The Great Toad Sage and Black Zetsu once again found themselves gripped by anxiety.
But over at the Konoha barbecue restaurant, the mood among Kitagawa Gen and the others was still lively—
—except for Naruto and Sasuke.
"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke—it's rare for Gen-senpai to treat us, so why do you both look so quiet?"
With a roll of grilled meat in his chopsticks, Chōji glanced at Naruto and Sasuke, both sitting there with sullen faces, and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Yeah, that's really rude," Sakura added with a nod.
Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were sitting together, while Kiba couldn't resist chiming in.
"And you're not even eating—that's just weird."
"Yeah… did something happen?"
Kitagawa Gen blinked, a wicked smile spreading across his face. Noticing the resentful look from the two little ones, he turned to Lee.
"Lee, eat more. Training under Guy-sensei burns a lot of energy—don't hold back. It's a pity Neji couldn't make it, though."
This time, Kitagawa Gen had managed to invite almost all of the Konoha 12.
He'd realized he seemed to get along pretty well with them.
He often ran into the truancy quartet, and every now and then, they'd waste time together chatting nonsense.
Especially Shikamaru—this guy could talk about anything, from stealing erasers as a kid to picking a grave plot when old.
As for Ino, he often bought flowers from her shop—plus, the flowers he originally planted at home had been bought from her family.
Lee and Tenten were both Guy's students, and since he and Guy had always been on very good terms, calling them "disciples" of his wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
When he was a kid, it was all thanks to Guy's guidance that he'd been able to rise up, so naturally, the two "official" students—Lee and Tenten—were on his guest list.
The only one missing was Neji.
"It's probably because of his family… or maybe he's training. He's very dedicated," Tenten explained softly. But when she noticed Hinata sitting nearby, she quickly switched to another reason.
"It's fine—being dedicated is a good thing. Better than some people who start whining the moment they train a little."
Kitagawa Gen nodded, shooting a pointed glance at Naruto and Sasuke.
"And some people manage to stir up trouble during training. Unbelievable."
"You bastard! It was your fault!"
Sasuke's fists clenched. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't win, he'd have tested it out right there. Naruto, the loud blond, was much more direct.
"And you're already a chūnin, even going for the jōnin exam—and you still turned tail and ran! Too much!"
"Huh?"
Naruto's words made everyone pause in surprise, and Ino was quick to ask, curious, "Gen-senpai, you're taking the jōnin exam?"
"You guys haven't heard?"
Shikamaru, eating quietly until now, spoke up to explain.
"Gen-senpai really is taking the exam early—it's happening this year."
"That's amazing."
All of the Konoha 12's eyes were filled with admiration. Kitagawa Gen just chuckled and shrugged.
"Just good luck. So today is an early celebration. Eat all you want."
"Yeah!"
Cheers erupted, with Chōji's voice the loudest of them all. The sight made Naruto's face fall even further.
"Hey, hey, hey! This guy's a total bastard!"
"Shut it, Naruto! Don't talk nonsense!"
"Exactly!"
Naruto pressed his lips together, exchanging a glance with Sasuke before both of them sighed helplessly.
If everyone here knew that when things went wrong, this guy was the first to run—
—and that it had been his terrible idea that got them scolded by the Hokage, and even landed the Hokage in the hospital—what would they think then?
"Damn it… let's eat!"
In the end, both Naruto and Sasuke turned their resentment into appetite, diving headlong into the "barbecue battle."
"Slow down—there's more."
Watching the kids, especially Naruto and Sasuke's fighting spirit, Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but shake his head.
If it had been before, he would have clenched his fists without a second thought—but now…
'I've done plenty of missions, so I've got money. Worst case, I can talk it over with Kakashi or the Akimichi clan, right?'
Kitagawa Gen had plenty of people he could call in favors from. If Kakashi didn't work out, there was always Jiraiya.
And if that failed, he could go to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
At worst, he could just say, 'You wouldn't want to see me making Sasuke and Naruto wash dishes with me, would you?'
'Besides, this operation went pretty well.'
While fixing himself some grilled meat, Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but think things over.
This time, he had witnessed the power of Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion. Even if it wasn't the full, genuine effect, it was still impressive.
