Chapter 120 – One's Own Life Reincarnation Technique?
"Damn it, still no word?"
Inside the Hidden Cloud Village, the Fourth Raikage's eyes blazed with fury. He stared incredulously at Darui, who could only nod in response.
"There's no update yet. They might've encountered an issue, or maybe..."
Darui trailed off, not daring to finish. But everyone already understood what he meant.
"Raikage-sama, according to intel, Orochimaru attempted to steal a secret treasure from the Land of Wind, which triggered a massive explosion."
C, standing nearby, sighed and spoke up. At this point, staying silent wasn't an option.
"The treasure was reportedly destroyed. Orochimaru was gravely injured. The blast radius was immense... it's hard to say."
"Orochimaru again? Another rogue from Konoha? Are they all dead yet?"
The Fourth Raikage could barely contain his anger. This kind of situation was simply intolerable.
"What's the status in Konoha? I heard Suna has signed a new agreement with them?"
"Yes, Raikage-sama," C confirmed, glancing at Darui. Seeing that he had once again slipped into his lazy mode, C had no choice but to continue.
"They were allies to begin with. And now that this mysterious organization caused such a stir in the Land of Wind, it's no surprise they're joining forces again."
But it wasn't just the Sand that wouldn't let this go. The Hidden Cloud had no intention of backing down either.
The only difference was: one aimed at the Akatsuki, the other at Konoha.
"Raikage-sama, what are our next steps?"
Seeing the Raikage fall silent, C turned to the long-silent Samui, who finally spoke up.
"Should we continue investigating that mysterious group? Should we try contacting them? And what about Konoha…"
"Hmph. A pack of rogue scum banding together. Keep an eye on them—see what they're really up to."
The Raikage didn't trust rogue ninjas. His village had produced very few over the years.
"As for Konoha… The next Chunin Exams are set to be held there next year. I'll go personally. But before then—"
He hesitated, his pride holding him back.
Yet a glance at his empty left arm, and a memory of that man's blinding speed—on par with Minato—and his behavior, so reminiscent of Tobirama...
In the end, he sighed and spoke coldly:
"If you encounter Kitagawa Gen, you are allowed to abandon the mission without punishment. For anyone else—double the retaliation. Understood?"
"Yes, Raikage-sama!"
---
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi was leisurely puffing on his pipe as he reviewed a scroll, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Seems the mission went smoothly."
"The Sand's willingness to deepen our alliance is a good sign. Well done, Kakashi, Guy."
"It was our duty," Kakashi and Guy replied with a slight bow.
Suna had been hit hard by the Akatsuki, especially with their meddling around the Dragon Vein. It was only natural for them to seek reassurance.
Add to that a notoriously stingy daimyo… some concessions were inevitable.
Even if Suna only expressed an intention to cooperate, the rest would be up to Konoha's negotiators. That alone was progress.
"Besides all this, it confirms the intel Danzo provided is fairly accurate. Although this time, things felt a bit... off."
Hiruzen's expression darkened slightly.
"The Akatsuki's actions seemed uncharacteristically weak—more like a test than a full assault."
Kakashi nodded gravely. "That was also Gen's assessment."
"We didn't encounter Uchiha Itachi or Uchiha Obito. Not even Jiraiya-sama's former students. But strangely, some Hidden Cloud shinobi showed up too. Could this mean..."
"Maybe the Cloud's been poking around our affairs," Hiruzen muttered, brows furrowed.
"In any case, we must be wary of them. As for the Akatsuki—we now have a fairly good grasp of their general structure, which is progress."
The Akatsuki were no longer a complete mystery. While many details remained unclear—like whether they had a main base or how they intended to reshape the world—they now had a basic idea of who they were dealing with.
"Perhaps it's time to consider forming a joint strike force with the other villages."
The Akatsuki were too dangerous—not just powerful, but ideologically extreme.
Even if their true motives were unclear, their status as missing-nin alone was enough to provoke a serious response from the other villages.
"You sure about this?" Kakashi asked, frowning—not in opposition, but concern.
"Would the other villages even cooperate? And what about Jiraiya-sama?"
