Kiyohara did not linger any longer. He turned around and walked toward the temporary tent that had been assigned to him inside the encampment, planning to seize every available moment to thoroughly study the newly acquired Lightning Release ninjutsu.
Several days later, as rotation orders were issued, the squad Kiyohara belonged to withdrew from the front line confronting Iwa and returned to garrison duty along the southeastern coastline of the Land of Fire.
The atmosphere here was growing increasingly oppressive. It was already possible to see some shinobi wrapped in white bandages, their expressions gloomy and heavy.
The remaining shinobi were even more fully armed—some carried shinobi swords strapped to their backs, others hoisted giant Fūma shuriken over their shoulders, while still others led their summoned beasts at their sides—none of them daring to relax their vigilance in the slightest.
Every sign pointed to one conclusion: war was drawing ever closer.
And it wasn't only these adult shinobi. There were also genin who had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy, shorter than Kiyohara and the others by a head, helping to construct military fortifications and transport supplies.
Generally speaking, newly graduated genin would be assigned to logistical duties.
Only seasoned veterans would be sent to the front lines to carry out missions—Kiyohara himself had been exactly that kind of case back then.
"I wonder when Kirigakure will launch their invasion," Rin sighed softly.
All the shinobi knew that the enemy was on the other side of the sea, and that an attack could come at any moment.
Yet all they could do was hold the line.
If this position were to fall, the battlefront would spread inland, and by then the entire war would likely enter its most brutal phase.
"Who knows?" Kiyohara shook his head.
There was one thing he was very clear about: according to the original storyline, this place was destined to fall.
Uchiha Fugaku bringing three- or four-year-old Uchiha Itachi to the battlefield for "experience" happened in the inland regions of the Land of Fire.
That was where Itachi's psychological distortion began.
After all, this was no longer the Warring States era. Fugaku, eager for his son to succeed, placed immense pressure on Itachi, hoping he would quickly grow into the shinobi he envisioned.
One could only say that with a father whose thinking was a bit abnormal, it wasn't surprising to have a son whose mind wasn't entirely normal either.
Perhaps the only real pressure-resistant one, Sasuke, inherited more from Mikoto, which was why he seemed relatively normal.
"Let's hand over the mission," Kiyohara said.
The sounds of shinobi footsteps, whispered conversations, and the friction of weapons being maintained all blended together around Kiyohara's ears, mixed with the salty tang of seawater.
The climax of the war was fast approaching.
Once this line of defense fell, Uchiha Madara would likely begin to move.
After that would come the fragmentation and struggle among the shinobi of the inland nations. Aside from Iwagakure, which was already showing signs of exhaustion, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure would all viciously tear into the Land of Fire, this fat piece of meat.
"Let's go," Kakashi's expression grew far more serious.
These newly graduated genin were, in truth, no different from children.
But—this was war.
Kiyohara moved through the crowd and went to complete the mission handover.
After finishing everything, he bid farewell to Kakashi and Rin, choosing to use his free rest time to learn "Lightning Release: Furious Thunder Arrow" as quickly as possible.
Kiyohara had long since possessed the strength of a jōnin. Coupled with the successive stacking of talents, learning a jōnin-level ninjutsu should only take him a few days at most.
As always, the true shackle on a shinobi was the "physical limit."
If one had Naruto's bodily endurance and chakra reserves, then by releasing several thousand Shadow Clones and having them train day and night without rest, any ninjutsu could be mastered at lightning speed.
After inheriting multiple future selves, the bottlenecks and restraints of Kiyohara's physical body were continuously being broken, allowing him to climb ever higher.
Over the next few days, in order to devote himself more fully to training, Kiyohara temporarily asked Kurenai not to come looking for him, focusing all his attention on training.
"Lightning Release—!"
Kiyohara formed seals with both hands. The chakra within his body surged rapidly along the pathways described in the scroll, ultimately converging in the center of his right palm.
Blue arcs of electricity crackled sharply, gradually condensing into the shapes of several sharp arrows.
With a sudden thrust of his palm forward, the lightning arrows shot out, emitting a piercing hum as they instantly struck a rock ten meters away.
BOOM!
Several clearly charred pits exploded across the rock's surface with bits and pieces falling away. However, the penetrating power of the lightning arrows still seemed slightly lacking.
Partway through their advance, some of the energy dissipated, failing to fully pierce the hard stone.
"The chakra condensation speed could be faster, the stability of the shape transformation still needs strengthening, and the 'sharpness' of the nature transformation isn't enough yet—"
Kiyohara panted lightly, wiping away the fine beads of sweat seeping from his temple due to intense concentration.
He discovered that as his spiritual energy increased, his ability to control chakra had also improved significantly.
This gave Kiyohara a realization: rapid ninjutsu training was inseparable from chakra control.
And this kind of fine control naturally benefited from extreme concentration.
