The battle had ended, yet the jōnin present remained utterly silent.
Their eyes were wide open, each of them looking as if they could hardly believe what they had just seen.
That Jiraiya had lost wasn't all that surprising in itself.
After all, this was a sparring-type assessment—it was hard to say how much either side would go all out. Besides, some of the jōnin here had seen Jiraiya's prowess before.
The constraints of this arena alone meant that many of Jiraiya's techniques couldn't be used to their full potential.
But that final move from Kitagawa Gen—the instant he broke through the spatial restriction and appeared directly at Jiraiya's side—had left them utterly stunned.
"You've got to be kidding me… the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"Incredible… absolutely incredible."
"That was amazing!"
Gradually, voices began to rise among the shinobi.
At first, they spoke in low tones, but as more and more joined in, the voices grew louder.
Soon, cheers began to ripple through the crowd.
In their eyes, the significance of the Flying Thunder God wasn't far from that of Wood Release itself.
To them, the power of Wood Release was something they had never personally witnessed.
But the Flying Thunder God Technique? Many here had truly seen it in action.
Forget the Third Shinobi World War—on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, the berserk beast had aimed a Tailed Beast Bomb directly at Konoha.
If not for the Fourth Hokage, who used the Flying Thunder God to teleport it away, that terrifying explosion would have struck the village without mercy.
And if the Fourth hadn't teleported the entire Nine-Tails out of Konoha, the damage that night would have been far worse.
"This is really something, huh, Kakashi?"
Asuma had known beforehand, but he still couldn't help murmuring.
"You've really got yourself a fine student."
"Indeed, Kakashi-senpai."
Ebisu and Shiranui Genma both nodded, unable to suppress their own cheers and astonishment.
Especially Genma—having once served as part of the Fourth's personal guard—he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
"That's the Flying Thunder God Technique… truly incredible."
"Yeah. Congratulations, Kakashi."
Guy even gave Kakashi's shoulder a pat, making Kakashi smile despite himself.
"Just lucky, that's all."
"But now that Gen's a jōnin, doesn't that mean he can lead his own team?"
"…"
"So… does that mean he's leaving the squad?"
"…"
Kakashi's smile faded as he met Guy's curious gaze. Even knowing the man's thick-headed nature, he still found it hard not to react.
But he quickly smiled again—these things were better left to circumstance.
After all, when he became a jōnin, he still stayed on Minato-sensei's team, didn't he?
The cheers grew louder. This fight had been a joy to watch, and seeing the Flying Thunder God in action had left Konoha's jōnin more excited than ever.
"You, kid—you really put on a fine performance this time."
Hearing the cheers outside, Jiraiya clapped Kitagawa Gen on the shoulder with a grin.
"Come on, we should get going too, Jōnin Gen."
"Still, I owe the Pervy Sage some thanks for going easy on me."
Gen was in excellent spirits as he replied with a grin, though his words earned an exaggerated eye roll from Jiraiya.
He knew Kitagawa Gen's abilities all too well, and he certainly didn't believe that if he went all out against him, things would end well for himself.
There were plenty of techniques he hadn't used—but hadn't Kitagawa Gen also held back just as much? Never mind Sage Arts—he hadn't even used that Ice Release of his.
"Well done."
When the two of them reached the main viewing platform, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but pat Kitagawa Gen on the shoulder.
"It's been a long time since I've seen such an impressive Water Release. Truly remarkable."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Gen smiled and nodded, but he could see that the Third Hokage's gaze carried a certain complexity.
It wasn't just the Third—Tsunade's expression nearby was also somewhat unusual, and in that moment, he understood.
Most likely, seeing his performance had made them think of his elders.
Whether it was his Water Release or his final Lightning Release—
"Oh, right, Hokage-sama. When I came in earlier, Kakashi-sensei mentioned something… that there's another mission coming up?"
Shaking his head, Gen took the initiative to change the subject, asking with curiosity.
"To Amegakure, right?"
"Kakashi told you?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced toward Kakashi, who was happily chatting with Guy and the others not far away. He gave a small nod and spoke.
"Yes. In fact, the trip to Amegakure has been planned for some time. This time, I've designated Kakashi to go, and while there, also look into the situation with Hanzō of the Salamander."
"It's a rather dangerous and troublesome mission, and I had intended it to be your first assignment after becoming a jōnin. I didn't expect he'd already told you."
"Kakashi-sensei just reminded me to be careful—and he knows I've been wanting to take on missions."
Gen gave a small laugh, his tone earnest.
"As shinobi, we can't go without enough real combat experience. Even if you hadn't said anything, Hokage-sama, I would've applied for one myself."
"That's the right mindset to have."
Hiruzen was pleased. With such an attitude, there was no worry that Kitagawa Gen wouldn't grow stronger.
"In that case, get yourself ready—you'll set out in a few days. And this time, I'll prepare a reward for you. Is there any technique you want?"
