Chương 4: Chapter 4: Youthful Rivalry

"Kiyoshi~!"

"Wow, he's so handsome..."

"Kiyoshi, do you have time after school? Let's train together!"

"Kiyoshi, this is a special gift I prepared just for you!"

"This is a bento I made myself. Please, you have to try it!"

"Kiyoshi-san, I have one too..."

"Hey, you! Move aside!"

"Yeah, you're blocking the way..."

At the entrance of the Ninja Academy, in less than half a minute, Kiyoshi's presence was noticed.

Not only his classmates, but even girls from other classes, both lower and upper grades, gathered around him.

One by one, they approached him eagerly, their eyes sparkling as if they'd just found something irresistible.

In small groups, they surrounded him, faces flushed with excitement, hearts in their eyes.

In just a moment, poor Lee was pushed aside, ending up bruised and battered.

Not far away, Neji turned back.

Looking at the swarm of girls, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

"That guy is really popular, huh!"

Although Neji wasn't interested in those girls, he couldn't help but feel a little envious of Kiyoshi's popularity.

"As expected from my eternal rival, Kiyoshi!"

Lee got up awkwardly, rubbing his bruises.

Looking at Kiyoshi, who was surrounded by a crowd of girls, he felt a surge of admiration rather than jealousy, something he'd long since grown used to.

Clenching his fists, his spirit burned brightly. "But youth never gives up... I've decided! I'll run an extra ten laps around the village after school!"

"Neji, want to join me?"

"Idiot..."

Neji walked away, expressionless, heading toward the classroom. "Not interested!"

"Thank you, everyone. I appreciate your kindness... but there's no need for bentos or gifts!"

Kiyoshi finally managed to escape the crowd of girls.

Turning down their overly direct confessions, he quickly slipped back into the classroom.

"Kiyoshi, over here, over here!"

Wiping away cold sweat as he stepped in, Kiyoshi hadn't even greeted Lee, who was already seated.

A girl with her hair tied in double buns, sitting on the right side of the third row, waved to him energetically, completely ignoring Lee beside her.

"Good morning, Tenten."

Seeing his desk mate, Tenten, Kiyoshi gave a light smile.

Patting Lee's shoulder, he picked up his books and took his seat in the middle of the right side of the third row.

"Kiyoshi, this is a bento I prepared for you today. Please, you have to try it!"

With a sweet smile, Tenten placed a beautifully prepared bento in front of Kiyoshi.

Her large eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Her face blushed faintly, but as a girl raised in her family's weapon shop, she was cheerful and straightforward, showing no sign of shyness.

"Thank you!"

Taking the bento, Kiyoshi smiled warmly.

He noticed the envious expressions from some of the boys around, but he didn't mind much.

Unlike other girls, he held a soft spot for Tenten.

So, he rarely turned down her kindness.

"Hehe..."

Tenten rested her chin in her hands, sitting there quietly, ignoring the murderous glares from the other girls in the classroom, her smile radiant.

Watching Kiyoshi's face, she found him increasingly attractive, her gaze lingering on his peaceful demeanor.

A sweet smile naturally appeared on her lovely face.

"These puppet books..."

Then, her eyes caught sight of the books Kiyoshi had placed on his desk.

For a moment, she was at a loss.

This wasn't the first time she'd seen these.

Kiyoshi had been reading books related to puppetry for some time now.

Curiously, she asked, "Kiyoshi, didn't you say you wanted to be a medical ninja? Do you actually want to become a puppeteer?"

"What makes you say that?"

Seeing Tenten's curious expression, Kiyoshi replied earnestly, "As a competent medical ninja, learning some Puppet Jutsus for self-defense seems quite necessary and reasonable, don't you think?"

With his precise chakra control, being a medical ninja came naturally to him.

Mastering basic Puppet Jutsus wouldn't be challenging for him.

With his imagination shaped by the information and different ideas of the 21st century, plus the knowledge he'd accumulated over the years by borrowing books from the library, and his innate talent, he was confident.

Even if he didn't plan to invest all his energy in puppetry, he believed he could still make significant strides.

He might not be able surpass the S-class rogue ninja from the Sand Village, the genius puppeteer who assassinated the Third Kazekage and sparked the Third Ninja War, Sasori, in a short time.

But he was confident he wouldn't be too far behind.

Tenten: "..."

She couldn't argue with such a solid reason.

"Is there even a medical ninja like that?"

"There is—your idol, Lady Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, who's not only skilled in medical ninjutsu but also incredibly powerful in combat..."

"Fine, as long as you're happy!"

She shrugged.

...

Around noon.

The day passed quickly.

When the teacher dismissed them, announcing a break in the afternoon and a two-day holiday, the class of eager young ninjas cheered, excitedly heading home or teaming up for plans.

Bidding farewell to the reluctant Tenten and ignoring the other girls' attempts to chat, Kiyoshi didn't join Lee for training as usual.

Instead, he declined Lee's invitation and went straight home.

Compared to the prominent clans like Uchiha, Hyuga, and the Ino-Shika-Cho families, Kiyoshi's home wasn't very big.

But it was far from small compared to an orphan like Naruto.

It was a three-room apartment on the second floor that the village had provided to him and his grandmother after reconstruction.

He and his grandmother shared the home, which was cozy enough.

To his surprise, his neighbor was a highly skilled Chunin named Kurenai Yuhi.

She often looked out for Kiyoshi, as a gentle big sister figure, she had also lost her family during the Nine-Tails attack years ago, much like Kiyoshi.

She frequently visited his home, joining them for meals, though joining usually meant she brought groceries and cooked for them.

Over time, Kiyoshi grew close to Kurenai, and the two developed a sibling-like bond.

