The wagon wheels ground through the muddy road with a creaking groan.
In the fine rain, the merchant caravan—four wagons in total—moved forward slowly. Water pooled on the canvas roofs and dripped from the edges every so often.
Kiyohara sat by the window, looking outside through glass blurred by rainwater.
The wagon jolted lightly. Kurenai and Rin let out small surprised sounds, then quickly settled again.
The two girls sat on the opposite side of the carriage, whispering to each other; soft laughter drifted over from time to time.
Orochimaru sat diagonally across from Kiyohara, back against the carriage wall, fingers interlaced on his lap. His eyes were half-closed, as if he were resting.
But Kiyohara could feel it—the slit-gold eyes occasionally opened to a thin line, sweeping across everyone in the carriage, always lingering on him a fraction longer.
Minato sat near the door, studying a map in his hands.
Kakashi sat beside him, mask covering most of his face, his one visible eye watchfully tracking the view outside.
After a while, Orochimaru started talking to Kiyohara again.
"I remember later on, I followed Sarutobi-sensei on an escort mission—escorting a noblewoman from a daimyo's household. We rode in a carriage too, but that one was far more luxurious. Silk cushions, incense…"
Kurenai and Rin stopped their conversation and listened with curiosity.
Even Kakashi and Genma turned to look.
"That noblewoman cried the whole way. She said she was being forced to marry a man she didn't love," Orochimaru continued.
"When the mission ended, she secretly asked me if I could help her escape. I told her no—because a mission is a mission."
The carriage fell silent for a few seconds. Only rain and the creak of wheels remained.
"Then what?" Rin couldn't help asking.
"Then she married. Three years later, I passed through that country on another mission and heard she'd given birth to a son. She seemed to be doing fairly well."
Orochimaru opened his eyes fully, those golden pupils sweeping over them.
"So feelings… sometimes they're only temporary obsessions. Time changes everything."
Only immortality, he thought, could avoid being eroded by time.
The comment landed abruptly, making the atmosphere in the carriage subtly awkward.
Minato smoothly stepped in to break the silence.
"Orochimaru-senpai is right—missions are missions. But everyone still has their own choices, as long as they don't violate the shinobi code."
He put the map away and offered a gentle smile.
"Speaking of which, Kiyohara's about to be promoted to jōnin—impressive. Kakashi was only about half a year ahead. You two really are geniuses."
Kakashi muttered, "I just got lucky."
In Kakashi's mind, Kiyohara had been quiet and low-key in the past, so he'd never shown his talent.
"Kakashi is being too modest," Orochimaru said, licking his lips.
"I've observed your Chidori. Your Lightning Release shape transformation is already at a very high level. As for Kiyohara-kun's Magnet Release—he has a unique approach to nature transformation and combined applications. You walk different paths, but both of you have significant potential."
"By the way, Kiyohara-kun."
Orochimaru's tone shifted.
"I noticed yesterday when you were organizing your gear—you replaced ordinary thread with copper wire. Was it to improve conductivity?"
"Yes," Kiyohara admitted openly.
"A correct choice." Orochimaru nodded in approval.
In every respect, Kiyohara was making Orochimaru more and more satisfied.
It even made him consider whether—after Mitarashi Anko—he should take another student…
…
By the evening of the third day, the caravan finally reached the border region of the Land of Rain.
The rain had grown heavier.
Raindrops the size of beans hammered the carriage roofs so densely that visibility dropped to under ten meters.
At the front of the caravan, Jirōbō shouted through the downpour.
"My lords! We can't keep going! It's dark, the road is slick, and there's a stretch of mountain road ahead that's extremely dangerous!"
Minato leaned out to check the sky, then compared it to his map, and nodded.
"Let's make camp."
But finding a suitable campsite in a storm like this wasn't easy.
The terrain here was low, and puddles were already forming everywhere.
After searching for nearly half an hour, they found a barely usable patch of flat ground on a small, relatively high hill.
"Damn it—the tents are soaked through. We can't put them up," Jirōbō said after checking the supplies, his face darkening.
The civilians in the caravan began to panic.
Spending the night in the open under this kind of rain—if they didn't freeze, they'd still get sick.
Kiyohara surveyed the surroundings, then an idea came to him.
He walked up to Orochimaru and Minato. "Orochimaru-sama—maybe I can try using Earth Release to make a temporary shelter."
"Earth Release?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.
"I can manage some basic techniques."
Kiyohara stepped into the center of the clearing and began forming seals.
Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog or Ram → Dog → Ox → Snake.
Standard Earth Release hand signs.
He fed chakra into the ground, feeling the boost from the "White Snake's Power"—his chakra felt thicker, and his control slightly sharper.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Rumble, rumble.
The ground shook violently as a wall rose from the earth. Kiyohara cast it four times in sequence, forming a square.
Each wall was over twenty centimeters thick and about three meters tall, with an open top.
But he wasn't finished. He formed a new set of seals.
"Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation!"
The tops of the walls stretched and folded inward, forming a slanted roof. The whole structure looked like a crude, box-shaped house—but it was enough to block the rain.
