However, whether it was the Tailed Beast chakra or the other speculations, all of this was Kiyoshi's inference. He would have to continuously experiment and investigate in the future to know the specifics.
"To awaken the Rinnegan, I should need to gather both types of chakra."
Kiyoshi briefly pondered. With his extreme speed, he had already arrived back at the place he had left.
Asuma was covered in cuts and bruises, looking as though he had taken several hits to protect Kurenai.
Kurenai was relatively unscathed, but the exhaustion on her face was clear, indicating overuse of Genjutsu.
"!" Maki abruptly turned back, discovering that Kiyoshi had arrived behind them at some point.
If Kiyoshi could appear here, it meant that Pakura... had lost!
"Anyone who dares to lay a hand on Kurenai needs to be disciplined."
Kiyoshi fiercely drew his sword, and the fiery trail of the blade sliced through the air.
Maki's face under his white mask changed drastically. He hurriedly gathered chakra to form hand seals.
He could feel that Kiyoshi was somehow different from before.
Those deep black eyes were like a captivating abyss.
He didn't dare to look again, fearing he would fall into a Genjutsu.
Just as Kiyoshi's ninja sword was about to strike, Maki's fingertips emitted chakra as sharp as a blade, accompanied by a gust of wind, rushing toward Kiyoshi.
"No one can stop a wind blade that has no form!"
Looking at Kiyoshi's sword, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Maki's eyes.
The invisible wind blade quickly cut across the space.
Wind Release: Blade of Wind!
"The chakra you're spreading in the air is as obvious as a firefly at night."
A crimson light flashed in Kiyoshi's eyes, and he subtly adjusted his position, dodging the wind blade.
The momentum of his sword strike did not diminish as he slashed down toward Maki.
*Crack!*
The ninja sword struck the heavy ninja vest, but the heat from the flames clinging to it allowed Kiyoshi to slice downward as easily as cutting tofu.
Maki's arm was severed halfway, with only tendons still connected to the pale bone.
He scrambled and rolled a few times on the ground, yelling:
"Run!"
Maki flashed away, quickly throwing the scroll into the air, attempting to buy a sliver of life, then fled into the distance.
Seeing Maki defeated in a single move, Tarō Hōki's eyelids twitched, and he also fled without regard for the direction.
"An Earth Scroll. Good luck." Kiyoshi caught the scroll Maki had tossed into the air.
There was no point in pursuing them at this moment.
If Kiyoshi wanted to run into them, he certainly would.
The final destination was the central tower, and to pass the second stage of the exam, they had to go there.
"Hey, Kiyoshi, what was that line about anyone who dares to lay a hand on Kurenai needing to be disciplined?" Asuma, seeing Tarō Hōki run away from their fight, immediately spoke up.
He hadn't even used such a cool line in front of Kurenai yet.
Wait, he should have been the one to say it from the beginning!
Asuma felt a sense of regret, like finding his studies lacking only when the knowledge was needed.
He should have focused more on cultural knowledge; otherwise, he couldn't even manage a decent sentence when it counted.
"...Phew."
Kurenai bent over, adorable even when breathless, hot air escaping her lips.
After a moment, she straightened up and said:
"Kiyoshi did it to protect his comrades, to protect us. Otherwise, the situation just now would have been tricky."
Kurenai's red eyes looked at Kiyoshi.
She was curious how Kiyoshi defeated Pakura and still had the energy to strike down Maki.
Hearing her, Asuma also realized what had happened.
Since when had Kiyoshi unknowingly pulled so far ahead of him?
Had their strength gap grown so large?
Asuma Sarutobi clenched his fist.
'That's right,' only the strong had the right to speak about protecting Kurenai.
If he said it, people would just think he was boasting.
Asuma had never felt such an urgent need to improve his strength. He needed to train hard!
Only then could he protect his dearest Kurenai!
Kiyoshi saw Asuma inexplicably lower his head and clench his fists, but paid him no mind.
He spoke to Kurenai:
"The scroll Maki left behind is enough for us to fulfill the requirements."
Kiyoshi waved the scroll.
"That's great. Should we go turn in the scrolls now?" Kurenai asked.
"Not yet. There are certainly people who have the same idea, lying in wait to ambush teams that have acquired the scrolls."
"That makes sense." Kurenai nodded.
Kiyoshi was right. It would be a nightmare to be ambushed halfway through.
It was better to let other squads test the waters first. They still had four days left, having completed the requirement in one day, so there was no rush at all.
Kiyoshi handed the newly acquired Earth Scroll to Kurenai for safekeeping.
The worry about being ambushed was just an excuse Kiyoshi casually came up with.
He hadn't fully achieved his goals yet, so there was no need to leave.
The issue with Natsu Hyūga remained unresolved.
Kiyoshi needed to approach her further, thereby establishing a connection to the Hyūga Main Family, giving him a reason for contact.
Every major endeavor started with such small beginnings.
Kiyoshi was a patient person.
"By the way, why did they strike so fiercely? Aren't we allies!" Asuma didn't remain in thought for long; the sharp pain in his body interrupted his reflection.
The Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Sand were supposed to be allies!
"Asuma, the only purpose of an alliance is to be broken."
Kiyoshi tossed a roll of bandages to Asuma.
He had acquired a large supply of these things from the hospital.
Nonō Yakushi, worried about him getting injured, had given Kiyoshi many good supplies.
Kiyoshi felt this was the treatment reserved for a primary disciple.
The first disciple taken on always received special treatment, especially from a genuinely kind woman like Nonō Yakushi, who truly deserved to be called a "Saintly Mother."
"What do you mean?" Asuma didn't understand Kiyoshi's words.
Kiyoshi began to fill them in on history:
"When the Five Kage were first established, the Hidden Sand Village established a secret agreement with the Hidden Leaf Village, gaining fertile land and surviving thanks to it."
"After that, the Hidden Sand Village, located in the south, always coveted the more fertile land of the Hidden Leaf Village in the north."
The future encounter between Gaara and Temari of the Hidden Sand and Naruto and Shikamaru of the Hidden Leaf was part of this underlying political arrangement.
This explanation might make it seem as though the Hidden Sand Village was unilaterally invading the Hidden Leaf, but the ninja world was never so simple—it wasn't black and white.
The Hidden Leaf Village, Kiyoshi's own village, also engaged in various destabilizing actions against the Hidden Sand Village.
For years, the two villages maintained an appearance of an alliance, but the atmosphere between them was constantly tense.
"The alliance was like *that*..." Asuma was encountering the dark side of the ninja world for the first time. The realization that his proud Hidden Leaf Village was also part of this game was somewhat disillusioning.
"No, the Hidden Leaf also did it for everyone, to interfere and resist the Hidden Sand, which was coveting our land."
Quickly, Asuma, deeply indoctrinated by the Will of Fire, automatically rationalized the Hidden Leaf's actions.
Seeing this, Kiyoshi subtly shook his head.
Why was the Land of Rain, sandwiched between three major nations, so chaotic?
It was because the major powers constantly infiltrated it, all wanting to control the Land of Rain, which had been reduced to a battleground and a war buffer zone between the great nations.
Even Hidden Leaf ninjas tacitly agreed to fight in the Land of Rain rather than within the Land of Fire's borders.
***
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