"Don't worry. I said we'd consider it. Let's finalize things with the Sand first," Hiruzen said with a small chuckle.
"I'll speak to Jiraiya personally. Speaking of which… why hasn't he shown up yet?"
He glanced at the clock. He'd sent for Jiraiya right after Kakashi returned. The meeting was nearly over—and still no sign.
Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside.
"Well, that's enough talk. You two have done well. Go get some rest. And say, didn't you make progress this time?"
"Hmm?"
"At least none of you ended up in the hospital, right?"
"…"
Kakashi took a deep breath and nodded, accepting Hiruzen's cheeky grin.
At least I'm not recovering in the Konoha hospital this time…
---
"Lord Hokage!"
Just then, a panting Anbu agent burst through the door.
"What is it?" Hiruzen's heart sank. Instinctively, he clutched his chest.
He'd had too many shocks like this lately. His body could barely take it anymore.
"Jiraiya-sama caused trouble at the bathhouse… then ran into Lady Tsunade. They had… a bit of a scuffle..."
"…"
"Jiraiya-sama has been hospitalized."
"…"
---
At Ichiraku Ramen...
"You're the worst, you know that?" Naruto grumbled as he slurped his noodles.
"I was hoping to catch him after he was done peeping and ask him to teach me something. But you ruined it!"
"Relax. The Pervy Sage has thick skin—he'll be fine," Gen said nonchalantly, grinning at Naruto.
"Worry more about yourself. After all, it was you who got him in trouble."
"You're the worst…" Naruto muttered, sulking.
Still, after everything, he was used to this kind of thing. It barely fazed him anymore.
Besides, the Pervy Sage was pretty easy to deal with. Worst case? Use Shadow Clone + Sexy Jutsu tomorrow and give him a little private show?
"Hey, what do you think I should name the combo of Shadow Clone and Sexy Jutsu?"
"Oh? He taught you that?"
"Pfft, this is my natural genius at work! Come on, help me think of a name."
"Harem Technique, obviously."
"Eh? Why are you so familiar with it?"
"Tch."
Gen just raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, and Naruto, if you've developed such a… unique technique, maybe you should get the Hokage to evaluate it?"
"Huh?"
Naruto blinked, hesitating.
"That's not really something you show the Hokage, is it?"
"I told you before—respect your elders."
"That advice got me in trouble last time!"
"But was I wrong? Besides, the Hokage is a ninjutsu scholar. No one's more qualified to judge. And here's a secret…"
"What?"
"The Pervy Sage's teacher? That's the Hokage himself. Their personalities are surprisingly similar."
Gen flashed a mysterious smile and said no more.
Naruto, however, was already deep in thought—clearly considering the idea.
---
"Gen-senpai? Oh, hey Naruto—you're here too?"
A familiar voice rang out. They turned to see Ino and Sakura walking up.
"It's you guys. Here for some ramen?" Gen greeted them casually.
Naruto lit up at the sight of Sakura, while Ino giggled.
"Not really. We were just passing by and saw Gen-senpai, so we came to say hi. By the way, you haven't visited my flower shop in ages!"
"Blame Naruto. He's been watering the plants for me whenever I'm away," Gen replied, glancing at Naruto.
"Lately we've been lucky on missions—no serious injuries. And now that Lady Tsunade's back, even if someone does get hurt, they'll recover fast."
"Yeah, everyone's a lot more at ease with Lady Tsunade around," Ino agreed with a smile. As a member of the Yamanaka clan, she knew Tsunade's reputation well.
But her smile turned strange.
"Though… I heard Lady Tsunade sent someone to the hospital just now."
"…?"
"That pervert tried to peek at the women's bath! So disgusting!"
"…"
"Lady Tsunade was too kind, honestly."
"…"
Gen and Naruto glanced at each other silently. On both their faces: awkwardness and disbelief.
But neither dared to argue.
"Ino…" Gen sighed after a moment.
"Tomorrow, could you prepare a bouquet of flowers for me?"
"Eh?"
Ino looked a little surprised, but Kitagawa Gen had already stood up.
