Year 49 of Konoha.
Kiyohara's expression didn't look good.
He was probably going to die.
He repeatedly examined the mission assignment in his hands. No matter how he looked at it, horizontally or vertically, the content was to reinforce the Minato squad, and the location was at Kannabi Bridge!
He was actually a transmigrator. Ever since he crossed over and awakened his past life memories, Kiyohara had been lying low cautiously, wanting to live longer.
He never expected to receive this "certain death" mission.
Completing this mission seemed impossible on a battlefield alive with so much energy.
The Battle of Kannabi Bridge meant near-certain death for him.
This mission was strange from start to finish.
The opposing side consisted of three battle-hardened elite jōnin, one of whom, the Iwagakure jōnin Kakko, was considered one of the strongest.
Konoha's side consisted of a newly promoted jōnin Kakashi, and the chūnin Nohara Rin and Obito.
During this process, Namikaze Minato would need to support the front lines, which meant it would later be one jōnin and two chūnin versus three elite jōnin.
Was this... reasonable?
If Kiyohara went, he'd just be another cannon fodder.
Even Kakashi, who developed an S-rank lightning jutsu at age 12, couldn't handle the dangers there.
And right now, he was merely a genin.
Some people are farther apart than others.
Some genin fight with aftershocks that could shatter the Valley of the End.
And then there are genin like him, cannon fodder filling the lines on the battlefield.
"What's wrong, Kiyohara?"
Nohara Rin asked with a puzzled expression.
Her short black hair fluttered against the purple face paint on her cheeks as she spoke.
Why did Kiyohara look so unhappy after receiving the mission to reinforce them?
This mission had Minato-sensei, the fastest shinobi in the ninja world, leading them. It should be a sure thing.
"No, it's nothing."
Kiyohara shook his head.
He looked up at the beautiful young girl. She wore a light pink skirt at her waist, a black top, and tight over-knee socks.
"Don't worry, I'll protect everyone on this mission."
A blonde young man approached with a warm smile.
"I trust Minato-sama."
Kiyohara nodded.
Could he say he didn't trust him?
The current Namikaze Minato was at the height of his power.
Even shinobi from other villages could choose to abandon their missions upon seeing him without any penalty.
But this very person, called the fastest in the ninja world, would never make it in time for anything in his entire life, always arriving one step behind.
"That's right, with Minato-sensei here, this mission definitely won't be a big deal."
Obito walked over with his hands behind his head, standing next to Nohara Rin with a silly grin.
Behind them was a white-haired boy wearing a black mask, his indifferent eyes seeming uninterested in everything.
Kiyohara quietly watched this scene of "teacher and disciples in harmony."
After this battle, Nohara Rin would be captured by Kirigakure shinobi, and then Obito would turn dark, staging a demonstration of "what great filial piety means" in Konoha, personally delivering explosive tags as a wedding gift to Naruto.
So, how should he survive now?
People's joys and sorrows are not connected; Kiyohara only found them noisy.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the others, Kiyohara left.
But just as he was pondering whether to write a will in advance and plan his inheritance, a voice suddenly rang in his mind.
[Legacy Scroll has been activated.]
[Legacy Scroll: Using you as a temporal anchor point, countless possibilities will extend from the future]
[Please receive your will and urn, and properly bury your remains.]
An electronic female voice echoed in Kiyohara's mind.
"Wait, I die in the future?"
Kiyohara couldn't hold it together.
He knew he shouldn't go to Kannabi Bridge—they'd already sent him his urn!
"Urn?"
Just as Kiyohara was about to ask where the urn was, a phantom image of an urn appeared in his mind.
It bore a Konoha symbol with a horizontal line scratched across it.
Kiyohara felt something was wrong.
Wait, this... why does it look like a rogue ninja's mark?
"By the time you hear this, I'm already dead. What follows should all be my last words..."
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.
Kiyohara was startled to find that a phantom spirit had floated out from the urn in his mind.
The spirit looked seventy to eighty percent similar to him, like a middle-aged version of himself.
His face was full of vicissitudes, and on his forehead was a ninja headband with a horizontal line scratched across it.
A rogue ninja!
"You are... the dead me? And you defected?"
Kiyohara thought of the Legacy Scroll's description.
Using him as a temporal anchor point, countless possibilities extending from the future.
Being a rogue ninja was also one of his future possibilities?
"More or less. As you can see, I'm now just a rogue ninja."
The rogue ninja Kiyohara pointed at the headband on his forehead.
"When did I... no, when did you defect?"
Kiyohara asked.
This was just one of his infinite future possibilities, not necessarily meaning he would definitely defect.
"A few years after this war ended, I suppose."
The rogue ninja Kiyohara's words carried some sighs.
"Why?"
Kiyohara inquired.
"Naturally to advance further.
In the ninja world, ninja clans rely on bloodlines, civilians rely on mutation. I could only join Orochimaru to become stronger."
The rogue ninja Kiyohara said.
Faced with the rogue ninja Kiyohara's words, Kiyohara fell silent.
This was very much the ninja world.
In the ninja world, gold will shine, but unfortunately, as a civilian ninja, he was just a piece of scrap iron.
As everyone knows, in the ninja world, powerful strength is only transmitted through mother and child, teacher and student, or blood.
Without any of those, you could only seek your own fortune and burn more incense for the Sage of Six Paths in daily life.
"So how did you die?"
Kiyohara asked the question he cared about.
"Blown up by explosive tags."
"..."
A very casual death.
Kiyohara figured quite a few people died this way.
"At least it proves I successfully survived the Kannabi Bridge mission. Can you tell me the intel?"
Kiyohara said.
Although he had foreknowledge of the plot, any butterfly effect could lead to different developments.
"No, I never received this mission back then."
The rogue ninja Kiyohara said.
"I spent most of my time doing logistics work."
"?"
Kiyohara's eyes widened.
Doesn't that mean his future was like the people in the "Limited Tsukuyomi", not only would he himself change, but other people or events would also change?
Could there also be "ANBU Kiyohara" or "Hokage Kiyohara" in the future?
"What about your remains?"
Kiyohara remembered the urn should also contain remains. He was curious about what else was inside.
Was it just this spirit?
"As for remains... it's probably just me. I can exist for a while longer and can teach you some ninjutsu."
The rogue ninja Kiyohara said.
"However, I probably won't last too long either. I also had the 'Legacy Scroll,' but it awakened too late.
After I died, I was packaged and sent to another me."
The rogue ninja Kiyohara explained.
He told Kiyohara his understanding of the "Legacy Scroll", it seemed that by fulfilling the deceased's wishes, one could obtain certain enhancements from the deceased.