However, Obito also developed a sense of vigilance toward Black Zetsu.
This fellow was far too skilled at manipulating people's hearts. If he was not careful, he could easily fall into Black Zetsu's traps.
And in the end, this was still Madara's "manifested will."
"Is that so, Obito?"
Black Zetsu neither agreed nor disagreed.
Although he said that, he still thought very highly of Obito.
The reason was simple. A dōjutsu like Kamui was something even the Flying Thunder God Technique could not compare to.
The ability to ignore virtually all ninjutsu and taijutsu attacks alone was already astonishing enough.
Obito glanced at Black Zetsu and said nothing further. His figure gradually faded away into the distortion of space.
Meanwhile, in Iwagakure, inside the Tsuchikage's office.
Onoki sat with a dark expression on his face as he looked at Roshi standing before him.
Roshi's left sleeve hung empty.
A missing arm was an enormous handicap for any shinobi.
The efficiency of forming hand seals would become much lower than before.
"Couldn't you recover the severed arm?"
Onoki asked.
Roshi shook his head.
"There wasn't enough time. If I had stayed to look for it, I was afraid I wouldn't have been able to leave."
Even as stubborn as he was, Roshi had no choice but to admit that Kiyohara was incredibly powerful. Kiyohara's Water Release had restrained him almost completely.
"I'm a Jinchūriki. Even after losing an arm, my condition is still better than that of an ordinary shinobi."
As he spoke, crimson Tailed Beast chakra slowly spread from the stump of his severed arm, gradually forming a translucent chakra arm.
"I can still use this to form hand seals."
Roshi continued.
Even so, such a method could never compare to having his original arm.
"Is Kiyohara really that strong?"
Onoki frowned.
This was something he was genuinely curious about.
After all, he had never personally witnessed Kiyohara fighting.
Lowering his head, Roshi clenched his teeth and said,
"That brat from Konoha... his chakra reserves are enormous. They feel like those of a member of the Senju Clan."
Roshi shook his head.
Upon hearing this, Onoki's expression grew even more serious.
The boy carrying Uchiha blood reminded him of a shadow from decades ago.
That man had been just as outrageous.
"That brat used Water Release to create an entire lake and forcibly extinguished my sea of lava."
Roshi dispersed the chakra arm. His sleeve once again drooped down, empty and lifeless.
Several high-ranking Iwagakure shinobi standing along the sides exchanged glances.
After a long silence, one of them finally spoke.
"Tsuchikage-sama, should we... send the Five-Tails Jinchūriki to test him?"
Onoki fell silent for a moment before replying.
"Enough."
"Enough?"
The official stared blankly.
"That's it? Kitsuchi is still in their hands, and Roshi lost an arm."
"And what do you suggest we do?"
Onoki turned to look at him.
"Continue sending reinforcements? Our supply lines have already been cut. Do you have any idea how many shinobi we've lost? If this war continues, what will remain of Iwa?"
He descended from his seat and walked toward the map with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Contact Konoha."
Onoki said quietly.
"Test their attitude and see whether they are willing to agree to a ceasefire."
The office fell silent.
Everyone present understood exactly what that meant.
Iwagakure was preparing to lower its head.
Back in Konoha, inside the Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen sat behind his large desk, a pipe in his hand as wisps of white smoke slowly curled upward.
A newly delivered battle report lay spread across the desk before him, densely packed with writing.
Yet all of it described a single event.
"The Four-Tails Jinchūriki lost an arm... Iwagakure voluntarily retreated..."
He read the words aloud.
The smile at the corner of his mouth could not be suppressed.
"Good. Very good."
Across from him, Koharu and Homura exchanged a glance.
"Hiruzen."
Koharu finally spoke, her voice carrying a trace of hesitation.
"Kiyohara has indeed rendered tremendous service this time. But have you considered something? An Uchiha gaining this level of prestige... could it perhaps..."
She paused before finishing the sentence.
But the meaning was already obvious.
Hiruzen's brows slightly furrowed.
Before he could respond, the office door was abruptly pushed open.
Danzo strode inside. His single eye swept across everyone present before finally settling on Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, I heard Kiyohara has achieved another great merit?"
His hoarse voice carried restrained anger.
"An Uchiha personally slaying a Mizukage, capturing the Tsuchikage's son, and severing one arm of the Four-Tails Jinchūriki. Do you really think this is normal?"
Hiruzen took a slow puff from his pipe before exhaling.
"Is it abnormal?"
