Days passed.
Kiyoshi's wounds healed, but the weight in his chest did not. Hideo remained in observation, watched round the clock. Despite the tension, whispers about Kiyoshi shifted—from suspicion to intrigue.
A Visit from the Uchiha
Kiyoshi sat by the river's edge, watching koi skim beneath the surface, when he sensed someone approaching.
A calm voice spoke from behind.
"You carry a clan's burden on your back. I know how heavy that is."
Kiyoshi turned.
Sasuke Uchiha.
The last of his clan. Or so most believed.
Kiyoshi stood, alert but respectful.
"Did you come to test me?"
Sasuke shook his head.
"No. To warn you."
He tossed a scroll to Kiyoshi.
"There's chatter across the border. An ex-Root cell is mobilizing. Their goal is to purge any 'corrupted bloodlines.' Yours and mine top that list."
Kiyoshi unrolled the scroll. Mission logs. Targets. A red "X" over his name. Hideo's was circled.
"What do you want from me?" Kiyoshi asked.
"Nothing," Sasuke said. "But if you want to survive, stop thinking like prey."
Before Kiyoshi could reply, Sasuke was gone—only a whisper of wind left behind.
The Path Forward
Later that day, Tsunade summoned Kiyoshi to her office. Shizune stood nearby, tight-lipped.
"The council is debating your future here," Tsunade said bluntly. "Some want to confine you. Others want to send you back to the valley."
Kiyoshi didn't flinch.
"What do you want?"
Tsunade leaned forward.
"I want to give you a team. One you'll lead."
Kiyoshi blinked.
"Lead?"
"A test," she said. "You've survived more than most Genin. If you're serious about changing your clan's fate, start by building trust here."
She dropped a folder on the table. Inside—files on two shinobi.
Team 16
Rei Ueno — A sensory-type kunoichi with exceptional chakra control. Daiki Goro — A former academy dropout, strong in taijutsu but undisciplined.
"They're rough. But so are you," Tsunade said. "Mold them. Or break with them. Up to you."
First Encounter
Kiyoshi met them the next morning near the old training grounds.
Rei bowed formally. Daiki was chewing on dango and shrugged.
"So you're the blood freak? Hope you don't explode."
Kiyoshi just nodded.
"We start with a spar. All three of us. Come at me."
Daiki grinned. Rei hesitated, but moved into stance.
The spar was quick—and brutal. Daiki charged first, and Kiyoshi easily swept him off his feet. Rei's genjutsu made Kiyoshi stagger briefly, but he broke it with a sharp surge of chakra.
Minutes later, both were on the ground.
"You're not weak," Kiyoshi said calmly. "But you don't fight as one."
He turned his back.
"We'll change that."
The Awakening
That night, as Kiyoshi meditated in his room, something stirred.
He felt Hideo's chakra pulse—unstable, twisting.
Kiyoshi rushed to the hospital.
He arrived just in time to see Hideo thrashing in containment, his Ketsuryugan glowing wild, blood tendrils lashing out.
"He's destabilizing!" a medic yelled. "He's mutating—!"
Kiyoshi didn't hesitate. He forced his chakra into the seal node on the chamber.
The tendrils receded. Hideo collapsed, breathing shallow.
But when he opened his eyes—there was recognition.
"Kiyo…shi…" he whispered.
"I'm here."
But before they could speak more, the alarms sounded.
A masked figure had slipped past the gates.
Root had come.
[End of Chapter 16]