My Ash Box Is Above Your Sharingan!

Just as Tekka Uchiha was about to move, Kiyohara curled the fingers of his right hand inward—the same hand that had thrown the shuriken.

Behind the three shuriken wrapped in blinding lightning, nearly transparent copper wires suddenly went taut.

Under Kiyohara's control, the three shuriken drew closer together, spiraling toward Tekka Uchiha at the center to strangle and kill him!

Damn.

Tekka Uchiha furrowed his brow. Though his Sharingan had seen through their trajectories, his body could not keep up with the sudden change in direction.

He managed to evade two of them, but the third lightning-wreathed shuriken ultimately could not be avoided completely. It grazed the outside of his arm as it flew past!

Crackle!

A powerful current instantly surged through half his body, bringing searing pain and numbness to Tekka Uchiha's arm.

Tekka Uchiha's movements froze, leaving him stiffly rooted in place.

Kiyohara used the remaining momentum from his leap to swiftly close in on Tekka Uchiha.

He extended his black kunai, pressing its tip against Tekka Uchiha's throat.

"I lost..."

Only then did Tekka Uchiha use chakra to dispel the lightning-induced paralysis. Yet that brief instant had already been enough to decide the victor.

The pride of the Uchiha clan also kept him from saying anything else.

Though his face had reddened somewhat from holding it in, a loss was a loss!

Making excuses and spouting threats were what weaklings did.

Seeing the complicated expression on his opponent's face, Kiyohara slowly withdrew his kunai.

"Just luck."

Kiyohara smiled faintly.

It was not that he wanted to steal some Flame Emperor's line. It really had been luck.

If Renegade Kiyohara had not helped him, Kiyohara did not think he could have won so easily. Whether he could have won at all was still questionable.

Unfortunately for you, my Ash Box is above your Sharingan!

The referee froze for a moment before loudly announcing,

"The winner is Kiyohara!"

Hyuga Tetsu, who had been observing his opponents' information with his Byakugan, frowned slightly.

Generally speaking, the Sharingan could only see through the flow of chakra.

The Byakugan could not only see through chakra flow, but also directly see through the human body to observe muscles, internal organs, and more.

Thus, he saw more clearly than anyone else that Kiyohara's final leap, which defied normal bodily limits, involved muscle exertion that was simply not something an ordinary Genin could achieve.

A secret technique?

Hyuga Tetsu thought to himself.

He could only attribute it to Kiyohara having made some sort of preparation before the match, with its effects erupting only when he fought Tekka Uchiha.

After all, in the vast Ninja World, all kinds of secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai emerged endlessly.

The chief examiner stood at the edge of the arena, his gaze lingering on Kiyohara for a moment before he lowered his head. On the evaluation form in his hand, he found Kiyohara's name and firmly wrote "Excellent" beside it.

Unconcealed admiration filled his eyes as he thought,

"Jonin Minato truly has a sharp eye for people. This Kiyohara not only has solid fundamentals, but also excellent adaptability... He is fully qualified for direct promotion."

Kiyohara steadied his slightly hurried breathing, then walked steadily off the arena and approached the chief examiner, asking,

"Examiner, when does the next assessment begin?"

The chief examiner looked at his young face, a rare hint of warmth appearing in his expression. He patted the evaluation board in his hand and said,

"There is no need for another match. Your performance in your battle against Tekka Uchiha has already fully demonstrated your strength, tactical skill, and ability to adapt in battle. All of these far exceed the standards of an ordinary Genin.

"According to the rules and my assessment, you have already met the standards for Chunin. Once all the assessments have concluded, the successful candidates will be issued the ninja flak jackets that only Chunin are qualified to wear."

Direct promotion!

Kiyohara was stunned for a moment, then delighted.

This saved him some trouble. He would not have to waste time continuing to fight.

"Did you hear that?"

In his mind, he spoke to Renegade Kiyohara, whom only he could sense.

"Looks like I'll soon be able to fulfill your second final wish."

"I heard."

Renegade Kiyohara nodded faintly, his illusory spirit still floating quietly at Kiyohara's side.

Kiyohara could sense that Renegade Kiyohara's gaze seemed to settle on the chief examiner before slowly returning to him.

"Becoming a Chunin, a legitimate Chunin... Heh. Perhaps your future will not be like mine, chased down like a stray dog."

That almost imperceptible chuckle from Renegade Kiyohara carried far too many complicated emotions—relief, mockery, and perhaps a trace of envy that was hard to detect.

"Once you officially gain Chunin status, my consciousness will dissipate. At that time, you will merge with me and inherit some of my things. But... the road is ultimately yours to walk."

Renegade Kiyohara said calmly.

Kiyohara fell silent.

He knew that this might be the true meaning of last words.

Kiyohara said nothing more and turned toward the spectator stands.

Kurenai Yuhi had already been waiting there, still holding a bag of snacks she had just bought.

When she saw Kiyohara approaching, she immediately stepped forward, surprise in her voice as she said,

"That was amazing, Kiyohara! You really scared me just now. When I saw him activate his Sharingan, I thought you were going to lose."

"Fortunately, it was a narrow win."

Kiyohara smiled.

His purity was simply higher than Tekka Uchiha's.

Then Kiyohara took the skewer of Three-Color Dango she handed him and bit into it. The sweet, chewy texture melted in his mouth, slightly easing his exhaustion after the battle.

"What was that ninjutsu you used just now? Why didn't I see you use it in the Land of Grass?"

"That technique was something I figured out myself. It's called 'Lightning Release: Shuriken Lightning Induction.' It combines Lightning Release enhancement with shuriken manipulation techniques. Its success also owed a lot to some Lightning Release insights Kakashi shared before."

He gave her a simple explanation.

"Kakashi..."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded as if she understood, though she was not skilled in Lightning Release.

Still, Kiyohara growing stronger undoubtedly increased their team's chances of surviving on the brutal battlefield.

"No matter what, it's wonderful that you've become stronger!"

As Kiyohara ate his snacks, he turned his gaze back toward the arena below, where the matches had yet to end.

A One-Tomoe Sharingan... It really is formidable, but this is merely the beginning of Uchiha power.

He thought to himself.

There would be Two Tomoe, Three Tomoe, and even the legendary Mangekyo in the future... stronger ocular techniques and more terrifying enemies still lay ahead.

He was still far too weak.

That made Kiyohara even more curious about what he would inherit after merging with Renegade Kiyohara.

Renegade Kiyohara had only merged with one future. He had died before completing the final wish of the second future.

Kiyohara hoped he could inherit a little more chakra.

After all, he truly had far too little chakra.