After a brief half-hour rest to confirm the perimeter was clear, the team set off again. Following the apocalyptic intervention of Might Duy, everyone's movements were cautious and completely silent.
They reached the western coast earlier than expected. A Konoha evacuation boat was already waiting in the shallows.
The survivors boarded in turn. The sea breeze washed over them, carrying the heavy, salty scent of the ocean and the faint, lingering smell of copper.
The ship slowly pulled away from the port, cutting through the dark waves as it headed toward the fortified, relatively calm coastline of the Land of Fire.
Kiyohara stood by the ship's railing, watching the ruins of Uzushiogakure recede into the mist.
'If my strength had been even a fraction weaker, I would have stayed on that island forever,' Kiyohara thought, his grip tightening on the wooden rail.
His mind shifted to the future.
'The war between Konoha and the Hidden Mist will escalate. The Seven Swordsmen were just the vanguard. At the very least, the Three-Tails Jinchūriki will likely be deployed soon. And then...'
He looked down the deck toward Rin, who was resting against the bulkhead.
'The next major event will be Rin's capture.'
In the original timeline, Mist ANBU sealed the Three-Tails (Isobu) inside Rin's body to turn her into a ticking time bomb. But Kiyohara knew the truth. That operation was too flawless for standard ANBU. You don't just casually extract a Tailed Beast from your own Jinchūriki and seal it into an enemy Genin in the middle of a warzone.
'It's Madara's script,' Kiyohara deduced coldly. 'If Obito could use his Mangekyō Sharingan to control the Fourth Mizukage for years, then Madara—with his massive ocular power—could easily manipulate the Mist ANBU and their Jinchūriki from the shadows to set up this tragedy.'
Konohagakure. The Hokage's Office.
In ninja warfare, intelligence is life. A constant stream of messenger hawks and cipher-nin sprinted through the village, delivering frontline reports. Combined with classified long-distance communication jutsu, the news of the Whirlpool Island disaster reached the Konoha high command almost immediately.
To the strategists, Orochimaru's retreat order was deemed a masterstroke of damage control.
The Hidden Mist had an overwhelming numerical advantage and absolute home-field superiority on the water. Dragging out the defense would have resulted in the complete annihilation of the Konoha forces. The village, already bleeding manpower across three fronts, could not afford to lose those elite troops.
"Duy... possessed such terrifying power?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, read the report with genuine surprise.
The Eight Inner Gates Formation was an open secret in Konoha; a few dedicated Taijutsu specialists practiced it. If it were highly classified, a perennial Genin like Duy would never have had access to it. However, the physical torture required to master it meant almost no one ever seriously pursued it.
"Hmph. So what if he had that kind of power?"
Danzo Shimura, the Darkness of the Shinobi, glared at Hiruzen with his one exposed eye. "He is dead. And no one else in the village possesses the constitution to undergo that kind of training. Taijutsu relies more on genetic talent than Ninjutsu does."
Danzo didn't care about a dead Genin. He cared about the other anomaly in the report.
"Hiruzen. A Magnet Release user spontaneously appearing in the village... that is truly strange."
Danzo narrowed his eyes. He was frustrated that he had missed such a prime prospect. To expand his black-ops division, Root, Danzo was constantly screening the Academy and the Genin corps for elites. He used temptation, blackmail, and inhumane conditioning to draft talents into his core ranks.
Unfortunately, Hiruzen actively blocked most of his poaching attempts. But Danzo was tireless. Whatever slipped through Hiruzen's fingers was his.
"Danzo, what are you scheming?" Hiruzen gave his old friend a sharp, warning glance. He had taken note of Kiyohara during the Chunin Exams; he hadn't expected Danzo's vultures to circle so soon.
"Heh. Hiruzen, I am simply thirsting for talent," Danzo rasped. "A civilian suddenly awakening a Kekkei Genkai, completely unburdened by the loyalties and mindset of a Noble Clan, and at such a young age? He belongs in Root."
Danzo envisioned Kiyohara as a blank slate. He wanted to lure the boy into the shadows, draw out the darkness in his heart, and forge him into a perfect, emotionless weapon.
'Perhaps I could even use him to cultivate a loyal Magnet Release clan,' Danzo plotted.
"That won't be necessary," Hiruzen exhaled a thick cloud of pipe smoke, rejecting the suggestion instantly. "I have my own arrangements for Kiyohara."
Danzo's face hardened. He hadn't expected such a blunt refusal. "You are burying a genius in the light, Hiruzen!"
"I know what I am doing."
"You will regret this!" Danzo snarled.
"Enough, Danzo!" Hiruzen slammed his hand onto the desk, his chakra flaring. "I am the Hokage!"
Hearing that word, Danzo felt as if a physical blade had been twisted in his gut.
'Damn it. If I had just spoken up one minute earlier that day... that seat would be mine!'
Knowing he couldn't win this argument, Danzo turned and stormed out, slamming the heavy office doors behind him.
Hiruzen watched the doors rattle. 'If he broke the hinges, I'm charging the repairs to Root's budget,' he thought tiredly.
"Magnet Release, huh?" Hiruzen murmured, looking back down at the file. "He is indeed worth extra cultivation."
The Anbu background check was spotless. Kiyohara's lineage was perfectly clean for three generations. He had no clan ties. He was a pure Konoha shinobi.
The Land of Fire Coastline. Morning.
Having crossed the ocean and reached the fortified mainland base, Kiyohara finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After navigating the exhausting bureaucracy of handovers, identity verification, and tent assignments, he collapsed onto a stiff wooden cot and slept like the dead.
The night passed in the blink of an eye.
In the morning, Kiyohara didn't wake up naturally. He felt someone staring at him. Then, a finger repeatedly poked his cheek.
Without even opening his eyes, he knew who it was.
"Why are you here again?" Kiyohara groaned, finally opening his eyes to see Kurenai Yuhi leaning over his cot.
"Ah! You woke up so fast?"
Caught in the act, Kurenai awkwardly withdrew her hand and turned her head away, her cheeks dusting pink. Last time, she had chickened out right before touching his face. Today, she had finally fulfilled her weird obsession.
"You still haven't told me what you're doing in my tent," Kiyohara sighed, pulling the thick military quilt up slightly. The coastal humidity made the air damp, but the quilt was warm.
'Good thing I don't sleep naked,' he thought. 'Otherwise, she'd be getting quite the show.'
"Hmph. Why don't you ever have this kind of cold attitude toward Rin?"
Seeing Kiyohara's deadpan expression, Kurenai felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of jealousy. Whenever Kiyohara spoke to Rin, he was always polite and smiling. But with her, he acted like an annoyed old man.
'I'm his original teammate! I got here first!' Kurenai fumed internally. 'This guy has been entirely too hateful since the Academy!'
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