As a veteran of the Second Great Ninja War, he had a keen sense of war.
And at this time, the importance of the Uchiha became even more apparent.
Unlike other ninja clans, the Uchiha clan, in war, might likely become stronger with each battle.
After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen flipped back to Kiyoshi's page of routine performance evaluation.
Taking out a pen, Hiruzen wrote the words "Focus on Closely".
Originally, he had wanted to find someone from the Uchiha clan to serve as a bridge to ease relations with the Uchiha clan.
Now it seems that Kiyoshi is a good choice.
Kiyoshi, who hasn't been here long, will probably be more receptive to the Will of Fire than other Uchihas.
…
Evening
Asuma returned home, dejected.
The thought of losing face in front of Kurenai made Asuma feel like the sky was falling.
The tough-guy image he had cultivated for so long has probably been ruined.
"No, I must prove myself in front of Kurenai!" Asuma clenched his fist.
He conceded that his genjutsu was inferior to Kiyoshi's.
He had underestimated Kiyoshi's strength due to his carelessness. Even without the Sharingan, Kiyoshi's genjutsu was formidable.
In that case, he would show his greatest strength.
Asuma looked at his trench knife-shaped ninja tool in the room, forged from half chakra metal and half ordinary metal.
He also planned to replace it entirely with special chakra metal in the future, creating a ninja tool unique to himself.
'Chakra Flow, I can't possibly lose to him in this, right?' Asuma thought to himself.
To be safe, he also planned to continue special training for a while.
When the time comes, he will challenge Kiyoshi to a one-on-one taijutsu match.
…
Konoha Street, 7 PM.
The last autumn rain of this year had occurred last night.
Kiyoshi breathed out a puff of air.
Winter had already begun.
Along the streets, the withered yellow leaves of the trees fluttered in the cold wind.
Some time had passed since he had defeated Asuma and acquired a new Trait.
"I want this, and this."
Kiyoshi pointed to the ingredients, and the shop owner immediately wrapped them up for him.
Since he lived alone, Kiyoshi had to do everything himself, from buying groceries and cooking to doing laundry and cleaning.
"You're so useless, you can't even buy the right dessert."
A scolding voice sounded, accompanied by a crisp slap.
This commotion drew the attention of the passersbys.
Kiyoshi followed the sound and saw Natsu, whom he had met once at the Training Ground.
At this moment, she was obediently lowering her head.
Her dark green short hair covered her white eyes, and her body slightly trembled.
"Yes, Ginka-sama."
Natsu respectfully responded to the woman in front of her.
The woman's gesture of waving her hand, even under the cover of thick robes, perfectly outlined her charming figure.
"Remember to bring it back after you buy it, and also get a serving of fresh squid sushi." Ginka ordered haughtily.
Recently, that sushi restaurant with the peculiar taste was really good.
Other sushi restaurants simply didn't have such new styles.
Ginka turned her head, and the curious passersbys immediately averted their gazes, not daring to make eye contact.
This was the main family of the Hyuga clan.
The Hyuga clan was the wielder of one of the three great dojutsus, and their members' identities were clearly divided.
Main family and the branch family!
Needless to say, the one being beaten was definitely from the branch family.
The passersbys tightened their collars and continued walking.
These were internal affairs of the Hyuga clan, it was best to leave first.
Kiyoshi kept watching this scene.
'Can I acquire a trait related to Gentle Fist?' Kiyoshi thought to himself.
He was very envious of the Hyuga clan's abilities.
Take the acquired [Chakra Flow: Fire Release] for example. This ability allows him to attach Fire chakra to weapons.
As for attaching it to the body, that was far beyond Kiyoshi's means.
Even a jonin can't do it at will. At most, they can only release chakra from their hands, feet, and other parts.
Releasing chakra in other parts of the body would be especially difficult.
And maintaining "Chakra Flow" on the body surface for a long time would put a great burden on the chakra points, causing the ninja to feel pain.
Only the Hyuga clan could freely release chakra from all the chakra points in their body, such as the Gentle Fist techniques like Eight Trigrams: Rotation.
"Squid sushi…"
Natsu looked at the sky, the horizon was already turning dark. It would soon be night.
But that sushi restaurant wouldn't open at night at all.
How was she going to explain it to Ginka?
"Are you having trouble? Natsu."
"Oh… Kiyoshi."
After confirming that Ginka had walked away, Natsu raised her eyes to see who was greeting her.
It was Kiyoshi, whom she wasn't very familiar with.
"Are you trying to buy squid sushi?" Kiyoshi asked.
"Yes."
Although she didn't know why Kiyoshi was looking for her, Natsu still nodded.
"Let's go, I'll take you there."
Kiyoshi waved his hand, revealing a smile.
"Eh… but that shop should be closed, right?"
Natsu sighed, her eyes hiding melancholy.
When she returns to the clan, she will probably be reprimanded again.
Ginka hated her making excuses.
"I'm a regular customer there so it should be fine." Kiyoshi said with a faint smile.
The people at that sushi restaurant couldn't wait for him to go there every day, preferably all the way back to Kumogakure.
"Let's go."
Kiyoshi took a few steps forward, signaling Natsu to follow.
Natsu was stunned for a moment, but quickly followed.
Regardless of whether Kiyoshi was the regular customer he said he was, she had to confirm whether the shop was closed or not.
The two walked together and soon arrived at the sushi restaurant.
The person busy in the store was preparing to close.
Seeing that some people were coming, he planned to go out and tell the customers to come the next day.
But as he got closer, he realized it was Kiyoshi, and he immediately changed his words and enthusiastically asked Kiyoshi and Natsu what they wanted.
Kiyoshi glanced at the person receiving them.
It wasn't Samui.
It was another person he had seen in the secret room, but he didn't recognize him.
"I want a serving of squid sushi." Kiyoshi said.
"You're a regular customer, we'll arrange it right away."
The person who had received them was Yasugawa Sachiya. He led Kiyoshi and Natsu to a private room.
"I prefer a little quiet."
Kiyoshi added as Yasugawa Sachiya was about to leave.
The subtext was that he didn't like being spied on when he came here.
"Please rest assured, our store guarantees soundproofing."
Yasugawa Sachiya smiled and closed the door, then returned to the secret room to report to Samodo.
"Then ignore him."
Hearing that Kiyoshi had brought a girl in, Samodo agreed to Kiyoshi's request.
People of this age were just at the stage of being ignorant about the opposite sex, and Samodo understood Kiyoshi.
This spy point was already exposed in front of Kiyoshi, and Samodo didn't want to risk offending Kiyoshi, at least not here.