"Then thank you, Orochimaru-sama," Kiyohara said.
Now that he'd become Orochimaru's assistant, when Orochimaru later developed forbidden drugs and the Curse Mark, Kiyohara might be able to get involved and profit from it.
"Go get some rest first, Kiyohara-kun. Your complexion doesn't look very good," Orochimaru said, studying his face.
Kiyohara's face was pale and bloodless—clearly aftereffects from fighting for so long.
"Then I'll take my leave, Orochimaru-sama," Kiyohara replied, taking the scroll and heading out.
Outside, he exchanged a few quick words with Yūhi Kurenai and Shiranui Genma, then returned to the newly assigned tent to rest.
That 'White Snake Power'… once it's tested and confirmed safe, if I inject it, maybe it'll even increase my chakra, Kiyohara thought.
By then, even without the "shortcut" of having a future self help refine chakra, his recovery speed would likely improve—some kind of buff.
After that, he sorted through the sealing scroll packed full of spoils, planning to set aside time to sell everything.
He wanted to spend part of the money on chainmail.
His current chainmail was damaged—he needed a better one.
Steel Release was an active ability and cost chakra to maintain.
Chainmail was passive—when it mattered most, it could save him from an ambush.
That aside, the only remaining issue was the second wish.
"About Steel Release users—do you have any leads?" Kiyohara summoned Steel-Release Kiyohara.
"There should be quite a few. In my future, there were Steel Release Iwa ninja and I knew where they went—but I don't know if your future will match mine," Steel-Release Kiyohara said.
Bloodlines were rare, but across a major nation, there were still plenty.
Because it wasn't only ninja who awakened bloodlines.
"Ninja" was just a profession.
Even ordinary civilians could awaken abilities at birth—or suddenly one day.
But those abilities were easily mistaken by ignorant villagers as a disaster, leading to imprisonment or murder, tearing families apart.
"True." Kiyohara stroked his chin.
With the defensive line falling back, Mist's main force would probably ease off for a while—regrouping and stockpiling for the next major push.
In the short term, it would only be smaller clashes.
Meanwhile, Mist Anbu would try to abduct Nohara Rin—likely with the Three-Tails Jinchūriki accompanying them for a tailed-beast transfer.
Their original plan was to seal the Three-Tails into Rin, let her return, and trigger a rampage inside Konoha.
For what happens when a tailed beast goes berserk inside a village… just look at the Nine-Tails.
The defenders have to fight with their hands tied, or the whole village gets leveled.
From a purely "plan" perspective, it was workable.
But Kiyohara knew it was all a smokescreen for Uchiha Madara's real scheme.
Madara couldn't control everyone with genjutsu. He'd control a portion, then create a "reasonable" excuse so the rest would accept it.
"We'll have to watch how it develops," Kiyohara decided.
He planned to proactively take missions involving Iwagakure and ask around to raise the odds.
After sending Steel-Release Kiyohara back into the urn box, he fell asleep quickly.
The next day, Kiyohara and the others received news.
Just as Orochimaru had said, Mist's offensive had to slow down for now due to the Six-Tails Jinchūriki's unexpected rampage and loss of control. They shifted into a standoff and regrouping phase.
Pressure on Konoha's eastern front eased sharply. Some units were rotated back to the village to rest—Kiyohara's group among them.
The long-unseen streets of Konoha came into view: the familiar Hokage Rock, the bustling crowds. After the blood-soaked battlefield, it felt unreal.
Kiyohara inhaled the familiar "everyday" smoke and cooking scents. The tension in his nerves finally loosened a little.
Perfect timing—he could sell off his haul and turn it into real "shinobi potential."
…
A few dozen minutes later.
Konohagakure.
Inside one large room in the Hokage Tower, a new jōnin council meeting was underway—everyone present was at least jōnin rank.
Cigarette smoke curled through the air. The mood was heavy.
Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen sat at the head, pipe in mouth, eyes slowly sweeping over the assembled jōnin, advisors, and representatives from the front's command.
Danzō sat to the side with half-lidded eyes. Koharu and Homura spoke quietly to each other.
"On the Iwa front, that stubborn old man Ōnoki is still holding on, but our intel says their supplies and manpower replenishment are showing fatigue. They can't last much longer," an intelligence-analysis jōnin reported.
"Sunagakure seems to be building strength—or watching. Kumogakure… the Fourth Raikage A is aggressive, but he's newly in office and needs internal stability; a large-scale invasion is less likely in the short term. Kirigakure… they took a heavy hit this time. The Six-Tails' loss of control caused more damage to them than to us, so they can't organize the same scale of offensive again soon."
