"Five days…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly walked into the dark courtyard, his sandals crunching over the charred, smoking wood chips that had been shattered by the lightning strike.
"In just five days, you have perfectly, flawlessly mastered the 'Lightning Release: Roaring Thunder' technique I gave you."
Kiyohara shook his head calmly. "It is entirely because the scroll generously provided by Hokage-sama was incredibly detailed; I simply followed the exact methods within it."
Kiyohara's expression was a perfect mask of modesty.
While his talent was indeed monstrous, this impossible speed was actually inseparable from the flawless, real-time guidance of the ghost of Uchiha Kiyohara.
The elite ninjas of the Uchiha Clan are historical professionals when it comes to the intricate chakra mechanics of Lightning Release and Fire Release. It could confidently be said that it was only through this symbiotic combination that he mastered it so swiftly.
Even the genius Kakashi's speed in training the Chidori was not as fast as his current progression.
"There is no need to be modest with me, Kiyohara."
Looking at the boy's calm, humble expression, Hiruzen genuinely didn't know what to say.
Hiruzen had displayed monstrous talent in his early childhood. Thus, he was taken in as a direct Disciple by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Later on, having flawlessly mastered all five major chakra natures, he successfully learned the vast majority of Konoha's classified techniques. Busy-bodies spread rumors that he knew every ninjutsu and forbidden technique in Konoha's archives.
This was, of course, somewhat of a political exaggeration, but in historical truth, except for a very small number of biologically restricted Bloodline techniques, Hiruzen had indeed learned them all.
However... he had grown old.
Even though he was currently only in his middle age and still commanded massive political power, he knew that in a few more years, his physical strength and chakra volume would rapidly, inevitably decline.
At this moment, looking at Kiyohara's young, scarred, but still immature face, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel a profound bit of daze.
He saw a flawless reflection of his past self in Kiyohara's cold eyes.
He also saw the terrifying shadow of a young Orochimaru.
'No wonder Orochimaru and Kiyohara are so incredibly, unnaturally close,' This sudden thought flashed through Hiruzen's mind.
He knew about Kiyohara secretly going to work as Orochimaru's lab assistant, and now he somewhat understood perfectly why Orochimaru valued the boy so highly.
After all, his eldest Disciple was actually a very arrogant, proud person at heart. Apart from ruthlessly completing S-Rank combat missions, Orochimaru was entirely immersed in his biological experiments; political ninjas who desperately wanted to win him over or curry favor with him couldn't even find where his hidden laboratories were.
Just that…
Thinking of certain classified matters, Hiruzen frowned slightly in the dark.
Orochimaru was also getting entirely too close to Danzo Shimura lately. This was not a good thing for the village's stability.
Hiruzen did not want Orochimaru to go down the wrong, bloody path of the Root.
"Please sit down, Hokage-sama."
Kiyohara smoothly took a simple wooden stool out from his house and offered it to Hiruzen, then sat down on a crate himself.
Originally, there was only one stool in the barren house; the day Rin came to cook, she had pragmatically not only left behind a set of clean kitchenware but also an extra wooden stool.
Kiyohara's respectful words interrupted Hiruzen's dark train of thought.
He coughed lightly, his sharp gaze returning to Kiyohara's expression as he sat down heavily on the stool.
He relit his pipe, took a deep, dragging puff, and exhaled a thick cloud of curling white smoke into the night air.
"I am very, intimately clear about the developmental process of this specific technique; even with a highly detailed scroll, an ordinary Elite Jonin would require a month, or even several grueling months, to even initially master it."
He scrutinized Kiyohara intently.
"Your Lightning Release chakra nature transformation is already more proficient than many Jonin who specialize in Lightning Release."
Kiyohara was silent for a second before replying calmly, "I am just relatively hardworking, Hokage-sama."
Hearing Kiyohara's flat, humble words, Hiruzen chuckled softly.
Highly classified information from the ANBU indicated that the boy's Wind Release ninjutsu was also absolutely devastating.
Moreover, the impenetrable Earth Release: Earth Spear he frequently utilized was a highly complex, B-Rank Earth Release ninjutsu that was notoriously difficult to master without turning oneself to stone.
