Kiyohara was breathing slightly heavily, yet beneath the mask his expression remained as calm as ever.
With the assistance of Steel Release Kiyohara's "Accelerated Digestion," a considerable amount of his chakra had recovered.
But all of this came at the cost of overdraw.
It was like overclocking a computer—within a short period, performance could be pushed far beyond normal limits, but if done for too long, the hardware would inevitably suffer damage.
Because of this, after this battle, Kiyohara would have no choice but to rest for several days.
He could clearly feel it—the fatigue brought on by continuous high-intensity combat and prolonged mental tension was still accumulating.
Of course, the gains from this battle were equally substantial.
Kiyohara's current combat experience was leagues beyond his past self, to an extent he could hardly measure.
If he were to take the status panel he had before the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and fight the version of himself from that time, using nothing but basic taijutsu, Kiyohara was confident he would still emerge victorious!
But—
Kiyohara turned his gaze in a certain direction and removed the black mask, revealing his handsome face.
Sweat still clung to his features, a clear sign of the immense consumption he had endured.
The lime powder was already exhausted, and the mist it had created had fully dissipated. Continuing to wear the mask now served no purpose.
He sensed a powerful, icy chakra imbued with unmistakable killing intent, breaking through the scattered outer interceptions at an astonishing speed and heading straight toward him.
After repeatedly inheriting and stacking Yang-nature enhancements, Kiyohara's sensory talent had also grown remarkably sharp.
Even without Steel Release Kiyohara's reminder, he could already perceive someone rapidly approaching.
"A real monster's coming…"
Kiyohara's eyes narrowed. The opponent's speed was terrifying, no less than the explosive bursts Kiyohara could achieve when accelerating himself with repulsive force.
Unless he layered the Leaf Body Flicker Technique on top of that, he wouldn't be able to surpass the other party in speed.
'A Mist specialist in Shunshin?' Kiyohara thought to himself.
In the blink of an eye, a figure leapt out from a splash of exploding water and landed ten meters in front of him.
Mitsuryuu Sora's gaze locked onto Kiyohara instantly.
He wasted no words. His shinobi blade was already drawn, the blade shimmering with watery light—clearly water-attribute chakra condensed to a high degree.
"Your farce ends here."
Mitsuryuu Sora's voice was as cold as his eyes.
Kiyohara could clearly feel the oppressive pressure emanating from him, far exceeding that of any Kirigakure jōnin he had faced so far.
This was a true elite forged by countless battles, every movement steeped in honed killing intent and ruthless efficiency.
'I should withdraw.'
The thought flashed through Kiyohara's mind.
His objectives were harassment, creating chaos, and harvesting battle merits had already been accomplished far beyond expectations.
If he left now, relying on speed and terrain, he was fairly confident he could shake off this formidable enemy and safely retreat to Konoha's defensive lines.
However,
His gaze passed over Mitsuryuu Sora, as if piercing through the chaotic battlefield, toward a distant command point where several strong chakra signatures were faintly gathered.
If he could—if he could eliminate the commander there and completely cripple Kirigakure's command system in this region, the resulting chaos and battle achievements—
Such merit would almost guarantee a leap-frog promotion straight to jōnin!
At that point, the ninjutsu permissions and resource allocations he could access would be entirely different. Perhaps, even after accumulating sufficiently outstanding achievements, it might not be impossible for him to apply for a chance to read the Scroll of Seals, the tome that recorded the secrets of countless forbidden techniques!
Minato, a commoner by birth, had been able to master the long-lost Flying Thunder God Technique precisely because his achievements and talent were exceptional enough to earn special approval from Konoha's upper echelons.
Risk and reward weighed against each other like the two ends of a scale, swaying violently in Kiyohara's heart.
"Before I leave, one more big haul!"
Kiyohara made his decision in an instant.
He still had strength left.
He couldn't just leave like this.
With Madara's schemes drawing closer and closer, if he wanted to save Rin or even just preserve his own life, he had to rapidly amass even greater power.
If he left now, the remaining battle merits might allow him to exchange for a few ninjutsu, but it wouldn't be enough to become a jōnin and gain access to more advanced techniques.
Many of the jutsu in Kiyohara's arsenal couldn't be openly displayed without the proper rank.
Promotion to jōnin involved more than strength—it was also a matter of credentials.
One needed sufficient theoretical knowledge and an adequate service record, evaluated and approved by the Hokage or the core leadership, to be recognized as a jōnin.
Otherwise, even someone like Naruto, who later possessed the power to overturn the entire shinobi world, could only remain a genin.
By the very end of Shippuden, after losing an arm, Naruto was still cramming theoretical studies.
Even a genius like Kakashi had completed a large number of high-difficulty missions before being promoted to jōnin, earning early special admission. Later on, Neji demonstrated the same path.
During the mission to rescue Gaara, Neji performed exceptionally and was ultimately granted a direct, exceptional promotion to jōnin.
Of course, between chūnin and jōnin there was also a transitional rank, Special Jōnin—typically reserved for those who possessed one outstanding specialty. Their overall ability was inferior to full jōnin but surpassed that of chūnin.
"My credentials are clean, and it's wartime right now. If I pull this off, it's almost guaranteed."
Kiyohara reasoned silently.
Facing the tidal wave of killing intent rolling toward him from Mitsuryuu Sora, Kiyohara did not retreat. Instead, his hands rapidly formed seals while his other hand reached into his shinobi pouch.
