My memory was preserved?
Kiyohara froze.
He immediately looked at Tsunade, Kakashi, Kurenai, Rin, Shizune…
Everyone's eyes went blank for a split second, then returned to normal.
"Just now… what happened?" Tsunade rubbed her temples. "The Dragon Vein got sealed? What about Anrokuzan?"
She only remembered dropping down there and going on a rampage. After that… it was like her mind hit a wall.
"Feels like we forgot something, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said, staring at the rubble. It looked like a major battle had taken place—puppet wreckage everywhere.
"Yeah… we did forget something." Tsunade frowned, thinking. Then her amber eyes shifted to Kiyohara. "Kid, how're you feeling?"
"I… feel like I forgot something too, Sensei," Kiyohara said, following her lead.
Whether he'd forgotten anything or not, he knew perfectly well.
So why was this happening?
Kiyohara glanced at Minato and saw the usually gentle man wearing a deep frown. Minato had a Flying Thunder God kunai in hand, as if trying to recall when he'd placed a marker.
Rin, Kurenai, Kakashi—even Queen Sara looked confused.
They remembered discovering Anrokuzan, then battling him.
And then… everything after that was gone.
"Anrokuzan should be defeated, Sensei," Kiyohara continued, pointing at the debris. A broken puppet head—barely recognizable as Anrokuzan's—lay among the wreckage.
"Yeah… he should be down. And the Dragon Vein's sealed too." Minato studied the traces around them.
Those shuriken stuck in the ground—those were his.
They couldn't remember how the ending happened, but they still remembered the Dragon Vein… and the two missing Anbu.
Minato deduced that he must have sealed the memories related to those two Anbu.
After thinking it over, he stopped forcing it.
If he'd chosen to seal memories back then, it had to have been the best option in that moment.
"These puppets are layered," Kakashi said, nudging a fragment with his foot. "Outside is clay, inside is metal."
"Right. Mostly clay and metal," Kiyohara agreed. "Some of the special ones are all-metal. Normally puppets are just wood, iron, and copper—Anrokuzan added clay."
"Let's head up first," Tsunade said, glancing around. This wasn't a place to talk.
"Wait—my people are still up there!" Sara suddenly remembered.
"Then let's move," Tsunade said.
The group started toward the stairs.
Kiyohara quietly called out Uchiha Kiyohara's spirit and asked if he remembered everything that had happened.
"Of course I remember," Uchiha Kiyohara nodded.
That ruled out the possibility that Minato had deliberately spared Kiyohara and sealed everyone else.
There was no reason—Minato would view this as something that could affect the future.
That left two likely explanations:
Either Kiyohara's stacked mental energy was so overwhelming he resisted the memory seal… or the "Willbook" system prevented his memories from being locked.
He didn't know which.
But keeping the memory was obviously a good thing.
"Looks like this place will need rebuilding." Sara went back to the stone wall, opened it, and released all her citizens, sending them up first.
She then followed Kiyohara's group to the Dragon Vein source. The pool was dry now—only the towering circular dais remained.
Sara walked up, staring at the drained basin with a trace of sorrow.
Anrokuzan's betrayal… there must have been signs even when her mother was alive. But she'd been too young back then to understand anything.
"Thank you, Kiyohara," Sara said seriously. "Roran will be rebuilt—properly."
Kiyohara took out the ruby necklace and returned it.
"Here. I sealed part of the Dragon Vein chakra inside, like we agreed. It can keep Roran's basic functions running."
Sara accepted it, feeling the warm current within, and nodded.
Minato stepped forward to examine the seal on the basin.
Using the Dragon Vein chakra sealed inside the necklace, he carefully drew out a tiny thread and connected it to several key nodes in the city.
That way, Roran could keep functioning at a basic level—without igniting outsiders' greed.
Since Roran had issued Konoha a mission request, it counted as a client nation. Keeping it intact also strengthened Konoha's position.
At Sara's request, they decided to stay the night in Roran and leave at dawn.
Everyone agreed.
That night, Kiyohara sat alone in his room.