Mastering one opposing chakra nature flawlessly would be one thing, but to have such terrifying attainments in so many different, conflicting chakra natures—is this something that can simply be explained by 'hard work'?
Hard work can certainly reach great, respected heights, provided it is brutally accumulated over decades of time.
And talent is exactly what can shorten this time.
How old is Kiyohara right now?
Hiruzen's wooden pipe turned gently in his palm as he stated quietly, "This level of mastery cannot be achieved by hard work alone, my boy; you possess the talent of a true Ninja God."
"Perhaps so," Kiyohara nodded accepting the praise.
He did have some talent. However, this talent had been stacked and exponentially multiplied many times over by dead ghosts.
"Kiyohara... have you ever officially tested your natural chakra natures with paper?" Hiruzen asked casually.
"It seems I am only currently missing the 'Water' affinity," Kiyohara lied smoothly.
'Missing Water-style Chakra?'
Hearing Kiyohara's words, Hiruzen sighed inwardly with profound awe.
The five major chakra natures are mutually reinforcing and conflicting; Hiruzen had even created apocalyptic, combination ninjutsu like the Five Elements Combined Ball Technique.
In his prime youth, he had also earned the empty, political title of "Strongest Hokage".
Of course, Hiruzen knew his own limits; compared to a true, mythological powerhouse like the "God of Shinobi," Hashirama Senju, his chakra volume was still far, far too lacking.
That was the true, absolute strongest; even Madara Uchiha, who carried the apocalyptic Nine-Tails like a pet, was defeated by Hashirama.
"Having flawlessly mastered six chakra natures at your age is already terrifyingly strong," Hiruzen patted Kiyohara's shoulder warmly.
Since Kiyohara possessed the Uchiha Bloodline, he naturally possessed Yin Release chakra at birth.
And since Kiyohara had also successfully learned advanced Medical Ninjutsu from Tsunade's texts, it meant he also possessed strong Yang Release chakra.
By this calculation, Kiyohara was only missing a single, final chakra nature to complete the set.
Ninjas possessing all seven perfect chakra natures are astronomically, globally rare; only a tiny, elite fraction of people like Kakashi possess the theoretical aptitude for them.
'No…'
Hiruzen suddenly had a massive change of analytical thought.
Cultivating opposing chakra natures from scratch is indeed somewhat difficult for an ordinary human body.
But for a freak anomaly like Kiyohara, who is flawlessly proficient in other chakra natures, perhaps he could logically draw parallels and learn by analogy; his growth ceiling cannot be judged by conventional human logic.
However, this was ultimately just a theoretical hypothesis, a psychological estimation of future combat strength, a measure of "potential."
Reality is full of bloody uncertainties.
Hiruzen had tragically seen many bright, shining geniuses who had peerless talent in their early Academy years but later died on the battlefield or faded into pathetic obscurity.
"Trying to learn entirely too much at once leads to poor digestion; I plan to first rigorously refine the lethality of what I already know," Kiyohara stated coldly.
"A very good, pragmatic strategy," Hiruzen nodded slightly, deeply pleased.
Neither arrogantly boastful nor impetuous.
"Seeing such terrifying, raw talent in you, I actually somewhat regret having to send you back to the meat grinder of the battlefield," Hiruzen continued, his tone softening.
Kiyohara looked up, meeting Hiruzen's aged, tired eyes perfectly.
"War consumes entirely too many precious things... including geniuses," Hiruzen's voice lowered into a heavy sigh.
"But I also deeply understand that delicate flowers kept in a safe greenhouse can never truly grow into towering trees; even my own son, Asuma, is currently deployed on the front lines."
The harsh, political meaning Hiruzen expressed was simple: Even if you are the Hokage's own blood son, there will absolutely be no military privileges.
He still has to deploy to the bloody battlefield when Command requires it.
"I completely understand, Hokage-sama," Kiyohara said flatly.
This was entirely normal.
Otherwise, the other cannon-fodder ninjas dying in the mud would become dissatisfied, and military morale would completely collapse into mutiny. This is the exact, brutal example a wartime leader must set.
Hiruzen, after all, was still only in his middle age and still harbored massive political ambitions to win the war.
