"No need to explain. Just give me some scrolls first." Kiyoshi held out his hand.
In this ninja world, where knowledge was rife with sectarianism and major ninja clans almost never exchanged Ninjutsu, every piece of knowledge was exceptionally precious.
For example, Orochimaru wanted to learn all Ninjutsu, but even as one of the Sannin, there were still some techniques he found difficult to acquire through teaching, forcing him to sneak into the Restricted Scrolls Archive to steal knowledge.
Hearing this, Samui placed her hand on her wrist, tapped it lightly, and a Ninjutsu scroll appeared.
"This is the D-rank Lightning Release scroll, Lightning Release: Running Current."
Kiyoshi took it, glanced at it, and put it down.
The ability to release Lightning Release on the ground was merely decent.
"Not enough." Kiyoshi shook his head.
He signaled to Samui that she needed to raise the stakes.
Samui frowned slightly. She couldn't give Kiyoshi everything, what if he took what he wanted and simply walked away?
"I want a Ninjutsu that can train the internal organs, and it cannot be lower than C-rank." Kiyoshi stated.
The Hidden Cloud Village absolutely had such a lineage. The Third Raikage was the most outstanding example.
His physical body could grapple with a Tailed Beast, exhausting the Eight-Tails. The only scar on his body was one he accidentally inflicted on himself with Lightning Release, not a Tailed Beast Bomb from the Eight-Tails.
With such a body, Kiyoshi could relax some of his worries about being ambushed.
After all, the longer you spent in the ninja world, the more enemies you made. Who knew when an ambush might strike?
And once a ninja was stabbed in a vital area by a kunai, they would immediately die.
Hashirama even intended to commit suicide with a kunai to prove himself to Madara...
Of course, Kiyoshi didn't know if he could actually die.
But the fact that even someone with passive healing like Hashirama considered using a kunai for suicide proved that a ninja's defense was not inherently high. An ordinary kunai, combined with enough force, could pierce the skin and damage vital organs.
Samui hesitated, wondering whether to give Kiyoshi such a Ninjutsu. She picked up her teacup and took another sip of tea.
Kiyoshi patiently waited for her reply, even taking the time to check the new Ninjutsu he had just received.
After approximately three minutes, Samui made her decision.
"Alright." Samui pulled out another scroll from her other wrist and handed it to Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi smiled faintly.
'Wasn't that thoughtful of her?'
'She even accounted for the possibility of me making an exorbitant request.'
The previous refusal was just to increase her value.
A "no" on principle was essentially a "yes."
She merely wanted to show that the Hidden Cloud placed high importance on him and was making a great sacrifice.
Looking at the Ninjutsu scroll Samui handed over, Kiyoshi quickly scanned it and pointed to a specific part, asking:
"Here. I need you to give me a demonstration. I possess the Sharingan, which allows me to see the flow of chakra inside the body, making my learning faster."
Kiyoshi unfolded the second Lightning Release scroll and pointed to a specific section.
Samui had no choice but to follow Kiyoshi's instructions.
Following the meridian system route described in the scroll, she began to gather Lightning Release chakra.
However, Kiyoshi suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Samui was startled and asked, "What are you trying to do?"
"I want to observe the path of the chakra flow from a closer distance." A smile crept onto Kiyoshi's lips.
The Sharingan was unlike the Byakugan, it couldn't freely see through the body to view internal organs and the detailed meridian system.
All it could do was vaguely track the path of chakra flow.
The closer he got, the clearer it would be.
Samui immediately tried to push Kiyoshi away, but Kiyoshi held her wrist tightly.
"Is the Hidden Cloud so opposed to me? Or is it you personally who doesn't want to accept me, an Uchiha?" Kiyoshi challenged her, throwing down a subtle accusation.
The astute Samui immediately understood the underlying meaning of Kiyoshi's words.
She looked into Kiyoshi's eyes, and that scorching, unrestrained gaze was all too familiar.
Samui's face stiffened, turning slightly pale. Her usual composure nearly broke.
After agonizing for a few minutes, Samui let out a deep sigh.
She refined her Lightning Release chakra as instructed and began guiding it along the internal meridian system route.
Her curved, long eyelashes trembled slightly as she focused intently on refining her chakra.
Kiyoshi, meanwhile, had both his eyes turn into the crimson Sharingan. He moved closer, carefully studying the internal meridian flow.
When he encountered areas of the meridian system route that he didn't fully understand, he even reached out to touch them.
His Dōjutsu power was boiling.
***
Sushi Restaurant.
Atsui watched as the sky grew dark. Dusk had fallen, and night was quickly approaching.
It was time to close up the shop, but his sister still hadn't returned.
"Don't worry. Samui is our most outstanding spy. With her composure and calmness, she can handle any unforeseen situation." Yasunori consoled him.
Hearing this, Atsui tried hard to calm himself down.
Yasunori was right, if anything had happened to his sister, they would probably have been captured by the Hidden Leaf Village already.
Atsui endured the waiting and continued.
Finally, just a minute before closing, Samui rushed back.
"What's wrong, Sister?" Atsui was first happy to see her, but then noticed Samui clutching her clothes tightly, seemingly feeling cold.
But it was spring now.
"Nothing. Just close the shop." Samui said, hurrying towards the bathroom.
Not long after, the sound of rushing water came from inside, indicating she was taking a bath.
Atsui was completely confused about what had happened.
He figured he would ask his sister after she came out.
He walked to the front door and locked it.
Their sushi shop wasn't small. The front single-story building was the shop, and there was a smaller building in the back for employee living quarters.
***
Time passed quietly.
In the blink of an eye, it was just a few days before the Chunin Exams.
Kiyoshi and the others had executed multiple D-rank missions, and even one C-rank mission, all successfully completed. They now had sufficient experience.
Since both Kurenai and Asuma's fathers were strong, their children wouldn't be weak either.
"Here are the application forms. I have recommended you all to participate under my name, Yūki Minazuki." Minazuki took out three application forms and handed them out.
"Application forms, huh."
Kiyoshi took his. It contained basic personal information and the warnings about the dangers.
If any rules were violated, the exam results would be nullified, and if the violation was severe, they could be permanently disqualified from becoming Chunin.
"Time went by so fast." Kurenai sighed, holding the white application form in her small hand.
Were they really about to become Chunin?
Genin were the most numerous rank of ninja. Chunin were already considered the elite among them, capable of taking on small squad leader roles for missions.
"Thank you, Minazuki-sensei!" Asuma grinned, accepting the application form.
He still remembered the old man's surprised expression when he heard Asuma wanted to participate in this Chunin Exam, seemingly not expecting him to join this time.
"It's nothing." Minazuki said.
He glanced at Kiyoshi.
Yesterday, the Hokage-sama suddenly summoned him, saying that Asuma wanted to participate in this Chunin Exam.
Minazuki immediately agreed, saying that Asuma's strength was sufficient.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed this Uchiha to pass through so quickly.
***
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