"These damned Uchiha, born evil to the core."
Danzō cursed through gritted teeth. A vein throbbed on his forehead as his hand clenched tightly around the intelligence scroll.
Root's remaining operatives were few now—besides his personal guard and a handful of capable subordinates, the rest were just fledgling trainees.
"Root still needs to replenish its manpower…"
Frustration clouded his mind. Just then, Yamanaka Fū carefully stepped up behind him and spoke in a low voice.
"Danzō-sama, the Hokage has sent someone again."
"Here to pressure me again?"
Danzō frowned. He wanted to curse aloud, but after glancing down at the scroll in his hand, he chose silence.
He had no more cards to play. The plan had failed. It was time to give Hiruzen an answer.
"So impatient, are you? Then let him see what Kirigakure has to offer."
With that, Shimura Danzō turned to Yamanaka Fū and said in a heavy voice, "Go relay a message to that man. Tell him this for Hiruzen."
"Root did not fail its mission. We've obtained enough intelligence."
...
At a training ground in Konohagakure—
Kitagawa Gen had just arrived to report in, only to find Kakashi and Jiraiya standing together.
"Kakashi-sensei."
Gen gave a nod toward Kakashi, then turned to Jiraiya with a puzzled look.
"Huh? Jiraiya-sama, you're here too?"
"What's with that tone, brat? Can't a great sage like me drop by to check on you?"
Jiraiya gave a dismissive grunt before continuing.
"You little troublemaker—you've caused Kakashi and me to get scolded by the old man nonstop lately. You're really amazing."
"Haha."
Gen chuckled without a care. But thinking of how defeated Naruto looked after school each day lately, he couldn't help finding it amusing.
Clearly, that kid was probably being grilled hard by Iruka at the academy.
In fact, it probably wasn't just Naruto—all the students were likely getting it rough.
"Gen, here—this is for you."
At that moment, Kakashi took out a short blade and handed it to Gen.
"Graduating smoothly and completing your first mission—those are milestones worth remembering."
"I've never been good with gifts, but let this make up for it."
"This blade once belonged to my father. I used it for a time as well. I just don't carry it anymore."
"…And since you've mastered my sword technique, I'm entrusting this to you. Use it well."
"Sakumo's blade?"
Jiraiya blinked, and in his mind emerged the image of that high-spirited man once known as Konoha's White Fang.
It was a shame—so much had happened back then that he couldn't comment easily.
Truthfully, Jiraiya had always agreed with Sakumo's way of thinking. Comrades were what a shinobi should cherish above all.
But during wartime, missions took precedence. Abandoning a critical task to save a comrade could lead to even more casualties.
So all he could do now was sigh, and then chuckle in a teasing tone.
"No way—you really gave this blade to that little brat?"
"I did."
Kakashi nodded. The one visible eye on his face curved into a crescent.
"I no longer use it. Rather than letting it gather dust at home, I'd rather give it to someone more suited to wield it."
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
Kitagawa Gen accepted the blade and nodded seriously before slowly drawing it from its sheath.
It wasn't long, but it was incredibly sharp, and even gleamed faintly in the sunlight.
Clearly, Kakashi had gone through some effort to find someone to restore and polish the weapon.
What's more, Gen could feel it—it had excellent chakra conductivity. With that thought, he stirred his chakra just slightly.
[Zzzzt—]
In an instant, the blade was wreathed in a layer of violet lightning!
"It really enhances chakra flow… And the more chakra I infuse, the sharper and tougher it becomes?"
Gen murmured to himself as he felt the feedback. He was even starting to suspect the blade had once broken simply because Kakashi hadn't infused enough chakra.
Shaking his head, he withdrew his chakra and resheathed the short sword before giving Kakashi a respectful bow.
"I won't let this blade gather dust, Kakashi-sensei."
"Alright, alright—you two are getting way too sentimental," Jiraiya muttered, twisting his lips in exaggerated distaste. He shook his head and then grinned.
"Use that blade well, kid. Just don't embarrass yourself, yeah? Its last owner… was a hero."
