Evening.
After Kabuto left, Kiyohara sat alone inside his tent, quietly organizing everything he had gained over the past few days.
The airships and railways in the Land of Snow.
The land development project in the Land of Whirlpools.
The research being conducted by Nono...
Everything was progressing according to plan.
"The progress is looking good."
The spirit of Uzumaki Kiyohara emerged from within his body once again, floating quietly beside him.
"The Land of Whirlpools... how long do you think it'll take before we start seeing results?"
"The docks and railways will still need some time, but the airships can begin operating first."
Kiyohara answered calmly.
"In about two months, we should start seeing the effects."
The technological level of the shinobi world was actually quite advanced.
Combined with ninjutsu, construction efficiency increased dramatically.
Naturally, the price for such speed was an enormous amount of money.
Fortunately, Kiyohara's chakra reserves had become increasingly vast. His efficiency at refining placer gold continued to rise as well.
Money was no longer an issue for him.
The speed at which he earned wealth was now even greater than Jiraiya's income as a bestselling novelist.
Uzumaki Kiyohara nodded.
Two months was not a long time.
For him, he only needed to sleep inside his urn for a while.
As for History of Warring States Seals, judging from Uzumaki Kiyohara's observations, he felt it might actually become available even sooner than the transportation network in the Land of Whirlpools would be completed.
The war...
Was already approaching its conclusion.
When that time came, perhaps Kiyohara could exchange his military achievements for it.
Not long after Kabuto departed, Uchiha Fugaku came to visit.
"Kiyohara, are you asleep?"
It was Fugaku's voice.
Kiyohara opened his eyes.
"Please, come in."
The tent flap was lifted, and Fugaku walked inside before sitting down opposite him.
"How much do you know about that Uchiha?"
He got straight to the point.
Ever since Kiyohara had been attacked by the mysterious Uchiha, the Uchiha Clan had held discussion after discussion regarding the incident.
In the end, Fugaku decided it would be best to ask Kiyohara directly.
Kiyohara looked at him.
"What would Lord Fugaku like to know?"
"That man... Was he really an Uchiha?"
"A Mangekyo Sharingan can't be faked."
Kiyohara replied.
Fugaku fell silent for a moment.
A thought surfaced in his heart.
Could it be...
That man?
But he quickly dismissed the possibility.
If Uchiha Madara were still alive, he would already be eighty or ninety years old.
Could someone that old still possess such terrifying combat strength?
More likely...
Perhaps he was another Uchiha who had defected from the clan.
Although history recorded that no one from the Uchiha Clan had openly followed Madara when he abandoned the village, there was no guarantee that a few fanatics had not faked their deaths on the battlefield before secretly joining him.
"If you learn anything else... Come and tell me."
Fugaku said seriously.
He attached tremendous importance to this matter.
If news of it spread, it would greatly damage the Uchiha Clan's reputation.
An Uchiha possessing the Sharingan had attacked a Konoha military camp.
If that rumor spread throughout the shinobi world, outsiders would once again claim that the Uchiha were inherently evil.
"For the time being, I'll strengthen the internal investigation within the clan."
"If that person truly has ties to the Uchiha, he'll definitely leave some traces behind."
He stood and prepared to leave.
"Lord Fugaku."
Kiyohara suddenly called out.
"How has Itachi been lately?"
Fugaku stopped walking and turned around.
"That brat spends every single day training with Might Guy. His skin has already been tanned dark."
He shook his head helplessly.
"But his strength has indeed improved considerably."
Kiyohara smiled.
A healthy, tanned Itachi?
Compared to the chronically exhausted and sickly Itachi from the anime, Kiyohara guessed the current Itachi had practically become an athletic student, following Guy around every day while learning how to elbow people into submission.
"That's good."
Kiyohara nodded.
Fugaku nodded in return before lifting the tent flap and leaving.
The tent became quiet once again.
The spirit of Uzumaki Kiyohara floated out once more.
"He's gone?"
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded.
"Your disciple... Is Itachi?"
"That's right."
"He has excellent talent."
Uzumaki Kiyohara commented.
"Indeed."
Kiyohara nodded again.
Itachi had been capable of exterminating his entire clan at the age of thirteen.
That level of talent was truly one of a kind throughout the shinobi world.
If the Second Hokage were ever to meet Itachi, there was a very high chance he would simply give him a thumbs-up and declare that Itachi had perfectly understood the true essence of the Will of Fire.
"Forget it. I won't think about that anymore."
Uzumaki Kiyohara waved his hand.
"Focus on the Land of Whirlpools. I'm continuing to fade away."
His voice carried a trace of helplessness.
"I know."
Kiyohara answered quietly.
The following morning.
As Kiyohara stepped out of his tent, he saw Kabuto standing not far away with a huge bundle cradled in his arms.
