"You got the formula for forbidden drugs from Orochimaru?"
Kiyohara asked.
If there were forbidden drugs available, that would certainly be a quick way to boost one's strength.
The Akimichi clan were experts in this field, though they didn't call them forbidden drugs. They were legally produced secret medicines.
Take the Three Colored Pills, for example. The green Spinach Pill could boost a person's strength by a third, the yellow Curry Pill could fully unleash the user's potential.
The final red Chilli Pill was said to amplify one's potential a hundredfold.
Of course, Kiyohara figured that was an exaggeration.
If they were really that powerful, the Akimichi clan would have become the greatest clan in the ninja world long ago.
Still, earning such a reputation showed just how remarkable their family's secret medicines were.
Kiyohara was curious. What effects did the forbidden drugs that Rogue Kiyohara knew about have?
"I got a few."
Rogue Kiyohara said.
"But most of them are extremely harmful to the body."
There was a hint of regret in his voice as he said this.
Though the drugs had given him strength far beyond an ordinary jonin, he'd spent the rest of his life taking medication to suppress the side effects.
The only reason he'd stepped on that explosive tag was because he'd had an episode at the time.
"Then tell me about the ones that aren't harmful."
Kiyohara said.
"Strictly speaking, all secret medicines have side effects.
The difference is whether they're permanent or temporary, and whether you can recover from them."
"Go on."
Rogue Kiyohara glanced at Kiyohara. Worthy of being his past self; he had no qualms about using such methods.
After all, proper ninja relied on rigorous training to gain power, walking the so-called path of the ninja.
But Kiyohara had to leave for Kannabi Bridge in three days. Even last-minute cramming wouldn't get him anywhere good.
Polishing a rusty spear right before battle would only shake off some rust at best.
If he wanted to take shortcuts, he'd need unconventional methods.
"Go take out a loan right now."
Rogue Kiyohara said.
"A loan? What for?"
Kiyohara was puzzled. Were these drugs really that expensive?
"You don't even know if you'll survive, so what's the point of holding onto your money? Might as well trade it for things that could save your life."
Rogue Kiyohara shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of frustration.
He'd learned this lesson the hard way.
Damn it, he'd defected in such a rush. Orochimaru hadn't given him any time to prepare for the escape.
By the time he looked back, he'd already fled the village, leaving all his belongings behind.
They were eventually confiscated by the village, all nice and legal!
"Ninja probably can't borrow much, right?"
Kiyohara had never tried taking out a loan.
Ninja were in such a high-risk profession with such uncertain lifespans that, forget loans, no insurance company would dare take them on either.
Konoha, with its refrigerators, televisions, telephone poles, and various other technological creations, was actually quite modernized.
It was just that people's mindsets were still rather traditional and conservative.
He'd actually thought about borrowing money from every Uchiha a few days before the Uchiha Massacre.
Once the clan was wiped out and their accounts automatically closed, he wouldn't have to pay back the debt.
Kiyohara had full confidence in Itachi Uchiha's professional abilities. The man would certainly leave only his younger brother Sasuke alive.
"Borrow as much as you can."
Rogue Kiyohara said.
He was about to head into battle, so why not go all in?
"This is a surefire deal. If you die, the debt dies with you. If you survive, just take on a few more missions and you'll earn it all back."
Kiyohara thought about it. That actually made a lot of damn sense.
But this meant going all in.
Going all in takes wisdom, and not many people can make the right call.
After all, no one truly knew how difficult a mission would be. You could only make rough guesses based on the mission rank.
But a C-rank mission could suddenly turn into a B-rank. And an A-rank mission might become C-rank difficulty if the enemy made a careless mistake.
Take the Kannabi Bridge mission, for instance. Everyone thought that with Minato Namikaze there, the mission would definitely succeed.
And in fact, Minato Namikaze did complete the mission.
But who knew if they'd be the price paid for that success?
No matter how strong Minato was, he couldn't possibly protect everyone.
Normal people wouldn't think they'd be the ones to die, which was why few ninja ever took out loans.
Only someone like Kiyohara, who knew the plot in advance, could exploit this information advantage.
Kiyohara pondered for a moment, then started rummaging through every corner of his home, gathering up everything of value.
Using all of this as collateral, he managed to borrow 650,000 ryō.
Any higher and no one was willing to lend to him, not even for a nude loan.
And he'd only gotten this much because his credit was decent in the village and he'd gotten lucky.
In their eyes, Kiyohara was just a lowly genin with a pretty high mortality rate.
Adding his previous savings, he had 700,000 ryō in total. That was no small sum.
Then, following Rogue Kiyohara's guidance, he immediately went to purchase various medicinal ingredients and tools.
In Konoha, the Nara and Akimichi clans were deeply entrenched in the pharmaceutical industry.
You could even say many businesses in this field were monopolized by these two clans.
The Nara clan owned a vast stretch of forest land where they raised deer. The antlers were an extremely valuable medicinal ingredient.
The Akimichi clan, meanwhile, specialized in all kinds of medicinal formulas.
In the original story, even Tsunade had borrowed pharmaceutical recipes from the Akimichi clan, which spoke volumes about their quality.
Add in the fact that the Ino–Shika–Chō trio of clans were allies with an extraordinary relationship, and the Nara and Akimichi clans were truly a powerhouse combination.
"Damn, these ingredients are expensive."
The money Kiyohara had just borrowed hadn't even warmed in his pocket before more than half of it was gone.
"Expensive for a reason.
These forbidden drugs minimize side effects as much as possible. If you control your dosage properly, the most you'll experience is occasional headaches for three months.
After that, there won't be any lasting issues."
Rogue Kiyohara said.
These were things he'd only gotten after following Orochimaru for a long time, when that guy had finally tossed out a few decent items.
For Orochimaru, he only had eyes for Sasuke.
This was actually good news for Rogue Kiyohara: he didn't have to worry about Orochimaru stabbing him in the back.
He'd rather have a cold kunai enter his body than Orochimaru's soul.
"Three months? That's acceptable."
Kiyohara was quite satisfied with this outcome.
This wasn't some forbidden drug. This was clearly a miracle drug!
"Hey, kid. What are you buying all these ingredients for?"
Kiyohara turned at the voice. Two dark clouds loomed before his face, showing full, rounded curves.
He estimated them at a glance. Very large.
Combined with the purple diamond mark on the woman's forehead and her blonde hair, her identity was obvious.
Tsunade!
"Lady Tsunade."
Kiyohara spoke respectfully.
At this time, Tsunade had also returned to Konoha.
With the village facing a life-or-death crisis, Tsunade naturally couldn't just stand by and watch.
Before the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War, she'd even treated Minato Namikaze after he collapsed at the Third Training Ground.
It wasn't as if she'd stayed away from the village ever since Dan Kato's death.
This was recorded in the official manga, "Minato's Story."
"I'm buying these to make my family's secret medicine."
Kiyohara said.
He didn't bother with excuses like a sick family member or sick friend.
None of that would fool Tsunade. Better to say something normal.
Ninja generally didn't pry too deeply into each other's business anyway.
Sure enough, Tsunade didn't press further.
She was curious about something else though.
"Kid, I just saw you taking out a loan over there. How'd you manage to get one?"
There was a hint of urgency in Tsunade's voice.
She'd lost some more money gambling and desperately needed some capital to turn things around.