"Kiyoshi is back."
Mikoto nodded.
As usual, tonight is the time for a secret gathering.
"It's getting late, I'll head back first. I'll treat you this time."
After chatting for an hour, Mikoto paid the bill and took her leave.
Kushina was left sitting there alone, feeling bored. Her social circle currently consists of just three people.
Minato had introduced his three students to Kushina, but she wasn't very familiar with them.
She sat there blankly for a while, then went home.
…
Kiyoshi's house
Back home, Kiyoshi took out an ordinary katana and began training, trying to inject Wind chakra into it.
He had already entrusted someone to reforge his previous sword with the ninja cat clan.
The request was to add more chakra metal to the sword and to embed the red stone in the handguard.
Kiyoshi had obtained 500,000 ryo from the Land of Demons. He had used almost 400,000 ryo to invest in a new sword.
Once the war really occurs, there won't be much time to send weapons for maintenance.
So Kiyoshi wanted to increase the strength of his weapon as much as possible in one go, to prevent it from being damaged too quickly.
Buzz...
An ear-piercing cutting sound began to linger around Kiyoshi's katana, and Kiyoshi tried to maintain the balance on it.
As he expected, he triggered [Apprentice Wind Release Ninja (White)], currently at 5% progress.
Kiyoshi's learning ability was now much faster than before.
Even learning a C-rank ninjutsu that he doesn't know from scratch won't take much time.
'Wind Release, besides cutting, should also be able to increase my speed.' Kiyoshi thought to himself.
Currently, he only knows the ordinary Body Flicker Technique, and at most, he can make his speed faster by stimulating his body's cells with Lightning chakra.
Now that he has Wind Release, his speed can continue to increase.
Wind chakra can form a layer of compressed airflow to wrap the body, reducing the air resistance.
As the sun began to set, Kiyoshi was already covered in sweat.
He didn't know how many days and nights he had continued such training.
Since coming to Konoha, Kiyoshi has spent most of his time in training.
Before reaching the Six Paths level, he didn't plan to stop and rest.
At this time, a new green Trait appeared in front of Kiyoshi.
"You have triggered the Trait: [Fatigue Resistance (Green)]."
[Fatigue Resistance (Green)]
[Requirements: Repeat multiple tedious training sessions to establish a subconscious habit.]
[Progress: 1%]
[Effect: Your muscle memory can optimize the efficiency of movements, reduce unnecessary energy consumption, increase endurance in long-term battles, and your fatigue is reduced by 20%.]
[Note: Can be upgraded.]
"Endurance? I wonder how it's calculated with stamina."
Kiyoshi wiped his sweat, and took off his chain armor, revealing his strong upper body.
He already had [Muscle Memory (White)], which increased his muscle memory by 10% compared to ordinary people.
But it cannot wash away incorrect muscle memory.
Many of the body's movements and exertion methods are incorrect, such as simple running, squatting, etc, but it is not usually noticeable.
Once it goes on for many years, it will form hidden injuries.
This new green trait's function of reducing fatigue by 20% is secondary.
What is important is that the preceding text says "muscle memory can optimize the efficiency of movements".
Kiyoshi opened the trait panel and found that the previous [Muscle Memory (White)] had turned gray and become locked.
It seems that in addition to synthesizing to upgrade, traits can also be upgraded based on his behavior.
In the future, one day, his brain may not even need to think.
Various parts of his body might directly respond to stimuli through conditioned reflexes, maximizing the speed of movement and reaction ability.
This is a bit like Ultra Instinct.
Kiyoshi closed the trait panel.
Sometimes the speed of instinctive reaction far exceeds conscious action because it does not need to be thought about at all.
In this way, Kiyoshi can react immediately if someone is attacking.
His ability to protect himself will greatly improved.
Knock... Knock
Just as Kiyoshi wanted to continue training for a while, he heard someone knocking on the door.
Kiyoshi gave the white snake a look. The white snake immediately understood. It quickly crawled over, and skillfully opened the door with its tail.
"Snake!"
The moment the door was opened, a white snake came into Ginka's view.
She was startled by this sudden sight, and subconsciously took a step back, a trace of panic flashing across her face.
Seeing this, Natsu behind her quickly lowered her head, trying to suppress the smile at the corner of her lips.
When she had come to Kiyoshi's house last time, she had seen this snake on the table. So, she was already prepared in her heart.
"Ginka-sama, that is Kiyoshi-kun's summoned beast."
Soon, Natsu recovered the expression on her face and explained to Ginka.
Hearing this, Ginka calmed down and looked along the white snake's figure.
She saw the white snake slowly crawling into the house after opening the door.
It stopped at the corridor between the inner room and the yard, biting a piece of raw meat, its movements skilled and natural.
'Sure enough, it's a domesticated summoned beast...'
Ginka thought to herself, then reorganized her appearance and stepped into the house.
With her footsteps, Kiyoshi's figure gradually became clearer.
He was standing in the center of the courtyard.
His upper body was naked, sweat dripping down his solid muscles, shimmering in the sunlight.
His chest rose and fell slightly with his breath, and the muscles on his arms were very distinct.
Kiyoshi's figure was strong but not bulky, every muscle seemed to be carefully carved, full of beauty.
Each muscle was in the right place, neither large nor small, nor arranged unevenly.
Ginka's eyes stayed on Kiyoshi's body for a moment, and she couldn't help but be a little surprised.
She hadn't expected Kiyoshi, whom she had never really met, to have such a strong physique.
Then... Ginka shifted her gaze.
She has a fiancé. Staring at other men will lead to the spread of gossip, especially in the feudal and rigid Hyuga clan.
"So it's Ginka-san visiting. Please come inside and sit down."
Kiyoshi was naked on his upper body, and his lower body was covered by a pair of loose trousers, which made him look very slender.
He was already much taller than his peers.
With his Lightning Release body training method, it is impossible for muscle deformation caused by incorrect training method to occur.
Moreover, the blood of the Yotsuki clan also allows Kiyoshi to have a talent for this.
Even if he is not a ninja, he can be an actor to make a living.
"...Yes."
Ginka and Natsu walked into the inner room.
They politely took off their shoes and went in wearing white socks.
"Please have some tea."
Kiyoshi used a tea bag he had gotten from Miroku. During the days of treating the daimyo, Kiyoshi had taken some things away for various reasons.
Including a whole tea set.
"Yes, thank you."
Ginka politely accepted the tea.
She knelt in front of the low table, maintaining good noblewoman etiquette. Natsu stood behind her.
Kiyoshi put down the second cup of tea and motioned for Natsu to come and take it.
Natsu looked at Ginka, and after finding that there was no objection, she knelt beside Ginka and took the tea.
"Kiyoshi and Natsu are classmates, right?" Ginka smiled.
First, she played the emotional card of Kiyoshi and Natsu being classmates.
"That's right."
Kiyoshi nodded, sitting cross-legged opposite Natsu and Ginka.
There was only a low table between the two.
Kiyoshi wa not used to kneeling, he preferred to sit cross-legged, or sit on a stool.
"This is the gift we brought."
Ginka gave Natsu a look. Natsu gave the pastries she was carrying to Kiyoshi.
"A small token of our appreciation."
Kiyoshi nodded slightly. Ginka couldn't figure out Kiyoshi's attitude.
She tentatively said, "I think we had some misunderstandings in the past, Natsu should have said that too."
Kiyoshi said, "Misunderstanding, um... through Natsu's efforts, we have resolved the misunderstanding."
"Ah ha, I see."
It seemed like Ginka had suddenly realized something.
It seems that Natsu is still good, not as stupid as other branch house members.
Natsu grasped the hem of her skirt tightly. A bad memory flashed in her heart, and her expression slightly changed.
**
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