrapped bandages, showing only the fair skin of her calves below the knee, with the rest sealed tight. Perhaps for ease of movement, Kurenai had gained the crispness of a ninja, making her appear even more charming and youthful.
Every time he saw them, there were new changes. That state of vibrant life and growth was right before his eyes.
"Yes... it's been a long time."
Kiyoshi's stare made Kurenai a bit embarrassed, her face turning red. As her body grew, so did her heart. She now harbored the typical hazy feelings young people have for the opposite sex.
"Yo, Kiyoshi." Asuma Sarutobi's voice was much deeper than before.
Kiyoshi nodded. Not just Kurenai, but Asuma had changed significantly too. In the original story, Asuma was a delinquent in his late teens, wearing a jacket and smoking. Perhaps due to Kiyoshi's existence, he had skipped directly to his future "uncle" form. Looking at his muscles, Kiyoshi guessed Asuma had undergone special training, resulting in his increased muscle mass.
While they were catching up, Hyuga Ginka, located in the Hyuga camp, was full of sorrow.
"Lord Hiashi, when we rescue Nobuhiko, can we please spare his life?" Her words were desolate. That was her fiancé. They weren't married yet, but they were only one formal ceremony away. If something happened to Nobuhiko, she felt she would be a widow for life.
No one in the clan, under their feudal and rigid education, would look at her favorably. She would be considered a jinx. Especially since Nobuhiko was captured because of her carelessness, leading to the leak of the Byakugan! This would only brand him with shame; he could forget about being a hero, and it was unknown if he would even be admitted to the Memorial Stone.
Even if Leaf registered him as per tradition, the furious elders of the main house would not agree.
"Hmph. As a member of the main house, to be captured by a single Jonin." Hiashi Hyuga's face was dark. This was a massive blow to the Hyuga clan's prestige. Since the clan implemented the [Caged Bird Curse Mark] hundreds of years ago, a leak of the Byakugan had never occurred. But two days ago, something that betrayed the ancestors happened.
The Byakugan was stolen by the Mist! Furthermore, Nobuhiko himself was captured, posing a constant risk of the bloodline leaking. Decades later, if a new "Hyuga" clan emerged in the Hidden Mist, there might even be rumors that the true Hyuga lineage was in the Mist!
Had the clan members not used their Byakugan to keep a strict watch over the past few days, the Mist ninjas would have already moved Nobuhiko away. Even so, there was no guarantee that his genetic material hadn't already been extracted.
"Lord Hiashi..."
"Enough. The Uchiha support unit has arrived. All we can do is ensure the bloodline and the Byakugan do not spread further." Hiashi glanced at Ginka, making her hold her breath in fear. With that, Hiashi left the tent.
The main house was smaller in number and higher in status than the branch house. But that didn't mean they couldn't sacrifice a main house member. The top priority now was ensuring the Mist hadn't harvested his "seeds."
"Nobuhiko..." Ginka felt the world spinning, not knowing what to do.
"Lady Ginka." Natsu came in to support the nearly collapsing Ginka. However, there was a hidden joy in Natsu's eyes. Having always been treated as sub-human by Ginka, she couldn't wait for Ginka to suffer more misfortune!
"Help me out. I want to participate in this battle as well." Ginka recovered for a moment, pushed Natsu away, and stood up on her own. Nobuhiko must not die. Seeing this, Natsu didn't stop her and silently followed behind.
***
In the afternoon, Kiyoshi gathered some intelligence while chatting. The Mist front primarily consisted of surprise attack units, and it was a Jonin from one of these units who had captured Nobuhiko. The reason for their current haste was to stop them from sending Nobuhiko away and to prevent the extraction of his genetic material.
Yes, extraction. There were too few females in the surprise attack unit, so whether a pregnancy could be achieved was a question. Thus, the optimal solution was to continuously harvest and store the material in containers, finally sending it away via sealing scrolls.
"The Mist forces are here!" a Hyuga clan member suddenly shouted.
Fugaku, who was talking with Hiashi up ahead, turned around. The ground was vibrating. Kiyoshi sensed it keenly—a friction-like sound, getting closer. Then came a booming noise, like waves crashing against giant rocks on the shore. Everyone turned to look; it was a wall of water.
Water Style Ninjutsu! Everyone's heart skipped a beat. A range this massive could only be achieved by something like [Water Style: Giant Waterfall Technique]!
"Quickly use Fire Style to block it!" Fugaku barked. He formed the [Horse] seal, and a massive torrent of fire erupted from above his overlapped index fingers.
Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction! As the leader of the Uchiha clan, B-rank Fire Style was nothing to Fugaku. Other Uchiha members who hadn't received physical enhancements from [Mangekyo Sharingan] were slightly slower to react.
The Jonins spat out B-rank or higher Fire Style, while Chunins and weaker Genins quickly used whatever Fire Style they knew. The flames piled up, turning into a raging inferno that blanketed the area ahead, rushing toward the rolling, vast torrent of water.
