One oddly ironic thing is that, despite looking like a village full of reckless brawlers, Kumogakure actually had the most advanced tech tree out of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
After all, only two years after the Fourth Great Ninja War, they rolled out the Chakra Cannon, a weapon capable of blasting the moon apart in a single shot.
As for exactly when that research began, and how many years it took to perfect, only Kumogakure's researchers probably knew.
…
After resting for half an hour, a ninja came to inform Kiyohara that the meeting was starting.
By the time he lifted the tent flap and stepped inside, it was already underway.
There were around twenty people seated inside, all wearing the standard green flak jackets of Konoha shinobi.
At the head of the table sat Jiraiya himself.
For once, this legendary Sannin had put away his usual grin.
Kiyohara's arrival stirred a faint ripple through the tent.
A dozen gazes turned toward him at once, carrying curiosity, caution, admiration, and more.
In the ninja world, strength was the hardest currency there was.
Kiyohara's achievements on the Kirigakure front had long since spread. Killing two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and seizing their blades was the kind of feat that would draw attention even in the middle of the Third Great Ninja War.
"Kiyohara, sit here."
Jiraiya looked up, nodded to him, and pointed to an empty seat on the left.
Kiyohara took the seat as instructed, sweeping his eyes across the people present.
There were several Uchiha shinobi among them, and one in particular stood out.
His face was stern and rigid, covered in wrinkles.
It was none other than Uchiha Setsuna.
"Our reconnaissance unit discovered a newly built Kumogakure supply point seventy li northeast of here. It's not large, but the defenses are tight. At least several jonin are stationed there permanently, along with multiple chunin."
Jiraiya's finger moved across the map and finally stopped on a location marked with a red triangle.
"Here. Blackstone Gorge. It's a chokepoint for Kumogakure's supply transport into this region. The terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and hard to attack."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room.
"The intel division believes Kumogakure has been moving troops around frequently lately. They're most likely stockpiling supplies in preparation for a winter offensive. If they complete their resupply without interference, the pressure on us will increase dramatically once winter sets in."
The tent fell silent.
Everyone understood what that meant.
Kumogakure was located high in the mountains. Their shinobi lived year-round in a harsh environment, making them far better adapted to winter combat than Konoha's forces.
If they secured enough supplies and launched an offensive in the dead of winter, Konoha's defensive lines would be in serious danger.
"So…"
Jiraiya straightened up, both hands braced on the table.
"We need to destroy their supply lines as much as possible."
He looked around the room, then finally let his eyes settle on Kiyohara.
"Kiyohara-kun, you have experience cutting supply lines on the Kirigakure front. This time, I want to hear your opinion."
In an instant, every gaze in the tent focused on Kiyohara again.
His expression remained calm. He rose under their stares and walked over to the map.
His finger slowly traced the outline of Blackstone Gorge.
"The terrain is definitely difficult. A frontal assault is a bad idea. Since Kumogakure chose this as a supply point, they've definitely set up a solid defensive network and an early warning system. If we attack head-on, we'll only drag ourselves into a war of attrition."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Nara Ensui asked, the game piece in his hand coming to a stop.
"Circle around and sabotage from behind."
Kiyohara's finger moved from the cliffs on both sides of the gorge and pointed toward a stretch of hilly terrain behind it.
Cutting off the enemy's supply line—whether in ordinary warfare or shinobi warfare—was one of the oldest and most effective tactics there was.
The battle at Kannabi Bridge was the perfect example. It had completely shifted the course of the war between Konoha and Iwagakure and handed Konoha the advantage.
As Jiraiya listened, Kiyohara's analysis made sense.
They had considered the same idea themselves. The real issue was execution.
But once he remembered Kiyohara's mobility, Jiraiya realized the plan really might be workable.
"Kiyohara, I've got several possible supply routes here that need to be cut off. Which one do you want?"
Jiraiya listed several options in succession.
Kiyohara listened in silence.
Then, the moment he heard Samui's name, he spoke.
"I'll take Samui's route."
"Oh?"
Jiraiya lifted a brow.
Samui was Killer B's student. Her supply line was the hardest one to sever, and Kiyohara had chosen the most difficult target right away?
"The Will of Fire means not fearing hardship or danger. The more difficult the mission, the more clearly it reveals the purity of the Will of Fire."
Kiyohara declared that his Will of Fire was just that noble.
