Kiyohara's eyes lit up.
Having a jōnin to back him up at a critical moment—That could be enough to save his life.
"Then let's not waste time."
Back in his room, Kiyohara pulled out a blank scroll and brush under the confused gaze of his future self.
"What are you doing? Feeling inspired to write a book and try for a 'genius author' future version of yourself?"
The rogue-nin Kiyohara raised an eyebrow.
"Nope, too much effort. You only passed me one jutsu. If I learned them one by one from each future version, I'd barely get anywhere. But if I record them, I can learn continuously."
Kiyohara spoke with total seriousness.
If every future version left behind the jutsu they knew, and he wrote them all down—
He'd eventually have a massive ninjutsu library.
That was the only way to maximize the benefits.
Taking from others was called harvesting.
Taking from yourself—could you even call that harvesting?
It was like cheating on an exam… only you were copying from your own mind.
"…"
The time-worn rogue's expression twitched.
Had his past self already become… a budding capitalist?
Still, he gave in and began dictating another jutsu for the scroll.
After all, he was helping himself.
But then, just as he finished describing one more jutsu—he stopped moving.
"What is it?"
Kiyohara assumed he was pausing to recall something.
"Someone's coming."
Even in spiritual form, the rogue-nin had a jōnin's keen senses.
He wouldn't have lived to middle age in the shinobi world otherwise.
Kiyohara quickly set the scroll aside and tidied the desk.
"Kiyohara!"
A voice called from behind the door.
When he answered, he found a beautiful girl standing there.
Her crimson eyes glimmered like twin rubies.
It was Kurenai Yūhi.
"Kurenai."
Kiyohara greeted her.
She was his teammate.The third member of their squad was Genma Shiranui.
The three of them had been assigned to the same genin team.
"This is the soldier pills you asked for."
Kurenai handed him a small pouch.
"Thanks, Kurenai."
He accepted it gratefully.
"How's the rest of your prep going?"
She asked.
In a few days, they'd be heading out on a classified mission alongside Minato's team.
It was so secretive that even now, they hadn't been told the objective.All they knew was that it involved Kannabi Bridge.
Was it intel gathering? An ambush?
Only the jōnin leader would reveal it when the time came.
"Just about ready."
Kiyohara nodded.
There wasn't much he needed to bring.
As long as he packed the urn, he'd be fine.His future self was his emergency insurance.
"I really wish the war would just end."
Kurenai, barely in her teens, wore a practical ninja outfit. Her expression was tinged with quiet sadness.
This endless war hung over them all like a black cloud.
Being a shinobi was already dangerous—But in wartime, that danger multiplied.
"It won't last much longer."
Kiyohara said.
All wars were collective violence—tools for political, economic, or social ends.
The Third Great Ninja War was no different.
The Second War had barely healed before every nation thought they were ready again.
But this time, no one would win.
Konoha would lose countless shinobi, sending even children into battle.
Kumogakure would mourn the fall of their pride—the Third Raikage.
Kirigakure's Three-Tails would die… alongside Rin.
Iwagakure and Sunagakure would be left with crippled forces and no strong heirs.
And if the Five Great Nations suffered that much, the small nations were doomed.Just look at Amegakure—so infiltrated it had more holes than walls.
"How long is 'not much longer' supposed to be?"
Kurenai pressed.
"A few years, tops. Once there's no one left to fight, the war ends."
Dark humor, maybe. But that was the truth.
"Then… won't all our comrades be dead by then?"
Kurenai looked shaken.
"We should be more worried about ourselves surviving."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"Lord Minato's going too, right? We should be fine."
Like everyone else, she trusted in Minato's reputation—believing things would go smoothly.
"Anyone can die in war, Kurenai. Don't get careless."
He warned her.
After all, even Sasuke's Rinnegan got stabbed out with a kunai.
In the ninja world, no one was safe.
"Alright…"
Kurenai nodded.
"I'll get going then."
With that, she turned and left.
Kiyohara stood silently, watching her figure disappear.
The rogue-nin's spirit had been observing them the whole time.
When sealed in the urn, he had no senses at all—But once floating free, he functioned like a soul.
"How's your genjutsu?"
Kiyohara turned to ask.
He noticed all the techniques he'd learned so far were ninjutsu.
"Terrible."
The ghost said flatly.
"Figures."
Kiyohara nodded thoughtfully.
Unless there was some Kurama Kiyohara or Uchiha Kiyohara version out there, his genjutsu talent was doomed to be mediocre.
This world had bloodline supremacy coded into its DNA.
"Let's keep going."
After Kurenai left, he pulled out paper and pen again and resumed his lessons.
This was the only path forward.
Without strength, he wouldn't earn military merit.
Without military merit, he'd never gain new jutsu.
Konoha had already designed a dead-end loop for civilian shinobi like him.
…
Over the next few days, Kiyohara buried himself in ninjutsu training.
Through testing, he confirmed it—His progress in Wind and Lightning Release had accelerated dramatically.His comprehension had taken a leap.
So this was the power of stacking?
He loved it!
In the courtyard, Kiyohara formed the 戊 (Goat) and 辰 (Dragon) hand seals, then clapped his hands together hard.
He channeled Wind Chakra into his palms, compressing it tightly.
Whoosh!
A near-invisible blade of air shot from his hands, slicing into a tree stump and leaving a deep gouge.
"Huff…"
He began to pant again.
He couldn't help it—even rogue-nin Kiyohara had less chakra than a single bar.
Compared to someone like elite jōnin Kakashi, his chakra reserves were a joke.
And right now, he was still just a genin.
Even with the slight boost from their fusion, he was still chakra-deficient.
"A ninja's true strength is chakra."
He muttered to himself.
Until he completed his rogue self's second wish, he'd need to use chakra sparingly.
◆ ◆ ◆
The next day.
While still training, Kiyohara was summoned by Minato.
When he arrived, he found Obito, Kakashi, and Rin already waiting.