"Kiyohara… senpai."
The moment Uchiha Izumi saw Kiyohara, she spoke in a soft little voice.
Kiyohara thought her voice sounded sweet and gentle—really pleasant to hear.
He could not help but sigh inwardly. The Uchiha clan really did produce beautiful men and women in abundance.
"You're still calling me senpai? Shouldn't you be calling me sensei now?"
Kiyohara asked, raising a brow.
At that, Izumi pinched the corner of her clothes, then quietly called him "sensei" in a much smaller voice.
Only then did Kiyohara nod in satisfaction.
"Come on down. Let's go to the backyard."
With that, he led Izumi to the back courtyard.
The courtyard was not large, but it was neat and well kept.
A row of unknown flowers and plants grew along the wall, each blooming with tiny white blossoms. The center of the yard was paved with stone slabs, and a few wooden training posts stood at the edge.
Izumi stood there, her small body trying very hard to stay perfectly straight.
Today she was wearing traditional Uchiha clothing—a new outfit specially prepared for her by Uchiha Hazuki.
"Sensei,"
Izumi said,
"I want to ask you something about Fire Release."
"What is it?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Well…"
Izumi hesitated, then pulled a small notebook from her clothes and opened to one page.
"I've tried a lot of times, but I still can't use Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu properly. The fireballs are always too small, and…"
She bit her lower lip and lowered her head, a little embarrassed.
"And sometimes they just scatter apart. I can't control them."
Kiyohara took the notebook and flipped through it.
The page was filled with neat writing, notes on the technique's key points, and a number of tidy annotations that were obviously her own insights from training.
Several pages had been revised again and again, showing that she had been struggling with it for some time.
"I'll demonstrate it for you once."
Kiyohara formed hand seals.
"Watch carefully."
As soon as he spoke, his chest expanded slightly and he opened his mouth.
Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!
Countless tiny fireballs burst from his mouth, scattering in all directions like flower petals blown on the wind.
They danced through the air like a swarm of lively fireflies, darting farther and farther away.
Izumi's eyes went wide.
There were too many fireballs to count. Every one of them was about the size of a baby's fist, glowing a pure orange-red.
They lingered in midair for about two seconds before going out at the same time, breaking into drifting sparks.
Kiyohara withdrew his chakra and looked at her.
"Did you see it clearly?"
Izumi nodded hard, her eyes full of admiration.
"So amazing…"
she murmured, her little hands unconsciously clenching.
"There were so many, and they were all so big…"
Kiyohara walked over to her and gently rubbed the top of her head.
"The key to this technique is learning how to split your Fire Release chakra evenly."
He crouched down so they were at eye level.
"When most people use this jutsu, their chakra distribution is uneven. Some fireballs turn out big, some small, and some don't even take shape at all."
He raised his right hand, palm up.
"You can store more Fire Release chakra in your throat first,"
he said.
"Like this."
Chakra gathered in his palm, compressing into a tiny point of light.
Then that point split into dozens of even smaller points hovering above his hand.
"Do you feel the difference?"
Izumi blinked, then nodded thoughtfully.
"I… I'll try."
She took two steps back, drew in a deep breath, and puffed up her cheeks the way Kiyohara had.
Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!
A few sparks shot out of her mouth.
Calling them fireballs would have been generous—they were closer to embers.
The biggest was only the size of a fingernail, and the smallest was almost invisible.
They drifted less than half a meter before burning out, leaving behind only a wisp of white smoke.
Izumi's face instantly turned red.
"I… I…"
She lowered her head, her voice growing smaller and smaller.
Kiyohara walked over, rubbed the top of her head again, and said,
"That was already pretty good."
He continued,
"This technique takes a lot of practice, and it's already a C-rank jutsu to begin with."
Izumi looked up. Her dark eyes were still a little watery with frustration, but they had brightened a bit.
"Really?"
she asked, as if seeking confirmation.
"Really."
Kiyohara nodded.
"Your chakra distribution just now was actually pretty decent. You just didn't store enough of it first."
