Pakura's holding tent was located at the innermost part of the camp, with guards rotating on watch 24/7.
After Kiyohara completed the handover with the sentries, he lifted the flap and stepped inside.
The interior was more spacious than he'd expected, but the furnishings were extremely simple.
A plain bed, a wooden table, a chair—nothing else.
Pakura sat on the edge of the bed.
Her wrists were locked in special chakra-suppression cuffs. The cuffs were carved with sealing formulas that greatly restricted chakra flow.
Her ankles were shackled as well, a chain fixing her to the bedframe.
Even so, she sat perfectly upright.
Her orange-and-green hair was a little messy, but she casually swept it behind her shoulder.
She'd been changed into the gray prison uniform Konoha provided—rough fabric that still couldn't hide her proud curves.
The front of the uniform was stretched into a full arc by her chest, and even under the loose cloth her waist still looked slim.
Hearing footsteps, Pakura lifted her head.
When she saw it was Kiyohara, ice instantly formed in her eyes.
"You again," she rasped.
"You've been coming pretty often this past week."
Kiyohara sat in the chair and placed the scroll he'd brought on the table.
"The information I needed, I've already extracted with genjutsu interrogation—Suna's troop deployment at Kikyo Pass, supply routes, puppet-unit composition… I know it all."
Pakura's lips pressed into a thin line.
Genjutsu interrogation was an extremely painful experience.
This week, Kiyohara had come three times.
Each time, he'd used Sharingan genjutsu to dig deep, pulling out pieces of intelligence.
"Then why are you here?" Pakura asked coldly.
"To humiliate me? Or is Konoha's genius so free now he has nothing better to do?"
"To talk business," Kiyohara said calmly.
"Genjutsu can extract intel, but it can't extract experience. Your training insights for Scorch Release, your chakra nature-transformation tricks, the little practical lessons you've refined in real combat… you have to speak those willingly."
Pakura looked as if she'd heard a joke, a trace of mockery at the corner of her mouth.
"And you think I'd teach you?"
"You don't have to." Kiyohara leaned forward slightly, fingers interlaced on the tabletop.
"But if you refuse, your student, Maki, might run into some trouble."
"I'm sure you don't want anything happening to your student, Pakura."
The air in the tent froze solid.
The mockery on Pakura's face stiffened—blankness, then disbelief, then a surge of furious rage.
"You…!"
She tried to stand, but the ankle shackles stopped her. She could only half-rise, bracing herself.
The chain clattered loudly as it pulled taut.
"What did you do to Maki?!"
"She's fine," Kiyohara said, tone flat.
"I haven't caught her yet. But she can't avoid missions forever. Maybe the next mission just happens to cross my path—and then I catch her. I know what your student looks like."
He paused, then added—
Pakura's breathing grew heavy, her chest heaving hard.
Under the prison uniform, that full outline rose and fell with each breath, but she didn't have the bandwidth to care.
Maki…
The girl she'd raised from childhood. The foolish kid who always trailed behind her calling out Pakura-sensei.
At the eastern coast last time, Maki had already been captured once by Kiyohara—Pakura had nearly died getting her back.
And now this bastard was threatening her again.
Pakura understood Suna's situation better than anyone: they were desperate for manpower.
Her student was on this front. There was a very real chance she'd be caught again—just like Kiyohara said.
Especially with Kiyohara's Sharingan… and the fact he could fly. His mobility was basically maxed out.
"You… despicable…" Pakura forced the words through clenched teeth.
"War is like that." Kiyohara's face didn't change.
Silence.
Only Pakura's rough breathing and the faint rattle of chain links.
After a long time, as if all strength had been pulled from her bones, she slumped back onto the bed.
"What do you want to know…" Her voice was so low it was barely audible.
"The chakra nature-transformation technique behind Scorch Release." Kiyohara opened the scroll and picked up a pen.
He wanted to extract real experience on Fire and Wind nature transformation.
Pakura closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.
"Scorch Release, at its core, isn't simply mixing Wind and Fire," she began, voice flat—like she was reciting a textbook.
Kiyohara wrote rapidly.
"Keep going." His pen flew across the scroll.
These insights were priceless.
Genjutsu could dig up intel, but it couldn't produce this kind of fine-grained understanding.
With this, his direction for improving his own Fire Release would become much clearer.
She spoke for a full hour.
From the basics of chakra control to advanced application.
From common training mistakes to battlefield improvisation.
When the last word fell, Pakura looked drained—she collapsed against the headboard.
"Is that enough…" she murmured.
Kiyohara closed the scroll.
