A ninja's mission pay only goes so far. If you don't hustle on the side, how are you supposed to fatten your wallet?
As for getting a normal job—Kiyohara wasn't having it. Working a day job? Impossible. Not in this life.
Plenty of poorer ninja did side gigs for extra cash, taking on civilian work. But Kiyohara didn't want to waste his time on that.
The Third Great Ninja War would end soon, and not long after that would come the Nine-Tails' attack. Whether Obito turned evil or not, Kiyohara figured Uchiha Madara would push someone into executing the plan.
Crisis was inevitable—just a matter of when.
"Fair point," Genma nodded.
Why had he never noticed how sharp Kiyohara was?
While Kurenai and Genma were still dazed, Kiyohara had already stuffed most of the haul into his sealing scroll.
"Some of this is practically new. Should sell for a decent price," he thought.
"What should we do now?" Genma asked, having looted two shuriken off a corpse and tucked them into his pouch.
"Take a breather, then hit the next outpost," Kiyohara said.
Rinse and repeat a few times, and they'd definitely draw an Iwa jōnin to chase them.
At that point, they could cut and run.
For a squad that was one genin and two chūnin, attracting a jōnin was already above and beyond.
"A bit of rest sounds good," Kurenai said with a nod.
After grabbing what they could, they left the outpost. Iwa shinobi might double back, so there was no reason to hang around.
They slipped through the vast bamboo forest and found a decently hidden spot to rest.
"I wonder how Kakashi's group is doing," Kiyohara mused, rubbing his chin.
He didn't think Madara was betting everything on Obito alone.
That boulder—if it had fallen even a little off-center, it could've crushed Obito's head like a melon. With risk that high, Kiyohara didn't believe Madara would stake the whole plan on a single kid. More likely, Obito just happened to survive, so Madara marked him as the chosen one after the fact.
Right now, Madara was probably watching this entire region through White Zetsu's network.
"I remember he and Obito will have a big falling-out," Kiyohara thought.
Kakashi believed that as a shinobi, even if you had to sacrifice comrades, you must complete the mission—that was "the rules." If the mission failed, the war would drag on, and even more people might die.
But Obito didn't care about that—he was pure romance-brain, with only Rin in his heart.
"Hope we can get back soon," Kiyohara thought.
The mission was more than halfway done. All that was left was blowing the bridge.
Over the next day or two, he led Kurenai and Genma in a constant guerrilla dance.
If the enemy pulled back, they pressed in.
If the enemy advanced, they fell back.
If the enemy grew weary, they harassed.
A slick little combo, leaving the Iwa forces fuming.
"Damn it, that squad definitely has an excellent sensor ninja!" Iwa shinobi Sumashi snarled.
This random Konoha squad popping in and out like they owned the place—it was infuriating.
"But, Captain, we just don't have the manpower," his subordinate, Suito, said.
If they had enough shinobi, they'd have formed a tightening net and crushed that Konoha team already.
"The front lines are strained. It can't be helped," Sumashi frowned slightly.
"In any case, double the security around the bridge. I suspect they might just be bait."
"Yes, Captain."
Suito retreated quickly.
...
Elsewhere.
Kakashi's squad was engaged with Iwa ninja.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Obito spat out a massive fireball; the blazing sphere roared forward on a wave of heat.
"Didn't hit anything…" Obito grimaced.
The enemy could use invisibility ninjutsu.
Swish, swish, swish!
Shuriken whistled out of nowhere, and Kakashi rushed in, sword flashing as he deflected them all.
"We'll be taking this kid with us," said an invisible Sumashi as he knocked Rin unconscious and prepared to spirit her away.
He exchanged a look with Iwa jōnin Huoguang, and the two vanished into the bamboo.
"Damn it!" Obito watched Rin get taken, panic spiking. He started to charge after them.
"Wait, don't go, Obito!" Kakashi hesitated, then called out.
"Kiyohara's team is still drawing fire for us. The two of us need to keep moving and complete the mission."
"What about Rin?" Obito stared at him, stunned. He hadn't expected Kakashi to be this cold.
"The enemy wants intel. They won't kill her right away. But once they squeeze her for information, they'll immediately increase the bridge's security. We have to finish the mission before that happens."
"Compared to the mission, saving Rin is what matters right now! Saying she'll be fine is just wishful thinking!"
The clash finally broke between Kakashi and Obito.
"When we're hurt, she's always the one treating us," Obito argued, trying to sway him.
"That's just her mission as a medic," Kakashi said, thinking of his father's tragedy.
His father, whose reputation eclipsed even the Sannin and who'd been a real candidate for the Fourth Hokage—driven to suicide. The Third Hokage hadn't stepped in to stop the slander, which meant Konoha's higher-ups agreed that Sakumo's decision—and the failed mission—had brought enormous loss to the Land of Fire.
"You really are awful," Obito said.
In that moment, in Obito's heart, Kakashi was an even bigger bastard than Kiyohara.
"A shinobi who doesn't value his comrades is worse than trash."
Obito didn't want to talk anymore. He turned and ran after the Iwa shinobi who'd taken Rin.
Leaving Kakashi standing there, face twisted with conflict.
...
In a dark underground cavern.
White Zetsu slowly slid halfway out of a stone wall.
"Madara-sama, the plan is underway. Obito is nearly at the designated location."
His voice echoed through the hollow space.
An old man, hunched and deeply wrinkled, slowly opened his eyes. In contrast to his aged face, his crimson pupils shone with sharp, predatory light.
"I see," Uchiha Madara said with a small nod.
"Oh—Madara-sama, there's a young ninja named Kiyohara. His performance seems quite impressive as well," White Zetsu added. He had a feeling Kiyohara might cause trouble.
"Kiyohara, hm?"
Madara had heard the name occasionally in Zetsu's reports—supposedly someone with excellent sensing talent.
"Just a civilian shinobi," Madara said, shaking his head.
If Kiyohara had been born a member of the Uchiha, Madara might have considered him as a backup candidate.
For now, Obito was all that mattered.
"Still, keep an eye on him. Don't let him disrupt the plan," Madara said.
"Yes, Madara-sama."
White Zetsu slowly sank back into the wall.