Chapter 176: A Man Who Surpasses the Second Hokage
The next day, Konoha Hospital.
After buying flowers from Ino, Kitagawa Gen headed to Konoha Hospital with Kakashi and Might Guy.
He'd heard the night before that Jiraiya's condition had worsened and Tsunade had been performing emergency treatment, refusing any visitors. So he came early to check on him.
Pushing open the door to the hospital room, Gen called out with a grin,
"Pervy Sage! You're back in the hospital again?"
But he quickly noticed there were others present.
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Hokage."
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi or Tsunade could respond, Jiraiya grumbled.
"Jeez, kid, can't you say something nice this early in the morning? And what do you mean 'again'? I just ran into a little mishap!"
"Sure, sure."
Gen smiled as he placed the flowers in a vase, then joked,
"But I remember it was always Kakashi-sensei landing here. Now it's you, Pervy Sage."
Kakashi, who had just finished greeting Hiruzen with Guy, froze and rolled his eyes.
"Hey, hey, now's not the time to talk about me! And I'm doing just fine, for the record…"
"Yeah, I'm the one taking your place now,"
Jiraiya said with a hint of bitterness. It used to be Kakashi who was always in and out of the hospital.
But now? It's either the Third Hokage or himself.
"Is this all just a test of Konoha's medical system?"
Jiraiya muttered, rubbing his head. There were things he couldn't say aloud, but truthfully—both Konoha's medical and education systems had some serious flaws.
"All right, enough of that."
Hiruzen quickly cut them off. Strictly speaking, he too had been a frequent 'patient' and didn't want the conversation to continue in that direction.
"Gen, Kakashi, Guy—you've come at the right time. I have some things to discuss with you."
"Hey! Aren't you guys here to visit me?"
Jiraiya flopped back onto the bed in protest, but Hiruzen only smiled and shook his head.
"Sometimes timing just works out. We can talk while we're all here."
A puzzled look crossed Guy's face; he wasn't sure if he belonged in this kind of discussion… but Hiruzen addressed the hidden ANBU guards outside.
"Please summon the two elders for me."
"Yes, sir."
The Anbu by the door responded and disappeared immediately.
"Jiraiya, did you learn anything useful from Mount Myōboku this time?"
"Well, these injuries count for something, right?"
Even in his state, Jiraiya couldn't resist cracking a joke before continuing more seriously,
"I asked about Ōtsutsuki Genshiki, but the Great Toad Sage wouldn't reveal much. He did, however, agree to one thing."
"And what was that?"
"Since he knows Gen has already mastered Sage Mode, he's willing to share some of Mount Myōboku's insights and techniques related to senjutsu."
"That doesn't sound bad... wait, the toads' techniques?"
Hiruzen looked surprised.
"I gave Gen materials from the First Hokage himself! And now they're offering toad-style sage arts?"
Though sincere, he wondered if this was really appropriate.
"Well, maybe it's worth a look,"
Jiraiya added with slight awkwardness, then turned to Gen.
"What do you think?"
"I'm fine with it. Might as well give it a try."
Gen thought it over. Even if they weren't directly useful, there was no harm in referencing the toads' sage techniques.
He was particularly curious: Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu had unique features, like Inorganic Reincarnation and "White Rage" Technique.
"I wonder if Mount Myōboku has anything similar to those techniques…"
His memory was a bit fuzzy, but browsing through the toads' archives couldn't hurt.
"Too bad there wasn't more on Genshiki,"
Hiruzen muttered, rubbing his brow.
"By the way, did you ask them about Naruto?"
"I did. The Great Toad Sage didn't answer—probably wants me to solve it myself."
Jiraiya sighed. The chakra sealed inside Naruto wasn't hard to unlock…
But what they wanted wasn't just a simple unsealing. There were deeper issues to solve.
"That's unfortunate… we'll have to take it slow."
Hiruzen nodded, but Gen raised an eyebrow.
Having just undergone a breakthrough, his control over chakra—both his own and external sources—had reached an astonishing level.
"This isn't about me—it's about foreign chakra. But even that… I might be able to handle it."
