The heavy wooden wheels crushed over the muddy road, making a constant, groaning creak.
A civilian caravan of four massive transport carriages moved slowly through the freezing drizzle. Rainwater accumulated heavily on the canvas canopies, dripping steadily from the edges like a leaking roof.
Kiyohara sat by the carriage window, looking outside through the thick glass blurred by the rain.
The carriage bumped slightly over a rut. Kurenai and Rin let out soft, surprised exclamations before returning to silence.
The two girls sat comfortably on the opposite side of the carriage, whispering to each other to pass the time, with occasional soft laughter breaking the gloom.
Orochimaru sat diagonally across from Kiyohara, leaning heavily against the wooden carriage wall. His pale hands were crossed motionless on his lap, and his eyes were half-closed, seemingly resting.
But Kiyohara's heightened senses could feel those golden vertical pupils occasionally opening a fraction of a millimeter. The Sannin's gaze swept methodically over everyone in the carriage, but it always lingered on Kiyohara for a moment longer before closing again.
Minato Namikaze sat near the carriage door, a small flashlight illuminating a topographical map in his hands.
Kakashi sat quietly beside his sensei, his mask covering most of his face. Only his exposed right eye alertly observed the passing, foggy treeline through the window.
After a long stretch of silence, Orochimaru struck up a conversation with Kiyohara again.
"I remember many years ago, I followed Sarutobi-sensei on a high-level escort mission. We were escorting a female relative of a Daimyo's family across the border," Orochimaru's raspy voice cut through the sound of the rain. "We were also in a carriage, but that one was more luxurious than this damp box. It had imported silk cushions and burned expensive incense inside."
Kurenai and Rin stopped their whispering and listened curiously to the Sannin's story. Even Kakashi and Minato turned their heads slightly.
"That noble lady cried the entire journey. She complained bitterly that she was being politically forced to marry a feudal lord she didn't love," Orochimaru continued, a faint, mocking smile curling his lips.
"When the mission ended at the border, she secretly pulled me aside and begged me to take her away. To run away with her. And I told her absolutely not. Because a mission is a mission."
The carriage was dead quiet for a few seconds, with only the rhythmic, depressing sound of the rain and the grinding wheels.
"What happened to her later?" Rin couldn't help but ask softly.
"Later... she got married," Orochimaru opened his eyes fully, his golden pupils sweeping over everyone in the tight space. "Three years later, I passed through that exact country during an assassination mission. I heard from a contact that she had given birth to a healthy son and was doing quite well politically."
"So, you see... things like human emotions are sometimes just temporary, pathetic obsessions. Time changes everything," Orochimaru concluded coldly.
'Only true immortality is immune to the rotting erosion of time,' Orochimaru added to himself.
These words were incredibly abrupt and deeply cynical. The atmosphere in the carriage instantly became tense and subtly uncomfortable.
Minato spoke up at the exact right moment, his warm voice breaking the heavy silence.
"Senior Orochimaru is absolutely right; a mission is a mission, and duty comes first. However... everyone still possesses the free will to make their own choices, as long as they don't explicitly violate the ninja code."
Minato put away the map and smiled warmly at the teenagers. "Speaking of choices... Kiyohara is about to be officially promoted to Jonin this week, which is truly remarkable for his age. Kakashi was only promoted about half a year earlier than Kiyohara. You both are exceptional geniuses."
Kakashi looked out the window, his voice slightly gloomy. "I was just lucky during the Kannabi Bridge mission."
Kakashi genuinely felt that Kiyohara had simply been reticent and tactically low-key in the Academy, deliberately hiding his terrifying talent until it was necessary to survive.
"Kakashi is far too modest," Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth. "I've clinically observed your Chidori. The shape transformation of your lightning-attribute chakra has already reached a very high, lethal level. As for Kiyohara's Magnet Release... it possesses incredibly unique, violent aspects in nature transformation and combined kinetic application. You both walk fundamentally different paths, but both possess magnificent potential."
"By the way, Kiyohara," Orochimaru smoothly changed the subject. "I noticed when you were organizing your tactical equipment yesterday, you replaced all your standard ninja wire with highly conductive industrial copper wire. Was that specifically to enhance the electrical conductivity of your traps?"
"Yes," Kiyohara admitted frankly.
"A very correct, pragmatic choice," Orochimaru nodded approvingly.
In absolutely every aspect—tactical ruthlessness, emotional detachment, and scientific pragmatism—Kiyohara was increasingly satisfying Orochimaru's standards.
This made the Sannin seriously consider a prospect: Should he take another direct, personal disciple after Anko Mitarashi?
On the evening of the third day, the massive caravan finally reached the border region of the Land of Rain.
The rain fell exponentially harder.
Freezing raindrops the size of beans beat densely and violently against the carriage canopy. Visibility dropped to less than ten meters in the suffocating gloom.
The caravan leader, Jirobo, shouted desperately through the curtain of rain. "Ninja Lords! We cannot go any further tonight! It's pitch black, the mud is too slick for the horses, and there's a highly dangerous stretch of mountain switchbacks ahead!"
