Kiyohara had only just used the ability of Steel Release to harden his torso, reinforcing the most densely packed and vital meridian systems inside his body especially the area around his heart—so as to greatly increase his body's capacity to withstand damage.
He did not choose to harden his limbs, because doing so would consume far more chakra.
A piercing metallic clang echoed through the forest.
Yamagami Hako's pupils shrank abruptly. The blade he had swung with full force had actually been seized barehanded.
Yes—seized!
How was that even possible?!
Earth Release: Earth Spear?!
In the instant Yamagami Hako was struck by shock, Kiyohara's left-hand blade had already stabbed into his ribs.
"Cough—!"
The Mist jōnin Yamagami Hako staggered backward, his sword slipping from his grasp and falling to the ground.
Kiyohara did not even spare it a glance. Any shinobi tool he touched could be magnetized.
Unless the enemy promptly used their own chakra to cleanse Kiyohara's magnetization.
With a pull of magnetic force, the broad-bladed greatsword spun back through the air, whirling rapidly as it crossed in a single sweeping arc with the black shinobi blade in Kiyohara's hand.
Two chūnin attempting a sneak attack were cut cleanly in half at the waist.
From the initial breakthrough to the collapse of three squads, the entire process took no more than fifteen seconds.
Kiyohara halted and took a shallow breath.
Continuous high-speed movement and combat had taken a considerable toll on him.
But it was worth it.
Mist shinobi in the surrounding area were rapidly converging on his position. Kiyohara knew that his objective had already been achieved.
Still, it wasn't enough. He needed to create even greater chaos and reap more battle merits.
With so many people around right now, he had to farm a bit more credit.
At his current speed, kenjutsu, and with the margin of error granted by Steel Release, he could already be described as a humanoid weapon.
And that meant high-speed harvesting.
The vast majority of shinobi were glass cannons.
It was like two eggs fighting with hammers—whoever got hit would shatter all the same.
These shinobi were no different.
And now, the efficiency could be pushed even higher.
"All right, let's begin the next round."
In the eyes of the Mist shinobis, Kiyohara broke into a smile—then bit open his index finger.
Forming hand seals, he pressed the bead of blood seeping from his finger onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
Bang!
Smoke exploded outward, and immediately afterward came a subtle writhing sensation that almost blended seamlessly into the surrounding environment.
If not for Kiyohara's contractual connection with it, it would have been difficult even for him to instantly lock onto its position.
A chameleon roughly four to five meters in size appeared at his feet. The colors and patterns of its skin flowed like water, rapidly mimicking the scorched earth, broken timber, and bloodstains around it, achieving near-perfect invisibility.
The wildness in its eyes had long since faded, replaced by a fear tempered through repeated "training."
Spare the rod and spoil the child.
And the same went for producing a qualified summoning beast.
"Spread this stuff as evenly as possible. The moment the mist clears, replenish it."
Kiyohara swiftly took several thick bags out of a sealing scroll. Inside was quicklime powder—more than enough to cover this entire area.
It had cost him quite a bit of money, too.
Kiyohara put on the specialized black mask he had prepared earlier to prevent himself from being affected by the lime powder as well.
The invisible chameleon silently nodded, clamped its massive jaws around the bags, and began to move.
A summoning beast's physical endurance far surpassed that of a human. Although the quicklime powder made it feel a stinging sensation, it was still within tolerable limits.
Almost simultaneously, two more Kirigakure squads flanked in from the left and right, numbering over ten people, with at least two jōnin among them. Seeing Kiyohara standing alone, killing intent flashed in their eyes.
"Surround him! Don't let his summoning beast—"
Before the sentence could finish—
A burst of white powder suddenly exploded in the air on the left!
"Cough—what is this?!"
"My eyes—my eyes hurt!"
Under the chameleon's precise spray, quicklime powder enveloped three people on the left side.
Lime boils upon contact with water, and shinobi engaged in intense movement inevitably had sweat on their faces—and tears in their eyes.
"It's lime powder! Watch out for the invisible summoned beast!"
