Chapter 134: My Art Style is Above Yours? Jōnin Examination!
Time flew by, and soon, the golden autumn of September arrived.
These leisurely days were truly enjoyable—at least for Kitagawa Gen. He was living quite comfortably lately.
His daily routine now involved sparring with Guy-sensei, Kakashi, and even Jiraiya. Occasionally, Hiruzen Sarutobi would drop by to give him a few pointers as well.
On top of that, he was also learning medical ninjutsu from Tsunade.
Medical ninjutsu was, after all, a practical application of Yang Release. Gen's Yang Release was incredibly strong—his self-healing was second to none. But applying it to others was a different story. He also wanted to study Obito's arm to see how he could later use or adapt it.
Unfortunately, while he was enjoying life, others weren't doing nearly as well.
---
Meanwhile, in the depths of the Root base...
"Damn it!"
Danzo slammed his fist heavily against the table.
"What is Orochimaru playing at? Why has he gone completely dark all of a sudden?"
Danzo was visibly agitated. At this point, he had nearly lost all contact with Orochimaru. For a moment, he even wondered if Orochimaru might be dead.
But knowing Orochimaru's nature, that seemed unlikely. The more plausible explanation was that Orochimaru had started to distrust him.
"Was it because of the Wind Country incident?"
Danzo didn't fully understand what had happened there. From the reports, it seemed some kind of ancient seal left behind by the Fourth Hokage had activated, causing chaos and collateral damage. If it hadn't been for Kitagawa Gen's Flying Thunder God technique, even Kakashi and the others might have died.
"…Has Gen really grown strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Orochimaru?"
The thought made Danzo's chest tighten with frustration. That brat was still so young, and yet he could already contend with one of the most infamous Sannin?
Why didn't I spot his potential sooner?
He suspected Orochimaru was distancing himself not only because Danzo hadn't informed him of critical developments—but also because of the loss of the Ryūmyaku (Dragon Vein). Orochimaru might have decided Danzo could no longer be trusted.
And the word "trust" coming from Danzo's mouth was ironic, to say the least.
There was never much trust between him and Orochimaru. Their partnership had always been one of mutual exploitation.
But Orochimaru's recent silence… it felt like a threat.
Not to mention, Orochimaru held plenty of dirt on him.
---
"Without Orochimaru, dealing with Jiraiya becomes much more troublesome too…"
Danzo rubbed his temples in frustration. The only mildly positive development was that communication with Hanzo had recently been reestablished.
But even that was raising new concerns.
"Why does that old warhawk keep asking about the Chūnin Exams? What's he really after?"
Danzo couldn't make sense of it. Hanzo had even proposed an in-person meeting—an idea Danzo found extremely suspicious. He didn't see any real value in a face-to-face between them.
Still, Hanzo did have access to valuable intelligence. If Danzo wanted information from him, he'd have to trade something of worth in return.
The question was—what information could he afford to give away?
Information exchanges often required sacrifices. If the intel he could get from Hanzo was important enough, it might be worth the risk.
---
Back in the peaceful streets of Konoha...
"You jerk! You totally got us in trouble!"
Naruto was glaring at Kitagawa Gen, his face full of frustration.
"What does that have to do with me? You're the one who caused all the mess."
Gen shot him an annoyed look.
"I got scolded too, you know! All because of your antics!"
Naruto fumed. "Why do I feel like you're secretly enjoying this?"
"You're imagining things," Gen replied with a straight face. "Right now, I'm in so much pain I want to punch you. Honestly, what's wrong with Konoha's education system? I'm so brilliant, but you guys are all so hopeless!"
He nodded solemnly, as if stating an absolute truth.
After all, Hiruzen himself had dragged him in for a stern lecture—not because Naruto and the others blew up someone's house, but because Naruto had taken him down using the Sexy Jutsu…
That was a disaster all on its own.
Fortunately, the conversation quickly shifted to other topics—bloodline limits and the upcoming Jōnin assessment.
Ever since Gen revealed his mastery of Ice Release, Hiruzen had been paying especially close attention to him.
"You? Brilliant?"
Naruto pouted but found himself unable to refute it.
Honestly, Gen kind of was brilliant.
Naruto stared at Gen with despair.
"This guy's really about to become a Jōnin…"
The thought only made Naruto more anxious.
"If even the Jōnin in this village are like him, does the village even have a future? That's it! I have to become Hokage!"
He remembered how Gen had bailed the moment trouble started—covering his face and fleeing the scene, leaving the rest of them behind to take the heat.
After that incident, the school underwent a massive reform. Discipline became stricter than ever, and the students suffered for it.
