Some of it might be experience, some of it bloodline, and some of it stacked talents.
"I only got two 'Willbooks' myself. I'd just reached jōnin-level strength, got careless, stepped on an exploding-tag trap, and died."
"I see…"
Kiyohara thought to himself: so the "Willbook" is basically a time anchor. If he dies, will he also get bundled up as a relic and sent to another possible version of himself?
He also understood why Rogue Kiyohara was so eager to explain everything right off the bat.
Even when your future self teams up with your present self, it still comes down to aligned interests.
All he wanted was for Kiyohara to fulfill his last wishes.
At that thought, Kiyohara couldn't help getting excited.
If one future self can double your talent, what about two, three, or more?
In theory, stack it enough times and you could one day deck an Ōtsutsuki in three punches. Sir, I'm a bona fide shinobi-world guy now.
For reference, even opening the Death Gate of the "Eight Gates" only claims to give you dozens of times a Kage's power.
Kiyohara just didn't know whether there'd be loss along the way—these are all future selves who died, after all.
Probably the more powerful the future, the more of that power you inherit.
"So what are your last wishes?"
"Mm…two of them. The first is simple: go do what you want to do right now."
To Kiyohara's surprise, Rogue Kiyohara's request was simple.
"What I want to do?"
Kiyohara blinked.
Of course he wanted to get stronger—superhuman, even—so he could survive.
And once you have superhuman power, you can go be a superhero.
"First, yeah, get stronger. Second, I want to hit Ichiraku Ramen and get something to eat."
Kiyohara added that sometimes grabbing some fries down at the docks is its own kind of bliss.
"Ichiraku, huh…now that you mention it, I haven't had it in ages."
Rogue Kiyohara sounded wistful.
What he really wanted was to see what his younger self's heart was like—what he truly desired.
When he grew up, he did live like a novel's protagonist.
It's just that his script felt like it was written by Bleam.
There's no legitimate route for a rogue-nin to take missions.
Being wanted is for life; unless you're content to live as a nobody forever, if you want to get stronger you have to engage the shinobi world.
When he'd been gravely wounded by pursuit squads—so bad he could barely use chakra—he almost went to sell blood.
"You're a jōnin and you can't get ramen?"
Kiyohara asked, baffled.
"It doesn't taste the same, you know? Once I became a rogue, I couldn't even get through Konoha's gate."
Rogue Kiyohara shook his head.
Konoha is packed with powerhouses; it's not a place a civilian-born jōnin can just breeze in and out of.
"I get it…"
Kiyohara nodded.
A bowl at Ichiraku is only a few dozen ryō—no big deal.
"What's your second wish?"
He looked at Rogue Kiyohara's spectral form. It already seemed dimmer than when it first appeared. Who knew how long it could last?
"Become a chūnin. The legitimate kind."
Rogue Kiyohara said it, then glanced at Kiyohara and couldn't help shaking his head.
"I originally wanted to say 'become a jōnin,' but clearly I won't last that long. I'm not really a soul right now anyway—more like a recorded message. When the time's up, I'll disperse."
If not, he'd have wanted to find a vessel and see if he could keep living.
Failing to make jōnin, then defecting—that had always been his sore spot.
Right now he only had jōnin-level strength, not the title.
"Okay."
Feeling the time crunch too, Kiyohara rushed straight to Ichiraku Ramen.
"Uncle Teuchi, one deluxe bowl—load up all the toppings!"
"Yo, Kiyohara, back so early today?"
Teuchi grinned as he busied himself preparing the order.
Kiyohara was a kid he'd watched grow up. Orphaned young, but a tough kid—able to take care of himself at a small age.
"Been craving your cooking, Uncle."
Kiyohara smiled. When the ramen arrived, he said, "Itadakimasu," and dug in.
Rogue Kiyohara's spirit drifted out of the urn and hovered in the air, quietly watching Kiyohara eat—and taking in the view around them.
In his current state, only Kiyohara could see him, so there was no unwanted commotion.
Soon Kiyohara polished off the noodles and even drained the broth in one go.
The most important part of ramen is the soup!
That's where the essence is.
With the first wish fulfilled, Kiyohara saw a glowing orb float off Rogue Kiyohara and merge into his body.
He immediately felt a part of Rogue Kiyohara fuse with him.
That should be…talent.
Kiyohara sensed a deeper affinity for Wind Release and Lightning Release. A lot of things he hadn't understood before suddenly clicked into place.
Like a high schooler going back to do elementary-school problems—basically a sure thing.
Along with it came a jutsu.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough"!
Kiyohara hadn't known this wind-style before, but now a surge of knowledge about "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" poured into his mind, leaving his head throbbing.
"Here's the money, Uncle Teuchi."
He set the cash on the counter and hurried back to his old, shabby little place on the south side of town.
He formed the Dog–Horse–Bird hand seals and guided his chakra through his body's meridian system.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The breath he exhaled carried wind-natured chakra; in an instant it swelled into a gale, shoving the small stone post in the yard so hard it smacked into the wall with a bang—nearly punching a hole through it.
"This power…"
Feeling the sudden drain in his chakra, Kiyohara was satisfied.
A jutsu's destructive power scales with chakra and understanding. A skilled shinobi using "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" can even topple swaths of forest.
"It just eats a lot of chakra."
He exhaled. The inescapable hurdle for civilian-born ninja is too little chakra.
Still, as those motes from Rogue Kiyohara merged into him, Kiyohara felt his mental energy rise a bit—and with it, his chakra reserves.
"Looks like you got a slice of my talent and one jutsu."
Rogue Kiyohara said.
This timeline's him was lucky. The two Willbooks he'd received in his own life had only contained two E-rank jutsu—nothing else.
"What's your chakra nature?"
Kiyohara asked.
The future holds infinite possibilities; he wasn't sure if another version of himself would have the same chakra natures.
"Wind and Lightning."
"Same here—Wind, Lightning."
Kiyohara nodded. It seemed Rogue Kiyohara's future wasn't too far off from his present.
He could probe for more intel about the future; fundamentals like chakra shouldn't change, and maybe there'd be new jutsu to learn.
"It's just…to become a chūnin, I'll have to see the Kannabi Bridge mission through…"
He rubbed his chin.
That part was tricky.
"Don't worry. I'll step in at the critical moment."
Rogue Kiyohara said.
He explained he could possess Kiyohara for a limited time and fight in his place, though it would speed up his own dissolution.
"You can do that?"