As the session was close to ending, Kiyohara hesitated, then said,
"Tsunade-sama, could I borrow the testing equipment here for a bit? There's something personal I want to verify."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Testing equipment? What are you trying to test?"
"Some… drug components. A family remedy. I want to confirm it's safe."
Kiyohara kept it vague, but his attitude was earnest.
Tsunade stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly remembered the first time she'd met him—right after he took out a loan and bought a huge amount of medicinal materials.
She waved her hand. "Go ahead. Use the basic testing set on the left. Just don't break anything—this stuff is expensive."
She didn't seem very interested in what he was testing. Or rather, she respected that shinobi had their own secrets.
Clan techniques and secret medicines were a shinobi's foundation. Digging too deeply into them was crossing a line.
"I'm going up to the rooftop for a drink. When you're done, come find me," Tsunade said.
She'd lost a lot of money again these past few days and wanted to cool her head in the wind.
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
After Tsunade left, Kiyohara walked to the testing bench.
The place was fully equipped—microscope, centrifuge, chakra-reaction tester, reagents, culture dishes, all of it.
He'd learned basic science and medical knowledge at the Academy, and after his introductory exposure in Orochimaru's lab, he had a decent grasp of how to operate most of the devices.
First, he took out the pale-white vial from his sealing scroll—the same "White Snake's Power" that Orochimaru had given him.
Kiyohara didn't begin immediately. Instead, he tapped on the urn and summoned Steel Release Kiyohara.
"Future me—keep watch. Especially look for any abnormal chakra surveillance."
"Orochimaru's gift, huh? Yeah, checking it is smart."
The moment Steel Release Kiyohara appeared, he understood what Kiyohara intended.
If it were him, he'd do the same.
Orochimaru still walked a blurry line between good and evil. Better to be cautious.
Once they confirmed the area was safe, Kiyohara began.
He drew a single drop of the white liquid onto a slide and examined it under the microscope.
At a thousand times magnification, he could see countless tiny, semi-transparent, cell-like structures suspended in the fluid. They still retained a low level of activity, slowly writhing in the solution.
"Living cells…"
Kiyohara murmured.
He proceeded with a series of basic tests: pH, chakra affinity, chemical reaction tests against common toxins…
The process took nearly an hour.
The results suggested the main component was a highly concentrated bioactive solution—essentially just white snake cells.
"So Orochimaru-sama really did give me a gift this time," Kiyohara thought.
At this point, Orochimaru's curse mark research should still be in progress; he wouldn't have perfected it yet.
The same went for "White Snake's Power"—likely still in an ongoing refinement stage.
Of course, that didn't mean it was completely harmless. Any substance that forcibly enhanced the body carried risk. But at least it ruled out the most malicious possibilities.
"How else do you get stronger without taking drugs?"
That phrase surfaced in Kiyohara's mind again.
Aside from the forbidden medicine he got from Rogue-Nin Kiyohara, if he injected "White Snake's Power," this would basically be his second time using a "forbidden" booster.
At least, the extraction process—isolating useful substances from white snake biology—was probably something only Orochimaru could do in the entire village.
Kiyohara cleaned and returned every tool to its proper place, thanked Tsunade, and left.
Tsunade only waved him off, then immediately rushed to the casino with the money Kiyohara had given her earlier.
…
That evening, back home.
Three cages sat in front of Kiyohara, each holding a small white mouse.
He'd bought them on the way back from a pet shop near a ninja-tool store—one of those places that occasionally sold animals for shinobi training.
He ran an even more cautious live test.
The first mouse received a tiny dose of "White Snake's Power." After thirty minutes, it showed no abnormalities—if anything, it was more energetic, and its fur looked glossier.
The second mouse received half a drop. After an hour, it was still fine—and even performed better in a basic reaction-speed test.
The third mouse was the control group and received nothing.
"It should be safe."
Kiyohara watched the first two mice hop around and made his decision.
He sat cross-legged and drank the rest of the white liquid in one go.
