Kiyosuke left and went to report the situation to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Orochimaru, huh..."
Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe and said,
"Is his target Sasuke? For the Uchiha clan's Sharingan?"
If it were only about the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, Orochimaru could've just hunted down any Uchiha and taken their eyes. But instead, he went to great lengths to mark Sasuke with a Cursed Seal. Clearly, his goal isn't that simple.
"Yeah. He also placed a Five-Element Seal on Naruto. Later, I'll need your help to remove it, Hokage-sama."
As a master of ninjutsu, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally knew the Five-Element Unsealing Technique. Removing a Five-Element Seal required using chakra that directly opposed the sealing attributes—one on each finger. There weren't many people in Konoha who possessed all five chakra natures. In fact, Sarutobi Hiruzen was the only one capable of performing the Five-Element Unsealing.
"That'll have to wait until he finishes the second round of the exam," Sarutobi said with a shake of his head.
"That's fine. He'll pass."
After that, Sarutobi ordered everyone to remain on high alert and monitor Orochimaru's movements at all times.
However, he didn't halt the Chūnin Exams. They were the top priority right now, and letting Orochimaru's interference derail them would damage Konoha's prestige.
This was a widely held sentiment. The mission to track Orochimaru was also being carried out in secret—no other shinobi villages could be allowed to catch wind of it.
Kiyosuke didn't particularly care either way. If Orochimaru wanted to make his move, let him. As long as it didn't interfere with Kiyosuke's own plans, it didn't matter.
...
The second phase of the Chūnin Exams continued. After a few uneventful days, Kiyosuke accompanied Kakashi and the others to the central tower in the Forest of Death.
Because too many teams had passed, a preliminary round was added before the third phase began.
Sarutobi Hiruzen droned on for a bit, then announced the official start of the preliminaries.
Just like in the original timeline, the first match was between Sasuke and some no-name extra. Sasuke copied Lee's taijutsu with his Sharingan, made a few modifications.
"When did that brat awaken his Sharingan?" Kiyosuke asked.
Kakashi replied,
"I asked. It awakened after his brother Itachi defected."
Overwhelmed with grief from losing his brother, his emotions triggered the Sharingan's awakening.
Makes sense.
It was still just the two-tomoe version, though.
After Sasuke finished his match, Kakashi quickly took him away. The curse mark on his neck needed attention—it was unstable and could trigger a rampage.
The rest of the battles were painfully dull for Kiyosuke. His subordinates fought just as he expected—no surprises at all.
Shino was particularly suited for the ninja profession. His near-invisible presence and calm, analytical thinking gave him a decisive edge. His opponent was an injured genin from Otogakure—an easy win.
Hinata lost, of course. Her opponent was Neji. But since Neji's father hadn't died in this timeline, Neji's personality was much warmer—he was basically a soft-spoken sunshine boy, like Minato. Even while eliminating the Hyūga heiress, he managed to save her some reputation.
As for Kiba—thanks to Kiyosuke's training, Naruto had grown immensely. Their match was one-sided. Naruto effortlessly countered Kiba's attacks and knocked him out with a freshly-minted version of the Naruto Barrage, winning the fight.
The only fight that truly caught Kiyosuke's interest was between Lee and Gaara.
Gaara's personality wasn't as extreme in this timeline. When faced with Lee opening the Eight Gates and going all out, Gaara used his sand to bury Lee alive—earning a win with overwhelming defense.
Lee wasn't injured, just unconscious. He wouldn't need Tsunade for surgery—some rest and he'd be fine.
...
Later, Kiyosuke brought Naruto to Sarutobi Hiruzen to request the removal of the Five-Element Seal.
Sarutobi had his pipe in his mouth. Rolling up his sleeves, he said,
"Lift your shirt."
"Huh? What for?" Naruto asked in confusion.
Kiyosuke smacked him on the head with a karate chop.
"Stop talking so much. I'm not gonna hurt you. Hurry up."
"Oh!"
Naruto complied, revealing a lean stomach with the beginnings of defined abs.
Sarutobi glanced at the smooth skin and said flatly,
"Channel your chakra."
"Okay."
Naruto followed the instructions, and the moment he did, the Eight Trigrams Seal and the Five-Element Seal surfaced on his belly.
Sarutobi's fingers lit up with five distinct chakra natures. He shouted,
"Five-Element Unsealing!"
Each of his fingers struck precisely at the five points of the seal on Naruto's stomach.
Boom!
Naruto went flying and slammed into the wall.
"Ow ow ow! Grandpa Third, why'd you hit me?!"
"It was for your own good," Kiyosuke said, flicking Naruto's head. "You almost died, you know that?"
"Eh?"
Sarutobi dusted off his clothes and said,
"It's done. You can go now."
"Okay."
Kiyosuke hauled the still-confused Naruto and brought him back.
...
The next morning, Kiyosuke got up and was about to go train Shino, only to be stopped by Naruto.
"Kiyosuke-san! Kakashi-sensei is playing favorites—he took Sasuke for special training! You train me instead!"
"I was going to train Shino."
"Then let's all train together!"
"Huh? I mean, sure, I guess. But you've got someone even better. Come with me."
"What?"
Naruto, confused, followed Kiyosuke out the door.
Kiyosuke scanned for chakra signatures, then led him to a local bathhouse's male section.
Naruto asked,
"Kiyosuke-san, who's this better teacher? They're soaking in the hot springs?"
Soaking in a hot spring this early?
"Yep. He's a legendary shinobi."
Kiyosuke walked up to a partition. On the other side, a white-haired man was crouched, peeking at the women's side with a lecherous grin.
"Yes, that pose! Oh, nice! Konoha girls really do develop better!"
"..." Naruto.
"..." Kiyosuke.
Kiyosuke cleared his throat and tapped Jiraiya on the shoulder.
"Not now. I'm busy," Jiraiya muttered, swatting Kiyosuke's hand away without looking.
"Jiraiya-sama, don't you think peeping like this is a bit... much?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Jiraiya turned his head, surprised.
"Oh, it's you, Kiyosuke. Long time no see. I'm just doing research for my novel. Nothing shady."
He sounded so righteous, you might almost believe him—if you didn't already know what kind of person he was.
"So what brings you here?" Jiraiya asked.
This was... not the best kind of reunion.
Kiyosuke pointed to Naruto behind him.
"I'm here to deliver your new student. He's Minato's son. I'm entrusting him to you."
Jiraiya looked over and saw Naruto glaring at him skeptically.
"You sure about this, Kiyosuke-san? You really think this pervy old guy can train me?"
"Don't underestimate him, Naruto. He's not just some pervert. He was your dad's teacher. He's also the one who named you."
"What?! This pervert taught my dad?!"
"..." Jiraiya.
Seriously—are we doing this now?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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