Chapter 114: Who Was the Dead Last in Your Generation, Anyway?
"Orochimaru."
Looking at the man in front of him, Kitagawa Gen found the situation increasingly absurd.
It seemed… Orochimaru had really been through the wringer, mostly thanks to him and Jiraiya.
He recalled Tsunade once mentioning that Orochimaru had approached her likely to treat a sick child—Kimimaro.
Back in the Land of Hot Water, it was Kitagawa who had backed Kimimaro into a corner. Then in the Land of Sound, it was Jiraiya who intercepted Orochimaru.
And now, here he was again—running into Orochimaru at the Dragon Vein of all places.
But why was Orochimaru here?
"Where's Jiraiya?" Orochimaru rasped, clearly unaware of Kitagawa's internal thoughts.
"Have him come out. Surely he wouldn't send a junior to deal with me alone?"
Though those were his words, Orochimaru's expression grew more serious.
He was familiar with Jiraiya's tactics—troublesome, but manageable. But this boy… was another matter.
So far, all he knew about Kitagawa Gen was that he resembled the Second Hokage in both demeanor and combat tactics.
Cunning, devious, unafraid to use any method. Not to mention, he had Sage Mode, Flying Thunder God, and that devastating technique—Purple Lightning.
Frankly, Orochimaru would rather deal with Jiraiya.
"Ah, well... Lord Jiraiya isn't here. Want me to go back to Konoha and fetch him?" Kitagawa offered playfully, but then quickly shook his head. "Actually, that might be a bit of a problem. We are a bit far from the village. I'm more curious—why are you here?"
"Shouldn't I ask you the same?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "Isn't this place supposed to be off-limits for both Konoha and Sunagakure?"
"I came because I noticed you."
That was a blatant lie—he didn't notice squat.
He had come here with one clear goal: the Dragon Vein.
A gift from nature. It would be a crime not to investigate or even "borrow" a little.
Under the cover of night, he had used a shadow clone and Flying Thunder God to sneak out.
How could he have known Orochimaru would also be here?
"Is that so?" Orochimaru clearly didn't buy the excuse. His gaze darkened.
"Then let's test that."
Without warning, he raised his hand—kunai shot out in a flash, aimed at Kitagawa.
In the blink of an eye, he weaved hand signs, his chakra flaring violently.
"Ninjutsu: Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique!"
The kunai in the air multiplied rapidly, forming a deadly barrage like a rainstorm.
To make matters worse, Kitagawa noticed many of them were tied with explosive tags.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
With one hand forming a seal, Kitagawa raised a wall of earth to block the incoming storm.
He sighed—if Orochimaru had someone close to him, he could've pulled some psychological tricks.
But oh well...
As the explosive kunai slammed into the earth wall, Kitagawa instantly activated Flying Thunder God.
BOOM!
A massive explosion lit up the tower, reducing the wall to rubble and tearing a hole through the structure.
Yet, as the blast faded, Kitagawa appeared behind Orochimaru—his blade, the White Fang short sword, already swinging for the head.
"You've picked the wrong place to start a fight with me."
Whir—
The blade sliced through—but Orochimaru's body crumbled into dirt.
"You think I wouldn't prepare, knowing you can use Flying Thunder God?" Orochimaru's cold voice came from the side.
"Ninjutsu: Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
In an instant, countless serpents surged from the ground, hissing and lunging at Kitagawa.
The air filled with a pungent stench as venomous snakes slithered in from all directions.
"Poison, huh?"
Kitagawa raised an eyebrow. Around every Flying Thunder God mark, he now saw snakes.
Orochimaru had laid a trap.
The snakes opened their mouths—swords launched out, shooting straight toward Kitagawa.
"Nice idea. A regular ninja would've been done for by now. But me—"
A surge of Purple Lightning erupted from his body, crackling with immense power.
The violent lightning burned away the poison in the air and electrocuted every snake into charred husks before they could reach him.
Then, as if guided by will, the lightning arced toward Orochimaru.
Even Orochimaru flinched.
---
He could feel Kitagawa's chakra shifting—natural energy surged wildly around him, and that devastating Purple Lightning now cloaked his entire form.
"Sage Mode… and Lightning Chakra Mode?!"
Orochimaru was dumbfounded. When did this kid learn Lightning Chakra Mode?