It was cool as it slid down his throat.
For the first few seconds, he felt nothing.
Then a warm current rose from his stomach and spread through his limbs.
It wasn't ordinary heat—it was warmth that sank into the bone, seeping into every cell.
Kiyohara could clearly feel the power moving through him. Wherever it passed, his muscle fibers and bones tingled with a fine itch, like their density was increasing.
His chakra pathways seemed to widen, able to hold more chakra.
The warmth intensified, turning into a dry, burning heat.
His skin flushed red; large beads of sweat formed on his forehead; his breathing grew heavy.
He gritted his teeth and guided the foreign power as it merged with his own.
His Yang-aspected vitality seemed to rejoice, as though it had met kin. It surged forward and entwined with the "White Snake's Power."
Kiyohara could feel his life force being replenished and strengthened—cell activity and regenerative capacity rising.
The metamorphosis lasted a full two hours.
When the last of the feverish heat finally retreated, Kiyohara opened his eyes.
He was soaked in sweat, but he felt better than ever.
He clenched his fist. The sense of strength was denser—more solid—and it continuously nourished his body, even faintly accelerating his natural chakra recovery.
Kiyohara went into the yard and began kneading chakra.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"
This was the technique he'd just obtained from Orochimaru.
A thin, razor-sharp crescent of wind flew from his palm, silently slicing through a fist-thick stone pillar in the courtyard.
The stone split cleanly, the cut surface smooth as glass.
He focused carefully on chakra expenditure and recovery.
Casting the wind technique used about ten percent less chakra than before.
And after the expenditure, his recovery rate… was clearly faster.
If before it was like dripping water through a dropper, now it was more like a thin, steady stream.
It still wasn't instant, but that kind of sustained recovery boost mattered enormously in a prolonged fight.
"Both HP and chakra recovery are boosted…"
Kiyohara felt the warm energy slowly flowing inside him and couldn't help feeling pleased.
"White Snake's Power" mainly reinforced his physical foundation—and because it aligned so well with his Yang nature, it provided extra vitality and accelerated chakra recovery.
It was like thickening the "base" of his body.
"Next is the Land of Rain…"
…
Three days later, early morning.
The sun had just risen, and the air still carried a chill.
A fine drizzle fell from the sky.
A thin fog hung over Konoha's main gate.
Kiyohara arrived early, his new ninja pouch at his waist, a chainmail undershirt tight against his body, and a dark gray rain cloak over it.
He checked his equipment: sand iron, plenty of paper bombs, sealing scrolls stuffed with soldier pills and emergency medicine.
He'd also paid top price for a larger-capacity sealing scroll—empty for now—intended solely for storing loot.
He glanced up at the gate.
This gate had a name, too: the Gate of Audience.
"Kiyohara!"
A clear, bright voice called out.
Kurenai stepped out of the fog in a rain cloak as well, her black hair tied into a neat ponytail.
Genma was beside her, frowning as he adjusted the hood of his cloak.
It just had to rain on the day they left.
Thinking about days of rain in the Land of Rain made him feel miserable.
Genma hated rain.
"You're here early," Genma yawned.
"I heard it's pouring over there. I really don't want to go…"
Kiyohara was about to answer when more silhouettes emerged from the mist.
Rin appeared with her medical pack, purple face paint on her cheeks.
Beside her were Kakashi in his black mask and silver hair—and a tall blond man with a sunny smile.
Minato Namikaze.
"Minato-sama?"
Kiyohara was surprised.
"Yo, Kiyohara-kun." Minato smiled in greeting.
"We're on the same route for a while. We have an escort mission near the Rain border too, and we'll be traveling together with Orochimaru-senpai's team for part of it."
Kakashi nodded at Kiyohara. "Congrats. You're about to be a jōnin."
He was genuinely happy for Kiyohara… but there was also pressure.
Being around a prodigy always created pressure for the people nearby.
Kakashi had never felt that before.
Now he felt it—faintly—around Kiyohara.
