Kiyohara closed his eyes and waited for the change.
Those points of light began slowly flowing into his body.
The first thing that arrived was an increase in spiritual energy.
Fragments of memory poured into his mind—snippets from Toad Kiyohara's 180-year life.
From hatching from the egg, to training at Mount Myoboku, learning senjutsu, taking part in missions, traveling to the ancient kingdom of Roran, and finally dying in battle on Summoning Island…
There were not many of them, just a few brief scenes each.
Kiyohara only gave them a glance before focusing on the increase in his chakra reserves.
His chakra pathway system felt like a riverbed that had been widened, greatly increasing the total amount of chakra it could hold.
Kiyohara now had more chakra than ten Kakashis combined.
He was at about 11.5 Kakashi units now.
In terms of chakra reserves alone, Kiyohara had already joined the ranks of those with truly formidable amounts.
The only ones who could still really compare with him in chakra were probably Kage-level beings.
People like the Fourth Raikage, who was said to possess tailed-beast-level chakra, or monsters like Samehada, which was known as the tailless tailed beast.
Otherwise, only jinchuriki, tailed beasts, or certain chakra-based lifeforms could match him.
More importantly, the nature of his chakra had changed.
It now carried an added quality—gentle and fluid.
Water nature.
The last chakra nature Kiyohara had been missing was finally complete.
That meant Kiyohara could now freely use all seven major chakra natures, and in all kinds of extreme environments, he could still cast the appropriate techniques.
For example, using Water Release in the Land of Snow could turn into Ice Release thanks to the unique climate there.
"How does it feel?"
Toad Kiyohara's spirit had already broken down considerably, continually dissolving into points of light and merging into Kiyohara's body.
"It's… strange,"
Kiyohara said after thinking about his wording.
"I can feel my body changing, but I haven't lost my human traits."
"Looks like what you inherited was my essence, not my appearance."
Toad Kiyohara proudly patted what little remained of his belly.
"Mount Myoboku's senjutsu was originally meant for toads. Humans only force themselves to train in it, which is why they end up developing toad-like traits.
"But your current state… would that count as half-human, half-toad? No, no, more like a human body with a toad's soul? No, that's not quite right either…"
Toad Kiyohara scratched his head in frustration.
"Anyway, you're one of a kind now. You have a toad's affinity for natural energy while still retaining the upper potential limit of a human."
Kiyohara nodded.
He could feel that his senjutsu training was about to enter an entirely new phase.
Before, he could only use senjutsu when Toad Kiyohara partially possessed him.
Now he could use it himself.
And with greater power, and finer control.
As they spoke, another set of experience flowed into Kiyohara's mind.
It was the complete senjutsu training system passed down by Mount Myoboku.
From the most basic sensing of natural energy, to refining senjutsu chakra, to entering and maintaining Sage Mode, and finally to the application of various Sage Arts.
There were even some… forbidden Sage Arts.
Kiyohara rapidly skimmed through the knowledge, deeply shocked.
Mount Myoboku's senjutsu system was even more complete than he had imagined.
Then again, after thinking about it, Mount Myoboku was a kingdom of toads.
A thousand years ago, they had already been able to create treasures like the Sage Charm, which healed the dying Otsutsuki Hamura.
"Don't die too early, kid."
At last, Toad Kiyohara completely broke apart into countless points of light.
Kiyohara gave a small nod as he watched the lights flow into his body.
There's still more changing…
Kiyohara thought.
And… something deeper.
He could feel his body changing.
Not outwardly, but internally.
His chakra pathway system became broader and tougher, able to endure even more intense chakra flow.
His bone density increased slightly, and his muscle fibers rearranged themselves into a structure better suited for explosive bursts of strength.
Most obvious of all was his perception of natural energy.
Before, he had needed to calm his mind and focus to detect it.
Now it felt as natural as breathing.
As long as he wanted to, he could draw natural energy into his body at any time and turn it into senjutsu chakra.
So this was… toad bloodline?
Kiyohara could only say one thing: human ability really did have limits.
In his short life, he had learned that the more a person trained, the more clearly they would feel the limits of being human.
The ninja world, at its core, was just a family drama of the Otsutsuki clan.
If you wanted to shine in a ninja world filled with monsters, you had to become gold yourself.
And the only way to become gold was to become something beyond human.
Kiyohara… was officially done being human.
He opened his eyes and looked at his hands.
His skin was still human skin. No toad warts, no webbing.