"I'm home!"

---

[PS: In the original Chunin Exams, it was mentioned that Kurenai had only recently been promoted to Jonin. Since this is set five years before that, with the Uchiha Clan still around, Kurenai is likely not yet a Jonin.]

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Chương 5: Chapter 5: Wood Clone

"Cough, cough, Kiyoshi, you're back..."

In the living room.

An elderly woman, stooped and with a head full of white hair, walked over, leaning on a cane, and coughed repeatedly.

"Good boy, you must have been starving? Come, eat!" Cough, cough...

"This was made by Kurenai. It's all your favorite food."

"Cough, cough. That poor child had to go on a mission and still came back just to take care of me!"

"Grandma, take it easy."

Kiyoshi stepped forward to support the old woman, smiling as he asked, "Did sister Kurenai leave the village?"

After years of living together, even though he was living a second life with memories of the past, he had long since regarded this grandmother, who cared for him so deeply, as his own.

His grandmother's name was Ishikawa Azumi, and her persistent cough was a remnant of a sickness from her youth.

It was said that she had once been a Chunin, but during a top-secret mission, she not only lost a leg but had to give up her ninja career and received a prosthetic limb.

Moreover, her lungs had been severely infected by toxins during a battle with an enemy.

Though she was treated post-war by the legendary medical ninja, Tsunade, the timing of her treatment was not optimal.

Consequently, toxins had seeped into her organs, leaving behind lingering effects.

Living to this day was already a miracle.

Thanks to her late son, Kiyoshi's father, Ishikawa Masato, a skilled medical Jonin, who had tirelessly treated and cared for her.

However, with Masato's passing, and as Azumi grew older, her health continued to decline, and her cough worsened.

By the time Kiyoshi began to learn his father's medical knowledge and mastered those healing Jutsus, it was already too late; his grandmother's condition had worsened to a critical state.

With his current medical skills, he could not effectively cure her ailments. He could only provide daily treatments to alleviate her suffering, hoping to extend her life a bit longer.

For the past three years, every time he checked on his grandmother, he infused her body with his powerful life-force chakra, a result of obtaining the Wood-Wood devil fruit.

But even this only managed to sustain her life, allowing her to avoid lying in a sickbed. Otherwise, she would have likely passed away long ago.

"Cough, cough. This is a note she left for you..."

Azumi sat down.

She smiled, pointing to a note attached to the table.

Kiyoshi picked up the note. In neat handwriting, it read.

"I have a mission and will be out of the village for three days. You need to take care of yourself and Grandma... Remember to water the flowers on the balcony when you have time!"

His heart warmed.

Kurenai really regarded him as her younger brother.

In such a simple note, there was a wealth of warmth.

Just looking at the delicious dishes on the table made it clear that they were made by Kurenai herself.

Soon—

The two of them finished the hearty lunch, chatting in the living room.

It wasn't until the old woman showed signs of fatigue that Kiyoshi helped his frail grandmother to rest.

Using this opportunity to check on Azumi again, he infused her with the vibrant chakra, nourishing her with life.

Once she had settled into a peaceful sleep, he returned to his room.

"It's about time to begin!" Kiyoshi's expression grew serious.

He began forming seals with one hand.

From his body, a tree full of green leaves and vibrant flowers sprouted visibly, pulsating with life.

Next, that tree transformed into a human figure, falling away from him, forming a clone that looked exactly like him.

This was a Jutsu he had developed after thoroughly mastering the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

He spent considerable time researching and analyzing its principles, combining them with the abilities of the Wood-Wood Fruit to create a tangible clone Jutsu.

Unlike Shadow Clones that required evenly distributing chakra, he could freely control the proportion of chakra assigned to each clone.

Similar to the Wood Clones created by the First Hokage, his version, improved by combining the Shadow Clone Jutsu with his bloodline limits, was significantly more powerful and could utilize all the ninjutsu and even the abilities of his main body.

Moreover, unless faced with lethal damage or chakra depletion, his Wood Clones wouldn't easily dissipate.

Like the Shadow Clones, when he dispelled a Wood Clone, all the memories and experiences would return to the main body.

Unless the main body actively dispelled the Jutsu.

"You sit there and begin to absorb natural energy…"

Kiyoshi took a deep breath and said to his Wood Clone, "Combine it with the spiritual and physical energy of your chakra, forming a ratio of one-third each!"

"Understood…"

The Wood Clone nodded.

It sat cross-legged, closing its eyes to sense the natural energy around it.

Like the main body, it possessed the abilities of the Wood-Wood Fruit.

Equating itself with nature, it soon entered meditation and a deep state of focus.

The omnipresent natural energy floated in the air, seemingly endless and inexhaustible...

"Spiritual energy, physical energy, natural energy… each at one-third. If controlled properly, there should be hope of controlling true Senjutsu chakra…"

Kiyoshi had prepared for this day for a long time.

The Wood Clone, utilizing the finely tuned chakra control inherited from the main body, didn't blindly absorb natural energy.

Instead, it cautiously absorbed small amounts of natural energy, bit by bit.

It's worth mentioning that his Wood Clone could not generate chakra from nothing.

Or rather, all tangible clone Jutsus worked the same way: unless the main body could continue supplying chakra to the clone, or the clone could draw chakra from others, it would dissipate once the chakra it received was exhausted.

However, the Wood Clone contained chakra that Kiyoshi had produced from his own spiritual and physical energy, evenly distributed from the start.

He only needed to adjust the ratio of his chakra and the absorbed natural energy.

Theoretically, it meant that the spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy would each take one-third.

Otherwise, how could a certain overpowered Jinchuriki use their Shadow Clones to get Senjutsu chakra?

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