It's clear now—becoming a Chūnin can't wait!
Kiyohara grabbed the scroll, tucked it into his ninja tool pouch, closed his eyes, and lay down on the bed to sleep.
There wasn't much entertainment to be found in a field tent at the outpost.
Well, maybe not none…
As they say: "The poor tune cars, the rich collect watches. And the broke… they improvise."
If you really wanted to find entertainment, you could. One way or another.
But honestly, just traveling all day had already exhausted Kiyohara, mind and body.
If he had any energy left, he'd rather use it for training. But right now, even training ninjutsu wouldn't do much.
After all, chakra is a mixture of spiritual and physical energy. Deplete it too much, and what you're really running low on is the most basic unit—stamina.
Which is why chakra refinement shouldn't be overdone. The body needs time to recover.
So with no training possible and no appealing forms of entertainment, Kiyohara could only lie in bed… and wait for the return orders.
The Next Day — Noon
Kiyohara was still asleep when the sound of someone entering stirred him.
He immediately tensed, opening his eyes just a crack and instinctively reaching for his ninja pouch.
When he saw it was Kurenai, he silently lowered his hand and continued pretending to sleep.
"This guy... even his sleeping face is kind of handsome," Kurenai murmured, squatting beside him.
She studied his features—peaceful, balanced. Pleasant to look at.
Definitely in another league compared to that Sarutobi Asuma, who followed her around like some punk. Loud, unruly, and likely to grow a full beard and lose all subtlety with age.
Just as she was about to poke Kiyohara's cheek—
His eyes suddenly opened and met hers.
"Stealing a peek while I sleep? Naughty move, Kurenai."
Kiyohara's voice was calm.
A guy out in the world had to protect himself too, after all.
"Eh?!"
Kurenai froze, caught off guard by his sudden wakefulness and the direct eye contact. Her ruby-red eyes blinked a few times.
She never expected him to be awake—let alone watching her.
"I—I was just trying to wake you for lunch! Minato-sama said the dispatch order is coming this afternoon."
She pinched the hem of her shirt awkwardly, trying to justify her actions.
"Got it."
Kiyohara stretched and got out of bed.
They'd be heading back to Konoha soon. He wondered how much of his debt he could repay this time.
His sealed scroll of loot was full to the brim.
A smile tugged at his lips—like a seasoned farmer looking out at a freshly harvested field.
Iwagakure shinobi… not bad at all.
They gave him battle results and cash.
"What's with that weird grin?"
Kurenai asked, puzzled by the way he suddenly looked so pleased.
"I was thinking about you," he said casually.
Then he grabbed the cup of water on the simple wooden desk and headed toward the exit.
"Where are you going?"
"Bathroom, duh," Kiyohara replied, looking genuinely confused.
What else would be the first thing after waking up?
"Okay, enough questions. I'm off."
He lifted the tent flap and stepped out.
Because he… was a Sigma Male.
And a proper Sigma ninja never falls for a girl's trap.
Flirting? Sure. But never at the cost of a bathroom trip.
"That guy…" Kurenai bit her lip, watching his back disappear outside.
Why was he always so hard to predict?
If she'd said something like that to Asuma, he'd have grinned like a fool and blushed.
Kiyohara? He just walked off.
Soon after, Kiyohara returned… to find Kurenai still there.
"This is from Minato-sama," she said, handing him a thick wad of cash.
In that moment, she seemed even prettier than before.
That soft smile, those curved brows—cute as hell.
Should've said she came bearing money earlier!
He took the bills and started counting.
War was a special case. During active duty, you didn't need to return to the Hokage Tower to file your report. That would waste too much time.
In many situations, outpost commanders had the authority to distribute payment to stabilize morale.
And right now, Kiyohara's morale was being stabilized, alright.
The stack of bills had a satisfying weight to it.
"Hmm… joint A-rank mission, minus Konoha's platform fee… looks like I'm getting 130,000 ryō."
He counted it all—perfectly accurate.
Originally, he wouldn't even have qualified for this mission. But they were desperate for manpower, so he got pulled in.
After all, their true objective had been to serve as decoys. The one doing all the heavy lifting was Minato.
They didn't need Kiyohara to be strong—just useful enough to buy time and distract the enemy.
Just as Kurenai opened her mouth to say something, the flap opened again.
"We're moving out. Orders are in. We're heading back with Kakashi's group."
It was Genma. His ever-present senbon wobbled with each word.
Kurenai nodded and followed him out.
After several days of travel, Kiyohara finally returned to Konoha.
He knew he wouldn't get to stay long. Once his promotion was secured, he'd likely be sent back out soon.
"Home again, huh," Rin murmured, gazing at the village.
They'd left in high spirits, but returned with heavy hearts.
Obito now rested forever in foreign soil.
"I've got errands. Later."
Kiyohara waved, then headed toward the ninja tool shop with his sealing scroll in hand.
The newer the gear, the higher the resale value. Older, more worn-out items fetched less.
And right now, he needed cash—badly.