"Kiyohara-sama!"
Kabuto jogged over.
"I'm leaving now."
"Travel safely."
"Yes, sir!"
Kabuto turned around and departed.
Kiyohara watched as his figure gradually disappeared beyond the entrance of the camp before turning toward the Medical Corps headquarters.
Today...
The surprise assault would begin.
Not long afterward, the Konoha camp became crowded with activity.
Large numbers of shinobi had gathered.
Several nearby operational zones had transferred additional forces over, and even Minato, Fugaku, and many other elite jonin had arrived.
Half an hour later, the army began advancing.
The shinobi darted swiftly through the forests.
Members of the Hyuga Clan activated their Byakugan, scouting the route ahead.
The Aburame shinobis released countless kikaichu into the woods, monitoring every movement in the surrounding area.
Kiyohara walked near the front of the formation.
Beside him was Minato.
"Nervous?"
Minato glanced toward Kiyohara.
He could not help feeling emotional.
Only a few short years had passed, yet Kiyohara had already grown to such an astonishing level.
"And you, Lord Minato?"
"Aren't you nervous?"
"A little."
Minato nodded honestly.
What worried him was Kumo.
If that matter was not resolved properly, the war might drag on even longer.
Other countries would undoubtedly see an opportunity and begin making moves of their own.
While the two talked, the force crossed a dense forest, climbed over two mountain ridges, and eventually arrived at a high plateau with an excellent field of vision.
A Hyuga shinobi crouched behind an enormous boulder.
His pale Byakugan eyes stared into the distance through their telescopic vision.
Kiyohara walked over.
"What did you find?"
Hyuga Hizashi, whose face was identical to Hyuga Hiashi's, wore an unusually grave expression.
"There's an ambush ahead."
He pointed toward the seemingly peaceful forest in the distance.
"The eastern hillside."
"The western valley."
"And behind the ridge directly in front of us."
"They're all hiding people."
Aburame Shibi stood nearby.
The black sunglasses on his face reflected the sunlight.
"My insects sensed them as well."
"They've established a sensory barrier."
"The moment we get close, we'll be exposed immediately."
Quiet discussions spread throughout the ranks.
Minato frowned slightly.
"Should we go around them?"
"It's too late."
Fugaku's deep voice sounded from behind.
"If we take a detour, it'll cost us at least another half day."
"By then, they'll have already discovered us."
Kiyohara's gaze passed beyond the forest, looking toward the distant horizon.
There...
The vague outline of Kumogakure stronghold could already be seen.
"What should we do?"
Rin looked into the distance, unable to think of a way to infiltrate without alerting the enemy.
"What if I use a sound-based genjutsu?"
Kurenai stepped forward and made a suggestion.
"No need."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"I'll eliminate their reconnaissance team myself."
The instant those words left his mouth...
His figure disappeared.
Hizashi's eyes widened.
"So fast...?!"
He immediately activated the Byakugan, desperately tracking the streak of chakra that had become almost impossible to follow.
Far away within the forest...
Kiyohara's body flashed from one location to another like a video with missing frames.
Each time he appeared...
Another hidden scout collapsed.
Slash.
Blood sprayed into the air.
The faint scent of blood slowly drifted through the forest.
The Cloud shinobi concealed among the treetops, behind massive rocks, and within dense bushes never even had time to react before Kiyohara silently harvested their lives.
Slash.
Another shinobi crouching atop a tree suddenly had a thin line of blood erupt from the back of his neck before his body slid limply to the ground.
Kiyohara did not even spare him a second glance.
His figure vanished again.
The next instant...
He appeared beneath another tree over thirty meters away.
His right arm swung.
The blade sliced through the enemy's throat before emerging cleanly from the opposite side.
The blade trembled ever so slightly.
Blood slid smoothly down its edge.
Not a single drop stained his hand.
Slash.
Slash.
Every strike caused another blossom of blood to explode into the air.
Those crimson flowers bloomed only briefly before dissolving into fine crimson mist, which the wind scattered away.
Hizashi stood there with his mouth hanging open.
Using the Byakugan, he could clearly watch the chakra signatures of the Cloud shinobi extinguishing one after another.
Like candles being snuffed out by a powerful gust of wind.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
So fast that he could no longer keep count of how many people Kiyohara had already killed.
"In an instant..."
"He eliminated fifty of them."
A chorus of sharp gasps echoed through the Konoha ranks.
Fifty reconnaissance shinobi?
What kind of concept was that?
Standing at the very front of the formation, Minato's sapphire-blue eyes briefly flashed with surprise before transforming into even deeper admiration.
Back when he had assassinated the Iwagakure commander Higashi Shinko, he had also eliminated fifty shinobi in a single engagement.
However...
At that time, he had first needed the other shinobi to scatter all of his Flying Thunder God kunai across the battlefield.
