"Step by step," Kiyohara said to himself as he watched the white smoke fade, already mapping out his plan.
First, he needed to rack up enough merit to exchange for a B-rank Lightning Release technique and complete Steel Release Kiyohara's first wish.
At the same time, he'd use missions as opportunities to see if he could run into a lone Iwa Steel Release user.
...
Night.
Two figures were moving in rapid, crisscrossing flashes—
on an open patch of ground at the edge of camp, used as a temporary training field.
Kiyohara and Kakashi were sparring.
Fine black iron sand, as small as dust, hovered around Kiyohara.
He formed seals.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Cutting!"
Crackle!
The electricity didn't coat a kunai or sword this time—instead it surged straight into the floating iron-sand cloud.
In an instant, dazzling blue sparks leapt through the iron-sand mist, snapping and popping.
"Magnet Release—Iron Sand Drizzle."
Kiyohara flicked his hand. The lightning-charged iron sand swarmed like a commanded hive, screeching with electric current as it rained down on Kakashi!
The spread was huge, nearly covering all of Kakashi's normal dodge routes.
Faced with that kind of attack, Kakashi pushed his forehead protector up, revealing the crimson Sharingan with two tomoe.
It spun as his dynamic vision tracked every grain of iron sand—calculating speed and angle.
At the moment the lightning sand was about to hit, Kakashi moved.
He slipped, twisted, retreated—threading his body through tiny gaps in the storm.
A few grains pierced through and scraped his clothes, leaving a faint burnt smell, but no real injury.
"So the Sharingan's perception really is a headache," Kiyohara muttered.
He didn't get discouraged. Instead, he focused even harder, reshaping the iron-sand formation mid-flight.
Kakashi stayed fully locked in too, the exchange going back and forth.
At the edge of the training field, Rin sat quietly on a rock, chin propped on her hands as she watched them.
Moonlight softened her features.
This scene… felt like the past.
She remembered those days—she'd sit nearby as Obito loudly challenged Kakashi, got beaten into lumps, then climbed back up and refused to quit—
Only now that hot-blooded figure was gone, replaced by Kiyohara: calm as water, methods endless.
Kiyohara… is nothing like Obito, Rin thought.
Stronger—and… more handsome too.
The thought made her cheeks warm. She quickly shook her head, flustered.
The spar lasted over ten minutes. Only when both had burned more than half their chakra did they finally stop, panting.
"Kiyohara… you're getting stronger way too fast," Kakashi said, pulling his forehead protector back down over the Sharingan while catching his breath.
"I'm just putting more time into training," Kiyohara replied.
Kakashi nodded.
In his memory, Kiyohara really was both hardworking and talented.
"I'm going back to rest," Kakashi said.
With the Sharingan draining him nonstop, Kakashi tired faster than most shinobi.
"Kakashi—there's something I want to ask," Rin called, hurrying after him.
Kakashi turned. "What is it?"
"I want to ask… why, since Obito died, you almost never train with me anymore."
Before Kakashi became obsessed with developing Chidori, the three of them—Rin, Kakashi, Obito—had been inseparable.
Rin had thought once Kakashi finished the jutsu, things would go back to how they were.
Instead, Obito stayed at Kannabi Bridge.
And Kakashi grew quieter and quieter, training alone every day.
"Because Obito entrusted you to me," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "Even if it kills me, I'll protect you."
"But—"
"Rin… Obito liked you. A lot. He cared about you more than anything."
Rin didn't know how to respond.
Obito liking her… what did that have to do with Kakashi not training with her?
"And I'm just a piece of trash who once left you to die."
Kakashi looked away.
Even if Rin never said anything afterward, he had chosen the mission over her back then—abandoning her.
Only after Obito's words did he finally wake up and realize comrades mattered more than missions.
But the guilt had become a thorn in his chest.
Rin watched Kakashi walk away. Her lips parted like she wanted to stop him, but in the end she couldn't.
She let out a soft sigh, disappointment flickering across her face.
Why—if they were all good comrades—did Obito's death leave a gap between them?
"Classic messy love-triangle drama," Kiyohara muttered, shaking his head.
Even without firsthand knowledge, he could guess what was going on.
He recovered a bit of chakra, then began turning chakra into magnetic force, sensing iron sand in the earth.
Some of it he'd keep for daily Magnet Release usage.
Some of it he planned to sell.
Iron sand was still a mineral resource—valuable enough to trade.
He searched nearby and, perhaps due to the terrain, actually gathered quite a lot.
What surprised him was that Rin came back.