*Ssss!*
Massive amounts of steam appeared, rushing madly in all directions. But... it was visible to the naked eye that the Leaf side was at a disadvantage.
The Mist on the opposite side had come prepared, having gathered a vast amount of chakra, while the Uchiha were only responding in haste, unable to exert their full strength. The moment the flames made contact, they showed signs of being extinguished.
"Dammit." Hizashi Hyuga looked at his frowning brother, Hiashi, unable to do anything but worry. Their strongest defensive technique was [Rotation], but that was for close combat. Rushing forward recklessly would mean being burned by the raging fire before even reaching the seawater.
"My hand!" A leaf ninja's left hand sprayed blood, while the rest of his palm was ground into powder by the water. Those incredibly fast and wide-reaching waters were seeping through. Like high-pressure jets, a mere touch meant a heavy wound.
"There's no time to refine much chakra." Uchiha Yashiro's flames continued, but the chakra he had just refined was nearly exhausted. They didn't have time to refine more! Everything happened in the blink of an eye; no one had time to react. They had planned to attack the Mist once the support arrived, but the Mist had turned the tables on Konoha with a sudden counter-ambush.
"What do we do?" Asuma Sarutobi was also releasing Fire Style. The flames from his mouth gradually stopped, and he had to halt to refine chakra. Hearing this, Kurenai shook her head. As a Genjutsu-type ninja, she clearly had no experience dealing with this situation.
"Hmph, let's see how many Leaf ninjas die this time." Terumi Mei wore a gentle smile. After being influenced by Kiyoshi, she had grown to detest all Hidden Leaf ninjas.
"Most of those using Fire Style are Uchiha." Ao, who had recently transplanted the Byakugan, was using its power to watch the scene, a black circular eyepatch over his right eye. Beneath that patch was Nobuhiko Hyuga's Byakugan!
"How many have come?" Mei asked. No wonder there were so many Fire Style techniques blocking the Water Style they had all just released together.
"Many, probably one or two hundred." Ao's greyish-blue long hair fluttered in the wind, with light-yellow charms hanging from his ears. Those were [Charm: Talisman Protection], which could be given orders to protect something in advance; when the protected object was threatened, it would activate a seal to protect it. The Byakugan was a precious trophy, and both Ao and the Mist valued it highly.
"That many?" Mei raised an eyebrow. One or two hundred was not a small number; if the proportion of Jonins among them was high, it would decide the outcome of a small-to-medium-scale battle. Furthermore, the Uchiha clan always sent their elites—one of them was worth several ordinary ninjas.
"It doesn't matter. Under a surprise attack, they are powerless to resist," Juzo Biwa spoke. He carried the heavy Kubikiribocho on his back, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
"Hehe, who knows." Ringo Ameyuri revealed her sharp shark teeth. At the very back of the crowd, she saw a familiar figure.
"Keep releasing it, don't stop!" The figures of the Mist ninjas emerged from the hidden forest one after another. Everyone spat out a stream of water, which eventually merged into a vast ocean.
"War is not a game; there is no such thing as chivalry." Kiyoshi was not surprised by the Mist's sneak attack. Speaking of which, Pakura's death was caused by the Mist for the sake of Sand's "sincerity." Sand killed the "Hero of the Hidden Sand" to prove their commitment. Under the banner of a hidden village, individual lives and morality were not important.
"In that case..." Kiyoshi's black pupils gradually changed color, becoming a transparent gold. A vertical slit squeezed out in the circular pupil, like that of a snake.
"Kiyoshi, you..." Kurenai, who couldn't help and could only observe the situation, was the first to notice Kiyoshi's change. She felt that Kiyoshi's chakra was a bit strange right now.
"I've stood here long enough; it's time for me to make a move." Kiyoshi's tongue became long and slender, splitting into two forks. He didn't choose to release ninjutsu along with the others because he was gathering natural energy to refine into [Senjutsu Chakra].
Feeling the overflowing power within his body, Kiyoshi's form was enveloped in a cyan-green light that draped over him like a cloak, and his skin flickered with the same radiance.
Among his fluttering black hair, two horn-like keratinous buds were clearly visible on his head. Black eyeshadow appeared at that moment, adding a touch of sharpness to his gaze. Commonly known as... Sage Markings!
In the next instant, Kiyoshi moved with extreme speed, soaring into the sky like a streak of light. The electric arcs surrounding him were rendered into a cyan-green color, like the awakening of all things in spring, containing the startling vitality of thunder.
"Sage Art: Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique." Kiyoshi's voice rang out indifferently.
*Boom!*
Six fire dragons composed of flames erupted from Kiyoshi's mouth, howling as they rushed toward the Mist ninjas gathered to release Water Style.