The Dragon Vein chakra's stabilized… but it still lacks a true "form," no unified structure, he mused.
Otherwise, that scattered Dragon Vein chakra would gradually dissipate once it left Roran.
Unless he found a suitable "vessel material," then sealed it into himself with fuinjutsu.
At that point, it would basically be a "man-made tailed beast."
Still… those puppets have value.
On the table were heaps of puppet scraps.
No one in Roran wanted them, so Kiyohara collected more pieces to study—puppet-crafting methods, and how Dragon Vein chakra circulated through puppet bodies.
…
Far away on the battlefield, Uchiha Itachi clearly remembered the moment he first truly understood what kind of person he would become.
That day, rain poured in sheets.
So hard it was nearly impossible to keep your eyes open.
Four-year-old Itachi stood in the downpour, rain slamming into his small, fragile body.
Beside him, his father didn't say a single comforting word.
Not that Itachi had ever expected one.
"Remember this," Fugaku's deep, steady voice cut through the roar of rain. "This is the battlefield."
Battlefield—not a word a four-year-old should have to understand.
And what was spread before Itachi's eyes wasn't something a child should ever have to witness.
Bodies. Bodies. Bodies.
As far as he could see, corpses piled like hills.
No face looked peaceful. Every stiffened body had a frozen expression of pain and distortion.
"Why… did you bring me here?" Itachi asked.
Fugaku was silent for a moment, as if choosing words. Then he finally said:
"You're a smart child."
"That's why I wanted you to see reality with your own eyes."
His gaze swept over the enemy dead. As an Uchiha, you had to be the best—always.
That conviction had never wavered.
"So this is the world… I'll have to live in," Itachi whispered.
"Yes, Itachi. Shinobi are born in battle. Never forget what you saw today."
Fugaku nodded.
This experience was enough. It was time to return to the village.
He believed his son, tempered by war, would become an exceptional shinobi.
When we get back, I still have to deal with Kiyohara… Fugaku thought.
…
A few days later, Kiyohara and the others returned from Roran to Konoha.
Minato submitted the mission report. Kiyohara returned home with Tsunade.
Tsunade shoved open the door and practically threw herself onto the sofa.
With a long sigh, her full figure sank into the cushions, her hips deforming perfectly under the weight.
She kicked off her heels, wiggling her bare toes in the air.
"So tired…" she muttered, golden-brown hair spilling over the sofa back.
"Kiyohara, cook me a couple dishes. Shizune, go buy booze—shōchū, strong stuff."
Kiyohara had barely set down his bag when he raised an eyebrow.
"Sensei, I just got back. I was going to train for a bit."
Tsunade lazily turned her head, eyeing him.
"What's the rush? Later I'll teach you the Chakra Scalpel. A-rank medical ninjutsu. You want it or not?"
Kiyohara's eyes lit up instantly.
"Ahem—well, when you put it like that…"
Medical ninjutsu was still one of his weaker areas, and Chakra Scalpel wasn't just for surgery. It could sever muscles or nerves without breaking the skin—and function as a weapon far sharper than normal blades.
He immediately headed into the kitchen.
"A student serving his master is only natural. What would you like to eat?"
"Whatever. More meat. Check the fridge—make what you can."
Tsunade smiled in satisfaction and buried her face back into the cushion.
Since Kiyohara was cooking, Shizune could only leave with Tonton to buy liquor.
Clatter of pots and pans echoed from the kitchen.
Hearing it, Tsunade hummed softly.
She rolled over from lying on her side to lying face-down, shrugging off her outer layer. The sleeveless top clung to her smooth back, the curve flowing down to her waist before rising into a full, rounded slope.
Life was getting more comfortable: good mission pay, gambling money again, someone cooking, someone buying booze, and a hardworking, talented apprentice to "train."
"This kid…" Tsunade muttered, remembering how Kiyohara's attitude flipped the instant he heard "medical ninjutsu," and her lips curled.
"Just like Orochimaru—obsessed with jutsu."
Seems she'd found his weak spot.