The jōnin on the right reacted instantly, forming seals. "Wind Release—!"
A violent gust scattered part of the lime fog, but also caused the powder to spread even farther.
Even more shinobis were forced to shut their eyes or cover their faces.
At that very moment, Kiyohara moved, cutting straight into the chaotic crowd on the left.
A flash of steel—one chūnin clutching his eyes had a thin red line bloom across his throat.
With a reverse slash, another shinobi wildly swinging a kunai had his chest pierced clean through.
Kiyohara did not linger at all. Once he struck, he immediately retreated.
At the same time, he swiftly dealt with the bodies on the ground, stuffing anything useful into his sealing scroll.
From another direction, the chameleon spat out yet another bag of lime.
Another cloud of white mist erupted.
"There—he's over there!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
The Mist shinobis began defending in panic, but the lime powder seeped in everywhere. Worse still, they had no idea which direction the next attack would come from.
Only sensory-type shinobis could easily perceive Kiyohara's position even with their eyes closed, completely unaffected.
But even if they sensed him, they still couldn't stop Kiyohara in time!
Under the cover of the lime fog, Kiyohara deliberately targeted chūnin and genin caught in the chaos.
A Kirigakure chūnin who had just wiped his eyes looked up—and saw the black blade tip rapidly enlarging in his pupils.
Blood blossoms bloomed one after another.
Kiyohara's speed formed absolute suppression across the battlefield.
He was like a roaming dragon swimming through a sea of mist, each flick of his tail bringing a splash of crimson.
"Damn it—this bastard only kills the weak!"
"Form up! Don't scatter!"
"Find that invisible summoning beast!"
Kirigakure's command calls grew increasingly frantic.
They had already lost more than ten people, yet they hadn't even brushed the corner of Kiyohara's clothes.
What made it even more infuriating was that Kiyohara never fought jōnin head-on.
The moment he sensed powerful chakra approaching, he immediately changed direction, pouncing on softer targets elsewhere.
"Coward! If you've got the guts, fight me head-on!"
A Mist jōnin roared, forming seals with both hands. "Water Release: Twin Water Dragons!"
Two entwined water dragons lunged toward Kiyohara.
Kiyohara didn't even look back. Magnetic force burst beneath his feet as he dodged, and at the same time flicked his left hand, sending three kunai tied with explosive tags flying toward a chūnin squad on the other side that was in the middle of forming seals.
BOOM! BOOM!
Screams rang out once more.
"Chase him! His chakra can't be infinite!"
Another jōnin ground his teeth.
And indeed, Kiyohara was beginning to feel the strain on his chakra.
Body Flicker, maintaining Steel Release, manipulating Magnet Release, and adding wind and lightning attributes—each of these consumed terrifying amounts of chakra.
If not for the fact that he possessed chakra reserves three times that of an average jōnin, he would have collapsed long ago.
Even so, his chakra was down to barely half.
"About time—"
Kiyohara's eyes sharpened as he suddenly leapt backward more than ten meters, temporarily disengaging from the battlefield.
He grabbed several soldier pills from his shinobi pouch, along with three pieces of specially compressed beef jerky, and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing furiously before washing them down with half a canteen of water.
Then, his consciousness sank inward.
At this point, Kiyohara's inner world was practically a memorial hall—someone who didn't know better might think all his ancestors were gathered there.
Kiyohara found the urn belonging to Steel Release Kiyohara and knocked on it with his mind.
Future me, wake up—time to work!
The moment Steel Release Kiyohara emerged, he saw Kiyohara devouring food at a frantic pace, his stomach visibly swelling.
"?"
Steel Release Kiyohara looked at Kiyohara, then at the Mist shinobis continuously gathering around, utterly bewildered.
Bodies lay strewn across the ground, shinobi tools scattered everywhere, the earth scorched black, trees snapped in half, collapsed tents not far away, and the sounds of Konoha and Kirigakure shinobis clashing nonstop in the background.
His past self was right in front of a horde of Mist shinobi—eating?