But when he mobilized his chakra, he could feel an ease he had never experienced before.
The affinity between his body and natural energy had risen by several levels.
"Kiyohara?"
Tsunade's voice came from nearby.
The blood on the ground had already been baked dry by the flames and turned to ash.
Together with the wind and blowing sand, there was no trace of blood left now.
Tsunade walked over directly, her face normal again.
"You're okay, right? You suddenly froze up just now…"
"I'm fine, Sensei."
Kiyohara flexed his fingers, feeling the changes in his body.
He had just evolved a tiny bit, that was all.
Kiyohara found himself wondering whether his future children would be able to inherit his bloodline.
At this rate, he might be able to found an entire toad clan specialized in senjutsu.
Compared to the usual training path—which required talent and an enormous chakra reserve just as a minimum requirement—something passed down through bloodline like this was far more stable.
That said, Kiyohara did not need children right now.
Though…
He glanced at Tsunade.
If the two of them revived the Senju clan's glory together, that would not actually be impossible.
You could not starve the children, after all. And someone like Tsunade was obviously ideal.
"Just… picked up a little something."
He did not explain in detail, because some things were hard to explain clearly.
"Is the Ultimate Summoning Beast fully dealt with?"
"Yeah. The core has been purified, and the fragments have all been melted down."
Tsunade pointed at the gold dust furnace.
Inside it, the fragments had been completely melted into black slag by the extreme heat. There was no life left in them at all.
"That's good."
Kiyohara dismissed the furnace and drew the gold dust back into his gourd.
"Let's head back to camp. Everyone's exhausted today."
By the time they returned to camp, it was already deep into the night.
Everyone else had gone to rest. Only Kiyohara was still sitting by the campfire.
He was feeling out the changes in his body.
Inheriting toad bloodline had brought more than just additional chakra nature and a stronger affinity for natural energy.
It had brought something more fundamental.
Length of life.
Human lifespan had limits.
Even Uchiha Madara, who possessed the so-called Sage's Eyes, had only remained in the world for a few decades—and that was with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path supplying him with chakra.
But the toads of Mount Myoboku could casually live for centuries.
That was not a question of chakra amount.
It was a difference in the essence of the species.
Just as turtles and rabbits had different lifespans, and trees and flowers had different lifespans, a being's form of life determined its upper limit.
And now, Kiyohara could feel that his own lifeform was undergoing a subtle transformation.
Not into a toad, but…
On top of his human foundation, some toad-like traits had been integrated into him.
A longer cellular division cycle. Greater self-healing. Better adaptation to natural energy…
He had no idea how long he would ultimately live.
But certainly longer than an ordinary human.
And the transformation was still continuing.
No, I didn't inherit visible toad traits. It feels more like some kind of manifestation of senjutsu itself?
Kiyohara thought.
If senjutsu had elemental leanings, then Mount Myoboku's unquestionably leaned toward Yang, since it amplified taijutsu and ninjutsu. Ryuchi Cave's, meanwhile, seemed to enhance sensing and Yin-based creation techniques.
Like Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation.
If I ever gain white snake bloodline in the future, would that cause some kind of qualitative change in my senjutsu?
Kiyohara wondered.
Then he suppressed the thought.
What he was more curious about now was what the next lingering wish would be.
If he kept stacking different futures, different bloodline limits, different species…
What would he eventually become?
Blood of all living things?
Containing the entire myriad creation?
Or perhaps Otsutsuki?
No… probably something beyond Otsutsuki.
After all, even the Otsutsuki clan could not awaken every bloodline limit.
Their bodies merely carried the genes—they could not fully express all of them.
And even their physical bodies would eventually reach the end of their lifespan.
That was why they constantly planted Karma marks, searched for vessels, reincarnated into them, compressed their data into Karma, and overwrote the original vessel until it became themselves.
But when you stripped away the details, that was really just Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation without the side effects.
Kiyohara had no desire to live like that, reincarnating again and again by stealing other people's bodies.
Because the process was dangerous, finding vessels was difficult, and if anything went wrong with the Karma, the user was simply dead.
Otsutsuki Isshiki had died precisely because his body broke down and he did not have time to transfer himself into a new vessel through Karma.
Over the following days, Kiyohara and the others tracked down the sea monster.
It turned out the "sea monster" was actually Amachi's summoned beast, Umibozu.
Naturally, Kiyohara dealt with it without difficulty.
He also seized information from the base and obtained a large amount of research data on curse marks.