"This is for visiting a senior. Thanks for not dying—must've been rough."
"…Oh, okay."
Ino nodded, though Kitagawa Gen paid and left immediately. He clearly couldn't bear staying any longer.
"Well then, I'll take my leave."
"Take care, senpai."
Both Ino and Sakura were polite, but as they watched Gen's back disappear into the distance, their expressions turned strange.
"Naruto,"
Sakura turned to Naruto, curiosity written all over her face.
"Do you know what's going on?"
"D-don't ask me!"
Naruto's head started shaking like a rattle drum.
"I don't know anything! Don't ask me!"
---
While Naruto was left with tingling nerves and a creeping headache, Kitagawa Gen had already teleported home via Flying Thunder God.
Back at his place, Gen felt an unusual sense of comfort. So much so that he was even considering a new tactic—whenever he encountered tough enemies in the future, he might just teleport home, wait them out, and let attrition take care of them.
"But I didn't expect Kakashi to survive his time in Sunagakure, only for Jiraiya to end up hospitalized afterward?"
Rubbing his temples, Gen felt a headache coming on. Why did it seem like he was cursed?
Every time he went on a mission, he'd run into Akatsuki members, and once the mission ended, someone would always end up randomly in the hospital.
"Who the hell is this unlucky?"
He couldn't figure it out. After a while, he gave up trying. He had more pressing things to consider.
"I've already decided to drop the act moving forward. But before that, I need to secure a few things first."
This mission to the Land of Wind had yielded impressive gains.
Not only had he tested the power of the "Moonlight Cannon" for the first time, but he'd also acquired a portion of the Dragon Vein. As for the rest—he could just teleport back and claim it using Flying Thunder God!
"The only shame is that Rasa wouldn't let us meet Gaara. Compared to Konoha, they're seriously lacking. Also…"
[Side Quest]
["We All Have Bright Futures"]
[Objective: Assist Kakashi and Might Guy in a mission in the Land of Wind.]
[Reward: Kishō Tensei (One's Own Life Reincarnation]
Looking at the reward, for the first time, Kitagawa Gen understood the phrase: a double-edged gift.
The One's Own Life Reincarnation's effects were undeniably powerful—but its core principle was "equivalent exchange."
"Trading a life for a life… but does that rule even apply to the Ōtsutsuki?"
Gen pondered. For beings like the Ōtsutsuki, he didn't believe they'd need to sacrifice their own lives to revive someone else.
Their vitality was no joke, after all.
"But… I'm not about to risk testing that myself."
This jutsu—Gen wouldn't dare use it yet. Not until he had fully developed his bloodline. Otherwise, he'd rather experiment on some White Zetsu clones instead.
"Still, with my current strength… maybe it's time to start hunting down those legendary artifacts?"
Gen hadn't forgotten the intel he received the first time he met Uchiha Itachi.
He'd been holding off because he wasn't strong enough back then, and he had no real way to leave the village without being noticed.
But now, things were different. With Flying Thunder God, he could come and go from Konoha at will. And thanks to his vast chakra reserves, he could sustain shadow clones for long durations.
That was more than enough for him to start operating solo outside the village.
Besides, he still had his eye on Sora at the Fire Temple—and the Nine-Tails chakra sealed within him!
"So once I finish up the loose ends in the village, I'll head out. It's a perfect opportunity to test out the One's Own Life Reincarnation, and to study the Yin-Yang arts I got from Uchiha Obito."
With his plans laid out, Kitagawa Gen slowly closed his eyes.
In an instant, all of Chiyo's knowledge, experience, and research on the One's Own Life Reincarnation flooded into his mind.
Not just that—even the aspects of the technique that Chiyo herself had never fully uncovered began forming in his consciousness.
Gen's brain itched with the influx of data, and soon, his expression turned strange.
By the time it all ended and he had fully absorbed everything from Chiyo and the system, he opened his eyes in disbelief.
Then, he slowly raised his hand.
Buzz—
In the next moment, a swirl of black and gold chakra spots formed in his palm.
Staring at the twin energies, he couldn't help but murmur to himself:
"…This actually works?"