'And after using it this time, my eyes are absorbing chakra faster. Maybe they'll undergo some kind of change.'
An increase in chakra absorption speed was extremely important for him.
Even if they didn't evolve, his eyes could still gain new abilities.
After all, even Nagato's Rinnegan mainly relied on its basic abilities, and Kitagawa Gen was similar—but his own basics weren't maxed out yet.
And who was to say his basic abilities were exactly the same as the Rinnegan's?
He genuinely hoped to acquire some new powers—ways to expand the offensive techniques unique to the identity of "Kitagawa Gen."
'I'll talk it over with Kakashi later, get some missions assigned. I still need more combat practice.'
He had no shortage of chakra now—in fact, it was only growing stronger—but his tactics and skills still needed refinement.
As Ōtsutsuki Genshiki, he could rely on brute force to overwhelm opponents, but as Kitagawa Gen, he couldn't. His path was still a long one.
'Besides… maybe I should get myself a summoning beast to play around with.'
The thought suddenly crossed Kitagawa Gen's mind, but before he could dwell on it, Ino's voice called out.
"Senpai."
"Hm?"
Snapping back to reality, he saw Ino smiling at him with a glass of juice in her hand.
"It's still early, but I'll wish you success in advance."
"Here's to your success, Senpai!"
Following Ino's lead, all the younger ones smiled and raised their glasses—even Sasuke and Naruto joined in.
"I see."
Kitagawa Gen picked up his own juice and smiled.
"Then I'll take your good wishes—cheers!"
"Cheers!"
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the golden autumn of September.
Leisurely days always had a way of putting people in a good mood.
At least for Kitagawa Gen, this period had been nothing short of delightful.
Every day, he either sparred with Guy, Kakashi, and even Jiraiya, or had Hiruzen occasionally drop by to give him some guidance.
Aside from that, he also spent time learning medical ninjutsu from Tsunade.
Medical ninjutsu was also an application of Yang Release. His Yang Release was powerful enough that his self-recovery was never an issue.
But applying it to others was another story entirely—and he also wanted to study Obito's arm for future use.
However, compared to his enjoyment, others weren't having such a good time.
"Damn it!"
Inside the Root base, Danzō slammed a heavy fist onto the desk.
"What on earth is Orochimaru doing? Why has there been no word from him all of a sudden?"
Danzō was vexed. At present, he had almost completely lost contact with Orochimaru. For a moment, he even suspected the man might already be dead.
But from what he knew of Orochimaru, that was unlikely. The only reasonable explanation was that Orochimaru had developed some resentment toward him.
"Was it because of that incident in the Land of Wind?"
In truth, he had no clear grasp of what exactly had happened there. The report he'd received suggested that something Minato had sealed years ago had erupted.
The result engulfed everyone present—and if not for Kitagawa Gen's Flying Thunder God, Kakashi and the others might have died!
"Kitagawa Gen can already handle Orochimaru…?"
The thought of that boy, still so young, being able to contend with the long-renowned Orochimaru, famed throughout the entire shinobi world, made his chest tighten with frustration.
Why hadn't he spotted the potential in that brat back then?
"Perhaps Orochimaru is upset because I kept things from him—and because the Ryūmyaku is now gone—so he's chosen not to trust me anymore?"
Hearing the word trust from his own mouth carried a certain bitter irony.
After all, there had never been much trust between him and Orochimaru to begin with—only mutual exploitation.
But Orochimaru's current stance truly did make him feel a sense of danger.
Not to mention, Orochimaru held plenty of incriminating evidence against him.
"And without Orochimaru, dealing with Jiraiya becomes troublesome as well."
Danzō's mind was in disarray. Perhaps the only good news was that his communication with Hanzō had been reestablished.
"But why does that man keep asking about the Chūnin Exams? Could he be scheming something else?"
Danzō couldn't make sense of it. What's more, Hanzō had even suggested meeting in person, which only made him more wary.
He saw no reason for them to meet face-to-face.
"I still need to keep him appeased… and he can get his hands on intel. I'll have to provide him with some information in return."
But deciding exactly what intel to hand over to Hanzō was a matter worth careful deliberation.
After all, intel had to be exchanged—and sometimes, to obtain something valuable, one had to sacrifice something else.
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