His backbone had to be harder than stone, and his ambition higher than the mountains.
Hearing that, Jiraiya felt quite satisfied with Kiyohara's spirit.
After that, they continued discussing the details.
The basic idea was simple: Kiyohara would move ahead first and lie in ambush.
Then, at the right moment, he would launch a surprise attack and destroy the enemy's supplies.
Once the meeting ended, Kiyohara left the tent at once.
"Kiyohara."
Uchiha Tekka called out to him.
"What is it?"
Kiyohara glanced at him.
Tekka hadn't been present at the meeting just now.
"Did you take a mission?"
Tekka asked curiously.
"I took one."
Kiyohara nodded.
"Who are you taking with you this time? Can I come too? I've only been here a week and I'm already going stir-crazy."
Kiyohara gave him a look.
"What are you good at?"
"Fire Release. The Uchiha clan's signature Fire Release. I'm not on your level, but I'm still pretty skilled. I'm good with shurikenjutsu too, and my taijutsu isn't bad either."
"This mission requires stealth. Fire Release doesn't fit."
Kiyohara cut him off.
What, launch a fire technique in the middle of the night and make sure the enemy knew exactly where you were?
According to the reconnaissance team, Kumogakure usually transported supplies at night.
"And you've been stationed here for half a year already. Kumogakure probably has your profile on record. You're too easy to identify."
Kiyohara continued.
"Then who are you taking?"
"Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai."
Kiyohara had already decided.
Kakashi's Sharingan and Lightning Release gave him an edge in reconnaissance and in dealing with Kumogakure ninja.
Asuma also had Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning, which could obscure the enemy's vision.
As for a sensory-type ninja, Kiyohara himself was enough.
He could sense targets on his own, and he could also send out Yotsuki Kiyohara to help scout.
"Fine, then."
Tekka could only wave a hand and leave.
Kiyohara watched his back and shook his head slightly.
Tekka's role really was awkward. If he had a body flicker technique like Uchiha Shisui's, bringing him along might actually have been worth considering.
"Kiyohara!"
A voice called from the side.
Kiyohara turned and saw Kurenai running toward him.
"Have you eaten dinner yet?" she asked.
"Not yet. Oh, right, I need to tell you something."
Kiyohara briefly told Kurenai what had been discussed at the meeting.
"Understood."
Kurenai nodded.
"I'll go let the others know."
…
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the squad had already assembled at the camp's eastern gate.
Kiyohara stood at the front, Samehada strapped across his back and wrapped in bandages.
"Everyone ready?" he asked.
Kurenai and the others nodded.
Then the team set out.
The mountain roads were rugged.
This whole front near Kumogakure lay in a harsh region, and in the distance, towering snowcapped peaks were still visible.
The route Kiyohara had chosen was sparse in vegetation, made up mostly of exposed stone and low brush.
It was terrible terrain for covert movement—little cover, broad sightlines, and easy exposure.
But Kiyohara's route selection was clever.
He moved almost entirely along the shaded side of the ridgeline, using the shadows of rocks and changes in elevation to conceal their movements.
Whenever they had to cross open ground, he would signal everyone to lie flat and blend into the environment like chameleons.
By evening, when the setting sun had turned the western sky orange-red, the five of them arrived at their chosen ambush point.
It was a slope piled high with black stone, littered with rocks of every size. Some were as large as houses, others no bigger than a fist.
Hardy moss and low shrubs grew in the cracks, giving them natural cover.
Kiyohara closed his eyes and condensed Yang Release chakra forward.
A moment later, he opened them again, understanding flashing through his gaze.
He pointed toward a jagged rocky hill off to the left.
"There. The terrain matches, and… there are enemies hidden behind the cliff."
"Enemies?"
Kurenai lowered her voice.
"Four jonin, concealed in the shaded cracks behind the rocks," Kiyohara said.
"They're probably fixed lookouts placed there by Kumogakure to monitor this route."
"Four jonin…"
Asuma's expression shifted slightly, and his hand instinctively tightened around his trench knives.
He wasn't afraid of fighting, but four experienced Kumogakure jonin serving as hidden sentries were an entirely different level of trouble.
If a frontal clash broke out, even if they won, it would take time and make far too much noise. There was every chance it would alert the enemy.
If word got out, the ambush would fail before it even began.
He couldn't help looking toward Kiyohara, a restless frustration rising in his chest.
