Mission Accomplished, The Journey Back to the Village (Requesting Monthly Tickets at the Start of the Month)

If one wants to save Obito, one must first ask if Uchiha Madara would agree to it.

Furthermore, the reason Uchiha Madara chose Obito was precisely because he valued the extreme selfishness hidden beneath his kind exterior.

In the world of ninjas, there is no such thing as a deathless existence; even without Uchiha Madara, if Obito encountered enough heartbreak, he might have eventually arrived at the same conclusion on his own.

"Lord Minato, after the bridge is destroyed tomorrow, will my contributions be enough to promote me to chunin?"

After offering a few words of comfort to Kakashi, Kiyohara went to find Namikaze Minato.

"It is enough."

Namikaze Minato nodded earnestly.

This mission was of high difficulty, yet Kiyohara had performed so exceptionally that it was only right and reasonable to promote him to chunin.

"That's great."

Kiyohara nodded.

Becoming a chunin would signify a rise in his social status within Konoha, along with improved benefits and various other advantages.

Might Duy, who could kick the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to pieces with a single blow, was looked down upon his entire life simply because he held the rank of genin.

If he had been like his son, Might Guy, and started his career as a jonin, who would have dared to mock him?

Of course, these were not the most critical matters for Kiyohara.

"Did you hear that? I'll be a chunin as soon as I get back. Can't you advance me some abilities now?"

Kiyohara said to the Ash Box in his mind.

Whenever Renegade Kiyohara emerged, it seemed to accelerate the dissipation of his own existence.

When there was nothing to do, Renegade Kiyohara would usually just lie inside the Ash Box.

"Wait until you become a chunin, kid."

Listening to the shameless remarks of his past self, Renegade Kiyohara didn't want to engage.

The matter wasn't even settled yet.

"Also, once a last wish is set, it seems even I cannot modify it."

Renegade Kiyohara said.

He had just been thinking about adding a new last wish or changing it to something else, but unfortunately, a premonition from the void told him it could no longer be altered.

"Cannot be modified..."

Kiyohara rubbed his chin.

It seems that if he collects other "Last Words Books" in the future, he will have to make sure his other future selves are more cautious when setting their last wishes.

If they set some outrageous last wish, it would be a complete waste of an opportunity.

"Fine then."

Kiyohara nodded.

In any case, they would be on the road back to the village after tomorrow; once he returned and became a chunin, he would be able to merge with Renegade Kiyohara.

Kiyohara hoped that he, too, could enjoy the treatment of being a genius.

These were merely the collective efforts of all "hims" gathered together—all of it was nothing but hard work and sweat!

Thinking of this, Kiyohara took out one of the spoils he had looted, which was "Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage".

This technique had miraculous effects for escaping at critical moments.

It was a technique that could turn the surrounding earth into a liquid state, allowing one to cruise through the ground as if swimming.

Although he did not possess "earth" affinity chakra, he could still learn this technique.

Innate chakra affinities only made it more convenient to learn corresponding elemental techniques.

For instance, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Nara Shikamaru once proposed that the tens of thousands of Allied Shinobi Forces release Earth Style ninjutsu together to block the Ten-Tails' "Tailed Beast Bomb".

Surely, it was impossible for every single one of those people to possess "earth" affinity chakra.

"However, without the corresponding chakra affinity, releasing it will consume significantly more chakra..."

Kiyohara flipped through "Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage" a few times, feeling that if he were to release it, the consumption would likely be quite substantial.

The next day.

Kakashi's injuries had improved under the treatment of Nohara Rin, so Namikaze Minato suggested they set off immediately.

The group moved rapidly through the forest, eventually arriving before a massive bridge.

Because the Iwagakure ninjas had been wiped out so quickly, the defenses in other areas had not yet reacted.

Therefore, this was the moment when they were at their most vulnerable.

Kiyohara took a large quantity of Explosive Tags from his pack and began plastering them onto the bridge.

This bridge was massive, wide enough for multiple vehicles to travel side by side.

Because of this, once it was destroyed, repairing it with Earth Style ninjutsu would be an incredibly difficult task.

Once the Chakra within Earth Style ninjutsu is exhausted, it reverts to ordinary soil and crumbles to the ground.

"War really burns through money."

Kiyohara thought to himself as he applied the Explosive Tags.

These were all from Kakashi's pack; naturally, their squad needed plenty of Explosive Tags to blow up the bridge.

With Namikaze Minato watching from behind, Kiyohara didn't dare try to pocket a few for himself.

One had to know that the production cost of Explosive Tags was actually quite high; even Nara Shikamaru would find them expensive.

Yet, to destroy a single bridge, they had used so many; Kiyohara estimated there were over two hundred of them.

"Let's go."

After everyone had retreated to a safe distance, Kiyohara and the others performed hand seals in unison, channeling the Chakra remaining on the surface of the Explosive Tags.

BOOM!

A deafening roar echoed through the forest, causing the trees to sway and leaves to scatter in the wind.

The bridge, which had stood so majestically just moments ago, began to slowly collapse.

As Kannabi Bridge was blown to pieces, the structure disintegrated into flying debris and dust, blanketing the entire area in a thick haze.

"The mission is finally complete."

Before leaving, Kiyohara took one last look at the site.

Kannabi Bridge would indeed deal a fatal blow to the logistics of Iwagakure.

But Kiyohara didn't believe the war would cease.

Beyond Iwagakure, there were still Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and others.

This chaotic conflict would only end once the five great nations were so depleted of manpower and facing such a generational gap that they would eventually sign peace treaties one after another.

Late that night.

A weary squad arrived at a Konoha outpost.

After settling Kiyohara, Kakashi, and the others, Namikaze Minato headed into a command tent.

"Heh heh, Minato, this mission was completed brilliantly."

A ninja with pale skin and magatama earrings looked toward Namikaze Minato.

Orochimaru hadn't expected that only one Uchiha would die this time.

He also hadn't expected that Kakashi would adapt so well to that transplanted Sharingan.

This was something that could provide quite a few new ideas for his research.

Namikaze Minato remained somewhat silent.

In his view, losing a student meant the mission was merely completed; it was far from brilliant.

"I heard a commoner performed quite exceptionally this time as well?"

Orochimaru suddenly asked.

Kakashi's performance was within his expectations; after all, he was the son of Konoha, having inherited the excellent talent of White Fang, along with the sword techniques and ninjutsu passed down by him.

But Kiyohara was supposed to be just a commoner brat, yet his performance in this operation had been even better than Kakashi's.

"Yes, Kiyohara's performance was indeed excellent."

Namikaze Minato nodded.

On the way back, he had already submitted a recommendation for Kiyohara to be promoted to Chunin to the village.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave, Lord Orochimaru."

Namikaze Minato waved at Orochimaru.

He was a student of Jiraiya, and since Jiraiya was a student of the Third Hokage, and Orochimaru was also a student of the Third Hokage, they were fellow disciples.

From that relationship, he was Orochimaru's junior, and should technically address him as Uncle.

"Go ahead."

Orochimaru nodded slightly.

He then returned to reviewing the intelligence reports.

He was merely surprised that a commoner brat could possess such talent, which inexplicably reminded him of himself.

After all, among the Sannin, he was the only one who could be considered a true commoner.

Even that fellow Jiraiya had a family-inherited Summoning Scroll and a deep connection with Mount Myoboku of the three great sage regions.