The tent where Pakura was being held was located at the very innermost part of the camp, surrounded by guards on a twenty four hour rotation.
After completing the shift handover with the guarding shinobi, Kiyohara lifted the curtain and stepped inside.
The interior of the tent was more spacious than expected, but the furnishings were extremely simple.
A crude bed, a wooden table, a chair, and nothing else.
Pakura sat at the edge of the bed.
Her hands were bound by specially made chakra suppressing handcuffs, engraved with sealing formulas that could greatly restrict the flow of chakra.
Her ankles were also shackled, connected by a chain to the leg of the bed.
Even so, she sat upright.
Her long orange green hair was somewhat disheveled, but she casually brushed it behind her shoulders.
She had been changed into the gray prison uniform provided by Konoha. The fabric was rough, yet it could not conceal her proud figure.
The clothing was stretched into a full curve across her chest, and even beneath the loose uniform, the outline of her slender waist could still be seen.
Hearing footsteps, Pakura raised her head.
When she recognized Kiyohara, her eyes instantly turned cold, as if covered in frost.
"So it's you again."
Her voice was hoarse.
"You've been coming quite frequently this past week."
Kiyohara sat down on the chair and placed the scroll in his hand onto the table.
"The information that needed to be asked has mostly been extracted through genjutsu interrogation. Suna's troop deployment at Kikyo Pass, supply routes, puppet unit arrangements. I already know all of that."
Pakura pressed her lips into a thin line.
Genjutsu interrogation was an extremely painful experience.
Over the past week, Kiyohara had come three times.
Each time, he used the Sharingan's genjutsu to probe deep into her mind, extracting pieces of intelligence.
"Then what are you here for?"
Pakura asked coldly.
"To humiliate me? Or has Konoha's genius shinobi finally become so idle that he has nothing better to do?"
"I'm here to make a deal with you."
Kiyohara said calmly.
"Genjutsu can extract information, but it cannot extract experience. Your training insights on Scorch Release, techniques for chakra nature transformation, and the tricks you have summarized from real combat. Those require you to speak them willingly."
Pakura seemed to hear a joke, and a mocking smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"You think I would teach you?"
"You can choose not to."
Kiyohara leaned slightly forward, his hands clasped together on the table.
"But in that case, your disciple Maki might run into some trouble."
"I assume you wouldn't want anything to happen to your disciple, Pakura."
The atmosphere inside the tent froze instantly.
The mocking expression on Pakura's face stiffened, replaced first by blankness, then by disbelief, and finally by overwhelming rage.
"You…!"
She suddenly tried to stand, but the shackles on her legs restricted her movement, allowing her only to half rise.
The chain rattled loudly.
"What did you do to Maki?!"
"She's fine for now."
Kiyohara's tone remained calm.
"I haven't caught her yet. But she cannot possibly avoid missions forever. Maybe on her next mission, we will run into each other, and then I might capture her. After all, I know what your disciple looks like."
He paused briefly before continuing.
Pakura's breathing became heavy, her chest rising and falling violently.
Under the prison uniform, the full curves moved with her breath, but she had no attention to spare for that now.
Maki.
The child she had raised since young, the foolish girl who always followed behind her, calling her Pakura-sensei.
The last time on the eastern coast, Maki had already been captured by Kiyohara once. Pakura had risked her life to rescue her.
And now this man was using the same situation to threaten her again.
As for Sunagakure's current situation, Pakura knew it very clearly. Their forces were stretched thin.
Her disciple was also stationed on this front line, and there was a high chance things would unfold exactly as Kiyohara had said.
After all, Kiyohara possessed the Sharingan and could even fly. His mobility could be considered maxed out.
"You… despicable…"
Pakura forced the words out through clenched teeth.
"War is like this."
Kiyohara's expression did not change.
The tent fell into dead silence.
Only Pakura's heavy breathing and the faint clinking of chains could be heard.
After a long while, it was as if all her strength had been drained. She slumped back onto the edge of the bed.
"What do you want to know…"
Her voice was so low it was almost inaudible.
"The chakra nature transformation techniques of Scorch Release."
Kiyohara opened the scroll and picked up his pen.
He intended to draw from it some experience related to fire and wind chakra nature transformation.
Pakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"The essence of Scorch Release is not simply mixing wind and fire together."
She began to speak, her voice flat, as if reciting from a textbook.
Kiyohara recorded everything rapidly.
"Continue."
His pen moved swiftly across the scroll.
This kind of experience was too valuable.
Genjutsu could extract certain information, but it could not extract these subtle insights.
With these, his direction for improving his own fire techniques would become much clearer.
She spoke for a full hour.
From the most basic chakra control to advanced application techniques.
From common mistakes during training to adaptive strategies in real combat.
When the final word fell, Pakura seemed completely drained, collapsing against the head of the bed.
"That should be enough…" she murmured.
Kiyohara closed the scroll.
It was already densely filled with notes.
"That's enough."
He stood up and walked to the entrance of the tent, then paused.
"If I run into your disciple, I'll spare her."
Kiyohara said lightly.
Maki used Suna's unique fuinjutsu, sealing with cloth.
When the time came, he could simply copy it with the Sharingan. There would be no real need to capture her.
Pakura did not respond.
She merely turned her head and looked at a patch of sunlight filtering in through a gap in the tent.
Kiyohara lifted the curtain and stepped outside.
The sunlight was somewhat glaring.
He narrowed his eyes and stored the scroll into his shinobi tool pouch.
As night fell, scattered lights lit up the frontline camp at Kikyo Mountain.
After finishing the day's miscellaneous tasks, Kiyohara prepared to report Pakura's situation to Tsunade.
He passed through the pathways between tents and arrived outside the medical unit's command tent.
Kiyohara lifted the curtain and saw Tsunade idly spinning a pen.
"Sensei, have you finished your work for today?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Yeah, there wasn't much to do."
Tsunade subconsciously stretched. Beneath her sleeveless top, her fair skin was revealed, as white as snow on a mountain peak.
At the same time, that mountain seemed almost unsteady, as if her clothes might suddenly burst open, causing an avalanche.
"You should know, because of certain reasons, I can't perform surgery." Tsunade said.
At most, she could diagnose patients and determine what kind of treatment plan to use.
But personally performing surgery was something she had long stopped doing.
"Understood."
Kiyohara nodded.
Tsunade did not say it outright, but based on what had happened before, even without knowledge of the original story, it was easy to tell that she could not stand the sight of blood.
"So for me, a lot of the time, I can only stay cooped up in this tent."
There was a hint of melancholy in Tsunade's voice as she spoke.
Several years had already passed since she developed hemophobia.
Nawaki had also been dead for many years.
If Nawaki were still alive, he would already be a few years older than the current Kiyohara.
"Sensei, you have already contributed more than enough."
Kiyohara glanced at the thick stack of documents on Tsunade's desk and knew that she was far from idle.
Although she suffered from hemophobia, she still worked on things such as antidote development and medical ninjutsu.
Not to mention that she could rely on Katsuyu to assist, letting Katsuyu perform treatments on her behalf.
Of course, that would consume a large amount of Tsunade's chakra.
"Not as much as you all."
Tsunade shook her head.
As someone who had personally experienced the Second Great Shinobi War, it was very clear whether fighting on the front lines was easier or working in logistics was easier.
"Sometimes, I do want to cure this illness."
Tsunade suddenly said.
However, this matter was a knot in her heart.
Kiyohara did not expect that the current Tsunade was far more proactive than in the original story, at least she was nowhere near as depressed.
This was likely one of the butterfly effects brought about by his presence.
"Sensei, your illness can be taken slowly."
Kiyohara spoke.
This kind of condition was not something that could be cured casually.
If it were that simple, it would not have troubled Tsunade for so many years.
Of course, if someone had something like Naruto's talk no jutsu, it might be cured directly.
"Oh right, Sensei, let me teach you something new."
"Something new?"
"Yes, something to help you relax."
Kiyohara blinked.
"For example, some new gambling games."
"Gambling?"
Tsunade was momentarily stunned, then a trace of interest flashed in her eyes.
"What kind of gambling?"
"It requires four people to play. The rules are simple, but there are many variations."
Tsunade stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.
"You brat always come up with strange ideas."