"Of course it's abnormal!"
Danzo walked up to the desk and planted both hands firmly upon it.
"Have you forgotten Tobirama-sensei's teachings? The Uchiha Clan is inherently evil!"
"Danzo!"
Homura suddenly interrupted.
His brows were tightly knitted, and dissatisfaction filled his voice.
"Tobirama-sensei may have said those things, but he also selected Kagami as one of the Hokage's personal guards. How do you explain that?"
The position of Hokage Guard was a very special one.
Danzo choked on his words.
"Kagami was an exception."
In the end, that was all he could say.
"And why can't Kiyohara be an exception as well?"
Hiruzen immediately followed up.
He placed his pipe down and looked directly at Danzo.
"Kiyohara is now Tsunade's disciple. He inherited Konoha's Will of Fire and represents the village's new generation."
Hiruzen paused, and his voice became lower.
"Danzo, what exactly are you worried about?"
"Hmph. Don't forget Uchiha Madara!"
Danzo replied coldly.
Back then, Madara had defected from the village and even attempted to return and attack Konoha.
If First Hokage had not dealt with him outside the village, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"That is ancient history now, Danzo."
Hiruzen replied calmly.
Listening to Hiruzen's words, Danzo felt that his old friend had already been completely brainwashed by the Uchiha.
Bang!
The office door slammed shut behind him.
Every time the subject of Kiyohara came up, he would inevitably end up arguing with Hiruzen.
After all, one of Danzo's experimental facilities had been destroyed by Kiyohara.
As a result, no matter how he looked at Kiyohara now, he found him unpleasant.
Coupled with the fact that Danzo believed Uchiha blood carried an original sin, his hatred only grew deeper.
Hiruzen watched the slightly trembling door and let out a sigh.
"When it comes to the Uchiha issue, he's always like this."
Koharu spoke quietly.
"Let him be."
Hiruzen picked up his pipe once more.
"At least Konoha has won again."
How could someone who had repeatedly earned such great achievements for Konoha possibly be evil?
Furthermore, Kiyohara had always been humble and courteous. He was completely different from the other Uchiha in Hiruzen's eyes.
…
At Iwagakure front line, inside Konoha's camp.
Rin sat beneath a large tree.
Her head was lowered, and she held a palm-sized notebook in her hands while carefully writing something inside.
The scratching sound of her pen continuously echoed across the pages.
"Rin, what are you doing?"
A voice suddenly came from above her.
Rin looked up and saw Kakashi standing before her. His hands were casually tucked into his pockets.
"Ah... I'm taking notes."
"Notes?"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of notes?"
"Notes on Water Release medical ninjutsu."
Rin replied.
"Kiyohara-kun has taught me so much. I'm afraid I'll forget it all, so I've been writing everything down..."
"Isn't Rin just looking for an excuse to spend more time with Kiyohara?"
A loud voice suddenly interrupted.
The two turned simultaneously.
At some point, Might Guy had already wandered over. Standing with his hands on his hips, his bright white teeth reflected the sunlight brilliantly.
"After all, if you have a shared topic, you can always spend time together discussing it!"
Guy declared as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Truthfully, he had the same idea himself.
That way he could spend more time with Kiyohara, discussing taijutsu together and igniting the flames of youth.
"I... I am not..."
Rin suddenly began stammering.
Her eyes darted away, unable to meet their gazes.
Kakashi glanced at her, then turned his eyes toward the distance.
There, Kiyohara was currently speaking with several shinobi, seemingly discussing something with them.
"Good luck, Rin."
Beneath his mask, Kakashi revealed a smile filled with approval and encouragement.
He was very optimistic about the possibility of something developing between Kiyohara and Rin.
Might Guy also stepped forward and vigorously patted her on the shoulder.
"That's right! The flames of youthful romance should burn brightly too, Rin! I support you!"
"Y... you two..."
Rin immediately broke into a small run, fleeing the scene.
Time passed quickly, and half a month slipped by in the blink of an eye.
The weather gradually became hotter.
During this period, Kiyohara spent most of his time training in the Gentle Fist under the guidance of the Hyuga Clan.
"Again?"
The spirit of Hyuga Kiyohara emerged from within his body and floated beside him.
"Yeah."
Kiyohara slowly opened his eyes.
The moment those dark pupils opened, they transformed into a pure, pearly white.
The essence of Daytime Tiger was the compression of air through extremely high speed punches after opening the Seventh Gate, creating a devastating air cannon.
