Immediately after the radiance faded, only a dim speck of light remained, and it quietly slipped into the urn inside Kiyohara's mind.
Kiyohara tried tapping the urn with his consciousness, but discovered that there was no longer any response.
'Missing-nin Kiyohara said he would gradually fade away along with time… but who knows how long that 'time' will actually be?'
Kiyohara thought to himself.
He did not dwell on the matter further and instead shifted his attention back to the outside world.
Although the fusion process felt incredibly long, in reality, not even a full second had passed in the outside world.
When Kiyohara slowly opened his eyes again, it seemed as if some faint, indescribable change had subtly settled into his entire demeanor.
The proctor, who had just turned around and was preparing to leave, paused mid-step. With a hint of doubt, he glanced back at Kiyohara.
He sharply sensed that for a single fleeting instant just now… The kid seemed different somehow?
But that sensation vanished as quickly as it came. Upon looking again, Kiyohara still stood there just the same as before, no different from earlier.
"…An illusion?"
The proctor shook his head and chuckled at himself.
It was probably just the natural shift in aura that came after experiencing a tough fight or after advancing to Chūnin.
After all, for one's spiritual energy to grow, a shinobi needed to temper their will and learn more knowledge.
So, after surviving a fierce battle and gaining some insight, causing one's chakra reserves to rise a little—it was perfectly normal.
He did not think too deeply about it and turned away to continue dealing with the remaining procedures.
Meanwhile, Kiyohara stepped down from the arena platform and headed toward the seating area below.
By now, the spectators were already dispersing in waves, and people were leaving in all directions.
Kurenai and Genma also made their way down from the stands and walked out together with Kiyohara.
"By the way, was this Chūnin selection exam specially organized?"
Kurenai asked.
The Chūnin Exams were usually held at set intervals each year.
But this time's schedule was different—more like something decided on short notice.
"No idea."
Kiyohara shook his head. He was just a lowly Genin… oh no, a Chūnin now—how could he possibly know what the higher-ups of Konoha were planning?
"You're not going to treat us to a celebratory meal?"
Genma asked jokingly, the senbon needle still dangling from his mouth.
His gaze, however, held genuine warmth for his companion's accomplishment.
"I'll treat you once I finish paying off my loans."
Kiyohara replied.
Right now, he was, quite literally, living in an empty house."
Not only was he broke, he still owed a pile of loans. And that wasn't even the end—once he took his looted chakra metal to forge new shinobi tools, that would be another major expense.
In short, Kiyohara was currently in a severely money-deprived situation.
"…You took out loans?"
Kurenai's eyes widened slightly in disbelief as she looked at Kiyohara.
She knew plenty of shinobi, but she had never met one who was in debt!
"Yeah. I had to prepare a few things."
Kiyohara nodded.
Most of the money had actually been spent on his forbidden medicine.
At first, he had considered selling the forbidden drug formula under the guise of a secret family medicine.
But its effects were… honestly a bit too potent. If certain people took notice, it would be troublesome.
Shimura Danzō could conduct human experiments with Orochimaru right under Hiruzen's nose, all for the sake of obtaining greater power.
If he learned that Kiyohara possessed something this precious, he would almost certainly show up in the name of justice.
Kiyohara had absolutely no desire to encounter Danzō this early. Taking such a risk was completely unnecessary.
He could simply do more missions on the battlefield and loot enemy pouches for extra income.
Once he became strong enough, he could then consider selling the formula for profit.
"…I see."
Kurenai glanced at him again.
She was thinking about how little confidence Kiyohara must have had in this mission, to prepare so excessively—so much that he even ended up taking loans.
"Alright then."
She eventually nodded.
Since Kiyohara was still burdened with debt, there was indeed no need for additional expenses right now.
After exchanging a few more words, Kiyohara excused himself, saying he needed to train more before his next mission to strengthen himself further.
He walked alone toward his home, which sat near the outskirts of the village, simple and somewhat old-looking.
Upon returning to the familiar yet shabby dwelling, Kiyohara wasted no time and headed straight into the small courtyard.
The afterglow of sunset painted the yard in a warm golden hue, but even that could not conceal the poverty and emptiness that filled the place.
Kiyohara paid no attention to any of that—he wanted to test how much he had improved.
Though he hadn't inherited any new ninjutsu, he had gained quite a lot in terms of talent.
Taking a deep breath, Kiyohara reached into his shinobi tool pouch and pulled out a standard-issue kunai.
He was preparing to test the Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique!"
Kiyohara rapidly formed seals with his left hand while gripping the kunai tightly with his right.
He guided his refined Lightning-nature chakra precisely into the blade.
Crackle!
Compared to before, even brighter arcs of electricity danced rapidly around the kunai's edge!
This time, Kiyohara felt the chakra flow through his pathways far more smoothly, and his sense of "taming" the violent lightning-nature chakra was noticeably stronger.
It was a difficult sensation to describe—almost instinctual.
Some people only need to glance at a math problem for the solution to instantly appear in their mind.
Others can stare for half a day and still only manage to write the word "solution."
Talent was such a cruel thing.
"The shackles on my body's innate limits… broken,"
Kiyohara murmured, eyes gleaming as he looked at the lightning-wreathed kunai.
It seemed he could finally experience, even just a little, the joy of a natural prodigy—despite being an ordinary civilian up to now.
And if he accumulated more fusions in the future, maybe he really could become the strongest lightning-nature talent in the entire history of the shinobi world.
His gaze drifted toward a large stone block sitting in the corner of the yard—about a meter wide.
He had picked it up previously to practice Wind Release.
Without further hesitation, Kiyohara tightened his arm muscles and hurled the faintly crackling kunai with all his strength!
Whoosh—! crack!
The kunai turned into a streak of blue lightning, cutting through the air at a speed far surpassing anything he had achieved before, striking the center of the stone block!
A thunderous impact echoed through the courtyard.
But instead of embedding itself or shattering the stone, the kunai drilled straight through it like a spinning drill bit—cleanly punching a fist-sized hole with smooth, blackened edges.
The kunai didn't even stop there—it continued forward and buried itself deep into the earthen wall behind the block, leaving only half of its hilt quivering outside as the last sparks of arc lightning slowly faded.
Kiyohara stared at the charred hole in the stone, a hint of delight flashing in his eyes.
This power… was far stronger than before—by more than just a little!
Not only that, he could clearly feel that his control over throwing force, angle, and maintaining lightning chakra after the kunai left his hand had all become far more refined.
"Alright… let's try Wind Release next."
Dispelling the lightning chakra from the kunai, Kiyohara placed it back into his pouch and formed another set of hand seals.
Dog → Horse → Bird…
He completed the three seals swiftly, and his cheeks puffed slightly.
Fwoo—
A violent gust of wind surged from Kiyohara's mouth, shooting straight upward.
He did not aim at the courtyard wall—he didn't want to accidentally blow it apart and end up needing to spend money on repairs.
The wind roared toward the sky, carrying a sharp, whistling sound.
Kiyohara could clearly feel that this time, the chakra he consumed was noticeably less than before—yet the strength of the Wind Release had clearly risen to an entirely higher level.
(End of Chapter)