"All that you believe in is nothing but an illusion, a fragile bubble ready to burst. Look at Kakashi—he inherited your eye, yet he even forgot Rin's birthday. And that brat called Kiyohara… he effortlessly slips into the place you held in Rin's heart…"
Madara's words, paired with the blinding images before him, made Obito's pain intensify.
The joyful memories he had of Kakashi and Rin tangled violently with the cruel reality being forced upon him, colliding over and over until all that remained was a landscape of gray despair.
His single remaining right eye flew open, the tomoe spinning madly. He clenched his fist so hard that his nails dug deeply into his palm.
"I want to go back… I must go back—I have to return to Rin's side!"
Watching Obito's mind spiral into obsession, Madara—hidden in the shadows, curved his lips into a faint smile.
As expected… Obito was far too pure, far too easy to manipulate.
A few words, a few images, and he believed everything. What a perfect pawn.
Madara wondered what kind of Mangekyō Sharingan ability Obito might awaken.
After all, a powerful Mangekyō ability provided tremendous benefits to its user.
…
Elsewhere, Kiyohara had only been speaking with Rin for a little over three hours when a shrill alarm abruptly ripped through the Konoha encampment built atop the ruins of Uzushiogakure.
"Enemy attack!"
"The Mist forces have landed!"
Almost simultaneously, countless figures surged out from the dense fog along the coastline!
Kunai and shuriken rained down like a storm, followed instantly by an onslaught of massive Water Release techniques!
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Torrential waves and roaring water dragons smashed violently against Konoha's hastily erected defenses. Several forward outposts were instantly drowned and destroyed.
The originally quiet island was transformed in seconds into a hellscape of fire, screaming, explosions, and blood.
Orochimaru stood before the main command tent. He knew this line could not be held. Even if Jiraiya himself were commanding, it would still be impossible.
His hoarse voice echoed:
"All units, follow the plan. Use the terrain to delay them, retreat step by step."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" replied a member of the Yamanaka clan, rushing to relay orders.
"And escort the Hyūga clan's shinobi out."
Orochimaru added, glancing toward him.
"All of them?" the Yamanaka asked.
"No. Only those few from the main family. The branch family bears the Caged Bird Seal."
Orochimaru shook his head, then conjured a fire to burn down the command tent.
Leaving it standing would only give the enemy information.
The defensive lines were already crumbling under the Mist's advance. They wouldn't hold much longer.
"Yes."
The Yamanaka nodded and rushed away to arrange everything.
Cruel, but necessary.
The Byakugan must never fall into enemy hands. If it did, Konoha's troubles would multiply endlessly.
"I didn't expect the Mist to have this much resolve…"
Orochimaru looked toward the distant battlefield, flames and smoke rising like the sky itself were collapsing.
More than two thousand well-prepared Mist shinobi charged into barely seven hundred Leaf defenders.
Konoha was immediately overwhelmed.
The front line crumbled under the Mist's relentless assault, like a sandcastle battered by a storm tide—precarious on all sides.
Explosions, fire, and death filled every passing second.
"Heh heh… I wonder if that boy will survive this."
Kiyohara's figure flashed through Orochimaru's mind.
Even though he had taught the boy the Leaf Body Flicker Technique, Orochimaru felt Kiyohara's chances of surviving were still slim.
Only a rare few civilian shinobi were born with chakra reserves vast enough to reach higher realms—like Minato.
Flying Thunder God consumed tremendous chakra—those without the reserves didn't even qualify to learn.
But the Kiyohara Orochimaru saw… aside from his sharp mind and decent sensory ability, he was thoroughly average.
His only praiseworthy trait was the speed of his improvement.
Sadly, in such a desperate situation, potential meant nothing. Potential that couldn't turn into real power quickly… was the same as not existing.
"It is time I act,"
Orochimaru whispered, as serpents slithered from his sleeves..
…
In the midst of chaos—
Kiyohara and Kakashi's team was quickly thrown into combat.
Their squad was scattered by the Mist assault, leaving each member forced to fight independently.
Lightning crackled around Kakashi's hand as he flashed through the enemy ranks—each thrust claiming a Mist shinobi's life.
Rin stood at the back, nervously providing medical support. Gentle green light flickered repeatedly around her hands.
Kurenai and Genma fought beside Kiyohara, desperately trying to hold back the tide of Mist shinobi surging toward them.
Kiyohara swung his lightning-wreathed blade, using the Body Flicker Technique and occasionally flinging kunais and shurikens whose trajectories subtly shifted under his magnetism—cutting down Mist shinobi with brutal efficiency.
Blood sprayed again and again.
But there was no time to scavenge. The enemy was too numerous, and more kept arriving.
A group of shinobi could combine their techniques.
Ninjas could combine their techniques. If too many Mist shinobi gathered, their massive Water Release combinations would be nearly impossible to evade.
Worse, the ruins of Uzushiogakure were surrounded by sea—giving the Mist an overwhelming terrain advantage.
"This won't hold. The line will break!"
Genma shouted, biting down on his senbon.
Their area wasn't even the worst—other spots suffered heavier pressure.
Konoha's defenses, hammered by overwhelming numbers, were barely holding together—like a lone boat in a storm.
"Don't panic. The retreat order should come soon."
Kiyohara answered calmly.
The Mist had landed from multiple directions, converging toward the main camp. A multi-pronged assault like this could only end the same way it did in the original timeline—total collapse.
Even Orochimaru couldn't face such numbers alone.
And the Mist had deployed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
With both low-level and high-level forces outmatched, Konoha couldn't hold.
They would eventually retreat from the island and escape toward Land of Fire's coast.
But not everyone would fit on the ships—and many ships were already being destroyed as the Mist began their encirclement.
Anyone left behind would have to cross open ocean on their own.
"Kill the medical-nin first."
Several Mist shinobi spotted Rin and moved to eliminate her.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Whip!"
Two whips of high-pressure water lashed toward Rin.
Rin wasn't skilled in combat. She could only dodge frantically—and every evasion pushed her farther from Kiyohara and the others.
Kiyohara's eyes turned cold.
At this rate, Rin wouldn't last long.
He knew he could no longer hide his Magnet Release.
Kakashi was entangled by two jōnin and couldn't break free. Using only ordinary means, he wouldn't be able to finish them quickly enough to help Rin.
Sooner or later, Kiyohara would have to reveal it anyway.
If Rin died, the entire team's survivability would plummet.
Even if revealing Magnet Release brought him unwanted attention from Konoha's leadership, that was secondary.
Hiding strength at the cost of his life—or the lives of his teammates—was foolish.
Once life is gone, nothing else matters.
From now on, he would show his edge. With the power of his future selves, he would inevitably become a genius.
He simply needed to reinforce that impression now—so that when he did something outrageous later, others would chalk it up to prodigious talent.
"Use Magnetic Field Rotation." Magnet Release Kiyohara urged, floating beside him.
"You no longer need my help to synthesize Magnet Release. Your physical body can handle the load now. You're ready to use true Magnet Release."
"Alright."
Kiyohara followed the chakra routes his other self had once demonstrated within his body.
He borrowed strength again. The magnetic fields around him shifted, rotating.
This time, the crushing weight on his body eased. Movement was no longer difficult
"As I thought… My body truly possesses this power now."
Kiyohara understood completely.
Without the proper chakra nature, any jutsu was weakened. But now, with Magnet Release, the effect was complete.
Now… how powerful is the real thing?
He intended to find out.
Stepping firmly against the ground, he felt a force rising through the earth beneath his feet—surging upward like a tidal current ready to burst.
(End of Chapter)