In Kiyohara's eyes, this village didn't score especially high.
The name "Village of the Bloody Mist" had circulated through the ninja world for years. Whenever people mentioned Kirigakure, the first things that came to mind were assassination, internal strife, and the persecution of bloodline limit users.
But after Kiyohara walked around and took a closer look, he found it wasn't that bad.
He turned and glanced at Mei Terumī beside him.
She was looking sideways at the fishing lights on the sea. Tiny points of light reflected in her emerald-green eyes, and a fine mist had gathered on her lashes.
This woman's facial structure and features were both excellent. Her contours were soft, and her features were vivid and beautiful.
Kiyohara thought that if Obito hadn't created the Bloody Mist era, Mei Terumī might not have developed the same personality she had in the original story.
After all, judging from the original, Mei had spent her whole life thinking about marriage.
Unfortunately, even by Boruto, she still hadn't found a man who caught her eye.
"Why do you keep looking at me?"
"Because you're beautiful."
Mei's steps paused for a moment. Then she quickened her pace and walked ahead of him.
The hem of her qipao swayed lightly with her steps, and the side slit occasionally flashed a small glimpse of her fair leg.
Without looking back, she said,
"Don't try that on me. I don't fall for sweet talk from Konoha men."
Kiyohara looked at her slightly stiff back and smiled, following at an unhurried pace.
At the same time, in the deepest secret chamber of the Akatsuki's hidden base.
The walls of the chamber were covered in sealing formulas. Candles burned in their holders, stretching several figures into long shadows on the rune-covered stone walls.
Orochimaru stood in front of a stone platform, his hands forming a complicated seal.
A new body lay on the platform.
This body was far more robust than the one prepared for Uchiha Madara. The outline of muscle beneath the skin was clearly visible.
Orochimaru had gone to great lengths to obtain a vessel most suitable for Hashirama.
He took a deep breath and slammed his palm onto the stone platform.
"Impure World Reincarnation!"
Cold chakra surged through the chamber.
The flames on the walls flickered wildly, nearly going out.
Countless tiny paper-like fragments emerged from the void and rushed toward the body on the stone platform.
Layer by layer, they covered it, transforming the vessel's appearance into that of another person.
Senju Hashirama pushed himself upright.
His movements were a little stiff.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands. Those hands were also covered in the distinctive cracks of the Impure World Reincarnation.
"This is…"
His voice was hoarse.
"Tobirama's… Impure World Reincarnation?"
Hashirama frowned.
He had strictly forbidden his younger brother from using this technique.
So why was he now affected by it?
Could it be that Konoha was facing a major crisis?
What year of Konoha was it now?
A series of questions ran through Hashirama's mind.
"Heh heh."
Orochimaru took a step back and bowed respectfully.
"It is an honor to meet you, First Hokage. I am Orochimaru, the caster who summoned you back to this world."
Hashirama raised his head and studied Orochimaru.
So it wasn't Tobirama who had revived him?
Hashirama thought to himself.
He had assumed only Senju Tobirama would know such a forbidden technique. He hadn't expected there to be a successor.
However, Hashirama had the feeling that Orochimaru was not exactly an upright person.
He turned his head and began surveying the others in the chamber.
One person immediately caught his attention.
Red armor. A massive Uchiha war fan and a chained scythe strapped to his back.
His arms were folded across his chest, and his long hair fell over his shoulders.
That face was exactly the same as the one in Hashirama's memories.
"Madara?"
Hashirama's pupils contracted.
"Aren't you… dead?"
"Same to you."
Uchiha Madara lowered his arms and slowly walked forward.
His Mangekyō Sharingan met Hashirama's confused gaze.
"I did die, but you died too, Hashirama. Both of us are dead men now."
"You…"
Hashirama stood up from the stone platform.
Orochimaru instantly felt tense.
Even though Hashirama had no hostility right now, his entire being naturally radiated an awe-inspiring pressure.
"You were also revived with Impure World Reincarnation?"
