“When you see these words, I am already dead…”
“Please take good care of my last testament and urn.”
…
A person in the Third Great Ninja War, pure cannon fodder.
Qingyuan felt he might die any day—if not today, then tomorrow.
Who would have thought that he would suddenly receive his own last testament, which could let him obtain the urns of versions of himself who had died at different points in the ninja world.
By fulfilling their final wishes, he could also gain their various abilities, and even stack their talents!
And so Qingyuan received help from countless versions of himself.
“Anbu Captain Qingyuan,” “Heretical Cultivator Qingyuan,” “Renegade Qingyuan,” “Mizukage Qingyuan,” “Uchiha Qingyuan,” “Otsutsuki Qingyuan”…
“What? The future me is already dead? I must avenge you!”
“My countless future selves, please lend me your power!”
[Keywords: lighthearted, fast-paced, multiple female leads, ninja, Konoha, Naruto]
Chapter 1: I Died
Konoha Year 49.
Qingyuan’s expression was grim.
He was probably going to die.
He looked over the mission assignment in his hand again and again, and no matter how he read it, the mission was to reinforce Minato Squad at Kannabi Bridge!
He was actually a transmigrator.
Ever since he had crossed over and awakened the wisdom of his past life, Qingyuan had been lying low with utmost caution, hoping to live a little longer.
He had never expected to receive this “certain-death” mission.
How was he supposed to complete it on this battlefield where all things competed to flourish and vitality ran rampant?
The Battle of Kannabi Bridge was, to him, a mission with ten deaths and no chance of survival.
This mission reeked of strangeness from beginning to end.
The opposing side had three battle-hardened elite jonin, one of whom, the Iwagakure jonin Hikari, was even hailed as one of the strongest.
Konoha’s side consisted of the newly promoted jonin Kakashi, along with the chunin Rin Nohara and Obito.
At some point during the battle, Minato Namikaze would have to go support the front lines.
In other words, it would ultimately be one jonin and two chunin against three elite jonin.
Was that…
reasonable?
If Qingyuan went, he would merely be one more piece of cannon fodder.
Even Kakashi, who had developed an S-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu at the age of twelve, could not fathom how deep these waters ran.
And right now, he was merely a genin.
As everyone knew, the gap between one person and another could sometimes be greater than the gap between a person and a dog.
Some genin could shatter the Valley of the End with nothing but the aftershocks of their battles.
Others, like him, were cannon fodder whose job on the battlefield was to fill the line.
“What’s wrong, Qingyuan?”
Rin Nohara asked in puzzlement.
A few strands of her short black hair brushed against the purple face paint on her cheeks as she spoke.
Why had Qingyuan’s expression turned so grim after receiving the mission to reinforce them?
Teacher Minato, the fastest shinobi in the ninja world, was leading this mission.
It was practically a sure thing.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Qingyuan shook his head.
He looked up at the pretty girl.
She wore a light-pink skirt tied at her waist and a black top, with tight over-the-knee stockings below.
“Rest assured, I will protect everyone on this mission.”
A blond young man walked over with a gentle smile.
“I believe in Lord Minato.”
Qingyuan nodded.
Could he say he didn’t?
Minato Namikaze was currently at the height of his fame.
Even shinobi from other villages could choose to abandon their missions outright upon seeing him, without facing any punishment.
Yet this very Minato, known as the fastest man in the ninja world, would spend his entire life failing to arrive in time for anything, always one step behind disaster.
“Exactly. Teacher Minato is here too, so this mission definitely won’t be a big deal.”
Obito walked over with his hands behind his head, stood beside Rin Nohara, and wore a silly grin.
Behind them stood a white-haired boy in a black mask, his indifferent eyes seeming incapable of finding interest in anything.
Qingyuan quietly watched this scene of a benevolent teacher and dutiful disciples.
It was after this battle that Rin Nohara would be captured by Mist shinobi.
Obito would eventually fall into darkness, go to Konoha, and put on a grand display of filial piety, personally sending Naruto an explosive tag as a congratulatory cash gift.
So how was he supposed to survive now?
People’s joys and sorrows were not shared; Qingyuan only found them noisy.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the others, Qingyuan left.
But just as he was wondering whether he should write a last will in advance and make arrangements for his inheritance, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
[Last Testament activated.]
[Last Testament: With you as its anchor, countless possibilities will extend from the future.]
[Please collect your last testament and urn, and give the remains a proper burial.]
An electronically synthesized female voice echoed in Qingyuan’s mind.
“Wait, I die in the future?”
Qingyuan lost his composure on the spot.
He knew it!
Kannabi Bridge was a place he couldn’t go; they had even delivered his urn in advance!
“An urn?”
Just as Qingyuan was about to ask where the urn was, a phantom image of one suddenly appeared in his mind.
It bore Konoha’s emblem, crossed out by a single horizontal slash.
Qingyuan immediately sensed trouble.
No, wait…
why did it look so much like a rogue ninja’s?
“When you hear these words, I am already dead. What follows should all be my last words…”
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.
Qingyuan was startled to discover that an illusory spirit had floated out of the urn in his mind.
The spirit bore a strong resemblance to him, like a middle-aged version of himself.
His face was weathered, and he wore a forehead protector marked by a horizontal slash.
A rogue ninja!
“You’re… me after I died? And you defected?”
Qingyuan recalled the description in the Last Testament.
With him as the temporal anchor, countless possibilities would extend from the future.
Was a rogue ninja also one of his future possibilities?
“More or less. As you can see, I’m nothing but a rogue ninja now.”
Renegade Qingyuan pointed to the forehead protector on his head.
“When did I… no, when did you defect?”
Qingyuan asked.
This was only one possibility among his countless futures; it did not mean that he would definitely defect.
“A few years after this war ended.”
Renegade Qingyuan’s voice was tinged with ruefulness.
“Why?”