"Maybe."
Kiyohara sat down beside her, and the mattress dipped slightly under the added weight.
"Training stimulates physical development."
"Seriously…"
Kurenai muttered.
"I'm already starting to get left behind."
She said it very softly, with that uniquely girlish tone that sat somewhere between pouting and acting spoiled. Kiyohara turned to look at her. Kurenai had her head lowered, fingers twisting the edge of her sleeve, the tips of her ears faintly red.
The room went quiet for a few seconds, with only the soft electrical hum of the lamp breaking the silence.
"Kurenai," Kiyohara said suddenly.
"Hm?"
"Abs are actually pretty nice."
Kurenai jerked her head up, her face turning bright red in an instant.
"W-what are you saying?!"
"I'm saying having abs is a good thing." Kiyohara's expression didn't change. "Core strength is important for a ninja, especially for a genjutsu-type ninja. A stable lower body makes it harder for you to get disrupted while casting illusions."
"I-I know that!" Kurenai shot to her feet and stomped lightly, flustered. "But a girl having abs… isn't that weird?!"
"No." Kiyohara stood up too and reached out to ruffle her hair.
Kurenai stiffened for a second, but she didn't dodge.
"A healthy kind of strength is more valuable than being weak just for the sake of seeming delicate."
Kiyohara pulled his hand back. "Of course, that's just my opinion."
Kurenai was quiet for a moment, then suddenly raised her hand and lightly punched him in the shoulder.
"You really do know how to talk."
She turned and headed for the door, but stopped when she reached it.
"Oh, right… are you free tomorrow?"
"I'm meeting with the Uchiha clan head tomorrow," Kiyohara answered honestly.
"I should be free in the afternoon or evening."
"Then let's have dinner together tomorrow night."
Kurenai turned back, the blush still on her face, though her eyes were sparkling.
The next day would be Kiyohara's birthday.
"I bought a cake. Consider it… a celebration for you getting back safely."
Kiyohara didn't refuse.
"Okay."
Kurenai smiled too, and under the light, that smile was dazzling.
She waved and disappeared lightly into the night.
Kiyohara stood at the door until her figure had completely vanished, then closed it and went back inside.
The desk lamp was still on, and its warm light filled the room.
The next day, Kiyohara arrived at the Uchiha compound.
As one of Konoha's oldest ninja clans, the Uchiha lived in the northeast corner of the village, near the Naka River.
Two Uchiha ninja stood guard at the entrance to the clan grounds.
When they saw Kiyohara, one of them stepped forward.
"Kiyohara-sama, the clan head has been waiting for you. Please come with me."
His tone was respectful now, nothing like the scrutiny Kiyohara had received at the beginning.
After all, the Uchiha respected strength above all else, and Kiyohara's power had already proven itself.
Kiyohara nodded and followed him through the winding alleyways.
Along the way, Uchiha clan members occasionally cast curious looks his way.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a house slightly larger than the others around it.
The ninja leading him bowed and stepped back, and the sliding door opened from the inside.
The person who opened it was a gentle black-haired woman with a warm smile on her face.
"Kiyohara-kun, welcome."
Mikoto Uchiha stepped aside.
"Fugaku is waiting for you in the tea room."
"Sorry for the intrusion, Mikoto-sama."
Kiyohara took off his shoes and stepped into the entryway, the wooden floor creaking softly beneath him.
Uchiha Fugaku was kneeling at a low table, pouring tea.
He wore a dark blue clan robe, his expression as stern as ever, but when he looked up at Kiyohara, the corner of his mouth still twitched into something that roughly qualified as a smile.
"Kiyohara-kun, please sit."
Kiyohara sat across from him. Mikoto excused herself quietly, and the sliding door shut softly behind her.
Fugaku pushed a freshly brewed cup of tea toward him.
"Give it a try. This year's new gyokuro."
Kiyohara picked up the cup. The pale golden tea was crystal clear, with an elegant fragrance.
He took a sip. First came a slight bitterness, then a long, lingering sweetness.
"Good tea."
Fugaku took a sip of his own, set the cup down, and fell silent for a moment.
"Kiyohara-kun, I invited you here today for two reasons."
He got straight to the point, his tone serious.
"The first is to thank you. Your performance in the Land of Rain and on the Mist front has earned Konoha a tremendous strategic advantage. As the Uchiha clan, we are proud of that."