"A reward?"
Gen was a little taken aback. Jiraiya had clearly held back a lot in their match, and the whole thing had been more like a showcase—he hadn't expected there to be a reward on top of it.
Rubbing his chin, his gaze swept over to Tsunade, and an idea immediately came to mind.
The Spirit Transformation Technique… that wouldn't be bad at all.
The Spirit Transformation Technique allowed one's soul to leave the body to launch attacks.
Gen wasn't particularly interested in that kind of maneuver itself, but because it dealt with the soul, it was clearly a unique Yin Release technique.
And given how little benefit he'd gained from Yin Release so far, he truly did want to obtain it.
"For now, I can't think of anything specific. Please allow me to give it some thought."
Of course, Gen wouldn't dare mention the Spirit Transformation Technique in front of Tsunade—he was a white-haired shinobi himself, and saying it outright might cause some awkward misunderstandings.
"Alright, I'll be waiting."
Hiruzen chuckled and nodded, patting Gen's shoulder again before speaking with a smile.
"Congratulations, Gen—or should I say, congratulations, Jōnin Gen."
"Thank you."
Gen gave a slight bow—but just then, his system activated, making him pause for a moment before speaking up.
"Then I'll take my leave to rest, Hokage-sama."
"Go on, prepare well. There are more important missions ahead."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, and Kitagawa Gen turned his head toward Jiraiya.
"Pervy Sage, let's get together tonight. Help me let Kakashi-sensei know."
"No problem. This is a big deal—we should definitely make it a proper celebration."
Jiraiya replied with a grin, though there was a trace of curiosity in his voice.
"What's the rush? You seem in a hurry."
"I gained some insights from that fight just now. I need to go back and think them over."
Gen tossed out a casual excuse, and the next instant, his figure vanished from the spot.
"More insights, huh?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a bit moved, while Hiruzen gave a slight nod.
"Perhaps… this is what they call genius."
Then, even he couldn't help but chuckle.
Konoha was truly thriving.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Kitagawa Gen returned home, left behind a shadow clone, and disappeared again in an instant.
When he arrived at a canyon outside the village, he finally opened his panel and studied it carefully.
[Statistics Complete]
[Second Stage Main Quest Completed: Become a Jōnin]
[Reward Obtained: Source of the God Tree (Empty)]
"Source of the God Tree?"
Raising an eyebrow at the reward, Gen wondered what exactly it was.
But as he focused his senses on it, realization struck.
"It works like that?"
His expression turned slightly strange—this thing was far more powerful than he'd expected.
Normal Ōtsutsuki growth wasn't quite the same as his, and in fact was much simpler—they only had to plant a tree.
By cultivating the God Tree, they could absorb the entire planet's chakra, eventually producing the ultimate fruit.
The power of this fruit varied endlessly, and it could even grant the Rinnegan, along with all manner of other abilities.
"It's just that once the tree is planted, the whole planet gets drained dry… and completely destroyed."
But to the Ōtsutsuki, such things meant nothing. They simply couldn't understand, nor did they care, what lower lifeforms might think.
In essence, it meant—destroy you, and what does it matter to me?
"But mine isn't quite the same. It stays within my own body, and I use the power of the Tailed Beasts to carry out this so-called 'tree planting'?"
Kitagawa Gen's body also contained Tailed Beast chakra, and it had been continuously nourishing his eyes, pushing them to evolve.
But the chakras had never fully merged, which was why he had always been interested in the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—after all, it was the husk of the Ten-Tails.
Now, unexpectedly, it seemed he truly had a place to store the Tailed Beasts—and could use them even more efficiently?
"But… without a planet's chakra, can it really bear fruit?"
Soon, he frowned slightly, especially as he remembered—wasn't planting the tree supposed to require sacrificing an Ōtsutsuki?
"Just like my own bloodline… always riddled with riddles. Still, this thing is definitely useful to me. In that case…"
Taking a deep breath, Kitagawa Gen gave the command.
"Use the Source of the God Tree."
In an instant, he felt as if a tree-shaped chakra had suddenly appeared inside his body!
And with its emergence, the chakras of the Three-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails within him were swiftly drawn in.
Those three streams of chakra flowed directly into the tree-shaped chakra. Not only that—even the Dragon Vein chakra was pulled in, slowly nourishing the tree.
[Buzz—]
When it was done, he suddenly felt the rate at which his eyes absorbed power increase sharply!
It was as though new knowledge had been planted in his mind, and some new ability was beginning to take shape within his eyes.
"A new ability? And also—"
At first, he had worried that after the Source of the God Tree absorbed the Tailed Beasts, it would focus on feeding back into itself, since it had started empty.
But now it seemed the situation was better than he'd expected—everything still revolved around him.
"More importantly…"
Lowering his head, Kitagawa Gen looked down at the earth.
"I think… I finally understand what a planet's chakra really is."
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