The moment Samui shouted that word, "Master," an overwhelming sense of humiliation surged through her heart.
She let out a muffled groan and bit through the tip of her tongue. The sharp pain and metallic taste of blood instantly shattered the lingering effects of the genjutsu.
"It was genjutsu!"
"I was caught in a genjutsu!"
Samui hurriedly tried to explain that those words had not been her true intention at all.
Good grief, Kiyohara had directly forced that label onto her head without hesitation.
His intentions were utterly vicious.
Once again, Samui gained a brand new understanding of just how low Kiyohara's bottom line could sink.
"It really was a Sharingan genjutsu. She was caught in a genjutsu!"
The Kumogakure jonin reacted immediately, but the chill in his heart only deepened further.
Samui was Killer B-sama's disciple, yet she had been controlled to such an extent the instant they met?
Just how terrifying had this Uchiha's mastery of genjutsu become?
Kiyohara ignored the shock and fury around him completely.
The moment Samui uttered the word "Master," the pitch-black urn inside his mind, the one engraved with a lightning symbol, suddenly trembled violently.
The lid silently slid open.
Inside, Yotsuki Kiyohara was laughing hysterically like some chaos-loving spectator enjoying the show.
Then a glowing sphere floated out from his body.
The sphere directly merged into Kiyohara's body.
It was the same familiar process as always.
Kiyohara could feel his mental world expanding yet again.
To put it simply, the size of his spiritual world had increased.
If someone entered Kiyohara's mental realm now, they would discover that its scale was several times larger than that of an ordinary person.
Kiyohara could not help but wonder, if Orochimaru ever tried to use the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique on him, would he not be completely dumbfounded?
After all, even three tomoe Sasuke's spirit had already been enough to overwhelm Orochimaru. Sasuke had directly used genjutsu to turn the technique back against him, causing the possession attempt to fail on the spot.
"My spiritual energy has increased again."
Kiyohara thought silently to himself.
First came scattered fragments of memory.
The scenes were incomplete, mostly composed of emotionally intense moments.
However, Kiyohara's already enormous spiritual energy naturally remained completely unaffected by those fragments.
Then came the explosive increase in chakra volume.
His chakra pathway system felt like a riverbed that had suddenly been widened, causing the total amount of chakra he could contain to rise at a shocking rate.
Before this, Kiyohara's chakra reserves had been around 11.5 Kakashi units.
After a short period of transformation, it had reached 11.6 Kakashis.
But now the number began to climb rapidly, eventually arriving at 13.1.
An increase equivalent to one and a half jonin worth of chakra.
And Yotsuki Kiyohara still possessed a second last will, meaning Kiyohara had not even fully inherited all of his legacy yet.
Kiyohara estimated that this increase came from inheriting part of his physical vitality.
Still, there remained some distance between himself and the true Yotsuki bloodline. He had likely inherited only a portion of it.
Kiyohara quickly understood the reason.
The rise in physical vitality had triggered a chain reaction, causing his chakra growth rate to increase much faster than before.
Although he had inherited only part of the Yotsuki clan's bloodline, it still drastically heightened the activity of lightning attribute chakra within his body.
The bottleneck had been shattered.
Kiyohara could clearly feel the limits of his physical body being broken apart.
If he trained taijutsu from now on, his growth speed would become much faster.
Previously, while training using Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Kiyohara had always felt an invisible barrier preventing lightning and flesh from fully merging together.
Exactly what Yotsuki Kiyohara had meant when he said there was still "something missing."
But now, that barrier shattered instantly.
His muscle fibers began rearranging themselves, becoming denser, while his bones transmitted faint sensations of strengthening.
The powerful bodily traits forged through generations of Yotsuki clan training were subtly reconstructing the very foundation of Kiyohara's physique.
This enhancement was not a temporary expansion of strength.
It was optimization at the level of essence itself.
Faster neural transmission speed.
Greater explosive force.
Higher durability and tolerance.
Although he had forgotten to ask what chakra natures Yotsuki Kiyohara possessed, it was probably lightning and water.
