"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
A fireball burst out from in front of Saru's monkey mask.
Wrapped in the gale, the flames spread like wildfire, swelling several times over in an instant.
Seeing their combined jutsu, Kiyohara grabbed the ox-masked operative—whose hands had been cut off—and hurled him forward.
In some situations, a person could be used like a weapon.
Especially with a body that size—it was basically a shield or a thrown projectile.
BOOM!
The ox-masked man's legs collided with the fireball. He was instantly charred black inside the flames, then his whole body slammed into a tree.
The fireball's trajectory was knocked off-course.
By the time they tried to form hand seals for another jutsu, Kiyohara had already thrown his ninja blade.
Anything could be launched if you applied enough force.
The stronger the push, the faster it flew.
A tearing whistle ripped through the air. The blade shot out like a sniper round and pinned the snake-masked Root operative to the tree behind him.
Under the monkey mask, Saru's expression flickered with relief.
A teammate was badly hurt, but he finally had time to weave signs.
"Fire Release—"
He formed the first seals.
THUNK—
A spray of blood blossomed from his back.
Saru's eyes went wide.
Only then did he notice the thin black line connected to the sword's hilt—hidden by the firelight.
The line's source led to the gourd at Kiyohara's waist.
A sand-iron thread formed through Magnet Release.
With a dull thud, Saru collapsed.
His mask struck the ground and split in two, revealing his real face.
Kiyohara stared quietly at the bodies of the Root operatives.
Danzō had moved faster than he expected.
Which meant the Sharingan's appearance had made certain people unable to sit still.
But Kiyohara didn't regret it.
Better to throw one punch hard enough to stop a hundred punches later.
If there was ever a man you couldn't "talk around," it was Danzō—you could only hit him head-on.
Kiyohara stepped forward, used Regeneration Technique to keep them alive, then severed portions of their hand and foot tendons.
Medical ninjutsu could heal that—but it would leave serious aftereffects. Even if they recovered, their strength would plummet; as shinobi, they were basically forced into retirement.
He pulled out a large cloth sack—meant for hauling supplies, but now it had another use.
After stuffing all four bodies into it, Kiyohara hoisted the bag—four men's weight—and headed toward the Hokage Tower.
Heavy, but manageable.
He walked step by step.
As he reentered the busy streets, people noticed the blood splattered on him.
But no one made a fuss.
Shinobi—who didn't get blood on them?
A few gave Kiyohara curious looks, assuming he was carrying a dead summon-beast.
No one realized the blood on him was also Konoha shinobi blood.
…
"Whew…"
After finishing a day's paperwork, Hiruzen Sarutobi relaxed and lit a cigarette for himself.
Then he took out the crystal ball.
With his Telescope Technique, once he had a target's chakra "signature," he could monitor them from afar.
He was just about to check in on something—give himself a little break—when someone knocked.
Hiruzen calmly set the crystal ball aside and called, "Enter."
The person who walked in surprised him.
Kiyohara?
He'd just left—why was he back?
And why was he covered in blood?
Hiruzen frowned slightly.
Before he could speak, Kiyohara dropped a cloth sack on the office floor.
"Hokage-sama, I ran into spies."
Kiyohara opened the sack.
"These people attacked me even after I warned them several times. They kept saying something about 'Danzō'—I don't know who that is. I judged they were likely spies. For self-defense, I defeated them and severed their tendons so they couldn't escape."
"Danzō…"
The instant Kiyohara said the name, Hiruzen's heart sank.
As Danzō's longtime friend, Hiruzen knew his nature all too well.
Root members were recruited directly by Danzō—and for some of them, "recruited" really meant forced.
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
Danzō was getting more and more brazen.
Back when Hiruzen approved Root's creation, there were many reasons.
But now Danzō had turned Root into his personal dictatorship.
Had Root become an organization for someone's private profit?
"I will investigate this matter seriously," Hiruzen said after a moment.
Shinobi were forbidden to fight each other, but by Kiyohara's account this was legitimate self-defense under attempted murder.
"Don't worry, Kiyohara. I'll give you an answer."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I'll take my leave."
Kiyohara bowed.
He truly had never interacted with Shimura Danzō.
So as a newly promoted jōnin, it made perfect sense that he "wouldn't know" a figure that hidden.
After Kiyohara left, Hiruzen immediately summoned Anbu and ordered Danzō to come retrieve his people.
…
Root headquarters.
In a dim underground room, Danzō—who had just retrieved the men from Hiruzen—looked grim enough to drip water.
As punishment, Hiruzen had also cut Root's funding and warned him there were lines Root could not cross.
"Four jōnin… beaten into this state by a brat?"
His voice was calm—but anyone who knew him understood: this was the calm before rage.
