"Everything you believe in… is nothing but an illusion."
"Look at Kakashi. He inherited your eye, yet he forgot Rin's birthday."
"This brat named Kiyohara? He effortlessly replaced you in Rin's heart…"
Madara's words, paired with the glaring image, only deepened Obito's anguish.
Happy memories of him, Kakashi, and Rin clashed violently with the cruel reality before his eyes—until they crumbled into a heap of hopeless gray ash.
Obito's sole remaining eye widened suddenly.
His Sharingan spun wildly as he clenched his fists—his nails digging deep into his palms.
"I have to go back… I have to go back… I must return to Rin's side!"
Watching Obito spiral into obsession, Uchiha Madara, shrouded in shadow, curled his lips slightly.
As expected, Obito was so pure—too easy to manipulate.
Just a few words and a fabricated image were enough to stir his heart.
What a perfect pawn.
Madara quietly pondered:
What kind of Mangekyō would such a person awaken?
A powerful Mangekyō could grant its user immense strength.
And Obito was well on his way.
Meanwhile—
Back at the Konoha camp on the former land of Uzushio, Kiyohara had just spent over three hours talking with Rin…
When the shrill alarm sirens suddenly echoed through the entire base.
"Enemy attack!"
"The Mist Village forces have landed!"
In the blink of an eye, countless enemy silhouettes surged out from the thick mist blanketing the coastline!
Densely packed, stretching beyond the horizon!
A storm of kunai and shuriken poured down like rain, followed by waves of massive Water Release jutsu:
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Towering waves and raging water dragons slammed into Konoha's hastily erected defense lines—
several forward outposts were instantly submerged and destroyed.
Screams, explosions, and chaotic shouts drowned out the once calm island atmosphere, turning it into a living hell.
Standing at the command tent, Orochimaru knew this battlefield couldn't be held.
Even if someone like Jiraiya were here, it wouldn't make a difference.
In his raspy voice, he ordered:
"Everyone—follow the preplanned strategy. Use the terrain to stall the enemy… and retreat gradually."
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!"
A member of the Yamanaka Clan received the order and ran off to relay the command.
"Also… escort the Hyūga Clan out safely."
"All of them?" the Yamanaka ninja asked.
"No. Only the Main Branch. The Branch Family have the Caged Bird Seal."
Orochimaru shook his head and lit the command tent ablaze.
No point in leaving anything that could fall into enemy hands.
The Mist ninja were breaching the perimeter in multiple locations.
There wasn't much time left.
"Understood."
The Yamanaka ninja nodded and rushed off to carry out the orders.
It was a brutal decision—but a necessary one.
If the Byakugan leaked, the consequences would be devastating.
"I didn't think the Mist Village would dare this much…"
Orochimaru muttered as he gazed out at the battlefield, where the sounds of war roared from afar.
More than 2,000 Mist shinobi were charging toward just over 700 Konoha defenders.
Konoha was severely outnumbered—and overwhelmed.
The battlefront, struck like a sandcastle by a tidal wave, began crumbling in multiple places.
Flames rose, smoke billowed, and lives were snuffed out every second.
"Heh… I wonder if that brat will survive this."
Kiyohara's image flashed through Orochimaru's mind.
Even though Orochimaru had given him the [Leaf Body Flicker] technique, he still thought Kiyohara's odds of survival were slim.
Only a rare few civilian-born ninja had the kind of innate chakra reserve to make it big.
Even Minato Namikaze, the famous "Yellow Flash," had been a rare outlier—
[Flying Thunder God] required massive chakra just to learn.
Kiyohara had shown decent perception and tactical judgment.
But beyond that, Orochimaru saw nothing remarkable—except for one thing:
His rate of improvement.
But potential meant nothing here.
In a meat grinder like this, if your potential didn't translate to immediate power, you may as well not have it.
"Time for me to move, too."
Watching as Mist ninja closed in from kilometers away, a snake slithered from Orochimaru's sleeve.
Elsewhere—
Kiyohara's squad, along with Kakashi's, was also thrown into the fray.
Enemy forces had scattered them—forcing each group to fight independently.
Lightning arced across Kakashi's hands as he weaved through the enemy like a ghost, each strike claiming a life.
Behind him, Rin desperately worked healing jutsu.
Faint green light shimmered from her palms as she patched up the wounded.
Kurenai and Genma fought back-to-back with Kiyohara, doing everything they could to hold the line against the surging tide of Mist shinobi.
Kiyohara's blade, wreathed in lightning, danced alongside his [Leaf Body Flicker], occasionally throwing ninja tools whose trajectories subtly curved under his magnetic influence.
Blood flew.
But there was no time to loot.
The enemies were just too many, and more kept coming.
Worse still—if enough enemy ninja grouped up, they could use Combination Ninjutsu.
And those massive area-of-effect Water Release techniques?
Even Kiyohara couldn't dodge them all.
On this island, surrounded by ocean, the Mist ninja had a rare terrain advantage.
"This won't hold… they're breaking through!"
Genma clenched a senbon between his teeth, his voice tense.
Their sector was already relatively light—others had it worse.
Konoha's lines were buckling under the Mist's numbers.
Everywhere was under siege.
"Don't panic. The retreat order should come soon."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
The Mist forces were landing from multiple angles, converging on the main camp.
A pincer like that could only end one way—
a catastrophic rout, just like in the original timeline.
Even Orochimaru couldn't fight an army.
Especially not when the Mist brought in their Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Konoha stood no chance when the enemy outclassed them in both fodder and elites.
Soon, they'd have to fall back from the Uzushio stronghold…
all the way to the Fire Country coast.
But there weren't enough boats.
And the Mist had already started destroying the escape ships.
Anyone left would have to swim.
"Target the medics first."
A few Mist ninja had noticed Rin and closed in for the kill.
"Water Release: Water Whip!"
Two high-pressure streams snapped at her like whips.
Rin, not built for direct combat, could only barely dodge—
and each step pulled her further away from them.
Kiyohara's eyes turned cold.
She wouldn't last long at this rate.
Kakashi was tied up with two Mist jonin—no way he could break free quickly enough.
It's time.
Kiyohara had no choice.
He couldn't afford to keep hiding his Magnet techniques.
Letting Rin die here would cripple everyone's survival chances.
And attract more suspicion than any flashy jutsu ever could.
Yes, revealing his kekkei genkai would draw the higher-ups' attention.
But it didn't matter.
What good was hiding power if you died anyway?
From this moment forward, Kiyohara decided—he would begin sharpening his edge in plain sight.
Sooner or later, with all the future power he'd inherit, everyone would see him as a genius anyway.
Better to start laying that groundwork now.
"Time to spin the magnetic field."
Magnet Kiyohara floated into view.
"You already have the bloodline. No more massive strain.
Time to try real Magnet Release."
"Right."
Kiyohara began circulating chakra along the same internal paths his future self had once used.
Once more, he borrowed power—and the magnetic field around him began to shift and spin.
But this time, the crushing weight from before was gone.
His movement flowed smoothly.
"As I thought… it's because I truly possess the bloodline now."
Trying to use a jutsu without the proper nature type always nerfed it.
But now…
How strong had this power become?
Kiyohara stepped forward.
And beneath his feet,
he could feel the earth itself… pushing him upward.