Chapter 133: Cheers
"Great Toad Sage, have you discovered anything new?"
Inside the temple of Mount Myōboku, Fukasaku respectfully approached the Great Toad Sage.
Lately, he had noticed that the old sage seemed different. Although still somewhat senile, he appeared far more lucid than usual.
But Fukasaku knew—such clarity wasn't a good sign. It meant something serious was brewing.
"Nothing major for now," the Great Toad Sage sighed, finally speaking in a grave tone. "But Mount Myōboku must prepare for the worst."
"The external threat is more troublesome than we imagined. He's adept at hiding himself. Even my divinations can't locate him."
"Even the Telescope Technique is useless?" Fukasaku was taken aback. He knew how effective that jutsu was, but the Great Toad Sage simply nodded.
"That's right. So we must be ready for anything. If necessary, we should send out more of the little toads for reconnaissance."
"Isn't that too risky? With young Jiraiya around, shouldn't everything be fine?"
"Jiraiya's fine, but he's got more pressing tasks at hand. Think of this as a trial for Mount Myōboku."
"...I understand." Fukasaku nodded. Mount Myōboku had many little toads, each with different abilities. Jiraiya often used them to deliver messages.
While they couldn't grow to the scale of Gamabunta and his brothers, they were still very useful.
"Then I'll start preparations, Great Sage."
"Go. And be careful."
The Great Toad Sage nodded once more. After Fukasaku left, he couldn't help but glance again into the crystal orb.
Within it, the silver moon still hung in space. But his expression was heavy.
"Did that Ōtsutsuki Genshiki locate Kaguya's prison... or did he accidentally channel chakra to the moon?"
"Or..."
"...is he already on the moon?"
---
Meanwhile...
"What? He's dead?"
As the Great Toad Sage fell into anxious thought, far away, Black Zetsu was just as bewildered.
"What happened? How did that guy die?"
"I don't know. It looked like an ambush—but something felt off," Obito muttered, visibly frustrated. He'd gone through a lot of trouble to subdue that guy.
But the moment he stepped out of Kamui's space, a strange energy attack came out of nowhere.
In an instant, that unfortunate soul was torn into bloody shreds—and even Obito himself was nearly obliterated.
If it hadn't been for his Sharingan instincts triggering Izanagi at the last second, he'd have been a goner too.
It was the second time.
The second time he'd poked his head out of Kamui, only to be greeted by near-death. Even someone like Obito was starting to lose his nerve.
"The entire valley's been leveled. The terrain has changed completely. What the hell happened?"
"The valley's been flattened?" Black Zetsu was stunned.
Not many people could pull off something like that—not just with brute force, but with such precision and scale. Especially not enough to nearly kill Obito and force him to use Izanagi again.
"Wait... could it be that guy?"
Suddenly, a thought struck Black Zetsu, and he looked at Obito with a different expression.
"What?"
Obito looked confused, unsure what Zetsu meant. Black Zetsu cautiously asked,
"You don't have any marks on you, do you?"
"...Marks? What are you implying? You think—"
"Yeah. I suspect that Ōtsutsuki Genshiki acted. And he might have tagged you—just like how Minato once did."
"You think he left a mark on me?"
Obito's expression darkened. He still remembered how Minato's seal allowed Gen to ambush him last time.
The idea of being marked again—especially by such a terrifying opponent—sent a chill down his spine.
"That's why we need to thoroughly examine you," Black Zetsu said seriously.
"We can't afford to ignore this. If he really did mark you, next time might be fatal."
"Alright. Let's do a full check."
Obito no longer hesitated. Being forced to use Izanagi twice by the same person had really shaken him.
He still had his own goal—to create a peaceful world where Rin and everyone else could live.
There was no way he'd give up now.
"Let that guy gloat for a while. Once the Gedo Statue revives and we collect all the Tailed Beasts, he won't stand a chance."
"Yeah... I hope so," Black Zetsu nodded, though he couldn't hide the sigh in his heart.
Even with the Ten Tails and the Rinnegan, he wasn't sure they could defeat this mysterious enemy.
Still, one step at a time.
Besides Obito, he had other problems to worry about.
"I still need to find a medic-nin to patch up Kisame and Itachi..."
---
Back in Konoha, at the barbecue restaurant...
Despite the chaos in the shadows of the world, the mood was light and cheerful among Kitagawa Gen and his group.
Well... except for Naruto and Sasuke.
"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke! It's not every day Gen-senpai treats us. Why the long faces?"
Chōji asked while wrapping more grilled meat in lettuce. He glanced at the two sulking boys beside him.
"Seriously, it's rude to act like that!" Sakura nodded in agreement.
Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were chatting happily nearby, while Kiba joined in.
"And they're not even eating. What's wrong with them?"
"Yeah, something must've happened," Kitagawa Gen said with a mischievous smile, blinking at the two glum kids.
Seeing their resentful looks, he turned to Lee with a grin.