About half an hour later, Kiyohara carried out several dishes.
The first thing he saw was Tsunade sprawled on the sofa, her body rising and falling slightly with her breathing.
He looked a couple seconds longer, expression unchanged, then placed the dishes on the table.
"Sensei, food's ready."
Shizune returned at almost the same time, carrying liquor and Tonton.
The three sat around the small dining table. Tsunade eagerly cracked open a bottle of strong liquor and took a long swig.
"After a mission, you've gotta enjoy yourself."
She nodded at Kiyohara.
"Not bad, kid. This meat's cooked just right."
"As long as you like it," Kiyohara replied.
His cooking had only been average before. With the Sharingan, though, he could mimic technique endlessly.
Sasuke could copy Lee's taijutsu movements—if the body could keep up. Cooking was easier than that.
Shizune ate small bites, occasionally feeding Tonton a little vegetable.
After the meal, Tsunade kept her word.
She had Kiyohara stand in the living room while she stood across from him.
"Watch closely. Chakra Scalpel is all about extreme chakra control."
She raised her right hand, palm up.
"You gather chakra in the hand—not as a solid, but as flowing chakra—then you make it vibrate at such a high frequency it can cut cells."
A thin, pale-blue blade formed over her palm, as thin as a cicada's wing. It looked like it would slice you open with a touch.
"In surgery, it's used for bloodless cutting of diseased tissue. In combat…"
Her eyes sharpened. She flicked her hand across an apple on the table.
The apple's surface looked untouched—but when she split it open, the inside had been cleanly cut in two, smooth as a mirror.
"…it destroys an enemy's cells, nerves, muscle tissue from the inside."
She dispersed the chakra.
"Sometimes there's only a small scratch outside, but inside they're already crippled—or dead."
Kiyohara had already activated his one-tomoe Sharingan and called Uchiha Kiyohara's spirit to study together, cross-checking details.
His red eye tracked every microscopic shift in Tsunade's chakra flow.
He could see it: chakra wasn't evenly spread. It vibrated at a microscopic level, forming countless tiny "edges."
The frequency was terrifyingly high—only insane control could keep it stable.
"Your turn," Tsunade said.
Kiyohara closed his eyes and inhaled.
He gathered chakra into his palm and imagined forcing it into vibration.
First attempts—chakra scattered instantly.
After he stood still and "thought" for a moment—really, he and Uchiha Kiyohara exchanged quick notes—his pale-blue chakra began to tremble.
Tsunade raised a brow, impressed.
"Oh? Found the feel that fast? Keep going. Raise the frequency."
Minute by minute, sweat beaded on Kiyohara's forehead, but the vibration quickened.
Two hours later, he could barely push it to the point of cutting fruit.
He tested it on another apple: the skin showed a shallow cut, and the inside was only half-severed.
"Good enough," Tsunade actually praised.
"Most people need months to reach that. That's it for today. Remember the sensation. Practice daily."
Kiyohara dispersed the chakra and nodded.
…
Night.
Shizune went to her room.
Tsunade, tipsy, staggered to bed.
Kiyohara still wasn't sleepy. He slipped into the courtyard.
The Senju estate's yard was massive—perfect for training.
Moonlight spilled across the ground, insects chirping.
Kiyohara raised his right hand, palm up.
This time he didn't try Chakra Scalpel.
He tried… the Rasengan.
Back in Roran, he'd seen Minato's brilliant blue chakra sphere and immediately copied the method with his Sharingan.
The principle was simple: pure shape transformation—compressing and rotating chakra with no elemental nature.
Step one: make chakra rotate in the palm.
Blue chakra gathered into a small whirlpool. Easy—Kiyohara did it quickly.
Step two: increase output, accelerate rotation.
The whirlpool spun faster, buzzing. Fallen leaves swirled around his hand in the airflow.
Step three—the hardest: compress and stabilize that high-speed rotation into a dense sphere.
A blue chakra mass formed in his palm.
"This thing burns way more chakra than Chidori," Kiyohara estimated.