Kiyohara, however, had accomplished everything entirely on his own.
"His understanding of space-time ninjutsu has grown even deeper."
Standing beside him, Kakashi kept the exposed Sharingan fixed on Kiyohara's every movement, never letting his gaze wander.
"It's done."
As soon as those words fell, Kiyohara's figure reappeared before the assembled force.
His shinobi sword had already been returned to its sheath.
Not even a single drop of blood stained the chainmail covering his body.
"...I smell blood."
Tsunade's nose twitched slightly.
She was also among the troops, though she had concealed her identity beneath a mask.
Unlike everyone else's, however, her mask had no eyeholes at all.
"Let's move."
The force immediately advanced, crossing the forest ahead.
The corpses of Kumogakure reconnaissance shinobi remained hidden in the shadows, where the Aburame Clan's insects quickly covered them.
Before long, there would be no trace left behind.
Kumogakure stronghold grew nearer and nearer.
It was a massive encampment built deep within a mountain valley.
Gigantic stone walls surrounded it on every side, while watchtowers stood atop the walls, allowing the silhouettes of patrolling shinobi to be seen clearly.
Within the fortress, rows upon rows of tents stretched endlessly.
The shinobi inside had absolutely no idea that danger was already closing in upon them.
Kiyohara stopped walking.
Behind him, the Konoha force spread out.
According to the plan decided beforehand, the various clans moved into advantageous positions.
Hyuga Hizashi activated his Byakugan once more, carefully scanning the entire stronghold.
"There are at least two thousand people inside."
"The Fourth Raikage is in the main command tent."
"The Eight Tails jinchuriki is positioned in the northeast."
"The Two Tails jinchuriki is in the southwest..."
He paused for a moment.
"...It looks like... They're preparing to withdraw?"
Minato frowned slightly.
"Withdraw?"
"Yes. They're dismantling many of the tents. The supplies are already being loaded onto transport wagons."
Confusion filled Hizashi's voice.
"Did they discover us?"
"Impossible."
Aburame Shibi shook his head.
"Every reconnaissance shinobi was eliminated by Kiyohara. The sensory barrier was never triggered."
"Then they were already planning to retreat."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
"The Fourth Raikage isn't a fool. After his previous surprise attack failed, he already knew we wouldn't simply sit around waiting. Rather than letting us attack them first, relocating the base is the smarter choice."
"That makes sense."
Kakashi nodded in agreement.
"I'll head over first."
Kiyohara spoke once again.
This time, Minato looked somewhat puzzled.
When Kiyohara had dealt with the reconnaissance team earlier, it had been because he possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But now...
What exactly was he planning to do by going alone?
There was no way he could kill two thousand people in an instant.
"What are you planning?"
Tsunade could not help asking.
"I'm delivering a farewell gift."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kiyohara shot straight into the sky.
Dark emerald chakra surged from within his body, wrapping around him like a flowing cloak.
The cloak rippled gently.
Behind him, it gradually condensed into the phantom of a gigantic serpent.
Every scale was clearly defined, while a forked tongue of the same dark emerald color flickered in and out of its mouth.
His pupils transformed into golden vertical slits.
Green markings appeared around his eyes.
Upon his forehead...
A single horn faintly emerged.
Snake Sage Mode!
Yet...
He still wasn't finished.
Kiyohara slowly raised his right hand, his palm facing upward.
Chakra rapidly gathered.
Rasengan.
However, the Rasengan's color began changing continuously.
He poured an enormous quantity of Yin Release chakra into it.
Its color shifted.
From brilliant blue...
To deep sapphire...
To absolute black.
Finally...
A pitch-black sphere, remarkably similar to a Tailed Beast Bomb, floated above his palm.
Its surface was darker than ink itself.
Only a faint white ring surrounded its edge, making it resemble the sun during a total eclipse.
Kiyohara lowered his gaze, overlooking the completely unsuspecting Kumogakure base beneath him.
"This..."
"...is my farewell gift."
His voice remained calm.
He had named this technique...
Yin Release: Rasenshuriken.
Its appearance bore an astonishing resemblance to Menma Uzumaki's giant Spiraling Ring.
Then...
He gently released it.
The black sphere slowly descended toward the ground.
At that exact moment...
Kumogakure shinobi inside the camp seemed to sense that something was wrong.
Someone looked up.
Something was falling from the heavens.
A black sun...
Was descending.
BOOM!!
A blinding light swallowed everything.
The explosion erupted from the point of impact before expanding outward at a speed faster than the eye could perceive.
The tremendous shockwave caused the entire valley to tremble violently.
A massive black mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Far beyond the blast radius, hurricane-force winds swept across the landscape.
Trees were uprooted completely.
Tents were shredded into countless fragments.
Shinobi were hurled high into the air before crashing back down with agonized screams.
