'What's wrong with these people?'
Madara couldn't help muttering inwardly. One Nagato, one Obito—had both of their mental states been shattered by the same person?
Although he himself didn't feel great either—after once again experiencing the "True Several Thousand Hands," he had still been beaten just as miserably—
His mentality, however, remained steady. After all, he knew he was not yet at his "peak"!
'But this grudge—I'll remember it. Kitagawa Gen, next time you won't be so lucky.'
He would not forget the beating he had taken from Kitagawa Gen's True Several Thousand Hands.
But right now, he was more concerned about Obito. The black markings covering Obito's body were far too strange.
'What other secret is this guy hiding? Why did he suddenly turn into this?'
He had no time to think further before Obito suddenly stood up. He seemed to have truly recovered, and even his gaze looked more determined than before.
"It was only one defeat. Defeating me won't be that easy!"
"The power Rin gave me is for creating a new world of peace."
"How could I possibly lose so easily!"
Seeing Obito's roar, Madara knew that the boy had temporarily stabilized.
Yet as Obito shouted, those black streaks also began to slowly fade away, which made Madara's brows furrow even tighter.
'It seems I'll have to properly 'understand' this brat.'
Madara pondered for a moment, then said aloud, "Since you've recovered, let's go. We still haven't captured the Four-Tails."
"Hmph, I know."
Obito nodded. He needed to vent his frustration somehow.
If he couldn't beat Kitagawa Gen, taking down a Four-Tails Jinchūriki would be easy enough!
However, while Obito was filled with confidence, the consciousness belonging to Isshiki within him was not taking it so well.
"Damn lower creature."
The "Kāma" seal was not something that could be uncompressed quickly; it required time and the continuous use of the Kāma by its host.
Isshiki had originally estimated that the revival of his consciousness would take about a year.
But he realized he had been wrong—far from taking a year, it seemed that in only a few days he had already been forcibly awakened!
This was by no means good news for him, for Obito had been gravely injured, and the Kāma still needed to supply energy to repair his body.
In short, Obito had disrupted Isshiki's plan!
"That's not something Rin gave you—that's my energy."
Isshiki gnashed his teeth slightly, but considering the current situation, he slowly calmed his state of mind.
"Forget it. Waking up isn't necessarily a bad thing. The power I lost can be recollected, and this also lets me see what this kid is doing."
"I'll take it as a chance to get familiar with and adapt to this body ahead of time."
...
"It seems Iwagakure will still need quite some time to recover."
Under the moonlight, inside Iwagakure.
Kitagawa Gen and Jiraiya sat together, watching the Iwagakure shinobi in the distance who were still tirelessly working. Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but mutter softly, "I wonder how long it'll take them to figure everything out. And who knows when they'll find the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki."
"Heaven knows. After suffering such severe destruction, it's already good enough if they can return to normal."
Jiraiya let out a sigh; the sight before him was also deeply shocking.
"Fortunately, these things didn't happen in Konoha—and fortunately, you actually mastered Yin–Yang Release. Otherwise, this would've been a real disaster."
"Maybe."
Kitagawa Gen smiled, though he still felt a trace of regret inside.
After all, that Four-Tails, Rōshi, was an extremely stubborn man. He had left Iwagakure because his ideals clashed with Ōnoki's.
He'd gone off to "walk his own path of solitary training." In Gen's memory, that man had been taken down by Uchiha Itachi and Kisame.
Only now things were different. Apparently, he hadn't yet been found—and meanwhile, the actions of Uchiha Madara's group had once again turned into another "failed success."
But that also meant a loss for Kitagawa Gen, since he hadn't gotten the chance to obtain the Four-Tails' chakra.
'Should I act alone?'
Kitagawa Gen rubbed his chin. By "acting alone," he naturally meant under the identity of Ōtsutsuki Genshiki.
However, if he used only that identity to capture the Four-Tails—and merely extract its chakra—
It would seem somewhat beneath his dignity. He needed to think carefully about how to get his hands on the Four-Tails' chakra.
"Come to think of it, are you really confident you can take on Ōtsutsuki Genshiki?"
As Kitagawa Gen was lost in thought, Jiraiya couldn't help but speak again—and this time, his expression had grown far more serious.
"Although it's unfair to place such a heavy burden on you, right now, it really seems that only you can face him directly."
"Well…"
Kitagawa Gen felt a headache coming on. Why was it this topic again?
