"So this… is the power of the Tenseigan?"
Elsewhere, after pulling Kakashi and Guy out, Kitagawa Gen stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the scene before him.
He knew that the massive Tenseigan could theoretically function like a planet-busting cannon—and just now, he had forced out a blast using the highest access privileges he could assert over it.
But the resulting destruction… it was far more terrifying than he had expected.
Wasn't this close to—or maybe even on par with—a full-powered strike from Uchiha Madara's Susanoo?
Or perhaps a Tailed Beast Bomb from the Nine-Tails… or even the Ten-Tails?
"…Huh?"
Suddenly, Kitagawa Gen paused. He could clearly sense it—his link to the energy from the Moon had just been cut off.
And in that moment, the white light began to fade, and the collapse of the ancient city of Rōran came to an abrupt halt.
"Gen, what the hell just happened?"
Both Guy and Kakashi turned to him, equally stunned by everything they had just witnessed. Their faces were filled with disbelief as they looked at him.
"I don't know either."
Kitagawa Gen quickly feigned confusion—but in the next second, his eyes lit up as if he had just remembered something, and he pointed toward the distance.
"But it's probably that thing over there. When I was investigating earlier, I saw Orochimaru trying to break the seal. I'm guessing… whatever that thing was, it leaked out!"
"That thing?"
Kakashi and Guy turned their heads and immediately noticed an eerie chakra spreading from the direction of Rōran.
Kitagawa Gen simply nodded in silence.
Talk about perfect timing.
Clearly, it was all the Dragon Vein's fault—and had absolutely nothing to do with him.
"What exactly was that thing?"
Might Guy stared off into the distance, confused. He had no idea what was going on. But Kakashi frowned and answered, "I don't know either. I told you—my memory was sealed. It was probably Sensei's doing, so whatever it is… it must be something really significant."
Kakashi truly couldn't recall much. Minato's sealing techniques weren't to be taken lightly.
"How about I go take a look?"
Gen suggested with a glint in his eye. But Kakashi and Guy immediately shot him down.
"No way. Even with Flying Thunder God, it'd be hard for you to handle that kind of chakra. Didn't you feel that explosion just now?"
That explosion was my doing—
No, wait, it was all Orochimaru's fault!
"Relax, Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei."
Gen stood up, smiling as he shook his head.
"I know what that energy is. It's natural energy—Sage Chakra. It's terrifying, yes, but it doesn't affect me."
He wasn't joking. With the eruption of the Dragon Vein's energy, he had already grasped the true nature of that power.
"You're sure you'll be fine?"
Kakashi was still a little worried—so was Guy. But Gen remained calm.
"Don't worry. That explosion was probably just a massive release after the energy built up for too long without a proper outlet. But now… look."
As he spoke, he turned his head to glance into the distance.
There, the Dragon Vein Chakra was still surging violently. Sandstorms and shattered rocks swirled furiously in all directions, like some kind of natural disaster.
"..."
Kakashi and Guy stared speechlessly at Gen, which made him feel just a little embarrassed.
"Seriously, it's a lot better than before. I wouldn't risk my own neck on a joke."
"Well then, go ahead and take a look. It's not like you'd listen even if I said no."
Kakashi understood Gen's nature well enough—if he didn't have any specific ideas, he'd follow orders to the letter.
But if he did have something in mind, there was no stopping him.
"Just be careful. You must be careful, got it?"
"Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I'll warp back instantly."
Gen smiled. And the next moment, his figure vanished—he had used Flying Thunder God to leave.
"You really trust him that much, huh?"
Watching him disappear, Guy couldn't help but ask. Kakashi plopped down on the ground with a sigh.
"He should be fine. Besides, we need to recover too. Those two we just fought… they're no joke."
Kakashi was beyond exhausted. Using Kamui: Shuriken had drained him more than he'd expected.
Still, he had verified the value of that move. He'd have to work on refining it further for future battles.
"That technique really is powerful…"
...
In the center of the battlefield, Gen's figure quietly appeared.
He looked around at the devastation before him, filled with both awe and satisfaction.
The power of the Tenseigan was no joke.
"But I'd still rather my own eyes had that kind of power."
Although he was quite satisfied with his current eyes—after all, even someone as ruthless as Orochimaru had been forced to recognize "the beauty of stats" and "the joy of mechanics" when facing him—
One had to understand that Orochimaru at this point wasn't the same as the one Sasuke had faced: the one whose arms had been sealed inside the Shinigami's stomach, whose body was so far gone he had to constantly replace it.
