He was someone who cared about fairness.
Since it was hard to deal with the enemy's invisibility, he'd drag the enemy down to his level first—then use superior experience to win.
Kiyohara closed his eyes as Rogue Kiyohara's spirit appeared behind him.
Come out, my Stand.
If Kiyohara kept his eyes open, the lime dust in the air would burn them too.
But Rogue Kiyohara could act as his second pair of eyes.
"On your left. He's forming hand seals—trying to cast ninjutsu and vanish again," Rogue Kiyohara said.
Through the white haze, a humanoid outline could still be seen where the dust clung.
"Got it."
Kiyohara nodded and pulled a couple of shuriken from his pouch.
Swish, swish!
The spinning shuriken sliced through the lime fog toward the shape.
Hearing them cut the air, Taiseki had to stop his seals and dodge first.
Every time he dodged and tried to form seals again, Kiyohara interrupted him.
"Is this kid completely unaffected?" Taiseki thought, clenching his fist.
He kept his eyes clamped shut; tears leaked down his cheeks. If he didn't treat them soon, he might actually go blind.
Meanwhile, not only was Kiyohara seemingly fine—Taiseki could hear soft pff sounds, the clear sign Kiyohara was tossing out even more lime powder.
"Can you really call yourself a ninja?" Taiseki rasped.
"Sorry. Ninja are supposed to be assassins—you're the one playing honorable warrior," Kiyohara said, shaking his head.
Ninja missions were mostly poisonings, spying, assassinations, and infiltrations. But suddenly, in actual combat, this guy wanted to talk about honor?
He could complain to Kiyohara's shuriken.
Kiyohara gripped one and poured Wind Release chakra into it.
Wind flowed around the blade, sharpening it even further.
Taiseki, careless for a moment, took the hit. Blood began to seep out where the shuriken landed.
"Kakko!" he finally shouted, calling to his teammate.
But the answer wasn't a steady reassurance—it was a scream.
"Don't tell me Kakko can't even beat those brats," Taiseki thought, heart sinking.
Unfortunately, he and Kiyohara were positioned near the cave entrance while Kakko and the others were deeper inside. He couldn't see what was happening, only hear occasional clashes—then another scream.
"What happened?" Kiyohara quickly asked Rogue Kiyohara.
Looking that way, Rogue Kiyohara saw Kakashi take a cut to his left eye while trying to save Obito. Overwhelmed with grief and rage, Obito jumped from normal eyes straight to two-tomoe Sharingan.
"Obito just awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan. The Iwa-nin got his arm sliced," Rogue Kiyohara reported.
"I see," Kiyohara nodded slightly.
So things were still unfolding just like the original story: Kakashi's left eye ruined, Obito awakening the Sharingan in anger. A coincidence.
Or…was it really?
Kiyohara suddenly remembered that in the shinobi world, there was such a thing as "destiny."
Naruto had been "the Child of Prophecy" from the start. Jiraiya spent his whole life wandering the world because of that hazy prediction. When the Sage of Six Paths emerged from Naruto's mind, accompanied by the chakra of the nine tailed beasts, the first thing he said was:
"The promised time has come. The 'Child of Prophecy' will change the world."
And all nine tailed beasts reacted like they already knew.
That meant the Sage had told them all of this a thousand years ago.
"I've got the Willbook. The butterfly effects in the future will only get bigger and bigger. I'm just too weak right now—the wind I flap isn't strong enough to shift what's happening yet," Kiyohara thought.
Then he shook his head.
The Willbook started from him as an anchor and spun out countless possible futures. It was the biggest variable by design.
"Hmph."
Taiseki grunted and yanked out the shuriken.
If something happened to Kakko, there was no way he'd escape alone.
"I'll just finish you quickly, then."
His left hand was now encased in thick rock, forming a massive fist.
He charged, stone knuckles whistling through the air toward Kiyohara's last known position.
Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique!
"He's using Fist Rock," Rogue Kiyohara said in Kiyohara's mind, sounding unimpressed.
"Looks like he dumped everything into stealth. His other jutsu aren't much."
"Half-step left, duck," he instructed.
Kiyohara followed, and the stone fist grazed his hair, whipping up a fierce gust.
"Now—Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder," Rogue Kiyohara said.
Kiyohara slammed through the seals, sending a wide sheet of lightning crawling along the ground.
Crackle!
The arcs tore apart most of the rock encasing Taiseki's left hand.
"This brat can still use jutsu?" Taiseki frowned.
He'd pegged Kiyohara as a no-name civilian. How did he have this much chakra?
"I'm about tapped. Your turn," Kiyohara muttered.
A wave of weakness washed over him. He'd already thrown out multiple jutsu, and he hadn't really rested since the march began. If not for the enhancer he'd taken beforehand, he'd be bone-dry already.
Taiseki steadied himself and re-formed the Fist Rock—this time more cautious, relying on sound to guess where Kiyohara was.
"Too slow," Rogue Kiyohara said softly.
Under his guidance, Kiyohara moved through the haze at speed, each step landing perfectly in Taiseki's blind spot.
"Right hand, kunai—three inches up," Rogue Kiyohara said.
Kiyohara struck as told; the kunai stabbed clean into the joint of Taiseki's right elbow.
The jōnin cried out; the Fist Rock shattered and fell away in chunks.
"Impossible…"
He turned toward Kiyohara, disbelief twisting his face.
"You're just a genin…"
Kiyohara didn't answer.
Speaking would only give away his spot.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
The ground suddenly roared, and the cave shook.
"The other Iwa jōnin just used Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction," Rogue Kiyohara warned.
Kiyohara nodded faintly.
That jutsu was usually used in caves—collapsing the ceiling and triggering cave-ins.
That meant Kakko was already going for the kill.
In that instant, Kiyohara tightened his grip on the kunai. Taking advantage of Taiseki's face twisting in panic as he realized he couldn't escape, Kiyohara disrupted him with a shuriken throw.
"Everyone, run for the exit!" Kakashi shouted.
Seeing this, Kiyohara poured what chakra he had left into Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, blasting all the lime dust away from the cave mouth.
Rumble rumble rumble…
He sprinted out first and planted himself at the entrance, waiting for the others.
Kurenai and Genma weren't slow—they burst out in short order.
Kakashi lagged behind; his injured left eye left him with a blind spot.
Thud!
A falling rock nailed him in that blind spot, hurling him forward.
As an even larger boulder thundered down behind him, about to roll through, Obito shoved Kakashi clear.
With a deafening crash, the rock pinned Obito, crushing him under its weight—only half his body remained visible.
Kiyohara could almost hear his "eggs" weeping.
~~~
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