Steel Release Kiyohara stared at him with an expression that clearly said, Are you joking right now?
"What are you doing?"
The awakened spirit manifested behind Kiyohara, floating in place.
"Replenishing stamina and refining chakra," Kiyohara replied in his mind while chewing.
"Like the Nine-Tails helping Naruto, help me speed this process up."
Steel Release Kiyohara fell silent for a moment, understanding what Kiyohara meant.
When the spirit possessed the body, it could unleash 100% of this body's potential, including pushing the digestive system and metabolism to their theoretical limits.
"Are you sure? This will put a heavy burden on your stomach and intestines."
"Better than running out of chakra and dying here."
Kiyohara swallowed the last piece of beef jerky.
If Steel Release Kiyohara didn't help, he would have to retreat immediately.
If he did help—then he could squeeze out a bit more battle merit.
"They're closing in."
"…Fine. As you wish."
Steel Release Kiyohara said no more. The semi-transparent spirit slowly merged into Kiyohara's body.
In an instant, Kiyohara felt earth-shaking changes within him.
The writhing speed of his stomach multiplied several times over. The food he had just consumed was broken down and absorbed at an astonishing rate.
Nutrients transformed into energy.
Energy flooded into his cells, merging with spiritual energy and converting into fresh chakra, endlessly replenishing the nearly dried-up meridian system.
The sensation of exhaustion began to fade.
His chakra reserves recovered rapidly.
"My chakra is back."
Kiyohara felt the surging power filling his body.
In the next moment, his chakra erupted once more—and this time, he was even faster than before!
"With one cough—future me!"
Kiyohara spoke as if a jinchūriki were conversing with their tailed beast.
Only this time, the target was his future self.
"How is that possible?!"
A Mist jōnin cried out in disbelief.
"He was clearly about to run dry just now!"
"Even soldier pills need time to digest!"
"It's some kind of secret technique don't let him recover again!"
"Kill him!"
The remaining Kirigakure ninjas on the flank finally abandoned any thought of capturing him alive. Ninjutsu poured down like a torrential storm.
The commotion was so great that even many Mist shinobis from the main defensive line rushed over.
Yet Kiyohara moved like a roaming dragon across the battlefield, weaving through the gaps between ninjutsu.
He no longer merely evaded, he took the initiative to attack.
Blade light streaked like silk; blood fell like rain.
The strong—evade.
The weak—slay.
The Mist shinobis watched with twitching eyelids.
This Leaf shinobi was practically dancing on the battlefield!
Effortless, fluid, every move striking at the most uncomfortable moments for them, every strike taking several lives.
"Damn it—why is there such a monster on the flank?!"
"This speed, these tactics—who the hell is he?!"
"Kiyohara! It's Kiyohara!" Finally, someone recognized him.
"Konoha's newly risen Magnet Release genius!"
"Genius? This is a damn monster!"
At the edge of the battlefield, in the direction of the main front.
Standing atop Manda's head, Orochimaru suddenly tilted his head slightly. His golden, slit pupils seemed to pierce the distance, gazing toward the far-off flank.
He saw Kiyohara's dragon-like figure weaving through the battlefield, and he also saw that nearly unreasonable chakra recovery speed.
"Heh—so you took the serum I gave you after all~"
A playful smile curled at Orochimaru's lips as his long tongue slid over them.
"How very—interesting."
"This wind… looks like it'll blow far indeed…"
His gaze returned to the main battlefield, where the roar of the Six-Tails was gradually weakening, while another powerful chakra surged in from afar—Jiraiya had arrived.
As long as they coordinated with Jiraiya to allow most of the Konoha shinobi to retreat safely and prevent Kiri from advancing further, their mission would be complete.
But a large part of Orochimaru's thoughts had already drifted toward the flank.
That boy dancing across the battlefield brought him more pleasure than the tailed beasts and Kage-level clashes before his eyes.
In him, Orochimaru saw the reflection of his own past self—once young, once naïve, and once hailed as a genius.
(End of Chapter)