As for whether he would corrupt completely after growing elderly and paranoid, becoming obsessed with the rotting incense of power, that is a matter of historical opinion.
At least in the current, bloody period, Asuma had truly been forced to go to the battlefield, although not exactly on the most lethal vanguard lines.
Hearing Kiyohara's cold, accepting reply, Hiruzen took another slow puff of his pipe.
After exhaling the thick smoke, he seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, his tone perfectly casual but his eyes sharp:
"By the way... I received a report that you were officially summoned to the Uchiha Clan compound a few days ago?"
"Yes," Kiyohara answered frankly, maintaining eye contact.
"Fugaku-sama officially invited me to attend a meeting."
"Oh? What exactly did the Clan Head say to you?"
"Fugaku-sama stated that the Uchiha Bloodline flows through me, and that the clan welcomes me back to the compound at any time."
Kiyohara relayed this intelligence entirely truthfully, without adding emotional embellishments or concealing any facts.
Hiruzen nodded slightly, his pipe flickering dangerously in the night:
"Then... what exactly do you think about his offer?"
"I have never, ever lived in the isolated Uchiha Clan compound; it is vastly more comfortable and logical for me to remain in the Village proper."
This brutally pragmatic, loyal answer seemed to deeply, profoundly satisfy Hiruzen.
He nodded with a warm smile:
"There is no rush; such massive matters indeed require significant time to carefully consider. That child, Shisui, went with you to the meeting, right?"
"That's correct. Shisui escorted me through the gates."
"Is that so," Hiruzen mused.
Hiruzen had actually originally intended to use the pacifist Shisui as a diplomatic bridge to ease the deteriorating, toxic relationship between the Village Command and the Uchiha Clan.
But now it seems... Kiyohara might be a far more suitable, ruthless candidate.
Even if Kiyohara established superficial social bonds with his newly discovered clansmen later in life, it would inevitably, psychologically not be as blindly close as those who lived brainwashed in the clan from childhood.
The vast majority of the arrogant, purebred Uchiha clansmen would likely only ever view Kiyohara with disgust as a dirty "outsider".
And such an isolated, alienated status, at certain times, could instead become a perfectly sharpened "good blade" for the Hokage to wield.
Such a unique, half-blood status could connect both sides without ever fully, blindly leaning towards either one.
"Work hard for Konoha," Hiruzen finally patted Kiyohara's shoulder warmly and turned to walk out of the dark courtyard.
"You are officially deploying for the Kikyō Mountain sector tomorrow at noon, so get some rest early tonight."
"Take care on your walk back, Hokage-sama," Kiyohara bowed.
Hiruzen's shadowy figure disappeared silently into the night, leaving only the faint, lingering scent of secondhand tobacco smoke.
Kiyohara stood completely still in the dark courtyard, looking down at the charred debris of wood chips all over the ground.
That paranoid old geezer Hiruzen was definitely here to conduct a direct, psychological loyalty test on him.
He had probably received the panicked ANBU news the exact second the three Uchiha officers knocked on Kiyohara's door days ago.
'I need to be significantly more paranoid and careful with my training in the future,' Kiyohara calculated coldly to himself.
Hiruzen possesses the Telescope Technique and can easily, legally spy on anyone in the village limits.
When Kiyohara experiments with mutating Ninjutsu and physically trains, he must be entirely, flawlessly careful not to expose anything contradictory.
'If I maintain this flawless alibi, Danzo Shimura should not dare to execute any massive abduction attempts on me openly in the village again,' Kiyohara thought in his heart.
Moreover, if Hiruzen officially, politically acknowledges that he is a "Genius," this flawless Genius persona is effectively established in the archives.
If he spontaneously exposes more apocalyptic techniques later on the battlefield, it wouldn't be considered incomprehensible by Command.
After all, an obsessively studious, genius Ninja, as long as they have the political channels, can truly master hundreds of Ninjutsu. Orochimaru and Hiruzen both possess at least thousands of Ninjutsu in their brains, and the future Kakashi is exactly the same.
Subsequently, he smoothly began to clean up the ruined courtyard, preparing his tactical gear for the next day's escort mission.
At the exact same time, Hiruzen was walking slowly on the quiet road home.
