Chapter 131: Can't You Just Say "Don't Worry About Me, Run!"
"You said you wouldn't be proctoring my test, didn't you?!"
"Did I?"
"You did! I even bought you ramen!"
"Pretty sure ever since I became a ninja, you haven't treated me to anything."
On the bustling streets of Konoha, Naruto was practically shaking with frustration — clearly pushed to the edge by Kitagawa Gen.
Sasuke, meanwhile, wore a face full of helplessness. He was currently far more worried about whether he could even graduate smoothly.
He wasn't like Naruto — he knew just how terrifying Kitagawa Gen was. This guy had graduated from the Ninja Academy only to turn around and become a Jonin in no time.
Sure, Sasuke was also filled with unwillingness, but he didn't exactly feel jealous. Maybe they were just… used to each other by now?
But thinking about how cruel and tricky Gen could be — if he really did end up being the Jonin assigned to evaluate their graduation test — Sasuke's nerves were already on fire.
If he failed… how would he ever get closer to taking revenge on Itachi?!
"Gen-senpai, are you seriously going to be our examiner?"
Sasuke asked cautiously, while Naruto remained fixated on the ramen thing.
"Unforgivable! I definitely treated you!"
"Treated me, my ass. I was the one who paid."
Gen scowled at Naruto before turning to Sasuke.
"Anyway, that's a question for Lord Hokage. How would I know whose team I'll get? But now I'm curious about something..."
"Wh-what is it?"
"You two sound so unsure of yourselves. Are you seriously that weak?"
"…"
"Relax, relax. Be confident. Even if I'm the one in charge, the Genin graduation test isn't that hard."
"…"
Not hard? With you in charge?
Sasuke didn't dare say a word. Just thinking about Gen's notorious reputation back in the Academy — and those legendary stories…
Especially that time he hospitalized his own teammate just to graduate solo — how could anything involving him be called "simple"?
"So yeah, you guys might want to start buttering up Lord Hokage instead."
Gen raised his brow, mischief painted across his face.
"Besides, Naruto already knows a great technique to 'impress' the Hokage. I personally taught him that one."
"Eh?"
Naruto blinked, then his eyes sparkled with sudden realization.
He had been planning something like that before… but never got the chance to try it out.
Now that Gen brought it up again, he couldn't help but get excited.
"And trust me, that jutsu is especially effective against stronger opponents."
Gen's grin deepened.
"Just look at Pervy Sage — not even he could resist it."
"Hah? Oh yeah! That's true! Alright, I've decided!"
Naruto's eyes lit up like stars. He looked utterly thrilled.
Sasuke, meanwhile, just stood there looking completely lost.
"What are you two even talking about?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing. Heh heh."
Naruto waved it off with a cheeky grin, then quickly changed the subject.
"Hey hey, Gen — now that you're gonna be a Jonin, what's your dream?"
"You little punk…"
Sasuke shot Naruto a glare, but Gen seemed to actually pause at the question.
"My dream, huh?"
Dreams… They felt both distant and close.
Still, for Gen, his goals were his dreams.
Namely: thoroughly develop his bloodline and live exactly the life he wanted.
He didn't think those two aims clashed at all. And if they did? He'd just say: I'll take both!
After all, as a growing Ōtsutsuki, if you can't even say "I want it all," then what's the point of living?
"My dream's simple: keep getting stronger, and live the life I want."
Gen folded his hands behind his head, voice relaxed.
"Maybe open up a shop — call it the 'Yorozuya' or something. I've got a sword, I've got white hair. Seems fitting."
"'Yorozuya'? What's that? And what do swords and white hair have to do with it?"
Naruto and Sasuke looked at him, totally confused by the reference.
Gen ignored them and continued.
"Just make some cash on the side, marry a beautiful wife… And one day, during my self-introduction, I won't have to say 'I'm thirty-three and still single.'"
"…"
"And maybe hire a four-eyed assistant to help run the place — preferably one willing to work for free. Though I think the one I know is kind of unreliable."
"…"
"Yeah, that sounds about right."
"…"
Sasuke looked even more bewildered. Every single word Gen said made sense individually, but together they turned into incomprehensible nonsense.
Naruto scratched his ear. Something felt off about this whole speech — but one line stuck out to him.
"Wait, isn't that kind of a low bar for a goal? Didn't you say before…"
Naruto trailed off awkwardly. He remembered something Gen once declared:
"The throne of heaven will not remain vacant forever. From now on — it belongs to me."