Minato poked his head out the window to check the sky, squinting through the downpour. He checked his map and nodded in agreement. "He's right. The horses will break their legs. Let's find a secure place to camp."
However, finding a suitable, dry campsite in torrential Rain Country weather was not easy.
This specific area was geographically low-lying, and many sections of the road were already starting to flood dangerously.
After searching blindly for nearly half an hour, they finally found a barely usable piece of flat, elevated ground on a relatively high hillside.
"Oh no... Lord Minato, the canvas tents are soaked entirely through! The waterproofing failed. We can't set them up; they'll just collapse under the water weight!" Jirobo checked the supply wagons, his face turning pale with dread.
The ordinary civilian merchants and servants in the caravan began to panic visibly.
Spending the entire night in the open, freezing rain without shelter would lead to severe pneumonia, if not outright death from hypothermia by morning.
Kiyohara observed the panicked surroundings and suddenly had a pragmatic idea.
He walked up to Orochimaru and Minato. "Lord Orochimaru. Lord Minato. Perhaps I can try using Earth Release to construct a temporary, structural shelter."
"Earth Release?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. He knew the boy favored Lightning and Wind for his magnetic combos.
"I know some of the basics," Kiyohara said.
As he spoke, he had already walked to the exact center of the muddy clearing and began forming deliberate hand signs.
Tiger—Ox—Dragon—Bird—Monkey—Hare.
Standard, textbook Earth Release hand signs.
Kiyohara's chakra poured violently into the saturated ground. He could physically feel the biological boost from the 'Power of the White Snake'—his chakra felt vastly thicker, and his microscopic control over the earth was incredibly precise.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
RUMBLE!
The ground shook violently as a massive, thick earthen wall violently rose from beneath the mud. Kiyohara pivoted smoothly and executed the technique four times in rapid succession, forming a massive, perfect square enclosure.
The four earth walls were over twenty centimeters thick and stood about three meters high, providing structural integrity. However, the top was completely open to the pouring rain.
But it wasn't over yet. Kiyohara formed hand signs again, rapidly changing the elemental sequence.
"Earth Release: Earth Dome Top!"
The tops of the four massive earth walls began to groan and slowly extend inward, closing together seamlessly to form a thick, slanted, aerodynamic roof. The entire structure now looked like a massive, brutalist square bunker. Although aesthetically crude, it was structurally flawless and completely blocked the torrential rain.
The civilian merchants in the caravan were absolutely dumbfounded.
They had seen ninja fight and slaughter each other before, but this was the very first time they had ever seen a shinobi use ninjutsu to perform architectural construction!
"It still needs a functional door and ventilation," Kiyohara muttered. He walked to the front wall, drew his Tachi, and precisely carved out a rectangular doorway and two small, slanted windows to prevent the rain from blowing in.
The entire architectural process took less than two minutes.
A temporary, highly secure fortress capable of comfortably holding over forty people was built.
"Phew..." Kiyohara panted slightly, wiping the rain from his forehead.
These specific utility ninjutsu were ones Kiyohara had officially exchanged for with his military merit points before deploying; he planned to use the excuse of 'figuring out the chakra mechanics during combat' to explain away other, unrevealed techniques from the Urn later.
Originally, his baseline chakra volume was 3.0 times that of a standard Jonin. After consuming the 'Power of the White Snake' serum, his total volume saw a permanent genetic expansion, reaching a terrifying level of 3.6 times that of an ordinary Jonin.
Therefore, spamming Earth-Style Wall four times and Earth Dome Top once—a total of five consecutive, large-scale B-Rank Earth Release techniques—was barely a strain on his reserves.
"So... so incredible!" Jirobo's eyes widened in shock.
Shinobi was a profession of violence. In a civilian's eyes, ninja were terrifying, mercenary sociopaths—either deploying on assassinations or violently slaughtering bandits to protect clients. Using their god-like chakra for benevolent, civilian construction like this was truly unheard of.
The people in the caravan cheered wildly as they rushed to move the vulnerable supplies and horses into the massive earth bunker.
Although the floor inside was still packed dirt, it was completely dry, allowing them to finally build a warm fire and rest without freezing. Because the earth composing the walls had been violently pushed up from deep underground, it hadn't been saturated by the rain yet.
Orochimaru walked slowly into the earth house, his pale fingers lightly brushing the smooth surface of the interior walls. The earth had been perfectly compacted by chakra, making it smooth, structurally hard as concrete, and entirely waterproof.
"A highly practical, creative application of Earth Release," Orochimaru commented, genuine approval in his voice. "Although it is simply a modular combination of standard C-Rank ninjutsu, executing it on this architectural scale requires incredibly high chakra control and perfect timing. Kiyohara... your foundational proficiency in Earth Release far exceeds my initial expectations."
Minato also inspected the thick walls and couldn't help but nod in deep respect.
While there might be hundreds of Konoha ninja who could theoretically think of such a simple architectural combination, physically achieving it without the walls collapsing under their own weight required flawlessly precise control over Earth Release density.
"It's just a basic utility application," Kiyohara said modestly.