"Go call some people over. Kurenai, Shizune, Rin and Kakashi. That boy is always so lifeless, it is about time he used his brain a bit."
Kiyohara nodded and turned to leave the tent.
Half an hour later, a group had already gathered inside the command tent.
Kurenai and Rin sat by the table with curious expressions, while Shizune was tidying up the tabletop.
Kakashi leaned against one of the tent poles.
Kyoko had also come. She had originally wanted to ask Tsunade some questions about medical ninjutsu, but the moment she entered, she was bewildered by the scene.
"Kiyohara, what is this about?"
"Teaching everyone a new game."
Kiyohara took out a deck of playing cards that he had prepared in advance from his shinobi tool pouch.
Playing cards existed in the shinobi world as well, but the rules were all local variations.
He spread the cards on the table and began explaining the rules.
"This game is called…. There are fifty four cards. The basic rules are…"
Kiyohara carefully explained the concepts of jokers, bombs, straights, consecutive pairs, as well as the process of calling and competing for the landlord.
Everyone listened with great interest.
Especially Tsunade, whose eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"This sounds much more interesting than rolling dice!"
"Then let's give it a try."
Kiyohara shuffled the cards. In the first round, he, Tsunade, and Kurenai played.
There was no suspense. With experience from his previous life, Kiyohara easily won the first round.
In the second round, Rin took Kurenai's place. Kiyohara still won.
Third round, fourth round.
Tsunade's expression began to change.
"Wait!"
After losing five rounds in a row, she suddenly slammed the table.
"Kiyohara, have you played this before? Otherwise how can you be so skilled?"
Kiyohara replied, "Sensei, I am the one who taught you this game. Of course I am skilled."
"That's not fair."
Tsunade glared at him.
"You step down. Someone else will take your place."
She looked around and her gaze landed on Kyoko.
"Kyoko, you go."
"Huh? I-I am not very good at this yet…"
"It is fine, I will teach you."
Tsunade pressed Kyoko into the seat while she herself stood behind Kiyohara.
"Kiyohara, you will be my advisor. I refuse to believe that I cannot win at least once today."
Kiyohara suppressed a laugh and nodded in agreement.
A new round began.
Kyoko, Kurenai, and Rin played against each other, while Kiyohara stood behind Tsunade, looking at her cards.
It had to be said that Tsunade's gambling luck was truly terrible to an extreme degree.
The cards in her hand were so bad that it was despair inducing.
Her highest single card was only a king. The pairs were all small, she could not form a straight, and she did not even have a decent three with one.
"H-how am I supposed to play this…"
Tsunade looked at her cards, her face turning green.
Kiyohara sighed, leaned closer, and began guiding her in a low voice, "Sensei, our goal this round is to lose as little as possible. First, play this three…"
Under Kiyohara's guidance, Tsunade carefully played her cards.
However, the hand was too poor. No matter how it was managed, there was no way to turn things around.
They still lost that round.
"Again!"
Tsunade refused to accept defeat.
In the second round, the cards were slightly better, but still far from good.
With Kiyohara's guidance, the two cooperated and barely held on until the end, but they still lost by a narrow margin.
Before the third round began, Kiyohara suddenly said, "Sensei, there is actually another way to play, which is more suitable for four people."
"What way?"
"Mahjong, just with a different set of rules."
Kiyohara took out another set of mahjong tiles from his shinobi tool pouch.
He had obtained it by chance from a shinobi's sealing scroll.
Most likely a gambler.
The shinobi world had both playing cards and mahjong, but the rules were different from those in Kiyohara's previous life.
"East, South, West, North winds? Red, Green, White? This sounds very complicated."
Kurenai looked at the tiles with strange patterns and felt a bit dizzy.
She had never played this before and could not understand it at all.
"It is actually easy to pick up."
Kiyohara began shuffling the tiles.
"Come, the four of us will try one round first. Sensei, you are still on my team. I will continue to guide you."
A new game began.
The tent was soon filled with the crisp sound of mahjong tiles clacking together.
This time, Tsunade's luck still did not improve.
The tiles she drew were either all scattered or missing a suit.
Kiyohara did his best to guide her, but without good tiles, even the best strategy could not save the situation.
Just as Tsunade was about to give up, a turning point appeared.
"Sensei, draw this one."