He didn't finish the quote out loud, but the implication had been clear.
Wasn't Gen aiming to become Hokage or something?
"What?"
Now Gen looked confused.
"What are you even talking about?"
"No, nothing! Nothing at all!"
Naruto quickly waved it off, a sly fox-like grin creeping across his face.
"I totally support your dream! 100%! I'll shop at your store every single day!"
"Idiot…"
Sasuke covered his face with one hand. He truly couldn't keep up with Naruto's dumbass train of thought.
And judging by Naruto's look, it didn't seem like he planned on explaining anything either.
So instead, Sasuke turned to Gen and asked:
"Um, it's still pretty early… Could you keep training us?"
"Wait — you want HIM to train us?!"
Naruto practically had a trauma flashback.
Last time, Gen made him do handstand runs around the entire village. He nearly died.
"You kidding me?!"
"Training, huh…"
Even though he was technically two years ahead of Naruto and Sasuke, their ages weren't that far apart. Thanks to Naruto, they'd become pretty close.
Especially on his birthday — he'd forgotten it completely, but those two had still brought him gifts.
"Alright, maybe not training. But I can teach you a really useful jutsu. Doesn't matter who you're up against—if you use your head, it'll protect you and create openings."
"A jutsu?" Sasuke and Naruto's eyes lit up in unison.
Gen nodded and pulled out two kunai, handing one to each of them.
"Here. Now get ready to attack me."
"Huh? Wait—what's on this thing?"
"An explosive tag?! That's way too dangerous!"
Both boys panicked. They'd trained with tags before, but throwing them directly at someone?
"This isn't a game. Being a ninja is dangerous. Think of this as part of your test."
Gen glanced around. No one was nearby. He jumped back and raised one hand vertically.
"Come at me. And don't hold back—or it's pointless."
"R-Right…"
Swallowing hard, Naruto and Sasuke steadied themselves. They began channeling chakra into the tags to ignite them.
Then, just as they were about to throw—they froze.
Because the two walls Gen had just summoned were now covered in statues.
"Is that… the Hokage?!"
"Father?!"
They were stunned. No way were they about to throw exploding kunai at their idols!
Both boys had the same thought:
"How shameless can one person be?!"
Thud!
Suddenly, two kunai came flying through the statue-covered walls—grazing their cheeks before striking a wall behind them.
"You see that?" Gen's voice rang out as the earthen walls sank back into the ground.
"This technique lets you protect yourself and catch the enemy off guard. Perfect chance to strike."
"…"
Sasuke silently gripped his kunai. Naruto pouted.
"That's just plain dirty!"
"Dirty?" Gen raised a brow and chuckled dismissively.
"Come on. We're ninja. Nothing is off-limits. You better learn quick—or you might not even graduate."
"Damn it…"
Naruto was annoyed, but Sasuke had gone silent, lost in thought.
Shameless? Maybe. But as a ninja… wasn't that kind of thing necessary?
"Anyway," Gen added, "if you want to learn this jutsu properly, ask that pervy sage—assuming you've got the right chakra nature."
He shrugged nonchalantly.
"There are a ton of tricks like this. Up to you how creative you get—wait, why are you still holding those kunai?"
"!"
The boys blinked, then hastily threw the kunai.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the area, blasting a huge hole into a nearby building.
Smoke billowed. Coughing came from within.
"Damn it! I've still got ten years left on that mortgage!"
"…"
Gen went quiet for a second, then turned to the now-pale Naruto and Sasuke.
"I don't know how this happened—but it's clear you two screwed up. I'm out!"
And just like that, he yanked up his collar and vanished down the street.
Sasuke and Naruto quickly tried to bolt too—but the building's owner came storming out and grabbed Naruto by the collar.
Panicked, Naruto instinctively grabbed Sasuke in turn.
Sasuke reached out to grab Gen, but the guy was already gone.
"You idiot! Let go!"
"No! You threw it too!"
"Can't you just say, 'Don't worry about me, run!' for once?!"
"Then why didn't you catch that bastard Gen?!"
"You two brats better cough up the money!"
While the chaos continued below, Gen stood atop a telephone pole watching it all unfold.
He sighed as he watched Naruto cling to Sasuke, and recalled that Sasuke had actually tried to grab him too.
"Konoha's education system… definitely broken."
He shook his head.
"Whatever. I should test out my Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion next time."