Elite ANBU figures followed him exactly like silent, lethal shadows on the rooftops, but he had no expression; he was already completely, psychologically used to this omnipresent, suffocating protection.
His private estate was located near the secure center of Konoha.
When he pushed open the heavy courtyard gate, the warm lights were already on inside the house.
"Why are you back so late again?"
A voice with a heavy hint of domestic complaint came from inside the house.
Hiruzen's wife, Biwako Sarutobi, stood in the entryway, holding a cleaning rag in her hand.
She was a middle-aged, stern kunoichi, but exceptionally well-preserved. Her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly entirely not too pleased with her husband's constant late returns from the office.
"I was delayed by some matters," Hiruzen sighed tiredly, taking off his heavy Hokage robe and hanging it on the wooden coat rack.
"Shinnosuke waited for you in the living room for a long time; he just left," Biwako sighed, wiping the counter. "He said there was a priority ANBU mission to report, but you weren't in your office."
Shinnosuke Sarutobi was Hiruzen's eldest son and was currently serving as an elite ANBU captain. He was incredibly steady and lethal in his actions and was deeply trusted by him.
"I'll look for him at headquarters tomorrow," Hiruzen said, walking slowly toward the living room.
The massive living room window faced the exact direction of the Hokage Rock. The massive stone faces were brightly illuminated by searchlights at night, and the faces of the three Hokage quietly, solemnly overlooked the sleeping Village in the dark.
Biwako brought a cup of hot tea and placed it gently in front of her husband. "What are you calculating about again? You look so incredibly, uncharacteristically preoccupied."
Hiruzen took the teacup but didn't drink immediately. He gazed out at the stone face of the First Hokage outside the window and spoke slowly.
"I met a child today. A terrifyingly, flawlessly talented child."
"To earn such an absolute evaluation from the 'Professor of Ninjutsu,' it seems they are absolutely not simple," Biwako sat down gracefully opposite him.
"He is exactly like me when I was a young, hungry genius," Hiruzen said with a bitter, complicated smile.
"No, Biwako. He might be even more talented than I was when I was young. Although I flawlessly mastered all five chakra nature transformations back then... I did not possess a genetic Bloodline Limit."
"What is that child's name?"
"Kiyohara."
Biwako was completely silent for a long moment, then whispered, "Are you worried about his power?"
"Profoundly worried... and also highly expectant," Hiruzen finally took a slow sip of the hot tea and said heavily.
"Such an apocalyptic genius... if guided perfectly and loyally, will become the absolute, unbreakable pillar of Konoha's future. But if he goes astray into the dark..."
He didn't finish the chilling sentence, but Biwako perfectly understood her husband's bloody meaning.
"What about Orochimaru? I heard rumors that that civilian child is currently very close with Orochimaru's faction."
As the Hokage's wife, Biwako had obviously also heard about some of the darker, political movements within the Village.
"Orochimaru is mainly getting a bit entirely too close with Danzo's faction," Hiruzen said, his voice tightening.
Orochimaru's recent, erratic behavior had become increasingly, violently elusive. The highly classified, black-budget research in his subterranean laboratories, although ostensibly executed for Konoha's military benefit, always made Hiruzen intuitively feel like something was catastrophically wrong.
"Alright, let's not talk about this grim politics anymore," Biwako stood up smoothly. "The food is still hot; I'll go bring it to you. Try to come back earlier in the future, old man."
The next day at exactly noon, Kiyohara, Genma, and Kurenai gathered at the massive Konoha gates.
This specific mission was to escort a massive, high-priority batch of medical supplies and weaponry directly to the Kikyō Mountain front lines. The official administrative rank was C, but due to the highly tense, volatile war situation, it could be upgraded to a B or A-Rank at any second.
"Let's move out," Kiyohara looked clinically at the group. Their massive logistical operation this time involved several different Genin and Chunin teams transporting supplies together.
However, for security, they were not departing all at once; it was being meticulously done in a highly dispersed, staggered manner to avoid massive AOE ambushes.
Seeing that Genma and Kurenai had arrived and finalized their gear checks, Kiyohara announced their departure.
With Orochimaru not deploying with them, Kiyohara was the absolute, legal team leader.