Kiyohara pointed at a tile in the wall.
Tsunade hesitated but picked it up anyway. When she flipped it over, it was a red dragon.
"Now discard this East wind."
Tsunade followed his instructions.
Over the next few turns, Kiyohara's guidance became increasingly precise.
Tsunade realized that the tiles in her hand were forming at an unbelievable speed.
"Wait I think I am in tenpai?"
Tsunade stared at her hand, unable to believe it.
"Yes, Sensei."
Kiyohara smiled slightly.
"You are waiting for either the two bamboo or the five bamboo. If anyone discards either of those tiles, you win."
On the next turn, it was Rin's turn to discard.
The young girl hesitated for a long time before playing a five bamboo.
"I win!"
Tsunade jumped up abruptly, slamming the table so hard it thundered.
She pushed her tiles forward, her face filled with uncontrollable joy.
"I won, did you see that?"
Tsunade, who had rarely tasted the fruit of victory, immediately became an ardent supporter of this new style of gameplay.
"Again, again."
She sat back down, full of enthusiasm.
"Kiyohara, keep guiding me. Tonight I'm going to sweep the table."
Kiyohara nodded.
They continued all the way until midnight before finally stopping.
Tsunade was in an excellent mood from playing.
...
After everyone else had left, Kiyohara began tidying up the things on the table.
He could tell that Tsunade had truly enjoyed herself.
After all, everything depended on Kiyohara supporting her from behind. He had been constantly telling her what moves to make.
It was not that the new games were especially favorable to Tsunade, but rather that Kiyohara himself understood them well enough to overwhelm the others.
That allowed him to lead Tsunade to a few small victories.
It was well known that for most ordinary people, the beginning of falling into gambling often started with a small win.
That tiny taste of sweetness would then become the key to addiction.
Especially for someone like Tsunade, a seasoned gambler who had been losing for so long.
"Not bad. I am very satisfied."
Tsunade patted Kiyohara on the shoulder.
From this perspective, she felt that Kiyohara was far better than Shizune.
After all, Shizune would only try to persuade her to quit gambling, while Kiyohara could actually help her win.
"They are just not familiar with the rules yet."
Kiyohara shook his head.
And if he really wanted to, he could have sent out the spiritual body of his Anbu self to float behind the others and secretly look at their cards.
Then he could relay the information back to himself.
However, doing so would accelerate the dissipation of the spiritual body, so there was no real need.
"Sensei, I'll head back first."
Kiyohara said.
He had gained quite a bit today.
After returning, he could review everything again.
The combination of fire release and wind release had made him extremely sensitive to both, and inspiration kept coming to him.
"Mm, go ahead. I'll sleep here tonight."
Tsunade waved her hand.
She did not feel like going back.
She directly pressed a mechanism on a folding chair, causing the backrest to recline and turn it into a makeshift bed.
She casually slipped off her shoes, revealing a pair of fair and delicate feet.
Perhaps because of the Yin Seal, every part of Tsunade's skin was smooth and tender, and there was not the slightest unpleasant scent.
Kiyohara glanced at her, then placed his own coat beside the folding chair before leaving.
"This brat…"
Tsunade stared at the coat he had left behind, momentarily lost in thought.
After a moment, she picked it up and covered herself with it.
Several days later.
Konoha Village, Hokage's office.
Hiruzen sat behind his desk. The pipe in his hand had already gone out, yet he still habitually took a puff.
Spread across the desk were the latest frontline reports, along with observation reports sent by the Anbu.
The door was gently pushed open, and an Anbu shinobi knelt on one knee.
"Hokage-sama, Lord Shinnosuke has sent back a report."
"Speak."
Hiruzen did not look up.
The Anbu shinobi hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Lord Shinnosuke reports that Jonin Kiyohara's recent behavior has been somewhat unusual."
"Unusual?"
"Yes. During the day, he carries out medical duties as normal, but at night, he organizes Lady Tsunade, Chunin Yuhi Kurenai, Chunin Nohara Rin, and others to participate in a new form of gambling activity."
Hiruzen raised his head, one eyebrow lifting slightly.
"Gambling?"
