At the border of the Land of Wind, inside the Sunagakure camp.
The blazing sun scorched the endless sea of yellow sand while waves of heat distorted the distant landscape until everything looked warped and unreal.
Exhaustion and unease were written all over the faces of the Sand shinobi. Two straight days of crushing defeats had pushed this already low morale force even deeper into despair.
When the Konoha reinforcements led by Kiyohara finally arrived, Suna's commander, Baki, personally came out to receive them.
"Vice Captain Kiyohara, you came at the perfect time."
Baki's voice sounded hoarse and worn down.
"Kirigakure's advance has exceeded all expectations. Our defensive line has already been pushed back by ten miles."
Kiyohara's gaze slowly swept across the camp.
Wounded shinobi could be seen everywhere. Suppressed groans continuously came from the medical tents.
Although Sand shinobi possessed excellent equipment, many of them were covered in injuries, and deep within their eyes lingered the panic of prey being hunted down.
"What exactly is the situation?"
"The Third Mizukage is personally commanding the central army. There are at least several elite jonin under him."
Baki pointed at several red crosses marked across the map.
"The main forces of the Kaguya Clan and the Hozuki Clan are all here. The biggest problem is…"
He paused before lowering his voice.
"The Third Mizukage's technique is extremely strange. Three of our jonin approached within one hundred meters of him, and suddenly their bodies exploded into blood mist."
Kiyohara's eyes narrowed slightly.
Blood Release?
So it really existed.
He had originally assumed it was just something fabricated in fanfiction from his previous life.
Thinking about it now, for a Third Mizukage whose appearance in the original story probably did not even total sixty seconds, it would not be strange no matter what abilities he possessed.
After all, whether it was the anime, databooks, or manga, the man had only ever been glossed over in passing.
"What did the blood mist look like?"
Kiyohara asked.
"It was as if something tore their bodies apart from the inside."
At that moment, a cold female voice came from the side.
"Lord Baki, the eastern scouting team has returned. They discovered Kiri's supply line…"
Suddenly, the beautiful figure seemed to clearly see Kiyohara's face and instantly stopped speaking.
Kiyohara turned his head and saw Pakura standing not far away.
She was still wearing those clothes that accentuated her figure, her long hair tied behind her waist.
The moment she saw Kiyohara, her lips pressed into a tense, tight line.
She had not forgotten the humiliation she suffered at Kiyohara's hands.
First she had been captured and treated like a prisoner, then interrogated.
Most importantly, Kiyohara was far younger than her, yet still acted unbearably arrogant.
This naturally evil little brat!
"Oh? Isn't this Konoha's honored guest?"
"So tell me, are you here to provide support this time, or are you here to admire how miserable we are?"
The entire camp instantly fell silent.
Several Sand shinobi exchanged glances.
The matter of Pakura being captured and interrogated by Kiyohara was no secret within Sunagakure.
Even many civilian shinobi knew about it.
Naturally, they also knew there were unresolved grievances between the two.
Of course, Baki could not allow the situation to develop further like this. Suna still needed Konoha's help.
So Baki coughed lightly.
"Pakura, watch your words. Konoha is our ally."
"Ally?"
Pakura sneered softly.
But she said nothing more. She simply tossed the scouting report scroll toward Baki before turning around and leaving.
Kiyohara's expression remained completely unchanged.
A traumatized kitten hissing uncontrollably was perfectly normal.
With enough teasing, she would eventually become obedient again.
"How is the eastern side?"
Kiyohara asked, returning to the main topic.
Baki unfolded the report, his brows furrowing even deeper.
"Kirigakure established a camp twenty li away. There are approximately nine hundred troops stationed there under the command of Kaguya Ryuno, a very famous expert from the Kaguya Clan known by the nickname 'Spiral Bone Ryuno.'"
"Spiral Bone Ryuno…"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He felt that shinobi nicknames throughout the shinobi world were incredibly tacky.
Shisui's title was "Shisui of the Body Flicker," Kakashi's future title would be "Copy Shinobi Kakashi."
As for his own current title, it was "Magnet Release Kiyohara."
Of course, some people also called him "Black Lightning."
Kiyohara preferred that one.
That nickname had a much cooler vibe.
"Do we have any information on him?"
Kiyohara continued.
"A genius of the Shikotsumyaku. His control over bones is terrifying."
