Chapter 1: I'm Dead
Konoha Year 49.
Kiyohara's expression was not good.
He was probably going to die.
He looked over the mission assignment in his hand again and again. No matter how he read it, the content was clear: reinforce Minato's team, location—Kannabi Bridge.
He was, in fact, a transmigrator. Ever since awakening his past-life memories after arriving in this world, Kiyohara had always acted with extreme caution, keeping his head down and trying to survive for as long as possible.
Yet now, he had still received this "certain death" mission.
How was he supposed to complete it on a battlefield where all things surged forward, bursting with ruthless vitality?
For him, the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was a place of near-certain death.
From start to finish, this mission reeked of something being wrong.
The enemy lineup consisted of three battle-hardened elite jōnin, one of whom—an Iwagakure jōnin named Kakkō—was even hailed as one of their top-tier powerhouses.
On Konoha's side, the lineup was a newly promoted jōnin, Kakashi, along with two chūnin: Nohara Rin and Obito.
During the operation, Namikaze Minato would be heading off to reinforce the front lines, meaning that afterward, it would be one jōnin and two chūnin versus three elite jōnin.
…Was that reasonable?
Even if Kiyohara went along, he would only add one more piece of cannon fodder.
Kakashi, who had developed an S-rank Lightning Style ninjutsu at the age of twelve, still couldn't fully grasp how deep the waters were here.
And him?
He was just a genin.
Everyone knew that the gap between people could sometimes be greater than the gap between a person and a dog.
Some genin fought with shockwaves that could shatter the Valley of the End.
Others—like him—were nothing more than frontline fillers, used to plug gaps on the battlefield.
"What's wrong, Kiyohara?"
Nohara Rin asked in confusion.
As she spoke, a few strands of her short black hair brushed against the purple markings painted on her cheeks.
Why had Kiyohara looked so off ever since receiving the mission to reinforce them?
This mission had Minato-sensei—the fastest shinobi in the ninja world—leading the team. It should've been a sure thing.
"No… It's nothing."
Kiyohara shook his head.
He lifted his gaze toward the gentle-looking girl before him. A pale pink skirt was tied around her waist; she wore a black top, and her legs were wrapped in tight, over-the-knee stockings.
"Don't worry," a blond young man said as he walked over with a warm smile.
"This time, I'll protect everyone."
"I trust you, Minato-sama."
Kiyohara nodded.
Could he say he didn't?
The current Namikaze Minato was at the height of his fame. Even enemy ninja from other villages would abandon their missions outright upon seeing him, without suffering any punishment.
And yet, this man—hailed as the god of speed in the ninja world—would spend his entire life always arriving one step too late, forever slower than disaster itself.
"Exactly. With Minato-sensei here, nothing serious will happen."
Obito walked over with his hands behind his head, stopping beside Nohara Rin, grinning foolishly.
Behind them stood a silver-haired boy wearing a black mask, his calm eyes seemingly uninterested in anything around him.
Kiyohara quietly watched this scene of a benevolent teacher and devoted students.
It was after this very battle that Nohara Rin would be captured by Kirigakure ninja. In the end, Obito would fall into darkness and return to Konoha to demonstrate what true "filial piety" looked like—personally gifting Naruto a condolence present made of explosive tags.
So now… how was he supposed to survive?
Human joys and sorrows were never shared. Kiyohara only felt that they were being noisy.
After exchanging a few polite words, Kiyohara left the area.
Yet just as he was wondering whether he should write a will in advance and arrange his meager estate, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Last Will Activated.]
[Last Will: Using you as the anchor, infinite possibilities will extend from the future.]
[Please receive your will and your urn. Properly bury the remains.]
A synthetic female voice reverberated within his head.
"…Wait. I'm dead in the future?"
Kiyohara completely lost his composure.
He knew Kannabi Bridge was a death trap—now they were even delivering his urn to him!
"An urn?"
Just as he was about to ask where the urn was, a phantom image of an urn suddenly appeared in his mind.
It bore the symbol of Konoha, with a single horizontal slash carved across it.
Kiyohara's expression turned grim.
No, wait… this looked suspiciously like a rogue ninja.
"When you hear this, I am already dead. What follows should be my last words…"
A familiar voice suddenly rang out.
Kiyohara's heart jolted as he saw a translucent spirit drift out of the urn in his mind.
That spirit looked seven or eight parts like him—a middle-aged version of himself.
His face was weathered with hardship, and on his forehead was a shinobi headband carved through with a single slash.
A rogue ninja.
"You're… me? A dead me? And you defected?"
Kiyohara recalled the description from the Last Will.
Using him as the temporal anchor, countless possibilities extended from the future.
So becoming a rogue ninja was also one possible future of his?
"More or less. As you can see, I'm just a rogue ninja now."
Rogue Ninja Kiyohara pointed at the headband on his forehead.
"When did I—no, when did you defect?"
Kiyohara asked.
This was only one of his infinite future possibilities. It didn't mean he was destined to defect.
"A few years after this war ended."
The Rogue Ninja Kiyohara's tone carried a hint of melancholy.
"Why?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Because I wanted to go further. In the ninja world, clans rely on bloodlines; civilians rely on mutations. I could only grow stronger by joining Orochimaru."
Rogue Ninja Kiyohara said calmly.
Kiyohara fell silent.
This was the ninja world.
Here, gold would eventually shine—but unfortunately, as a civilian ninja, he was nothing more than scrap iron.
Everyone knew that in the ninja world, true strength spread through bloodlines, lineage, and inheritance.
If you had none of that, then all you could do was rely on luck—and burn a bit more incense for the Sage of Six Paths.
Then how did you die?
Kiyohara asked the question he cared about most.
"Blown up by explosive tags."
"..."
A very unceremonious death.
Kiyohara suspected plenty of people died that way.
"At least that proves I survived the Kannabi Bridge mission. Can you share any intel?"
Kiyohara said.
Even with foreknowledge of the plot, the slightest butterfly effect could lead to entirely different outcomes.
"No. I never received that mission back then."
Rogue Ninja Kiyohara shook his head.
"I spent most of my time doing logistics work."
"…?"
Kiyohara's eyes widened.
Didn't that mean his future wasn't just changing him, but other people and events as well—like those inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
Could futures like "ANBU Kiyohara" or even "Hokage Kiyohara" also exist?
"Then what's your relic?"
Kiyohara remembered that the urn should contain relics. He was curious what else might be inside.
Surely it wasn't just a spirit?
"As for relics… I suppose that would be me."
Rogue Ninja Kiyohara smiled faintly.
"I can exist for a while longer and teach you some ninjutsu."
"But I won't last very long. I also had a Last Will, but I awakened it too late. After I died, I was packaged up and sent to another me."
As he spoke, the Rogue Ninja Kiyohara explained his understanding of the Last Will.
It seemed that by fulfilling the final wishes of the dead, one could obtain a certain enhancement from them.
—
End of Chapter