"Mhm."
Gen nodded. Then, after a pause, he asked curiously, "By the way, Jiraiya-sama… Did you also come here to give me a gift?"
"Tch. Ask me again after you make chūnin or jōnin."
Jiraiya rolled his eyes before continuing, "The old man asked me to come check on your progress."
"Seriously… This is the Flying Thunder God we're talking about. If it were that easy—"
"I've made some progress."
Before Jiraiya could finish, Gen interrupted him directly.
"…Huh?"
That one sentence made both Jiraiya and Kakashi widen their eyes.
"Progress? You mean—?"
"Jiraiya-sama said before, the difficulty with the Flying Thunder God Technique lies in controlling chakra, and of course, sensing space."
Smiling, Gen pulled out a kunai. As he gripped it, his chakra began to flow.
"It's vague and obscure, definitely confusing at first—but I guess I got lucky. I've started to get a feel for it."
As he spoke, he held the kunai upright—and before their stunned eyes, a unique fūinjutsu mark shimmered to life on its surface!
"So…"
In the next instant, Gen threw the kunai behind them.
A burst of chakra surged—and in a flash, Gen vanished from their sight.
His voice rang out from behind them.
"I think I can use the technique—at least in a basic way!"
"…"
Though his voice wasn't loud, it felt like a thunderclap in the ears of the two watching men.
They slowly turned around and saw Gen already standing behind them, catching the kunai he had thrown.
For a moment, a golden figure surfaced in both their minds.
"…Minato."
"…Sensei."
They whispered almost in unison—eyes filled with remembrance, nostalgia, and stunned disbelief.
And at that very moment, an Anbu operative came rushing over.
...
"The situation in Kirigakure has been more or less clarified by Danzō. Just as we expected, it's extremely complicated over there."
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke with a troubled expression, recounting the intelligence Danzō had sent.
Though he had anticipated it, actually seeing how chaotic Kirigakure—a village once considered on par with Konohagakure—had become still left him deeply unsettled.
"And according to Jiraiya's intel, that mysterious organization was hired by the Mizukage. So, you two…"
Though in a poor mood, Sarutobi Hiruzen remained patient as he continued briefing them—until he noticed an unsettling detail.
Jiraiya and Kakashi were both lost in thought, completely zoning out, clearly not paying attention to his words!
This was an intelligence meeting, after all.
Weren't they the ones constantly clamoring to be assigned to investigate Kirigakure?
And now they were spacing out like this?
What the hell were they thinking?
"Ahem."
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a light cough, trying to snap them back to reality.
But even that didn't work. The two still looked completely spaced out—making the Hokage's forehead twitch in frustration.
"Hey! You two—enough already! What's with this behavior? Do you think this is appropriate?"
"Uhh…"
Jiraiya and Kakashi finally returned to their senses, looking a little embarrassed. They had no choice but to admit that, yes, they hadn't been listening properly.
"What exactly happened?"
Seeing that the two had come back to their senses, Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh before asking in confusion.
"What's going on with you two? What happened?"
"Hokage-sama, it's about… Gen."
Kakashi glanced at Jiraiya and finally decided to speak himself.
"Gen?"
Hiruzen's eyes lit up at the mention of that name.
He had always been quite fond of Kitagawa Gen. Despite his string of bad luck—encountering Biwa Jūzō and Uchiha Itachi just outside the village…
Then facing a figure suspected to be Uchiha Obito upon returning…
And even bumping into someone with the Shikotsumyaku while accompanying Jiraiya to find Orochimaru…
This kid had managed to survive and resolve each of those situations—clearly demonstrating exceptional potential and capability.
But the problem was… he really had a knack for stirring up trouble.
That last incident, with the pot of poisonous mushroom soup—sure, it taught Naruto to respect his elders and care for the young, which was commendable.
But what about what came after?
Didn't he think of the aftermath?
Even now, Hiruzen occasionally recalled that pot, bubbling with mushrooms of all colors, still vivid in his mind.
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