It was packed dense with notes.
"Enough."
He stood and walked to the flap—then stopped.
"If I run into your student, I'll let her go," he said calmly.
Maki knew Suna's unique sealing style—fabric seals.
He could just copy it with the Sharingan; there was no need to capture her.
Pakura didn't respond.
She only turned her head slightly, staring at a sliver of sunlight leaking through a seam in the tent.
Kiyohara lifted the flap and stepped outside.
The sunlight was harsh.
He narrowed his eyes and tucked the scroll into his gear pouch.
…
Night fell. Sparse lamps lit the Kikyo Pass front-line camp.
After finishing a day's worth of chores, Kiyohara went to report to Tsunade about Pakura.
He walked through the lanes between tents and reached the medical command tent.
He lifted the flap and found Tsunade idly twirling a pen, looking bored.
"Sensei, you done with today's work?" Kiyohara asked.
"Yeah. Not much." Tsunade reflexively stretched.
Under her sleeveless top, her skin was pale—white like snow on a mountain.
And that "mountain" looked ready to collapse at any moment, like the fabric might burst and trigger an avalanche.
"You know it," Tsunade said. "For… reasons, I can't do surgery."
At most she could diagnose, decide the treatment plan.
But actually operating—she hadn't done that in a long time.
"Yeah." Kiyohara nodded.
She didn't say it outright, but after everything so far, even without spoiler knowledge you'd figure out Tsunade couldn't stand blood.
"So yeah," Tsunade said with a hint of melancholy, "most of the time I'm basically stuck living in this tent."
It had been years since she developed hemophobia.
Nawaki had been dead for years too.
If Nawaki were alive, he'd be a few years older than Kiyohara now.
"You've contributed more than enough, Sensei." Kiyohara glanced at the thick stack of files on her desk—she clearly had plenty to do.
Even with hemophobia, she still handled work like antidote research and medical ninjutsu development.
And she could still use Katsuyu as a proxy healer.
Though that cost Tsunade a lot of chakra.
"Not as much as you lot." Tsunade shook her head.
As someone who'd lived through the Second Shinobi War, she knew exactly: front-line fighting wasn't "harder" than rear-line work—just different. And neither was easy.
"Sometimes I do want to cure it," Tsunade said suddenly.
But it was her knot—her heart's scar.
Kiyohara hadn't expected Tsunade to be more proactive than canon, less self-destructive.
Maybe another butterfly effect.
"Sensei, take it slow," Kiyohara said.
You didn't just "fix" something like this overnight.
If it were that easy, it wouldn't have trapped her for so long.
Of course—Naruto-style talk-no-jutsu could probably heal it instantly.
"By the way, Sensei," Kiyohara added, "let me teach you something new."
"Something new?"
"Yeah. Something… to relax."
Kiyohara blinked.
"Like… a new gambling game."
"Gambling?" Tsunade blinked, then a spark of interest lit her eyes.
"What kind of game?"
"It takes four players. Simple rules, lots of variation."
Tsunade stared at him for a few seconds, then laughed.
"You brat… you always come up with weird ideas."
"Go call people. Kurenai, Shizune, Rin… and Kakashi too. That kid always looks like a walking corpse—make him use his brain."
Kiyohara nodded and left the tent.
Half an hour later, the command tent was crowded.
Kurenai and Rin sat at the table, curious. Shizune was tidying the tabletop.
Kakashi leaned against a tent pole.
Uzumaki Karin was there too—she'd come intending to ask Tsunade about medical ninjutsu, only to get stunned by the setup.
"Kiyohara-kun, this is…?"
"Teaching everyone a new game."
Kiyohara pulled out a deck of cards he'd prepared in advance.
Playing cards existed in the shinobi world too—just with local rules.
He spread the deck and started explaining.
"This game is called…. The basic rules are…"
He explained jokers, bombs, straights, consecutive pairs, and the "landlord" bidding process.
Everyone listened with interest.
Especially Tsunade—her eyes got brighter and brighter.
"Sounds way more fun than dice!" she said.
"Then let's try," Kiyohara said, shuffling.
First game: him, Tsunade, and Kurenai.
No surprise—Kiyohara's past-life experience let him win easily.
Second game: Rin swapped in. Kiyohara still won.
Third, fourth…
Tsunade's expression started to warp.
"Wait!"
After losing five games straight, she slammed the table.
"Kiyohara—you've played this before! There's no way you're this good otherwise!"
"Sensei," Kiyohara said, "I'm the one teaching it. Of course I'm good."
"That's not fair!" Tsunade glared.
