The moment the mocking voice finished echoing—the killing intent struck.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three blurred figures tore through the thick mist from different directions, their blades glinting with lethal light.
"Right side: downward diagonal slash.Rear left: thrust to the waist.Dead ahead: sweeping strike to the legs.You're the first target."
Future Kiyohara calmly relayed the incoming attacks to the present Kiyohara.
For most genin—even chunin—facing a coordinated pincer strike like this inside visibility-distorting mist would've ended in instant death or serious injury.
But Kiyohara wasn't like most ninja.
The moment the words left Future Kiyohara's mouth, Kiyohara's body was already moving—reflexive, fluid, drilled.
He pushed off his back foot sharply, body recoiling like a compressed spring, narrowly evading the sweeping leg strike from the front.
At the same time, his right hand raised the kunai to intercept the slash from the right flank—
Clang!
Sparks burst as metal collided with metal.
"Kiyohara!"
Yuhi Kurenai saw the attack he didn't dodge—rear left, straight to the waist.
But Kiyohara didn't panic.
He dropped his shoulder, twisted his waist sharply—core muscles exploding in motion—rotating his whole body.
Perfect hip-waist alignment.
All that training… especially the intense focus on waist and core strength… finally paid off.
"What?!"
The Mist ninja who had gone for his flank gasped. He didn't expect such sharp movement—it was like the kid had clairvoyance.
Next—
Kiyohara's feet braced.
Power coiled up from the floor through his legs, shoulders, into his right arm—
Slash!
The kunai drove forward in a clean arc—targeting the exact seam between shoulder and chest plate of the Mist ninja on his right.
Thud!
The blade sank into the weak point, biting deep into flesh.
The Mist ninja shrieked, blade falling with a clang as he staggered back.
His two companions, shocked, immediately shifted to cover.
"Well done. Use ninjutsu to force them back."
Future Kiyohara nodded in approval.
"On it."
Kiyohara formed hand seals quickly—compressed wind exploded forward, blasting the rear-left attacker clean out of view.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
Followed by another set of seals—
His hand slammed to the ground—a streak of lightning surged along the floor, zapping the Mist ninja in front as he tried to recover.
Lightning Release: Lightning Current!
It all happened within seconds.
From ambush to counterattack—flawless execution.
Kakashi, mid-step preparing to launch a Chidori, froze—his dead fish eye widened slightly.
'When did Kiyohara… get this good at close combat? He used to rely entirely on ninjutsu… Was he hiding his true skill all along?'
Even Genma and Rin looked stunned.
To them, Kiyohara had only shifted a few times in the mist, followed by brief flashes of steel and grunts of pain—yet somehow, three enemies were neutralized in seconds.
Kiyohara, panting slightly, felt his remaining chakra and the ache in his sword arm.
He knew most of that flawless execution came down to one thing: Future Kiyohara's intel.
Especially in this fog.
After all, even the Rinnegan was affected by the Hidden Mist Jutsu. The Sharingan was basically useless.
Seeing one wounded Mist ninja stumble back, Kiyohara calmly retrieved a shuriken and finished him off.
Almost as the blade hit—
Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
A piercing sound tore through the fog—Chidori.
Kakashi had used the distraction to position himself and now flashed forward in a bolt of blue.
One strike—and another enemy fell.
Only one remained—the one who had taunted them earlier.
His name: Mizunashi, the lead Mist ninja.
Watching both comrades fall, his eyes showed no emotion.
He drew the sword on his back—a longer-than-standard tachi, clearly custom-forged.
In a blur, chakra surged into his feet—he moved.
Not toward Kakashi—
Straight at Kiyohara.
"You damn Konoha brat! Don't get cocky!"
The long tachi cut through the mist, coming down in a brutal vertical cleave toward Kiyohara's head.
This strike was faster, stronger, and sharper than the others.
An elite swordsman. Possibly a tokubetsu jōnin, at least.
"Watch out!"
Kurenai and Rin both shouted.
Kakashi, still catching his breath from Chidori, was too far to assist.
Kiyohara only had time to pick up a fallen Mist sword—
He crossed it in front of him, blocking as best he could—and shouted inside his mind:
"Future me—help!"
If it's tough, let the pro take over.
"Very well. It's been a while. Let me handle this."
In that instant, Future Kiyohara's consciousness took over.
Everything changed.
The way his body held the sword—the way he shifted his feet—even his breathing—all became sharper, cleaner, terrifyingly composed.
Facing the incoming blade—
His feet adjusted subtly.
He turned with the motion—
And struck.
Not with brute force, but perfect redirection.
His blade met Mizunashi's sword at the precise point where power peaked and control dipped.
Clang!
A sharper, clearer ring echoed.
Sparks exploded.
Mizunashi felt the blow—but something was wrong.
'It's like I hit a spinning net… or a live fish in water!'
Most of his force—neutralized.
"What… what the hell?!"
He stared in disbelief.
To pull that off, one had to understand swordplay on a level far beyond his own.
"You're not a swordsman… I saw you using kunai. That's not even your weapon!"
Kiyohara, or rather, Future Kiyohara, smiled coldly.
"Hard to understand?"
He adjusted the sword slightly, stance tightening.
"Let me put it this way… your sword skills?"
"Bang average."