The caravan stared, dumbfounded.
They'd seen ninjutsu used in battle before, but this was the first time they'd seen someone build a "house" with it.
"It still needs a door and windows."
Kiyohara walked to one wall, drew his ninjatō, and cut out a rectangular doorway.
The entire process took less than two minutes.
A temporary shelter large enough for more than forty people was complete.
"Whew…"
Kiyohara let out a small breath, slightly winded.
These were techniques he'd exchanged for with merit before leaving, along with a few he planned to "explain away" later as things he'd learned from enemy scrolls.
His chakra reserves were originally around three times a normal jōnin's. After taking "White Snake's Power," his chakra recovery speed had increased noticeably.
His total chakra had also risen somewhat—now around 3.6 times a typical jōnin's level.
So chaining four Earth-Style Walls and one Opening Earth Rising Excavation—five Earth Release techniques in total—wasn't too difficult.
"T-That's… incredible!" Jirōbō gaped.
To him, shinobi were a violent profession—mercenary-like. Assassinate, guard, kill attackers.
Using ninjutsu for construction like this felt almost unheard of.
The caravan cheered and rushed to move supplies into the earth house.
The floor was still bare dirt, but it was dry, they could build a fire, and they could rest.
The soil had been pushed up from below, so it only carried a little surface rainwater.
Orochimaru stepped inside and brushed his fingers across the wall. The surface had been compacted smooth and hard by chakra—quite water-resistant.
"A very practical Earth Release application," Orochimaru commented.
"It's only a combination of C-rank techniques, but it demands excellent chakra control and timing. Kiyohara-kun, your Earth Release is beyond what I expected."
Minato examined it too and nodded slightly.
Plenty of shinobi could think of a combination like this, but actually executing it required very precise control.
"It's just basic application," Kiyohara said modestly.
Privately, he credited the talent he'd inherited—Magnet Release Kiyohara and Steel Release Kiyohara's understanding of Earth chakra nature and shape transformation had pushed his Earth Release far beyond an ordinary shinobi's.
They began setting up the temporary camp.
Minato and Kakashi placed warning traps around the perimeter. Rin and Kurenai helped hand out rations and blankets.
While sorting blankets, Kurenai accidentally nicked her finger on a rough wooden crate edge.
"Ah!"
She hissed softly as a bead of red welled at her fingertip.
"Let me see," Kiyohara said, walking over and taking her hand.
Rin hurried up with her medical kit. "Kiyohara, let me—"
"I'll do it," Kiyohara said.
He held Kurenai's wrist with his left hand and brought his right index and middle finger together. Gentle green chakra glowed at his fingertips.
"Regeneration Technique…"
The green light covered the cut.
Kurenai felt warm chakra flow into her finger; the pain faded quickly.
A few minutes later, the wound was gone—only a small patch of fresh pink skin remained.
Kurenai's face reddened.
Not from pain—Kiyohara was holding her hand, and he was too close. She could clearly see the focused profile of his face.
"It's… it's fine now. Thank you," Kurenai said softly, pulling her hand back.
Rin stared at Kiyohara in surprise.
"Kiyohara… your medical ninjutsu improved so fast."
Kiyohara withdrew his chakra. "Maybe it's because Tsunade-sama taught me for a day."
"W-Wait—Tsunade-sama taught you?" Rin's voice brimmed with obvious envy.
Tsunade-sama… if she could get even a day of instruction, she didn't know how happy she'd be.
Orochimaru watched the whole exchange, interest deepening in his slit-gold eyes.
He walked up beside Kiyohara and lowered his voice.
"Earth Release, Wind Release, Lightning Release, medical ninjutsu, swordsmanship, Magnet Release… Kiyohara-kun, the sheer variety you've mastered reminds me of someone."
"Who?" Kiyohara asked.
"Second Hokage Senju Tobirama."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"He was also proficient across multiple types of ninjutsu and excelled at combining them—though his strengths were Water Release and forbidden technique development."
"Orochimaru-sama, that's too much praise. I just think learning more rarely hurts."
"Indeed." Orochimaru nodded, then asked casually:
"When you use Magnet Release… what chakra are you actually using?"
Here it comes.
Kiyohara knew this question was inevitable—especially from a scientist like Orochimaru.
He'd long prepared an answer.
"It's Wind and Earth combined," Kiyohara said.
"Wind plus Earth…"
Orochimaru looked thoughtful.
"That aligns with the theoretical foundation of Magnet Release. But to fuse two chakra natures on your own and stabilize it… that requires extraordinary control—and a great deal of luck."
Orochimaru gave a small nod.
By "luck," he meant whether the body would mutate and awaken—or "synthesize"—the bloodline limit at all.
No one could guarantee that step.
Back then, many Senju tried to replicate Hashirama's Wood Release and failed utterly.
Yet the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, passed a kekkei tōta—Dust Release—down to Ōnoki, who had no blood relation, and he successfully achieved it.
Orochimaru stared at Kiyohara and half-joked:
"Kiyohara-kun, have you ever considered trying for other bloodline limits? As far as I know… there's no rule saying you can only have one."