"You, get off. Swap out."
She scanned the room and locked onto Karin.
"Karin, you're up."
"Huh? I—I don't really know how…"
"It's fine. I'll teach you." Tsunade shoved Karin into the chair and stood behind Kiyohara.
"Kiyohara, you're my advisor. I don't believe this—today I have to win at least once."
Kiyohara barely held back laughter and agreed.
New round started.
Karin vs. Kurenai vs. Rin, with Kiyohara standing behind Tsunade, looking at her hand.
And sure enough… Tsunade's luck was catastrophic.
Her hand was so bad it was tragic.
Her highest single was a king. Pairs were tiny. No straight. Not even a decent triple-with-kicker.
"H-How do we even play this…?" Tsunade stared, face going green.
Kiyohara sighed, leaned down, and whispered instructions.
"Sensei, our goal this round is to lose less. Lead with this 3…"
With his guidance, Tsunade played cautiously—
but trash cards were trash. Even perfect play couldn't save it.
They still lost.
"Again!" Tsunade snapped.
Second round—slightly better, still not good.
Kiyohara coached again. They scraped to the end… and still lost by a hair.
Before the third round, Kiyohara said, "Sensei, there's another game that works better with four people."
"What game?"
"Mahjong. Different rule set."
Kiyohara pulled out a mahjong set.
He'd looted it from a shinobi's sealing scroll—probably a gambler.
Mahjong existed here too, but the rules differed from his past life.
"East-south-west-north wind? Red-green-white dragons? Sounds complicated…" Kurenai looked dizzy.
"I promise it's quick to learn." Kiyohara started shuffling tiles.
"Come on. The four of us play one round. Sensei, you're still with me. I'll keep advising."
New round began.
Tiles clacked crisply in the tent.
This time, Tsunade's luck… still sucked.
She drew scattered tiles or always lacked a suit.
Kiyohara tried, but there was only so much you could do.
Then, just when Tsunade was about to give up—
"Sensei, draw this one," Kiyohara said, pointing at the wall.
Tsunade drew it skeptically and flipped it over: a red dragon.
"Now discard the East wind."
Tsunade did.
The next few turns, Kiyohara's calls got eerily precise.
Tsunade watched her hand take shape at an unbelievable speed.
"Wait… am I… in tenpai?" she stared.
"Yes, Sensei." Kiyohara smiled.
"You're waiting on 2-bamboo or 5-bamboo. If anyone discards either, you win."
Next turn, Rin discarded a 5-bamboo.
"HOLY—!"
Tsunade shot up and slapped the table so hard it shook.
She revealed her hand, pure ecstasy on her face.
"I won! Did you see?!"
A Tsunade who rarely tasted victory immediately became a hardcore fan of the new game.
"Again, again," she demanded, fired up.
"Kiyohara, keep advising me—tonight I'm going to massacre everyone."
Kiyohara nodded.
…
They played until midnight.
Tsunade was in a great mood.
After everyone left, Kiyohara packed up.
He could tell Tsunade had enjoyed it.
Because the truth was: it wasn't that the new game favored her—Kiyohara was essentially carrying from behind, telling her what to play.
He understood the system, so he could crush everyone else and "drag" Tsunade into a few small wins.
And everyone knew: for most people, gambling addiction starts with a small win.
That taste becomes the hook.
Especially for a long-time gambler who's always losing like Tsunade.
"Good job. Your teacher is very satisfied." Tsunade patted Kiyohara's shoulder.
In that sense, she felt Kiyohara was "better" than Shizune.
Shizune only tried to get her to quit.
Kiyohara could actually help her win.
"It's just that they're not familiar with the rules yet," Kiyohara said, shaking his head.
And if he really wanted to, he could have Anbu Kiyohara's spirit float behind the others and peek at their hands—
then relay them back.
But that would speed up the spirit's disappearance, so it wasn't worth it.
"Sensei, I'm heading back," Kiyohara said.
He'd actually gained quite a bit today.
Once he got back he could review everything.
With Fire and Wind layered together, he'd become extremely sensitive to those elements—ideas kept coming.
"Mm. Go. I'll sleep here tonight." Tsunade waved him off.
She couldn't be bothered returning.
She flicked a latch on a folding chair; the back slid down, turning it into a bed.
She casually kicked off her shoes, revealing soft, pale feet.
Maybe because of the Strength of a Hundred Seal, her skin everywhere was smooth and delicate—with no smell at all.
Kiyohara glanced once, set his coat beside the chair, and left.
"This brat…" Tsunade stared at the coat he'd left behind, spacing out.