"I'll look into it later. Doesn't seem too hard,"
Gen thought to himself just as noise came from the hallway.
"Lord Third, you asked for us?"
The doors opened, revealing two elderly shinobi.
Jiraiya scowled and leaned back. Tsunade crossed her arms and huffed.
Gen curiously studied them—Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, Hiruzen's old teammates.
"The dinosaurs of traditional shinobi thinking,"
he mused. They were bold during crises, like the Nine-Tails attack, but ruthless when making decisions—like the Uchiha Massacre.
"They also took the fall for Danzō,"
he recalled. During Pain's invasion, Danzō had claimed the Akatsuki was targeting Naruto, and these two had quickly tried to bar Naruto from returning to the village.
"...Of course, they've also thrown Danzō under the bus before."
"You're here. Let's handle this now,"
Hiruzen said, making Jiraiya groan.
"Come on, this is my hospital room!"
"Jiraiya, how careless of you. At such a critical time, and you still got hurt again."
Koharu commented calmly. Homura nodded in agreement.
"Yes. With the Chūnin Exams restarting and external pressure mounting, this was irresponsible."
"I—"
Jiraiya clenched his fists. Like Tsunade, he never liked these two. Fortunately, Hiruzen redirected the topic.
"Enough. It was an accident. Now, have you heard from Suna?"
"We've received word,"
Koharu replied, then glanced at Gen before continuing.
"The Sand Village has agreed to full surrender. They'll offer compensation but demand the return of the One-Tails and their captured shinobi."
"That's acceptable,"
Homura added.
"They're still a major village, even if they lost a Kage. They retain some fighting strength."
"Besides,"
Koharu continued,
"we're already tied up with the Wave and Mist issues."
"We can trade the disputed Land of Waves to Mist, claim full control of Grass and River, and prepare for conflict with the real threat—Kumogakure."
Homura finished.
They had clearly mapped out a strategic settlement—Suna was weak, and there wasn't much more to gain from squeezing them further.
It made more sense to accept their surrender, avoid fighting on multiple fronts, and secure richer, closer lands.
"Cold-blooded political machinery…"
Tsunade muttered under her breath.
Jiraiya nodded silently, and Hiruzen sighed.
"You two, quiet down. Gen, what's your opinion?"
"Huh?"
Gen looked around, pointing to himself.
"Me?"
"Yes. Share your thoughts."
Hiruzen nodded, while Kakashi and Guy clapped his shoulders.
"Come on, you're a jōnin now. You'll be attending meetings like this more often."
"Yeah—give it your best, Gen!"
"You two…"
Gen smiled wryly. Of course he understood what Hiruzen was doing—sending him to meet Deidara and Mei Terumi said enough.
But unlike Gaara, who became Kazekage young due to Suna's lack of talent, Konoha still had plenty of elites.
"I think the current plan is solid,"
Gen said after a moment's thought.
"But I have a few additional suggestions."
"Oh? Let's hear them."
"Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei, and I have been to Suna. There aren't many powerful ninja left there. I wonder… can we support one of their own candidates in secret—provide funding and political backing—to help them become Kazekage?"
Hiss—
"That way, Suna will follow Konoha's lead permanently."
The room went dead silent. Even Hiruzen was stunned.
"That's… not impossible. But the cost—"
Hiruzen started, but Koharu and Homura seemed intrigued.
"It's extreme, but good for Konoha. As long as we drop reparations—"
"Drop reparations? That's Konoha shinobi's compensation!"
Gen interrupted firmly.
"If the Wind Daimyō is so stingy, then maybe it's time they replaced him."
"???"
"They already dislike him. As long as the new one has a proper bloodline, who cares who it is?"
Gen shrugged.
The room fell into stunned silence again.
Kakashi rubbed his temples. Guy looked around blankly.
Jiraiya leaned back heavily. Tsunade rolled her eyes.
The elders stared at each other.
That feeling... it was back.
That familiar sense from long ago—
"He's back. That kind of presence is back."
"Don't say such reckless things,"
Hiruzen finally snapped, breaking the silence. He tapped the wall rhythmically.