As Kiyohara watched Kakashi and the others dealing with the Kumogakure shinobi around the battlefield, he calmly accepted the inheritance flowing into him.
His talent in both lightning and water chakra had once again risen to a higher level.
And that also included...
Storm Release.
Kiyohara suddenly had a premonition.
At any moment now, he could fuse those two chakra natures together and create Storm Release chakra.
Though all of this sounded lengthy when described, in reality it occurred within a split second.
Samui's mouth was still moving as she explained her earlier behavior to the other Kumogakure shinobi.
Kiyohara realized that her movements had become even slower in his eyes now.
He could even clearly see the soft little tongue moving inside her mouth.
Frame by frame.
As though someone had intentionally slowed everything down.
Then Kiyohara slowly raised his right hand and spread his fingers.
Crackle!
Pale blue electric arcs leaped from his fingertips, but this time their form was completely different from before.
They were no longer merely straight, explosive sparks of electricity.
Instead, they flowed between his fingers like streams of blue water.
This...
Was not Storm Release.
Or rather, it was a transitional state before becoming true Storm Release.
Kiyohara had not yet perfectly fused the two chakra natures into the laser-like bloodline limit of Storm Release.
Instead, he was using them like a composite ninjutsu, allowing the two chakra types to interfere with one another.
That way, others would not abruptly realize he had mastered Storm Release. They would merely think his mastery over Lightning Release and Water Release had become exceptionally high.
Of course, once enough time passed, Kiyohara would no longer need to hide it and could reveal it openly.
At least for now, however, he still needed to prepare some groundwork first.
The water-like electric arcs gradually spread across Kiyohara's entire body.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
But the lightning cloak covering his body had completely changed from before.
Originally, it had merely been a dense electrical net attached tightly to the surface of his skin.
Now, it suddenly expanded outward into a flowing azure armor of lightning nearly half a finger thick.
Across the surface of the armor, electricity flowed endlessly like liquid.
Behind his shoulders, two phantom cloaks formed naturally from lightning itself, fluttering wildly in the air.
From afar, the blue electric glow illuminated the side of Kiyohara's face.
Kiyohara looked at his current form.
It somewhat resembled Naruto's Kurama Mode, except his was blue and lacked the black sealing patterns.
"What... is that?"
Asuma, who had just escaped the entanglement of a Kumogakure chunin, happened to turn around and witness the scene.
Kiyohara copying the Lightning Release Chakra Mode had already been publicly exposed by Kumogakure. It was now common knowledge.
Asuma himself had seen other shinobi within the village use Lightning Release Chakra Mode before.
But he had never seen anything remotely like this.
Kurenai also froze for an instant.
For some inexplicable reason, her heartbeat skipped.
A faint warmth spread across her cheeks, forcing her to quickly avert her gaze and focus back on the enemy before her.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Step!"
Samui transformed into a streak of blue electricity, instantly crossing a distance of ten meters.
The short blade in her hand was wrapped in dazzling lightning as she thrust directly toward Kiyohara's throat.
Driven by anger, this strike had surpassed even her normal level.
Unfortunately, in Kiyohara's eyes, it was still unbearably slow.
Kiyohara simply tilted his body.
Samui's blade brushed past the side of his neck.
Her wrist twisted instantly, turning the thrust into a slash aimed horizontally at Kiyohara's waist.
At the same time, lightning gathered at the fingertips of her left hand as three Lightning Release shuriken silently shot toward Kiyohara's lower body.
Electric arcs flashed beneath Kiyohara's feet as he evaded effortlessly.
"Lightning Release: Liquid Lightning."
A liquid-like mass of electric current suddenly shot from Kiyohara's hand.
This was the result of him layering a coat of water natured chakra over his lightning natured chakra.
Perhaps because inheriting Storm Release had altered his physique, performing such manipulation had become far easier than before.
Samui immediately threw several shuriken infused with lightning chakra from her shinobi pouch.
Unfortunately, her lightning chakra infused shuriken were pierced straight through by Kiyohara's flowing electric current.
