Kiyohara's eyes lit up, and suddenly everything clicked into place.
Having a jōnin's help at a critical moment could very well save his life!
"Then let's hurry up and get started."
Kiyohara went back into the house and, under the puzzled gaze of the rogue-nin Kiyohara, grabbed some blank scrolls and a brush.
"What's this? Hoping your future self shows up as some kind of genius?"
The rogue-nin Kiyohara asked.
"No, that would be way too much trouble. I only learned one technique from you.
Even in one-on-one lessons, I probably wouldn't learn much. But if I write them down, I can keep learning from them forever."
Kiyohara said matter-of-factly.
That way, whenever a future version of himself appeared, he could record all the jutsu that version knew.
Over time, he'd inevitably build up a massive jutsu library.
If he didn't do this, how could he maximize his gains?
If he didn't do this, how could he get the most out of himself?
Stealing other people's skills is one thing, but taking your own? What do you even call that?
It's like taking an exam where everyone's cheating, except the answers they're copying just happen to be from their own memories.
"..."
The rogue-nin Kiyohara's weathered face showed a flash of surprise.
His past self seemed to have become somewhat... capitalistic.
After thinking it over, the rogue-nin Kiyohara still wrote it down.
After all, this was his past self. Helping out a little wouldn't hurt.
After the rogue-nin Kiyohara had dictated another jutsu, he suddenly stopped moving.
"What's wrong?"
Kiyohara thought the rogue-nin Kiyohara needed more time to recall things.
"Someone's coming."
Even as a spirit, he still had a jōnin's keen senses.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to live peacefully in the shinobi world until middle age before dying.
Hearing this, Kiyohara put down the scroll he'd been recording on and cleared away the traces on the table.
"Kiyohara!"
Sure enough, after a moment someone called out for Kiyohara from outside the door.
Kiyohara went to open the door and saw a girl.
Those crimson pupils looked like a pair of rubies.
It was Kurenai Yūhi.
"Kurenai."
Kiyohara spoke.
Kurenai Yūhi was his teammate. He had another teammate named Genma Shiranui.
The three of them belonged to the same squad.
"Here are the military rations pills you asked me to buy."
Kurenai pulled out a small pouch and handed it to Kiyohara.
"Thanks for the trouble, Kurenai."
Kiyohara took the pouch.
"How are your other preparations going?"
Kurenai asked.
In a few days, they would be executing a classified mission together with members of Minato's team.
So classified that they didn't even know what the mission was yet. They only knew they were going to Kannabi Bridge.
Were they going there to gather intelligence, or to launch an attack?
They'd only find out on the day they left, when the leading jōnin would reveal the details.
"Pretty much ready."
Kiyohara nodded.
He didn't have much to bring.
Just bring along the rogue-nin Kiyohara's urn. At critical moments, he'd have to rely on his future self to save his life.
"I really hope the war can end."
The teenage Kurenai, dressed in practical ninja attire, had a trace of worry between her brows.
This endless war was like a dark cloud hanging over everyone's hearts.
Being a ninja was already a high-risk profession. Add a war on top of that? Talk about adding insult to injury.
"It won't last much longer."
Kiyohara said.
The essence of any war is collective violence, using force and weapons to achieve political, economic, or social objectives.
The Shinobi World War was no exception.
It was nothing more than the nations feeling healed up from the Second Shinobi World War and thinking they could take another shot.
Only this time, every nation would end up a loser.
Konoha would lose massive numbers of ninja, to the point where even young children would have to go to the battlefield.
Kumogakure would lose their proud Third Raikage.
Kirigakure's Three-Tails would die along with Rin Nohara.
Iwagakure and Sunagakure would also end up with depleted forces and no new generation to replace them.
If the Five Great Nations were in such a state, the smaller nations' situations were even more tragic.
The most typical example was the Land of Rain, infiltrated until it was like a sieve.
"How long is 'not much longer'?"
Kurenai Yūhi continued asking.
"Just these next few years, I guess. When there's nobody left to fight, the war will stop, won't it?"
It sounded like a dark joke, but that was the reality.
"Doesn't that mean all our comrades will be dead?"
Kurenai Yūhi thought Kiyohara's statement was terrifying.
"I think we should worry about ourselves first."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"But Minato-sensei will be there too. Shouldn't we be fine?"
At this time, Kurenai Yūhi, like everyone else, had complete faith in Namikaze Minato's reputation and thought they'd be safe for sure.
"Anyone can die in war. Don't let your guard down, Kurenai."
Kiyohara reminded her.
Look at how Sasuke's "Six-Tomoe Rinnegan" could be blinded by a single kunai. In the shinobi world, no one dared say they wouldn't die.
"Alright."
Kurenai nodded.
"I'll head out now."
With that, Kurenai left.
Kiyohara quietly watched Kurenai's retreating figure.
The rogue-nin Kiyohara's spirit had been watching the conversation between Kiyohara and Kurenai Yūhi the whole time.
When inside the urn, he had no five senses and couldn't perceive anything happening in the outside world.
But when floating outside, he could function like a normal soul.
"How's your skill with genjutsu?"
Kiyohara turned his head to ask.
He'd noticed that the rogue-nin Kiyohara had only been teaching him ninjutsu.
"Pretty terrible."
The rogue-nin Kiyohara said.
"Makes sense."
Kiyohara thought about it carefully.
Unless a "Kurama Kiyohara" or "Uchiha Kiyohara" appeared in the future, his genjutsu level probably wouldn't get very high.
This ridiculous world kept hammering home the importance of bloodlines in every aspect!
"Let's continue."
After Kurenai left, Kiyohara pulled out paper and brush again, having the rogue-nin Kiyohara teach him more jutsu.
After all, this was the only method. Without strength, he couldn't earn battle achievements.
Without battle achievements, he couldn't obtain new jutsu.
Konoha had long since created a vicious cycle for ordinary ninja.
...
For several days in a row, Kiyohara stayed home training in jutsu.
Through testing, he discovered that his training speed for Wind Release jutsu and Lightning Release jutsu had indeed accelerated considerably.
His comprehension was like night and day compared to before.
So this is what stacking bonuses feels like?
Love it!
At this moment in the courtyard, Kiyohara formed the boar and dragon hand seals, then pressed his palms together and slammed them down.
He gathered Wind Release chakra in his palms, then compressed the wind pressure.
Whoosh!
A semi-transparent gust of wind flew from Kiyohara's palms, striking the tree stump and leaving deep marks.
"Huff..."
Kiyohara started panting again.
There was no helping it. Even the rogue-nin Kiyohara's chakra reserves were, frankly speaking, less than one Kakashi.
If you used an elite jōnin like Kakashi's chakra reserves as the standard, the rogue-nin Kiyohara, who'd only recently achieved ordinary jōnin-level strength, definitely couldn't compare.
And the current Kiyohara was just a genin.
Even though his chakra reserves had increased somewhat due to the fusion, he still felt a bit drained.
"A ninja's battle is a battle of chakra."
Kiyohara stroked his chin.
Until he completed the rogue-nin Kiyohara's second dying wish, he'd have to carefully budget his chakra usage.
The next day.
Kiyohara, who was still training, was called out by Namikaze Minato.
When he arrived, he found that Obito, Kakashi, Rin, and the others were all there.