Danzo Shimura spoke calmly.
“Indeed.”
A hint of reminiscence appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes.
In today’s Konoha, there were not many shinobi who could use Water Release.
And as for those who could use the Water Release techniques left behind by Tobirama-sensei, perhaps Kiyohane was the only one.
After all, the Senju clan had already dissolved, and most of its inheritance had been passed to Tsunade alone.
As the princess of the Senju, Tsunade naturally enjoyed such privilege.
“That is why you might as well let me train him.
In three years, he will surely be able to recreate a portion of our teacher’s former glory,” Danzo said, refusing to give up as he continued speaking to Hiruzen.
Recently, his experiments with Orochimaru had made some progress.
It turned out the Senju and Uchiha clans possessed a mysterious connection that allowed them to suppress each other.
For example, the Yang Release power within Senju cells could suppress the Yin Release power of the Sharingan.
Of course, ordinary Senju cells were not quite enough.
The best results in that regard still came from Hashirama’s cells.
Danzo was extremely interested in an unusual existence like Kiyohane.
He believed Kiyohane would accelerate the speed at which he obtained the power of the Sharingan.
As the saying went, one should learn the enemy’s strengths in order to defeat them.
Although Danzo hated the Uchiha, he did not hate the Sharingan.
“Enough.
Don’t bring this up again.”
Hiruzen, whose expression had just softened, immediately became stern once more.
Did he not know what schemes his old friend was hiding?
This would simply ruin Kiyohane.
“Hmph.”
Seeing his proposal rejected yet again, Danzo forced down his anger.
This time, he did not slam the door.
He simply pushed it open and left.
Last time, Hiruzen had put the repair bill on him!
Watching Danzo leave, Hiruzen shook his head and summoned an Anbu shinobi, instructing him to gather Kiyohane’s recent information and bring it over.
…
That night, in the Uchiha district.
Tekka Uchiha knelt on the wooden floor of the training hall.
In front of him, Yashiro Uchiha’s brows were tightly furrowed.
“Even you lost?”
There was disbelief suppressed in Yashiro’s voice.
If Obito, that dead-last, losing to Kiyohane was still within expectations, then Tekka Uchiha’s defeat made him unable to sit still.
Although Tekka could not be considered the top genius among the clan children of his year, he was still a pure-blooded Uchiha who had received proper training since childhood.
He had built a solid foundation in Fire Release and shurikenjutsu.
It was said he had even performed as usual and successfully used Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
Although its power was somewhat weaker than a true Great Fireball, it was still not something just anyone could block casually.
Tekka lowered his head.
“And that Water Release technique… was very refined.”
He did not know what rank Kiyohane’s Water Release technique was, but it seemed to carry a driving force behind it.
Kiyohane was already fast to begin with.
He had leapt upward directly, then attacked with the momentum of his descent.
Tekka had simply been unable to react.
But…
A loss was a loss.
Tekka did not want to make excuses.
This was a disgrace to the Uchiha.
“Water Release…”
Yashiro fell into thought.
Was it an inheritance left behind by Tobirama Senju?
He waved a hand, his tone easing slightly.
“Forget it.
Do better next time.”
After Tekka withdrew, Yashiro stood alone in the empty training hall, his frown growing deeper and deeper.
A mixed-blood living outside the clan, someone who had never received even a single day of Uchiha training, had defeated a pure-blooded junior carefully cultivated within the clan in actual combat.
What did that mean?
Was he truly a genius?
Or was he a genius especially suited to the Uchiha, only born on the wrong side of the Senju?
That made Yashiro Uchiha rub his chin.
Back then, there had been a series of disputes over who Kiyohane belonged to, but in the end, Tsunade had taken him in.
What Yashiro was considering now was whether he should report this matter to Lord Fugaku.
But if he did, would that not make it seem as though Lord Fugaku had been negligent back then?
As one of Fugaku Uchiha’s loyal confidants, Yashiro suddenly found himself in a difficult position.
Although it was currently a time of peace, the atmosphere in the shinobi world had already begun to tense subtly.
There were faint signs of small clashes along the borders.
Although they were not frequent, it was clear that the major ninja villages were secretly accumulating strength.
If Kiyohane truly was a rare genius, should the Uchiha clan consider drawing him in?
…
A few days later.
The monthly exam rankings were posted on the classroom bulletin board.
Kiyohane stood at the back of the crowd, his gaze passing over the shifting heads to glance at the list.
First place, Kakashi Hatake.
Second place, Kiyohane.
Third place…
In this class, he and Kakashi were the only ones who were well-rounded in every area.
However, Kiyohane estimated that he would be able to surpass Kakashi next semester.
After all, he now had traits.
He was merely at the starting stage of accumulating them.
If he still could not beat Kakashi after having traits, then what was the point of his cheat?
A small cheat doesn’t count as cheating!
“Kiyohane-kun really is excellent,” Rin Nohara said from within the crowd as she looked at the rankings.
“I’m all right.”
Kiyohane nodded slightly.
When he turned around, he could still see Obito standing on tiptoe, occasionally jumping up as he tried to see his own ranking clearly.
But when Obito discovered that his ranking was actually lower than Might Guy’s, his face instantly turned bitter.
Just then, as Kiyohane withdrew his gaze, a line of text suddenly appeared at the corner of his vision.
[Collectible trait detected: Natural Prodigy.]
[E-rank Trait: Natural Prodigy.]
[Effect: When not relying on a kekkei genkai, ninjutsu learning efficiency increases by 10%.]
There was almost no need to guess who this trait had come from.
He turned his head and looked at Rin Nohara beside him, who was also looking at the rankings.
The girl sensed his gaze, turned her head, and smiled.
“I hope I can become as outstanding as you too, Kiyohane-kun.”
“Rin, you definitely will,” Kiyohane said.
Rin Nohara’s theoretical score placed fifth, and her practical score ranked in the top ten.
Among the civilian-born shinobi, she already stood out from the crowd.
More importantly, this newly dropped trait was exactly the final piece of the puzzle he had been waiting for.
Over the past half month, Kiyohane had gradually collected quite a few traits.
Among them was [Exceptional Memory], which increased memorization speed by 10%.
It had come from a resident doctor at Konoha Hospital who had been flipping through medical records while memorizing a pharmacopoeia in the corridor.
And now, with Rin Nohara’s [Natural Prodigy], the synthesis requirements had finally been met.
With a thought, Kiyohane opened the trait system.
[Synthesis: Add E-rank Trait: Top Student + E-rank Trait: Exceptional Memory + E-rank Trait: Natural Prodigy to synthesize D-rank Trait: Innate Medical Body.]
[Synthesize?]
Synthesize.
Kiyohane silently gave the command in his mind.
The next moment, a new trait appeared.
[D-rank Trait: Innate Medical Body.]
[Effect: No matter what medical ninjutsu you use, its effect increases by an additional 20%.]
Kiyohane let out a breath.
Twenty percent.
For a D-rank trait, that bonus was already quite considerable.
Combined with the [Wound-Healing Talent] he had obtained from Tsunade earlier, his bonus to treating traumatic injuries had already reached thirty percent.