"Quick, dodge!" Juzo Biwa quickly formed seals, releasing [Water Style: Water Prison Technique]. In an instant, semi-transparent water barriers surrounded them. Unfortunately, under Kiyoshi's control, the fire dragons crushed the water barriers and flew straight down.
"Aaaaah!"
"Get out of the way!"
"It's too late!"
The unified movements of the Mist ninjas suddenly fell into chaos. The intense heat of the approaching fire dragons reminded them of the danger to their lives, and some Mist ninjas couldn't help but try to dodge.
*Boom!*
The six fire dragons hit the ground simultaneously, making a dull thud. The Water Style ninjutsu that had been erupting like high-pressure jets instantly stalled. The towering ocean crashed to the ground, turning into ordinary water.
*Ssss...* The residual steam dissipated. Only a large crater remained where the Mist ninjas who hadn't managed to dodge were. It had become a puddle, a mottled color formed by blood, water, and scorched earth.
"Cough, cough..." Juzo Biwa coughed up some blood. His hands loosened, and he dropped the crimson Kubikiribocho into the puddle.
*Sizzle...* The sound of boiling water rose from the puddle. It took a while to gradually stop. Had he not blocked it in time by using the durability of the Kubikiribocho to defend, a large number of Mist ninjas who couldn't dodge would have likely died.
Such a shocking change naturally left everyone on the battlefield stunned. Glowing cyan-green, surrounded by electric arcs like a descending thunder god, Kiyoshi suspended himself high in the sky.
With the enhancement of [Sage Mode], Kiyoshi's use of magnetism was much easier; not only was chakra consumption reduced, but the effect was also greatly enhanced.
"What is... that?" Terumi Mei, who had tried her best to escape but was still caught slightly by the blast, raised her dusty face and looked up at Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi's style was clearly different from everyone else—how could someone glow like that?
And that chakra was very strange, not at all like Kiyoshi's own. Mei frowned. She had practically etched this man into her bones and knew his chakra like the back of her hand.
"That must be 'Senjutsu'." Ringo Ameyuri was, after all, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and her experience was far greater than Mei's. She had once accidentally seen Jiraiya of the Sannin release his so-called "Sage Mode"—his face was covered in red markings, and his features had become strange.
The chakra had changed suddenly, just like Kiyoshi's. Then his Taijutsu, Ninjutsu... almost all of his abilities were massively enhanced, which was truly startling. Now, Kiyoshi's appearance was even more exaggerated than Jiraiya's.
Jiraiya had two old toads sitting on his shoulders, but Kiyoshi was glowing all over, wearing a strange green cloak that seemed to be burning, releasing green sparks. On that garment, there was a faint black tomoe pattern on the collar.
"Sneak attacks are not a good habit. Don't you agree?" Kiyoshi was suspended in mid-air, yet his voice echoed throughout the area. [Sage Mode] was like an amplifier. The stronger the individual, the greater the power boost. It was just like Naruto's [Six Paths Sage Mode], and later the [Six Paths Senjutsu] used by Madara.
[Sage Mode] itself was perfectly compatible with [Six Paths Power]. Kaguya lost precisely because she didn't know [Senjutsu]; had she possessed the sensory abilities of [Sage Mode], she wouldn't have been blindsided by Sakura even without using the Byakugan, leading to her ultimate defeat.
She planned for thousands of years, appeared for an hour, and then was sealed again. By the end, even Black Zetsu's backup was gone; if nothing unexpected happened, she would be eternally sealed in the Beginning Dimension.
"Hmph." Juzo Biwa snorted. Kiyoshi's action just now was also a sneak attack. He picked up his Kubikiribocho, leaped off a tree trunk, and rushed upward. Seeing this, the Mist ninjas followed suit, swarming toward the Leaf side.
"Attack!" The Hyuga clan, who hadn't made a move until now, finally had their chance. They began to engage the Mist ninjas in close combat. The Uchiha and some commoner ninjas joined the fray after a brief rest.
Before long, the battle leaned toward a one-sided trend. Ringo Ameyuri had been slacking off, and Juzo Biwa was tied down by Kiyoshi. The remaining Terumi Mei and the other Mist ninjas were simply unable to withstand the assault from Fugaku, Hiashi, and the others.
Seeing that this mission could not succeed, Juzo Biwa, dragging his scarred body, began to call for a retreat. He had a nagging premonition that Kiyoshi hadn't used his full strength—it was as if he was using them to test his abilities.
Terumi Mei bit her lip hard. It wasn't easy to meet Kiyoshi again, yet not only could she not get revenge, she had to crawl back in disgrace. Ultimately, Hiashi and Fugaku did not choose to pursue. This surely wasn't all of the Mist ninjas on this front; it would be disastrous if they were ambushed.
During the intense battle just now, the Leaf side had also suffered many casualties. They had to wait until everything was prepared before launching a counterattack. After the Mist retreated, the surviving ninjas let out shouts of victory. Kiyoshi also descended from the sky, drawing everyone's attention.