Kiyohara put away his Kunai and extended a hand to the boy lying in the dirt.
"It seems I've won."
Kiyohara's tone was calm, devoid of arrogance.
Obito possessed the bloodline of the illustrious Uchiha Clan, but Kiyohara possessed something arguably more potent: his own Urn.
Everyone has a future. The difference was that Kiyohara could harvest his.
He was only slightly better than Obito right now, but his potential was limitless. As long as he randomly rolled a powerful future self, he could skyrocket in power after fulfilling a dying wish.
Of course, the stronger the future self, the harder the wish would be to fulfill.
Obito lay on the ground, looking from Kiyohara's outstretched hand to Rin's concerned face. His face instantly flushed a deep shade of red.
This was a disgrace to the Uchiha name!
Fortunately, Obito was used to being the "Dead Last." He had grown accustomed to the bitter taste of defeat in the Academy. The first time he participated in the Chunin Exams, he had even lost to Might Guy.
Ultimately, Obito managed to give himself a pep talk. He grudgingly took Kiyohara's hand and pulled himself up, muttering under his breath.
"...Damn it. I'll definitely win next time!"
Minato Namikaze looked at Kiyohara, his blue eyes filled with genuine admiration. He smiled gently.
"That was an excellent strategy and display of shurikenjutsu, Kiyohara-kun. Your practical combat ability far exceeds that of an ordinary Genin."
Minato paused, a look of curiosity crossing his face. "With your strength, you should have easily passed the Chunin Exams. Why didn't you participate?"
"I've been... busy with personal training," Kiyohara lied smoothly. "I felt I wasn't ready."
"I see." Minato nodded, accepting the excuse.
"However, we are in a state of war," Minato continued, his expression turning serious. "Promotions do not always follow peacetime regulations. If you perform well on this mission, a Field Promotion to Chunin is highly likely."
Minato looked at the group of teenagers. As their commander, he knew exactly how dangerous this mission was. A pang of guilt struck his heart.
These were children. They shouldn't be doing this.
But Konoha had no choice. The village was fighting for its survival.
If they successfully cut off Iwagakure's supply line, it would shift the momentum of the entire war. The enemy believed their supply route was impenetrable, guarded by the terrain and elite squads. That was exactly why Konoha was sending small, unassuming teams.
If a large force of elites was deployed, Iwagakure's Sensor-nin would detect them miles away, and reinforcements would flood the area. Small squads were the only way.
"Yes, Lord Minato." Kiyohara nodded.
If he became a Chunin after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, his standing would rise. More importantly, his survival rate would increase.
As long as he didn't die, he could access more urns. More timelines. More power.
'If I can snowball my strength now,' Kiyohara thought, 'I can face the future crises with composure.'
The Nine-Tails Attack. The Konoha Crush. Pain's Assault. The Fourth Great Ninja War. The Ōtsutsuki Invasion.
If he remained weak, these events would be insurmountable walls. If he became strong, they would be opportunities.
Minato dismissed them shortly after. The departure time was set: 14:00 hours, three days from now.
The Yellow Flash vanished to attend to his mountain of duties.
Once Minato was gone, Kakashi Hatake walked over to Kiyohara.
"You're quite good," Kakashi said plainly, his hands in his pockets. "It seems you won't be a liability on this mission."
Ever since his father, Sakumo Hatake, had committed suicide, Kakashi had cared about only one thing: The Rules.
A ninja who couldn't complete a mission was scum. A teammate who dragged the squad down was worse than scum.
"Mm." Kiyohara nodded.
He knew there was no point in arguing with this version of Kakashi. The boy was in his obsessive phase.
This mission would be the turning point. But in the original timeline, it was merely a false dawn before the pitch-black night. Kakashi would lose Obito, and then he would be forced to kill Rin with his own hand.
'Honestly,' Kiyohara mused, watching Kakashi walk away, 'if his name was Uchiha Kakashi instead of Hatake, he would have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan right there. It would have saved him years of being chakra-deficient.'
"Kakashi! Do you want to train together?" Rin asked hopefully.
"No."
Kakashi's refusal was instant. "I need to refine my new jutsu. It's almost complete."
He walked away alone.
Kiyohara watched him go. He knew what that technique was. The Chidori.
Currently, Kakashi was technically a Jonin, but his signature jutsu was flawed. Without the dynamic vision of a Sharingan, the Chidori caused a tunnel vision effect that made the user vulnerable to counterattacks. It was an incomplete weapon.
This was why, decades later in the Boruto era, a Sharingan-less Kakashi would have to reinvent the technique as Purple Lightning (Shiden).
'At critical moments,' Kiyohara calculated, 'I'll still have to rely on the Missing-nin possessing me.'
There was a massive gap between a rookie Jonin like Kakashi and a veteran Jonin with thirty years of experience like his future self.
"That's just how Kakashi is," Obito grumbled, resting his hands behind his head. He didn't know the tragedy of the White Fang; he just thought Kakashi was an arrogant jerk.
"I think it's better for us to do individual targeted training during these last few days," Genma said, picking up his fallen senbon. He wiped the dirt off it and placed it back in his mouth.
He was still visibly shaken by Kiyohara's performance. He needed to step up his own game.
"Agreed," Kiyohara said.
The group dispersed.
Back at his dilapidated house in the southern district, Kiyohara unrolled a scroll.
He stared at the ink descriptions of the Wind Release jutsu and rubbed his temples.
'Easier said than done.'
Even with a teacher's explanation, muscle memory didn't come for free. Understanding the theory of chakra flow was one thing; executing it under pressure was another.
And then there was the issue of Chakra Reserves.
That was a bottleneck that usually only widened with age and physical growth.
"By the way," Kiyohara asked the empty air, "do you have any... quick ways to get stronger?"
Logically, his future self—a man who had survived as a Missing-nin for decades—should know some unorthodox methods.
The ghostly figure of the Missing-nin materialized from the urn.
"Yes," the spirit said bluntly. "Drugs."
Kiyohara blinked. "Drugs?"
"How do you expect to bridge the gap between a commoner and a clan genius in three days without chemical assistance?" the spirit scoffed.
Kiyohara paused. It made sense.
He recalled that Sasuke Uchiha had consumed a variety of forbidden substances during his three years with Orochimaru to accelerate his growth.
'Of course,' Kiyohara thought, 'Orochimaru was a scientist. He was careful with his prize specimen. His drugs didn't have side effects... well, other than the Curse Mark making you look like a monster, they didn't make Sasuke's head grow pointy or anything.'
"What kind of drugs?" Kiyohara asked.
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