Baki pointed at the sketch in the report.
A wild looking man whose bone spikes pierced directly through the clothing around his shoulders and elbows.
"It is said the bone drills on both of his arms once pierced through a meter thick steel plate in one strike. His personality… is a typical Kaguya Clan personality. He lives for battle."
Kiyohara nodded.
"I'll lead a small squad for reconnaissance."
"Right now? But the Mist shinobi have only just stabilized their position. Their vigilance must be at its peak."
"Precisely because they just stabilized themselves, they'll become careless."
Kiyohara interrupted him.
Baki hesitated for a moment before eventually nodding.
"Be careful. Do you need Suna to cooperate?"
"No need. Fewer people means better concealment."
Kiyohara turned around.
"Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, come with me. Everyone else will assist the Sand shinobi in reinforcing the defensive line."
"Yes!"
Just as the Konoha squad prepared to depart, a sudden explosion erupted from the western side of the camp.
Boom!
Immediately afterward came the deafening chain explosions of countless explosive tags, along with the frantic shouts of Sand shinobi.
"Enemy attack!"
"It's Kiri's raiding squad!"
Baki's face changed dramatically.
"They actually dared to directly attack the main camp?"
"Looks like they've already arrived."
Kiyohara turned his head toward the commotion.
He immediately ordered all the Konoha shinobi to move in for support.
"Let's head over first, Baki."
"Alright."
Naturally, Baki had no objections. He also drew out a kunai and prepared for battle.
By the time the group rushed over, the sound of ninjutsu collisions outside had already become earth shaking.
Wars between shinobi truly possessed the power to reshape the terrain itself.
Boom!
At that moment, Kiyohara noticed a violent explosion suddenly sweep through the distant forest.
Explosive tags?
Kiyohara instantly realized that some Mist shinobi had secretly laid explosive tag traps on the ground during the chaos.
The resulting blast wave was so violent that Kiyohara's hair whipped wildly in the air while his robe fluttered loudly.
Kurenai hurriedly covered her small face with both hands, leaving only a tiny slit between her fingers to see through.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Wall!"
Kiyohara raised his hand.
The gourd hanging at his waist trembled violently.
Rumble!
On the western side of the camp, Kirigakure ambush squad that had been forming hand seals suddenly widened their eyes in shock.
Golden waves of sand burst upward from the ground, instantly condensing into an enormous wall of gold dust that completely blocked the explosive shockwaves and flying debris.
"Gold dust? Is that the Fourth Kazekage?"
One Mist chunin cried out in alarm.
"No… that isn't Sunagakure's Kazekage!"
The Mist jonin leading the squad raised his head and stared toward the figure appearing behind the golden wall.
"That's Konoha shinobi Kiyohara!"
Kiyohara slowly walked out from behind the gold dust wall.
Within the smoke and dust, his scarlet Sharingan rotated continuously like a flickering line of crimson light.
The Mist jonin finally reacted and decided to strike first.
"Everyone, form hand seals together and use water jut…"
He never managed to finish his sentence.
Because Kiyohara had already appeared directly in front of him, so close that they could clearly see the reflections in each other's pupils.
"When did you…"
Shock still remained frozen on the Mist jonin's face.
Then he saw the three tomoe inside Kiyohara's Sharingan begin to rotate. A crimson light flashed, and the chakra flow throughout his entire body instantly became chaotic, causing his body to stiffen and freeze completely.
Slash! Slash!
Two streaks of blade light flashed past.
Both of the Mist jonin's arms were severed cleanly at the shoulders as blood erupted outward.
He did not even feel pain.
The Sharingan genjutsu had temporarily numbed even his pain nerves.
Kiyohara grabbed his throat with one hand and slammed him onto the ground, his Sharingan staring directly into the man's pupils.
Cold and sinister ocular power poured straight into his mind.
"Tell me the Third Mizukage's location and everything you know about Blood Release."
"I… I…"
The Mist jonin's will rapidly collapsed beneath the Sharingan's genjutsu.
"Lord Mizukage is… in the command camp three miles northwest… Blood Release is… is a forbidden technique… I only know that it requires… requires contact with the opponent's blood…"
"Contact with blood?"
Kiyohara pressed further.
"How is the contact established?"
"I… don't know…"
Seeing that no more useful information could be extracted, Kiyohara directly crushed the man's throat.