He thought for a moment, then crouched again and lightly touched her throat with one finger.
"Here,"
he said.
"Let the chakra stay here a little longer. Once it gathers to a certain level, release it."
Izumi could feel the warmth of that finger through her skin and focused as hard as she could on the sensation Kiyohara was describing.
"I understand."
She stepped back again and took a deep breath.
This time, she held the chakra at her throat for a little longer.
Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!
This time, the fireballs that came out were noticeably larger than before.
The biggest had reached the size of a thumb, and even the smallest were now as big as soybeans.
They drifted about a meter before going out.
Izumi's eyes lit up.
"I did it!"
She turned to Kiyohara with a delighted smile on her face.
Sunlight fell across her features, making her small face glow with excitement, and the beauty mark near the corner of her eye seemed to move slightly with her grin.
Kiyohara smiled faintly.
"Not bad."
Izumi pressed her lips together in a pleased smile, her eyes full of quiet pride.
"There's also a more advanced application of it,"
Kiyohara added.
"It's called Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson. You hide shuriken inside the fireballs so the enemy can't guard against them."
Izumi blinked.
"T-That's a B-rank ninjutsu, right?"
she asked softly, uncertainty in her voice.
"It sounds really hard…"
Kiyohara nodded.
"You can start by trying to hide just one shuriken inside a fireball instead of several. That lowers the difficulty quite a bit."
Izumi nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll remember that."
Kiyohara then taught her a few more chakra control tricks. Izumi listened seriously, nodding from time to time and occasionally asking a question or two.
Before they knew it, time had slipped by.
"That's enough for today."
Kiyohara glanced at the sky.
"Thank you, sensei!"
Izumi said gratefully.
Kiyohara looked at her.
"Remember to practice when you go home. Just don't overdo it."
Izumi nodded.
"I will!"
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she asked,
"Tomorrow… can I come again tomorrow?"
Kiyohara smiled slightly.
"You can."
A bright smile bloomed across Izumi's face.
"Then I'm off!"
She waved, turned, and ran out of the courtyard.
Kiyohara stood there and watched until her small figure vanished at the end of the alley.
After Izumi left, Kiyohara turned and went back upstairs to study the Yin Seal for a while.
Teaching Izumi did not require much of his time. She was very talented—teach her a few times, and she could remember it on her own and keep practicing by herself.
"The fusion is progressing well,"
Kiyohara thought.
Lately, he had been researching a way to combine the Yin Seal with a curse mark.
At this point, it seemed that path was not a dead end after all.
With more refinement, it should turn into a very solid technique.
Kiyohara intended to perfect it as soon as possible.
When he went downstairs, he discovered that Tsunade and Shizune were both out.
He guessed Tsunade had probably taken Shizune out to buy alcohol and then headed for a casino.
After all, those were Tsunade's greatest pleasures in life.
After thinking it over, Kiyohara decided to pay Kurenai a visit.
...…
Kurenai's house.
When Kiyohara entered, the living room was empty.
Only the cat lay on the windowsill, lazily letting out a yawn.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Kiyohara sat down on the sofa and casually picked up one of Kurenai's genjutsu notebooks from the table in her room.
Not long after, the water stopped.
A moment later, the bathroom door opened.
Kurenai stepped out.
Since she was home alone, she had just finished bathing and was wrapped only in a white bath towel.
Her long wet hair hung loose over her shoulders, with droplets still falling from the ends and dampening the edge of the towel.
Water slid down her pale neck, traced across her elegant collarbone, and disappeared beneath the fabric.
Her cheeks were lightly flushed from the steam, and tiny droplets still clung to her lashes, slipping away when she blinked.
She pushed open her bedroom door and found that Kiyohara had somehow arrived without her noticing.
Her red eyes blinked in surprise, then curved into crescents.
"You really do show up without a sound."
Kurenai said.
Kiyohara set the notebook down and looked at her.
"Next time, you can wait and bathe with me."
Kurenai rolled her eyes at him.
"You appear out of nowhere. How am I supposed to know when you're coming?"