Hashirama said in a heavy voice, glancing at Madara's own cracked Edo Tensei body.
"What exactly happened? Why did this junior revive both of us at the same time?"
Madara did not answer.
He only looked at Senju Hashirama.
After the battle at the Valley of the End, they had never met again.
Before Madara faked his death with Izanagi, he secretly took a piece of Hashirama's flesh. For the next several decades, he used that flesh every day to repair his own body, eventually fusing it into his chest.
In a sense, every day of his later life had been spent dealing with Hashirama's cells.
But standing before Senju Hashirama himself felt completely different from staring at cells in a petri dish.
Madara could feel that Hashirama's chakra was still as vast as it had been back then.
It seemed this vessel was indeed quite good.
Then Madara suddenly raised his right hand, holding it upright in front of him.
Hashirama was all too familiar with that gesture.
It was Uchiha Madara's invitation to battle.
At a time like this?
Hashirama felt like Madara must be joking.
"Stop messing around, Madara. Let me figure out what's going on first."
Hashirama frowned.
He felt Madara was still as childish as ever in certain ways.
"Nothing else matters, Hashirama."
Madara shook his head.
Now that Senju Hashirama had also been revived, only one thought remained in Madara's mind.
He wanted to see who was stronger in this state—him or Hashirama.
Competing with Senju Hashirama had been something Uchiha Madara had pursued for nearly his entire life.
"Come, Hashirama!"
Madara erupted with chakra, creating a current of wind that made the candle flames dance.
"These two…"
Orochimaru's eyelid twitched.
Whether it was Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama, neither was someone he could stand against.
To avoid getting caught in the aftermath, Orochimaru immediately slithered along the ground like a snake, quickly fleeing toward the outside.
...
Meanwhile, in Kirigakure.
The foggy wind stirred the loose strands of hair near Mei's temples.
Ever since Kiyohara had said, "Spend the day walking around with me," her nerves had been tense.
She had even prepared herself for the worst.
If Kiyohara made some excessive demand, how would she refuse? And how could she hold her bottom line without angering him?
But after an entire day, nothing had happened.
Kiyohara had simply walked aimlessly along Kirigakure's streets, occasionally stopping in front of a vendor.
Mei's reddish-brown hair had been blown slightly messy by the sea breeze, but she didn't even bother smoothing it down.
What she kept thinking was: What exactly was Kiyohara trying to do?
This strangely "normal" behavior only made her more uneasy.
But by now, Mei realized Kiyohara really hadn't done anything. She couldn't help feeling somewhat surprised.
Had Kiyohara really changed?
When they reached the area near Kirigakure's main gate, Kiyohara stopped.
"This is enough."
He turned around, his dark eyes reflecting the shimmering light on the distant sea.
Mei also stopped and looked up at him.
"You're leaving?"
"The matter is handled, so it's time to return."
Kiyohara kept his hands tucked in his sleeves.
Mei froze.
Kiyohara saw her hesitant expression and curled his lips slightly.
"When the Chūnin Exams happen, there should be some exchange activities between Konoha and Kirigakure. We can continue then."
Mei paused for a moment, then nodded.
"…Alright. I'll certainly accompany you then."
Seeing that she had relaxed, Kiyohara suddenly raised his hand.
Smack.
Mei froze where she stood.
Her eyes widened, and a blush surged across her cheeks, dyeing that bright, beautiful face crimson.
Kiyohara had given her rear a light but deliberate pat.
"You…!"
Mei suddenly snapped back to her senses. Instinctively, she raised a hand to cover the spot he had slapped, and her whole body jumped half a step backward.
But she was also afraid of offending Kiyohara, so all she could do was glare at him fiercely with those watery emerald eyes.
Kiyohara saw this and smiled faintly.
The next moment, his figure vanished.
Mei stood there, holding her rear and staring at that empty patch of ground for quite a while.
"That… infuriating man…"
Mei bit her lower lip.
And here she had almost been a little moved!
She stamped her foot hard before turning around and striding back toward the village.