Kurenai stood closely beside Kiyohara and stole a shy, admiring glance at him.
Today, Kiyohara was wearing a pristine, deep black Ninja outfit under his flak jacket, with three massive, heavy Ninjutsu sealing scrolls strapped tightly to his broad back.
Genma yawned loudly, a fresh senbon still jutting from his mouth. "Let's get going. The faster we arrive at the drop point, the sooner we're done with this boring walk."
Behind his back, he also carried a massive, heavy sealing scroll.
Inside these specific scrolls were tons of critical medical supplies and rations sealed in advance. They were the target they needed to escort this time.
"I'll check the perimeter," Kurenai said softly, her hands resting on her pouches.
She was also carrying a heavy sealing scroll. After checking her gear, the group began their departure into the forest.
The three's velocity was neither fast nor slow as they shuttled seamlessly through the dense canopy.
The collective, marching speed would only depend on the physical stamina of the slowest person in the formation.
If it were just Kiyohara alone, the travel speed could easily be increased to supersonic levels. But if that happened, Genma and Kurenai would not be able to physically keep up and would be left behind.
The first day's long journey was completely, boringly calm.
At late dusk, the team set up a secure perimeter camp in a dense forest.
Kiyohara efficiently used dozens of shuriken connected with razor-sharp copper wire to meticulously set up some highly lethal, simple alarm traps around the perimeter.
Actually, in terms of pure, physical conductive material, silver's electrical conductivity is far better than copper for rigging traps. But if solid silver wire were used for disposable perimeter traps, the financial cost would be astronomically too high.
In the final analysis, being a ninja always came down to one brutal word: Poor.
"Let's do three shifts tonight. I'll take the first two hours," Kiyohara looked at the dark night outside the treeline.
Leaving one person awake on watch was the only way to not have their throats slit in their sleep.
"Then I'll be responsible for the middle shift," Kurenai took out her dry, tasteless military rations and opened her mouth to take a small bite.
The culinary taste of these dry, processed rations was naturally not as good as Rin's fresh, hot food, but during a combat mission, one could only eat these for energy.
"Alright. Then I'll go to sleep first," Genma yawned massively, found a dry spot under a root, and almost exactly as soon as he lay down, began to snore lightly.
After traveling at high speed for a whole day, Genma was completely, physically exhausted.
Kurenai sat quietly by the small, smokeless campfire; she also felt very tired.
The long, grueling, incredibly monotonous journey was a severe form of torture for both the active mind and body.
She m wanted to find Kiyohara to casually chat and alleviate the heavy boredom.
But she looked over and found that Kiyohara's cold expression was perfectly normal, showing zero signs of the crushing physical fatigue from a day of high-speed traveling.
Not only that, Kiyohara walked entirely alone to the high canopy of a massive tree a hundred meters away, hiding completely in the shadows of the leaves to start his silent watch.
Kurenai looked up at Kiyohara's dark silhouette in the branches, wanting to say something, but stopping herself.
She looked down at her bare, pale wrists; although her skin was fair and delicate, she always felt a pang that something was missing.
She vividly remembered the exquisite, woven bracelet Rin Nohara constantly wore on her wrist, which was publicly known to be a handmade gift from Kiyohara.
'Hmph, why the hell didn't this cold guy even mention giving me a gift too?' Kurenai thought somewhat indignantly, pouting. 'I clearly met him first in the Academy...'
However, she quickly shook her head, flushing red, aggressively casting these petty, romantic emotions to the back of her mind.
They were executing a C-Rank mission now; she couldn't afford to be distracted by romance.
Turning her frustrated emotion into physical strength, Kurenai also began her own rigorous training.
She formed complex hand signs with both hands, her ruby eyes flickering slightly as she began to intensely practice her auditory Genjutsu.
Kurenai didn't want to fall too far behind Kiyohara's monstrous growth.
On the other side of the perimeter, high in the canopy, Kiyohara also intended to train for a while.
He was solely responsible for the first two hours of the watch, but this didn't prevent him from practicing chakra control at the exact same time.
The night sky was perfectly clear, with a massive, bright moon hanging high, casting a cold, silvery glow over the forest.
Kiyohara looked up at the moon, the pale moonlight shining flawlessly on his scarred face.
