At this moment, Tsunade had clearly finished dealing with everything at the outpost.
And once she was free, her gambling addiction surged up like a flood.
She rubbed her fingers together—itchy, restless—then patted her wallet and found it so flat a mouse could starve inside it.
Right as she was getting annoyed, the corner of her eye caught Kiyohara squatting in a corner, counting money like a little hamster.
Seeing that bulging money pouch, Tsunade's eyes lit up instantly—and she strode over.
She cleared her throat.
"Ahem. Brat, are you counting your mission pay?"
Kiyohara stood up, dusted off his knees, and answered honestly.
"Tsunade-sama, this is from iron sand I collected with Magnet Release. I just sold it."
"Magnet Release?" Tsunade raised a brow, the gleam in her eyes growing even brighter.
Right.
Magnet Release could control iron sand.
Which meant this kid was basically a walking iron-sand miner.
In the long run… wasn't that a stable "source of funds"?
She coughed again—hard—trying to make herself sound more trustworthy. She bent slightly, and the "valley" between her chest deepened like an abyss.
Leaning in close, she spoke in a tone that screamed you're getting an amazing deal:
"So… look, I'm a little tight right now, and I need money to 'rotate' things. Lend me some, yeah? Don't worry—I'll definitely pay you back!"
Kiyohara looked at Tsunade's beautiful face—currently plastered with full-blown gambling withdrawal—then thought of her catastrophic luck and credit history. His mouth twitched faintly.
"Tsunade-sama, it's not that I don't believe you… I'm just worried this'll be 'meat buns thrown to a dog'—gone forever."
"Huh?" A vein popped on Tsunade's forehead.
She was clearly offended by "meat buns thrown to a dog."
She extended a slender finger and flicked Kiyohara's forehead without mercy.
She didn't use much force, but it still stung a little.
So this is Tsunade of the Sannin… Kiyohara thought.
Behind him, Steel Release Kiyohara's spirit appeared.
"I remember the first time I met her, she nearly punched me to death. Steel doesn't protect your insides."
"Normal," Kiyohara replied in his mind. "You were Iwa."
Tsunade, unaware he was having a mental conversation, continued.
"I'm Tsunade. Do I look like the type to borrow money and not repay?"
Then she offered a deal.
"Fine. You lend me money, and I won't take it for free. I'll teach you for a day.
For that day, anything you're stuck on in training—you can ask me. How about it? People would kill for this chance."
Kiyohara's heart stirred.
One day of training under Tsunade—with open Q&A—was absurdly tempting for any genin, chūnin, even jōnin.
Her mastery of fine chakra control, taijutsu, and medical ninjutsu was peak-tier. Even a couple of pointers would be massive.
Borrowing money was risky—but this "tuition" might be worth it.
He pretended to think for a moment, then said under Tsunade's eager gaze:
"Training under Tsunade-sama and asking questions… I'm tempted, but—"
He shook the money pouch in his hand.
"Next time for sure. I want to keep part of this as emergency funds. If you really need money, Tsunade-sama, once I collect and sell more iron sand, I'll lend you some then."
His real plan was to keep Tsunade "hooked" and preserve this channel of access.
The rest of the money? He wanted better armor first.
When he had surplus, he'd lend her some.
Tsunade looked disappointed she couldn't get cash immediately, but "next time for sure" still counted as good news.
She saw the stubborn look in his eyes and realized the kid was sharp, so she settled for second best.
"Alright, alright. It's a deal. Next time you sell, you lend me some. For now, we'll leave it."
Then her mood flipped as if she'd thought of something.
Probably imagining her next "guaranteed" loan, she stopped pestering him, hummed a tune, and briskly walked off.
Kiyohara watched her leave, shook his head helplessly, and carefully stored his money.
He'd already heard that because front-line command needed time to assess intel and plan the next step, their small team would be stationed here for about a week.
Even while stationed, shinobi weren't idle—they rotated patrols, sentry duty, and reconnaissance around the area to keep the camp safe and gather enemy signs.
Kiyohara planned to take missions.
Finish a couple, then exchange merit for a B-rank Lightning jutsu.
That would complete Steel Release Kiyohara's first wish—
and let Kiyohara inherit Steel Release.
In his eyes, Steel Release was extremely useful.
In a pinch, it could literally save his life.
Most shinobi were basically glass cannons.
That day, before Kiyohara could even volunteer for a mission, an assignment came down from above.
They were ordered to recon a mountain range about thirty kilometers east of camp—confirm whether Iwa or other factions had activity there.
Kakashi quickly summarized it:
"Mission objective: recon the northern mountains ten kilometers outside the perimeter. Check for enemy traces."