After Mei had walked away for a while, a childish voice came from the side.
"Mei-sama?"
Mei's steps paused. She turned her head and saw a small figure standing not far away.
It was Chōjūrō.
Mei recognized him.
Chōjūrō had been called a prodigy from a young age. Though he was still very young, he possessed a talent for swordsmanship far beyond his peers.
It was said that he had beaten students at the ninja academy with a short blade, and even Hōzuki Mangetsu believed this child might one day inherit Hiramekarei.
Thinking of that, Mei felt a little annoyed.
If she had known earlier, she would have found a way to get the authentic Seven Ninja Swords back from Kiyohara.
"It's Chōjūrō."
Mei turned around and spoke.
"Mm."
Chōjūrō nodded.
His blue-haired head kept bobbing. He pushed up his black-framed glasses and gave Mei a smile.
His mouth showed the shark-like teeth that many Kirigakure ninja had.
"G-good morning, Mei-sama."
Chōjūrō stammered out a greeting.
"Chōjūrō, is your training finished for today?"
"N-not yet… I-I'm on my way there now."
Chōjūrō said.
Mei nodded and raised a hand to tuck the hair tousled by the sea breeze behind her ear.
Her mind was completely not on Chōjūrō right now.
All Mei could think about was Kiyohara.
Although Kiyohara had left, the two conditions he left behind were still waiting for her to handle.
The joint mining agreement needed to be redrafted, and the Mizukage building still had a huge mess waiting to be cleaned up.
"Then hurry along."
After Mei said this, she waved at him, turned, and quickly headed toward the Mizukage building.
Chōjūrō looked a little disappointed.
In truth, he admired Mei, this older sister-like figure. It was not only the admiration a child felt toward a beautiful adult, but also worship for a strong person.
He had saved up several swordsmanship questions he wanted to ask her, but every time they met, Mei-sama was always in a hurry. He never even got the chance to speak.
At the same time, elsewhere.
Kiyohara had not spent his time strolling through Kirigakure for nothing.
While Mei was not paying attention, he had placed several Flying Thunder God kunai, marking Kirigakure's location.
Afterward, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Uchiha Izumi and the others back to the airship.
A few days later, after the airship landed outside Konoha's main gate, Uzuki Yūgao was already waiting there.
"Welcome back, Hokage-sama. Thank you for your hard work."
"Mm."
Kiyohara nodded, then turned and glanced at Haku, who was standing at the back of the group.
"Yūgao, I'll leave this child to you. Take him to the ninja academy and handle his enrollment procedures. Starting today, he is a Konoha ninja trainee."
"Yes."
Uzuki Yūgao bowed slightly, then walked up to Haku.
"Come with me."
Haku raised his head and looked at Kiyohara.
Kiyohara nodded to him.
Only then did Haku begin walking, following behind Uzuki Yūgao.
After sending the other students home, Kiyohara also returned home.
The moment he entered, Kiyohara saw Tsunade.
Tsunade was lying on her stomach by the low table in the living room.
Her golden hair was not tied into its usual ponytail. Instead, it spilled casually over her shoulders.
One hand supported her chin, while the other flipped lazily through a scroll.
The scroll Tsunade was flipping through was a Wood Release secret technique scroll.
But she was clearly not reading it seriously.
Her eyes were half-lidded, her lashes casting faint shadows over her eyelids.
A heavy weight pressed against the edge of the table, pulling the neckline of her short top tight.
Then she heard the door.
Tsunade raised her head, and her amber eyes widened from their half-lidded state.
"You're back?"
Tsunade spoke.
"I'm back."
Kiyohara walked into the living room and sat down beside her on the tatami.
Tsunade straightened her back and stretched.
The movement wasn't large, but it still pushed the fabric of her house shirt to its limit, making the heavy snow-capped mountains beneath sway slightly.
"No problems?"
Tsunade lowered her arms and looked Kiyohara up and down, as if checking whether he had returned with injuries.
"None."