Kiyohara held the cup but said nothing.
He knew that wasn't the real point.
There was no way Fugaku had stuffed that much money into his mailbox just to tell him this.
Sure enough, Fugaku continued:
"The second… concerns Itachi."
The moment he finished speaking, the side door of the tea room slid open.
Uchiha Itachi walked in and sat properly beside Fugaku.
"Kiyohara-senpai."
Itachi lowered his head in greeting, every movement precise and proper.
Fugaku placed a hand lightly on his son's shoulder.
"Kiyohara-kun, I've been getting… busier and busier lately."
He said it tactfully, but Kiyohara understood.
As captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, Fugaku had to maintain order in the village.
And he also had to split his attention to the warfront and everything happening there.
That made him an extremely busy man now, with no time left to personally guide Itachi.
"Itachi needs guidance."
Fugaku looked at Kiyohara, his gaze earnest.
"I'm not boasting when I say this child's talent surpasses even mine at the same age. But precisely because of that, ordinary methods of teaching won't have much effect on him. He needs to see a broader world. He needs contact with… a ninja like you."
People were shaped by the company they kept.
What Fugaku meant was obvious—he wanted Itachi to spend more time around a genius like Kiyohara.
Kiyohara turned to look at Itachi.
Mikoto-sama had already asked him before, if he had the time, to guide Itachi a little.
But that was not the same as Fugaku essentially asking him to become Itachi's teacher.
"Itachi, what do you think?"
Kiyohara asked.
Itachi was silent for a moment.
"I want to become stronger."
Itachi's voice was steady.
"Not to surpass anyone, but to… be able to protect the things that matter."
Coming from a six-year-old, those words were unusually heavy.
"I'm not the most suitable teacher."
Kiyohara spoke slowly.
"And… my way of training may not suit you."
"That's fine."
Itachi shook his head.
"There are many things worth learning from you, Kiyohara-senpai."
Kiyohara raised a brow.
Apparently those earlier beatings had made Itachi fully realize the gap between them.
There was none of the pride he'd had in the original story—only a very humble attitude.
After thinking about it, that was only natural.
Right now, Kiyohara was a genius among geniuses. Teaching someone like Itachi would be easy.
Fugaku chose that moment to speak.
"I'm not asking you to teach him full-time. Just give him some guidance when you have the time—help direct his training, answer his questions, that sort of thing. Of course, I won't let you spend your time for nothing…"
"There's no need for more payment," Kiyohara cut him off.
"The Uchiha clan has already sent a very generous gift."
He meant the three million ryo and the ninjutsu scrolls in the mailbox.
Fugaku shook his head.
"That's a separate matter. Those were the clan's gesture of thanks. Teaching Itachi… is my personal request."
At that, Kiyohara felt that Fugaku really did know how to do things properly. The man definitely wasn't short on money.
Kiyohara looked at Itachi.
The boy sat perfectly straight, both hands on his knees, his fingertips slightly pale from how hard he was pressing them down.
"All right."
In the end, Kiyohara nodded.
Being Itachi Uchiha's bargain teacher wasn't a big deal. He only needed to teach him occasionally.
Though the phrase "one day a teacher, forever like a father" still made the whole thing feel a little weird.
If anything ever happened to Fugaku, Kiyohara was definitely capable of taking good care of Mikoto-sama.
"But I have a few conditions."
Kiyohara pushed the random thoughts aside and spoke.
"Please, go ahead."
"First, I won't teach him in the traditional way. I'll teach him what he needs, which means there may not be any fixed curriculum."
"That's acceptable."
"Second, I decide the training content. You don't interfere."
Fugaku hesitated a little, but still nodded.
"I trust your judgment."
"Third." Kiyohara looked at Itachi. "If I think a certain kind of training is too early for you, then even if you insist, I won't teach it. Do you agree?"
Itachi thought about it seriously for a while.
"I agree. Your experience is greater than mine, and your judgment deserves respect."
Hearing that, Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
With his guidance, Itachi probably wouldn't end up massacring the clan.
Of course, if Itachi still got manipulated and stubbornly refused to listen—
Kiyohara didn't think Itachi would be able to do anything to him anyway.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was, in many ways, actually a very awkward power.
At first, using Susanoo not only made every cell in the body ache, but also blinded the user after only a few uses.