Without real chakra reserves, Rasengan was basically useless.
He thought of Minato.
Minato didn't just use Rasengan—he paired it with Flying Thunder God.
Aside from Tobirama, Minato was the only Konoha shinobi who could use Flying Thunder God in its true form; later versions required three shinobi with Flying Thunder God Formation.
And "Namikaze" was just a civilian surname.
Not only clans and nobles had surnames—civilians did too. Sakura Haruno and her father were civilians.
So how did a civilian have such monstrous chakra?
Could Minato be a distant Senju relative or something? Kiyohara wondered.
In the ninja world, chakra and vitality often tracked with bloodline—Uzumaki and Senju were famous for that.
If Minato had even a trace in his ancestry, it would explain a lot.
…Or he's just that gifted, Kiyohara decided, shaking his head.
People weren't one-size-fits-all.
The "blond gene" was just ridiculously strong, too—strong enough to overpower Kushina's signature Uzumaki red hair and make Naruto blond.
And Kushina's bloodline wasn't some watered-down branch, either.
Kiyohara thought for a moment, then went back to training.
He could form Rasengan, but maintaining it in real combat would take far more practice.
"This kid… not sleeping even at night," Tsunade muttered from the upstairs window, leaning there with a cup of water to sober up, watching Kiyohara train in the yard.
"That learning speed…"
Her eyes flickered with complicated emotion.
She was certain Kiyohara would carve out a place for himself in Konoha.
"…And it'll make borrowing money easier too."
…
The next morning, Kiyohara got up early, made breakfast for Tsunade and Shizune, then headed for Training Ground Three.
He wanted open space to keep practicing Rasengan and Chakra Scalpel.
The Senju estate wasn't a good place to wreck things.
But when he arrived, someone was already there.
Might Guy was doing push-ups, sweat soaking his training suit.
"Nine hundred ninety-seven… nine hundred ninety-eight… nine hundred ninety-nine… one thousand!"
He finished, flipped up—and spotted Kiyohara at the edge of the trees.
His eyes lit up. That trademark blazing grin appeared, and he thrust a thumbs-up, teeth gleaming in the morning sun.
"Ooh! Kiyohara! You're training this early too? That's youth!"
Kiyohara blinked, then nodded.
"Morning, Guy."
Guy strode over and slapped Kiyohara's shoulder enthusiastically.
"Since you're here, want to train together? Taijutsu is the foundation of all shinobi!"
Kiyohara was about to refuse, but reconsidered. Taijutsu was an area he still needed to strengthen.
"Where do we start?"
"Warm-up!"
Guy's eyes practically shone.
"Let's do fifty laps around the training ground!"
Kiyohara nodded. "Sure."
Guy's stamina was ridiculous—back at the Academy he'd once run five thousand laps around the track.
For normal shinobi, this was already brutal.
"YES! The burning blood of youth!"
Guy pumped a fist.
"Let's go! First one done wins!"
Before the words were even fully out, Guy shot off like an arrow, leaving a faint afterimage.
Kiyohara inhaled and moved, channeling chakra.
He didn't sprint like Guy—he kept a stable, efficient pace.
The Yang-affinity vitality in his body made his endurance far beyond ordinary.
One lap. Two. Five. Ten…
Kiyohara deepened his breathing, but his rhythm stayed steady.
Guy kept glancing back, surprised Kiyohara was still right behind him.
He sped up to test him. Kiyohara maintained the gap anyway.
By lap twenty, Guy's breathing got rough, sweat pouring.
Their pace was so fast even Guy felt the strain.
Kiyohara's face was only slightly flushed; his breathing remained controlled.
"Kiyohara… your stamina…" Guy couldn't help blurting.
"…is really impressive!"
"Not bad," Kiyohara replied—though he was actually watching Guy's running form.
Every push-off, every arm swing, every breath cycle—polished to an optimal pattern.
Not just talent—pure repetition.
Most people's running form was inefficient.
So of course… Kiyohara copied it with his Sharingan.