Kiyohara shook his head, reached out, picked up the half-finished tea cup Tsunade had been drinking from, and took a sip.
"Kirigakure's matter is settled. Karatachi Yagura has been cleaned up, Mei Terumī has taken power, and the mining rights agreement and strategic cooperation agreement have both been signed."
Tsunade's brows rose slightly.
"Mines? What mines?"
"Chakra ore."
Kiyohara briefly explained what happened during the trip to Kirigakure.
Tsunade fell silent for a while, then slowly said,
"Kumogakure signed a military base agreement. Kusagakure has been infiltrated through Hōzuki Castle. And now Kirigakure has signed a mining agreement and a strategic cooperation agreement…"
Tsunade paused.
"Most of the entire ninja world is now under Konoha's control."
Tsunade sighed.
When her grandfather, Senju Hashirama, was in power, Konoha was strong, but he had never controlled other ninja villages this way.
Her grandfather believed in balance and peace. He had even bowed his head to the other Four Kage at the Five Kage Summit, all so the ninja world might shed a little less blood.
But that peace collapsed after her grandfather died.
The First Ninja World War, the Second Ninja World War, the Third Ninja World War…
The ninja fought, stopped, then fought again. One generation after another died.
And Kiyohara had achieved what her grandfather could not, using a completely different method.
Without bloodshed, he had spread Konoha's influence across the entire ninja world.
"Restoring Konoha's glory is the duty of our generation."
Kiyohara smiled.
After all, the Konoha of today was his Konoha.
"By the way, the Daimyō sent word. He may visit Konoha sometime soon."
"If he comes, he comes."
Kiyohara said casually.
"You don't care?"
Tsunade was a little surprised.
Although the Hokage and Daimyō were nominally equal, the economic lifeline of the ninja village—the distribution channels for mission commissions, the supply of military materials, and most importantly, financial funding—were all in the Daimyō's hands.
"Doesn't matter."
Kiyohara shook his head.
Whether it was Sarutobi Hiruzen or Naruto after he became the Seventh Hokage in the original story, they all maintained a considerable level of respect toward the Daimyō. It could even be called flattery.
Even Naruto, the hero who saved the ninja world, had a headache and didn't know what to do when faced with the Daimyō cutting funds.
To that, Kiyohara could only say: the ideological shackles were too heavy.
He had never regarded the Daimyō as some lofty existence. In his eyes, the Daimyō was a cash machine, plus a tool for maintaining national stability.
Economically, Konoha had already undergone reforms and had many sources of overseas income. Its dependence on the Daimyō had been greatly reduced.
Even if Konoha lacked money, Kiyohara had plenty of ways to make the Daimyō hand it over.
Under these circumstances, the Daimyō coming to Konoha was not Kiyohara seeking support from him, but the Daimyō seeking support from Kiyohara.
"Fine. You're the Hokage, so what you say goes."
Tsunade tossed the scroll in her hand onto the table, leaned back, and collapsed onto the tatami.
"Oh, right. I found another bloodline limit in Kirigakure this time."
Kiyohara suddenly said.
"What is it this time?"
"Ice Release. A descendant of the Yuki clan. A child named Haku."
Tsunade's brows rose slightly.
"Ice Release… the Yuki clan?"
Kiyohara briefly told her how he encountered Haku, including how Haku had been treated as a monster by the villagers, how he had waited to die alone in an abandoned woodshed, and how Uchiha Itachi and the others brought him back.
After Tsunade listened, her expression became complicated.
"You really are trying to move every bloodline limit in the entire ninja world into Konoha, aren't you?"
"That makes sense. The more, the better."
Kiyohara admitted it frankly.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. But in her heart, she also knew that what Kiyohara was doing only benefited Konoha.
"By the way, let me show you something."
Kiyohara raised his right hand, palm upward.
Tsunade propped herself up from the tatami and leaned over curiously.
Kiyohara leaned closer to Tsunade.
Tsunade instinctively covered her chest.
"I'm not doing Homelander right now."
Kiyohara said calmly.
"You scared me."