As she spoke, she walked to the wardrobe, turned her back to him, and calmly got dressed without any real embarrassment.
Sunlight filtered in through the curtains, falling softly across her.
Kiyohara stepped over and pulled her gently into his arms.
Kurenai ended up seated on his lap.
He rested a hand on her leg. Her legs were long and straight, her skin so smooth it looked flawless.
Kurenai looped her arms around his neck and looked at him with those red eyes.
"Missed me?"
Kiyohara's hand settled at her waist, feeling the warmth of her body.
"What do you think?"
Kurenai pressed her lips together in a smile.
"Wait."
She suddenly stood, walked over to the corner of the room, and formed hand seals.
Chakra rippled outward.
A faint barrier rose around the room, enclosing it completely.
It was a barrier technique Kurenai had learned from Kiyohara, a branch of sealing arts.
"That way, no sound will leak out."
She turned and smiled at him, a sly glint in her eyes.
"Even though I'm the only one home, it's still daytime. If someone happened to pass by downstairs…"
As she was speaking, Kiyohara lowered his head and noticed droplets of water had dampened his clothes.
Kurenai followed his gaze downward. Her face reddened slightly, but she did not shy away.
"What are you looking at?"
she muttered softly, then went to the wardrobe to look for something.
In the end, she put on black stockings.
They were thin as mist, clinging tightly to her legs.
From her ankles, they traced up her slender calves, crossed her knees, and stretched to mid-thigh.
The tops were edged with lace, pressing lightly into her pale skin.
"Why put those on?"
Kiyohara asked.
"It makes things more fun."
Kurenai leaned close to his ear, her breath brushing against it.
"I've noticed you like this."
Kiyohara rested a hand on her leg.
Even through the thin stocking, he could feel the warmth and spring of her skin.
"How far have you trained the Eight Gates?"
Kiyohara suddenly asked.
Kurenai froze for a moment.
"The second gate,"
she said.
"Why?"
"Try opening the first one."
Kurenai looked puzzled.
"Why?"
Kiyohara looked at her.
"It raises your senses to one hundred percent."
When the First Gate opened, it removed the brain's normal restraints and allowed the body to draw out its full physical performance.
Touch, smell, hearing—everything became sharper under that effect.
Kurenai instantly understood what Kiyohara was getting at.
"You… you…"
She wanted to say something, but when her eyes met his amused gaze, the words would not come out.
"…You're awful."
she muttered.
But the mischief in her eyes was even stronger than before.
She took a deep breath, chakra circulating through her body.
First Gate: Gate of Opening… open!
In that instant, the entire world changed for her.
The light became brighter, sounds sharper, and every sensation far more vivid.
Her breathing quickened.
The watery shine in her red eyes deepened.
"No…"
she said softly.
"It hasn't even started yet."
Kurenai glared at him, though the look felt more playful than angry.
She bit her lower lip and tried hard to keep herself composed.
After some time, she finally gave in.
Kiyohara lowered his head to look at her.
"The First Gate's effect really is impressive."
Kurenai looked up at him and glared.
"You did that on purpose…"
Kiyohara smiled and did not deny it.
Kurenai let out a soft huff and buried her face against him.
"Next time… next time I'm definitely going to beat you…"
Her voice came out muffled.
Kiyohara gently rubbed the top of her head.
"Alright."
...
At the same time.
At the entrance to Tsunade's house in Konoha, a slender figure stood there.
She wore a black cloak. Her short blue hair rested on her shoulders, and a paper flower was tucked into it.
It was Konan.
She looked up at the building in front of her, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to knock.
A moment later, the door opened.
Shizune stood there holding Tonton in her arms.
She looked at the unfamiliar woman in front of her and paused.
"Excuse me… who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Kiyohara."
Konan's voice was very soft.
"Is he here?"
Shizune blinked.
"Kiyohara?"
She looked Konan over.
This woman was beautiful, but not in a flashy way. Hers was a cool, distant kind of beauty.
There was also a faint exhaustion in her brown eyes.
