The familiar voice rang in his mind right on schedule, and Kiyohara's spirit lifted.
He quickly made an excuse to leave the others, who were busy reinforcing defensive structures, and slipped away to a remote spot where he could overlook part of the coastline from behind a crumbled wall.
At the same time, ripples began to stir in his consciousness.
From those ripples, the outline of a new urn slowly emerged.
But unlike the previous two, this one was different.
It wasn't made of wood, nor of plain ceramic—it was a rough, dark stone, as if fused with metal sand.
Etched on the surface was a symbol—a familiar one.
The headband crest of Sunagakure!
"A mark from the Sand?"
Kiyohara's heart skipped a beat. A bad feeling crept over him.
"Don't tell me this time it's 'me' from another hidden village…?"
Before he could say anything, the stone urn trembled slightly, and it felt like a voice was echoing from within.
"Heh!"
"Even if I die today, I'll take you worthless bastards with me!"
"…?"
The strange voice made Kiyohara frown in confusion.
Then, as the voice faded, a faint figure began to emerge.
It was another future version of himself, youthful in appearance, with features nearly identical—but the vibe was completely different.
He wore standard Sand ninja gear and a scratched Sunagakure headband across his brow.
"Oh? So I'm already dead, huh?"
This future Kiyohara looked down at his phantom-like hands, then up at the younger, current Kiyohara. He raised an eyebrow, visibly surprised.
So he wasn't still in the middle of battle.
He spoke:
"Didn't expect this 'Will' system was real. I only completed one wish before dying, and then—bam—got packaged up and sent to another version of myself in a different timeline."
His last memory was fighting dozens of ninja alone—he didn't even know exactly when he'd died.
"You're the me from the Sand?"
Kiyohara asked cautiously.
"Correct. I'm a shinobi of Sunagakure… and I awakened the kekkei genkai: Magnet Release."
He pointed to the scratched forehead protector.
"A bloodline limit… for real!"
Kiyohara's heart soared.
This was great news.
With a kekkei genkai, he'd finally graduated from the status of a "beggar" in this world. No longer just a commoner shinobi—he'd truly risen.
And better yet, Magnet Release wasn't a secret or forbidden ability.
Besides Sand, even Kumogakure had a ninja—Toroi—who possessed it.
Kiyohara could easily explain it away: it was just a mutated form of a bloodline ability.
In the shinobi world, mutation was one of the most common triggers for kekkei genkai awakening.
Even Hashirama's Wood Release was a unique mutation among the Senju—no one else in the clan ever had it.
"So how did you die?"
Kiyohara asked, choosing his words carefully. The cause of death often tied directly to the unfulfilled wish.
"Die?"
Magnet Kiyohara scoffed, crossing his arms.
"I just thought the ninja village system was too bureaucratic, too… civilized. It shackled the posture of true strength. I wanted to test the Kazekage's Magnet Release—see how strong it really was."
"And I wanted him to understand that what Sunagakure needed wasn't compromise—it needed absolute strength to lead it."
"Unfortunately… I wasn't strong enough. Before I could act, I was ambushed by a squad of ANBU. Couldn't react in time… and I lost."
His tone was as casual as describing last night's dinner—but the content made Kiyohara's eye twitch.
This guy… challenged the Kazekage?
Kiyohara took a deep breath, resisting the urge to curse out loud.
It was clear now—this Magnet Kiyohara had a… problematic brain.
Extremely radical. Fanatically strength-oriented. Probably more than a little insane.
"Alright then, what's your wish?"
Kiyohara cut to the chase. There was no point playing games with someone from the future.
Magnet Kiyohara held up two fingers.
"Simple. First—I want you to kill a Sand ANBU.
Though judging by your strength now… one is probably your limit. That'll do."
This was essentially revenge. But since Kiyohara was still weak, this was a compromise.
Kiyohara nodded.
"No problem."
"Second…"
Magnet Kiyohara said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Defeat Pakura. She used to beat me senseless just because she was a few years older."
Kiyohara nodded again. These wishes weren't unreasonable.
Both were tied to Sunagakure.
One was about vengeance against the ANBU that killed him.
The other—Pakura—was clearly a personal grudge.
It all came down to timing.
Like Sasuke at seventeen—basically unbeatable.
But Sasuke at thirteen? Cannon fodder.
Right now, Pakura probably wasn't that strong yet.
"Got it. I'll do my best to fulfill your wishes."
Kiyohara promised.
"Don't let me down."
Magnet Kiyohara replied. He looked curiously at this younger version of himself.
Apparently, in this timeline, he had been born in Konoha—not Sunagakure.
"If I fulfill your wishes… will I inherit your kekkei genkai? Do I need to fulfill both, or just one?"
Kiyohara asked the important question.
Usually, the inheritance was partial—not full.
"It should be the bloodline limit."
Magnet Kiyohara replied, looking at his phantom hand as he summoned a small cloud of black iron sand.
In this mental space, everything could manifest as thoughts.
Just like in Naruto's inner world—where the Nine-Tails was sealed behind bars, and water covered the floor.
"I inherited my Magnet Release from my parents. It was weak at first, but after I fulfilled one of the previous wishes, and their kekkei genkai was also Magnet Release, the powers stacked—and my ability became much stronger."
So his current strength came from combined legacies.
"I see…"
Kiyohara nodded thoughtfully.
If he fulfilled the first wish, it was likely he could inherit both fragments of the Magnet Release from this and the prior future self.
Too bad this guy didn't finish all his own wishes—or he might have gotten even more.
"So… this is Uzushiogakure?"
Magnet Kiyohara floated out of Kiyohara's body, gazing at the endless ocean beyond.
"Yeah. The ruins of Uzushio."
"Any Sand ninja here?"
He asked eagerly—already itching to avenge himself.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
Kiyohara replied calmly.
Uzushio was massive, and Konoha alone couldn't monitor the whole region.
There was a good chance that shinobi from other nations might slip in—either to sow chaos, steal secrets, or weaken both Konoha and Kirigakure.
He glanced at Magnet Kiyohara again.
Now that he had Magnet Release, maybe he could develop more advanced applications—
Railguns?
Electromagnetic tricks?
Something beyond just controlling iron sand?
Who said Magnet Release had to be limited to just puppetry and sand manipulation?