"Lee, eat up. You're burning calories training with Guy-sensei. Don't hold back. Too bad Neji didn't come—what a shame."
For this gathering, Kitagawa Gen had basically invited all of the Konoha 12.
He realized something rather surprising—he seemed to be on pretty good terms with this whole group.
He often ran into the "class-cutting quartet," and they'd end up casually chatting whenever they met.
Especially Shikamaru—get him talking, and the guy could go from sharing stories about stealing erasers as a kid all the way to choosing cemetery plots for the future.
Ino was someone he frequently bought flowers from, and the flowers his family grew originally came from her family's shop too.
As for Lee and Tenten—they were Guy's students, and his relationship with Guy was already close enough that calling it "master and apprentice" wouldn't be far off.
Back when he was a kid, it was Guy's training that helped him rise up. Inviting Lee and Tenten—Guy's "official" disciples—was a no-brainer.
The only one missing was Neji.
"Probably because of family matters… Or maybe he's training—he is really hardworking," Tenten explained softly, though seeing Hinata sitting nearby, she quickly changed the subject.
"It's fine. Hard work's a good thing. Better than some people who complain the moment training gets tough," Kitagawa Gen replied, glancing meaningfully at Naruto and Sasuke.
"And then get into trouble during training too. Unbelievable."
"You jerk! That was your fault!" Sasuke clenched his fists. If he thought he could win, he'd have already swung. Naruto, ever direct, spoke up right away.
"And you! You're already a Chūnin, even preparing for the Jōnin exams—and then you just ran off? That's not fair!"
"Huh?"
Everyone looked surprised at Naruto's outburst. Ino, curious, asked:
"Gen-senpai, you're going to take the Jōnin exam?"
"You guys haven't heard?" Shikamaru said around a mouthful of food, unable to stay silent.
"Gen-senpai's getting a special early assessment. It's happening this year."
"That's amazing…"
Everyone's eyes were filled with admiration, but Kitagawa Gen just smiled and shrugged.
"Just lucky, that's all. So let's take tonight as an early celebration. Eat up!"
"Woohoo!"
Cheers broke out around the table, none louder than Chōji's. The cheerful mood made Naruto's frown deepen.
"Hey, hey, hey, this guy's a total cheat—"
"Shut up, Naruto! Don't ruin it!" Sakura scolded.
"Yeah!" the others echoed.
Naruto pursed his lips, exchanging a look with Sasuke. Both of them sighed in resignation.
If the others found out Gen had been the first to bail when things went wrong, causing them to get scolded by the Hokage…
And that it was his dumb idea that landed the Hokage in the hospital…
What would everyone think?
"Whatever! Let's eat!"
In the end, Naruto and Sasuke both turned their frustration into ferocity—joining the all-out "Grilled Meat Battle Royale."
"Slow down, there's plenty," Gen said, shaking his head at the two human vacuums, especially those two.
If it were the past, he might've thrown a punch—but now…
"I've done so many missions, I've got money. And if it runs out, I can always rope in Kakashi or talk with the Akimichi clan."
He had plenty of people he could lean on. If Kakashi didn't work, there was always Jiraiya. If that still didn't cut it, he could go to Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
Worst case, he could just say: 'You don't want to see me, Naruto, and Sasuke working as dishwashers, do you?'
"Plus, this last mission wasn't bad at all."
As he grilled more meat for himself, Gen mulled things over.
He had finally witnessed the destructive power of the Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, even if it wasn't at full strength—it was still impressive.
"Also, after using it, my eye's chakra absorption has sped up… Maybe there'll be some changes to the eye soon."
That speed boost in chakra absorption mattered. Even if it didn't trigger an upgrade, it could grant him new abilities.
After all, even Nagato mainly relied on the basic Rinnegan powers. Gen was similar in that regard—his base abilities weren't maxed out yet.
And who's to say his "basic" abilities were exactly the same as those of the Rinnegan?
He genuinely hoped to unlock some new powers—something that would let "Kitagawa Gen" develop unique, personal techniques.
"Once I get a chance, I'll discuss with Kakashi about taking on some missions. I still need more real combat experience."
He didn't lack chakra anymore—in fact, he was growing stronger by the day—but his tactical skills still needed refinement.
Ōtsutsuki Genshiki could crush enemies with raw power, but Kitagawa Gen couldn't. His journey had only just begun.
"Maybe I should even try getting a summoning beast… If I remember right, a summoning creature lives somewhere in the Land of Fire, right?"
Suddenly, that thought popped into Gen's mind. But just then, Ino called out to him:
"Senpai."
"Hmm?"
He turned around and saw Ino holding up her juice, smiling warmly at him.
"It's still early, but congratulations in advance."
"Congrats in advance!"
With Ino leading the toast, the rest of the group raised their glasses as well. Even Sasuke and Naruto joined in this time.
"I see…"
Gen smiled and lifted his glass too.
"Then I'll borrow your good wishes—cheers!"
"Cheers!"
🙇♂️
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