By now, seven Mist shinobi had already surrounded him.
Even after watching their captain get instantly killed, they still maintained formation while simultaneously forming hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Water Release ninjutsu surged toward him from multiple directions. The streams converged in midair, forming a massive net.
An ordinary jonin facing this kind of coordinated ninjutsu attack would either be forced to endure it head on or evade desperately, but either option would place them at a disadvantage.
Kiyohara chose a third option.
He took a deep breath and clasped his hands together in front of his chest. His ribcage visibly expanded.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Fwoooosh!
A crimson sea of flames exploded from his mouth. The fire burned at such terrifying temperatures that the air itself crackled violently.
The instant water and fire collided, a heaven shaking explosion erupted.
An endless wall of white steam shot into the sky and instantly covered several hundred meters.
Visibility dropped to less than three meters, leaving behind nothing but scorching mist.
"There's too much steam! I can't see anything!"
A Mist chunin cried out in alarm within the thick fog.
Even Mist shinobi could not see through steam this dense.
"Be careful of his sneak attaaaaaah!"
The crisp sound of a neck bone shattering echoed through the mist.
Then came a second sound.
Then a third.
Every sharp crack was followed by the heavy thud of a collapsing body.
Inside the dense fog, the Mist shinobi could only hear the screams of their comrades while being completely unable to locate their enemy.
"He's hiding in the mist! Use wind jutsu to blow it away…"
Ironically, the Mist shinobi themselves now wanted to disperse the fog so they could locate Kiyohara's position.
"Too late!"
Very quickly, all seven Mist shinobi were slaughtered cleanly.
After finishing them off, Kiyohara immediately moved elsewhere to provide support.
Kurenai stood at the edge of the steam with her hands forming seals, preparing to use Wind Release, when she suddenly heard an extremely faint sound of air being cut behind her.
She spun around instantly, but the attacker's kunai had already reached her face.
In that instant, a hand wrapped in blue lightning suddenly extended from the side and grabbed the attacker's wrist.
Crack!
The wrist bone shattered.
Then the hand moved upward in one smooth motion, grabbing the attacker's neck before twisting lightly.
Thud.
The corpse collapsed to the ground.
The steam dispersed slightly, revealing Kiyohara's figure.
He casually shook the blood droplets from his hand and looked toward Kurenai.
"On the battlefield, you have to be careful of enemies appearing from your blind spots."
A faint blush appeared on Kurenai's cheeks.
"I understand, Kiyohara."
Kurenai spoke softly.
But Kiyohara had already turned his attention toward another part of the battlefield.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
Electric arcs surged across the surface of his body, completely wrapping him within layers of lightning chakra and forming a cloak of crackling electricity.
"You guys clean up the remaining enemies. I'll head further ahead."
"Understood!"
Kiyohara himself transformed into a streak of blue lightning as he rushed toward the next Mist gathering point.
His speed was simply too fast.
With the combined enhancement of Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Lightning Release Body Flicker, every movement left behind afterimages and crackling electric arcs.
Ordinary Mist shinobi could not even see his actions clearly. They only saw a flash of blue light before a piercing pain erupted in their throats or chests.
Slash!
Every flicker of blade light brought forth another spray of blood.
Kiyohara barely used any ninjutsu at all. He simply combined Body Flicker, taijutsu, and kenjutsu.
Yet this method was unbelievably efficient.
In the blink of an eye, numerous Mist shinobi had already died by Kiyohara's hands.
Finally, one Mist shinobi reacted and quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
A massive sphere of water suddenly appeared out of nowhere and descended toward Kiyohara.
At the same time, two other Mist jonin attacked from both sides. Their shinobi blades were wrapped in Water Release chakra as they slashed toward Kiyohara's waist and neck.
An attack from three directions.
Kiyohara did not even pause.
His left hand continued thrusting forward as his shinobi blade pierced directly through the heart of the Mist jonin in front of him.
At the same time, his right hand swung backward, releasing three shuriken wrapped in Lightning Release chakra. The shuriken collided in midair and abruptly changed direction before embedding themselves directly into the foreheads of the two ambushers at his sides.
As for the Water Prison…
Bzzzt!
The lightning cloak surrounding Kiyohara suddenly erupted violently.
Blue white currents exploded outward like countless serpents, instantly spreading throughout the entire water sphere.
"Aaaaaaah!"