At first, Tsunade hadn't understood what Kiyohara meant by "Homelander." But after Kiyohara personally demonstrated it once, she understood.
"I haven't even taken a bath yet."
Tsunade said seriously.
For that sort of thing, she absolutely had to bathe first.
"I'm showing you Ice Release."
As he spoke, Kiyohara reached his hand behind Tsunade's neck and condensed a wisp of pale-white chakra.
The sudden drop in temperature made Tsunade let out a soft, involuntary sound.
"So cold."
Tsunade spoke.
She shot Kiyohara a reproachful look.
This rebellious student really liked overstepping his place.
"You learned Ice Release?"
"Mm."
Kiyohara withdrew his hand. The cold current above it condensed into ice crystals, forming a lotus.
"I recently made a breakthrough. Before, I could only produce cold wind. Now I can finally condense it into crystals."
Kiyohara handed the ice lotus to Tsunade.
"Water Release and Wind Release combined?"
"Yes."
Tsunade shook her head and placed the ice lotus on the table.
Just then, Tsunade suddenly smiled, turned her head to look at Kiyohara, and a teasing expression appeared on her face.
"Well, this is convenient."
"Convenient for what?"
"Summer."
Tsunade gestured with both hands, her tone carrying some anticipation.
"Think about it. When we're on missions in summer and it's unbearably hot, you can use Ice Release to make a big ice bowl, put shaved ice inside, pour red beans and condensed milk over it, and we can sit under the shade of a tree eating shaved ice. How comfortable would that be?"
Kiyohara looked at her serious expression and could only sigh at Tsunade's extraordinary food sense.
She was too good at eating!
Kiyohara felt that aside from gambling, Tsunade was talented in many areas.
"I spent months synthesizing Ice Release, and you want to use it for shaved ice?"
"What else? Using it to fight is boring."
Tsunade said matter-of-factly, then added,
"Of course, you can also use it to chill sake. Ice-cold sake in summer is the best."
Kiyohara looked at the light in her amber eyes as she seriously considered "how to use Ice Release to enjoy life" and felt that this teacher of his truly had not changed in certain ways.
"Alright. I'll make it for you next time."
Kiyohara smiled and agreed.
Then he changed the topic, his gaze falling on the Wood Release secret technique scroll spread open on the table.
"Teacher, how is your Wood Release practice going?"
Tsunade's smile instantly collapsed halfway.
She sighed, turned over, and crossed her two long white legs.
From Kiyohara's angle, the curve of her back ran all the way down to the outline of her hips, stirring the imagination.
"Not great."
"Which technique are you stuck on?"
Kiyohara reached out, picked up the scroll, and glanced over it.
The scroll recorded basic Wood Release training methods and several beginner-level techniques, including the Wood Release: Adamantine Calling Wood and Wood Release: Silent Killing Binding Technique that Tsunade had already learned.
Tsunade could already use these two techniques proficiently, which was why he had felt her progress in Wood Release was very fast.
But the techniques in the latter half of the scroll were clearly much more complicated.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique."
Tsunade lifted her face and pointed at the scroll.
"I tried it several times and failed. At most, I can condense half a wooden person. Maybe my understanding of Wood Release chakra transformation still isn't deep enough."
Kiyohara put down the scroll and looked at Tsunade's face, which rarely showed a defeated expression.
In truth, Tsunade understood very well that being able to synthesize Wood Release chakra was only the entry ticket to training in Wood Release.
Just like how many ninja in the ninja world had fire-nature chakra, but very few could master every Fire Release technique.
Those who could synthesize Wood Release chakra were the same.
Every Wood Release technique had its own difficulties. Some techniques suited her better, so Tsunade learned them quickly, such as Wood Release: Adamantine Calling Wood.
Other techniques involved knowledge from other areas, so she learned them more slowly.
And the Wood Clone Technique required dividing Wood Release chakra with extreme precision into two parts, which Tsunade still found quite difficult.
Pushing another new book on another account. Still Naruto.
~~~
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