The pay for a shinobi's missions was only so much; if one didn't earn some side income, how could they possibly fatten their wallet?
As for doing part-time work? Kiyohara declared that he could never—absolutely never—resort to part-time jobs. Not in this lifetime.
Some of the poorer shinobi would indeed take on side jobs, doing the sort of work ordinary civilians did just to make ends meet. But Kiyohara had no intention of wasting his time on such things.
Once the Third Great Ninja War ended, the chaos of the Nine-Tails' attack would not be far behind. Whether Obito fell into darkness or not, Kiyohara suspected that Uchiha Madara would still choose someone to act on his behalf. A crisis was inevitable sooner or later.
"There's… actually some logic in that,"
Genma nodded slowly.
Why had he never noticed that Kiyohara possessed such sharp insight?
While Kurenai and Genma were still frozen in surprise, Kiyohara had already packed most of the loot into his sealing scroll.
"Some of these are still completely new. They should fetch a good price,"
Kiyohara murmured inwardly.
"What should we do now?"
Genma asked as he carefully picked two shuriken off a corpse and placed them into his pouch.
"We rest for a bit, then move on to raid the next outpost,"
Kiyohara said.
If they repeated this pattern a few more times, they would certainly attract an Iwagakure jōnin to hunt them down. At that point, they could retreat.
For a squad made up of one genin and two chūnin, luring out a jōnin was already a significant contribution.
"A short rest sounds good,"
Kurenai nodded.
Once each of them gathered a few more supplies, they departed the outpost.
Iwa-nin might return for a surprise attack, so there was no need to linger.
The group traveled through the vast bamboo forest and found a relatively hidden spot to recover.
"I wonder how Kakashi and the others are doing…"
Kiyohara rubbed his chin.
He felt that Uchiha Madara's plans likely did not revolve around Obito alone. After all, that boulder—had it been even slightly misaligned, Obito's entire head could have been crushed. The risk of failure was far too high; Kiyohara didn't believe Madara would gamble recklessly.
Obito surviving was likely a coincidence, and Madara simply decided to take advantage of it.
Right now, Madara was surely observing the battlefield through White Zetsu.
'I remember he and Obito get into a conflict…'
Kiyohara mused.
To Kakashi, a shinobi must complete the mission even at the cost of abandoning a comrade—that was the rule.
If the mission failed, the war would drag on, and more lives might be lost.
But Obito didn't care about any of that. To someone hopelessly in love, Rin was all that mattered.
"Hopefully we can finish and return soon…"
Kiyohara sighed glumly.
This mission was already more than halfway done. After blowing up the bridge, everything would be complete.
Over the next day or two, Kiyohara led Kurenai and Genma in a continuous guerrilla warfare.
When the enemy retreated, they advanced.
When the enemy advanced, they retreated.
When the enemy rested, they harassed.
A seamless chain of small, fluid maneuvers—Kiyohara's "smooth little combos"—left the Iwagakure forces utterly frustrated.
"Damn it! That squad must have an exceptional sensory ninja!"
Iwa-nin captain Sumashi roared in anger.
This inexplicable Konoha squad seemed to treat them with contempt, striking and vanishing at will.
"But, Captain, we simply don't have the manpower…"
His subordinate, Suiren, spoke bitterly.
If enough men were available, they would have already formed a surround-and-crush formation to eliminate the Konoha squad.
"The frontlines are stretched thin… there's nothing we can do,"
Sumashi frowned.
"In any case, strengthen the guard on the bridge. I suspect they may only be a diversion."
"Yes, Captain."
Suiren quickly retreated to carry out the order.
…
Meanwhile…
Kakashi's squad was engaged in a standoff with a Iwagakure shinobi.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Obito roared, spewing a massive fireball, waves of scorching heat rolling forward—
—but it hit nothing.
"They dodged again…"
Obito looked frustrated.
The enemy was using camouflaging techniques.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Shuriken flew from mid-air. Kakashi quickly raised his blade, knocking each one away.
"We'll be taking this girl with us."
A hidden Sumashi knocked out Rin and moved to abduct her.
He exchanged a glance with the Iwa jōnin, Taiseki, then both vanished into the bamboo forest.
"Damn it!"
Obito watched helplessly as Rin was taken and nearly lost his mind. He moved to chase—
"Wait! Don't chase them, Obito!"
Kakashi called out, hesitating but firm.
"Kiyohara's squad is still drawing their attention for us. We must complete the mission."
"And what about Rin?!"
Obito stared in disbelief. He couldn't believe how heartless Kakashi sounded.
"The enemy wants intel. They won't kill her immediately. And once the intel leaks, they'll strengthen the bridge's defenses—we need to destroy the bridge before that happens."
"Compared to the mission, saving Rin is what matters most right now! You saying she'll be fine is just your wishful thinking!"
The clash between the two erupted.
"When you and I were injured, it was Rin who healed us,"
Obito tried to reason.
"That was only because it was her mission,"
Kakashi said coldly— haunted by memories of his father's tragedy.
Konoha's greatest hero, a man more renowned than the Legendary Sannin, a man who could have become the Fourth Hokage… driven to suicide.
The Third Hokage did nothing to silence the insults against him. This showed the high command believed Sakumo's failure brought tremendous damage upon the Land of Fire.
"You really are the worst!"
At that moment, in Obito's heart—
Kakashi was an even bigger jerk than Kiyohara.
"Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum,"
Obito stopped arguing. He simply ran toward the direction the Iwa-nin had taken Rin.
Kakashi stood rooted in place, torn with conflict.
…
Deep underground…
In a dim cavern, White Zetsu slowly emerged from a wall.
"Lord Madara, everything is proceeding as planned. Obito is almost at the designated location."
A frail old man, face wrinkled and withered, slowly opened his eyes.
In stark contrast to his ancient appearance, his scarlet Sharingan were clear, sharp, and intimidating.
"Is that so…"
Uchiha Madara nodded.
"Oh, right, Lord Madara—there's a young shinobi named Kiyohara. His performance seems… unusually impressive."
White Zetsu reported. He felt Kiyohara might cause problems.
"Kiyohara…?"
Madara had seen the name occasionally in the reports Zetsu brought back.
They said the boy excelled in sensory ability.
"Just a civilian shinobi,"
Madara dismissed.
If Kiyohara had been a Uchiha, he might have considered him as a backup candidate.
But for now, Obito alone was enough.
"Still… send a clone to keep a closer eye on him. Make sure he does not disrupt the plan."
"Yes, Lord Madara."
White Zetsu slowly sank back into the wall.
(End of Chapter)