The door was left slightly ajar, warm yellow light spilling softly through the narrow gap.
Kiyohara gently pushed the door open.
Rin was curled beneath the blanket with her back facing the entrance.
She had pulled the quilt all the way up, leaving only the damp ends of her hair exposed.
Her shoulders were slightly tense. Although she deliberately kept her breathing slow and even, her trembling eyelashes betrayed that she was still awake.
Kiyohara walked over to the bedside.
"Rin."
Rin did not move.
Kiyohara lifted one corner of the blanket and slipped inside.
The single bed was narrow, and with two people lying together, their bodies were almost pressed against one another.
He extended an arm and gently wrapped it around her waist.
Her waist was incredibly slender, delicate enough to fit comfortably within a single embrace.
"K... Kiyohara-kun..."
Rin's voice trembled.
Kiyohara tightened his arm slightly.
He could clearly feel the smoothness and softness of her skin.
"Rin... is this alright?"
he whispered beside her ear, his warm breath brushing lightly against the edge of it.
The tips of Rin's ears instantly turned scarlet.
"...Mm..."
she answered in a tiny voice.
Her own heart could no longer remain calm.
Kiyohara's hand left her waist and rested upon her shoulder, gently turning her around.
Rin slowly faced him.
The bedside lamp illuminated her face from the side.
Her cheeks were dyed crimson, and her lips pressed together over and over as if she wanted to say something but could not find the words.
Kiyohara reached out and lightly lifted her chin with his fingertips.
Forced to raise her head, Rin's eyes met his.
"Rin."
Kiyohara lowered his head.
Her eyelashes quivered once more before she slowly closed her eyes.
...
After an unknown amount of time, Kiyohara finally released her.
Rin drew several deep breaths, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
A faint sheen of moisture glistened across her lips.
Tiny beads of sweat had formed upon her forehead, with several loose strands of hair sticking to her flushed cheeks.
Moments later, something gradually appeared upon the young girl's face that no longer belonged solely to a girl.
It was the mature charm unique to a woman.
A rosy blush spread across her fair skin, while fine droplets of perspiration covered every inch of it.
"How has your practice of the Youth Preservation Technique been going?"
Kiyohara suddenly asked.
Rin froze for a moment before nodding.
"...I've... completed it."
"Then next, I'll teach you Sage Arts."
Kiyohara's hand stopped just below her collarbone, his fingertips gently pressing into the shallow hollow there.
"But first, we need to build a proper foundation."
Before Rin could react, she felt a warm current of chakra flowing from his palm into her chest.
That chakra was completely different from ordinary chakra.
It was gentler.
As it flowed through her chakra pathways, every cell it passed seemed to become more vibrant and active.
Rin frowned slightly.
She could clearly feel that mysterious power slowly gathering inside her body.
This was Kiyohara's own understanding of the Curse Mark.
He had developed a method of allowing Sage Chakra to temporarily reside within another person's body.
Doing so could greatly accelerate another person's understanding of Sage Arts.
In Kiyohara's opinion, Rin's difficulty in learning Sage Arts was even lower than Kurenai's.
After all, Rin possessed the immense chakra reserves of the Three Tails within her body.
That alone satisfied the most important requirement for cultivating Sage Arts.
"In this state, both your spiritual energy and physical energy are at their most active. It's the perfect time to sense Sage Chakra."
Kiyohara explained.
When spiritual energy and physical energy were at their peak, natural energy could blend into the body much more smoothly.
This was one of the insights Kiyohara had gained after years of practicing Sage Arts.
However, this was still his first time putting the theory into actual practice.
Using this method greatly reduced the amount of natural talent required from the practitioner.
Of course, even if someone else wanted to imitate it, they simply could not.
Kiyohara's chakra control had already surpassed even Tsunade's.
If someone else attempted to reproduce the process, they would most likely turn into stone immediately, or suffer severe backlash from being unable to withstand the Curse Mark.
"...Mm... I really can feel an extra source of chakra inside my body."
Rin nodded.
She silently realized that this was the very same power Kiyohara had been using all this time.
Still, she found it incredibly difficult to control.
At the moment, she simply could not focus her mind on anything else.
...
Nobody knew how much time had passed.
Rin's long hair lay scattered across the pillow, several damp strands sticking to her cheeks with sweat.
Her ten toes curled and stretched from time to time, while the faint blue veins along the tops of her feet stood out ever so slightly.
The night quietly passed.
...
The next morning, Kiyohara slowly opened his eyes.
Turning his head, he saw Rin still sleeping beside him.
He reached over and gently pinched her soft cheek.
She did not wake.
Instead, she merely wrinkled her nose slightly before instinctively burying her face deeper into his chest and mumbling something completely unintelligible.