After thirty laps, Guy's speed finally dipped. But he clenched his jaw and pushed on, eyes burning with stubborn pride.
They kept moving, pace still fierce.
By the end, Guy was bent over, hands on his knees, gasping.
"Hah… hah… Kiyohara… you…"
He looked up at Kiyohara in shock.
"You're not tired at all?!"
"I'm tired. I can still go," Kiyohara answered honestly.
Fifty laps at this speed did take real stamina—Training Ground Three was much bigger than the Academy grounds.
They finished fast; ordinary shinobi wouldn't even keep up.
Still, the Yang chakra was already repairing micro-tears in his muscles.
And he also had the White Snake's Power.
Two layers of recovery—his stamina regen was far faster than Guy's.
"That's amazing!" Guy gave another thumbs-up, still panting.
"With your physique, you were born for taijutsu!"
Kiyohara glanced at the sky. It was getting late.
He was about to say goodbye when a shinobi appeared at the entrance.
"Guy! Finally found you!" Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses, sounding exhausted.
"We have a mission today. Did you forget?!"
"Ah!" Guy smacked his forehead.
"Totally forgot! Such a youthful mistake!"
Ebisu walked over, nodded politely at Kiyohara, then urged Guy, "Come on."
"Kiyohara, that's it for today!" Guy flashed a thumbs-up again.
"Next time we train together—youthful promise!"
And he vanished into the trees with Ebisu, the green blur quickly gone.
Kiyohara stayed behind, flexing his sore muscles.
When he looked up through the trees, he spotted familiar figures walking this way—
Kakashi, Kurenai, Rin, and the others.
Training Ground Three was basically becoming their private training ground.
Because Kiyohara always trained here, the others had started showing up more often too.
He greeted them and resumed training… but not long after, another familiar presence arrived—
and behind him, a small figure.
"Kiyohara!"
Uchiha Shisui waved. Beside him stood a black-haired, black-eyed boy who looked about four, with a calm gaze that didn't fit a child.
"Shisui." Kiyohara walked over, eyes landing on the boy. "And this is…?"
"Fugaku-sama's son—Uchiha Itachi," Shisui said with a smile, ruffling Itachi's hair.
"We were about to practice shurikenjutsu, and we ran into you."
Itachi lifted his head and studied Kiyohara.
No childish curiosity. No shyness. Just… evaluation.
"Kiyohara-senpai," Itachi said flatly.
"Hello," Kiyohara replied.
"Kiyohara-senpai went to the Land of Wind recently?" Itachi asked.
Shisui looked curious too.
"Yes. A mission," Kiyohara nodded.
Then he asked, "How good is Itachi's shuriken work right now?"
He wanted to gauge Itachi's current level.
"Hmm… his throwing is only a little behind mine," Shisui said, pride clearly in his face. "Among his age group, his Uchiha-style shurikenjutsu is already extremely refined."
Kiyohara nodded. So… still not enough.
"What about ninjutsu?" he asked.
"For now, just Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique," Shisui answered, even more proud.
No doubt, Itachi deserved the word "genius."
"Also not bad." Kiyohara waved it off—he really just wanted to defeat Itachi and clear the second wish.
Four-year-old Itachi hadn't even awakened the Sharingan yet—no real genjutsu threat.
A body that small wasn't developed; taijutsu would be limited too.
At twelve, Itachi could kill three Uchiha jōnin with taijutsu alone. At thirteen, he could beat Orochimaru and traumatize him for life.
But right now? He was four.
Kiyohara couldn't help but want to laugh.
Was there any universe where he'd lose?
Time to execute justice on Itachi.
"Let's spar first, Kiyohara," Shisui said, stepping forward.
"Since our last match, I've refined a few new jutsu. I'd like your feedback."
Kiyohara nodded.
Sure—Shisui first, Itachi later. Same outcome.
"After that, I want to spar with Itachi." Kiyohara pointed to the four-year-old.
Shisui blinked, surprised.
"I want to guide him a bit. Test his taijutsu."
"Oh." Shisui relaxed. "No problem."
