To balance the surge in his spiritual energy as much as possible, Kiyohara began training in taijutsu.
However, neither he nor Renegade Kiyohara was a proper taijutsu ninja.
So Kiyohara could only carry out simple exercises.
"Hey, you..."
Only then did Kurenai Yuhi notice that Kiyohara was wearing nothing but a pair of loose shorts, his upper body bare, sweat running along the faint contours of his muscles.
How could he be... so casual!
Well-brought-up Kurenai Yuhi hurriedly lowered her eyes, not daring to look again.
A bare chest alone would have been fine, but paired with Kiyohara's handsome face, it suddenly felt different.
Her heart thumped.
"What is it?"
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow.
His physique could only be called ordinary—if anything, he was somewhat lean.
After all, ninjas underwent large amounts of physical activity every day, so their bodies naturally became toned.
"Nothing."
Kurenai Yuhi bit her full lower lip, adjusted her mindset, and tried her best to imagine Kiyohara's bare upper body as a radish.
"The mission location is the front in the east of the Land of Fire."
After quite a while, Kurenai Yuhi spoke.
"The east?"
Kiyohara stroked his chin.
The only countries east of the Land of Fire were the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water.
"The southeast?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Mm."
Kurenai Yuhi nodded.
At that, Kiyohara frowned slightly.
Southeast meant the Land of Water.
If Madara wanted to make a move, it should still take a few months. That's enough time for me to develop a little.
Kiyohara mused inwardly.
The original story never clearly stated the timeline, but Obito's hair made it clear that at least several months had passed.
During those months, once Obito recovered basic mobility, Uchiha Madara would likely use White Zetsu to entice Obito into going out.
The time before that would be Kiyohara's opportunity.
In a little over twenty days, it'll be a month. I hope the "Last Words Book" comes.
Thoughts raced through Kiyohara's mind, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued asking Kurenai Yuhi for more details.
This mission was much easier than the last one. They were responsible for transportation.
Kiyohara could not help nodding. This was the sort of normal mission that matched their strength.
Being sent to Kannabi Bridge right from the start was no different from facing a boss immediately after finishing the beginner tutorial.
"I'll go to the mission location tomorrow to assemble."
Kiyohara said to Kurenai Yuhi.
"Then don't forget."
With that, Kurenai Yuhi hurried away.
"There's no time to forge a ninja sword..."
Kiyohara stroked his chin.
After thinking it over, he decided to save his money first. The next time he returned to the village, he would upgrade straight to better equipment.
Until then, he would make do with Kunai.
After all, even if he forged a ninja sword, he did not know swordsmanship. It would merely be more durable, and daily maintenance would also be no small expense.
The next day.
Kiyohara packed his things and arrived at the assembly point.
It was still Konoha's gate, where Kiyohara also saw two ninjas standing guard.
However, they were not Konoha's future famed pair of gate guardians.
This mission still involved their squad, and their Jonin leader was still Namikaze Minato.
That was because the Jonin who had originally been assigned to lead Kiyohara's team had stepped on an Explosive Tag and died.
The few who had arrived first immediately waved and greeted Kiyohara when they saw him.
Kiyohara looked over and found that Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Kurenai Yuhi, and Genma Shiranui were already fully equipped and ready. He was the only one missing.
"Kiyohara, I heard about your performance this time. You did very well. This is a ninjutsu scroll from the village, an additional reward for you."
When Namikaze Minato saw Kiyohara arrive, he reached into his bag and took out a scroll.
"A scroll?"
Kiyohara accepted it and saw that it contained a Wind Release ninjutsu called "Wind Release: Gale Palm."
Like the "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" he knew, it was a C-rank ninjutsu, just difficult enough for a Chunin to learn.
Generally, these letter rankings indicated the difficulty of learning a ninjutsu rather than its power.
However, techniques that were harder to learn often tended to be more powerful as well.
"Thank you, Lord Minato."
Kiyohara spoke.
He had not even exchanged his military merits for ninjutsu yet. This was practically free, and there was no reason to refuse it.
At the same time, Kiyohara understood that his outstanding performance last time had made the higher-ups consider cultivating him.
After all, Kiyohara was not from one of those innately evil ninja clans that suffered racial discrimination...
"Let's go."
Once Namikaze Minato saw Kiyohara accept it, he called for everyone to set out together.
Their destination... the Eastern Front!
Several more days passed. Along the way, Kiyohara noticed that there were gradually more members of the Hyuga Clan.
He knew they were close to their destination.
Most of Konoha's main forces and the Uchiha Clan had gone to deal with Kumogakure, while the remaining Hyuga Clan members and other main forces were responsible for Kirigakure.
Kirigakure's Ao would seize a Byakugan from a member of the Hyuga main family, causing Konoha's first case of a Byakugan being leaked outside the village.
But this also made the Hyuga Clan's rules even stricter, because everyone would discover that transplanting a Sharingan required exceptional compatibility. Otherwise, the constant chakra drain would be impossible to sustain.
Yet transplanting a Byakugan had almost no such side effects, as though opening the door to a whole new world...
"From now on, your mission will be to remain stationed here. Normally, you'll either stand guard or transport supplies nearby."
After Namikaze Minato returned from speaking with the ninjas in charge of this logistics outpost, he said to Kiyohara and the others.
"Understood."
Kiyohara was the first to respond.
This mission suited him perfectly.
If he lay low here for another two weeks, he could see whether the "Last Words Book" would arrive.
And during that time, he could also practice "Wind Release: Gale Palm."
Only after a second future appeared and he had some degree of assurance would Kiyohara have the confidence to act.
He was panicking badly right now.
"This kind of mission?"
Genma Shiranui scratched his head, feeling that it was rather easy.
"This is the normal difficulty."
Kiyohara shook his head.
If Renegade Kiyohara had not been there at Kannabi Bridge, then either he would have been collecting others' corpses, or others would have been collecting his.
It would have been very difficult for Kurenai Yuhi and Genma Shiranui to survive.
Time flew by, and two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
Kiyohara's life during those two weeks had been very uneventful.
After merging with Renegade Kiyohara, his talent for Lightning Release had improved greatly.
Even without anyone to guide him, he quickly taught himself "Wind Release: Gale Palm."
By a stream near the camp.
This was where the ninjas fetched water for cooking, bathed, washed clothes, and carried out other chores.
Facing the river, Kiyohara formed hand seals with both hands—the Wu and Chen seals—then brought his palms together with a clap.
A current of wind shot out from Kiyohara's clasped hands and struck the stream.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the stream's surface caved inward, exposing the pebble-strewn riverbed below.
A fish that had not fled in time was instantly caught in Kiyohara's attack and blown onto the bank, where it flopped about.
Looks like I can have something extra for dinner tonight.
Kiyohara thought.
Just as he was about to pick up the fish and bring it back to make soup to improve his meal, an electronically synthesized female voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Please collect your Last Words Book and Ash Box, and properly bury the deceased's belongings.]
It was here!
Joy flashed in Kiyohara's eyes.
Counting the days, today was exactly one month later!
Before you continue