"It is a game called... According to Lord Shinnosuke's observations, Jonin Kiyohara appears to be the creator of these games. He teaches Lady Tsunade and the others how to play, and…"
The Anbu shinobi's voice grew quieter.
"And what?"
"And Lady Tsunade is very engaged. Over the three days observed by Lord Shinnosuke, Lady Tsunade spent two nights playing these games until late at night."
The office fell silent.
After a long while, Hiruzen suddenly laughed.
The Anbu shinobi was stunned.
He did not understand why the Hokage was laughing.
"Hokage-sama?"
"It's nothing, nothing."
Hiruzen waved his hand.
"I just think that child Kiyohara truly has his ways."
He relit his pipe and took a deep puff.
"What else did Shinnosuke report?"
"Jonin Kiyohara has obtained a large amount of training insight regarding Scorch Release from Pakura and is currently organizing and studying it. Additionally, Chunin Nohara Rin can now steadily draw upon the Three Tails' chakra for about three minutes, showing remarkable progress."
"And anything else?"
"Jonin Kiyohara's own training is ongoing. Lord Shinnosuke observed that he seems to be cultivating a jutsu that requires long term accumulation, but the specifics are unclear."
Hiruzen nodded, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
"Tell Shinnosuke to continue observing."
"Yes."
The Anbu shinobi responded, but could not help asking, "Hokage-sama, do you not think that Jonin Kiyohara's behavior is somewhat lacking in seriousness? After all, this is the front line…"
"The front line also needs relaxation."
Hiruzen interrupted him.
He paused, then added, "Moreover, Kiyohara has not neglected a single one of his responsibilities. Treating the wounded, guiding the younger generation, researching ninjutsu, even capturing someone like Pakura alive. He is already exhausted during the day. What is wrong with relaxing at night?"
The Anbu shinobi lowered his head.
Since the Hokage had said so, there was nothing more to question.
"I was narrow minded."
The Anbu shinobi said.
In Hiruzen's view, Tsunade had been somewhat too withdrawn over the past few years.
Although she was addicted to gambling, she had been wandering throughout the shinobi world, never staying in one place for long.
This situation allowed Tsunade to build more bonds with Konoha, and at the same time, allowed Kiyohara to form a connection with her.
From any perspective, it was a good thing.
At present, the only issue troubling Hiruzen regarding Tsunade was her hemophobia.
"Tsunade's fear of blood also needs to be resolved somehow."
Hiruzen thought to himself.
Before that, perhaps Kiyohara could be promoted to squad leader.
In this way, it would also demonstrate the Hokage's magnanimity toward the Uchiha clan.
As long as someone had ability, even an Uchiha would still be qualified to take office.
Although Kiyohara was not a true Uchiha, he still carried Uchiha blood.
"Go inform Shinnosuke and have him complete the final assessment of Kiyohara."
Hiruzen said.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The Anbu shinobi accepted the order and left.
On this day, there seemed to be some unusual movement from Sunagakure's side.
The atmosphere throughout the camp became even more tense.
Kiyohara also began to wonder whether he might be sent to the front line for battle at any moment.
He actually hoped to encounter Rasa, so that he could copy Rasa's gold dust.
After all, he also possessed the Magnet Release bloodline limit.
The limitation that the Sharingan cannot copy sage techniques, bloodline limits, or secret techniques only applied to ordinary Uchiha.
The same applied to summoning techniques, since those required contracts.
In theory, ninjutsu above A rank were already extremely difficult for the Sharingan to copy.
That was why, in the original story, Kakashi rarely used the Rasengan, and even stated that the A rank, no hand seal Rasengan was already at the limit of what the Sharingan could copy.
Of course, these restrictions did not apply to Kiyohara.
He felt that he could attempt to copy S rank ninjutsu.
The Sharingan was a weapon.
Different people would produce different results when using the same weapon.
Moreover, Kiyohara's weapon was far stronger than others, and his own foundation, aside from water release, was extremely solid.
"Kiyohara."
At that moment, someone suddenly called his name.
Kiyohara turned around and saw a tall shinobi with a broad, sturdy build.
However, the man wore an animal mask on his face and a black hood over his head.
"My codename is Fire Ape. Under the orders of the Third Hokage, I have come to conduct your final assessment."
(End of Chapter)