At Orochimaru's current stage, his curse mark research was still nowhere near Kiyohara's.
Kiyohara estimated it would take at least another half year to a year before the first rough prototype appeared.
After that, Orochimaru would still need over ten years to perfect it.
Meanwhile, the curse mark on Kiyohara's body was already a fully mature version.
"You're sure you don't want to come back with us?"
Tsunade looked at Honoka Uzumaki.
Over the past two days, she had invited Honoka to return to Konoha more than once.
She had told her that she still had clansmen there.
Honoka Uzumaki had clearly been tempted, but in the end she still refused.
"These people saved me, so at the very least I have to protect them until their research is complete."
Honoka shook her head.
The Land of Whirlpools had fallen a long time ago.
Since the day it was destroyed, they had all lived under false names.
Most of them had died in that chaos, and many others had died while fleeing.
Only a tiny handful, like her, had awakened their clan's bloodline and gained real strength.
And unlike many others, she had ended up with a decent organization rather than being captured and experimented on.
"If there ever comes a day when you want to go to Konoha, just mention my name."
Tsunade said it plainly.
The Senju and Uzumaki clans had always been distant relatives, and on top of that, Tsunade's own grandmother had been an Uzumaki.
Tsunade herself carried quite a bit of Uzumaki blood.
So between her and Honoka Uzumaki, they could absolutely be considered family.
"I understand, Tsunade-sama."
Honoka knew that connection too, and her attitude toward Tsunade had grown much more affectionate.
Meanwhile, Kiyohara stood behind them, watching Tsunade and Honoka talk.
Pakura had already been returned to Sunagakure during the last round of negotiations, and Kiyohara estimated it would not be long before Suna stabbed her in the back.
That, however, would be an excellent chance for him to bring Suna under his control.
After all, Pakura was no weakling, and her Scorch Release was an excellent ability.
If he wanted to build a force of his own, he naturally had to gather talented seeds from everywhere.
Right now, he already had two top generals under him: Kakashi and Might Guy.
As for Kabuto Yakushi, he was still too young and had far too much left to learn.
What's left is the war with Kumogakure and Kirigakure. As for Iwagakure, that one probably doesn't have much longer to go.
Kiyohara thought.
A few days later, the group returned to Konoha.
"Finally back."
Shizune carried her medical kit behind Tsunade, looking visibly relaxed now that the mission was over.
Kurenai tidied her windblown hair, but her eyes kept drifting toward Kiyohara walking ahead.
The silver chain around his neck, similar in style to Tsunade's, slipped partly out of his collar as he turned.
"Kiyohara."
Kurenai quickened her pace until she was walking beside him.
As the group passed through Konoha's main gate, the chunin on duty visibly froze for a moment before straightening up and saluting.
"Tsunade-sama, Jonin Kiyohara, welcome back!"
Kiyohara gave a slight nod.
He had long since grown used to being called a jonin, but every time someone addressed him that formally, it still reminded him that before Kannabi Bridge, he had only been a genin.
The group first went to the Hokage Building and reported Hiruko's matter to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen sighed.
He truly had not expected things to develop this way.
At the same time, a sense of unease rose inside him.
Hiruzen could only hope his eldest student, Orochimaru, would never walk the same road one day.
After thinking for a while, Hiruzen praised Kiyohara and then paid everyone their mission reward.
"Dismissed."
At the fork in the road, Tsunade stopped and stretched lazily, her beautiful curves outlined clearly in the dusk.
"You've all worked hard these past few days."
"You too, Tsunade-sama!"
Rin and Kurenai answered in unison.
Since their homes were in different directions from Tsunade's, they each went their own way.
Before leaving, Rin looked back at Kiyohara once, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she simply turned and disappeared into the flow of people on the street.
Kiyohara followed Tsunade home.
He set his travel pack down in the entryway, then suddenly remembered something.
"Sensei, I'm going back to pick up a few things."
"Hm?"
"Some personal belongings."
Kiyohara paused.
"And check the mailbox."
Tsunade waved a hand to show she understood, then collapsed onto the sofa and pulled a gambling guidebook out of her clothes.
She had picked it up at the harbor in the Land of the Sea. It supposedly improved gambling skill.
One glance was enough for Kiyohara to tell it was nonsense, but Tsunade completely believed it.
At that point, there was nothing he could do about her.
Her gambling was already as bad as it could possibly be. No amount of studying was going to make it worse.
Kiyohara opened the mailbox.
The orphanage occasionally sent him letters, so he checked it from time to time.
