The Gate.
"Alright."
Kurenai sighed, finally agreeing to Kiyohara's extortion.
She nodded. After all, her father was a Jonin specialist. She was effectively the "rich kid" of the group, while Kiyohara was the "minimalist" (broke) commoner.
"Let's go."
Kiyohara led the way inside.
The venue was crowded. He spotted a few familiar faces, but mostly strangers.
The crowd was starkly divided into two social circles:
Commoners: Dressed in mismatched, practical gear. Quiet. Cautious.
Clans: Dressed in crisp uniforms. Loud. Radiating subtle arrogance.
Two figures stood out immediately.
Uchiha Tekka, wearing the high-collared shirt with the red-and-white fan crest on his back.
Hyūga Tetsu, wearing loose white robes, his pale lavender eyes scanning the room with the Byakugan deactivated.
Naturally, the clan members gravitated toward them, forming exclusive cliques.
The Chief Examiner, a scarred Jonin, stepped forward.
"The rules are simple: One-on-one combat. Stop before fatal injury. Lethal Ninjutsu is permitted, but killing is discouraged. We judge on tactics, not just brute force."
"Come forward to draw lots."
Kiyohara reached into the black box.
He pulled out a ball.
Number 4.
He looked at the digital board.
Match 4: Kiyohara vs. Uchiha Tekka.
"My luck isn't great," Kiyohara muttered.
Facing an Uchiha in the first round was the worst-case scenario.
"I wonder if he has activated his Sharingan yet," Kiyohara mused, stroking his chin.
The Sharingan was a cheat code. Insight, copying, hypnosis, seeing chakra... and that was just the base model.
If you upgraded to the Mangekyō, you got two unique superpowers and a giant spectral samurai (Susanoo).
'This damn bloodline world is unreasonable,' Kiyohara thought bitterly.
The entire history of the Ninja World was essentially a domestic dispute between the Ōtsutsuki family. Everyone else—the millions of commoners—were just NPCs running around in the background.
Even Naruto, the poster boy for "Hard Work and Guts," turned out to be the reincarnation of a demi-god, the son of a Hokage, and a Jinchūriki.
The finish line that commoners strived for their entire lives wasn't even the starting line for the bloodline supremacists.
"What, are you jealous?" the Missing-nin floated out, teasing him.
"I'm just remarking on the importance of reincarnation skills," Kiyohara retorted mentally. "It's a pay-to-win game."
'But I'm not without opportunity.'
If he couldn't beat them, he would loot them.
With the Last Words Letter, perhaps he could collect all the bloodlines into one body?
The Match.
The first three matches passed quickly.
They were mostly contests between commoner Genin—cautious, calculating, relying on Kunai and feints. Or they were one-sided beatdowns where a Clan kid overwhelmed a Commoner with superior chakra reserves.
The Stands.
Kurenai returned with a bag of snacks.
"Kiyohara is facing an Uchiha in round one... that's terrible luck."
"Hmm, it looks bad," Genma mumbled around his senbon. "But trust him, Kurenai. We saw him in the Grass. That kid hides his true strength."
"Fourth Match: Kiyohara versus Uchiha Tekka! Take the stage!"
Kiyohara walked into the center of the arena.
Uchiha Tekka stood opposite him, arms crossed. His eyes held the typical arrogance of the Uchiha Police Force.
"I've heard of you," Tekka said coldly. "You did adequately in the war. But the limit of a commoner ends here. Meeting me is your misfortune."
Kiyohara didn't respond. He adjusted his breathing, relaxing his muscles.
"Begin!"
The referee dropped his hand.
Flash.
Tekka didn't waste time with taijutsu. His hands blurred through seals.
Snake. Ram. Monkey. Boar. Horse. Tiger.
His chest expanded.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
He exhaled a massive sphere of flame.
It was over two meters in diameter, warping the air with suffocating heat. It roared toward Kiyohara like a miniature sun.
'The Benevolent Art,' Kiyohara thought calmly.
There was a joke that the Great Fireball never killed anyone in the anime. It was the "Kind Technique."
But in reality? Getting hit by that meant incineration.
He moved.
Tiger. Ox. Dog. Rabbit. Snake.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A high-pressure vortex of wind erupted from his mouth.
Crucially, Kiyohara didn't aim at the fire. Wind fuels fire. A head-on collision would just create a larger explosion in his face.
He aimed at the side.
WHOOSH!
The wind hammer-slammed the fireball from the left flank.
The trajectory shifted violently. The massive sphere was deflected, whistling past Kiyohara's shoulder, the heat singing his hair.
BOOM!
The fireball slammed into the arena wall behind him, exploding into a shower of sparks and scorched stone.
The audience gasped.
Uchiha Tekka's ninjutsu was powerful.
But Kiyohara's Wind Release... that was Jonin-level control.
....
.....
.....
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