Using only the eye techniques and not Susanoo could slow the blindness, but not by much.
When it was time to go blind, you were going blind.
"Then come find me at Training Ground Three tomorrow. I'll put together an initial training plan based on your current condition."
Itachi's eyes lit up for just an instant—the kind of joy a child couldn't fully hide.
"Thank you, Kiyohara-senpai."
Fugaku also visibly relaxed.
"You have my sincere thanks, Kiyohara-kun."
After that, the conversation shifted to lighter, more ordinary topics.
Mikoto brought in delicate wagashi, and the three of them chatted while eating.
Fugaku asked about some of the details of the Land of the Sea mission, while Kiyohara skillfully turned the topic toward the current state of the Uchiha clan.
He needed to know exactly how far things had progressed within the family.
From Fugaku's guarded words, Kiyohara could tell the Uchiha were in a better position than in the original story.
At the very least, they weren't nearly as isolated.
"Kiyohara-kun."
When they parted at the door, Fugaku spoke solemnly.
"No matter what happens in the future, remember this—the Uchiha clan will always stand behind you."
That was a very weighty statement.
Kiyohara nodded in response, but inwardly he knew it was basically nonsense.
In this clan head's eyes, his two sons were the only ones who truly mattered.
The rest of the clan?
Nothing more than roadside weeds.
After all, this was the same Fugaku who had never once thought about avenging the fallen members of his clan, and instead had chosen death himself.
When Kiyohara got back to Tsunade's house, the living room lights were still on. Tsunade and Shizune were sitting on the sofa, several mission reports spread out in front of them.
"You're back?"
Tsunade didn't even look up.
"What did the Uchiha want?"
"They want me to guide Itachi."
Kiyohara sat down across from them.
Shizune looked up in surprise.
"The Uchiha clan head's son? I've heard that kid is very talented."
"He is."
Kiyohara took the tea Shizune handed him.
"More unusual than the rumors make him sound."
"You agreed?"
Tsunade asked.
"Yeah."
The next morning, Kiyohara arrived at Training Ground Three early.
When he got there, Itachi was already there.
Uchiha Itachi wore a dark blue training outfit and was in the middle of doing basic warm-up exercises.
"Kiyohara-senpai."
The moment he saw him, Itachi stopped and bowed respectfully.
"You're early."
Kiyohara glanced at the sky. There was still half an hour before the agreed time.
"My father says punctuality is a basic quality for a ninja."
Itachi answered seriously.
"And preparing in advance helps you get into the right state more effectively."
Kiyohara nodded.
Fugaku may have failed in teaching him how to be a person, but in terms of how to be a ninja, he had taught him well.
"Before we start formal training, I need to understand your current condition first."
Kiyohara walked to the center of the field.
"Show me what you've mastered recently. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu—anything."
Itachi stepped back a few paces and quickly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A fireball nearly two meters wide burst from his mouth and slammed into a distant target, instantly burning it to charred black.
The heat and scale of the flames were far beyond what someone his age should have been capable of.
Next, Itachi turned and threw six shuriken.
They collided with each other midair, changing trajectory, and finally embedded themselves precisely in six different bullseyes.
Last came taijutsu.
Itachi demonstrated a basic fighting form, his movements smooth and polished. Though his strength and speed were limited by age, his technique was already highly refined.
When he finished, Itachi was breathing a little harder and looked toward Kiyohara.
Kiyohara stayed silent for a moment.
"Do you know what your problem is?"
Itachi thought for a second.
"My strength is lacking, my chakra reserves are limited, and I lack experience…"
"None of those."
Kiyohara cut him off.
"Your problem is… that you're too standard."
Itachi froze for a second.
"Your Great Fireball Technique—your hand seal speed, chakra output, and flame form—all of it perfectly matches the textbook ideal."
Kiyohara walked up to him.
"But that's exactly the biggest problem. You don't have your own 'style.'"
Itachi's brow furrowed slightly, clearly taking the words seriously.
"A ninja is alive."
Kiyohara continued.
"The battlefield is always changing. You need to find a fighting style that suits you, not blindly chase what's considered correct."
He raised one hand, palm up.
Chakra began to gather—but not in a normal form.
Golden grains of sand rose from the ground and gathered in the air, spinning until they formed a golden sphere about the size of a palm.
"This is Magnet Release, my bloodline limit."
