You even took out a loan?

Then, after the light dissipated, only a dim speck of light remained, drilling into the Ash Box inside Kiyohara's mind.

Kiyohara tried to tap the Ash Box with his consciousness, but found there was no reaction at all.

"Renegade Kiyohara said it would dissipate with time, but I don't know how long that time is."

Kiyohara thought to himself.

He stopped dwelling on this question and refocused his attention on the outside world.

The fusion process seemed long, but in the outside world, it was nothing more than a trance lasting less than a second.

When Kiyohara opened his eyes again, his entire temperament seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

The proctor, who was just about to turn and leave, paused slightly and looked back at Kiyohara with some confusion.

He keenly felt that just a moment ago, Kiyohara seemed a bit different.

But that feeling flashed and vanished; when he looked again, Kiyohara was still standing there, no different from before.

"Was it an illusion?"

The proctor shook his head and chuckled.

It was probably just a natural manifestation brought about by the change in mindset after the battle or upon being promoted to Chunin.

After all, for spiritual energy to grow, one must temper a ninja's will and learn more knowledge.

Therefore, it was normal for his chakra levels to rise slightly after experiencing a fierce battle and gaining some insights.

He did not delve deeper and turned to continue handling the follow-up matters.

Kiyohara also stepped down from the arena and came to the area beneath the spectator stands.

By this time, the spectators were gradually dispersing, and people were leaving everywhere.

Kurenai Yuhi and Genma Shiranui also came down from the stands to head out with Kiyohara.

"Say, was this selection organized specifically?"

Kurenai Yuhi asked.

Chunin selections were generally held at fixed times every year.

The timing this time was not the usual schedule; it felt more like a last-minute decision.

"I don't know."

Kiyohara shook his head. As a lowly Genin... oh wait, Chunin, how would he know about the arrangements made by the high-ups in Konoha?

"Aren't you going to treat us to a meal to celebrate?"

Genma Shiranui still had a Senbon in his mouth, speaking half-jokingly.

His eyes also held a smile of happiness for his companion.

"After I pay off my loans."

Kiyohara said.

He was literally "destitute" right now.

He still owed a pile of loans, and furthermore, he would have to spend a large sum to have the Chakra Metal he collected forged into ninja tools.

Thus, Kiyohara was currently facing a situation where he was very short on money.

"You still owe loans?"

Kurenai Yuhi widened her eyes slightly, looking at Kiyohara in disbelief.

Having known so many ninjas, she had never seen one who owed loans!

"Yeah, I prepared some things."

Kiyohara nodded slightly.

The bulk of the money had actually been spent on forbidden drugs.

At the very beginning, he had considered selling the formula for this forbidden drug, perhaps under the guise of a secret family medicine.

However, the effects were truly a bit too good; it wouldn't be good to be targeted.

Shimura Danzō was able to conduct human experiments on villagers right under the nose of Sarutobi Hiruzen alongside Orochimaru, all to obtain greater power.

If he found out that Kiyohara had such a good thing, he would nine times out of ten come knocking to "righteously" confiscate it.

Kiyohara did not want to come into contact with Shimura Danzō so early; there was absolutely no need to take that risk.

He could just perform more missions on the battlefield and earn extra money by looting.

Once he had a certain level of strength, it wouldn't be too late to sell the formula and profit from it then.

"This..."

Kurenai Yuhi glanced at Kiyohara.

She was wondering just how little confidence Kiyohara had in this mission to have made so many preparations, even going as far as taking out loans.

"Alright then."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded in response.

Since Kiyohara still had loans to pay off, there was indeed no need for such additional expenses.

After a brief conversation, Kiyohara bid the two farewell, using the excuse that he needed to train and strengthen himself before his next mission.

He walked alone toward his slightly dilapidated home located on the outskirts of the village.

Returning to that familiar yet humble dwelling, Kiyohara did not delay and went straight to the small courtyard.

The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the yard in a warm golden hue, yet it could not hide the poverty of the place.

Kiyohara paid no mind to this; he intended to see how much he had improved.

He had not inherited any ninjutsu this time, but he had inherited a great deal in terms of talent.

Kiyohara took a deep breath and drew a standard Kunai from his ninja tool pouch.

He prepared to test the Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique!"

Kiyohara quickly formed seals with his left hand while gripping the Kunai tightly in his right, precisely channeling his refined lightning-natured Chakra into the blade.

Crackling!

Electric arcs, flashing more intensely than ever before, rapidly coiled around the edge of the Kunai!

This time, Kiyohara felt the flow of Chakra through his meridians was much smoother, and his sense of "taming" that volatile lightning-natured Chakra was significantly stronger.

It was hard to describe the feeling; it was just like instinct.

Some people look at a math problem and the solution immediately springs to mind.

Others ponder for half a day and can only write down the word "Solution."

Talent is such a cruel thing.

The bottleneck of talent that shackled my body has been broken...

Kiyohara looked at the electric arcs coiling around the Kunai, a hint of joy in his heart.

In this way, he could finally experience the joy of being a minor genius instead of a mediocre commoner.

If he stacked these improvements enough times, perhaps he would become the person with the greatest lightning talent in the history of the ninja world.

His gaze fell upon a stone block in the corner of the courtyard.

It was about the size of a fist, something Kiyohara had picked up previously to practice Wind Release ninjutsu.

Without much hesitation, Kiyohara put strength into his arm and threw the Kunai, which was faintly flickering with electric arcs!

Whoosh—thwack!

The Kunai turned into a blue bolt of lightning, tearing through the air at a speed far exceeding his past efforts, and struck the center of the stone block!

Following a loud impact, the Kunai did not simply embed itself or shatter the stone.

Instead, like a drill, it forcibly pierced a fist-sized hole with charred, smooth edges through the hard bluestone.

The Kunai, its momentum still not spent, even drove deep into the earthen wall behind the stone block, leaving only the handle, still vibrating slightly with fading electric arcs, protruding from the surface.

Kiyohara looked at the charred hole in the stone block, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

This power was more than a notch stronger than when he had practiced before!

Moreover, he could feel that he was much more adept at controlling the force of the throw, the angle, and the maintenance of the lightning-natured Chakra after it left his body.

"Hmm, let's try Wind Release next."

Kiyohara dispersed the Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique from the Kunai, returned it to his pouch, and formed a different set of hand seals.

Xu-Wu-You...

Kiyohara quickly completed the three seals, and his cheeks puffed out slightly.

Hoo...

A fierce gust of wind blew from Kiyohara's mouth, heading straight toward the sky.

He did not blow it toward the courtyard wall, fearing he might knock it down and have to spend money on repairs.

The wind continued to blow upward with a whistling sound.

Kiyohara could clearly feel that the Chakra consumed this time seemed less than before, yet the intensity of the Wind Release produced had clearly risen by a level!