A faint, impenetrable black luster smoothly emerged from the surface of his skin, exactly as if a thick layer of wet black paint had been physically applied.
Steel Release: Hardening.
As his microscopic mastery of Steel Release: Hardening became exponentially more proficient, he began to think about exactly how to extend the molecular hardening effect of the mutation from merely the skin surface downwards.
To systematically, physically strengthen his fragile internal organs, veins, and hollow bones.
'Steel Release: Hardening mainly resists external cutting and piercing damage, but for massive, concussive blunt-force attacks or specialized techniques like the Gentle Fist that cause direct internal organ injuries, the defensive effect of the skin alone is limited,' Kiyohara calculated coldly to himself.
He immediately thought of the Hidden Cloud Village's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
That technique, which violently, aggressively integrates highly pressurized Lightning Release chakra into every single microscopic cell of the body to stimulate physical vitality, not only increases physical speed to teleportation levels but also exponentially enhances defense.
'However, it seems that no one in Konoha has successfully developed an internal Ninja-Taijutsu like the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Kakashi's Chidori is strictly limited to gathering chakra only in the hand...'
Kiyohara extended his index finger. The pitch-black color smoothly faded, instantly replaced by a tiny, highly concentrated blue arc of electricity lingering exactly at his fingertip.
He carefully guided this single, tiny wisp of violent Lightning Release chakra directly inward, piercing into the muscles of his own palm.
Not external surface stimulation... but internal cellular stimulation.
What he wanted to do was use the high-voltage current to stimulate his own internal muscles to forcefully trigger hyper-accelerated strengthening exercises.
This required extremely precise microscopic control.
Lightning Release chakra is inherently incredibly violent and difficult to control; the slightest, millimeter carelessness could easily fry and permanently destroy his muscle tissue, or even cause irreversible, catastrophic nerve injury.
Kiyohara closed his eyes and focused absolutely all of his processing power, intensely concentrating his entire attention solely on his right palm.
He visualized the microscopic muscle fibers, the blood vessels, the nerves...
The Lightning Release chakra, exactly like a microscopic, aggressive lightning snake, burrowed deep between the muscle tissues and immediately began to stimulate them rhythmically.
Zzz...
A barely audible, terrifying sound of burning electricity echoed from deep inside his palm.
Kiyohara could feel the thick muscle fibers trembling and violently tearing slightly under the massive stimulation of the high-voltage current, exactly as if they were undergoing thousands of tiny, rapid, hyper-accelerated contractions and relaxations per second.
A long moment later, he opened his eyes and looked down at his smoking palm.
'If I can successfully train my muscles through massive artificial electrical means, I can exponentially, enhance my muscle density and raw strength to a certain, terrifying extent, and raise the physical effect of normal training even higher.'
'As expected, what limits a normal person's growth ceiling is their 'Physical Body Talent Ceiling'.'
His logical train of thought became increasingly clear and terrifying.
This idea seemed incredibly simple, and even ordinary people in his past life might use basic electrical TENS instruments for muscle therapy, but actually, biologically implementing it with lethal, high-voltage chakra was actually fraught with catastrophic difficulties.
Because it was a massive, double-edged sword; if one wasn't absolutely, flawlessly careful, these massive chakra currents could instantly cause decreased muscle function, permanent soft tissue damage, or even horrific side effects like total, localized muscle atrophy and necrosis.
First, it required extremely, Kage-level high chakra control ability; otherwise, the volatile Lightning Release chakra would instantly go out of control and fry his arm.
Second, it required a profound, instinctive understanding of Lightning Release nature transformation to accurately, grasp the exact, safe intensity of the cellular stimulation.
Third, actively maintaining this internal stimulation for a long period of time required a massive, astronomical amount of raw chakra.
Finally, it strictly required advanced medical knowledge and a flawless understanding of human biology and anatomy to carefully avoid accidentally damaging important nerves and cardiovascular tissues.
All four requirements were indispensable.
Kiyohara suddenly realized with cold clarity that this process might be the exact, rudimentary principle behind the Raikage's legendary Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
It was just that Kumogakure's method was structurally far more systematic, perfect, and had undergone generations of bloody, lethal improvements and human testing.
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