At this moment, Kiyohara had no idea that two members of the Uchiha clan had already set their sights on him.
All he knew was that Kurenai kept sneaking glances at his body from time to time.
Kiyohara paid no attention to Kurenai's furtive looks and instead remained fully focused on his taijutsu training.
Spiritual energy could not lag too far behind physical energy—otherwise, it would create pressure and imbalance.
So Kiyohara had been continuously dedicating himself to taijutsu training.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the land, stretching Kiyohara's shadow long across the ground.
His upper body was bare, and beads of sweat slid down along the long, upright, sharply defined lines of his back muscles, leaving winding trails of moisture across his skin.
Using Magnet Release, he was controlling collected iron sand, compressing it into solid weighted bags that clung to his arms and back as he performed push-ups one after another.
His muscles were tightly coiled, to the point where the bulging veins were almost visible.
With every repetition, Kiyohara could feel the soreness intensify, and his speed gradually slowed.
This meant he had reached the limits of his physical body.
Kiyohara eased his movements for a short while.
Without a dedicated taijutsu instructor, he could only perform basic physical training.
Many taijutsu-oriented shinobi would take medication after training.
That is to say, they emphasized a process of training, medication, and recovery.
Of course, this was the orthodox path.
There was also the option of directly injecting drugs.
The current ninja world was quite developed—some substances regarded as forbidden drugs among shinobi had instead circulated among ordinary people.
These were drugs that forcibly enhanced muscle growth, mainly so-called "steroid-type drugs."
But the price was a shrinking pair of balls—since the body no longer needed to secrete testosterone, one's "capital" would gradually diminish.
For the sake of his future sexual happiness, Kiyohara absolutely refused to touch that stuff.
Not only did he intend to be a traditional-style shinobi—he also intended to be a traditional-style bodybuilder!
After resting for a bit, Kiyohara once again strapped on the iron-sand weights. He thought to himself, "Iron sand is still too ordinary, and there isn't enough of it. If only I could sense gold sand or some other precious metal… sigh, that would be the real road to getting rich."
As this thought crossed his mind, he couldn't help feeling a little regretful.
Unfortunately, his Magnet Release couldn't control gold sand. Perhaps in that regard, he'd have to find a way to ask Rasa for some guidance.
By observing how Rasa applied magnetism, maybe he could learn the technique.
Nearby, beneath a tree, Kurenai was practicing genjutsu hand seals, but she seemed somewhat distracted.
Her gaze kept drifting unconsciously toward Kiyohara. Watching his firm muscles swell with movement—smooth lines brimming with explosive power, her cheeks inexplicably began to heat up.
She forced herself to concentrate, but with little success, and couldn't help silently complaining to herself, "This guy Kiyohara… training like this… it's way too disruptive to other people's training…"
Just then, Kakashi walked over, wearing his mask and sporting his striking silver hair. His dead-fish eyes flicked toward Kiyohara, and he felt that Kiyohara's training had improved even more compared to before.
Seeing Kakashi staring at him, Kiyohara suddenly had the odd feeling that overdoing his fitness training was starting to attract members of the same sex.
So he spoke up, "Kakashi, what are you here for?"
"Someone's looking for you," Kakashi replied flatly.
Kiyohara paused, dispersed the iron sand he was controlling, casually grabbed the clothes beside him to wipe off the sweat, then pulled them on. "Who?"
"An Uchiha named Tekka, and another young shinobi I don't recognize," Kakashi said concisely.
"An Uchiha?"
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow, unsure why Tekka, whom he had previously defeated—would be seeking him out.
Trying to regain face?
But internal shinobi conflicts were punishable. In such a critical moment, Kiyohara doubted Tekka would be that foolish.
Surely he wasn't so overwhelmed by the pressure of the Sharingan that he'd just act on impulse, right?
Kiyohara adjusted his clothing.
"Let's go see what this is about."
Kurenai quickly followed along as well.
The three of them returned to the camp together.
Kiyohara's brow twitched slightly as his eyes fell on the boy standing beside Uchiha Tekka.