At that moment, a Kumogakure shinobi hidden on the flank seized the opportunity, his hand seals already completed.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Beast!"
A massive blue lightning beast condensed from chakra roared as it lunged toward Kiyohara's back, opening its gigantic mouth of electricity as if to bite him apart.
Kiyohara lightly stomped his right foot.
Boom!
The ground shook violently.
Centered around the point where Kiyohara stepped, the rocky terrain within a three meter radius exploded upward as though struck by an invisible giant hammer.
Broken stones, dirt, and shredded grass blasted into the sky, blocking the lightning beast's path while completely disrupting the Kumogakure shinobi's line of sight and subsequent hand seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"
Kurenai seized the opportunity instantly.
Forming hand seals, she spat out a powerful rotating sphere of wind that shot toward the Kumogakure shinobi.
Splurt!
The wind blades sliced directly into flesh.
The Kumogakure shinobi let out a miserable scream as a wound deep enough to expose bone was torn open across his chest.
"In this state, the amplification to my body is even greater than before."
Kiyohara silently assessed the condition of his body.
Of course, the price for such power was a much faster rate of chakra consumption.
But for someone like Kiyohara, a complete nouveau riche in terms of chakra reserves, this level of expenditure was still entirely acceptable.
The next instant, Kiyohara vanished.
Crackle!
A streak of blue light flashed past.
Samui only felt her vision blur before Kiyohara had already appeared beside the injured Kumogakure shinobi.
At some point, Samehada in his hand had partially unraveled its bandages. Across the dark blade danced azure lightning identical to the thunder armor wrapped around Kiyohara's body.
One slash descended.
The Kumogakure shinobi was split cleanly into two halves.
Kiyohara withdrew Samehada, and the lightning covering the blade instantly vaporized every trace of blood stuck to it.
Then he turned his head toward Samui.
The moment his gaze landed on her, Samui felt an almost suffocating pressure descend upon her.
The remaining Kumogakure shinobi were utterly terrified.
Two jonin and several chunin had either been killed or critically injured in such a short amount of time, and the enemy's main force had not even fully exerted himself yet.
Kiyohara...
Was simply impossible to fight head on.
One of the remaining Kumogakure chunin attempted a final desperate struggle. He rapidly formed hand seals before opening his mouth and launching a massive cannonball made of compressed earth and stone.
"Earth Release: Stone Iron Cannon!"
The gigantic projectile roared toward Kiyohara.
Kiyohara casually waved his left hand.
The gold dust gourd hanging at his waist trembled slightly, and a stream of golden sand surged outward, instantly forming a thick wall of gold dust before him.
BOOM!
The stone cannonball slammed into the golden wall with a dull explosion, yet failed to create even the slightest crack.
Then, immediately after the impact, the gold dust wall violently shifted shape, transforming into a gigantic golden hand that slammed back outward.
The Kumogakure chunin only managed to let out half a scream before the enormous gold hand smashed into him mercilessly, silencing him forever.
The last remaining three Kumogakure shinobi stood back to back, their faces filled with despair.
Samui's hand holding the blade trembled slightly.
And right at that moment...
"You bastards~ daring to lay hands on my disciple~!"
Accompanied by a bizarre rap-like chant, a man wearing a Kumogakure forehead protector and sunglasses suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield.
Killer B!
The Eight Tails jinchuriki, Kumogakure's infamous "Killer Bee," had finally arrived.
"Bee, be careful."
Inside his body, the deep voice of the Eight Tails Gyuki rumbled.
"This guy's chakra... something's wrong with it. That lightning from earlier was absolutely not ordinary Lightning Release. Also, the bloodline inside his body feels extremely complicated."
"Yo~ so you felt it too~!"
Killer B replied within his mind using his usual rap cadence.
"But no matter who he is, hurting Samui means paying the price, yeah~!"
Although his tone sounded relaxed, his body had already entered a fully alert combat state.
Kiyohara looked at the suddenly appearing Killer B, and a trace of understanding flashed through his eyes.