"Kiyohara… I'll help you," she said softly, crouching down to help sort the black iron sand that had been pulled onto the grass.
"Thanks," Kiyohara said, not refusing.
He could tell Rin needed something to occupy her mind right now.
They collected in silence for a while. The atmosphere turned subtle.
Finally, Rin couldn't hold it in and asked in a low voice:
"Kiyohara… do you think Kakashi will… never be able to forget Obito?"
Kiyohara's hands paused. He turned to look at her.
Under the moon, Rin's head was lowered; long lashes hid her eyes.
So that's what it was.
Kiyohara understood.
Right now, Rin probably just had a budding crush on Kakashi.
But it hadn't even had time to bloom before it got cut off.
Because Kakashi was… a steel-reinforced straight-line guy.
After a moment, Kiyohara spoke as gently as he could:
"Don't be too upset, Rin. Kakashi… probably just hasn't fully come out the other side of Obito yet. That Sharingan isn't just power—it's also a heavy weight of obligation and guilt.
When he looks at you, he can't help thinking about Obito's last request. Of course his feelings would be complicated."
"I'm not… upset," Rin said quickly.
Kiyohara chuckled and pointed at her face.
"Your worries are practically written all over your expression. And honestly… with the Sharingan and Obito's death, it's not hard to guess the shape of things."
"My emotions are that obvious?" Rin touched her cheek, startled.
Kiyohara paused, then said half-jokingly, half-seriously:
"A girl as pretty and kind as you is going to draw attention. People will naturally notice your mood. Isn't it normal that someone can see what you're thinking?"
The near-blunt compliment caught Rin off guard.
The knot in her chest loosened a little.
Kakashi might not be paying attention to her…
But someone else was.
Rin looked up at Kiyohara's handsome face.
She'd seen Kakashi without his mask before—but compared to Kiyohara's looks, Kakashi was still a step behind.
Seeing Rin's shy expression, Kiyohara knew his words had worked, so he didn't push the topic.
Instead he shifted gears:
"Alright. Don't think too much. Since we're already out here, want to practice some medical ninjutsu? I remember the basics you taught me—I want to reinforce them."
"Mm… okay," Rin nodded softly, using the chance to steady her emotions.
...
Meanwhile, back in his tent, Kakashi sat alone on his sleeping bag, back against the canvas, staring up at the ceiling.
He sat there for over an hour, wrestling with himself, then finally sighed and stood.
He wanted to check on Rin.
He was worried she'd stay upset because of how he'd been acting.
He only wanted them to remain comrades.
But when Kakashi lifted the tent flap and stepped outside, he saw Kiyohara and Rin walking back together from the training field.
Moonlight spilled over them.
Rin was speaking quietly to Kiyohara, and Kiyohara tilted his head, listening attentively.
Kakashi silently went back into his tent.
Looks like Kiyohara had already talked her through it.
He didn't need to interfere.
Obito… I'll keep our promise, Kakashi thought.
...
The next morning, Kiyohara rose early and poured the iron sand he'd collected into a sturdy cloth sack.
The grains were uniform, deep black—good raw metal material.
He planned to use the morning break to sell it in the nearby transit town.
He found the right merchant quickly. The man checked the quality and offered a fair price.
Forty thousand ryō.
That was what Kiyohara got for selling part of it.
The rest of the iron sand he kept in his thermos.
It was decent money, given that iron sand wasn't a rare precious metal.
The shinobi world's mining and smelting techniques were modern enough that prices couldn't be too high.
If he wanted real wealth, he needed to learn from Rasa.
Kiyohara's desire to meet Rasa only grew stronger.
He genuinely wanted to know how Rasa used magnetism to control gold dust—if Kiyohara learned that, he wouldn't have to scrape by with iron sand.
"At least it's safer than missions," Kiyohara thought.
Collecting iron sand cost time and chakra, and it wasn't everywhere, so you had to keep exploring—
But it was still far safer than ordinary assignments.
Back at the outpost, Kiyohara squatted somewhere quiet and counted his money.
He wondered if he should buy new armor.
His old gear was worn down now; if he got jumped, it might break too easily.
That was when the light suddenly dimmed.
His face seemed covered by two enormous shadows.
A breath—tinged with faint alcohol—came close.
Kiyohara reflexively looked up—
And a towering wall of tightly restrained "peaks" blocked his entire field of view.
"What are you staring at?" Tsunade's voice asked.
Only then did Kiyohara realize he'd left auto-aim on.
So without changing expression, he calmly shifted his gaze away, still squatting, and scooted back a step.
He tilted his neck upward and finally saw her lazy face above.