"Kiyohara's strength… is far greater than the reports," said the snake-masked operative, lying on a stretcher carried by two Root members.
He was the least injured—pinned to a tree, then had his tendons severed.
His voice trembled, fear thick with the terror of disappointing Danzō.
"His combat experience is too mature for his age, and he's extremely fast—hard to handle."
Danzō fell silent.
He had underestimated Kiyohara.
He'd thought sending four jōnin—one a Yamanaka specialist in mind intrusion—would be enough to "invite" Kiyohara in.
Instead, they were the ones wrecked.
"Useless."
But beneath the anger, Danzō was thinking.
Kiyohara's talent and strength had already crossed beyond "ordinary genius."
If he could be controlled, he would be a blade of immense value for future plans.
Unfortunately, the grass had been shaken.
From now on, Kiyohara would be watched from every side. Making another move in the dark would be far harder.
"Then I'll have to change methods…"
Danzō tapped the table softly.
He thought of a certain person: Yakushi Nono… the famed "Wandering Miko" of intelligence.
She had already left Root and was running an orphanage.
If he could pull her back in…
"Take them to Konoha Hospital," Danzō ordered. "See if they can be saved."
Konoha was already bleeding manpower from the war.
Even with countless unofficial auxiliaries who could be thrown into the front lines, losses were still losses.
The other three could be written off—but the Yamanaka operative might still be "reused," one way or another.
Alone in the dark, Danzō's eyes turned poisonous.
Kiyohara… Uchiha blood, Magnet Release, and a maturity beyond his years.
A being like that could not be left alone.
Either control him… or destroy him.
…
The next morning.
Kiyohara slept until daylight, then trained in his own courtyard.
His bare upper body glowed healthy in the morning sun, muscles smooth and defined without being bulky.
He formed seals, chakra circulating as he began practicing Lightning Release: Thunder Roar.
The difficulty lay in compressing Lightning chakra to a high density, then releasing it through breath—like spitting a Fire Release technique.
It demanded exquisite control and deep understanding of Lightning nature.
Kiyohara closed his eyes, feeling the chakra flow through his pathways.
Lightning chakra was violent—like a wild horse. Hard to tame.
He had to force it into order with sheer control.
Once—failure.
Twice—failure.
On the third attempt, arcs crackled in his mouth with a zzzt—pop.
But the chakra wasn't condensed enough; the moment it left, it dispersed.
Kiyohara didn't get discouraged.
He adjusted his breathing and tried again.
Uchiha Kiyohara's spirit hovered nearby, offering guidance.
Just as Kiyohara prepared to continue, the doorbell rang.
He stopped and went to the door.
Nohara Rin stood outside.
She'd changed into dark casual clothes and carried a basket filled with fresh ingredients.
"Kiyohara-kun, good morning."
Her smile was gentle.
"I keep seeing you eat compressed rations, but that's not good long-term. So… I thought I'd cook for you. Is that okay?"
Kiyohara glanced at her, then at the fish and vegetables in the basket, and nodded.
He assumed she wanted to repay him—after all, he'd saved her twice.
If repaying with her whole life would cover two lifetimes… then cooking a meal was nothing.
"Come in."
His courtyard was small—gravel and weeds.
He led her inside and pointed to the kitchen.
"Are you fully healed?" he asked, meaning the chest wound.
He had only used Regeneration briefly back then; most of the healing had come from the tailed-beast chakra.
He wasn't sure if she'd be left with a scar.
"It's much better," Rin said, cheeks reddening slightly.
"Then I'll be in your care," Kiyohara replied lightly.
Since she wanted to cook, he didn't refuse.
He patted her head, then turned back to training.
Rin's eyes widened—she hadn't expected him to pat her head.
Watching his back, she bit her lip, a strange happiness bubbling up for no clear reason.
She walked into the kitchen and froze.
It was… extreme minimalism.
"…Right."
Now she understood why Kiyohara always ate compressed rations or bought food outside.
She told him to wait, rushed home, brought back her own kitchen tools, and got to work in his kitchen.
Time passed.
The sounds of chopping, water running, and oil sizzling filled the house.
The aroma of food slowly spread, mixing with the scent of grass and soil from the courtyard.
When the meal was ready, Rin carried several dishes to the table.
The paper sliding door to the living room was open; she could see the courtyard clearly.
Out there, Kiyohara trained with a serious expression.
Sweat ran down his back as muscles moved under his skin, arcs of blue Lightning chakra snapping around him.
Rin's face warmed.
A weird feeling rose in her—like a wife who'd cooked dinner, waiting for her husband to come home from training.
She remembered yesterday, when Kushina-sama reinforced her seal.
