"So that's how it is."
Kiyohara gave a slight nod.
It seemed the days ahead would not be peaceful.
All the better—he could use the coming turbulence to hone himself.
Whether the enemy was from Kirigakure or Sunagakure, it made little difference to him.
At this stage, what Kiyohara needed most was a whetstone.
What he lacked above all else was experience—battle experience of all kinds.
Only by accumulating a vast array of combat encounters could he learn to respond to every possible situation that might arise.
Magnet Release Kiyohara's second last will was to defeat Pakura.
One must know: Pakura was not only called Pakura of the Scorch Release, but was also known as "The Hero of the Sand"!
Though Kiyohara had once seen her fall to a mere shuriken in the original story, she was still a formidable opponent…
But even if she had not yet reached her peak strength in this timeline, defeating her would still be immensely difficult.
Kiyohara needed to continue growing stronger.
"Hard training alone isn't enough. Real combat is the only way to test true mastery.
How about a sparring match with swords?"
Kakashi suddenly spoke.
Come to think of it, he hadn't used his father's kenjutsu in a very long time.
Ever since Obito's death, Kakashi had never drawn a shinobi blade again.
He relied only on ninjutsu and kunai in battle.
Kiyohara's heart stirred.
Kakashi's kenjutsu was inherited from his father—the legendary White Fang of the Konoha.
Even though Kakashi had not used a sword for years, his level was by no means low.
His short sword had broken only because his opponents had been equally skilled in kenjutsu.
Now sparring with Kakashi would be perfect—not only to test the swordsmanship he had developed these past months, but also to gauge where he stood without using Leaf-Style Willow.
Moreover, he had been practicing the Konoha Body Flicker Technique for quite a while; it was time to test it in battle.
"Alright."
Kiyohara agreed without hesitation.
The two walked to a relatively flat section of ruined ground.
Kurenai and Genma heard the commotion and came to watch.
Rin stood slightly farther away, ready to step in and heal either of them at a moment's notice.
She was one of the few in this defensive line who could use an A-rank medical technique: Mystical Palm Technique.
Most medical-nin could only use B-rank or C-rank techniques.
Her talent truly stood out.
"Kakashi, huh…"
Magnet Release Kiyohara drifted out of Kiyohara's body.
"In the timeline I come from, Kakashi and I were enemies."
Magnet Release Kiyohara said faintly.
"Well, considering you were born in the Sunagakure, that's normal."
Kiyohara replied.
To a shinobi, alliances were hollow.
A shinobi had only one true loyalty: their village.
Every shinobi was indoctrinated to treat the village as supreme and to regard accomplishing missions as their life's creed.
Kakashi borrowed a shinobi blade from another shinobi.
Kiyohara drew his repaired blade, now fitted with a copper-wire ring at the hilt.
"I'm coming, Kiyohara."
Before Kakashi even finished speaking, his figure blurred.
From a distance, it looked as though Kiyohara had vanished into scattering leaves.
Kiyohara's own silhouette blurred as well, drifting backward to the side and leaving behind slowly spinning leaf afterimages.
Konoha Body Flicker Technique!
Whoosh!
Kakashi's short blade slashed through the afterimage, missing.
But he did not pause. His wrist flipped, sending the blade upward in a sharp rising cut aimed at Kiyohara.
It was the White Fang's signature stabbing technique..
Kiyohara did not defend—he counterattacked.
The tip of his blade pricked toward Kakashi's wrist, forcing him to pull back.
In an instant, the ruined field resounded with flashing blades and overlapping shadows.
The metallic clash of steel rang continuously.
At last, both separated and took distance.
"A bit rusty,"
Kakashi admitted.
To improve, one must practice; without practice, one declines.
That was a universal truth.
His focus had long shifted to Lightning Release; naturally, his kenjutsu had dulled.
"You're already strong, Kakashi. That sword just doesn't suit you."
Kiyohara shook his head.
Kakashi had grown up under the guidance of Hatake Sakumo.
His kenjutsu was unquestionable—he had simply walked away from that path.
The Sharingan Obito left him—was it a treasure that helped him grow, or a prison that bound him?
In the final battle of the original tale, Kakashi had shone, but only because Obito had lent him power from afar, granting him two Mangekyō and a portion of Six Paths chakra. That was an unrepeatable miracle. For the young Kakashi here, the Sharingan was only a single tomoe, draining his chakra constantly.
"Well then, warm-up ends here."
Kakashi's blade began radiating white light.
Chakra was flowing into it.
Hatake Sakumo's blade had once emitted the same white glow.
Now Kakashi mirrored that perfectly.
"Alright."
Kiyohara nodded.
He tightened his grip on the hilt—
Bzzzt!
Lightning arced from the handle, flowing like water until his entire blade was wrapped in crackling electricity.
Chakra metal was a special high-efficiency, lossless alloy capable of greatly boosting chakra output.
No matter what chakra nature was infused, the weapon would become sharp enough to slice iron like mud.
This was why chakra metal was always extremely expensive.
Their figures clashed once more—
But the aura erupting from them was completely different from before.
"Oh?"
For the first time, Kakashi's dead-fish eyes showed seriousness.
He could feel it—Kiyohara's swordsmanship had improved noticeably.
For a brief moment, Kakashi wondered… if his father were still alive, would he consider Kiyohara a rare kenjutsu prodigy worth teaching?
But thoughts were thoughts—his hands did not slow.
His blade unleashed a dense flurry of white chakra arcs, like moonlight forming a net over Kiyohara.
Kiyohara's blade traced sweeping arcs, each strike leaving a faint electric trail in the air, accompanied by the scent of scorched ozone.
The battle quickly burned into its fiercest stage.
Kiyohara glanced at Kakashi's forehead protector—worn slanted, covering his left eye.
He knew that at this pace, Kakashi would eventually fall behind.
After all, fighting with an always-active Sharingan but not using its visual advantage meant it only drained chakra for no benefit.
As expected, Kakashi's stamina dropped much faster.
Sensing an opening the moment Kakashi faltered, Kiyohara launched a fierce counter.
CLANG!
A sharp metallic crash split the air as the two passed by each other and simultaneously stopped—blades sheathed.
A spar was meant to end at the moment of decisive contact.
Kiyohara exhaled lightly, sweat beading on his forehead.
His hand tingled faintly from the force of the clash.
Kakashi, too, was breathing heavily.
He had almost lost his grip on his blade in that final exchange.
"Kiyohara… you've really grown fast."
For the first time, Kakashi felt pressure.
He had always been called a genius, yet now, someone stood before him who could match his talent.
He could not help but acknowledge:
Kiyohara was not beneath him.
"Still far from enough,"
Kiyohara replied, adjusting his breath.
He could clearly feel that if Kakashi had used the Sharingan from the start, reading his movements at full power, the fight would have been much harder.
On the side, Kurenai's bright eyes flickered with surprise.
She hadn't expected Kiyohara's strength had already grown to this extent.
Rin let out a breath of relief, smiling warmly.
"Alright—let's get back to work."
Kiyohara checked the clock in his tool pouch.
Personal downtime was always short.
They needed to keep patrolling the ruins of Uzushiogakure to prevent any Mist-nin from landing.
(End of Chapter)