Although he understood that this was merely a precaution—especially since Ōtsutsuki Genshiki bore the same surname as the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya—
Anyone would make unpleasant associations. But with people bringing it up again and again, even Kitagawa Gen himself was starting to feel like some sort of great villain.
Of course, he was also well aware that in the eyes of Nagato, Obito, and the others, he probably didn't look all that different from a villain anyway.
'But I haven't gone around 'crushing ants at will,' have I?'
Kitagawa Gen had always placed great emphasis on maintaining dignity and composure, rarely doing anything beneath that standard.
Still, at this point he truly felt that "the mood's already here—if I don't fight, it'll feel wrong."
"It should be fine, I think."
Letting out a sigh inwardly, he felt he indeed needed to boost everyone's confidence a bit, so he simply said, "But in the end, we still have to cross paths once. Ōtsutsuki Genshiki isn't the same as Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito—you should know that."
"I know, I know."
Jiraiya also realized he'd gone too far, so he laughed heartily.
"Sorry, sorry. Sometimes I really do worry too much. Hope you don't mind—it's just that even the Great Toad Sage was terrified of Ōtsutsuki Genshiki, after all."
"Tch, I hate toads. Didn't I already say that before?"
Kitagawa Gen rolled his eyes, leaving Jiraiya frozen for a moment before he gave a faint snort.
"Not gonna bother with you. Get some rest early—I'll go check on Naruto and the others. Seriously, those two brats actually thought about helping out. This isn't even our affair."
"That's because they're too kindhearted."
Kitagawa Gen shrugged. When Naruto saw Iwagakure's devastation, he instinctively wanted to help.
Sasuke probably didn't want to lose to Naruto, so he simply went along with him.
Those two really were always competing, always comparing themselves.
"So that means you're not very kindhearted, huh?"
Jiraiya gave Kitagawa Gen a playful wink, smirked, and then vanished from sight.
Looking at the spot where Jiraiya had disappeared, Kitagawa Gen finally let out a quiet sigh.
'Since you're all that worried, I'll just show you then.'
Slowly standing up, Kitagawa Gen raised his head toward the moonlit sky.
'While I'm at it, I'll deal with the Four-Tails' chakra too. At least this trip won't have been in vain.'
Just as he was thinking this, his system suddenly triggered.
[New Special Side Quest Acquired]
[Who Dares Claim Invincibility, Who Dares Speak of Being Unbeaten]
"…"
Damn it, this system's out to get me again.
Kitagawa Gen was a man of swift action.
Especially now that a mission had appeared—his enthusiasm grew even higher.
'Although the vast majority of missions don't really do much for me anymore, a mission is still a mission.'
He rather missed the days when he hadn't been all that capable himself, when missions would pop up all the time.
For example, that one time that had scared him half to death—the "Delicious Sisters."
But now missions had truly become rare, and he wasn't quite used to that.
Such a contrast made him wonder whether he was being a bit pretentious.
"You really are bored, thinking about such pointless things."
Within the Ame-no-Minaka, the Divine Tree clone couldn't help but mock him.
"Better think about how to coordinate later. The mood's already set; it'd feel wrong not to have a fight."
"Believe it or not, I'll smash your damn head in."
Kitagawa Gen rolled his eyes and cursed reflexively—but instantly felt something was off.
Oops. He'd just insulted himself.
"I don't care. Either way, you'll feel the pain too."
The Divine Tree clone gave his true body a disdainful glance before speaking.
"But I suppose it doesn't matter. Our thoughts are aligned, and you know everything I can use. Getting a draw shouldn't be hard."
"That's the problem—how to make it look real and still have an effect."
Kitagawa Gen sighed. The clothes on his body had already turned into a white robe under the cloak of chakra.
"Forget it. We'll just take it one step at a time. After all, aside from the power belonging to the Ōtsutsuki, you can use everything else, including Yin–Yang Release."
"That's true. I can use about seventy to eighty percent of the power anyway, and that's enough. Just don't hit too hard."
"I don't need you to tell me what you're thinking."
"You're talking too."
Kitagawa Gen glared at his Divine Tree clone. He felt like there was something wrong with his clone's personality.
Although—that personality was his own.
Still, it wasn't bad. When the two really faced each other, they couldn't possibly fight in total silence.
Getting used to it in advance wasn't a bad idea.
"All right, be careful. Once the battle starts, don't rush. I still have to collect the Four-Tails' chakra."
With a slight movement of chakra, the two had already left the Ame-no-Minaka.
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