In the blink of an eye, several days passed, and the final day arrived.
After rogue Kiyohara's extensive preparations, he sealed a batch of murky brown liquid into transparent pouches.
Kiyohara stared at the bags.They looked suspiciously like the traditional medicine packets from his past life…
"Once you drink these, your physical strength will increase, and your chakra reserves will rise accordingly. Conservatively, it should double your current amount."
Rogue Kiyohara explained.
A low baseline made for easier gains.
"Double, huh? That's solid."
Kiyohara was more than satisfied.
This would put him in the upper ranks of chūnin-level strength, even if he was still officially a genin.
As long as he had enough chakra, he could skip the finesse.Just brute force it.
Six Paths Naruto was the perfect example—Sage body + Tailed Beast chakra + Sage Mode enhancements + Six Paths power.
All he needed to do was spam Rasengan and call it a day.
"I remember Takigakure had a forbidden drug called Hero Water."
Kiyohara remarked.
In the anime's Takigakure arc, the Hero Water could temporarily boost chakra tenfold.
But the cost was steep—death shortly after consumption.
"Yeah, it's decent. If taken in small doses, it could save your life. But Takigakure has the Seven-Tails. Not exactly easy pickings."
Rogue Kiyohara shook his head.
You think he hadn't considered that?
The truth was—he simply wasn't strong enough.
Even Kage-level shinobi didn't have a guaranteed win against a Tailed Beast.A single Tailed Beast Bomb could flatten a mountain.
That's why the beasts were treated as living weapons by the major nations.
Hashirama's solution was to distribute them evenly, thinking this "tail beast balance" would bring peace.
But, war returned the moment Hashirama died.
"Yeah…"
Kiyohara admitted he'd gotten a bit ahead of himself.
As long as he had the Will System and kept fusing with other versions of himself, he'd eventually become a stat monster too.
"Bottoms up."
He sliced open one of the sealed bags with a kunai and downed the contents.
BITTER.
That was the first thing he felt.
Then came the pain—like his brain was about to explode from the inside.
Wait, rogue Kiyohara never said it hurt this bad!
He clutched his head and crouched, gritting his teeth through the agony.
"Your chakra's expanding. The headache comes from your brain producing more chakra."
Rogue Kiyohara explained.
The drug was based on Yang Release principles.
It caused a reaction between the herbs and the user's body, generating a special chakra that nourished the flesh.
Stronger body meant larger chakra pools.
Sure enough, once the pain passed, Kiyohara felt a warm current flowing through his entire body.
Like soaking in a hot spring after ten days without a bath.
When the effect finally subsided, he clenched his fist.
New power.
He stepped into the courtyard, formed the Dog–Horse–Bird hand seals, and shouted:
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A gust roared from his mouth, blasting gravel off the ground.With a loud boom, it smashed a hole straight into the courtyard wall.
The stone it struck shattered into dust.
"As expected. More chakra equals more destructive power."
Kiyohara nodded to himself.
Just like how Uchiha Madara's single fire jutsu required twenty Water Release users to counter it.
After all, Madara had enough chakra to fight Hashirama head-on—Even used the Nine-Tails as a summoning beast without borrowing its chakra.
No wonder his reserves were off the charts.
"Tch…"
Kiyohara winced.
A sharp pang suddenly shot through his skull.
The price of using forbidden drugs.But at least it would wear off in three months.
"If I take it again after three months, will it still work?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Not really."
Rogue Kiyohara shook his head.
Nothing that convenient existed.
This kind of drug only triggered latent potential—The first dose had the best effect.After that? Almost nothing.
That's why Orochimaru was so obsessed with Sasuke's body.The physical potential was just too rare.
"That's it, huh…"
Kiyohara sighed and picked up a large stone to plug the hole in the wall.
"Guess it's back to learning jutsu."
He decided to focus on a Lightning Release technique next.
Among the five elemental natures, Lightning Release arguably had the highest ceiling.
The reason was simple:
Later enemies—Jinchūriki, Ōtsutsuki, artificial humans—Many could absorb jutsu unless you used Senjutsu.
Earth, Wind, and Water Release?They'd just suck those up.
Even Amaterasu, supposedly the strongest attack, was easily countered due to its single-attribute weakness.
But Lightning Release was different.
It could stimulate cells, enhance taijutsu, and boost basic physical stats.
Making it difficult—if not impossible—to absorb.
"Let's go with Lightning Release: Ground Surge."
Kiyohara scanned his scroll of recorded techniques.
Rogue Kiyohara had passed on two Lightning and three Fire jutsu.
Ground Surge released erratic bolts of lightning near the ground.
The Kannabi Bridge battlefield was a mountainous valley.With trees and narrow paths everywhere,This jutsu would be hard to dodge.
…
The next day.
Kiyohara suited up—Chainmail underneath, jacket over top, tool pack on his back, everything ready to go.
"Obito's late again."
He arrived just in time to hear Kakashi complaining.
"Probably off helping some old granny across the street."
Genma muttered, senbon in his mouth.
They were all in the same class—He knew Obito well.
"Where's Kurenai?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Up front doing prep."
Genma nodded toward the front, where Yūhi Kurenai was busy checking supplies.
"Kiyohara, Rin, can I ask you two to go find Obito?"
Minato said, turning to them.
He didn't want to send Kakashi.The last thing they needed was a fight right before the mission.
"Yes, sensei."
Rin nodded.
Kiyohara had no objections either.He'd never been to the Uchiha compound—Might as well take a look.
He remembered Obito once kissed a photo of Rin.Kakashi had caught him doing it.
…Wonder what Obito was up to right now.
"Let's go, Rin."
"Mm!"
Rin jogged to catch up.
At that moment—Obito had already tuned out the world.
Today was the day he'd head to the battlefield.
So he decided to relax a little.
He pulled out a photo of Team Minato.Rin, Kakashi, Minato… and himself.