Aside from paying off his loan, he wanted to forge a proper ninja blade using the chakra metal he looted.
Something like Sasuke's chokutō—Kusanagi-style.
Of course, Sasuke's sword was likely made of top-tier materials. It had survived all of the Fourth Great Ninja War without so much as a dent.
"Alright, Kiyohara. See you next time."
Rin waved. Kakashi gave him a strange look.
Kiyohara figured it meant: "Let's train together again soon."
"Aaah… finally some time to relax."
Genma stretched and scratched his head.
"I'm gonna sleep for days."
"What about you, Kurenai?"
Genma noticed she was still staring at Kiyohara's back.
"My dad said he'll teach me stronger genjutsu. I'm heading home to train."
"Ah, Shin Kurenai…"
Genma nodded.
Rumor had it that Kurenai's father could reflect genjutsu from the Uchiha clan—despite lacking any bloodline limit.
He was practically the symbol of civilian genjutsu mastery.
"Alright, I'm off too."
One by one, the returning shinobi disappeared into the bustling streets of Konoha.
"This shop is daylight robbery."
Kiyohara muttered as he walked away, money bag in hand.
The payout from selling recovered shuriken, kunai, and Explosive Tags wasn't terrible—but still lowballed.
"My verdict: don't bother with this place again."
He shook his head.
The owner had lowballed every offer. If he weren't strapped for cash, he'd have gone outside the village to sell.
"No such thing as an honest businessman," Rogue Kiyohara said.
And if he were in the shopkeeper's shoes? He'd be undercutting prices too.
"Still. Not bad."
Kiyohara had made 70,000 ryō from the sale—half his mission's payout.
As the saying goes: "Arson and murder wear gold belts; bridge-building leaves no bones behind."
If he wanted to get rich, quick cash was the way.
Once he got stronger, he'd be able to loot even more corpses.
Minato had said his Chūnin application was already submitted, so the exam would be coming soon.
Even though it'd likely be just a formality, Kiyohara wasn't taking any chances.
Better to train hard than to fail by surprise.
"Looks like you're even more cautious than I was."
Rogue Kiyohara couldn't help but sigh at how careful his past self was.
If only he'd been this careful back then… maybe he wouldn't have died to a buried Explosive Tag.
"After all, if one version of me died to a trap like that, there's no death that would surprise me."
Every new "Will and Testament" that appears… is just another way future-Kiyohara can die.
Infinite futures meant infinite possible deaths.
"Time to get back to training."
Kiyohara picked up some essentials and returned to his dilapidated home.
Hokage Tower
Hiruzen Sarutobi read over the reports on his desk.
One was about their recent military success. The other—a recommendation letter from Minato.
It was for Kiyohara.
There were many other Chūnin applications in the pile, but Kiyohara's sat right on top.
A blue-background ID photo, family background, personality traits—all there.
"Hmm… Kiyohara. Not bad for a civilian."
Hiruzen nodded.
Compared to clan members, he preferred promoting talented civilians.
Why?
Because unless a clan was absolutely loyal, they'd always weigh their family's interests against the village.
And in a clash of interests… who would they choose?
"Purple Stag."
A masked ANBU appeared instantly, kneeling before him. Her mask bore purple antler-like patterns.
In ANBU, names were discarded during missions. Only codenames were used.
"Arrange Kiyohara's Chūnin exam. Set it for three days from now. Group him with the other outstanding Genin from this war."
Some people floundered in peacetime but shone in war.
That was just the way of things.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Purple Stag took the form and left to carry out the order.
Back at Kiyohara's house
Old, rundown—but it still had a tiny courtyard.
Kiyohara stood there, holding a shuriken with a nearly invisible wire attached.
"Yeah… copper wire's really not as good as rubber rope."
He was training an advanced form of the "Shuriken Manipulation Technique"—by attaching wire to it.
This allowed him to retrieve it mid-flight, or steer it to curve around obstacles.
"All part of prepping for the next jutsu."
Rogue Kiyohara floated beside him.
Normally, shinobi used special elastic or reinforced steel wire for this kind of training.
But those materials weren't heat resistant.
"You haven't forgotten the Uchiha clan's Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu, have you?"
"Of course not."
That jutsu first appeared during Sasuke's Chūnin Exam arc.
Using the wire as a guide, the user sent a fire jutsu along the string to attack from afar.
"Well, you can do the same with Lightning."
Copper wire, being a good conductor, made it even easier.
"Alright. Let's test it."
Kiyohara threw the shuriken at a wooden board in the yard. It curved around mid-flight, wrapping tightly around it.
Then he formed a hand seal, infusing the wire with Lightning chakra.
Zzt—!
Sparks danced across the wire, burning black scorch marks into the wood.
"What should I call this jutsu…?"
Kiyohara pondered for a moment.
"Lightning Style: Guided Shuriken Lightning Conduction Technique."
Yeah.
His naming sense was definitely better than Minato's.
Kiyohara smiled, thoroughly pleased.