Rin stood there gasping for breath, her vision blurry and dim—
until slowly, clarity returned.
The first thing she saw was a back.
Kiyohara's back.
"!"
She glanced between where Kiyohara had been a moment ago—
and where he now stood before her.
How… did he cross that distance?!
Was she hallucinating?
In the blink of an eye, Kiyohara had appeared right in front of her.
But the enemy wouldn't give her time to process what just happened.
"That must've been a Body Flicker technique.
Don't panic—he must've used up a lot of chakra!"
Uejo, the Mist Jonin, quickly formed seals, rallying his confused comrades.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Behind him, a massive water dragon surged forward.
"Water Style: Water Vortex!"
"Water Style—!"
Three other Mist shinobi joined in, unleashing a barrage of powerful Water Release jutsu toward Kiyohara and Rin.
"Rin, hold onto me."
Kiyohara reversed his grip on his sword, then gently—yet firmly—lifted Rin into a princess carry.
Her scent—part sweat, part blood, part the sweetness of a young woman—hit him,
but Kiyohara had no time to be distracted.
The next moment, his magnetic force burst forth.
A repelling force under his feet launched him like a cannonball—
and in the next instant, they were standing safely atop a distant tree canopy.
'This uses less chakra than Body Flicker…'
Kiyohara noted inwardly.
And the speed?
Even faster than Body Flicker.
Whoosh!
The spot where they'd just stood was obliterated by the Mist ninjas' water jutsu, leaving a crater instantly filled with swirling water.
"That was… so fast…"
Rin's eyes were dazed.
She looked up at Kiyohara's handsome profile—finally realizing it wasn't a dream.
"Why did it consume so little chakra?"
he asked the Magnet Kiyohara within his mind.
"Because you only used a tenth of your own strength.
The rest came from rotating and drawing on the surrounding magnetic field.
You're leveraging the environment. That's why the cost is low."
The inner Kiyohara floated behind him like a guardian spirit.
"Before, without having the Magnet Release bloodline, forcing yourself to use it nearly broke your body."
But now, his body had naturally adapted.
"So that's it… the burden of bloodline limits."
Kiyohara understood now.
Every Kekkei Genkai carried strain on the user's body.
That's why conditions like Bloodline Illness existed—
like Itachi's failing body, or Moonlight Hayate's chronic weakness, or Yakumo's fragile health despite her overwhelming illusion abilities.
Kiyohara himself hadn't even had Earth-nature chakra.
It was only thanks to Magnet Kiyohara's intervention that he had any now.
"Once I complete the second will, the burden will lessen even more."
He glanced down at the Mist shinobi below, anticipation growing.
Just a fragment of Magnet Kiyohara's power had granted him this speed.
What would it be like once he inherited the rest?
"Watch out—they're coming!"
Rin clutched his neck, warning him as enemies began to climb the trees.
"I see them."
Kiyohara nodded.
Even as he spoke with his other self, he had never taken his eyes off the battlefield.
The next second, he vanished like a blur—appearing atop another branch with Rin still in his arms.
Each time he stopped, he retrieved a handful of shuriken from his gear pouch.
Soon, the skies were filled with a web of crisscrossing copper wires.
Kiyohara had infused these with both Wind and Lightning chakra—
sharpening them to lethal extremes.
Trees around them were sliced like tofu.
And just like that, several more Mist ninjas were torn to pieces.
Even Uejo hadn't expected the web's range to be so wide.
He had to burn through chakra using [Water Body Flicker] several times just to escape.
"My wire's wearing thin…"
Kiyohara looked at the fine copper strands on his fingers.
They were special gear made for ninja use.
But once you imbued them with Wind and Lightning chakra for enhanced cutting power,
they wore out fast.
This was the price of battle—
chakra and gear, both draining quickly.
Fortunately, the result was worthwhile.
Kiyohara had carved out a safe zone.
Kurenai and Genma had just finished off their own opponents and were regrouping with him.
It's always safer together than split apart.
"That was close…"
Kakashi watched Kiyohara rescue Rin.
He had no idea how Kiyohara moved so fast,
but he couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.
Sparks of lightning crackled across Kakashi's palm
as he skewered three enemies in a row.
Then the dizziness hit.
'This damn Sharingan… it drains me so fast.'
All Kakashi could do was pray he'd grow up quickly.
The older a shinobi became, the more chakra they had to work with.
For now, his reserves were limited.
Across the battlefield, Uejo was preparing to strike again.
But just then, a snake bit his ankle—
its fangs injecting a fast-acting toxin.
Pain surged through him.
His vision darkened.
The poison reached his heart and brain in seconds.
A strange, white-skinned man stepped out of the woods.
"Orochimaru…"
Uejo's pupils dilated.
But it was too late.
The poison had already done its work.
"Well done, Kiyohara-kun."
Orochimaru looked up at the boy standing atop the trees.
The moment Orochimaru appeared, dozens of Mist ninjas began retreating.
They were waiting.
Waiting for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to arrive.
They couldn't deal with someone like Orochimaru on their own.
"You're using some kind of… Kekkei Genkai, aren't you?"
Orochimaru's interest sharpened.
He'd assumed Kiyohara was just a civilian ninja.
But this… changed things.
He still didn't know exactly what bloodline Kiyohara had awakened.
But his curiosity had just skyrocketed.