The Mist jonin using the Water Prison Technique screamed miserably.
Water conducted electricity.
Now his own ninjutsu had become the source of his downfall as the current surged back into his body, causing him to convulse violently before collapsing.
Inside the Sand camp, the Konoha and Sand shinobi who had originally intended to provide support all stood frozen in place.
The steam created by the clash between water and fire slowly dispersed.
Revealing Kiyohara's figure once more.
They had seen powerful shinobi before, but never this kind of effortless slaughter that resembled cutting vegetables apart.
Kiyohara stood in the middle of a pile of corpses, blood dripping from his shinobi blade while the Lightning Release cloak around him gradually faded away.
He casually flicked the blood from his blade before turning to look northwest.
In that direction, a powerful chakra presence was rapidly approaching.
"Be careful. The enemies are increasing."
Kiyohara reminded them casually.
Far away, within Kiri's command camp.
The Third Mizukage stood atop a hastily constructed platform.
He was a thin old man with a face full of wrinkles, yet his deep blue eyes remained as sharp and piercing as an eagle's.
"Kiyohara…"
He softly repeated the name beneath his breath.
"He is even stronger than the intelligence reports described."
"Mizukage-sama, please allow me to go meet him."
Hozuki Mangetsu knelt on one knee.
"The Executioner's Blade and Samehada cannot be lost for nothing."
"There is no need to rush."
The Third Mizukage spoke calmly.
"Kaguya Ryuno has already gone. Let him first test Kiyohara's true depth before you make your move."
Seeing this, Mangetsu could only temporarily withdraw and wait for the Third Mizukage's command.
The Third Mizukage slowly raised his right hand, his pale fingers curling slightly in the air.
"He is not simple."
The Third Mizukage shook his head lightly.
He felt that the Uchiha Clan was a clan blessed by the gods themselves.
That person was also… an Uchiha.
The moment he finished speaking, a violent fluctuation of colliding chakra erupted in the distance.
Boom!
Even from a distance away, the tremor shaking the ground could still be clearly felt.
"It has begun."
The Third Mizukage turned his gaze toward that direction.
"Ryuno's Spiral Bone Drill Breaker against the Uchiha's Lightning Release… let us see which one is stronger."
At the center of the battlefield.
Inside a crater nearly thirty meters wide.
Kiyohara stood at the bottom of the pit while lightly shaking his somewhat numb right hand.
He had originally intended to continue advancing forward when a Mist shinobi suddenly charged at him.
Along the way, that shinobi had already slaughtered quite a few Sand and Leaf shinobi.
Naturally, Kiyohara could not simply sit there and wait to die.
If all the Konoha shinobi were wiped out, he would end up as nothing more than a commander without soldiers.
So Kiyohara had moved to intercept him.
Who would have thought Kaguya Ryuno would directly crash into him head on.
That previous clash had already given Kiyohara a rough understanding of Ryuno's strength.
Even among elite jonin, he belonged to the upper tier, infinitely close to Kage level power.
His development of the Shikotsumyaku had reached an extremely advanced stage.
After all, the stronger someone became, the harder their bones would naturally become as well.
On the opposite side of the crater, Kaguya Ryuno slowly straightened his body.
At this moment, both of his arms were completely covered in white bone, forming two massive spiral bone drills.
The tips of the drills were still rotating at high speed.
"Good… very good!"
Ryuno laughed wildly, not caring at all even though blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
"You're the first person to survive my Spiral Bone Drill Breaker head on!"
His appearance truly looked savage.
Long black hair hung loosely around him, and he had no eyebrows at all, only two strange red dots where they should have been.
The clothing covering his upper body had shattered apart, exposing lean muscles along with bone spikes faintly protruding beneath his skin.
Kiyohara did not waste words.
He tightened his grip around his newly forged shinobi blade.
The new blade was rapidly repairing several tiny chips along its edge.
After all, Kiyohara had just fed it quite a lot of blood.
Kiyohara suddenly realized that his stamina was slowly recovering.
He instantly understood that this was the effect of the Executioner's Blade.
Although it had been reforged, reshaped, and mixed with additional materials, its core ability had not changed much.
In the next instant, Wind chakra emerged along Kiyohara's shinobi blade while arcs of Lightning chakra wrapped around it as well.
Kiyohara was using both Wind and Lightning chakra simultaneously.