Complaints poured in from all sides—understandably, since the rules changed multiple times in a single year, each stricter than the last.
As for Naruto and Sasuke—who knew the truth—they dared not say a word. They didn't want to risk a public lynching.
"You? Hokage? Let's start with just graduating," Gen scoffed.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"If everything goes well, you should be graduating next year. And as for me—this year, I'll be officially promoted to Jōnin."
"Wait, wait, wait! You're kidding, right?!"
Naruto's eyes went wide. At this point, he deeply regretted showing the Third Hokage his Sexy Jutsu.
Offending the Hokage... was he doomed now?
Gen patted him on the head and said with a smirk:
"Better head to class. I've got a meeting to get to."
He lowered his voice.
"I'll personally request to proctor your graduation exam. Since I got scolded because of you, it's only fair."
"…"
Naruto looked like the life had drained out of him, his steps slowing involuntarily.
Gen couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
"Idiot. The genin graduation exam is proctored by Chūnin. But since I'll already be a Jōnin… yeah, I'm a bit bummed I'll miss it."
Still, he mused to himself:
"Once you're assigned to a team, it'll likely be under Kakashi. That means we'll have plenty of chances to meet again during the Chūnin Exams."
It was almost guaranteed that Kakashi would lead the team—he was the only one connected to both Naruto and Sasuke, and he wielded the Sharingan.
There really wasn't a better candidate.
"Even if I'm not officially part of your squad, I'll still help Kakashi train his students. That's part of my 'senior disciple' privileges."
With that, Gen headed toward the training grounds.
September had arrived—his Jōnin exam was today. And with it, he'd finally claim his main storyline reward.
---
"You're here."
At the entrance to the training hall, Kakashi leaned against the doorway, book in hand.
When he saw Gen approaching, he closed the book with a smile.
"Early as always. I was worried you might be late."
"No way, Kakashi-sensei. I'd never be late for something like this."
Gen walked up with a grin and asked in a low voice:
"By the way, who's proctoring the exam? Don't tell me it's you—because if it is…"
"It's not me," Kakashi interrupted. "Though I could've done it… but."
He shrugged and started leading Gen inside as he explained:
"You've become too well-known. Practically every Jōnin in the village came to watch. So I had to step back to avoid any appearance of favoritism."
"Favoritism?"
Gen rolled his eyes.
"Wait, wait, didn't you say this was just a formality?"
"Shh!" Kakashi immediately grabbed him, glancing around nervously before relaxing.
"I never said that. That was your assumption. But don't worry, your examiner is someone you know."
"Oh? Who?"
"Jiraiya-sama."
"…Jiraiya-sama?"
Gen blinked. If it was Jiraiya, then yeah—it really might just be a formality.
"You brat…"
Kakashi caught the glint in Gen's eye and immediately knew what he was thinking.
Holding up his book, he said slowly:
"Don't let your guard down. Even if you and Jiraiya-sama get along, he's taking this seriously. So you should too."
"Yes, I understand."
Gen nodded, still full of confidence. After all, he'd sparred with Jiraiya many times over the past few months.
"Once this exam's over, we might have a new mission."
Kakashi tucked his novel away and spoke in a hushed voice, making Gen raise a brow.
"A new mission?"
"Yeah. The joint Chūnin Exams will begin next year. We'll be going to the Hidden Rain Village to deliver an invitation."
"The Hidden Rain…"
"Mm. And while we're there, we're to investigate their situation. Even though we've reestablished contact with Hanzō, the Hokage suspects something's amiss."
Kakashi's tone dropped even lower.
The official mission was just a pretext. The real reason lay deeper.
Gen immediately recalled something—he'd indeed delivered an invitation to the Hidden Rain in the original timeline. Back then, the Akatsuki hadn't revealed themselves, so they'd let him leave unscathed.
"But now… after everything I've done to stir the pot, will they still let us walk away that easily?"
As he pondered this, his system interface flashed.
[New Side Quest Acquired]
["My Style Surpasses Yours"]
"…Great."
The moment he saw the notification, Gen knew this mission wouldn't be so simple.
"But maybe that's not a bad thing. Time for the real me to make a move…"
With those thoughts, he and Kakashi entered the exam grounds.
---
"You're here."
"That's the kid, huh? Graduated just last year?"
"No surprise, given his mentors are Kakashi and Guy. Jiraiya-sama thinks highly of him too—some say he might even rival the Fourth Hokage in talent."
"One generation surpasses the last… let's trust in the Hokage's judgment."
As they entered, the surrounding Jōnin began whispering to each other.
Hiruzen stood up the moment Gen and Kakashi arrived.
"Now that the candidate is present, let's begin the exam."
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