Merging with Renegade Kiyohara

The subsequent assessments proceeded without any waves, as Hyuga Tetsu, possessing the Byakugan, undoubtedly defeated his opponent with ease.

The reason the Hyuga clan could, after the Uchiha clan was wiped out, have their clan leader Hyuga Hiashi shout the slogan "The Hyuga clan is the strongest clan" in front of the entire Allied Shinobi Forces, was not without cause.

Don't look at the lack of high-end combat power; they win by having a guaranteed baseline mechanism.

For the Sharingan to awaken, one must either lose a friend or family member, or lose their parents.

As long as they undergo training, ninety-nine percent of the Hyuga clan can awaken their eyes, and those who cannot are simply sent off to the minor Hyuga clan.

The Itachi Shinden recounts that this clan is a distant relative of the Hyuga clan, only that apart from the atavistic Kohyuga Mujie, they have all lost the ability to awaken the Byakugan.

"It's just that the evolutionary path of the Byakugan... is a bit too vague."

Kiyohara shook his head inwardly.

The evolution of the Byakugan jumps too far, with absolutely no intermediate transitional stages.

It goes straight from the Byakugan to the Tenseigan, which can cut the moon in half with a single strike.

The Sharingan, however, has both minor and major realms, only reaching the Rinnegan step at the very end.

But... to become a powerhouse who plays the Sharingan well, one's family register often has only a thin page.

Soon, as Kiyohara waited, the final match concluded, and the chief examiner gathered everyone to the center of the arena.

The genin who passed the assessment stood in a row, most of them wearing expressions of excitement and anticipation.

Kiyohara stood among them, listening as the examiner began to promote the spirit of the Will of Fire as per tradition.

Promoting to chunin just meant becoming a slightly higher-level tool.

Unless one could enter the core management of Konoha or hold real power in a certain department, even a jonin was more of an elite "worker" executing missions in the face of the village's massive war machine.

After the examiner finished his remarks, he began to call names in order, distributing the green tactical vests representing the status of a chunin and brand-new Konoha forehead protectors.

The ninja forehead protector was the same as the one received upon graduating from the ninja academy, only the headband was longer.

When his name was called, Kiyohara stepped forward steadily, and under the examiner's approving gaze, he solemnly extended both hands.

A cold sensation came from his fingertips.

The tough-textured, deep-green chunin vest, along with the ninja forehead protector that symbolized his identity as a Konoha ninja, its metal part gleaming under the sun, were handed to him by the examiner himself.

In addition, a document, which was the certificate of a chunin, was also handed to Kiyohara.

This made Kiyohara have to marvel at the efficiency; he estimated that only the names were newly printed, while everything else had been prepared long ago.

When Kiyohara took them, he could still feel the lingering warmth of the ink.

From this moment on, he could be considered a respectable chunin in Konoha.

At the same time, Kiyohara looked at Renegade Kiyohara with a sudden intuition.

He saw that the illusory spirit body of Renegade Kiyohara began to emit a soft and pure light.

The light was not blinding, but rather carried a warm feeling, as if it were the warm sun in winter.

The spirit body's originally slightly transparent face seemed to become clear for a moment in this light.

Kiyohara seemed to see a faint yet incredibly real arc at the corner of the other's mouth, a smile of letting go of all burdens and finding rest.

This gave Kiyohara a sense of realization.

A last wish, a last wish, is actually the greatest obsession a person has before they die.

The existence of Renegade Kiyohara was, in a sense, very much like the "earthbound spirits" or "ghosts with unfinished business" described in some stories, lingering due to strong obsession, and once the wish is fulfilled, they can be liberated.

It was just that this "ghost" of his was not going to any Pure Land, but returning everything at the end to him, the "anchor" itself.

"The last wish is fulfilled... from now on... take care of yourself..."

The consciousness of Renegade Kiyohara gradually dissipated, turning into a point of light, and his words became intermittent.

The next moment, those warm rays of light, like snowflakes falling into a fire, merged silently into Kiyohara's body.

It was like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, or like tired birds returning to the forest.

Everything was incredibly natural, without the slightest rejection, as if it were meant to be this way.

Kiyohara stood where he was, carefully experiencing this wonderful feeling.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, only an internal transformation quietly taking place.

The first thing he felt was a significant improvement on the spiritual level.

It was as if a clear spring had been injected into a pool that had been somewhat murky, instantly becoming clear and transparent.

His thinking speed seemed faster, his perception became sharper, and the surrounding sounds, air currents, and even the subtle discussions of the audience in the distance became much clearer.

More importantly, he clearly felt that the total amount of his "spiritual energy" had taken a solid leap forward!

This larger and more condensed spiritual power naturally drove the activity of his physical energy, and the two blended together, causing the total amount of chakra he could refine in his body to rise accordingly.

This tangible, immediate growth was enough to significantly improve his sustained combat capability and the number of times he could release ninjutsu.

In addition, there was the matter of his talent.

He felt his aptitude for Lightning Release and Wind Release growing stronger.

Points that had previously been somewhat hazy now became crystal clear, and inspiration surged forth one after another.

He also gained a deeper understanding of Chakra nature transformation.

If he were to turn back and relearn Lightning Release: Ground Flash now, Kiyohara could achieve his current results in much less time.

Then, fragments of memories began to appear.

In that space-time, Renegade Kiyohara lived a life completely different from his own; the images included the cold reflections of test tubes and cultivation tanks in the Orochimaru base where he had spent many years, scenes of him being pursued, and his complex, indescribable feelings toward Konoha...

These imprints of "Renegade Kiyohara's" life fell down like scattered pieces of a broken puzzle.

However, this portion was quite sparse, consisting of only a few scenes at most.

This made Kiyohara heave a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it would not have any impact on him personally; he remained the one in control.

If those memories were to merge into his own, the sheer volume of futures would inevitably become "shackles" that would cause him to lose himself.

He had only been here for a little over a decade, and facing futures spanning several decades or even longer, he would inevitably be eroded by the passage of time.

It was highly likely to cause a massive shock to his existing consciousness and personality, potentially even leading to a cognitive crisis of "who am I."

The Orochimaru there seems even more obsessed with human experimentation, which is why he developed so many forbidden drugs, and Renegade Kiyohara managed to obtain some of them.

Kiyohara thought to himself.

Through those few scenes, he could see that those worlds were like parallel worlds; besides him changing, the ninja world would change as well.

This felt a bit like a roguelike game.

Regardless, after a momentary trance, Kiyohara opened his eyes once more.

The second dying wish, to become a legitimate Chunin, officially accomplished!

This made Kiyohara feel a sense of anticipation: what would his next future self be like?