The youth carried a short blade on his back, and his nose appeared slightly larger than average.
Kiyohara recognized him at a glance.
One of the two biggest "traitors" in Uchiha history—Uchiha Shisui!
His talent was just as monstrous as Itachi's, both being classic examples of prodigies who rose to fame at a young age.
Despite being younger than almost everyone else, his combat record was brutal and overwhelming.
During the Third Great Ninja War, he would earn the title "Shisui of the Body Flicker."
And when Shisui accomplished all of this, he was still incredibly young.
Yet perhaps because all of his talent points were invested into strength, Uchiha Shisui was overly kind and naïve.
After awakening his eyes, he only told Itachi, then went alone to meet Danzō, even revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan.
He was immediately "dealt offline" by Danzō, who dug out one of his eyes on the spot.
And afterward, Shisui didn't even think about counter measures, such as using his other Mangekyō technique, Kotoamatsukami, to control Danzō.
Instead, he removed his remaining eye, gave it to Itachi, and jumped off a cliff to commit suicide—
At a time when the clan was engulfed in internal turmoil and facing external threats at every moment, rather than helping his clansmen or relatives resolve the crisis, he chose to end his own life.
Kiyohara directly asked, "What do you want?"
Tekka looked at Kiyohara, memories of his previous defeat surfacing and making him feel a bit awkward. But thinking of Uchiha Shisui, he straightened his back and said, "Kiyohara, this is my clan brother, Uchiha Shisui. I want to—ask you to spar with him. A friendly spar, just a test of skills, stopping short of anything serious."
He emphasized the last part deliberately.
Kiyohara smiled faintly and said, "I usually don't like fighting and killing. It's not very interesting."
Uchiha Tekka was completely baffled.
He had heard that Kiyohara had killed plenty of enemies at the ruins of the Uzushiogakure. So why was he suddenly claiming not to like fighting when it came to him?
Wasn't he insanely fierce during their last arena match?
"Sorry, my time is pretty tight. I need to use my limited life to make unlimited contributions to the village," Kiyohara said calmly.
Then he made a show of turning to leave.
Seeing this, Tekka instantly understood.
Damn it!
What time being tight?!
This innately evil Kiyohara was asking for benefits.
A guy who wouldn't get out of bed without profit—absolutely shameless.
"Wait!"
Tekka thought of his own defeat, then of Shisui, who had already earned a small reputation shortly after entering the battlefield.
Shisui's "Body Flicker Technique" was so troublesome that even after activating his Sharingan, Tekka found it hard to deal with—let alone Kiyohara, who didn't even have the Sharingan and was practically blind by comparison.
Since they had come all this way, he couldn't just let it end like this.
"Take this as a wager. If Shisui loses, I'll give you my custom-made shuriken."
A flash of pain crossed Uchiha Tekka's face, but he still carefully retrieved three unusually shaped, cold-glinting shuriken from his shinobi pouch. Their four-edged blades bore fine, intricate patterns.
"These are specially crafted shuriken made by the Ninneko (Ninja Cat Clan). Whether it's the material, balance, or sharpness, they're all top-tier."
"Made by the Ninneko?"
Kiyohara was genuinely intrigued now.
He had only said it casually, yet Uchiha Tekka actually had something good on him.
The Uchiha clan maintained close ties with the Ninja Cat Clan, whose shinobi tools enjoyed an outstanding reputation throughout the shinobi world—rare, high-quality goods.
Moreover, for generations, the Ninja Cat Clan had treated the Uchiha as honored guests, essentially serving as their exclusive arms suppliers.
"Alright, I accept."
Kiyohara looked toward Shisui, who had been standing quietly the entire time, his expression calm.
"Only by sparring with comrades can one improve, isn't that right?"
"Of course," Uchiha Tekka replied, tightening his grip on the shuriken.
This guy really is just after the benefits.
Hmph—he's probably underestimating Shisui because of his age.
Tekka thought coldly.
Next, he was going to see exactly how this Kiyohara would crash and burn!
The two sides agreed to spar after nightfall, on the open ground by the river near the camp.
(End of Chapter)