Hiruzen exhaled a slow ring of smoke.
"So the key is Iwa. Once we resolve Iwa, we can free enough forces to respond to pressure from the other directions."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Nara Shikaku said.
Danzō spoke up then, voice low.
"Perhaps… we should add fuel to the fire. Strike from other angles."
He didn't say it outright, but everyone who knew his style understood: infiltration, sabotage, assassinations—Root's specialty.
Hiruzen didn't answer directly. He turned his gaze to Orochimaru seated nearby.
"Orochimaru. You know the eastern front best. Mist's withdrawal wasn't just because of the Six-Tails—an unexpected hit on the flank also mattered. I heard Kiyohara performed exceptionally well?"
Many jōnin looked over.
Kiyohara's name, carried back in war reports, had started circulating among Konoha's upper ranks and some jōnin circles.
Alone on the flank, he'd caused massive disruption, killed large numbers of Mist chūnin and genin, and even an elite jōnin—possibly using some long-range technique to destroy their commander…
For a chūnin, it was almost unbelievable.
A faint smile flickered in Orochimaru's golden slit pupils. He licked his lips and spoke in his hoarse voice:
"Sarutobi-sensei, Kiyohara truly is outstanding. Frankly… he has the qualifications to skip tokubetsu jōnin and be promoted directly to jōnin."
Hiruzen nodded.
Kiyohara was exactly as he'd suspected: a genius, with unusually high development of Magnet Release.
A talent like that was what Konoha needed in wartime.
Danzō's eyes opened slightly. Kiyohara's performance was impressive—and the more impressive it was, the more Danzō wanted to bring him under Root's control.
The meeting continued, covering frontline details, logistics, resource allocation, and next-step strategy.
Finally, Hiruzen tapped his pipe.
"Everyone, the war isn't over. Konoha still needs your efforts. The Iwa front is the next phase's focus—each division, prepare accordingly. Dismissed."
…
Back home, Kiyohara made himself a cup of tea.
He hadn't bought it—Kakashi had given it to him.
Apparently Kakashi saw that Kiyohara's "extreme minimalist" home didn't even have tea, so he brought some.
The clean taste refreshed Kiyohara. Kakashi's taste was pretty good.
Then Kiyohara went into the bathroom.
Shhhhhh…
Water ran over his well-proportioned muscles, streaming down their contours.
"I'm stronger than before…" Kiyohara murmured.
He extended his hand.
First, a faint swirl of wind chakra appeared.
Then it shifted to crackling lightning arcs.
Then it slowly solidified into a rock-like tone—before fading back to normal.
Wind, Lightning, Earth—these were now his three strongest elemental transformations.
His talent in them was extraordinary.
Many corresponding techniques didn't even need to be "inherited"—he could learn them himself.
Years became months. Two months. One month.
He started to suspect: if he pushed that talent to its peak, maybe he could learn any jutsu he saw once?
"I still need more time to grow," he thought.
He pushed his hair back, threw on a robe, and stepped out.
In the mirror, his features had grown sharper with age—handsome, defined.
After washing up, he changed into casual clothes.
His chainmail undershirt was broken. He needed to buy a new one.
A shinobi wouldn't stay in the village long.
The war was still ongoing—after a few days, he'd be sent back to the front again.
After he finished battle merit settlement, resupply, jutsu exchange… the whole process—
Kurenai came to find him.
"I just went and contracted a summoning animal—a cat," she said. "It can do backflips. Want to come see?"
"Backflips?" Kiyohara blinked.
"Yep. I left it at home," Kurenai said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
She'd been wanting to train with him again.
It had been a while since they'd trained together, and without Kiyohara around, she realized she really wasn't used to it.
None of their peers had Kiyohara's breadth of jutsu knowledge—or his strong genjutsu talent. He could even explain tricky concepts in clear, simple terms.
Her father, Yūhi Shinku, was also a genjutsu expert—stronger than Kiyohara—but he was strict and rigid. Being around him felt stifling.
"Sure. Sounds good," Kiyohara agreed after a moment.
His genjutsu resistance was decent, but he didn't know many genjutsu techniques himself.
If he wanted to be "never surprised," he needed both sides: know and be known.
Otherwise, a single slip could mean getting caught.
"Really?" Kurenai looked startled.
She'd thought Kiyohara would refuse with something like "Sigma men never fall for a woman's trap."
But he agreed immediately.
"Then come with me."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!
Thank you for reading!