"When we have more free time, let's exchange cooking skills. We can learn from each other, fill in the gaps, and get better together."
Uchiha Gen didn't dislike cooking, but he preferred ready-made meals. If enough people picked up his recipes, he wouldn't need to lift a hand in the kitchen. Imagine delicious food every day, always prepared by someone else. Perfect.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Even little Itachi, who couldn't cook at all, eagerly asked Mikoto if she would teach him.
"Alright then let's raise a toast to Gen," Mikoto said warmly, lifting her juice. "Happy birthday, and may you live a long, peaceful life."
The others quickly followed suit.
"Thank you, everyone."
The cups clinked, and they all drank deeply.
Big Pillar and Little Pillar were truly children of destiny. After filling their bellies, they didn't fuss or cry. Surrounded by laughter and joy, they wriggled happily in their mothers' arms, grinning with innocent delight.
"Ha… that really hits the spot!"
"Gen-senpai," Anko said after soothing her burning tongue with juice, "tell me what happened out there with Sensei on the front lines."
"Haven't you already heard?"
Gen popped a bite of spicy enoki mushrooms into his mouth, eyes shifting toward the girls.
Yuhi Kurenai, Anko, and Yūgao all shook their heads. He turned to Shisui and the others instead.
"We've heard bits and pieces," Mikoto admitted, "but only through Uchiha channels."
"There's been nothing official from the front," Shisui added.
Gen gave a short, cold laugh. "Heh… so the elders don't want news from the battlefield spoiling the peaceful illusion they've built here in Konoha."
The sharp edge in his tone made everyone's chopsticks pause in midair.
"Something bad happened out there, didn't it?" Yūgao asked, worry flashing in her eyes.
"Probably not," Kurenai said quickly, shaking her head. "If it were that bad, Gen wouldn't be here right now."
"I'm not sure about the Cloud front," Gen said, his expression hardening, "but on the Mist front, the tide has shifted in our favor."
He set down his chopsticks, the room going quiet as he began his account.
"When Orochimaru-sensei and I first arrived at the battlefield, the two armies were clashing in a full-scale engagement. The Mist had more high-level fighters, and Konoha was clearly being pushed back.
Then it happened—Orochimaru-sensei and I were ambushed by ten elite Jōnin. They weren't just ordinary elites. They were either members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, bloodline inheritors, or the best of the rest. At the first clash, they then split us apart. Six surrounded Orochimaru-sensei. I was left encircled by Suikazan Fuguki and Kurosuki Raiga, both of the Seven Swordsmen, along with two other Jōnin.
The fight was brutal. Raiga fell to me after a hard battle. Fuguki panicked—he shoved the two supporting Jōnin at me and ran to join the others against Sensei. Those two didn't last long either. Once they were down, I moved to reinforce Orochimaru-sensei.
By then, the Mist realized they had lost more than half their elites. Their commander ordered a retreat, but we pressed them hard. That pursuit sealed our victory. It was that battle that earned me the promotion to Deputy Commander."
"Wow!" Itachi's eyes shone with excitement, his chopsticks frozen halfway to his mouth.
He had been at the Academy long enough to know what a Jōnin was. To defeat several of them, and two of the Seven Swordsmen at that—Gen felt like a hero from legend.
Aside from the babies, everyone else sat in stunned silence, the weight of his words settling in. The stronger they were themselves, the deeper the impact.
Yuhi, Anko, and Yūgao looked at him with undisguised admiration.
Mikoto's gaze softened with pride. Gen's strength was already on par with her husband's—perhaps even greater. Fugaku was in his prime; Gen was barely grown. The Uchiha truly had two stars rising.
"If it were me, I couldn't have done it," Shisui admitted with an easy smile. "At best, I could've held them off. Gen, you've already surpassed me."
There was no bitterness in his tone, only happiness at seeing Gen's growth. Without Mangekyō, even Shisui would have struggled greatly against that lineup.
Gen only gave a faint smile. "You'll catch up before long."
Kushina, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke. "Your strength is already brushing against the Kage-level, Gen. Truly impressive."
"Compared to you, Kushina-nee, I'm still far behind."
Kushina chuckled. "Then you'll just have to keep training, won't you?"
"I will," Gen answered simply.
Yūgao frowned slightly. "Wait… is Kushina-nee really that strong?"
To her, Kushina was the Hokage's wife, she had no idea of her true identity as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. Though some in Konoha knew, it wasn't something spoken of freely.
Gen's lips curved. "Hmm… let's just say, Kushina-nee might be the strongest person in Konoha."
"???"
The room fell silent. Even those who knew Kushina's identity hadn't expected that. Strong, yes. But the strongest?
"Hehe, don't exaggerate," Kushina laughed lightly, hiding her smile behind her hand while holding little Naruto close.
But Gen didn't think it was an exaggeration at all.
Her Adamantine Sealing Chains were already near-unstoppable. Few in the world could break them. And though she now carried only half of Kurama, the compatibility had sharpened her control rather than weakened it.
In the history Gen knew, Kushina's control over the Nine-Tails had already reached astonishing levels. She stood just short of the pinnacle the realm known as the Perfect Jinchūriki.
Before Naruto's generation, only Hashirama, Madara, Yagura, and Killer Bee had reached that stage.
Hashirama and Madara by sheer overwhelming might.
Bee and Yagura through true harmony with their beasts.
Below that came Yugito of the Two-Tails, who could instantly transform into full beast form but her control was dominance, not unity. The same way Gaara forced Shukaku's power in his youth.
Even Yagura, though capable of complete transformation, fell too quickly to showcase it fully.
Golden Cloak Naruto was a step below that—he didn't control Kurama, only borrowed portions of chakra. It was powerful, brilliant, but not true mastery.
And where was Kushina?
To Gen's eyes, she was at least a half-step away from perfection if not already standing on the threshold.
Which meant, within Konoha, she truly might be the strongest of them all.