"Hmm… I can let you access a portion of Magnet Release now."
Magnet Kiyohara's voice was calm.
Magnet Release was, in essence, a fusion of Wind and Earth chakra.
But that seemingly simple step was like leaping a great chasm—few ever crossed it.
"...Huh?"
A question mark might as well have floated over Kiyohara's head.
"You couldn't have said that earlier?"
"If I did, how would you grow stronger? A true shinobi must be more devious, more ruthless, more domineering than the Mist!"
"..."
Kiyohara had half a mind to argue.
Good thing he hadn't fully relied on Magnet Kiyohara earlier—he'd had ways to escape even without him.
It was at that moment he realized something:
The future versions of himself… might not all be trustworthy.
What if someday he encountered a "Future Kiyohara" bent on betraying the ninja world—carrying out the Eye of the Moon Plan or ruling alongside Kaguya?
Would Black Zetsu gain a new "Dad"?
"How are you going to help me?"
Kiyohara looked around at the mist still swirling around him. It was a perfect cover—if he showed a bit of Magnet Release, no one would know it came from the future.
He already had Wind Release, and he'd been training Earth. Even if he used a bit of Magnet Release, others would simply assume he had the chakra nature for it.
After all, ninja academies didn't test chakra natures.
They only taught the basics: Clone Jutsu, Transformation, and Body Replacement.
Even Naruto didn't know his own chakra nature until Kakashi tested it years after graduation.
So when Kiyohara had learned Earth Release with Magnet Kiyohara's help, it simply looked like he had the right element.
Magnet Release was just a matter of time.
"Here's how…"
The spirit merged with his body again, guiding the chakra flow.
Immediately, Kiyohara felt a strange energy bloom inside—magnetic force.
He understood instinctively:
This was Magnet Release.
This wasn't just guidance.
It felt like… an imprint, a residual power.
After all, even after death, souls in this world could transfer chakra.
Obito had gifted Kakashi the Mangekyō.
Dan had given Tsunade chakra to restore her Strength of a Hundred Seal.
Magnet Kiyohara wasn't quite a soul, more like a data-ghost—but he still carried fragments of his living power.
"Focus. My Magnet Release isn't like the others."
Kiyohara listened as his future self began to explain the principles behind his version of Magnet Release.
Each user developed it differently.
In the Sand Village, Magnet Release was first seen in Shukaku.
Humans developed the technique by studying the tailed beast.
Later, the Third Kazekage refined it to a deadly art—Iron Sand.
After his disappearance, Rasa took up the mantle, using Gold Dust to both defend the village and save its economy.
Eventually, other nations caught on—like Cloud's ninja, Toroi, who also developed Magnet Release.
But Magnet Release Kiyohara… he had studied it scientifically.
He realized that magnetic fields in the real world were created by moving charges or magnetic materials.
But for a ninja, it was all about chakra transformation.
A ninja with Magnet Release could generate or simulate magnetic fields through chakra.
And the future Kiyohara had taken it a step further—
"My technique affects myself. It's called—Magnet Release: Rotational Field."
Kiyohara frowned.
That… sounded like something a crank would make up.
Was this really science?
But his future self was a master of the field. So he chose to try.
And the moment he did…
His body felt like it had been weighed down by an invisible iron suit.
His breath caught in his throat.
"This jutsu links localized magnetic fields to the greater ambient magnetic forces around us. It's a type of 'power borrowing.'"
Kiyohara felt it too.
The ambient magnetic field around him warped.
This planet didn't just have planetary chakra.
It also had a planetary magnetic field.
If he could connect to it—
Even a fraction of it would be enough to shift the battlefield.
The only downside?
His body wasn't ready.
If not for the Magnet Release technique maintaining him, he'd be crushed under his own power.
For now, it was sustainable.
But once the technique ended, the burden would be deadly.
Still… it was enough.
"Ffffuuu…"
Kiyohara exhaled. White mist curled from his lips.
He felt the difference.
He wasn't using this power on his own.
It was on loan.
Until he completed the Magnet Kiyohara's Will, he wouldn't be able to summon it again.
'Good thing I inherited some physical strength from Rogue Kiyohara,' he thought.
Every step now felt like it weighed a ton.
But he still had—
Leaf Body Flicker!
With a crack, he vanished.
Shhhk! Shhhk!
Two more blood sprays bloomed from the fog.
But this time, the sound was… heavier.
It wasn't the slash of a blade.
It was as if a blunt iron club had caved in skulls.
A terrifying power.
Even the surrounding air swirled like it was caught in rotation.
Magnet Release: Rotational Field.
"What… what jutsu is that?"
Terumī Mei's face had gone pale.
She assumed Kiyohara had simply improved over the last month or two.
She didn't realize—this was the power of a substitute fighter!
Now, Kiyohara was like a demolition truck rampaging through the fog.
And that fog had become their cage.
The remaining Mist-nin could only grip their weapons, regret flickering in their eyes.
Why hadn't they taken the alternate landing route?
Most of them, like Mei, didn't even have Wind Release.
They could barely use it if they tried—and certainly not well enough to clear the fog.
Outside, Kakashi watched the mist distort through his Sharingan.
Even he couldn't fully understand what was happening within.
"How is it?" Rin asked, worried.
"Kiyohara's holding them off. For now," Kakashi replied, frowning.
But something about him had changed.
Inside the mist, Kaguya Masaru was growing tense.
His instincts—honed by the Kaguya clan's battle bloodline—screamed danger.
"Mei. Prepare a Wind Release."
Though she didn't possess the affinity, Mei had mastered many jutsu through talent alone.
"Understood."
She nodded, eyes serious.
Masaru turned back toward the mist.
His blood was boiling.
Kiyohara… was the kind of opponent he longed for.
"I'm going to defeat you!" he roared.
Beside him, Mei began forming seals—