After a moment, she picked it up and draped it over herself.
…
Several days later.
Konoha, Hokage's office.
Hiruzen sat behind his desk. His pipe had gone out, but he still instinctively took a puff.
The desk was covered with the latest frontline reports and the Anbu observation report.
The door opened softly. An Anbu knelt on one knee.
"Hokage-sama. Captain Shinnosuke has sent his report."
"Speak," Hiruzen said without looking up.
The Anbu hesitated, then said, "Captain Shinnosuke reports that Jōnin Kiyohara's recent behavior is… somewhat unusual."
"Unusual?"
"Yes. During the day, he performs medical duties normally. But at night… he organizes Tsunade-sama, Chūnin Yūhi Kurenai, Chūnin Nohara Rin, and others for a… new form of gambling activity."
Hiruzen looked up, eyebrows raised.
"Gambling?"
"It's a game called Fighting the Landlord. According to Shinnosuke-sama, Jōnin Kiyohara appears to be the inventor. He teaches Tsunade-sama and the others—and…"
The Anbu's voice got smaller.
"And what?"
"And Tsunade-sama becomes extremely engrossed. Over three days of observation, Tsunade-sama played for two nights until deep into the night."
Silence.
Then Hiruzen laughed.
The Anbu froze, not understanding why.
"Hokage-sama…?"
"It's fine, it's fine." Hiruzen waved.
"I just think… that kid Kiyohara really has a way about him."
He relit his pipe and drew in deeply.
"What else did Shinnosuke report?"
"Kiyohara extracted extensive Scorch Release training insights from Pakura and is organizing and researching them. Also, Chūnin Nohara Rin can now stably borrow Three-Tails chakra for about three minutes—significant progress."
"Anything else?"
"Kiyohara continues training himself. Shinnosuke observed him practicing a technique requiring long-term accumulation, but couldn't identify which."
Hiruzen nodded, thoughtful.
"Tell Shinnosuke to keep observing."
"Yes."
The Anbu couldn't help asking, "Hokage-sama… don't you think Jōnin Kiyohara is being a bit… unserious? This is the front line…"
"The front line also needs rest," Hiruzen cut in.
Then he added, "Besides, he hasn't neglected a single duty—treating the wounded, guiding juniors, researching ninjutsu, even capturing Pakura. He's already exhausted during the day. What's wrong with relaxing at night?"
The Anbu lowered his head.
Since Hokage-sama said so… then it was "keep the music playing, keep dancing."
"It seems I was narrow-minded," the Anbu said.
In Hiruzen's eyes, Tsunade had been too isolated these past years.
Even with her gambling, she'd drifted through the shinobi world, never settling anywhere.
This was a good way to tie Tsunade more firmly to Konoha, and also to bind Kiyohara to Tsunade.
From every angle, it was a win.
The only thing still weighing on Hiruzen's mind about Tsunade was her hemophobia.
"We need to find a way to solve Tsunade's hemophobia," he thought.
Before that… perhaps they could promote Kiyohara to squad leader first.
That would also demonstrate the Hokage's "magnanimity" to the Uchiha—ability matters, even if you have Uchiha blood.
Kiyohara wasn't a full Uchiha, but he did carry Uchiha blood.
"You—notify Shinnosuke. Have him administer the final test for Kiyohara," Hiruzen said.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." The Anbu accepted and left.
…
That day, Suna seemed to make some kind of move.
The camp grew even tenser.
Kiyohara also suspected he might be deployed to the front at any time.
He actually hoped he'd run into Rasa, so he could copy the method for controlling gold dust.
Because he also had Magnet Release.
The Sharingan's rule of "can't copy senjutsu, kekkei genkai, or secret arts" only applied to ordinary Uchiha.
Summoning, for instance, required a contract.
Theoretically, once a technique exceeded A-rank, the Sharingan struggled to copy it.
That was why canon Kakashi rarely used Rasengan, and even said the A-rank, no-hand-sign Rasengan was about the Sharingan's limit.
But those limits didn't really apply to Kiyohara.
He felt he could even try copying S-rank techniques.
The Sharingan was a weapon.
Different people wielding the same weapon got different results.
And Kiyohara's "weapon" was far stronger than most—plus his fundamentals (everything except Water) were already deep.
"Kiyohara."
Someone called his name.
Kiyohara turned.
A tall, broad-shouldered ninja stood there, wearing an animal mask and a black hood.
"My codename is Fire Ape," the man said. "By order of the Third Hokage, I'm here to administer your final evaluation."
~~~
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