'A few more times, and I should be able to master Lightning Release: Furious Thunder Arrow,' Kiyohara thought to himself.
Steel Release Kiyohara's requirement had only been to learn a B-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu—simply to learn it, with no demand for any particular level of proficiency.
As long as it could be successfully performed, reaching the entry level was enough.
The entire afternoon that followed was spent training in the mountains and forests.
From time to time, Steel Release Kiyohara would drift out from within Kiyohara's body, looking at his younger other self and nodding faintly in approval.
Kiyohara could be said to possess both diligence and talent.
Before long, he would likely bloom with his own brilliance in the Third Great Ninja War.
Until dusk descended, draping the forest in a gauzy veil—
"Lightning Release: Furious Thunder Arrow!"
Kiyohara formed seals once more.
This time, several tightly condensed streaks of deep blue lightning transformed into arrows and shot from his hand the instant he raised it!
Chi chi chi!
That rock in the distance, already riddled with holes, instantly gained several new openings on its surface—smooth-edged, bottomless holes—while tiny lightning serpents danced and flickered around the edges, emitting faint crackling sounds.
Success!
Joy surged through Kiyohara's heart.
The Lightning nature talent of Missing-nin Kiyohara stacked remarkably well with his own, and combined with spiritual energy several times that of ordinary shinobi, it allowed Kiyohara to master a jōnin-level Lightning Release ninjutsu in just a few days.
"You've improved far faster than I anticipated," Steel Release Kiyohara said, his illusory spirit emerging as a sphere of light.
It slowly drifted toward Kiyohara and silently merged into him the instant it touched his forehead.
Kiyohara's entire body trembled—not from pain, but from a sensation of being filled to the brim.
It was as though parched land had been blessed with sweet rain, his mind becoming even clearer.
Spiritual energy was rising—
At the same time, Kiyohara could feel his Earth nature and Yang nature chakra talents being elevated. Some Earth Release and medical ninjutsu he had learned in the past suddenly became simple and transparent.
It was as if his thinking had suddenly broadened, and he now understood the methods to solve the problems.
More than that, he could feel something like a warm torrent sweeping through his limbs and bones, nourishing his flesh and body.
"Not bad—another boost to Yang attribute," Kiyohara murmured.
He had previously inherited this from his young adult self, so he was already somewhat familiar with the process.
But this time, the Yang attribute seemed to have undergone a qualitative change, bringing about even more transformations to his physical body.
For a long time, Kiyohara's spiritual energy had far surpassed his physical energy due to multiple inheritances. Though the two could combine into chakra, he had never been able to fully utilize all that spiritual energy.
At this moment, the surging vitality brought by the Yang nature crazily nourished every cell in his body. His muscle fibers grew denser and more elastic, and his blood surged with greater vitality.
Physical energy skyrocketed at an unprecedented rate, beginning to blend with spiritual energy several times greater than that of an ordinary person.
The two merged seamlessly, like milk and water.
At this instant, the "quality" of his chakra rose, and its "quantity" also experienced a massive surge.
Three times—at least three times Kakashi's chakra reserves!
"So much?!" Kiyohara was stunned.
He hadn't expected to jump directly from 2.2 Kakashi units to 3 Kakashi units.
"If everything fully fuses, how much chakra will it increase by then?" Anticipation stirred in Kiyohara's heart.
After completing the second final wish and achieving full fusion, he would certainly possess even greater chakra reserves.
Both spiritual energy and the physical energy brought by Yang nature would rise further.
"I just wonder which has more chakra—the Uzumaki clan or the Senju clan," Kiyohara mused, stroking his chin.
If he could obtain the bloodline of either one, that would be ideal.
In the original work, there had always been debate over how many times Naruto's chakra exceeded Kakashi's.
The anime version set it as four times Kakashi's when suppressing the Nine-Tails, and one hundred times when not suppressing it.
In the manga version, those remaining ninety-six times were attributed to chakra leaking from the Nine-Tails.
"Naruto should be more than just 4 Kakashi units—otherwise he couldn't sustain that level of extravagance."
Just Naruto's "Two Thousand Combo" alone theoretically required splitting into a thousand clones, each delivering two thousand consecutive punches using both hands.
And all of Naruto's chakra in that scene was blue, indicating it was his own chakra.
If the Nine-Tails only had ninety-six times a jōnin's chakra, then Naruto in "Nine-Tails Mode" wouldn't have been able to supply chakra to the entire Allied Shinobi Forces while casually firing off Tailed Beast Bombs.
'Still, an ordinary Uzumaki clan member definitely wouldn't be as outrageous as Naruto,' Kiyohara thought.
Naruto was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' son, hosted Asura's chakra, and Minato had even left a "back door" in the Eight Trigrams Seal.
