Chapter 153: Divine Wood Style?
Hiruzen Sarutobi was annoyed.
He wasn't sure whether it was Kitagawa Gen who had rubbed off on Kakashi, or the other way around.
"Did Kakashi spoil him, or was it the other way around?"
C-rank missions were supposed to be simple. Was it really appropriate to speak so casually about them?
Sure, Gen had started out like this too back in the day. But that was when Kakashi had just left the ANBU and still carried those habits. That was understandable.
"But come on, it's been years now! Why are they still acting like this?"
Hiruzen sighed, but in the end, he still handed over a basic C-rank mission.
With two Jonin tagging along, even if Gen hadn't officially left the team yet, there shouldn't be any major issues.
---
Just as Hiruzen was deep in thought, a familiar voice came in from the window.
"Old man, you called for me?"
It was Jiraiya.
"Seriously, I'm busy right now."
"There's news from Mizuki's side," Hiruzen said, rubbing his temples.
Before he could continue, Jiraiya interrupted.
"Mizuki? Oh, that guy everyone's gossiping about in the streets? No wonder Gen turned out like this. Konoha's education system is clearly broken. You can't blame me for saying it."
"…"
Hiruzen clenched his pipe. Was something wrong with him too? Otherwise, how did he end up teaching a pervy student like Jiraiya, a compulsive gambler like Tsunade, and... Orochimaru?
"Now's not the time for that!"
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Hiruzen refocused. There were more important matters to deal with.
"Gen uncovered quite a bit—turns out Mizuki has ties to Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru?!"
The name instantly made Jiraiya serious.
"Did he say anything else? What's Orochimaru's goal? Could it be the Chunin Exams?"
"We're not certain yet. Mizuki's just a Chunin—he doesn't know much."
Hiruzen shook his head, puffing on his pipe.
"But we can't ignore this. Especially considering that Orochimaru may be acting in concert with the Akatsuki... it's hard to say for sure."
"I understand."
Jiraiya nodded gravely. The Akatsuki's operations were always audacious.
"Looks like we'll need to be fully alert this time. I didn't expect something as simple as a joint Chunin Exam to get this complicated."
It gave Jiraiya a bit of a headache. A Chunin Exam turning into a high-stakes operation? Ridiculous. But there was no turning back now—he'd just have to prepare for the worst.
"Alright, I'm heading out. If anything comes up, let me know. Damn that snake, Orochimaru—"
"Wait," Hiruzen called out just as Jiraiya was about to leave. "There's more."
"What now, old man? Don't tell me you want to invite me to peek into your crystal ball again?"
Jiraiya smirked mischievously, earning a glare and nearly a whack from Hiruzen's pipe.
"Be serious. How's Tsunade's research progressing?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?"
Jiraiya frowned, then suddenly realized something.
"Wait a minute... Don't tell me Danzo is actually—"
"Yes," Hiruzen sighed deeply. "Based on our investigation, he hasn't stopped entirely."
After obtaining a sample of Obito Uchiha's flesh, Hiruzen secretly launched an investigation into Danzo. What they discovered was disturbing—especially regarding his experiments with the First Hokage's cells.
"But we can't move on him yet. It's possible that Orochimaru's current plans are connected to Danzo. We need to observe more before acting."
"Understood. I'll check in with Tsunade then."
Jiraiya nodded, understanding his teacher's position. It was enough for now.
"Thanks. There's one more thing I need from you."
"Can't you just say everything at once?"
Jiraiya sighed, and Hiruzen's expression turned solemn.
"This one concerns Naruto—and possibly Minato and Kushina."
"What?!"
Jiraiya's face changed instantly, eyes filled with worry.
"What happened, old man?! Tell me!"
"Last night, Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra erupted. Gen was there and told me…"
A cloud of smoke obscured Hiruzen's face as he exhaled, his voice lingering in the air.
"Inside the seal... there are two other chakra signatures—very likely Minato and Kushina's."
---
Meanwhile, on the road to the Land of Waves…
Naruto beamed with excitement.
"Finally! We're on a real mission!"
Even Sasuke, though silent, seemed to be in good spirits. Only Sakura looked hesitant.
She glanced at their clearly unreliable client—Tazuna, a drunken, grizzled old man—and at Kakashi and Gen walking at the rear.
Unable to hold it in, she asked:
"Kakashi-sensei, Gen-senpai… are you sure this is okay? Leaving the village on our first mission?"
"Are you Konoha people trying to scam me?!" Tazuna burst out. "This is their first mission?!"
He had only just submitted the mission request. Sure, he might've left out a few details, but he didn't expect the village to process things this fast—and assign him this team!
"Relax, relax. It's just a C-rank mission," Kakashi said casually, glancing at Sakura, then Tazuna.