With the key points clear, the three of them left camp and disappeared into the dense forest outside.
They moved through the mountain woods, heading generally north within Fire Country.
The route was smooth—no more summon attacks, no wandering shinobi, no missing-nin.
In wartime, drifters and missing-nin often preyed on shinobi or civilians for profit.
"Kiyohara, how's the summon taming going?" Rin asked on the way.
"A few more days and I should grind down her wildness," Kiyohara replied.
It was falconry, basically—he'd periodically summon the invisible chameleon and beat it down a little.
Eventually, it would internalize that Kiyohara was unbeatable.
"That's how you tame wild summons," Kakashi said suddenly.
He explained his eight ninken came from the Inuzuka clan, and because he personally raised them, he didn't have Kiyohara's hassle.
Kiyohara shook his head. Like Inuzuka dogs were something just anyone could get.
Kakashi had a father whose fame surpassed even the Sannin.
Kiyohara didn't.
...
Elsewhere, a shinobi opened his eyes.
On closer look, he had six arms, dark skin, and a spider-like appearance.
Tiny spiders crawled over him and whispered intel into his ear.
"A Konoha squad… wonder how much I can sell them to other countries as prisoners."
Kidōmaru let a cruel grin spread.
Shinobi—alive or dead—were valuable.
The spiders' report said it was one jōnin and two chūnin.
In shinobi combat, a surprise strike advantage was enormous.
And he was far stronger than ordinary jōnin. If he struck first, wiping this squad would be easy.
So far, two jōnin had already died by his hands—one Iwa jōnin, and one… Konoha jōnin.
...
In the forest, Kiyohara noticed spiderwebs on some trees. There also seemed to be more spiders on the ground.
But Kakashi's ninken hadn't reacted with any warning.
Steel Release Kiyohara's spirit floated out behind Kiyohara.
Unlike Magnet Kiyohara and the outlaw version, Steel Release Kiyohara didn't need to drift out personally.
He simply stood there and sensed the disturbance.
"Two kilometers to the left. A shinobi is approaching fast."
Kiyohara's gaze sharpened.
Approaching fast, yet without any obvious sound?
"You're that good at sensing?" Kiyohara asked internally.
Not everyone had sensing ability.
Broadly, it could be visual sensing, tactile sensing, auditory sensing, or chakra sensing.
Most ordinary shinobi used chakra sensing.
According to databook patterns, those capable of active sensing often shared one trait: Yang affinity.
Ino, Minato, Tobirama—Yang users.
Yang affinity strengthened sensing; the stronger it was, the better you tended to be.
"My Steel Release is a fusion of Earth and Yang," Steel Release Kiyohara explained.
Adding Yang to Earth changed the body—allowing hardening beyond steel.
"That explains it," Kiyohara thought.
And he felt excitement too.
Once he completed the first wish and inherited Steel Release, he'd also inherit Steel Release Kiyohara's Earth and Yang affinities.
That would massively improve Kiyohara's sensing ability.
No more relying purely on Body Flicker speed to eyeball recon.
From pretending to be a sensor ninja… to becoming a real one.
"It's here," Steel Release Kiyohara warned again.
Kiyohara formed seals and cast a Lightning jutsu.
Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!
Crackle!
Electric arcs raced along the ground—then a rapid series of crack-crack sounds erupted, as if something had been scorched in bulk.
Kiyohara's sudden move pushed Kakashi and Rin from confusion into alertness.
An enemy was definitely coming.
Sure enough, bushes, tree trunks, and grass all erupted with countless small spiders.
And among them stood a six-armed shinobi, mounted on a massive spider, staring down at Kiyohara's team.
"What… is that?" Rin's pretty face went pale.
As a girl, she really hated things like this.
Kakashi didn't change expression. Lightning burst in his hand—Chidori—and he dashed forward, instantly shredding a swarm of spiders.
Kiyohara watched and shook his head.
Ever since Kakashi learned Chidori, it felt like his "purity" had increased.
Ambushed? Chidori.
Head-on? Chidori.
He'd become the shape of Chidori itself.
Still, Kiyohara knew Kakashi would eventually become Konoha's number-one "technician," Copy Ninja Kakashi, who'd copied over a thousand jutsu—
Whether he could actually use most of them was another matter.
Hiss—
Kidōmaru puffed his cheeks and spat out white webbing.
Then, like a spider weaving a nest, his six arms moved rapidly, spreading the web into a massive net and flinging it outward.
Rin couldn't dodge in time—her arm got caught, pinned against a tree.
~~~
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