This allowed the Nine-Tails' chakra to leak out and be converted into Naruto's own chakra, influencing him subtly over time.
Naturally, an ordinary Uzumaki couldn't compare to Naruto under such conditions.
As for stripping away all those advantages and asking how much chakra a "pure" Naruto truly had, Kiyohara had no way of knowing.
But if it were only four Kakashi units, that could hardly be called a vast amount.
'The road ahead is long and arduous—I still need to keep increasing my chakra reserves,' Kiyohara thought.
He wanted to achieve true freedom in ninjutsu usage as soon as possible.
One Kakashi unit could cast four Chidori. Three Kakashi units meant only twelve casts.
Compared to Naruto's thousands of Shadow Clones, each wielding a Rasengan, the gap was still far too wide.
"Not bad. Your chakra reserves have already surpassed mine when I was alive," Steel Release Kiyohara said, seeing through his thoughts.
In the shinobi world, there were broadly only three ways to increase chakra reserves.
Taking forbidden drugs or secret medicines, modifying one's body, or sealing a tailed beast.
Or there was also the "Edo Tensei," which came with infinite chakra as a bonus.
"I know," Kiyohara nodded slightly, clenching his fist as he carefully savored the reborn sensation, feeling the abundant power within his body.
Cheat-level existences were always rare—but Kiyohara now counted as a minor one himself.
At the same age, very few peers could defeat him.
After sensing his chakra reserves gradually stabilize, Kiyohara shifted his attention to the several new ninjutsu training methods and key principles that had appeared in his mind.
Such as "Earth Release: Earth Spear," which hardened any part of the body using Earth nature chakra, serving as a lower-tier substitute for Steel Release.
"Earth Release: Rock Staff," which condensed hard stone batons from the earth for mid-range attacks.
And the classic Earth Release ninjutsu, "Earth Release: Mud Wall."
TN: Earth Release: Mud Wall was Earth Release: Earth Style Wall or Earth Flow Wall before.
"Hoo—"
Kiyohara let out a long breath of turbid air.
He looked around, and after confirming that no one was nearby, chose to move to an even more concealed location.
This was to avoid drawing attention to Steel Release.
Then, Kiyohara extended his hand.
Within his meridian system flowed two different chakra natures, merging into a new, special chakra.
Steel Release!
At the tip of Kiyohara's right index finger, a layer of rock-like gray-brown emerged. The color quickly deepened, shifting into a dark, metallic sheen with a cold glint, as though the fingertip had truly become refined steel.
"So this is 'Steel' Release, born from the fusion of Yang Release and Earth Release?" Kiyohara stared at his fingertip. The texture was hard and cold, yet its weight had not increased much.
For some reason, he thought of an ability from another world called "Armament Haki"—the appearance really was somewhat similar.
Clang!
He drew his blade with his left hand. A flash of cold light, and he slashed down at his hardened right index finger without hesitation!
Clang!
Though he controlled his strength carefully to avoid actually severing his finger, the pitch-black surface still rang out with the sound of metal colliding.
The blade was firmly blocked outside the "steel skin," not leaving even the faintest white mark.
What his finger felt was a solid rebound force, not pain.
"Effective indeed—then what about the range?"
With a shift of thought, chakra rapidly spread.
His entire right palm, along with his wrist and forearm, was instantly covered in that dark metallic sheen.
When he swung his arm, even the sound of air being cut grew heavier.
He continued experimenting—chest, back, legs—the dull color spread like flowing water.
From small areas to large ones, Kiyohara tested them all, covering his body in a layer of resilient, steel-hardened skin.
However, when he tried to guide chakra toward his eyes, he felt a slight stinging pain and resistance. His eyeballs conveyed a sense of fragility and rejection.
Kiyohara immediately halted the use of Steel Release on his eyes.
"The eyes can't be covered," he murmured.
Feeling the rapid consumption of chakra within his body, Kiyohara dispelled most of the steel hardening, retaining only his right arm for testing.
He walked up to a rock, clenched his steel-hardened right fist, and without using techniques like "Magnet Release: Magnetic Field Rotation," relied purely on physical strength and hardened durability to throw a punch!
Boom!
With a dull impact, Kiyohara's punch carved a concave groove into the rock.
Though it didn't completely punch through, he was still very satisfied.
If he had used flesh and blood alone, without a magnetic field wrapping his body, he would probably have ended up a bloody mess.
"Outstanding defense, extremely strong resistance to physical attacks. Resistance to Lightning Release may also change due to metal conductivity—needs testing. Tolerance to high temperatures, strong acids, and other special attacks is unknown—"
As he summarized, Kiyohara let the steel-hardening flicker beneath his skin, attempting more localized hardening: a single finger, the nose, the neck, the elbows, and so on.
Naturally, the focus was on critical areas.
With this, Kiyohara's survivability in battle would be greatly enhanced.
(End of Chapter)