I Died

Year 49 of the Konoha era.

Kiyohara's expression was not looking good.

He was, in all likelihood, going to die.

He stared repeatedly at the mission scroll in his hands; no matter how he looked at it, the content was to reinforce the Namikaze Minato squad at the Kannabi Bridge!

He was actually a transmigrator. Ever since he had awakened his past-life memories after arriving in this world, Kiyohara had been living with extreme caution, hoping to survive as long as possible.

He never expected to receive this "death trap" of a mission.

How was he supposed to complete this mission on a battlefield where everything was thriving and full of vitality?

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge was, for him, a situation with nine deaths and no chance of survival.

This mission felt bizarre from beginning to end.

The opposing force consisted of three battle-hardened elite jōnin, one of whom, the Iwagakure jōnin Kakkō, was known as a top-tier powerhouse.

The Konoha side consisted of one newly promoted jōnin, Kakashi, and two chūnin, Nohara Rin and Obito.

During this operation, Namikaze Minato would need to head to the front lines to provide support, which meant the rear would be left with one jōnin leading two chūnin against three elite jōnin.

This... was this reasonable?

If Kiyohara went, he would just be one more piece of cannon fodder.

Even Kakashi, who had developed an S-rank Lightning Release jutsu at the age of 12, couldn't fathom the depth of these waters.

And he, at this moment, was merely a genin.

As everyone knows, the gap between people is sometimes even greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

Some genin fight with shockwaves that can shatter the Valley of the End.

Others, like him, are just cannon fodder responsible for filling the lines on the battlefield.

"What's wrong, Kiyohara?"

Nohara Rin asked with a look of confusion.

As she spoke, a few strands of her short black hair brushed against the purple paint on her cheeks.

Why did Kiyohara's face look so grim after receiving the mission to reinforce them?

This mission was led by Namikaze Minato, the fastest ninja in the world; it should have been a guaranteed success.

"No, it's nothing."

Kiyohara shook his head.

He looked up at the beautiful young girl; she wore a light pink skirt tied at her waist, a black top, and tight-fitting over-the-knee socks.

"Don't worry, I will protect everyone during this mission."

A blonde young man walked over with a gentle smile.

"I believe in Lord Minato."

Kiyohara nodded.

Could he say he didn't?

The current Namikaze Minato was at the peak of his career; even ninjas from other villages could choose to abandon their missions upon seeing him without facing any penalties.

But even this man, known as the fastest in the ninja world, spent his entire life failing to catch up to anything, always one step behind disaster.

"Exactly, with Minato-sensei here, this mission definitely won't be a big deal."

Obito walked over with his hands behind his head, standing next to Nohara Rin with a silly grin.

In the back, there was a silver-haired boy wearing a black mask, his indifferent eyes seemingly uninterested in anything.

Kiyohara watched this scene of a benevolent teacher and filial students in silence.

It was after this very battle that Nohara Rin would be captured by Kirigakure ninjas, leading to Obito's descent into darkness, where he would eventually go to Konoha to stage a "filial" performance, personally gifting Naruto a dowry of explosive tags.

So, how was he supposed to survive now?

The joys and sorrows of men are not shared; Kiyohara only felt they were noisy.

After exchanging a few words with the others, Kiyohara left the area.

But just as he was contemplating whether to write a last will and testament in advance to plan out his inheritance, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

[Last Words Book has been activated.]

[Last Words Book: Using you as a temporal anchor, countless possibilities will extend from the future.]

[Please collect your last will and urn, and ensure your remains are properly interred.]

The synthesized electronic female voice reverberated in Kiyohara's mind.

"Wait, I die in the future?"

Kiyohara couldn't hold it together anymore.

He had said that the Kannabi Bridge was a place he shouldn't go; they had even sent him his urn already!

"An urn?"

Just as Kiyohara was about to ask where the urn was, a phantom image of an urn suddenly appeared in his mind.

It bore the Konoha symbol, crossed out by a single horizontal line.

Kiyohara felt that something was amiss.

This... why does this look like a rogue ninja?

"When you hear these words, I am already dead; what follows should be my Last Words Book..."

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.

Kiyohara was startled to find that a phantom spirit had drifted out of the urn in his mind.

The spirit looked seven or eight parts similar to him, resembling a middle-aged version of himself.

His face was weathered, and on his forehead, he wore a ninja headband with a horizontal line scratched through it.

A rogue ninja!

"Are you... the dead me? And you defected?"

Kiyohara thought of the description in the Last Words Book.

Using him as a temporal anchor, it would extend countless possibilities from the future.

Was a rogue ninja also one of the possibilities for his future?

"More or less. As you can see, I am currently just a rogue ninja."

The rogue Kiyohara pointed to the ninja headband on his head.

"When did I... no, when did you defect?"

Kiyohara asked.

This was just one of his infinite future possibilities; it did not mean he would definitely defect.

"A few years after this war ends, I suppose."

The rogue Kiyohara's tone was filled with melancholy.

"Why?"

Kiyohara inquired.

"Naturally, to go further. In the ninja world, ninja clans rely on bloodlines, and commoners rely on mutations. I had no choice but to join Orochimaru to become stronger."

The rogue Kiyohara said.

Facing the words of the rogue Kiyohara, Kiyohara fell into silence.

This is very much the ninja world.

In the ninja world, gold will always shine, but unfortunately, as a commoner ninja, he was just a piece of scrap iron.

It is well known that in the ninja world, powerful strength is only transmitted through mothers, mentors, and blood.

If you have none of those, you can only pray for your own luck and burn a little more incense for the Sage of Six Paths on a daily basis.

"Then how did you die?"

Kiyohara asked the question he cared about.

"Blown up by explosive tags."

"..."

A very sloppy way to die.

Kiyohara reckoned there were quite a few people who died this way.

"At least it proves I survived the Kannabi Bridge mission. Can you tell me some intel?"

Kiyohara said.

Although he had the foresight of the plot, any butterfly effect could lead to different developments.

"No, I never received that mission back then."

The rogue Kiyohara said.

"I spent most of my time doing logistics back then."

"?"

Kiyohara widened his eyes.

Doesn't that mean his future is just like the people in the Limited Tsukuyomi, where not only would he change, but other people or events would change as well?

Could there also be an "Anbu Kiyohara" or a "Hokage Kiyohara" in the future?

"Then what is your relic?"

Kiyohara remembered that the urn would also contain a relic, and he was curious about what else was inside.

Could it really just be a phantom spirit?

"If you're talking about a keepsake... it might just be me. I can still exist for a while, and I can teach you some ninjutsu."

The rogue ninja Kiyohara spoke up.

"However, I probably won't last too long either. I also possess a Book of Last Words, but it awakened too late. After I die, I'll be packed up and sent to another version of me."

The rogue ninja Kiyohara spoke up.

He explained his understanding of the Book of Last Words to Kiyohara, which seemed to be that by fulfilling the final wishes of the deceased, one could gain a certain degree of enhancement from them.