Meanwhile, Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm released chakra directly from the palm to generate a shockwave.
Seventh Gate, Gate of Wonder... Open!
Blue steam erupted toward the sky.
Kiyohara's skin began turning red as veins emerged across his forehead, neck, and arms.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Through the vision of the Byakugan, he could clearly see the chakra within his body becoming violent and unstable.
That was the difficult part.
To use Daytime Tiger, the Seventh Gate had to be opened.
But once the Seventh Gate was activated, controlling chakra became extremely difficult.
The chakra surged endlessly through the body's meridian system.
Kiyohara could only do his best to control it before executing the Gentle Fist.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!
He thrust out a palm strike.
A tremendous wave of compressed air exploded outward.
Under the Seventh Gate's enhancement, every taijutsu technique he used received a massive boost.
"Daytime Tiger uses chakra to compress air."
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm uses chakra to directly create a shockwave."
"If I first use chakra to compress air, then continue compressing it to a certain degree before injecting additional chakra into that compressed mass..."
"When the compressed air explodes, it produces a shockwave. When the chakra explodes, it also produces a shockwave."
"If those two shockwaves overlap..."
"The resulting power should increase several times over."
After half a month of experimentation, Kiyohara's thoughts had become much clearer.
A basic framework had already taken shape in his mind.
Or rather, the principles behind both techniques were not particularly complicated.
The true difficulty lay in chakra control and mastery.
By evening, Kiyohara returned to camp.
As soon as he arrived outside his tent, a figure approached him.
It was Kurenai.
A trace of concern appeared on her face, and her brows were slightly knitted together.
"Kiyohara, have you been training all afternoon?"
She looked at him carefully.
Sweat still lingered on his forehead.
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded.
"I'm recovering quickly. Look."
He casually wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The droplets evaporated in his palm, turning into a wisp of white steam.
Kurenai froze for a moment.
Then she felt even more concerned.
"Even if your recovery is fast, you shouldn't push yourself this hard..."
She muttered softly.
"Do you want... me to heat some water for you? A bath might help you relax."
Kiyohara looked at her.
Kurenai had grown taller and taller over the years.
She was even taller than she had been in the original timeline.
Beneath her light red shinobi outfit, the curves of her body had become impossible to ignore.
The places that should be full were full, and the places that should be mature had matured.
She was completely different from the inexperienced young girl she had once been.
Kiyohara thought about it for a moment.
Perhaps it was because the war had dragged on for so long.
Kurenai was older than her original counterpart, and she had also obtained the Power of the White Snake.
She was already becoming a mature beauty.
A thought unconsciously surfaced in Kiyohara's mind.
Had the time finally come?
When he thought about it carefully, neither he nor Kurenai were children anymore.
Without realizing it, many years had already passed.
"No need to heat any water."
Kiyohara suddenly reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist.
Kurenai let out a startled cry.
Before she could react, the scenery around her began twisting.
The next instant, they appeared inside a familiar house.
Wooden walls.
Tatami flooring.
Outside the window was the bustling scenery of Konoha.
Tsunade's home.
Kurenai's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked around.
"T... this is Konoha?"
She turned toward Kiyohara.
"Your Flying Thunder God Technique... can teleport this far?"
"Not too difficult."
Kiyohara smiled.
"As long as I have enough chakra."
Kurenai opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
But she found herself speechless.
The distance between Iwa front line and Konoha was enormous.
To teleport across such a distance with Flying Thunder God...
The admiration in her eyes became even stronger.
Then she suddenly realized something.
Her face instantly turned bright red.
"Y... why did you bring me back to Konoha?"
"Didn't you say you wanted a bath?"
Kiyohara replied as if it were perfectly natural.
"There's a bathroom right here."
Holding her in his arms, he headed toward the bathroom.
Kurenai's face became even redder.
"W... wait... I can walk by myself..."
Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito's hum.
Yet she made no effort to resist.
Kiyohara pushed open the bathroom door and gently set her down.
The room was not particularly large, but it was clean and tidy.
White tiles lined the walls.
A wooden bathtub sat nearby.
Several bottles of bathing supplies were neatly arranged in the corner.
"What are you standing there for?"
Kiyohara lightly smacked her on the hip.
Kurenai's eyes widened immediately.
She retaliated by giving him a similar smack.
"Now we're even."
She stood with her hands on her hips.
Kiyohara simply laughed.
Then he reached out and gently lifted her chin.
Forced to raise her head, Kurenai met his gaze.
