Hearing that, Kiyohara said, "Tsunade-sama, forgive me for speaking bluntly—this is far too dangerous. Mist just suffered a setback, but their main force is still intact. Their security will be extremely tight."
Tsunade knew he was right.
Mist's invasion had been ferocious. Even if they'd been pushed back for the moment, they would not simply give up.
Their supply lines were stretched long, and resupplying would be difficult—meaning they'd likely "feed the war with war," and follow-up offensives could be even larger.
To search for one specific grave marker inside an enemy-concentrated zone was like trying to fish a needle out of the ocean—nine deaths out of ten.
"I understand the risk. I'm not asking you to go right now. Mist won't hold Uzushio's ruins for long," Tsunade said, shaking her head.
She wouldn't throw a Konoha shinobi into a suicide mission just to satisfy her own feelings.
"Then… Tsunade-sama, why did you summon me?" Kiyohara asked, puzzled.
There were so many shinobi. Why pick him?
"Your Magnet Release can boost speed, right? And Orochimaru gave you Leaf Body Flicker too, didn't he?" Tsunade said casually.
In truth, she'd wanted to ask Minato.
With Kushina and Minato's connection, she could probably persuade him.
But Minato was tied up on the Kumo front and couldn't spare the time.
Then she'd run into Orochimaru, who mentioned Kiyohara's speed—fast even among movement specialists.
That was why she'd made this suggestion.
"So that's why," Kiyohara nodded.
True movement specialists were rare. Like sealing specialists, genjutsu specialists, and medics, they were the type who drilled deeply into a single niche.
"But in wartime, I can't always make time. I'll do my best, Tsunade-sama," Kiyohara said carefully.
The implication was polite but clear: he was busy, and if she wanted something extra, compensation mattered.
Tsunade understood immediately. She spread her hand.
Shizune, catching the cue, brought out two scrolls.
From their previous encounter, Tsunade knew this kid was interested in medical ninjutsu.
"Last time I gave you Hemostasis and Antidote Technique, right? Those are basic medical ninjutsu. Beyond that depends on your aptitude," Tsunade said.
Med-nin training required sufficient Yang chakra; without it, you simply weren't suited to the path.
"I don't know if you have Yang, or how talented you are, but I'll teach you these first. Consider it an advance. If you complete what I asked, there'll be more," she said.
Shizune handed the two scrolls to Kiyohara.
He opened them and saw two C-rank medical techniques.
One was Pain Suppression Technique, which temporarily blocked local pain nerves to reduce pain.
The other was Regeneration Technique, which accelerated cell division and helped restore deeper muscle tissue and small deficits.
Both were very useful.
"Tsunade-sama, as soon as Mist withdraws, I'll go check Dan Katō-senpai's grave," Kiyohara said, tucking the scrolls away, making it sound like a matter of course.
"Good," Tsunade said, satisfied.
She only wanted an answer; she wasn't in a rush.
Mist's large-scale push toward Land of Fire was inevitable—Tsunade believed it wouldn't be more than two months.
She waved him off.
Kiyohara noticed her pallor—hemophobia aftereffects, no doubt—and didn't linger.
Outside, cool night air brushed his face, clearing the heavy herbal smell of the tent.
He gripped the two new medical scrolls against his chest. The cool paper made his mind sharpen.
This meeting had paid off far more than he'd expected.
He hadn't even done anything yet, and he'd already received real compensation—and judging by Tsunade's tone, once he brought back news of Dan's grave, there might be even more medical techniques waiting.
Of course, Kiyohara valued more than just the jutsu.
He'd gained a line to Tsunade.
In the shinobi world, unless you were so strong you could solo the entire planet, connections and backing mattered.
And as he inherited more futures, he would likely collect more bloodlines.
Sooner or later, others would notice.
That was when a powerful patron became crucial.
If he were publicly known as Orochimaru's or Tsunade's student, who would dare touch him casually?
Even Danzō would have to hesitate.
Though… if he apprenticed under Orochimaru, Kiyohara couldn't shake the feeling the man would start eyeing his body like a new container.
After all, in a few years, "Orochimaru" might as well be called "Snake Princess"—or "Snake Auntie."
Whether for "progress," or because Itachi cut off his right arm, Orochimaru eventually abandoned his original body and possessed a woman.
"Forget it. That's too far ahead. Focus on the present," Kiyohara thought, shaking his head.
He scanned the area and spotted Kurenai and Genma not far away, heading over.
As he walked, he could still feel his body changing.
He'd completed the second wish and fully fused with Magnet Kiyohara.
Now he found himself anticipating the next month's Willbook.
What kind of bloodline would appear next?
Even as he moved, the transformation from fully inheriting Magnet Release continued to ferment within him.
That solid, grounded feeling of strength—no external tool could compare.
...
Far away, Pakura, Maki, and the few surviving Suna shinobi finally broke through Konoha's pursuit and returned to a relatively safe Suna-controlled zone.
They rested briefly in a hidden sand cave.
Pakura leaned against the cold stone wall, the wound on her right arm—torn by the iron-sand coin, its edges scorched—still pulsing with pain.
There was no medic here; Maki could only do basic treatment.
That Konoha brat—
A guarded heaviness flickered in Pakura's orange eyes.
The black, high-speed projectile.
The blue electric arcs.
Why did it feel… familiar?
The more she replayed it, the deeper the unease grew.
But it had been too dark, and the technique too fast. She hadn't seen it clearly.
"Sensei… there's something stuck in your wound," Maki said, spotting a bit of black powder embedded in the cut.
Tiny—almost hair-thin.
Pakura leaned closer and realized it looked like a kind of mineral.
"…Iron sand?" she muttered.
A thought struck her so hard it made even her uneasy.
"That wasn't… Magnet Release, was it?"
~~~
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