But there was no time to dwell. Kitagawa had already closed the distance.
That glowing short blade slashed toward Orochimaru's head.
BOOM!
The impact rocked the tower, sending shockwaves through its foundations and slicing open the weakened structure.
"That speed and strength… and that lightning… This brat is harder to deal with than Jiraiya!"
Orochimaru rolled through the debris, cursing. From his mouth, he spat out the Kusanagi sword, gripped it, and launched a slash.
CLANG!
Gen easily blocked it.
While holding off the strike, he curiously eyed Orochimaru.
"You know, I've always wondered—if Jiraiya-san can use Sage Mode, why can't you? You trained together, didn't you?"
"..."
That question clearly struck a nerve.
It's not that he didn't want to learn Sage Mode.
He simply… couldn't.
"Tch. Instead of asking me, how about explaining yourself?" Orochimaru growled as he pushed forward and quietly gathered chakra.
"Konoha shinobi shouldn't be here. Don't feed me crap about 'discovering me.' What's your real reason?"
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm being honest."
Gen smiled as he kept up the pressure.
"We came here for you, Orochimaru. Since you're part of Akatsuki, we were tracking your movements.
And conveniently, there's this Konoha faction called 'Root' that recently found a lead on the Akatsuki. So… here we are."
"Akatsuki? Root?"
Orochimaru froze.
Wasn't I kicked out of Akatsuki long ago?!
Why am I still on their radar?!
Could it be...
Someone was trying to frame him?
"Well, if the intel's right, then I'm afraid you're our guy."
Gen's smile was calm, but his chakra exploded again—this time more violent than before.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
This kid's chakra reserves… were they even bigger than expected?
He had no time to think. He had to hold his ground.
The tower shook again as the two clashed, sword against sword, chakra against chakra.
Orochimaru's skill and chakra depth made him a terrifying opponent.
But Kitagawa Gen, empowered by Sage Mode and Purple Lightning—not to mention a recent bloodline boost—was utterly ferocious.
His attacks were only growing more overwhelming.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The already fragile tower could no longer withstand the fight. The top half was completely obliterated.
Debris rained down, slamming into the ground below, while chakra shockwaves stirred up blinding clouds of sand.
From afar, it looked like a disaster zone.
And through the sandstorm… Orochimaru's figure tumbled violently.
"What's going on?"
"Are Suna nin attacking?"
"Everyone, head to the underground shelters!"
The survivors of Rōran had already realized something was wrong.
They rushed for cover, though a few curious ones glanced up—only to be dragged away quickly.
Meanwhile, far from the chaos, Kakashi and Guy, resting by an oasis in preparation for visiting Rōran the next day, stared wide-eyed at the distant explosion.
Kakashi's gaze slowly turned to Gen's shadow clone, realization dawning.
"It's you, isn't it? That's your clone right now?"
"Yeah…"
Kitagawa's clone looked rather embarrassed.
He hadn't expected his real body to pick a fight in the middle of nowhere.
"I just wanted to scout ahead a bit. The Fourth Hokage left a marker here, so I figured why not check it out early. Looks like I came to the right place."
"So your real body ran into Akatsuki?"
Guy's eyes lit up, fists clenched in excitement.
"Then let's get over there right now!"
"You should've told us first." Kakashi sighed, rubbing his temples.
Still, it wasn't a big deal. Kitagawa had acted independently, but it seemed like the right call.
"Let's go. Who knows what's happening over there?"
"Right. Let's—huh?"
Kitagawa's clone suddenly turned, alert.
In the distance, three figures approached through the night.
All wore long cloaks—black, adorned with red clouds.
"That's..."
Kakashi's eyes widened.
They'd definitely come to the right place.
"No wonder things got so loud... it's you lot."
Kakuzu sneered, glaring at them with hatred.
Sasori immediately pulled out a scroll to summon his puppets.
Kakashi and Guy snapped into combat readiness.
None of these three were easy to deal with.
But at that moment—
Hidan's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Hey! Hey, Kappa! Yeah, you!"
"...Huh? Me?" Guy blinked, puzzled at the strange man pointing at him.
"Yeah, you."
Hidan nodded seriously.
"I've been wondering something for a while now. Mind clearing it up for me?"
"?"
"I heard you were second-to-last in your class, right?"
"..."
"So who the hell was the dead last in your year?!"
"..."