A new future!
As expected, beside the urn marked with the scratched forehead protector symbol that represented Missing-nin Kiyohara, another urn slowly emerged, rippling into existence.
This new urn gleamed with a dark metallic luster. On its lid was engraved the sharp emblem of a longsword.
"A longsword?"
Kiyohara instinctively thought of a swordsman who wielded such a blade.
He shook his head and tried tapping the urn lightly with his consciousness.
"Are you there?"
Kiyohara asked cautiously.
Even though it was technically still his alternate future self, differences in worlds, experiences, and timelines could shape a completely different personality. He had no idea what temperament this version of himself would have.
"…So I've already… died?"
A spectral figure drifted out of the urn.
The apparition looked to be in his early twenties, standing tall and straight like a pine tree.
His features resembled Kiyohara by about seventy to eighty percent, but his facial contours were sharper, and an unwavering, battle-tempered resolve rested between his brows—as if nothing in the world could shake him.
"You're the past version of me, aren't you?"
The new Kiyohara immediately understood the situation. He realized he was being delivered to his past self by the "Last Will System."
"Yes, I am your past self. You… trained in swordsmanship?"
Kiyohara asked with curiosity.
In the shinobi world, the distinction between swords and blades wasn't strict. Techniques involving either could be called kenjutsu or simply sword arts—it was all muddled together.
"You can put it that way,"
the youth Kiyohara nodded.
"Because commoners naturally have very little chakra, I apprenticed myself to Master Maruboshi Kosuke and trained in 'Leaf-Style Willow…"
His voice carried a crisp, tempered ring—sharp and clear like clashing metal unlike the older, world-weary tone of the missing-nin Kiyohara.
"Later, I died at the hands of a Kirigakure shinobi named Ao of the Mist. His Byakugan could perfectly discern the muscle movements that generated my power, making him extremely difficult to fight."
"I see…"
Kiyohara quietly listened to the young man's self-introduction.
He quickly understood this future self's circumstances: his chakra capacity was similar to his own before taking a forbidden medicine. Therefore, this version had carved out a different path—devoting himself to the way of the sword and squeezing every last drop of chakra into technique and precision.
Although many sword techniques still consumed chakra, they relied even more heavily on skill and mastery.
"So, what is your last will?"
Although Kiyohara was a bit regretful that this wasn't a bloodline-limit future, inheriting the swordsmanship of this youth Kiyohara would still be an incredible gain.
After all, once a shinobi ran out of chakra, all that remained to depend on were swords, fists, and physical training.
And though Maruboshi Kosuke was known as the "eternal genin," he was far stronger than most jōnin.
To be able to apprentice under Kosuke meant this future self definitely possessed a wealth of rare knowledge.
This happened to be exactly what the current, materially impoverished Kiyohara needed most.
"I have only two last wishes. The first is… avenge me."
The youth Kiyohara spoke.
Damn it—someone actually dared to kill him!
That Ao of the Mist deserved death!
"Alright. I'll help you take revenge."
Kiyohara nodded.
Right now, Ao had not yet transplanted the Byakugan and was far from his later strength.
Avenge oneself? Completely reasonable.
"What's the second?"
Kiyohara continued.
The youth Kiyohara said:
"I want you to forge a shinobi blade capable of conducting chakra and enhancing the power of sword techniques. One of the biggest reasons I lost was because my sword broke."
"…"
Kiyohara nodded slightly.
Good.
This future's requests were far simpler than those of the missing-nin Kiyohara.
Becoming a chūnin required completing the Kannabi Bridge mission—a nightmare-level task.
But these two wishes? He was already preparing for them.
He had the chakra metal ready; all that remained was saving enough money and finding a skilled craftsman to forge the blade.
As for killing Ao? Not difficult.
At this stage, Ao was just another commoner-born shinobi.
His later prominence in the original story came mainly from being the first person to transplant a Byakugan and being relatively competent at using it.
If everything went smoothly, Kiyohara felt he could perhaps finish this within the month.
Kirigakure seemed to be preparing for an assault anyway.
The sooner he completed these wishes, the sooner he could fuse future selves—and the faster he could grow.
He couldn't help but anticipate:
Would the next future finally give him a bloodline limit?
A small goal first—
Finish everything within the next one or two months!
If things went poorly, he would simply let the youth Kiyohara fight in his stead.
In a sense, he might even outshine the missing-nin Kiyohara.
After all, this version relied on refined technique.
"But… past me, your body is far too frail."
The youth Kiyohara hovered silently at the side, brows slightly furrowed as he bluntly criticized him.
"Think about it. In a prolonged battle, if your chakra is exhausted, or if you face an opponent who drains or disrupts chakra, then all you can rely on is a body tempered through countless trials… and combat skills honed over many years."
Facing this cold, strict "future self," Kiyohara straightened up and replied honestly:
"I understand. How do I begin?"
"The foundation of swordsmanship lies in grip, footwork, and power generation. First, find something suitable to serve as a temporary blade. Use it to practice the most basic swings, chops, slashes, and thrusts."
The youth Kiyohara instructed.
Hearing this, Kiyohara glanced around the creek. Soon, his gaze fell on a long, smooth, branch-like piece of hard wood, worn straight by the flowing water.
He picked it up, weighed it in his hand, feeling it was just about right. He was preparing to shave it with a kunai into a crude wooden practice sword.
"Wrong."
The young spirit spoke again.
He lifted a translucent arm and pointed at a nearby patch of grass.
There, half-hidden under the foliage, was something else entirely—
A long stone rod. It was about one and a half meters in length and nearly two fists thick, dark gray in color.
Judging from its appearance, it must have broken off a larger piece of rock. It was heavy—at least heavy enough that both arms would be needed to carry it.
"Use that. Swing it. Build strength."
"…You want me to train with THAT?"
Kiyohara stared, almost thinking he had misheard.
He pointed at the massive stone rod—something that looked better suited for hammering earth or supporting a small bridge than being swung like a sword.
Suddenly, an image flashed into his mind—
That legendary one-armed hero wielding the heavy black iron sword alongside a giant eagle.
But Kiyohara had neither lost an arm, nor did he have a giant eagle companion.
"When you grow accustomed to the weight and inconvenience of this stone rod, engraving the correct power mechanics into your bones through daily repetition, then when you finally pick up a real shinobi blade someday… it will feel weightless."
Compared to Kiyohara, this future self had far more discipline.
And after thinking carefully, Kiyohara found it made sense.
In the original story, even Rock Lee trained similarly—only in his case, he wore countless iron-weighted training bands.
During the following days, aside from routine patrol duties, short-distance supply deliveries, and squeezing in time to practice Wind Release: Gale Palm, Kiyohara would reliably carry that eye-catching, enormous stone rod to a flat patch of land at the edge of the encampment.
There, he performed what the youth Kiyohara called "foundational swordsmanship drills."
"Kiyohara, are you… practicing a new type of taijutsu?"
Rin eventually noticed Kiyohara swinging around a large, dark, thick… very solid stone rod—and she couldn't help feeling curious.
"Yes. That's right."
Kiyohara nodded calmly.
Each time he raised his arms, the thick stone rod cast a large, rod-like dark shadow across Rin's face.
Please don't misunderstand—
It was because of the sunlight shining from behind.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Hey guys, after this chapter the novel will go on hiatus for a while. It is only a temporary hiatus since I'm waiting for more chapters to be released. If you like this novel, just add it to your library so that you get notified since I'll just mass update the moment more chapters are available.