In his heart, however, he knew the truth. The genetic talents of both the Iwa Spirit and the Rogue Spirit regarding the nature and shape transformation of Earth Release allowed his microscopic understanding of the element to vastly, permanently surpass that of ordinary ninja.
Everyone began to quickly organize the temporary camp inside the dry bunker.
Minato and Kakashi went back out into the freezing rain to set up lethal perimeter warning traps, while Rin and Kurenai helped the caravan servants distribute dry rations and warm blankets.
While rapidly organizing a stack of heavy wool blankets, Kurenai accidentally caught her finger on a jagged, rusty splinter protruding from the edge of a wooden supply crate.
"Ah!"
She let out a soft, sharp cry as a bright red bead of blood immediately welled up and seeped from her torn fingertip.
"Let me see," Kiyohara walked over to her side instantly and gently took her hand.
Rin also rushed over from across the room, carrying a sterilized medical kit. "Kiyohara, step aside, let me—"
"I'll do it," Kiyohara said calmly.
He held Kurenai's wrist steadily with his left hand. With his right index and middle fingers pressed tightly together, a soft, vibrant green chakra glow immediately lit up at his fingertips.
"Regeneration Technique."
The dense green light perfectly covered the deep splinter wound.
Kurenai felt an incredibly warm, soothing stream of chakra flow directly into her finger, and the sharp, stinging pain quickly receded to a dull throb.
After just a few minutes, the laceration had completely closed. Only a small, smooth patch of new, pinkish skin remained where the deep wound had been.
Kurenai's face flushed completely red.
Not because of the pain, but because Kiyohara was gently holding her hand. They were standing so close together in the dim firelight that she could clearly see his intense, focused profile and the dark depths of his eyes.
"It's... it's completely fine now. Thank you," Kurenai's eyelashes trembled slightly as she spoke softly, reluctantly withdrawing her hand from his grasp.
Rin looked at Kiyohara in surprise. "Kiyohara... your medical ninjutsu... how have you made such impossible progress?!"
Kiyohara smoothly withdrew his chakra. "Perhaps it's simply because Lady Tsunade personally tutored me in the hospital lab for a day."
"...Lady Tsunade actually tutored you?!" Rin's surprised tone was immediately tinged with deep, crushing professional envy.
Lady Tsunade. The Medical Saint. If Rin could receive even a single hour of direct, one-on-one instruction from Lady Tsunade herself, she didn't know how happy she would be.
Orochimaru watched the entire medical interaction from the shadows, the dark, scientific interest in his golden vertical pupils growing even stronger.
He walked up silently behind Kiyohara and lowered his hissing voice so only the boy could hear.
"Earth Release. Wind Release. Lightning Release. Medical Ninjutsu. Advanced Kenjutsu. Magnet Release... Kiyohara. The sheer, impossible variety of advanced abilities you have mastered at your age reminds me heavily of someone."
"Who?" Kiyohara asked, turning to face him.
"The Second Hokage. Tobirama Senju," Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth.
"He was also proficient in multiple, opposing types of ninjutsu and excelled at seamlessly combining them... though Lord Tobirama's absolute strengths were Water Release and the horrific development of Forbidden Jutsu."
"Lord Orochimaru, you flatter me," Kiyohara bowed slightly. "I just feel that there is no harm in learning as many diverse tools as possible to ensure survival."
"Indeed. Pragmatism is a virtue," Orochimaru nodded. Then, he suddenly asked a highly clinical question.
"So, Kiyohara. Tell me... exactly what dual combination of elemental chakra do you fuse when executing your Magnet Release?"
'Here it comes,' Kiyohara thought instantly.
He knew this exact, probing question would be asked sooner or later, especially by a mad scientist with such intense, obsessive curiosity as Orochimaru. He had long since prepared a answer.
"It's a genetic fusion of Earth and Wind," Kiyohara answered.
"Earth plus Wind..." Orochimaru looked deeply thoughtful, his brilliant mind analyzing the physics.
"It certainly fits the theoretical, electromagnetic basis of Magnet Release. However... being able to autonomously force your cells to fuse two opposing chakra natures and stabilize them into a new element requires extremely high, genius-level talent in chakra control. And a terrifying amount of genetic luck."
Orochimaru nodded slightly, accepting the theory.
The so-called "luck," of course, referred to whether a human body possessed the dormant genetic mutation required to awaken or synthesize a Bloodline Limit. No amount of training could force a mutation.
Decades ago, Hashirama Senju's Wood Release was something his entire clan desperately wanted to imitate, but they simply lacked the genetic anomaly to learn it. Yet, the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, surpassed standard Bloodline Limits with his Bloodline Selection—Dust Release—which was then successfully passed down through brutal training to the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, despite them having zero blood relation.
Orochimaru stared deeply into Kiyohara's eyes and suddenly said, his tone only half-joking, "Perhaps... Kiyohara-kun could try researching other Bloodline Limits as well? As far as my biological theories suggest, a truly perfect vessel doesn't necessarily have to be limited to just one genetic mutation."
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Give me powerstones.
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