This was a version who had endured mountains of corpses and seas of blood, one who, apart from a vulnerability to genjutsu and perhaps the occasional missing intel, had virtually no weaknesses.
And yet, compared to this massive Tenseigan, he felt like his own power still fell far, far short.
Especially when he arrived earlier and saw the enormous chunks of blasted serpent flesh scattered across the ground. He had a feeling it might've been Manda.
"So… I've still got room to grow."
In a flash, he appeared near the high tower. Staring at the ever-churning Dragon Vein Chakra, his eyes subtly shifted into the Tenseigan.
He needed to study this power—figure out how best to handle it.
...
"So everything that happened last night… was the work of that mysterious organization?"
The next morning, searing sunlight poured over the desert sands. Beside the ruins of the ancient city of Rōran, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, stood facing Kakashi and the others, his expression grim.
Not far off, Chiyo—missing half her body—lay on a stretcher being carried away by Ebizō.
The massive explosion had occurred right within the Land of Wind. Of course Rasa had felt it.
He immediately suspected that those damned people had done something—and with the source coming from the south, the first thing he thought of was the Dragon Vein.
But unfortunately, just as he was about to act, something unexpected happened with Gaara.
To this day, he still didn't know what exactly had triggered Gaara—but it had driven the boy into a frenzy, stirring the One-Tail inside him into unrest.
With Chiyo absent, Rasa had been forced to watch over Gaara personally. It wasn't until the second half of the night, once everything finally settled down, that he could depart.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama. As far as we can tell, that's indeed the case."
Kakashi still looked utterly exhausted, but he replied earnestly.
"We've confirmed that their target was something hidden inside Rōran—and that last night's explosion was connected to it."
"I see."
Rasa nodded in understanding, though his expression darkened.
Something from his village had become the target of outsiders. No one would feel comfortable with that—especially when it was something he had long obsessed over.
"You've worked hard. If it weren't for you, this would've been a disaster. That bunch really are madmen!"
"There's no need for that—we were just carrying out our mission."
Kakashi deflected the praise modestly. But deep down, he already knew just how insane those people were.
"By the way… is everything inside Rōran stable? And what about Chiyo-sama—she…"
"Most of the Rōran survivors had already evacuated. The rest took shelter underground last night, so they're fine. As for Chiyo—"
Rasa glanced toward Ebizō in the distance. Seeing him nod, he continued.
"She'll be all right. Sasori isn't someone ordinary people can handle—but neither is she. Still, what I'm most curious about right now… is how you dealt with the Dragon Vein."
To him, the Dragon Vein was the most critical piece.
Especially after seeing the scene firsthand—the partially collapsed city of Rōran—his heart surged with anticipation.
Although he deeply resented the chaos that the Akatsuki had wrought, a part of him couldn't help but feel grateful to that organization.
'They gave me a chance to enter Rōran!'
Now that he was inside, the rest would be simple. He could even begin trying to take control of the Dragon Vein.
He sincerely hoped that Konoha hadn't made any secret moves behind his back.
"Allow me to handle this one."
Unfortunately for him, Kitagawa Gen stepped forward, looking full of energy and confidence.
"Kazekage-sama, there's no need to worry. While the seal on the Dragon Vein has loosened, the situation isn't nearly as dire as it might seem."
"I-is that so?"
Though Rasa kept his face composed, his heart gave a heavy jolt.
"Yes."
Kitagawa Gen beamed, clearly quite pleased.
"There's a Flying Thunder God technique left behind by the Fourth Hokage at the site. And as it happens, I also know how to use Flying Thunder God."
"All I had to do was replicate his markings and rearrange them slightly. That ensured the Dragon Vein's chakra wouldn't run wild for the time being."
"…"
"Of course, it also helped that some of the Dragon Vein's chakra had already dispersed. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to reseal it."
"…"
"But rest assured—nothing more will leak out. Just like back in the day with the Fourth Hokage, there won't be any more problems for the Land of Wind!"
"…Then we really do owe you our thanks!"
Rasa himself wasn't even sure how he managed to squeeze out that "thank you." He felt like his voice had ground between clenched teeth.
If he could, he'd much rather throttle this bastard right then and there. In fact, he desperately wanted to ask—
You bastards from Konoha—did you plan this from the start?!
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