As expected, since Samui was Killer B's disciple, she definitely carried some kind of distress signal or tracking technique on her body.
"You little Uchiha brat,"
Killer B spoke rhythmically.
"Are you ready to face the wrath of the 'Killer Bee'~?"
Kiyohara said nothing.
Instead, he lowered Samehada slightly in front of himself as the azure lightning covering the blade grew increasingly intense.
Killer B stopped wasting words and suddenly reached behind himself with both hands.
"Seven Swords Dance: Acrobat!"
Seven blades were unsheathed simultaneously!
Blades appeared at his elbows, knees, shoulders, and even his mouth.
Holding seven swords at once, Killer B charged directly toward Kiyohara.
This was the A rank taijutsu technique that had made Killer B famous, the very same terrifying sword style that would one day force Sasuke into a desperate corner.
Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly, attempting to capture the trajectories of the flashing blades. The rapid drain on his chakra caused a wave of dizziness to hit him.
Too fast.
And completely irregular.
As for Asuma and Kurenai, they could only see blurry flashes of silver light.
Kiyohara's three tomoe Sharingan, strengthened once more after inheriting Yotsuki Kiyohara's spiritual energy, possessed even greater visual power now.
He could clearly see Killer B's movements.
The elbow lifting a short blade upward.
The knee thrusting a long sword straight forward.
Samehada in Kiyohara's hand transformed into a streak of azure lightning, stabbing directly toward the sword rising from Killer B's right knee.
At the instant Killer B shifted between attacks, there was an extremely brief opening during the transition of force.
Clang!
The tip of Samehada struck the guard of the blade as lightning exploded outward.
Killer B immediately felt the force traveling through his right knee deviate slightly, causing the rhythm of his entire sword style to become disrupted.
Samehada slid past the thin blade slashing from Killer B's left shoulder, sending sparks flying. Then Kiyohara twisted the sword and smashed the hilt directly toward Killer B's jaw.
Killer B suddenly leaned backward while the blade clenched in his mouth rose upward to block.
Clang!
The crisp sound of collision rang out.
Halting his momentum, Killer B leapt backward, his brows tightly furrowed.
He saw through it?
His Seven Swords kenjutsu was something almost nobody could immediately decipher upon first encounter, let alone pinpoint weaknesses and counterattack so precisely.
"Bee, don't underestimate him. Use that."
The Eight Tails warned him from within.
Killer B immediately regripped two of his primary blades as chakra poured into them.
"Supervibrato Lightning Release Swords!"
The swords began to hum violently.
The high frequency vibrations visibly distorted the surrounding air while the Lightning Release chakra on the blades became even more active.
The sharpness of this technique even surpassed many Wind Release techniques.
Killer B lunged forward again, crossing his twin blades in a deadly slash.
Kiyohara's gaze sharpened slightly.
At this moment, he finally understood the pressure Mangekyo Sasuke must have felt when facing Killer B.
Unlike Sasuke, however, Kiyohara did not appear remotely as miserable.
Kiyohara tightened his grip on Samehada's hilt and layered Fire Release chakra atop the Lightning Release chakra already covering it.
"Lightning Release: Thunderfire Sword."
Kiyohara spoke softly as he swung his blade forward.
Clang!
The blue and red Thunderfire Sword collided violently against Killer B's Supervibrato Lightning Release Swords. Every clash exploded with shockwaves.
The ground beneath them was torn open into deep trenches by the aftermath.
Killer B could clearly feel it.
Kiyohara's sword was becoming heavier.
Faster.
More powerful.
Crack.
A crisp snapping sound suddenly rang out.
A tiny fracture appeared on the blade held in Killer B's left hand.
"What?!"
Killer B's pupils shrank.
Although this weapon was not on the level of the Seven Ninja Swords, it was still a finely crafted Kumogakure weapon. Yet it had actually been damaged in a direct clash?
Just how terrifying was the destructive power of that Thunderfire Sword?
And how was this guy's Lightning Release so authentic?
He seemed even more proficient than many Kumogakure shinobi Killer B had personally met.