"Two years ago, my first team's mission was also a C-rank. In fact, Gen did several of them in a row. This is nothing."
"Exactly. Just a C-rank," Gen chimed in cheerfully, patting Naruto and Sasuke on the shoulders.
"These two brats—one hot-headed, the other a blockhead, with questionable education—but they've got talent. Don't worry."
"HEY! What'd you just say?!"
Naruto exploded, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Questionable… education?"
Tazuna looked even more horrified. What made it worse? Kakashi actually nodded in agreement!
What happened to Konoha's reputation?!
---
Meanwhile, Kakashi and Gen had fallen behind the group, chatting as they walked.
Kakashi's visible eye curved into a relaxed crescent.
"Time really flies. Hard to believe it's been that long."
"Yeah, I still remember my first mission," Gen replied. "Honestly, I wasn't that great—fainted at the sight of blood."
"Happens to everyone. But after that, you kept improving. Even facing Zabuza and Itachi, you held your own."
"Of course."
Gen smiled proudly. Sasuke's ears perked up.
Uchiha Itachi?!
He'd heard that Gen had encountered his brother before, but not the details. Now he was burning with curiosity.
And it wasn't just Sasuke—Naruto, Sakura, and even Tazuna started eavesdropping.
"History really does repeat itself," Gen chuckled. "Back then, our first mission was to the Land of Waves. Now here we are again."
"By the way, Kakashi-sensei," he added. "Isn't Tazuna one of Gato's victims? Maybe this time, we can…"
"Whoa there! You're still holding onto that after all these years?!"
Kakashi's smile faded instantly, his eye turning into its classic dead-fish expression.
"Don't tell me you joined this mission because you knew we were going to the Land of Waves?"
"What? Of course not! Am I that petty? But Gato is loaded. Robbing him helps Konoha and serves justice!"
"…"
"Plus, this time it's an official mission. You can't stop me now, right?"
"…"
Kakashi didn't reply. His disciple was still the same—never forgot a grudge.
He sighed, rubbing his temple.
"We'll see. Just don't go overboard."
"Sure, sure."
Gen nodded. With that approval, he was satisfied. After all, he knew Gato would cross the line sooner or later.
And if he doesn't… well, I'll just make sure he does.
After all these years, Gen had saved up some wealth. But that didn't mean he'd let Gato's money slide.
"Besides, Naruto's gift has been incredibly rewarding…"
---
Last night, Gen had seen Naruto's copy of the Sealing Scroll. Though it was a "limited edition," it still had useful techniques.
What he didn't expect? The system sent him the full version shortly after.
"And there's some seriously good stuff in here…"
From it, he acquired:
Soul Binding Technique
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags
Four Red Yang Formation
Four Symbols Seal
And even a basic version of the Reaper Death Seal
Combined with his existing Flying Thunder God Technique and the Spiritualization Jutsu he got from Hiruzen, he now had a lineup rivaling the Second Hokage.
"Not to mention, there's plenty of information on Wood Style too…"
Gen had never dived into Wood Style before. While he already had leads on Water and Earth chakra natures, he'd been unsure whether Wood Style was a Kekkei Genkai or a Kekkei Tōta.
"Yamato's version felt like gardening. Hashirama's? That was world-shattering."
There was even speculation that Hashirama's Wood Style involved Yang Release. But now, it didn't matter.
"Because the Source of the Divine Tree I acquired... seems to have solved that for me."
After absorbing Naruto's Kyuubi chakra outburst, the Divine Tree's core was finally revitalized.
---
Although the God Tree Source didn't absorb any new Tailed Beast chakra this time, it did grant Kitagawa Gen a few new abilities!
One of them was Divine Tree Clone — a technique that closely resembled the standard Wood Clone, but was far more powerful!
While someone like Uchiha Madara could already wield Susanoo through a Wood Clone, this new clone of Gen's could utilize almost all of his abilities — with the exception of "Ōtsutsukification."
"Its power is probably around 50-60% of my full strength… That's pretty impressive,"
Gen remarked with satisfaction.
In addition, he had also acquired a new ability, similar to Obito's "Impaling Technique" — a devastating move where the God Tree's power pierced through his body to manifest a barrage of deadly spikes.
"Honestly, this thing feels way more efficient than regular Wood Release."
Gen scratched his head. Even though he wasn't fully proficient at wielding the God Tree Source yet, it now seemed safe to say:
"I guess… this counts as having Wood Release now?"
"Or maybe I should call it… Divine Wood Release?"
As he pondered this, he suddenly caught the sound of movement nearby.
Two dark figures darted from the shadows of the forest — chains in hand — and lunged straight at Kakashi!