Both of them could greatly enhance a weapon's sharpness and cutting power.
"Oh? Dual elemental chakra coating?"
Kaguya Ryuno's eyes brightened even further.
"Come then. Let me see whether your blade is sharper, or my bones are harder."
He violently stomped the ground.
His entire body shot forward like a cannonball while both spiral bone drills pointed ahead, forming a gigantic rotating bone spike.
This was Kiyohara's first time hearing such a request.
So he smiled faintly.
Since Kaguya Ryuno wanted to test it, then Kiyohara would gladly satisfy him.
Immediately afterward, Kiyohara used Magnet Release to accelerate himself.
His speed instantly broke through the sound barrier, leaving behind a sonic boom cloud.
Clang!
The moment blade and bone drill collided, dazzling sparks exploded outward.
After one collision, the two separated.
A tiny chip the size of a grain of rice appeared on Kiyohara's shinobi blade.
Meanwhile, one quarter of Kaguya Ryuno's right arm bone drill had been severed cleanly away.
"Haha… hahahaha!"
Rather than becoming angry, Kaguya Ryuno laughed even more wildly.
"To be able to cut through my bone drill, excellent! Only this kind of opponent is worthy of my full power!"
His entire skeleton emitted a dense series of cracking noises while even more bone spikes pierced outward from his shoulders, back, elbows, and knees.
The man now resembled a killing machine clad in white bone armor.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Clematis!"
Rumble!
With Kaguya Ryuno at the center, countless bone spikes erupted from the earth, instantly forming a forest of bones with a fifty meter radius.
Every single bone spike was as thick as a human thigh, with spear sharp tips.
Kiyohara's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Interesting."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
In the original story, this was a technique Kimimaro could only use after entering Curse Mark Level Two.
That alone showed that Kaguya Ryuno was even stronger than Kimimaro.
If their clan had not collectively gone insane and attempted to directly challenge the entire Land of Water without any preparation whatsoever, they probably would not have ended with their entire clan annihilated.
Though Kiyohara's thoughts wandered briefly, his movements never stopped.
The instant the bone spikes appeared, he had already leapt high into the air.
To his dynamic vision, the speed of these bone spikes was simply too slow.
For a normal Uchiha, their eyesight usually exceeded the reaction speed of their body.
Meaning they could see the attack, but might not physically react in time.
But Kiyohara was different.
His body was far stronger than that of an ordinary Uchiha.
Not only could he see the attacks, he could react to them as well.
Hovering in the air, he looked down upon the forest of bones beneath him while forming hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Three massive fire dragons dove downward and crashed into the bone forest.
The intense flames caused the white bones to crack loudly from the heat, yet even more bone spikes continued growing endlessly.
These bone spikes directly forced away every Mist shinobi, Sand shinobi, and Konoha shinobi within the surrounding area.
Only Kiyohara and Kaguya Ryuno remained inside the forest of bones.
"It's useless!"
Ryuno's crazed laughter echoed throughout the bone forest.
"My bone regeneration is faster than your flames can destroy them!"
Before his words had even fully fallen, three especially enormous bone spikes suddenly erupted upward from underground, piercing directly toward the airborne Kiyohara.
At this moment, Kaguya Ryuno was overflowing with confidence.
Ever since birth, all he had ever heard from others was praise calling him a genius.
Even Mei with her dual kekkei genkai was someone Kaguya Ryuno looked down upon.
In his eyes, she had merely been lucky.
And this Kiyohara was the same.
"I am the true genius."
Kaguya Ryuno declared his victory proudly.
Under these circumstances, even if Kiyohara could fly, it was already too late for him to change direction.
He also knew Kiyohara possessed some sort of extremely powerful hardening technique.
But Kaguya Ryuno still had complete confidence that he could pierce through it.
"Is that so?"
Kiyohara smiled calmly.
Wasn't popping the champagne at halftime a little too early?
Did he really think this was Kiyohara's full strength already?
"You are merely an ordinary mortal born in an era without me."
Kiyohara shook his head.
If he had been born in Kirigakure, then the words true genius would only ever be used to describe him.
How could the effort of a single person possibly compare against the stacked accumulation of so many different advantages?
Even stacking together ten ordinary people would eventually create a genius.
In the next instant, curse mark patterns began spreading across Kiyohara's skin.
(End of Chapter)