If you want to save Obito, you'd have to ask whether Uchiha Madara is willing to let him go.
And Madara chose Obito precisely because of that extreme selfishness hidden under his gentle exterior.
There's no such thing as a bloodless ninja world. Even without Madara, if Obito ever suffered enough heartbreak, he might still have gone down the same path.
"Minato-sama, once we blow the bridge tomorrow, will my achievements be enough to become a chūnin?"
After comforting Kakashi a bit, Kiyohara went to find Minato.
"They're enough," Minato said with a serious nod.
This mission was extremely difficult, and Kiyohara had performed so well that, from both an emotional and practical standpoint, he absolutely deserved to be promoted. Only if Konoha's higher-ups wanted to test his potential further would they schedule another exam.
"Great."
Kiyohara nodded.
Becoming a chūnin meant higher social standing in Konoha, better pay, and all sorts of perks.
Might Duy could literally kick apart the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, but because he was only officially a genin, he was looked down on his whole life. If he'd debuted as a jōnin like his son Might Guy, who would've dared mock him?
Of course, those weren't the things Kiyohara cared about most.
"You hear that? I'll be a chūnin when we get back—can't you advance me some power in advance?" he said to the urn in his head.
Every time Rogue Kiyohara came out, it sped up his dissolution.
When he had nothing to do, he usually just lay in the urn.
"We'll talk when you're actually a chūnin, kid," Rogue Kiyohara said.
Listening to his past self shamelessly begging, he didn't feel like indulging him.
The ink wasn't even dry yet.
"And once the last wishes are set, not even I can change them," Rogue Kiyohara added.
He'd just had the idea to tack on or swap in a different wish—but something told him, faintly but firmly, that it was locked.
"Can't change them, huh…"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
Looked like for future Willbooks, he'd have to make sure those other versions of himself were more careful with what wishes they set. If someone came up with something outrageous, that'd be a wasted chance.
"Fine."
He nodded.
After tomorrow, they'd head back. Once he became a chūnin, he could finally fuse with Rogue Kiyohara.
He hoped he'd get to enjoy being treated like a genius for once.
It was really just pooling the effort and sweat of every "him" together.
With that thought, he pulled out one of his looted prizes: the scroll for Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage.
In a crisis, this jutsu was a lifesaver—turning the ground into a fluid medium you could swim through.
Even without Earth affinity, he could still learn it. Naturally aligned chakra just made training certain styles easier.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Shikamaru had suggested tens of thousands of Allied Shinobi use Earth Release together to block the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb. There was no way every one of them had Earth-natured chakra.
"But if you don't have the matching affinity, the chakra cost shoots up…"
Glancing over the scroll, Kiyohara figured casting it himself would probably be pretty expensive.
...
The next day.
Thanks to Rin's treatment, Kakashi's condition had improved, so Minato proposed they move out.
They raced through the forest and finally arrived at a massive bridge.
Because the Iwa forces had died so quickly, the other sectors hadn't had time to react. Right now was the weakest possible moment.
Kiyohara pulled out a stack of exploding tags from his pack and started slapping them onto the bridge.
It was huge—wide enough for several carts side by side.
That's exactly why, once it was destroyed, fixing it with Earth Release would be difficult. Chakra-based earth would crumble back into ordinary soil once the chakra was exhausted.
"War really does burn money," Kiyohara thought as he worked.
All of these tags came from Kakashi's backpack; if their squad wanted to blow the bridge, exploding tags were a must.
With Minato watching from behind, Kiyohara couldn't quietly skim a few for himself.
Exploding tags were expensive. Even Shikamaru complained about their cost.
And here they were, burning more than two hundred of them on a single bridge.
"Let's go."
Once everyone had withdrawn to a safe distance, Kiyohara and the others formed seals together, channeling chakra into the tags.
Rumble!
A deafening blast echoed through the woods; trees shuddered and leaves flew.
The towering bridge began to collapse.
As Kannabi Bridge fell, rubble and debris flew skyward, a cloud of dust swallowing the area.
"Mission's finally done."
Before leaving, Kiyohara took one last look.
Destroying Kannabi Bridge would certainly cripple Iwa's logistics.
But he didn't think the war would end here.
There was still Kumo, Kiri, and the rest.
This brawl would only end once all five great nations bled themselves nearly dry, with no new generation to fill the gaps—then they'd finally sign their little peace treaties one by one.
...
Later that night.
At a Konoha forward base, a dusty, road-worn squad arrived.
After settling Kiyohara, Kakashi, and the others, Minato stepped into the command tent.
"Heh heh, Minato, you handled that mission quite nicely," said a pale-skinned young shinobi with magatama earrings dangling from his earlobes.
Orochimaru.
He hadn't expected only one Uchiha to die.
Nor had he expected Kakashi to adapt so well to the transplanted Sharingan.
That alone gave him all sorts of ideas for his research.
Minato fell quiet.
In his mind, losing a student meant they had merely "completed the mission"—it was nowhere near "well done."
"I heard a civilian did particularly well this time?" Orochimaru asked suddenly.
Kakashi's performance was within expectations—the son of Konoha's White Fang, carrying Sakumo's talent and inheriting his kenjutsu and ninjutsu.
But Kiyohara should've just been a civilian brat—and yet he'd done even better than Kakashi.
"Yes. Kiyohara really did perform exceptionally," Minato said with a nod.
On the way back he had already filed the recommendation for Kiyohara's promotion to chūnin.
"I've got other matters to handle. I'll take my leave, Orochimaru-sama."
Minato waved and turned to go.
He was Jiraiya's student; Jiraiya was the Third Hokage's student; Orochimaru was also the Third's disciple and Jiraiya's fellow student.
By that logic, Minato was Orochimaru's junior—he was supposed to call him "Uncle Orochimaru."
"Go on, then," Orochimaru said with a slight nod.
He turned back to the reports.
He was simply intrigued that a civilian brat could show such talent—it reminded him of himself.
Among the Sannin, he was the true commoner. Even Jiraiya, that idiot, had a family summoning contract and deep ties to Mount Myōboku, one of the Three Great Sage Lands.
~~~
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