At this moment, inside Kiyohara's tent.
"Finally, I can relax a little."
Kiyohara let out a breath.
Over the past few days at Kannabi Bridge, his nerves had been stretched taut the entire time.
Renegade Kiyohara could at most help him watch for enemies nearby, but pre-set traps were much harder to detect.
Once you stepped on a trap, even the Sannin could not save you.
For example, Tsunade's younger brother Nawaki. Orochimaru had been watching him one second, and the next, he was blown away by an Explosive Tag, leaving not even an intact corpse.
So Kiyohara was not at all surprised that his future self could die to an Explosive Tag.
"Orochimaru is in charge of this outpost."
Renegade Kiyohara's spirit floated out, his tone somewhat wistful.
No matter what, Orochimaru had still been his superior for decades.
"Come to think of it, didn't Orochimaru give you the power of a Cursed Seal? I remember even Mizuki had one."
Kiyohara suddenly asked curiously.
Orochimaru's subordinates all shared one distinct trait: every last one of them bore Cursed Seals.
It could be said that, when it came to the Cursed Seal system, Orochimaru stood at the forefront of the Ninja World.
"I did have one, but do you think your body could endure it?"
Renegade Kiyohara glanced at Kiyohara. It was not that he looked down on himself; when he possessed Kiyohara, he could sense that this body had an innate limit holding it back.
Many techniques were not unheard of because no one had thought of them, but because their upper limits were locked by their physical talent.
Take the principle of the Rasengan. Chakra was gathered in the hand, made to flow continuously in different directions, then compressed into a Chakra sphere with an extremely dense rotation.
Did that mean Namikaze Minato was the only person in the Ninja World over thousands of years to think of it?
What truly shackled ninja was their inborn physique. If their physical talent was lacking, then no matter how ingenious their ideas were, they could not use them.
"Then what Cursed Seal do you know now?"
Kiyohara asked curiously.
The chances of him learning it right now were relatively low, but after fusing with Renegade Kiyohara, perhaps he would be able to withstand a Cursed Seal.
"The Earth Cursed Seal, but it requires Jugo Cells as a medium."
Renegade Kiyohara replied.
All the Cursed Seals Orochimaru had developed rested on one underlying principle: Jugo Cells, which could naturally absorb natural energy.
"That works."
Kiyohara nodded, then had Renegade Kiyohara dictate it while he recorded it on a scroll.
At this stage, Orochimaru likely had not yet developed Cursed Seals. Even the version he used on Mitaraishi Anko shortly before his defection was an initial model, incapable of even activating Stage Two.
Knock, knock.
Just as Kiyohara put away the scroll, knocking sounded against the tent flap.
"Come in."
Kiyohara said.
A moment later, the flap was lifted, revealing a face covered by a black mask.
It was Kakashi.
"It's so late. What is it, Kakashi?"
Kiyohara asked.
Kakashi had already pulled down his ninja forehead protector to cover the Sharingan in his left eye.
If not for how small his body still was, he already resembled the man who would later be called Copy Ninja Kakashi.
"I... want to discuss Lightning Release ninjutsu with you."
Kakashi's voice was a little hoarse. Or perhaps the bitterness in his heart simply had nowhere to go.
Because within the entire team, Kiyohara was the only one Kakashi had found who knew Lightning Release ninjutsu.
Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique, Nohara Rin used Medical Ninjutsu, Kurenai Yuhi specialized in Genjutsu, and Genma Shiranui preferred ninja tools such as Senbon.
Only Kiyohara had displayed both Earth Release and Lightning Release ninjutsu.
So whenever he had time, Kakashi would chat with Kiyohara.
"At this hour? That doesn't seem very appropriate..."
Kiyohara instinctively looked up at the crude alarm clock hanging in the tent. It was already ten at night.
Ten at night was a delicate hour.
It could be when a lonely bachelor showed off his handiwork.
It could also be when someone with a fulfilling life went to see his girlfriend and discuss their future together.
But it could not be ten at night, with a gloomy-faced man coming in to ask you to discuss ninjutsu.
If Nohara Rin had come at this hour, Kiyohara would definitely have sacrificed himself to keep her company.
But it had to be Kakashi...
Did Konoha have its own substitute romance too?
He hoped Kakashi would not treat him as another Obito.
Kiyohara unconsciously turned to look at Renegade Kiyohara floating in midair and found his expression caught somewhere between holding back and not holding back, much like Dali Wang.
He looked as though he wanted to laugh but was forcing himself not to.
"Is it already that late?"
Kakashi froze for a moment.
His mind had been filled with thoughts of Obito, so he had overlooked the time.
"Then I'll come back tomorrow."
With that, Kakashi turned to leave.
"No need. Sit down and let's talk."
Kiyohara waved a hand.
Of course he knew Kakashi was normal. He had merely let his imagination run wild for no reason.
"I think the Chidori is an incomplete technique, but with Obito's Sharingan helping me, its flaws have become much less significant."
Kakashi explained his understanding of the Chidori.
Kiyohara nodded from time to time.
Your Chidori was fast, but your Sharingan compensated for that weakness very well.
There was no question that Kakashi's attainments in Lightning Release surpassed his own. He merely wanted someone to talk to.
It was a good opportunity for Kiyohara to hear a genius's line of thinking, learn more, and improve his own Lightning Release attainments.
As he listened, Kiyohara realized that Kakashi was pouring everything out in one go.
Listening to those fragmented remarks, Kiyohara summed them up. He felt that if he listened a little longer, he could piece together how to train in the Chidori.
Now Kiyohara could only hope Kakashi would say more so that he could learn more.
"So, Kiyohara, are you interested in Lightning Release ninjutsu too?"
Kakashi asked.
"Of course."
Kiyohara nodded.
Many traditional ninja believed that among the five major natures, Wind Release represented the greatest destructive power.
But that idea carried a kind of innocent charm.
Compared to mere wind, Lightning Release held more possibilities. Electricity could create magnetism, magnetism could create electricity, and one could even brush against the fundamental nature of the universe: the four fundamental forces.
Electromagnetism was one of them.
Of course, if he could reach that level, Kiyohara could violently spin a magnetic field and fire off a Railgun.
But those were only Kiyohara's hypothetical ideas. At present, he could not accomplish a single one of them.
Still, that did not prevent Lightning Release ninjutsu from having a bright future.
"Then we can discuss it more often from now on."
Kakashi nodded slightly.
After talking it out, his mood had indeed improved considerably, and he had also sorted through his own understanding of Lightning Release ninjutsu.
Moreover, Kakashi discovered that although Kiyohara mostly listened, the occasional questions he raised were all full of ingenious ideas.
"Thank you, Kiyohara."
After saying that, Kakashi started toward the exit.
Kiyohara watched Kakashi's retreating back, stroking his chin.
Fusing with Renegade Kiyohara could improve his talent and certain base attributes.
If his base attributes became high enough, would he be able to see the speed of the Chidori clearly even without the Sharingan?
Before you continue