Then, after the light faded, only a dim point of light remained, drilling into the Ash Box within Kiyohara's mind.
Kiyohara tried knocking on the Ash Box with his thoughts, but found that it no longer reacted at all.
"Renegade Kiyohara said it would fade away with time. I wonder how long that will take."
Kiyohara thought to himself.
He stopped dwelling on the matter and turned his attention back to the outside world.
The fusion process had seemed lengthy, but less than a second had passed in the outside world.
When Kiyohara opened his eyes again, there seemed to be a subtle change in his entire bearing.
The chief examiner, who had been about to turn and leave, paused slightly and looked back at Kiyohara in confusion.
He keenly sensed that Kiyohara had seemed somewhat different in that instant just now?
Yet that feeling vanished in a flash. When he looked again, Kiyohara was still standing there, no different from before.
"Was that just an illusion?"
The chief examiner shook his head with a laugh.
It was probably a natural change brought about by his mentality after that battle, or after being promoted to Chunin.
After all, for spiritual energy to grow, a ninja needed to temper their will and learn more knowledge.
So it was perfectly normal for him to gain some insight after a fierce battle and have his Chakra reserves increase somewhat.
He did not pursue the matter further and turned to continue handling the aftermath.
Kiyohara also stepped down from the arena and headed beneath the stands.
By now, the spectators were gradually leaving, and people departing were everywhere.
Kurenai Yuhi and Genma Shiranui also came down from the stands and left alongside Kiyohara.
"By the way, was this selection specially organized?"
Kurenai Yuhi asked.
The Chunin selection was generally held at a fixed time every year.
This time, however, was different from the usual schedule. It felt more like it had been decided on short notice.
"I don't know."
Kiyohara shook his head. How could a mere Genin... no, Chunin, possibly know the arrangements of Konoha's higher-ups?
"Aren't you going to treat us to a celebratory meal?"
Genma Shiranui still had a Senbon between his teeth as he spoke in a half-joking tone.
His eyes also carried a smile of happiness for his companion.
"After I pay off my loan."
Kiyohara said.
He was literally destitute right now.
He still owed a pile of loans, and on top of that, once he took the Chakra Metal he had collected to have ninja tools forged, that would be another major expense.
Kiyohara was therefore in a serious shortage of money.
"You still have loans to pay off?"
Kurenai Yuhi's eyes widened slightly as she stared at Kiyohara in disbelief.
She had known many ninjas, but she had never seen one who owed loans!
"Yeah. I prepared a few things."
Kiyohara nodded slightly.
Most of the money had actually been spent on forbidden drugs.
At first, he had considered selling the formula for the forbidden drug under the guise of it being a secret family medicine.
But the effect was simply too good. It would not be good if someone set their sights on it.
Shimura Danzō and Orochimaru had conducted human experiments on villagers right beneath Sarutobi Hiruzen's nose in order to obtain greater power.
If they learned Kiyohara possessed something this good, there was a ninety-percent chance they would come knocking to confiscate it in the name of justice.
Kiyohara did not want to come into contact with Shimura Danzō so early. There was absolutely no need to take that risk.
He just needed to carry out more missions on the battlefield and earn extra money by looting corpses.
Once he had a certain level of strength, it would not be too late to sell the formula and profit from it.
"This..."
Kurenai Yuhi glanced at Kiyohara.
She wondered just how little confidence Kiyohara had in this mission for him to make so many preparations, even taking out loans.
"All right."
Kurenai Yuhi then nodded.
Since Kiyohara still had loans to repay, there really was no need for such extra expenses.
After chatting briefly, Kiyohara bade the two farewell on the grounds that he needed to train more and strengthen himself before the next mission.
He headed alone toward his slightly old house at the edge of the village.
Returning to that familiar yet shabby home, Kiyohara did not delay and headed straight into the small courtyard.
The evening glow painted the yard with a warm golden hue, but it could not conceal how impoverished the place was.
Kiyohara did not care about any of that. He intended to see just how much stronger he had become.
He had not inherited any ninjutsu this time, but he had inherited quite a few talents.
Kiyohara took a deep breath and pulled an ordinary standard-issue Kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
He prepared to test the "Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique."
"Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique!"
Kiyohara rapidly formed hand seals with his left hand while gripping the Kunai tightly in his right, precisely guiding the refined Lightning Release Chakra into it.
Crackle, crackle!
Electric arcs, noticeably brighter than before, quickly coiled around the Kunai's blade!
This time, Kiyohara felt the Chakra flowing through his meridians more smoothly, and he had a stronger sense of having tamed that violent Lightning-nature Chakra.
It was hard to describe the feeling, like instinct.
Some people only needed one look at a math problem for the solution to immediately appear in their minds.
Others could ponder it for ages and still only write down "Solution."
Talent was just that cruel.
"The talent bottleneck shackling my body has been broken..."
Kiyohara looked at the electric arcs dancing over the Kunai, delight flickering through his heart.
That meant he, too, could experience the joy of being a little genius instead of an ordinary civilian.
If the number of stacks increased enough, perhaps he would become the most gifted person in Lightning Release in the entire history of the Ninja World.
His gaze fell upon a stone block in the corner of the courtyard.
It was roughly the size of a fist and had merely been something Kiyohara picked up earlier to practice Wind Release ninjutsu.
Without further hesitation, Kiyohara exerted force through his arm and hurled the Kunai, faintly flickering with electric arcs!
Whoosh—shhk!
The Kunai transformed into a blue bolt of lightning, tearing through the air at a speed far beyond before and striking the center of the stone block!
After a tremendous impact, the Kunai did not embed itself in or shatter the stone.
Instead, like a drill, it forcibly bored a fist-sized hole through the hard bluestone, its edges blackened and smooth.
The Kunai did not even stop there. It sank deeply into the earthen wall behind the stone block, leaving only half its handle exposed and trembling faintly as the electric arcs dancing across it slowly dissipated.
Kiyohara looked at the blackened hole in the stone block, a flash of surprise appearing in his eyes.
This power was more than a notch stronger than when he had practiced before!
Moreover, he could feel that he had become far more adept at controlling the throwing force, angle, and the maintenance of Lightning Release Chakra after it left his body.
"Hm, let's try Wind Release too."
Kiyohara dispersed the Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique attached to the Kunai, put it back into his ninja tool pouch, and formed another set of hand seals.
Dog—Horse—Rooster...
Kiyohara quickly formed the three hand seals, and then his cheeks puffed out slightly.
Whoosh...
A fierce gust blew from Kiyohara's mouth, continuously surging toward the sky.
He did not blow it at the courtyard wall because he was afraid of knocking it down and having to spend money repairing it afterward.
The wind kept blowing skyward with a rushing whistle.
Kiyohara could clearly feel that this time, it seemed to consume less Chakra than before, yet the power of the Wind Release had clearly risen by an entire level!
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