Whether it was reincarnated chakra or some other factor, all of this was still Kiyoshi's deduction. The specifics would require continual experiments and investigation in the days to come.
"To awaken the Rinnegan, I'd need to gather these two sources of chakra,"
Kiyoshi murmured thoughtfully. His incredible speed had already brought him back to the place he had just left.
Asuma Sarutobi stood there, battered and bruised, clearly having taken several hits while protecting Akai Yuuhi.
Yuuhi herself had no visible wounds, but fatigue lined her face—a clear sign of overusing genjutsu.
"!"
Maki turned sharply and realized that Kiyoshi had somehow appeared behind them.
If Kiyoshi could show up here, that meant… Pakura had lost!
"Anyone who dares harm Yuuhi must be punished,"
Kiyoshi said, unsheathing his sword with deadly intent, the fiery trail slicing through the sky.
Maki's face, partially hidden beneath a white mask, changed drastically. He hurriedly molded chakra and formed hand signs.
He could sense that Kiyoshi was somehow… different from before.
Those deep, dark eyes were like an abyss, hypnotizing and terrifying.
He dared not meet them, fearing the genjutsu.
As Kiyoshi's blade descended, Maki sent forth chakra from his fingertips, forming sharp wind-like edges, slashing toward Kiyoshi.
"No one can block a wind blade that cannot be seen!"
A deadly, invisible wind cut through the air.
"You scatter chakra in the air like fireflies at night—very noticeable,"
Kiyoshi's eyes flashed crimson, and he subtly adjusted his position, dodging the wind blade.
His sword didn't falter, slashing toward Maki.
Crack!
The ninja armor's thickness offered little resistance—the flames on the blade elevated the heat, slicing through like tofu.
Half of Maki's arm was severed, leaving only tendons connecting the pale bone.
He rolled helplessly on the ground. "Run!"
With a flash, Maki threw a scroll into the air, hoping for a chance to escape, and fled.
Seeing Maki defeated in one move, Hōki Tarou twitched and scrambled to escape in panic.
"'Earth Scroll'… lucky,"
Kiyoshi caught the scroll Maki had thrown.
Chasing them further was pointless. If Kiyoshi wanted to encounter them, he would easily do so—since the central tower was the checkpoint for the second exam, all teams had to pass through it.
"Hey Kiyoshi, what do you mean by 'anyone who dares harm Yuuhi must be punished'?"
Asuma Sarutobi, seeing Hōki Tarou flee, spoke up.
Even he had never said such a dramatic line in front of Yuuhi.
In fact, he should have been the one to say it from the start!
Asuma felt a pang of regret—he wished he had studied more, for now he struggled to articulate a single sentence.
"…Huff."
Yuuhi bent slightly, exhaling warm breath despite her exhaustion. After a moment, she straightened up and said:
"Kiyoshi only did it to protect his comrades, to protect us. Otherwise… things could have been different."
Her crimson eyes looked at Kiyoshi curiously, wondering how he had defeated Pakura and still had the strength to take down Maki.
Asuma realized at last—when had Kiyoshi silently pulled so far ahead? Were they really that much weaker now?
He clenched his fists. Only someone strong could make such claims of protecting Yuuhi. Someone like him? If he said it, others would think he was boasting.
Asuma had never felt such urgent resolve before—he had to grow stronger, he had to train!
Only then could he properly protect his precious Yuuhi.
Seeing Asuma bow his head subconsciously, Kiyoshi didn't comment and instead spoke to Yuuhi:
"The scroll Maki left is enough to meet our requirement."
He waved the scroll.
"Great! Should we turn it in now?" Yuuhi asked.
"No rush. Someone will surely lie in wait for teams carrying scrolls to ambush them," Kiyoshi said.
"True," Yuuhi nodded. If they were ambushed midway, it would be troublesome.
Better to let other teams test the waters first. They had four days left, plenty of time.
Kiyoshi handed the newly acquired Earth Scroll to Yuuhi for safekeeping.
As for concerns about ambushes—it was just an excuse. His objective hadn't been fully achieved yet.
One matter remained: Hinata Natsu.
Kiyoshi needed further contact with her to establish a connection with the Hyuga main family—a reason to approach them.
All significant undertakings start with small beginnings. Kiyoshi was patient.
"Why did they strike so viciously? Aren't we supposed to be allies?"
Asuma's thoughts were interrupted by sharp pain. Clearly, Konoha and Sunagakure were allies!
"Asuma, alliances exist to be broken,"
Kiyoshi tossed a bandaged cloth to Asuma. He had obtained plenty of these in the hospital—Yaku-shi Nono provided many healing supplies, out of concern for his injuries.
Kiyoshi considered it the proper treatment for a top disciple. First disciples always received special care, especially from someone like Yaku-shi Nono, truly a "saintly" figure.
"What do you mean?" Asuma didn't understand.
Kiyoshi explained some history:
"When the Five Kage were first established, Sunagakure made a secret pact with Konoha, gaining fertile land for survival."
After that, Sunagakure had always eyed Konoha's richer northern lands.
The reason Gaara and Temari met Konoha's Naruto and Shikamaru was part of this strategic maneuver.
This might make it seem that Sunagakure was invading Konoha, but the ninja world isn't purely black and white.
Konoha had also been undermining Sunagakure in various ways.
Though the two villages maintained an outward alliance, the atmosphere between them had always been tense.
"So that's what alliances are like…"
Asuma glimpsed the dark side of the ninja world for the first time, realizing his proud Konoha wasn't purely virtuous—he felt disillusioned.
"No, Konoha also acted for everyone, to resist Sunagakure's greed," Asuma quickly rationalized, influenced by the Will of Fire.
Kiyoshi shook his head slightly.
The Rain Country, trapped between three major nations, was chaotic because each tried to control it, turning it into a buffer zone for war.
Even Konoha shinobi fought there discreetly, rather than inside Fire Country itself.
(End of Chapter)