At once, the surrounding Anbu vanished.
"If we cross that line, we'll shatter the unspoken rules of the ninja world. That could lead to consequences we can't predict."
"It's not like we would be doing it. It'd be Suna's internal affair,"
Gen said, shrugging again. Seeing Hiruzen's twitching eye, he decided to move on.
"Anyway, I've got another idea."
"Go on,"
Koharu and Homura said in unison, beating Hiruzen to it.
"How about we ask Suna to send us some of their powerful deceased shinobi's remains?"
That instantly made Hiruzen sit up straighter.
"Wait—you're not thinking about that forbidden technique, are you?"
"Huh? But Hokage-sama, didn't Orochimaru say that your teacher, the Second Hokage, created it?"
Gen asked innocently.
"…"
"Surely he did it to better protect Konoha?"
"…"
"Imagine it—if their own former Kage attacked them, morale would collapse. That would minimize our casualties, right?"
At that moment, Hiruzen regretted everything.
Why did I ever let this kid speak?
Watching the two old friends behind him exchange glances and nod at each other, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't hold back a sigh.
"You're not wrong," he said seriously, "but you're also being too idealistic. What you're doing might provoke others, turning them against us. You can't underestimate how fragile trust is. People's hearts aren't simple—this kind of act doesn't just affect enemies, it also alienates allies."
Hiruzen's tone was earnest, filled with concern. He genuinely didn't want Kitagawa Gen acting recklessly.
"Exactly," Jiraiya chimed in with a nod. "If someone used a reanimated version of our Kage, we'd be furious too."
Kakashi gave Gen a pat on the shoulder. "And if other villages used this technique, we wouldn't take it lightly either."
"The fallout from Orochimaru's actions is still ongoing," Hiruzen added firmly. "We need to find a way to deal with that first."
He ended with a note of finality, as if drawing a line in the sand. "Your intentions are good—you're doing it for Konoha—but this method won't lead anywhere good."
"…Okay."
Gen nodded, admitting he hadn't considered every angle. After all, understanding how others might feel about it was something he'd overlooked.
He rubbed his chin, seemingly lost in thought. Hiruzen finally allowed himself a small breath of relief.
Honestly, even he had been tempted earlier…
But after weighing the political and emotional implications—as well as the cost of using the Impure World Reincarnation—he had ultimately decided against it.
Still, he was starting to get a headache. Kitagawa Gen's thought process was… a bit too extreme at times.
"Since we can't use outsiders," Gen suddenly said, "then why not use people from within the village?"
Hiruzen's momentary peace shattered.
"There must be a few guys on death row in Konoha, right? Why not pick the strong ones and use them?"
"…"
"Think about it, Hokage-sama. They don't fear death, don't need food, water, or rest—they're the perfect workforce!"
"…"
"And besides, considering all the crimes they committed when they were alive, wouldn't it be a waste to just execute them?"
"…"
Hiruzen felt a sharp tightness in his chest. This wasn't the first time he questioned the state of education in Konoha—but this time, it felt like a whole new level.
Gen wasn't just like his teacher… If his teacher were here now, even he might not match up to this guy!
Glancing at the speechless Kakashi, the quiet Jiraiya, and Tsunade, who was now frowning deeply, Hiruzen sighed again. His gaze drifted to Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who were exchanging looks with interest.
If only everyone in the village were as simple and pure as Guy…
Just as he was about to speak again, Gen interrupted him once more. This time, his expression was significantly more serious.
"Also… Hokage-sama, think about it. Orochimaru already knows how to use this technique. Who's to say he won't act first?"
"!"
"If we don't do anything… who knows what he will do?"
"…"
His words instantly cast a heavy silence over the room.
The idea—one that had seemed unacceptable just moments ago—suddenly didn't seem so outlandish anymore.
No one noticed that Koharu and Homura exchanged another glance… and quietly nodded.
This Kitagawa Gen really was just like Tsunade and Hiruzen had said…
"He really is the one most like our teacher…"
"But it feels like… he's already surpassed him."
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