Watching her, the corners of Kiyohara's lips curved into a faint smile.
Perhaps because her chakra reserves were much greater, even though she was completely inexperienced, she had performed far better than Kurenai had.
Carefully withdrawing his arm, Kiyohara tucked the blanket securely around her.
Rin shifted slightly.
Her brows furrowed for a moment before gradually relaxing again.
Kiyohara got out of bed and headed into the kitchen, preparing breakfast in just a few quick movements.
When he returned to the bedroom doorway, Rin was still fast asleep.
She had kicked one corner of the blanket aside during her sleep.
The corners of her lips curved upward ever so slightly, as though she were having a wonderful dream.
Kiyohara picked up the pen from the bedside table and wrote several lines on a sticky note.
"Breakfast is in the kitchen. Don't forget to eat."
He placed the note beneath the bedside lamp, gave her one last glance, then quietly turned and left.
...
The Uchiha District.
As Kiyohara passed through the gate separating the Uchiha District from the streets of Konoha, the two Uchiha shinobi guarding the entrance immediately bowed respectfully.
"Hokage-sama."
Kiyohara gave a slight nod before walking into the district.
Following the end of the war, the Uchiha compound had become far livelier than it had been just a few months earlier.
The shops lining both sides of the streets had reopened.
Children chased one another through the alleyways, laughing as they played.
Aside from the shinobi, the majority of the Uchiha clan members were actually ordinary civilians.
They ran businesses and lived normal lives within Konoha.
As Kiyohara walked through the district, he noticed many members of the Uchiha clan watching him.
He was not surprised in the slightest.
To everyone else, he was an Uchiha.
More importantly, he was the very first Uchiha to become Hokage, an achievement even Madara had never accomplished.
A young child playing beside the road suddenly stopped and looked up at him.
"Are you Hokage-sama?"
The boy appeared to be about five or six years old.
He had black hair, black eyes, and a bit of dirt smeared across his cheeks.
Kiyohara stopped and looked down at him.
"I am."
The Uchiha clan was almost entirely composed of people with black hair and black eyes.
Only an extremely small number possessed different hair colors.
As for Mangekyo Kiyohara's white hair, Kiyohara guessed it was caused by his possessing half of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline.
Pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki generally had either white or pale bluish-white hair.
Only the Sage of Six Paths possessed brown hair.
After hearing Kiyohara's answer, the child's eyes immediately sparkled.
"When I grow up, I'm going to become Hokage too!"
Kiyohara smiled.
"Then you'll have to train hard."
The child nodded vigorously before running away, shouting excitedly,
"Mom! I met the Hokage!"
Kiyohara straightened up and continued walking.
After turning the corner, he arrived at the home of Fugaku.
Several people were already waiting outside.
Tekka was the first to greet him.
"Hokage-sama!"
He wore the clan's distinctive high-collared robe.
"Fugaku-sama is waiting inside."
Kiyohara nodded and followed him through the courtyard.
Quite a few Uchiha shinobi were already gathered there.
Upon seeing him, they all greeted him respectfully.
"Hokage-sama."
Kiyohara simply nodded and walked past them.
Fugaku stood at the entrance.
The stern expression that usually rested upon his face had been replaced by a rare smile.
"Kiyohara-kun."
He bowed slightly.
"Welcome."
Kiyohara returned the gesture.
"You're too polite, Lord Fugaku."
Fugaku stepped aside.
"Please, come in."
Kiyohara entered the house.
Mikoto was kneeling beside a low table.
Her long hair was tied neatly behind her head, exposing the graceful curve of her fair neck.
She was arranging the tea set when she heard footsteps and looked up.
A warm smile immediately blossomed across her gentle face.
"Kiyohara-kun."
She inclined her head gracefully.
"Congratulations on becoming Hokage."
"Thank you, Lady Mikoto."
Kiyohara sat down opposite her.
Mikoto poured him a cup of tea before presenting it respectfully with both hands.
"Where's Itachi?"
Kiyohara asked.
"He's in the back room."
Mikoto stood.
"I'll go call him."
She turned and walked toward the inner hallway.
A short while later, footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Itachi entered the living room.
He was dressed in a dark blue kimono.
His hair had grown somewhat longer since their previous meeting, and he already stood more than half a head taller than children his own age.
Kiyohara could immediately tell that this was the result of his physical training.
At least for now, he had yet to see any signs of Itachi developing the hereditary illness associated with the Sharingan bloodline.
Perhaps they would only know whether he would develop it after his Sharingan reached the Three Tomoe stage or even the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Kiyohara silently pondered the matter.
He was actually quite interested in uncovering the true cause behind the bloodline disease.
"Sensei."