He stepped outside, crossed two streets, and arrived at the small house registered under his name.
The moment he opened it, he froze.
The inside was packed full.
Stacks upon stacks of neatly bundled banknotes had been stuffed inside.
On top of them sat two dark brown ninjutsu scrolls and a letter sealed with wax.
Wait, who put money in my mailbox?
Kiyohara stroked his chin.
Tsunade's mailbox and his were not the same one. This mailbox had been added after he moved in.
In the ninja world, letters were still a very common way of passing information around.
There was even a class of ninja known as postal ninja.
Postal ninja did not just deliver letters domestically—they were also responsible for delivering mail between different countries and ninja villages.
The main thing distinguishing them from ordinary messengers was the numbered code on their hats and the binocular-like goggles worn over their eyes.
Kiyohara frowned and stepped forward to take the letter.
The seal in the wax bore the fan crest of the Uchiha clan.
He broke the seal and opened the letter.
The contents were brief:
To Kiyohara-kun:
Recent affairs have kept me busy, and I have not had the chance to convey this in person. Please accept these modest gifts as a token of my regard. If you find yourself free, I hope you will visit my humble home for a talk.
—Respectfully, Fugaku
At the bottom was Uchiha Fugaku's personal seal.
Well then. Even his writing was stiff and formal.
Kiyohara felt that Fugaku really was one of the more cultured members of the Uchiha clan.
He folded the letter and looked at the pile of cash in the mailbox.
By rough estimate, there had to be at least three million ryo there.
For an ordinary ninja, that was the equivalent of more than ten A-rank mission rewards.
For a major clan like the Uchiha, money really was not a problem.
If the major clans were strapped for cash, then the smaller clans and civilians probably would not even be able to survive.
The ordinary Uchiha who did not become ninja usually managed the clan's businesses.
As for the two ninjutsu scrolls, Kiyohara opened them and took a quick look. Both contained advanced Fire Release applications.
One of them was even the Uchiha clan's restricted secret technique: Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song.
"Very generous."
Kiyohara sealed everything away into a storage scroll.
Just as he was about to head back, he noticed Kurenai approaching from the distance.
She was carrying a very large cardboard box.
"Kiyohara."
Kurenai waved to him.
"Kurenai?"
Kiyohara was a little surprised.
"What are you doing here?"
"Bringing you your birthday gift."
Kurenai smiled.
She opened the box. Inside was a light wood desk and a simple-looking desk lamp.
"I got you this."
A ninja could use chakra to enhance the body, so even after carrying it all the way here, Kurenai had barely broken a sweat.
"I had it made several days ago."
Kurenai gestured for Kiyohara to carry it upstairs.
Kiyohara nodded slightly, picked up the desk with one hand, stacked the chair on top of it, and grabbed the lamp with the other hand.
Going up from the first floor meant making a turn, so Kiyohara simply jumped up with everything and entered his room through the window.
Seeing that, Kurenai stepped onto the wall and walked up it herself, entering his room the same way.
Walking on walls was easy for ninja.
Kurenai watched as Kiyohara placed the desk against the wall, set the lamp on top, plugged it in, and flipped the switch.
A warm yellow glow instantly filled one corner of the room.
"This way it'll be a lot more convenient when you read at night or organize scrolls."
She clapped her hands, sounding just a little proud.
Then Kurenai looked around the room and sighed in mild exasperation.
"You really haven't added anything at all, have you?"
Kiyohara followed her gaze.
The room was practically empty. Aside from the bed and wardrobe, there was nothing.
Well, there was also one especially tiny chair he sometimes sat on while studying ninjutsu.
"As long as it works, it's enough."
Kiyohara said.
"Enough for what?"
Kurenai puffed out her cheeks.
"If you keep reading scrolls like this, you're going to end up nearsighted."
Ninja were still human, after all, and humans could get nearsighted.
If that happened, it would be a real problem.
Kiyohara looked at the lamp. Its glow danced across Kurenai's face, clearly illuminating her slightly babyish cheeks.
"I understand. Thank you, Kurenai."
Kurenai suddenly looked a little embarrassed and turned her face away.
She sat down on the edge of the bed, her fingers unconsciously brushing across the bedsheet.
"By the way, Kiyohara…"
She looked up and examined him.
"Did you get taller again?"
By now, Kiyohara's height was already impressive for someone his age.
Kurenai was still growing too, but girls' growth usually slowed earlier, and now she only reached a little above his shoulder.
~~~
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