Shisui inclined his head.
Kiyohara removed his green flak jacket and hung it on a training post, revealing the fitted black combat gear beneath.
He rolled his wrists and drew his chakra-metal blade.
Shisui drew his short sword too.
"I'm coming, Kiyohara!"
Shisui's blade flashed—and his body shot forward.
Kiyohara raised his own blade to meet him.
Bang!
Sparks sprayed in a chain.
Then came the rapid clanging, over and over.
Both were Body Flicker-type fighters. It wasn't just blade light—it was them flickering too.
"Uchiha really are strong," Kurenai murmured as she watched from afar.
Both of them were Uchiha here.
Kakashi lowered his Lightning scroll and looked over.
He'd trained since childhood—he knew swordplay well, even if he'd stopped using it. The knowledge was still there.
He could tell both of them were skilled.
"Kiyohara's stronger," Rin said.
Clang!
Sparks kept bursting where their blades met.
"Your reactions got faster," Shisui grinned, suddenly adding force.
"You're not bad either," Kiyohara answered.
Shisui gripped his sword with both hands. His aura surged.
"Now I'm getting serious."
With that, Uchiha-style swordplay in Shisui's hands turned lethally sharp.
Kiyohara's Sharingan spun fast, using dynamic vision to read Shisui's muscle tension and timing.
At the same time, Shisui's own Sharingan was reading Kiyohara.
Their blades collided again and again—bright, crisp metal strikes—while their feet kicked up dust and leaves.
"Faster and faster…" Kurenai couldn't help whispering.
She prided herself on her eyesight, but she was starting to lose track.
Kakashi had straightened up at some point, his exposed right eye fixed on them.
"Kiyohara still only has one tomoe… and he can keep up with Shisui?"
Kakashi could only think: his growth rate is insane.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!"
Kiyohara blew a breath along his sword.
A pale-yellow stream of wind wrapped the chakra metal, extending and solidifying into a transparent wind-blade nearly two meters long.
The edge vibrated at high speed, making a piercing hum—like the air itself was being sliced.
Shisui's pupils tightened—then he smiled, exhilarated.
"Nice!"
He stopped holding back, flooding his blade with Fire chakra.
Red flames burst along the sword, heat warping the air.
"Uchiha Style: Sword-Leaping Flame!"
He swung—flame cleaving off the blade into a fiery slash that surged at Kiyohara.
It scorched a black groove through the ground as it passed.
Kiyohara surged forward instead of retreating. Wind and fire slammed together with a booming crack.
Shisui slid back a step, then formed seals.
"…Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!"
He threw dozens of shuriken, then spat fireballs that wrapped around them—turning them into blazing projectiles.
Zzzzt!
Blue lightning detonated under Kiyohara's feet. A shadow remained—his real body had already moved.
Lightning Release: Lightning Feet!
The flaming shuriken all hit empty space and exploded into scorch pits.
Rin watched Kiyohara with open envy.
"If only I had lightning affinity…"
"Rin, you already have water, fire, and earth. That's plenty," Kurenai comforted her—then added with a small, proud smile, "And I do have lightning affinity. Dad said it's rare for a genjutsu specialist."
Kakashi flicked the girls a glance, then refocused.
He'd seen Kiyohara use this technique many times: lightning chakra stimulating cells, producing an instant burst of speed.
That method… I can adapt it, Kakashi thought.
Since leaving the Land of Grass, his two-tomoe Sharingan had mysteriously become three-tomoe.
His insight and dynamic vision had improved too.
Was Chidori still not fast enough?
If he also stimulated the feet like Kiyohara did…
Body Flicker!
Shisui vanished—
and reappeared five meters behind Kiyohara, sword raised in a full-power diagonal cut.
"Uchiha Style: Gale Sword!"
This slash wasn't fire—it was a compressed wind blade.
Air tore open, creating a visible vacuum cleave wave that covered nearly all of Kiyohara's escape angles.
The three spectators all sharpened their focus.
That attack's power was beyond typical jōnin. Shisui was truly going all out.
~~~
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