Could it be that the true orthodoxy of Lightning Release actually existed in Konoha?
Killer B suddenly felt as though he had stumbled into some kind of absurd joke from hell.
An outsider actually possessed Lightning Release this terrifying.
"Bee, you can't keep clashing head on anymore."
The Eight Tails spoke once again.
Killer B nodded slightly. He understood exactly what Gyuki meant.
If they continued exchanging direct blows, his swords would likely break.
And once he lost his weapons, he would only be able to dodge instead of blocking attacks head on.
The only alternative would be entering Tailed Beast Mode.
But doing that would very likely injure Kumogakure's own allies nearby.
Once he entered that state, his destructive power would increase enormously, making it difficult to avoid collateral damage to surrounding shinobi.
They had to retreat.
Killer B made the decision instantly.
His twin blades crossed in a fierce slash, forcing Kiyohara back half a step while he himself shot backward and grabbed the still somewhat stunned Samui in one motion.
"Samui, move!"
The Eight Tails chakra inside Killer B erupted violently.
A dark red tailed beast cloak instantly enveloped his entire body, while a chakra tail manifested behind him.
"Water Release: Ink Scatter Shot!"
Killer B opened his mouth and spat out a massive amount of thick black ink mixed with Eight Tails chakra.
The ink exploded midair, transforming into a rain of black droplets that blanketed the sky.
By the time the black rain dispersed, Killer B and Samui had already disappeared into the darkness deep within the canyon.
As for the few remaining Kumogakure shinobi, they had already been dealt with by Kurenai and the others while Kiyohara and Killer B were fighting.
Which meant Killer B could only save Samui alone.
Kiyohara dispersed the Thunderfire Sword covering Samehada, and the azure lightning armor around his body slowly faded away as well.
He stared toward the direction where Killer B had disappeared.
His objective had already been achieved.
Samui had called him "Master," Yotsuki Kiyohara's first will had been fulfilled, and the inheritance of power had been successfully completed.
More importantly, he had inherited Storm Release as well.
The Storm Release ninjutsu he had previously copied from Hiruko finally had a use now.
"Clean up the battlefield."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
"Our mission target was the destruction of their supplies. That objective has already been completed."
Kiyohara paused briefly.
"Split up the supplies inside these scrolls among yourselves. Bring them back for war merit conversion or keep them for personal use."
The meaning behind his words was extremely obvious.
As long as Kumogakure failed to obtain the supplies, that counted as "destruction."
Everyone's eyes lit up instantly.
During wartime, supplies were life itself.
The quality of Kumogakure's supplies was excellent, especially the soldier pills and specially crafted kunai. For shinobi, these were tangible and practical benefits.
Very quickly, the battlefield was cleaned up.
Everything valuable was categorized and sealed into storage scrolls, while the corpses were simply dealt with using Fire Release.
"Withdraw."
Kiyohara gave the order.
The figures of the group rapidly vanished into the night, racing back toward the Konoha encampment.
The next morning, at Konoha's main camp on the Kumo front line.
Jiraiya stood at the entrance of the camp, watching Kiyohara and the others return completely unharmed.
He had already received secret technique communications from reconnaissance shinobi stationed at the front line. He knew that Kiyohara's squad had not only successfully ambushed Kumogakure's supply team, but had also killed multiple jonin, and even briefly fought against the Eight Tails jinchuriki Killer B before forcing him to retreat.
This achievement was even more dazzling than expected.
"You've worked hard!"
Jiraiya stepped forward and forcefully patted Kiyohara on the shoulder.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he lowered his voice and revealed a grin.
"Oh right, when you go back and see Tsunade, help me ask her something. The five hundred thousand ryo she borrowed from me last year in Tanzaku Town... exactly when is she planning to pay it back? I won't even count the interest, but at least she should give me an answer about the principal, right?"
Kiyohara:
"..."
"..."
"Understood. I'll pass along the message."
Kiyohara nodded.
(End of Chapter)
TN: The techniques in here I don't if they're an oc or in the anime since I can't find any of them.