The gap again. That same crushing gap that left him feeling powerless.
If he had been leading this squad on his own, he would probably have had no choice but to retreat, or come up with some absurdly complicated and highly risky plan.
"In assassination, a ninja seeks one clean kill."
Kiyohara spoke slowly.
"So-called stealth assassination isn't limited to slipping close without a sound. If the enemy dies before they even realize what's happening, that's assassination too."
Kurenai looked at the side of his face, then toward the rocky hill in the distance—over a thousand meters away, visible only as a rough outline—and couldn't help whispering a reminder.
"Kiyohara, isn't that too far? Shouldn't we get a little closer, just to make sure…"
"No need."
Kiyohara cut her off.
His eye power was no longer what it used to be.
As his spiritual energy increased, so did the power of his Yin Release.
And the visual prowess of his Sharingan rose along with it.
The mouth of the gourd at Kiyohara's waist trembled slightly.
The next instant, golden sand began flowing from it like liquid, pouring out in a steady stream and gathering rapidly in front of him.
The sand quickly shaped itself into four spindle-shaped projectiles, each about as thick as a thumb and pointed at both ends.
Kiyohara raised his right hand, extending two fingers and aiming them toward the rocky hill.
At the same time, blue-white arcs of electricity suddenly crackled across the surface of the four golden projectiles.
"Magnet Release: Electromagnetic Gold Dust Bullets."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four streaks of golden light tore through the air at supersonic speed.
As they flew, they formed white conical shockwaves in front of them.
The sharp crack of the sonic boom couldn't even keep up. Only after the golden streaks vanished into the distance did the thunderous roar finally arrive.
Boom!!!!
A thousand meters away, the four Kumogakure jonin were scanning their surroundings with full vigilance.
They were all seasoned veterans, their instincts honed razor-sharp by years of life-and-death combat. In terrain like this, ambushes were common, so they were extremely cautious.
But no matter how cautious they were, none of them imagined the attack would come from over a thousand meters away.
One of the jonin suddenly felt his heart seize.
It was the desperate warning of a survival instinct trained by countless brushes with death.
He instinctively tried to twist aside.
Too late.
He only saw four streaks of gold flash across his vision.
The next instant, searing pain exploded through his chest.
He looked down.
A bowl-sized hole had been blasted straight through his torso. The edges of the wound were charred black. There was no blood, because the heat had carbonized the tissue instantly.
He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but only blood foam and fragments of organs spilled out.
Thud.
The corpse dropped.
The other three jonin had been hit at almost the exact same moment.
Two had been struck in the head, their skulls exploding like watermelons.
The last had been hit in the abdomen, his upper and lower body nearly torn apart.
Three bodies collapsed into the dust, blood rapidly soaking into the ground.
…
Back on Kiyohara's side, Asuma hadn't even had time to clearly see how the gold dust rounds vanished.
He only heard a short, muffled sound.
Then everything went quiet.
The rocky hill in the distance still stood there in silence, as if nothing had happened at all.
"Th-that took care of them?"
Asuma's eyes widened.
Kiyohara slowly lowered his hand, and the golden sand stopped pouring from the gourd.
"Let's go confirm it. We may as well see whether there's any intel worth recovering."
His tone was flat.
When the group quietly closed in on the cliffside, they finally grasped the horror of that attack.
Even in death, confusion still lingered on the jonin's faces, as if they had died wondering where the strike had even come from.
Kiyohara quickly collected map fragments, encrypted communication scrolls, and several special signal flares from the Kumogakure shinobi, casually stuffing them into his sealing scroll.
Then he looked at Kakashi and the others.
"Clean up the scene and get back into position. The real target will be here soon."
Everyone nodded silently and moved at once.
Kiyohara brought them back to the ambush point and used an Earth Release technique to dig a shallow pit behind the rocks, lining it with waterproof cloth to serve as a temporary shelter.
Night soon fell.
The highland cold was brutal, and the temperature dropped well below freezing.
Their breath instantly turned to white mist, and a thin layer of frost spread over the rocks.
Kiyohara took several thick blankets out of a sealing scroll and handed them around.
Time passed slowly.
Kiyohara also sank part of his awareness into his own mind.
There, Yotsuki Kiyohara's urn floated quietly in the air.
Its lid was cracked slightly open, and the dark-skinned, heavily muscled spirit inside lounged there with both arms folded behind his head and one leg crossed over the other, looking completely at ease.