Kiyohara said calmly.
"But the way I use it is completely different from how the Sand Village uses it."
The sphere began to change shape, elongating into a slender golden short sword.
Then the sword broke apart and reformed into a small shield.
The shield changed again—into a chain, into a kunai, into threads…
And finally into a spindle shape, with electromagnetic force accelerating it.
If thrown, it would easily break the speed of sound.
"The Sand Village mostly uses Magnet Release for large-scale area control and defense. But when it comes to deeper applications, they actually haven't developed it enough."
Kiyohara released the technique, and the golden sand fell back to the ground.
Itachi fell into thought.
Up until now, he really had learned everything in an overly rigid way.
He had simply copied exactly what adults taught him, without considering deeper applications or ways to adapt it.
Watching Itachi think, Kiyohara continued teaching.
He'd probably only teach Itachi once a month at best.
That meant only twelve days of lessons a year.
And since Fugaku had handed over three million ryo, that worked out to a ridiculous two hundred fifty thousand ryo per private lesson.
So Kiyohara was teaching in a very good mood.
After all, who would turn down money?
While Kiyohara was teaching Itachi, Kurenai had already gone to find the others.
"I can't believe time passed this fast."
Asuma Sarutobi let out a sigh.
Today was actually Kiyohara's birthday.
The last time, he had bragged loudly that he'd give Kiyohara a piece of chakra metal as a gift.
At the time, he'd sounded bold and confident.
Afterward, he regretted it so badly he almost wanted to die.
It was simple.
That stuff was just too expensive.
If Hiruzen found out he'd casually given it away, there'd definitely be a belt waiting for him.
Of course, Asuma knew Hiruzen thought highly of Kiyohara.
If it had been anyone else, he'd definitely get beaten.
Since it was Kiyohara, Hiruzen would probably only say a few words.
"You're not backing out, are you?"
Kurenai looked at Asuma.
The moment the girl he liked questioned him, Asuma naturally refused to lose face.
He immediately coughed and said,
"Come on, am I really that kind of person?"
Asuma shook his head.
"Asuma definitely isn't that kind of person."
Might Guy gave him a huge thumbs-up.
Then he searched through the ninja pouch at the back of his green training suit and pulled out his own handwritten copy of The Youth Training Manual.
"My gift is ready too. I'm just waiting to give it to Kiyohara tonight."
"What about Kakashi?"
Guy looked over at Kakashi.
Kakashi also took out the gift he had prepared.
Rin brought out the custom medical kit she had prepared.
"Too bad Genma still hasn't come back from the front."
Kurenai shook her head.
If Shiranui Genma were here, she guessed he'd probably be giving Kiyohara senbon needles.
"All right, let's head to Tsunade-sama's place first."
Kurenai said.
Since Kiyohara was staying at Tsunade's house right now, that was obviously where they needed to go if they wanted to prepare a surprise.
The group quickly made their way to Tsunade's house.
When Tsunade heard their plan, she nodded and even told Shizune to order another cake.
A few hours later—
When Kiyohara came home, he immediately sensed that something inside the house felt off.
Then he opened the door, and light flooded into the dim room.
At the same time, a birthday crown was placed on his head.
Kiyohara felt something soft brush his forehead—probably some kind of soft fat.
Then he saw it was Tsunade putting it on him.
"Happy birthday, brat."
Tsunade said with a smile.
The others gathered around too, wishing him a happy birthday.
"Happy birthday, Kiyohara."
"Another year of blazing youth!"
Then Kiyohara watched as Shizune brought out a cake and set it on the table, candles already lit.
"Go blow them out, Kiyohara."
Kurenai spoke softly.
Kiyohara nodded slightly, then blew out the candles.
"Don't forget to make a wish."
Tsunade reminded him.
So Kiyohara did.
His wish was simple.
He hoped he wouldn't die too early and end up getting packed up by the "Willbook" and sent back to his past self.
He'd already seen far too many ways to die.
And… he also hoped the next future version of himself would be a little stronger.
That was what Kiyohara wished for.
After the candles were blown out, it was time for presents.
Guy excitedly shoved his book into Kiyohara's hands.
Kiyohara looked at the crooked title scrawled across the cover—The Youth Training Manual—and honestly didn't know what to say.
What was this, next he'd have him doing slow-motion moves with his left hand and right hand too?
~~~
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