"Rin, the tailed beast inside you is stable for now, but remember—you must learn to control it, not let it control you. And… treasure the people willing to risk themselves for you."
Kushina had said that—then talked about how she'd met Minato-sensei: he saved her, and they gradually grew close.
Rin remembered Kiyohara's back in front of her—how he'd paid any price to save her.
She'd heard that the Sharingan only awakened after losing someone important.
So… was she important to Kiyohara?
Her heart thumped wildly.
The thought made her cheeks burn.
That was why she wanted to do something today—something real.
Rin moved closer to the sliding door.
"F-food's ready," she called, her voice flustered.
Kiyohara nodded and came inside.
On the table: grilled fish, miso soup, vegetable tempura, and rice.
Simple—but clearly made with care.
"Looks good," Kiyohara said.
They sat and ate.
Rin watched his expression in secret.
When he took a bite of fish and gave a small nod, she finally relaxed.
"It's really good," Kiyohara said.
"I'm glad you like it," Rin smiled.
Over the meal, they chatted about small things—weather, how the village had changed, how Kurenai and the others were doing.
It felt light and easy.
"Kiyohara-kun," she asked softly. "About your Sharingan… will it cause you trouble?"
She'd heard Uchiha weren't easy to deal with—and she didn't know how they'd view Kiyohara, someone who'd lived as an "outsider."
"Maybe," Kiyohara said. "We'll see when it happens."
He expected the Uchiha clan would summon him soon.
Their reaction would likely split.
The more moderate faction probably wouldn't object—much like how Kakashi still had Obito's Sharingan.
The hardliners would be more aggressive.
Kakashi keeping that eye intact involved many factors—his father being Hatake Sakumo, and Fugaku's relatively soft outward stance.
Fugaku might have been holding secret meetings at the Naka Shrine and planning a coup later, but publicly he often yielded when the police force clashed with Anbu.
"So… that's how it is," Rin murmured.
She trusted Kiyohara.
"You brought these kitchen tools from home?" Kiyohara asked.
He definitely didn't own enough cookware to make all this.
"Yep. My parents aren't home anyway," Rin blinked.
"I see," Kiyohara nodded.
Having someone cook wasn't bad.
Rin really did feel like the "good wife" type.
"Can you still go on missions normally?" Kiyohara asked.
After Kushina received a tailed beast, her movement was restricted within Konoha's barrier.
That was mentioned later in Minato Hiden too.
As Kushina grew older, her sealing skill improved—but it seemed her range stayed limited unless the Nine-Tails could be completely suppressed.
"I can't," Rin shook her head. "But they said I can stay at Konoha Hospital as a medical-nin."
"That's not a bad thing," Kiyohara said.
With the Three-Tails inside her, if she lost control she'd attack friend and foe alike.
Keeping it sealed like the Nine-Tails could also make other villages hesitate.
The war had already entered its bloodiest phase.
A few more deaths, and it would probably edge toward the end.
There were only so many shinobi—each death mattered.
After the meal, Rin cleaned up and prepared to leave.
"Thank you, Kiyohara-kun. Today… I was really happy."
"I was too," Kiyohara walked her to the door. "Be careful on the way."
Rin left.
Kiyohara returned to the courtyard and resumed training.
He formed seals, drew a breath, and continued refining Lightning nature.
"You really do attract women," Uchiha Kiyohara's spirit drifted out after Rin had gone.
"In your timeline, were you single?" Kiyohara asked.
"Yeah. Only brothers."
"…."
Kiyohara had the distinct feeling this future version of him had been corrupted by Konoha's "brother bonds."
Sure, it was practically a village specialty—but Kiyohara's preferences were normal.
Compared to "brotherhood," he preferred women.
Age constraints were the only reason he couldn't act on it.
With his looks and strength, he could easily find a kunoichi to "explore depths" with—if it weren't for the time period.
"Whatever. Back to training," Kiyohara shook his head.
After resting, he'd be back to the front lines again.
Strength was the only real path.
He opened his mouth.
"Lightning Release…"
A thin thread of blue lightning spat out, writhing in the air.
"Barely usable," Kiyohara muttered. "Power's still lacking."
He adjusted again.
With multiple layers of Lightning affinity stacked, his progress was already absurdly fast.
It wouldn't take long before he truly mastered it.
Lightning was faster than flame.
In a crisis, it could catch an enemy completely off guard.
But just as he was about to continue, someone came again.
He opened the door.
This time, three Uchiha shinobi stood outside.
All wore gray Uchiha robes, their expressions arrogant.
The one in front looked Kiyohara up and down and spoke curtly:
"You're Kiyohara? Come with us. Captain Fugaku wants to see you."
~~~
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