Rin waved with a smile. "Kiyohara, congrats! Congrats!"
"Thanks," Kiyohara replied.
Kurenai stepped closer and studied him, then lowered her voice.
"Kiyohara… you look a little different. Your skin's a bit paler, and you look really healthy."
Kiyohara's heart stirred.
Were the effects of "White Snake's Power" that noticeable?
He touched his face. "Maybe I've just been resting better."
"Is that so…" Kurenai muttered, still unsure, but she didn't press.
Then a tall, slender figure approached through the fog.
Orochimaru, in shinobi attire with a black cloak, golden slit-pupils gleaming like a cold-blooded animal's eyes.
His gaze swept everyone—and lingered on Kiyohara for a beat longer, his mouth curling into a faint, unreadable smile.
"Everyone's here."
Orochimaru's voice was hoarse.
"Minato, you're accompanying us for a stretch?"
"Yes, Orochimaru-senpai," Minato answered respectfully.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya were fellow students under Hiruzen; by that logic, Orochimaru was Minato's senior.
"Our destination is about thirty kilometers east of the Rain border. We can travel together until the village where Orochimaru-senpai's team branches off."
"Then we leave," Orochimaru said.
They headed out through the gate.
Not far outside, a transport convoy waited—horse-drawn wagons loaded with supplies.
One look told Kiyohara this would be slow.
Horses couldn't match shinobi.
Even the most basic D-rank Body Flicker could move you at high speed over several meters.
In shinobi terms, technique "range" broadly fell into three buckets:
Far: over ten meters
Mid: five to ten meters
Close: five meters or less
Not fixed rules, of course—some shinobi could make "close-range" techniques reach far beyond their nominal distance. But that kind of thing was a privilege of the strong, and rare.
"Orochimaru-sama, Minato-sama… I can't believe you're both here!"
A man waiting outside hurried over, delighted.
With two giants present, how could anything go wrong?
"What's your name? How many people are in the caravan?" Orochimaru asked.
"There are thirty-six people. My name is Jirōbō—I'm the leader," the man replied.
"This way, please."
Jirōbō called someone over and had two large wagons prepared—big enough to seat seven or eight people each.
Everyone climbed aboard.
"It's slower… but at least we don't have to run," Kiyohara said, watching the scenery slide by.
"The Land of Earth doesn't have this much flat ground," Steel Release Kiyohara floated beside him and spoke quietly.
Most of the Land of Earth was steep mountains, and shinobi rarely developed land the way civilians did.
"That's why the Land of Fire gets attacked by so many countries," Kiyohara said. "Everyone wants a piece of the fat."
War killed people. Besides a few extremists, most people hated it.
The reason the ninja wars kept repeating was simple: resources.
Why did Sand's people have to grow up facing endless sand and water shortages, while Fire's civilians lived in relative abundance?
Given enough time, war was inevitable.
"Kiyohara-kun, is this your first time riding in a wagon?" Orochimaru noticed Kiyohara occasionally studying the wagon's interior and asked with mild curiosity.
"It is," Kiyohara nodded.
In both his past life and this one, it was his first time.
The shinobi world had advanced technology, but it wasn't evenly distributed.
Many daimyō and nobles still traveled by wagons and palanquins—traditional vehicles.
Meanwhile, the villages already had things like refrigerators and televisions.
Even airships existed—long ago, the now-destroyed Land of Sky had them.
The Land of Snow, far at the continent's edge in bitter cold, had cars and airships too.
"When I rode a wagon for the first time, I was about your age," Orochimaru said, making small talk with Kiyohara.
Kurenai and Rin sat together, chatting about the kind of topics girls shared.
"Kiyohara-kun is amazing," Rin murmured. "He can talk to a legendary shinobi like one of the Sannin without even blinking."
"He's always been amazing," Kurenai nodded sincerely.
By now, Kurenai had fully accepted Kiyohara as a genius—some part of her even felt he might be stronger than Kakashi.
~~~
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