Seeing Kiyohara's movements, Mitsuryuu Sora's figure suddenly blurred, transforming into an almost invisible line of water as he charged forward at a speed far surpassing any enemy before him!
Mist Body Flicker Technique!
A flash of blade light, aimed straight at Kiyohara's throat!
Yet at the instant the blade was about to touch Kiyohara's skin—
Square sheets of black iron sand surged forward, thin as paper.
Shua-la-la!
One after another, layering together to form a wall of black "sandpaper."
Mitsuryuu frowned. Such thin iron sand alone couldn't possibly stop his strike.
In the next moment, his blade slashed down hard, clearly intending to cleave through the iron sand and follow through to strike Kiyohara himself!
However, his shinobi blade suddenly felt a violent vibration.
When he looked down, a brilliant burst of fire exploded before his eyes!
BOOM!
Deafening, chained explosions roared in front of Mitsuryuu Sora.
Flames shot skyward, thick smoke billowed, and a savage shockwave mixed with deadly iron-sand fragments expanded outward in a spherical blast!
The ground was blown into a scorched crater, while the surrounding trees were instantly torn apart and set ablaze!
Although Mitsuryuu Sora retreated quickly, he was still caught by the fringe of the explosion, barely managing to accelerate his Mist Body Flicker Technique to evade it.
Even so, several scorching iron-sand fragments grazed his cheek and arm, leaving searing pain behind.
He landed in the distance, staring at the roiling fireball and smoke, his face showing disbelief for the first time.
"Madman, Is this guy insane?!"
A storm of shock surged through Mitsuryuu Sora's mind.
Wrapping explosive tags in iron sand to make him mistake them for ordinary Magnet Release techniques?
Wasn't he afraid of losing control—or of the enemy detonating them early and blowing himself to pieces?
At such close range, both sides would take the same explosion!
To Mitsuryuu, this tactic was utterly unheard of, placing oneself in extreme danger in exchange for overwhelming defense and counterattack opportunities!
As the smoke gradually dispersed, Mitsuryuu saw Kiyohara still standing at the edge of the crater. Only part of his outer armor had been blown apart, revealing the chainmail undersuit beneath, along with the faint outline of his muscular build.
"Huh?"
Very quickly, Mitsuryuu realized that aside from that, Kiyohara seemed to have suffered no other injuries at all!
"Surprised?"
Kiyohara smiled faintly.
At the moment of the explosion, Steel Release had activated, blocking the residual force of the blast for him.
He could harden his body to reduce damage but Mitsuryuu Sora was still flesh and blood.
In the next instant, Kiyohara formed seals again.
More and more black, paper-thin iron sand emerged from behind him, slowly orbiting around his body.
They vaguely formed a circular, floating shield.
After coming up with ideas like throwing blades or magnetically controlling fragments of the Executioner's Blade, Kiyohara had suddenly thought of an even better method.
And this method consumed very little chakra, it only required iron sand to carry thin explosive tags.
Kiyohara called it—
Magnet Release: Iron Sand Explosive Tag Mode!
Once these iron-sand explosive tags were thrown out, they could trigger devastating explosions.
If there was any flaw at all, it was simply that it was expensive.
A pure money-burning fighting style.
But Kiyohara was effectively sustaining himself through battle, these explosive tags had all been stripped from Mist shinobi.
Taken from Mist shinobis, used on Mist shinobis.
And then converted into Kiyohara's ever-growing battle merits.
"!!"
Mitsuryuu's eyes widened.
"Want to kill me?"
"Ask my explosive tags first if they agree."
Kiyohara chuckled.
Everyone was just trying their best to survive—if there was a problem, take it up with his explosive tags.
Mitsuryuu Sora's expression darkened.
He specialized in high-speed close-quarters combat, but this near-shameless "suicidal defense" drastically weakened the advantage of his Water Flow Body Flicker.
Every ambush risked colliding with an explosive tag. Even if he could evade before detonation or defend with Water Release, it would disrupt his rhythm, drain chakra, and possibly leave him injured.
"No matter how many explosive tags you have, they'll run out eventually."
Mitsuryuu Sora's voice dropped low as his hands formed seals at high speed.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
Dense fog erupted outward with him at the center, instantly enveloping nearly a hundred meters.
In this signature assassination environment of Kirigakure, his Mist Body Flicker Technique would receive maximum enhancement!
However, Kiyohara reacted even faster!
Almost at the exact instant the mist surged up, he moved!
With the combined boost of repulsive force and the Leaf Body Flicker Technique, Kiyohara's figure transformed into a black lightning bolt that tore through the dense fog, ripping the air apart!
Iron-sand explosive tags swirled behind him.
His spinning charge whipped up a gale. Wherever he passed, shallow craters formed underfoot, while gravel, soil, and torn blades of grass were violently flung aside as if brushed away by an invisible hand.
The dense fog was forcibly ripped open into a fleeting corridor of clarity by this savage speed!
Mitsuryuu's Mist Body Flicker Technique activated as well. Moving like a fish in water, he split into several water clones, attempting to intercept and encircle his foe.
But he quickly realized that Kiyohara's target didn't seem to be him at all—
Instead, it was the scattered squads of Mist genin and chūnin positioned along his charge path!
"Stop him!"
"Watch out!"
Shouts of alarm rang out within the mist.
(End of Chapter)