When the smoke finally dispersed...
An enormous crater remained.
As for the two thousand Cloud shinobi who had originally occupied the base...
Only a little over one thousand remained alive.
Every single person instinctively raised their head.
All of them stared at the lone figure floating in the sky.
Standing near the rear of the Konoha formation, Nohara unconsciously covered her mouth with both hands.
Within her brown eyes...
Reflected Kiyohara's figure.
Reflected the black sun.
Reflected the landscape that had been completely transformed by a single attack.
"What incredible destructive power..."
Rin murmured.
"It looks like another new jutsu Kiyohara developed."
Kurenai summoned Red Moon, transforming it into a short blade held firmly in her hand.
Meanwhile, Aburame Shibi quietly soothed the kikaichu living inside his own body.
The tremendous burst of chakra from moments ago had frightened the insects badly.
For an Aburame...
That was a serious matter.
Every member of the Aburame Clan housed insects throughout their entire body.
Some clan members had even sacrificed both of their eyes to the kikaichu.
If they ever removed their sunglasses, all that would remain inside their empty eye sockets would be masses of writhing insects.
"...Compared to a monster like Kiyohara... My insect techniques really are too weak."
Shibi sighed inwardly.
This...
Was the limitation of the Aburame Clan.
Kiyohara had merely released a ninjutsu from far away.
Yet the aftershocks alone had nearly caused the insects living inside Shibi's body to lose control.
"...An advanced application of the Rasengan?"
Minato immediately noticed the underlying principle.
He had witnessed Kiyohara using Wind Release: Rasenshuriken before.
That technique had inspired him tremendously.
Minato had even created a similar technique himself afterward.
The only problem...
Was its overwhelming chakra consumption.
If he tried combining it with the Flying Thunder God Technique, even Minato would struggle to endure the cost.
"Enemy attack!!"
From within the ruins, frantic screams from Cloud shinobi finally erupted.
The entire stronghold instantly descended into complete chaos.
At that moment...
The Fourth Raikage's figure suddenly appeared atop the edge of the ruined battlefield.
His short golden hair stood upright.
The muscles covering his bare right arm bulged powerfully.
Even from an incredible distance away...
He immediately spotted Kiyohara descending slowly from the sky.
The Fourth Raikage took a deep breath.
Lightning Release: Chakra Mode!
Blue lightning wrapped around his entire body like armor.
His hair stood on end.
His already powerful physique appeared even more imposing beneath the crackling lightning.
Having experienced their previous battle firsthand...
The Raikage dared not underestimate Kiyohara again.
His figure flashed.
He transformed into a streak of blue lightning that shot directly toward Kiyohara.
His speed was astonishing.
So fast that all anyone could see was a blur of blue afterimages.
Lariat!
Kiyohara answered with a single punch.
Countless blazing fists condensed from flames exploded outward from his own fist, pouring toward the Fourth Raikage like a meteor shower.
The Raikage's pupils contracted violently.
He immediately raised his elbow.
His ultimate defensive technique.
Lightning chakra gathered around his elbow, forming his strongest possible shield.
BOOM!!
The instant the two overwhelming forces collided...
The earth beneath them shattered.
The Fourth Raikage was blasted backward.
His body carved a trench over a hundred meters long across the ground before smashing through three enormous boulders with his back.
Only then did he barely manage to stop.
At that exact moment...
A mass of blue flames suddenly attacked Kiyohara from the side.
The temperature of those flames was unimaginably high.
Wherever they passed...
Even the air itself ignited.
Fire Release: Mouse Hairball!
Kiyohara casually shifted to the side.
The flames brushed past him before crashing into the earth behind him, scorching the ground into a field of blackened ruin.
He turned his head toward the source of the attack.
A slender figure stood atop the edge of the destroyed battlefield.
Yugito Nii.
The Two Tails jinchuriki.
She wore a tightly fitted combat suit that accentuated her graceful figure, while her long twin ponytails danced wildly in the fierce wind.
"Kiyohara!"
Yugito stared directly at him.
"Today..."
"I'm going to wash away my humiliation!"
The instant she finished speaking, dark blue chakra erupted from within her body.
In the blink of an eye...
An enormous cat appeared upon the battlefield.
Its entire body was covered in ghostly blue flames.
Black stripes covered its fur.
Two long tails swayed behind it.
Its face was savage.
Its fangs were fully bared.
Its eyes remained locked firmly upon Kiyohara.
The fully transformed Two Tails...
Matatabi!
"ROAR!!"
The gigantic cat threw open its mouth.
Deep within its throat, blue light rapidly condensed.
The next second...
An enormous fireball more than ten meters in diameter erupted from its jaws.
Wherever it traveled...
The air burst into flames.
The earth melted.
Everything in its path turned to ash.
Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!
(End of Chapter)