"So it's Miss Konan."
Shizune knew who she was.
"Please come in. Kiyohara isn't back yet, but you can wait inside."
Konan nodded and walked in.
Shizune led her to the living room and poured her a cup of tea.
"Kiyohara should be back soon."
Then, unable to help herself, she asked,
"Is it something urgent?"
Konan held the teacup silently for a moment.
"Yes."
"It's very important."
She did not deny it.
Shizune looked at her but asked no more.
Only Tonton poked his head out curiously from her arms and gave a few little snorts.
Time passed bit by bit.
Then the sound of the front door opening came from the entryway.
Kiyohara walked in.
The moment he saw Konan in the living room, his steps paused slightly.
Konan stood up.
"Kiyohara."
Kiyohara looked at her.
It had been a while since he last saw her, and she looked even more beautiful than before.
But she also seemed worn out.
"Konan."
Kiyohara greeted her.
"What is it?"
He was already thinking through the possible reasons she would come here.
Konan took a deep breath.
"Nagato… he's getting weaker and weaker."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"He went out on a mission recently, and after he came back…"
She paused, her hands unconsciously tightening.
"His limbs started wasting away. Now he needs puppet machinery just to move."
Kiyohara frowned slightly.
"Overuse of chakra and life force?"
Konan nodded.
"That's what I think too."
"But… I can't treat it."
She looked up at Kiyohara.
"Can you?"
Kiyohara stroked his chin.
Even without thinking hard, he knew Nagato had probably overused the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
That thing was a double-edged sword.
Nagato was not the true owner of the Rinnegan. He could only wield it because of his own bloodline.
But that power came with a price.
"I'll need to examine him in person before I can say for sure."
Konan's eyes brightened a little.
"Then—"
"I'll go,"
Kiyohara cut in.
"But not right now."
Konan froze.
"Why?"
"Because treatment will consume life force,"
Kiyohara said, looking at her.
"And Nagato's life force is already damaged."
Konan's face turned a little pale.
She knew he was telling the truth.
No one understood the toll the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path took on Nagato better than she did.
"Then… then what do we do?"
Kiyohara looked at her.
"First, I examine him."
"Once I know the exact cause, then I'll think of a solution."
Konan fell silent.
After a long while, she nodded.
"Alright."
She stood, took out a slip of paper from her clothes, and handed it over. An address was written on it.
"This is our new base in the Land of Rain."
"When you're ready, you can come any time."
Kiyohara took the paper, glanced at it, and tucked it away.
"I'll go."
"Thank you,"
Konan said.
After exchanging a few more words, she left in a hurry.
Only Kiyohara and Shizune remained in the living room.
Shizune hugged Tonton in her arms.
"Kiyohara, you're really going?"
She was clearly curious.
Kiyohara withdrew his gaze.
"Yeah. I'll go take a look."
He found himself wondering what the Akatsuki was like now.
Obito and Black Zetsu probably had not stopped trying to manipulate Nagato.
Shizune blinked, but did not ask any further.
...
Backyard.
Konan's visit was only a small interruption.
Kiyohara looked at the flowers and plants in the yard.
He stood in front of the flowerbed and extended a hand.
Chakra flowed from his palm and seeped into the blossoms.
A white flower bud began to bloom at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Its petals unfolded one by one, revealing the pale yellow stamens within.
The whole process took only a few breaths.
Kiyohara withdrew his hand and looked at the fully blossomed flower.
He could feel that his influence over plants was becoming stronger and stronger.
At first, he could only make seeds sprout.
Now, he could make flower buds bloom instantly.
This ability was becoming more and more like…
"Kiyohara!"
A voice called out from behind him.
Kiyohara turned around.
Tsunade stood at the entrance to the backyard, staring at him with wide eyes.
Those golden-brown eyes were filled with shock.
"You… what are you doing?"
She strode over quickly, staring at the flower that had just bloomed.
"This… this is…"
She reached out and lightly touched the flower.
The petals were soft, still carrying a faint warmth.
It was real. A real flower.
~~~
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