"Yo, past me. How's it going?"
Sensing Kiyohara's consciousness, Yotsuki Kiyohara asked lazily.
"We've reached the ambush point. Just waiting for the target to show up."
"What about that woman Samui? Seen her yet?"
"Not yet. The intel says there's a chance she'll be with this supply unit."
"When you do see her, make sure she calls you master. Don't forget."
"Got it."
Kiyohara felt a little helpless.
This future version of himself really was… persistent, in certain ways.
"Oh, right. One more thing."
Yotsuki Kiyohara suddenly remembered something.
"If you run into Darui, try not to kill him. The kid's talented. If he dies, the legacy of Black Lightning might die with him. Nobody else is as good at it as he is."
Kiyohara understood.
Darui would become the Fifth Raikage in the future. His talent was very real.
And since Yotsuki Kiyohara was originally from Kumogakure, it made sense that he still had some lingering feelings for the village.
"So what exactly is Black Lightning?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Normal Lightning Release is blue. Why is there black lightning at all? What's different about it in nature?"
"I don't know the exact theory either. It was a secret technique developed by the Third Raikage, and only a tiny handful of people were ever taught it."
Yotsuki Kiyohara shook his head.
"All I know is that Black Lightning is far stronger than normal Lightning Release, and it has a kind of… corrosive quality. Wounds caused by it are hard to heal."
Hard to heal…
Kiyohara fell thoughtful.
"Just be careful."
Yotsuki Kiyohara lay back down again.
"I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up after you deal with Samui."
With that, his spirit slipped back into the urn, and the lid closed again.
Kiyohara returned to reality.
…
Three in the morning.
"Something's happening."
Kiyohara spoke quietly.
He looked toward the gorge. A unit was approaching.
Twenty-three people in total: six jonin, ten chunin, and seven genin, all carrying massive scrolls on their backs.
"Six jonin…"
Kakashi crawled up beside him, pushing up his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan.
"Looks like Kumogakure considers this shipment very important."
Kiyohara carefully observed the team.
His gaze finally settled on a female shinobi in the middle of the group.
She had short blonde hair that glimmered under the moonlight, delicate features, and a cold expression. She was wearing the standard Kumogakure flak jacket.
Samui.
"So when do we strike?" Asuma asked.
"When they enter the best kill zone."
Kiyohara pointed toward an open stretch near the entrance to the gorge.
Once they were close enough, Kiyohara gave the order to attack.
He drew Samehada from his back and was the first to strike, cutting down several jonin in an instant.
By the time Samui reacted, Kurenai and the others were already engaged with the rest of the Kumogakure ninja.
Samui drew her short blade, staring at Kiyohara in shock.
This guy again!
The memory of being interrogated by Kiyohara came flooding back all at once.
Why was it him?
How was he here?
Wasn't the intelligence report supposed to place him in the Land of Rivers fighting Kirigakure?
A flood of questions, along with a sharp sense of danger, made Samui's heart pound wildly. Her grip tightened so hard around her blade that her knuckles turned white.
She quickly moved her gaze away, fixing it on Kiyohara's shoulder to avoid falling under his Sharingan genjutsu again.
After thinking it over, and deciding that still wasn't safe enough, Samui lowered her head even further.
"!"
But then she realized her body had already gone rigid.
"The moment you looked at me, you'd already lost, Samui."
Kiyohara's tone remained calm.
Then he activated his Sharingan genjutsu again.
Samui had assumed that lowering her head afterward would save her.
Unfortunately for her, the moment she had looked up, it was already too late.
That was the terrifying part of the Sharingan.
A simple meeting of eyes was enough for genjutsu to take hold without warning.
Unless she had lowered her head from the very beginning, there had been no avoiding it.
"Master."
Samui's eyes widened as she watched herself speak against her will.
Kiyohara listened in silence.
That first lingering wish had turned out to be ridiculously easy.
Samui's voice wasn't loud, but to the Kumogakure ninja nearby—those locked in combat with Kakashi or struggling to disperse Asuma's Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning—it hit like a thunderclap.
What?
One chunin had just knocked Kakashi's kunai aside when he froze and whipped his head toward the source of the voice.
What had Samui just called him?
Master?
That Uchiha from Konoha?
Could Samui actually be a Konoha spy? Was that why their transport route had been ambushed in the first place?
~~~
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