Konoha – Hokage's Office
Kiyosuke and the others handed over the classified letter and sealed intelligence scroll to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After opening the letter Mitokado Homura had sent him, Hiruzen looked at Kiyosuke with surprise.
"Homura and Koharu... those two cautious old veterans actually took such a gamble—sending you and Torifu to assassinate the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. That's quite a risky move. But... I'm impressed by your strength."
"Contributing to the village is what we Konoha shinobi are supposed to do."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction. This level of resolve... as expected of my grand-student.
"Homura's letter already outlines your contributions and even requests that you be rewarded. That's perfectly reasonable. However... the techniques from the Scroll of Seals are still off-limits."
You couldn't just hand out forbidden techniques from the Scroll of Seals to a young shinobi, no matter how great their achievements.
Kiyosuke wasn't disappointed. After all, the Scroll of Seals was one of the village's highest-level secrets—it wasn't something he expected to keep access to anyway.
"Hokage-sama, I'd like to learn Water Release."
If he couldn't get forbidden jutsu, then he could at least make another request—one Hiruzen couldn't easily turn down.
"Water Release?"
Hiruzen looked at him in surprise.
"Your chakra affinities are Wind and Fire. Learning Water Release could give you a third element... but it doesn't really suit you."
Those who used Fire Release typically didn't dabble in Water Release—just like the Uchiha, who mainly wielded Fire and Lightning. They almost never learned Water Release, unless they copied it with the Sharingan.
Learning a nature that clashed with one's own only made training and usage harder. Better to stick with what you were naturally good at.
"On the battlefield in the Land of Waves, I kept getting held back by Kirigakure shinobi using Water Release. I want revenge. If possible... I'd like to learn the Second Hokage's Water Release techniques."
Tobirama Senju was a man known for his forbidden jutsu—and his unparalleled Water Release.
Thanks to the powerful physique and massive chakra reserves of the Senju clan, his Water Release was arguably even stronger than the Mizukage's.
Of course, Kiyosuke's interest was also because many of Tobirama's Water Release jutsu were self-created and unpredictable in battle.
Hearing Kiyosuke's somewhat childish reasoning, Hiruzen shook his head with a smile.
"The Second Hokage's Water Release... yes, it's powerful. But the amount of chakra required to reach that level isn't something you can just train up."
The Senju's chakra reserves were only rivaled by the Uzumaki. That kind of chakra didn't come easy.
"My chakra reserves are already at jōnin level."
After constant battles—especially after acquiring Samehada and fighting Terumi Mei for days—his chakra had grown immensely.
Calling it "jōnin level" was a rough estimate. If you wanted to measure it more precisely... he probably had ten, maybe even more than ten times the chakra of someone like Sharingan-wielding Kakashi.
Hiruzen stroked his beard and said,
"I see. In that case, come see me around this time tomorrow. Hmm... Asuma, Kurenai—interested? You can exchange your battle merits for ninjutsu as well."
"I use Wind and Fire Release, old man," Asuma grunted. "Not really interested in Water Release."
Kurenai spoke up, "If it's possible, I'd like to study genjutsu."
Her father had groomed her as a genjutsu specialist. She could learn other techniques, sure, but her focus was clear—she wanted to master genjutsu.
"I've got some Fire Release and genjutsu techniques here too," Hiruzen said. "Come by at the same time tomorrow. Also, Kiyosuke, your teacher Orochimaru is back. You should go see him."
"Orochimaru-sensei? The war with the Land of Wind is over?"
If Orochimaru had returned, then the war must have ended.
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, it's finished. You can go learn some new jutsu from him."
"Ohhh, great!"
The three of them left the Hokage's office. After saying goodbye to Kurenai and Asuma, Kiyosuke made his way straight to Orochimaru's residence.
...
He pushed open the door. As always, Orochimaru was in his lab, performing experiments, swirling a test tube in his hand.
What caught Kiyosuke's attention, though, was that Orochimaru wasn't alone.
In one corner stood a purple-haired girl, holding a shed snakeskin—one of Orochimaru's "lucky charms."
Seeing him enter, the girl snapped, "Who are you? This is Orochimaru-sensei's place—outsiders aren't allowed here!"
Orochimaru-sensei...?
Looking at the girl, Kiyosuke asked, "And you are...?"
The girl puffed out her flat chest proudly and declared,
"I'm Orochimaru-sensei's new student! Mitarashi Anko! And who are you?! Speak up or I'll have Orochimaru-sensei deal with you!"
Orochimaru, meanwhile, looked on with interest, curious to see how his two disciples would interact.
Mitarashi Anko...
So this is my so-called junior?
Come to think of it, Kiyosuke realized he now had one of the most impressive shinobi family trees in all of Konoha—no, in the entire shinobi world.
Who else could compare?!
Kiyosuke cleared his throat and reached out to ruffle Anko's purple hair. She slapped his hand away angrily.
"What's wrong with you? So rude! And what are you laughing at? Is something funny?!"
"Kehahaha!" Kiyosuke laughed like the King of the Cavern. He looked at Orochimaru and said,
"Orochimaru-sensei, where did you find such an adorable student? Hello, I'm Asakawa Kiyosuke—your senior, my cute little junior."
"Senior? Don't mess with me! Sensei, I have another senior?!"
Anko looked at Orochimaru, who was still enjoying the show.
Setting down his test tube of unknown liquid, Orochimaru replied slowly,
"Yes, you do. He's your senior."
"..."
"Why didn't you say anything before?!"
"You never asked."
"Ah—seriously...!"
Anko had thought she was Orochimaru's prized first disciple—only to find out she had someone above her. She instantly looked dejected.
She looked at Kiyosuke with a reluctant expression.
"G-good to meet you...."
"Mhm. Nice to meet you too. Here, I'll give you a little something."
He opened his hand, and a small, round purple snake slithered out of his sleeve, flicking its tongue at Anko.
The snake was chubby and adorable—enough to win Anko over in an instant.
"Thanks!" she smiled as she took it.
"I'm glad you like it."
...Though people say those who play with fire shouldn't mess with water.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo