To save Obito... you'd first have to ask whether Uchiha Madara would even allow it.
More importantly, Madara chose Obito because he saw the boy's extreme selfishness beneath a kind exterior.
In the shinobi world, people die all the time. Even without Madara, Obito might've ended up the same way the moment something broke his heart.
"Lord Minato, once we blow up the bridge tomorrow… will my achievements qualify me to become a Chūnin?"
After offering Kakashi a few words of comfort, Kiyohara found Namikaze Minato and asked directly.
"They will."
Minato nodded seriously.
This mission was high difficulty, and Kiyohara had performed exceptionally. Both in merit and principle, he fully deserved promotion.
"Great."
Kiyohara nodded.
Becoming a Chūnin would raise his status, his salary, and—most importantly—his position in the village.
Just look at Might Duy. The man could roundhouse-kick the Seven Ninja Swordsmen into oblivion, yet spent his life being looked down on… simply because he was a Genin.
If he'd debuted as a Jōnin like his son Might Guy, would anyone have dared laugh?
Of course, for Kiyohara, none of that was the most important part.
"You hear that? I'll be a Chūnin once we get back. Can I get an advance on some of those future abilities?"
He mentally addressed the "urn" in his head.
Every time the rogue-nin version of Kiyohara came out to possess him, the spiritual form grew weaker. On normal days, he just lay inside the urn to recover.
"Wait until you're officially promoted, brat."
Rogue Kiyohara didn't even want to entertain the thick-skinned request.
The ink wasn't even dry yet.
"And besides," he added, "once a final will is set, even I can't change it."
He had just tried tweaking or replacing the will, but some unknown force made it clear it was locked in.
"So they really can't be changed…"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
That meant in the future, when collecting wills from other versions of himself, they'd need to be very cautious about what gets locked in.
A ridiculous will could easily waste a precious opportunity.
"Fine."
He nodded to himself.
By tomorrow, the return journey would begin. Once back in the village and officially a Chūnin, he could finally integrate with Rogue Kiyohara.
He wanted to experience what it was like to be treated like a genius—even just once.
Of course, it was all just the hard work and sweat of countless versions of himself piled together.
Thinking of that, Kiyohara pulled out one of the loot items: the jutsu scroll for Earth Style: Underground Submersion.
This technique was perfect for escape.
It liquefied solid terrain, letting the user swim through earth like water.
He didn't have Earth affinity, but that didn't mean he couldn't learn it.
Affinity just made training easier. It wasn't a requirement.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, even Shikamaru Nara had proposed using Earth Style en masse to block the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.
Clearly, not all those thousands of Allied Shinobi had Earth affinity.
"But if you don't have the right chakra nature, using the jutsu takes way more chakra…"
Kiyohara flipped through the scroll a bit more, thinking he'd probably burn through his reserves fast if he used it.
The next day.
Kakashi's injuries had improved greatly under Rin's medical ninjutsu. Seeing this, Minato decided it was time to move out.
The group sped through the forest and arrived at a massive bridge.
Because they had wiped out the Iwa-nin so quickly, nearby regions hadn't even realized what had happened yet.
This was the perfect window.
Kiyohara pulled out a huge bundle of Explosive Tags from his bag and began sticking them onto the bridge.
The Kannabi Bridge was enormous—wide enough for several wagons to pass side-by-side.
Destroying it would severely hinder any attempts to rebuild. Earth Style jutsu wouldn't cut it—once the chakra ran out, it'd all revert to mud and collapse.
"War sure is expensive…"
As he pasted tag after tag, Kiyohara couldn't help but sigh.
All of these came from Kakashi's backpack. There was no way a squad sent to destroy a bridge wouldn't be stocked with explosives.
But with Minato watching nearby, Kiyohara didn't dare pocket a few for himself.
Explosive Tags were costly. Even Shikamaru Nara once complained about how expensive they were.
Just for this bridge, they used over 200 of them.
"Let's move."
Once everyone had reached a safe distance, Kiyohara and the others formed hand seals, channeling chakra to activate the tags.
BOOM!!
A thunderous explosion ripped through the forest. The trees shook. Leaves scattered.
The towering structure of the bridge groaned… then slowly began to collapse.
Debris, smoke, and dust billowed out, blanketing the area.
"The mission's finally done."
Before leaving, Kiyohara glanced back one last time.
Destroying the Kannabi Bridge would deal a heavy blow to Iwagakure's supply lines.
But he didn't think it would end the war.
Iwa wasn't the only enemy. There was still Kumogakure, Kirigakure…
This chaos would only stop when all five Great Nations were so depleted that they had no choice but to sign peace treaties out of desperation.
Later that night.
At a remote Konoha forward base, a travel-worn squad arrived.
Minato settled Kiyohara, Kakashi, and the others in, then entered the command tent.
"Heh. Minato, looks like the mission went very well."
The speaker was a pale-skinned man with snake-like features and jade earrings: Orochimaru.
He hadn't expected that only one Uchiha would die in the entire operation.
And even more surprising—Kakashi seemed to be adapting well to his transplanted Sharingan.
That opened up all sorts of research opportunities.
Minato, however, looked somber.
To him, losing a student was hardly a "success."
"I heard a civilian performed especially well on this mission?"
Orochimaru asked suddenly.
Kakashi's excellence was expected—he was White Fang's son, with inherited talent and techniques.
But Kiyohara… a complete nobody, yet he outshone Kakashi?
"Mhm. Kiyohara really did outstanding work."
Minato nodded.
He'd already submitted a Chūnin promotion recommendation for him on the way back.
"I've got things to attend to, Lord Orochimaru. I'll take my leave."
Minato raised a hand politely.
He was Jiraiya's student. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were both students of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Technically, that made Minato Orochimaru's junior nephew in the shinobi hierarchy.
"Go on."
Orochimaru nodded slightly and turned back to his reports.
Still, he couldn't help but be intrigued.
A commoner… with talent like that?
For a moment, he saw a reflection of himself in Kiyohara.
After all, of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru was the only true orphan—no clan, no inheritance.
Even Jiraiya had family ties to the Great Toad Sage.
But him?
He started with nothing.