Itachi stopped before Kiyohara and bowed respectfully.
"You've gotten taller."
Kiyohara remarked.
"Yes."
Itachi nodded.
"You haven't been neglecting your training, have you?"
"No."
Kiyohara nodded approvingly before taking a scroll from inside his robe and handing it to him.
"This is for you."
Itachi accepted the scroll and opened it.
Inside was the documentation for an A Rank Fire Release ninjutsu.
The highest level of Fire Release techniques possessed by the Uchiha clan was only B Rank.
Itachi's eyes widened slightly before he carefully closed the scroll again and tucked it safely into his robes.
He was filled with curiosity about how this A Rank Fire Release technique had been created.
"Thank you, Sensei."
Kiyohara looked at him and shook his head with a faint smile.
"It's nothing."
The technique he had given Itachi was the Fire Release: Wind and Fire Combination Technique, a jutsu Kiyohara had only recently developed. Sensei
By using Wind Release chakra to amplify Fire Release, it shattered the conventional limits of both range and temperature.
In terms of sheer area of effect alone, it even surpassed Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation.
Developing an A Rank ninjutsu of this caliber was no longer difficult for Kiyohara.
After all, every one of his Microwave Fire Release techniques had already reached the S Rank level.
His talent in Fire Release had improved continuously over the years until it had undergone a qualitative transformation.
"Lord Fugaku, I'd like to see Sasuke."
Kiyohara spoke.
"I also have a gift I'd like to give him."
As he spoke, he took a small box from inside his robes.
Inside the box was a tiny golden bracelet, carefully forged from placer gold by Kiyohara himself.
"Hokage-sama, you are too thoughtful."
Fugaku accepted the gift before leading Kiyohara further into the house.
Not long afterward, they arrived at one of the bedrooms.
A wooden crib sat quietly in the room.
Mikoto was standing beside it, leaning slightly over while gently rocking the side of the crib.
Hearing footsteps, she straightened and turned around.
"Sasuke just fell asleep."
Her voice was little more than a whisper.
Kiyohara walked over and looked down into the crib.
A tiny infant was curled beneath the blanket.
His little fists were tightly clenched beside his ears.
His soft black hair lay flat against his scalp.
His tiny face was still wrinkled, carrying the distinctive reddish complexion of a newborn.
Kiyohara quietly observed the child's face.
Then he sensed it.
A stream of chakra.
It was completely different from ordinary chakra.
Faintly, he could feel the Yang Release chakra within his own body reacting to the Indra chakra residing inside Sasuke.
It instinctively longed to merge with it.
'Is this the natural instinct to recreate the Sage of Six Paths' chakra?'
Kiyohara rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Perhaps this very instinct was what had inspired Madara all those years ago.
Combined with what was written on the Uchiha Stone Tablet, it may have led Madara to the conclusion that transplanting Hashirama's flesh onto himself would awaken a greater power.
Kiyohara himself had once visited Naka Shrine.
Naturally, he had also seen the Uchiha Stone Tablet.
Because his ocular power was exceptionally strong, he had been able to decipher much more of its contents than ordinary Sharingan users.
"A deity, seeking stability, divided the world into Yin and Yang. When these opposing forces unite, all things are born."
That was also consistent with what had been revealed in the original story.
Madara had even discussed the tablet's meaning with Hashirama.
Hashirama believed it referred to cooperation between the Senju and Uchiha clans.
Madara, however, interpreted it as combining the power of the Senju and the Uchiha within a single individual.
"Is something wrong, Kiyohara-kun?"
Mikoto noticed that Kiyohara had been staring at Sasuke for quite some time.
"It's nothing."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"I simply feel that this child will accomplish great things in the future."
At present, the Indra chakra within Sasuke still felt incredibly weak to Kiyohara.
It was like a tiny flame that had only just been lit.
However, as Sasuke continued to grow, that chakra would gradually fuse more deeply with his own being.
At the same time, Indra's chakra itself would continue to strengthen until it eventually returned to its original form.
It was precisely because of this cycle that Indra's chakra had continued to exist for over a thousand years without ever fading away.
'Then what about Naruto?'
'His birth should be happening soon as well.'
For a millennium, the chakras of Indra and Asura had continuously circulated among their descendants.
With every reincarnation, they chose the vessel that was most compatible with them.
Mikoto smiled gently after hearing his words.
"I just hope Sasuke grows up to be as outstanding as his older brother."
She bent over once more and tucked the blanket around the baby.
Her fingers lightly brushed Sasuke's cheek.
His tiny brows furrowed.
His little lips moved slightly before he drifted back into a deep sleep.
Kiyohara withdrew his gaze.
"Itachi slept like this when he was around the same age."