Kiyohara lowered his head.
And kissed her.
At first, Kurenai's entire body stiffened.
Although it was not their first kiss.
She always became nervous.
Soon enough, however, her body relaxed.
Before long, she even began responding naturally.
Just as she was becoming lost in the moment and starting to sink into it, Kiyohara abruptly stopped and stepped back.
"Y... you..."
Kurenai stood frozen for several moments before finally recovering.
She wanted to say something.
Yet she was too embarrassed to speak.
All she could do was glare at him with her large crimson eyes.
"Let's take a bath first. I'm a good man, after all."
Kiyohara smiled.
Kurenai blinked before lightly punching his chest.
He was making it sound as though she were the bad one, even though he had started it.
"Come on, Kurenai."
Kiyohara spoke.
During this period, his understanding of the Flying Thunder God Technique had improved significantly.
He no longer needed to travel through intermediary coordinates first before making multiple jumps back to Konoha.
Now he could reach his destination in a single step.
Of course, at the moment, Kiyohara's thoughts were focused on something else entirely.
"O... okay..."
Kurenai did not refuse.
After all, their relationship had long since become that of a couple.
If anything, their progress was actually rather slow.
For ordinary civilians rather than shinobi, people of their age would already be facing constant pressure to marry.
The average lifespan during the Warring States Era had only been around thirty years.
The villages had existed for little more than sixty years.
People's views on such matters had not completely changed yet.
"I'll go in first."
Kiyohara entered the bathroom to prepare the hot water.
There was a large bathtub inside.
It was spacious enough for two people to soak together comfortably.
Bathtubs suitable for soaking were practically standard features in Konoha homes.
And since this residence had once stood within the territory of the Senju Clan, it had been built on a particularly grand scale.
Water poured steadily into the tub.
Soon, thick steam began filling the bathroom.
Standing amidst the mist, Kurenai took a deep breath and raised her hands.
Her light red outer robe slipped from her shoulders.
Revealing her smooth back.
Eventually, she stood quietly within the steam.
Kiyohara watched her.
The rising mist obscured much of the view.
Fortunately, his eyesight was more than capable of piercing through it.
The elegant outline of her figure remained perfectly visible.
Kurenai felt her entire body growing hotter under his gaze.
Turning around, she quickly climbed into the bathtub and submerged herself in the water, leaving only her head exposed.
"D... don't keep staring."
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Kiyohara chuckled.
He removed his own clothing and entered the tub.
The bathtub was large enough for two people to sit side by side.
Kurenai curled up in a corner, hugging her knees and exposing only her shoulders and head above the water.
Her face was as red as a boiled shrimp.
"I'll scrub your back."
Kiyohara firmly believed that back scrubbing was one of the shinobi world's finest cultural traditions and should never be forgotten.
This was completely different from the mixed bathing he had once experienced with Tsunade.
That had taken place in a large hot spring.
This bathtub, however, was small enough that two people inevitably sat very close together.
Furthermore, there had been things to conceal the body at the hot spring.
There was no such luxury here.
"All right..."
After a brief internal struggle, Kurenai agreed.
She straightened her back and turned around, presenting her back to him.
Kiyohara picked up a towel, soaked it in warm water, and gently began wiping her back.
Kurenai's body trembled slightly.
But she did not move away.
The warmth from his hands traveled through the towel.
Gradually, she relaxed.
Closing her eyes, she quietly enjoyed the comforting sensation.
Before long, the diligent Master Kiyohara completed the back scrubbing.
Naturally, he had also provided a few additional services beyond merely washing her back.
Since she was already here, Kurenai could only allow him to continue.
"I... I'll get out first..."
Kurenai suddenly spoke softly.
She tried to stand.
But Kiyohara gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Aren't you going to scrub my back too?"
He asked.
Kurenai froze.
Turning her head, she met his smiling eyes.
"Y... you're such a bad person."
She muttered under her breath.
Nevertheless, she accepted the towel and moved behind him.
Kiyohara's back was broad.
The lines of his muscles were smooth and well defined.
Even beneath his skin, the contours of powerful muscles were clearly visible.
Kurenai's face became red once again.
Taking a deep breath, she began carefully wiping his back.
Kiyohara closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of her small hands moving across his back.
Well, besides her hands, there seemed to be something else brushing against him from time to time.
But this was a bathroom, after all.
Having a bath sponge around was perfectly reasonable.
After all, that was the best way to make sure everything was thoroughly clean.
(End of Chapter)