The remaining battles in the exam were fairly uneventful.Hyūga Tetsu, wielding the power of the Byakugan, easily overwhelmed his opponent.
There's a reason why, after the Uchiha clan was wiped out, the Hyūga clan's patriarch Hiashi could stand before the entire Allied Shinobi Forces and proudly declare:
"The Hyūga clan is the strongest!"
It wasn't empty bravado.
They might lack high-end powerhouses, but what they do have is guaranteed activation.
The Sharingan requires death—be it a friend, a parent, or a loved one.
The Byakugan? Train hard, and 99% of Hyūga will awaken it.The rest? Sent off to the Lesser Hyūga branch families.
In Itachi Shinden, it's explained that even the side branches were distant relatives of the Hyūga clan.But aside from rare throwbacks like Hyūga Mujin, most had lost the ability to awaken the Byakugan at all.
"Still, the Byakugan's evolutionary path… is a bit vague."
Kiyohara shook his head.
Compared to the layered progression of the Sharingan—from single tomoe, to dual, to triple, to the Mangekyō and finally the Rinnegan—the Byakugan basically leapt from step one to cutting-the-moon-in-half level with the Tenseigan.
It was absurd.
Of course, mastering the Sharingan wasn't easy either. Most who reached that level… had very short family trees.
Soon enough, the final match ended, and the proctor called all candidates to gather in the center of the arena.
Those who had passed stood in a neat row, most of them trying to hide their excitement.
Kiyohara stood among them, listening as the proctor gave the customary speech about the Will of Fire.
Becoming a Chūnin… was just a promotion to higher-tier tool.
Unless you made it into Konoha's upper management or controlled real authority in a department, even Jōnin were little more than elite field workers for the village's vast war machine.
After finishing his speech, the proctor began calling names to distribute the official green Chūnin vest and new forehead protector.
The forehead protector looked similar to the one from the Academy graduation, but with a longer cloth band.
When Kiyohara's name was called, he stepped forward steadily. Under the approving gaze of the proctor, he solemnly held out both hands.
The cool, tough fabric of the green vest and the gleaming metal of the protector were handed to him—along with a folded scroll:His official Chūnin certification.
Kiyohara couldn't help but marvel at the efficiency.Probably the only thing freshly printed was his name—everything else seemed pre-prepared.
When he took the scroll, the ink was still faintly warm.
From this moment on, he was officially a recognized Chūnin of the Hidden Leaf.
At that exact moment, Kiyohara felt a shift—and looked toward Rogue Kiyohara.
The phantom figure began to glow with a soft, pure light.It wasn't harsh, but rather gentle, like the warmth of sunlight on a cold winter day.
The blurred features of his face sharpened briefly, and Kiyohara thought he saw the faintest, most genuine smile tug at the man's lips.
A smile that said:
"I can rest now."
A wish… is the greatest obsession one carries in life.
In that moment, Kiyohara understood.
Rogue Kiyohara was like a bound spirit—a ghost tethered by unfinished business.Now that his wish had been fulfilled… he could let go.
But unlike ghosts that move on to the afterlife, this spirit wasn't headed for the Pure Land.
He would return to the anchor—Kiyohara himself.
"Wish… fulfilled… from here on… live well…"
Rogue Kiyohara's voice grew faint as his presence dissolved into light.
The gentle glow flowed into Kiyohara's body like snowflakes landing in a flame—soft and silent.
Like rivers merging into the sea.Like birds returning to the forest at dusk.
There was no rejection. No struggle.It felt utterly natural—as if it had always been meant to be.
Kiyohara stood motionless, letting the sensation wash over him.
There were no dramatic roars or flashes—just a subtle shift within.
The first thing he noticed:
His mind felt sharper.
It was like murky waters had been cleared by a fresh spring.
His thoughts became faster. His senses more acute.
He could hear whispers in the distance, sense air currents, even make out the faint murmurs from the spectators behind him.
And then, most importantly—
His total spiritual energy had surged upward.
This new, purer mental power naturally invigorated his physical vitality as well—And the fusion of both led to a drastic increase in the total chakra he could refine.
Real, measurable improvement.Greater stamina. More jutsu usage.
Next:
He felt something shift in his elemental talents.
Lightning Release. Wind Release.His affinity for both had clearly improved.
Techniques that once felt vague now became clear.Ideas flowed into his mind like a river after a rainstorm.
Even his understanding of chakra nature transformation deepened.
If he were to re-learn Lightning Release: Earth Flow now, he could probably master it faster and with better efficiency.
Then—came the memories.
They weren't many, just a few scattered fragments.
In that alternate timeline, Rogue Kiyohara's life had been completely different.
He saw reflections from the cold glass tubes of Orochimaru's base…
He saw him fleeing after failed missions…
And the tangled, unspeakable emotions he held toward Konoha.
These memories fell like puzzle pieces broken apart.
Fortunately, it was just a few clips—nothing overwhelming.
Kiyohara exhaled in relief.
As long as he remained in control, that was enough.
If too many timelines' memories fused into his mind, it would become a prison of past selves.
He'd only been in this world for a little over a decade.
To merge with alternate versions of himself who'd lived for decades longer—some far longer—was a risk.
He could easily lose his sense of self.
Even now, he had a brief flash of Orochimaru's face—far more obsessed with human experimentation than in this timeline.Countless drugs. Countless forbidden trials.
Kiyohara muttered internally:
"Those timelines are like parallel worlds… not only do I change, but the entire ninja world changes with me."
This is starting to feel like a roguelike.
Regardless—after a momentary haze, Kiyohara opened his eyes again.
The second wish—becoming a legitimate Chūnin—was now fulfilled!
And with that, Kiyohara couldn't help but wonder…
'What kind of future will my next self come from?'