Mikoto stood back up, nostalgia filling her voice.
"He always kept his fists clenched beside his ears, as though he was guarding against something."
Kiyohara looked at her quietly.
"You've worked hard."
Mikoto shook her head.
"Not at all."
She paused before lifting her eyes toward him.
"Kiyohara-kun... you'll have children of your own someday too, won't you?"
Kiyohara did not answer.
For him, the subject of having children still felt much too distant.
At present, he had no intention of starting a family anytime soon.
Mikoto seemed to realize she had asked something too personal.
She lowered her head slightly.
"I'm sorry. I spoke out of turn."
"It's alright."
Kiyohara shifted his gaze away before taking one final look at the sleeping Sasuke.
"If you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask."
"You're too kind, Kiyohara-kun."
Fugaku gazed at the infant in the crib with great expectations.
The very name Sasuke reflected just how important both of his sons were in Fugaku's heart.
Afterward, Kiyohara returned to the banquet together with Fugaku.
By the time the celebration was halfway over, many of the guests had already become drunk.
Kiyohara and Fugaku sat together along the wooden corridor beside the paper sliding doors, facing the quiet courtyard outside.
"Fugaku."
Fugaku raised his head.
"Yes?"
"Has Danzo made contact with any members of the Uchiha recently?"
Fugaku slowly placed down his sake cup, his brows knitting together.
"Did you hear something?"
Rather than answering directly, Kiyohara calmly said,
"You already know that Danzo has been secretly collecting Sharingan."
Fugaku fell silent.
He had long suspected as much.
He simply had no proof.
Recovering the Sharingan of deceased clan members was always one of the clan's highest priorities.
Yet many of their bodies had either never been recovered or had been so badly damaged that their Sharingan had disappeared without a trace.
Fugaku had secretly assigned trusted subordinates to investigate.
However, too many powerful figures were involved.
Continuing the investigation had become increasingly difficult.
"I don't know exactly how many he's collected."
Kiyohara looked directly at him.
"But I'm certain he possesses quite a few Sharingan that belonged to the Uchiha."
He continued,
"I need a list."
"A list of every Uchiha clan member over the past several decades who disappeared during missions or died in battle without having their bodies recovered."
Fugaku frowned even more deeply.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Verify them."
Kiyohara lifted his teacup and took a slow sip.
"I want to determine exactly whose Sharingan Danzo possesses."
The living room fell silent.
After several moments, Fugaku slowly put down his cup.
"If we pursue this investigation... it will implicate many people."
"I know."
Kiyohara calmly shook his head.
"But I'm the Hokage."
To Kiyohara, strength remained the most important thing.
The balancing of political authority meant very little in his eyes.
Why had so many people feared the possibility of Madara becoming Hokage, overwhelmingly supporting Hashirama instead?
The answer was simple.
Hashirama possessed a gentle temperament.
He was even willing to bow his head before the other Four Kage despite being far stronger than all of them.
Madara would never have done such a thing.
Neither would Kiyohara.
The only difference was that Kiyohara's current strength was not yet enough to crush all opposition outright.
For now, he was still willing to operate within the established rules.
"But some debts..."
he said calmly,
"...must eventually be repaid."
This provided him with the perfect justification.
With righteousness on his side, he would have every reason to eliminate Danzo.
Fugaku remained silent for a very long time.
Finally, he slowly nodded.
"Give me three days."
Kiyohara nodded before standing up.
"Then it's settled."
He walked toward the entrance.
Fugaku accompanied him outside.
"Kiyohara-kun, you're always welcome here."
Kiyohara inclined his head slightly before pushing open the door and leaving.
As he passed through a nearby alleyway, someone called out from behind him.
"Kiyohara."
He stopped and turned around.
Shisui was walking toward him.
"Congratulations on becoming Hokage."
Kiyohara looked at him.
"Thank you."
Shisui stopped before him and looked up.
More than a year had passed.
Kiyohara had grown nearly a full head taller than him.
Shisui now had to tilt his head upward just to meet his eyes.
"I heard what you said just now."
Shisui spoke quietly.
Kiyohara's brows lifted slightly.
"Which part?"
"The part about Danzo."
Shisui remained silent for a brief moment.
"...Actually..."
"He approached me."
Kiyohara's expression remained calm.
"When?"
"About three months ago."
Shisui answered.
"He said..."
"...that he hoped I would provide the village with intelligence regarding the Uchiha clan."
"And then?"
Kiyohara asked.
"I refused."
Shisui paused.
"But I don't think he's going to give up."
Kiyohara reached out and gently patted him on the shoulder.
"I'll handle this matter."
Shisui looked up at him.
"...Alright."
He nodded quietly.
(End of Chapter)