As Kiyohara looted the battlefield, the spirit of Future Kiyohara dissolved into a glowing mote of light, drifting silently into his mind—settling beside the urn of Rogue Kiyohara like… a roommate.
He stared at it for a moment, a strange chill running down his spine.
'Naruto has the Nine-Tails in a prison cell inside his body…
Am I building a spirit memorial hall in mine?'
"…Forget it."
Kiyohara shook his head and focused back on the real world.
He stepped over to Ao's corpse and, without hesitation, drove a kunai through the man's skull.
'Dead bodies can still talk in this world.
Better to be safe.'
He wasn't done yet.
He further desecrated the corpse, damaging it enough to obscure his own combat style, just in case the Hidden Mist attempted postmortem chakra analysis.
'Always cover your tracks.'
"Nice. His sword isn't bad either."
Kiyohara picked up Ao's curved jonin blade, then stripped the man's jonin flak jacket.
His hands moved with practiced speed.
Next up: Ao's ninja pouch.
"Jackpot… Special military pills."
He gave them a cautious sniff, inspected for poison, then sealed the bag inside a scroll.
These special soldier pills acted like performance enhancers, boosting chakra at the cost of serious strain. Long-term use? Organ failure.
No wonder characters like Naruto, Sasuke—even Sakura—rarely touched them in the late stages.
"Whoa, 20+ explosive tags?"
The rest was standard fare: ninja wire, kunai, shuriken… a field scope and a map.
All packed, sealed, and stored in under thirty seconds.
He'd done this enough to have a full looting routine memorized.
"Alright. Time to head back."
Meanwhile…
In another part of the battlefield, Mei Terumi was dragging a pale, sweat-drenched Aimaru through the fog.
"Keep moving, Aimaru."
Mei's voice was tight.
The Red Eye, while powerful, placed immense strain on the user. Its ability to suppress Byakugan was valuable—but it left the user physically frail and vulnerable.
Even just traveling like this during wartime was already too much.
But before they could fully withdraw—
Kakashi appeared.
Blocking their path.
A kunai in hand, expression unreadable beneath the hitai-ate and the Sharingan.
"You're not going anywhere."
Mei's pupils narrowed.
In a fair fight, she wouldn't hesitate—but right now, Aimaru's safety was her top priority, and enemy reinforcements could arrive any moment.
"Lava Release: Dissolving Mist!"
Thick, corrosive acid sprayed out from her mouth.
Kakashi's Sharingan whirled, tracking the arc of the spray. He retreated instantly and threw an explosive tag-laced kunai.
Boom!
The explosion clouded the battlefield in acidic mist and smoke.
Mei used the cover to retreat, vanishing into the fog with Aimaru.
Kakashi pushed aside the mist, his Sharingan scanning the dispersing smog—catching only a glimpse of Mei's silhouette disappearing into the distance.
He stood still.
Tactically, he should pursue. Take down Aimaru and cripple the Mist's ability to suppress Byakugan.
But… the battlefield was chaotic. Kiyohara had gone alone to fight Ao. Rin and the others might be in danger.
"Ensure the safety of your comrades first."
He made his decision.
Sheathing his kunai, he closed his Sharingan and turned back.
'Obito… I really have changed.'
He touched his left eye lightly.
Sometimes, he saw fleeting "hallucinations"—dark, shadowy fragments. As if someone… was watching from within a cave.
With Mei and Aimaru escaping, and Ao pulled away, the remaining Mist shinobi were either eliminated or scattered.
The battle was over.
But there was no celebration.
The air stank of blood, ozone, and scorched mist. Oppressive silence settled over the group.
Rin, Ginka, Shiranui Genma, and the fatigued Yūhi Kurenai had regrouped.
Nobuhiko lay nearby, stabilized but still injured.
All eyes turned toward the thick fog where Kiyohara had vanished with Ao.
Rin stood on tiptoe, scanning the mist with nervous eyes, hands clutched tightly to her chest.
She remembered when Obito disappeared… and never came back.
Kakashi leaned against a tree, one of Kiyohara's earlier kunai still embedded in its bark, trailing ninja wire.
He'd underestimated Kiyohara's strength.
But Ao had taken a chakra-boosting forbidden pill—its backlash alone made the fight unpredictable.
Hyuga Ginka stood silently.
Her drenched, white uniform clung tightly to her curves, but she didn't shiver from the cold.
Her expression—so often prideful—was now quietly conflicted.
Genma gathered up his thrown senbon one by one, wiping them clean. They'd heard from Kakashi: the interference was gone, and the Hyūga could now resume Byakugan surveillance.
Kurenai, pale and gasping, could barely stay on her feet—but her eyes never left the fog.
The silence was like a rising tide, threatening to drown them all.
Just as Kakashi opened his mouth to say something—
Rustle… rustle…
Footsteps.
A figure emerged from the mist.
It was Kiyohara.
His uniform was torn in places, caked with blood and dirt. His expression pale but determined.
But… he was alive.
"Kiyohara!"
Rin's relief broke through immediately.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"I'll live. Just tired."
He answered calmly.
Kakashi approached, eyeing him up and down.
No fatal wounds.
His shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Good. You made it back."