"A Ninja's base salary is pitiful," Kiyohara muttered, shoving a bundle of Kunai into his scroll. "If you don't take on side jobs, how do you expect to survive the inflation?"
"Working a 9-to-5 is impossible," he continued his lecture. "I will never work a civilian job in this life."
Some poorer Genin took part-time gigs—farming, construction, painting fences—to make ends meet. But Kiyohara refused to waste his training on manual labor.
He knew what was coming.
The war would end. Then the Nine-Tailed Fox would attack. Then the village would need to rebuild. Economic depression was inevitable.
He needed liquid assets now.
"That... actually makes sense," Genma nodded slowly.
He wondered why he had never noticed Kiyohara's wisdom before. The guy wasn't greedy; he was economically forward-thinking!
"What now?" Genma asked, pocketing two shuriken he'd scavenged from a corpse.
"Rest for ten minutes. Then we hit the next stronghold," Kiyohara said, closing the scroll.
"If we repeat this loop—hit, loot, run—it will eventually drag a Jonin out of position. A squad of one Genin and two Chunin pulling a Jonin's aggro is a huge contribution to the war effort."
"Agreed," Kurenai nodded, checking her perimeter.
Guerrilla Warfare.
For the next two days, Kiyohara led his team in a textbook campaign of harassment.
He followed the classic doctrine:
When the enemy advances, we retreat.
When the enemy camps, we harass.
When the enemy tires, we attack.
When the enemy retreats, we pursue.
It was a smooth, frustrating combo that left the Iwagakure patrols pulling their hair out.
"Damn it! Their squad definitely has a Sensor Type!"
Kakkō, the Iwagakure Jonin in charge of the sector, slammed his fist into a tree.
This Konoha "mosquito squad" appeared out of nowhere, struck a weak point, and vanished before his heavy hitters could respond.
"Captain, we're stretched too thin," Taiseki said, his voice grim. "If we had the manpower, we could encircle them. But the front lines are consuming everything."
"I know," Kakkō frowned. "No matter what, strengthen the bridge's security. I suspect these gnats are a decoy. The real strike team must be close."
"Yes, Captain."
Taiseki bowed and vanished into the foliage.
Meanwhile, closer to Kannabi Bridge.
Kakashi's squad had been intercepted.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito blew a massive sphere of flame into the clearing. The scorching heat wave rolled forward, turning the grass to ash.
"Missed," Obito cursed, his goggles reflecting the empty flames.
"The enemy is using Camouflage Concealment!" Kakashi shouted. "Watch your backs!"
Chii-chii-chii!
Shuriken flew from empty air.
Kakashi reacted instantly, his White Light Chakra Sabre flashing as he deflected the projectiles.
"We'll take the girl first."
The invisible Taiseki materialized behind Rin. Before she could react, he struck a pressure point on her neck.
"Ugh..."
Rin crumpled.
Taiseki threw her over his shoulder. He exchanged a glance with Kakkō, and the two Iwa-nin vanished into the bamboo forest.
"RIN!"
Obito screamed. He lunged forward to chase them.
"Wait! Don't chase them, Obito!"
Kakashi's voice was sharp. He grabbed Obito's shoulder.
"Kiyohara and his team are buying us time. We need to continue with the mission."
"What about Rin?!" Obito spun around, his face twisted in shock. "Are you insane?!"
"The enemy wants our intel," Kakashi said coldly, though his hand trembled slightly. "They won't kill her immediately. But once the intel leaks, the bridge's security will triple. We must destroy the bridge before that happens."
"Compared to the mission, saving Rin is the priority!" Obito shouted, shoving Kakashi back. "Your idea that she'll be fine is just wishful thinking! What if they torture her?!"
The two boys stood chest to chest, the tension explosive.
"When we were injured, Rin was always the one treating us with her medical ninjutsu!" Obito pleaded. "She saved us!"
"That was her mission," Kakashi said, his voice hardening.
He thought of his father, Sakumo Hatake.
The White Fang had saved his comrades. And for that, the village had vilified him. The country had blamed him for the losses. Even the Hokage had remained silent.
Sakumo had died alone, by his own hand, in a dark room.
'I won't make that mistake. I won't be trash like him.'
"You really are... disgusting," Obito whispered.
He looked at Kakashi with pure contempt. In that moment, Kakashi was worse than the enemy. Worse than Kiyohara.
"I'm going to save Rin," Obito declared, turning his back on his captain.
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true..."
Obito paused, looking over his shoulder with burning conviction.
"But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."
He didn't wait for a response. He sprinted into the forest, chasing the tracks of the kidnappers.
Kakashi stood alone in the clearing, the wind rustling his silver hair. His face was a mask of conflict.
Deep Underground.
A massive, cavernous space, lit only by the faint glow of the Gedo Statue.
White Zetsu slowly emerged from the stone floor.
"Madara-sama... the plan is in motion. Obito is approaching the designated location."
Sitting on a stone throne, connected to the statue by thick tubes, was an old man. His hair was long and white, his skin pale and wrinkled like parchment. He looked like a corpse that had forgotten to die.
Madara Uchiha opened his eyes.
Despite his frailty, his crimson Sharingan held a piercing, terrifying brilliance.
"Is that so," Madara rasped.
"Oh, and Madara-sama," Zetsu chirped. "There's a variable. A young ninja named Kiyohara seems to be performing exceptionally well. He's disrupting the Iwa patrols effectively."
"Kiyohara?"
Madara rolled the name around his tongue. He had seen the name in Zetsu's reports.
A sensory talent. A survivor.
"He is of no consequence," Madara dismissed him. "He is a civilian. He lacks the Uchiha capacity for hatred... and love."
Madara closed his eyes again.
"If he were an Uchiha, I might have considered him as a spare. But for now, focus on Obito. He is the perfect canvas."
"But still," the old ghost added, a flicker of caution in his voice. "Have a clone keep an eye on him. Don't let a pawn knock over the King."
"Yes, Madara-sama."
White Zetsu sank back into the stone.
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