"Damn it, where'd that kid go?"
In the midst of a forest of bones, Jiraiya was hurrying deeper in with a face full of worry. He had no idea how Kitagawa Gen was doing now.
Just looking at the surroundings made even someone like him instinctively swallow hard.
"This damn thing—is it the Shikotsumyaku? Why is it so strong?"
Jiraiya had been through countless wars and was no stranger to the Shikotsumyaku, but this level of power… it was beyond anything he had imagined!
At this moment, the once lush forest had undergone a drastic transformation.
The towering trees had been completely replaced by thick, sharp white bone spikes. Even under the blazing sunlight, an eerie chill permeated the air.
If he hadn't reacted quickly earlier—leaping onto Manda's back—he might not have made it out unharmed.
He and Orochimaru had used Manda as a buffer, but as for how Manda was doing… neither of them had bothered to check.
"Kid, you'd better be okay!"
With that, Jiraiya withdrew his gaze and picked up speed again. Before long, he finally saw Kitagawa Gen deeper in the bone forest, walking outward while smashing bones in his path.
"Phew."
At that moment, Jiraiya finally let out a sigh of relief. For a while there, it had felt like his heart was pounding out of his chest.
But soon, his brow furrowed slightly—he noticed that Gen's clothes were in tatters, with multiple slashes and tears.
"Kid, are you alright?"
He quickly leapt over, and before Gen could say anything, Jiraiya was already checking him over.
"Ah… Jiraiya-sama?"
Gen had noticed Jiraiya approaching long ago, but hadn't expected such a dramatic entrance. He chuckled and shook his head.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. There's nothing to be concerned about."
"Still, better to be cautious."
After giving him a once-over, Jiraiya finally relaxed.
Though he found it odd that Gen's clothes were so damaged yet there wasn't a single wound on him, it wasn't important in the grand scheme of things.
"What happened? Was all this caused by the guy you were fighting?"
"Yeah. He suddenly unleashed a massive amount of chakra, and the area turned into this. Then he vanished—I have no idea where he went."
Gen nodded, not bothering to hide anything.
"That guy was… unusual. He could pull bones from his own body to fight. I remember reading about that in some book. If I'm not mistaken, he's…"
"Kaguya clan. From Kirigakure."
Jiraiya finished the sentence for him, then shook his head slightly.
"But this guy was way stronger than any of the Kaguya I've seen before. The others couldn't possibly reach this level."
That much was certain. After all, even among his own clan, Kimimaro had been so dangerous that they had locked him away from a young age.
In Gen's memory, there was even a game where a member of the Uchiha clan received the same kind of treatment.
'Come to think of it, those two clans really are quite similar…'
The Uchiha were infamous for their volatility, and the Kaguya clan was similarly notorious—but more like outright madmen.
They'd been driven to the margins of their own village for being combative and starting conflicts with the other villagers.
Not only that, they'd attempted a coup and, in the end, were wiped out all the same.
It had to be said—those two clans were a matched pair of wild geniuses, both destined for ruin.
'If Kirigakure hadn't shut itself off from the world, maybe the Uchiha would've learned from the Kaguya's fate and dialed things back a bit,' Gen muttered to himself, then turned to Jiraiya and asked curiously: "By the way, Jiraiya-sama—what about Orochimaru? And what about our mission?"
"There was such a commotion earlier, and I was worried about you… so I didn't really pay attention to him."
Mentioning Orochimaru left Jiraiya a bit frustrated and awkward, but he quickly grinned again.
"Well, don't sweat the details. Even if there was a tiny hiccup in the plan, this great sage still got it done!"
"…"
A tiny hiccup?
Kitagawa Gen shot Jiraiya a strange look, then turned back to glance at the vast forest of bones behind them.
That look all but said: If you'd just listened earlier, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this.
"Why are you being so loud all of a sudden?"
Yet despite Gen not saying a single word, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. His face twitched ever so slightly.
Sometimes, silence could be even more deafening than words.
"Alright, mission's complete. Let's go!"
"Hai hai hai."
Gen didn't bother arguing with Jiraiya. From his perspective, the mission—no matter how you looked at it—was indeed complete.
[Side Quest – Jiraiya's Personal Mission: Completed]
[Brothers in Arms: Take Two Blows for Me]
[Reward: Special Yang Release Power of Kimimaro Obtained]
...
"How's Kimimaro?"
"Orochimaru-sama, he still needs treatment."
Elsewhere in the forests of the Land of Hot Water, Orochimaru was observing Jūgo as he continued to heal Kimimaro.
Jūgo possessed a rare technique known as Cellular Regeneration Ejection. He could transfer his chakra-infused cells into an injured person to help them recover.
But there was a condition—the recipient had to bear his Curse Mark and be compatible with it. Otherwise, there was nothing Jūgo could do.
To be honest, Orochimaru didn't think it would make much of a difference. After all, Kimimaro's issues weren't just physical injuries—his Kekkei Genkai illness was the far greater concern.
"That Dance of the Seedling Fern earlier… its effects might be worse than we expected."
Orochimaru furrowed his brow. Dance of the Seedling Fern was Kimimaro's ultimate move—and one he had never wanted Kimimaro to use.
But he hadn't expected things to escalate so badly that Kimimaro would be forced to that extent. It was giving him quite the headache.
It was going to slow down his plans.
"Still, that little brat was quite interesting…"
Looking calmly at the unconscious Kimimaro on the ground, Orochimaru couldn't help but recall the kid he had glimpsed earlier—the one tagging along with Jiraiya.
He didn't know that kid's name. Didn't care, either. But now… he was curious—especially about the technique the boy had used.
Jūgo had already described the battle in detail. The kid was fast, powerful, and—most importantly—had mastered a form of Lightning Release that combined three properties at once.
It was that very Lightning Release that had beaten Jūgo and Kimimaro so badly, forcing the latter to unleash the Dance of the Seedling Fern.
"To think he's pushed Lightning Release's form and nature transformations to their peak…"
For someone like Orochimaru, a master of jutsu, it was clear at a glance what that purple lightning truly was.
To have created such a technique at such a young age—that kind of talent made even Orochimaru take notice.
"And he's following Jiraiya, no less…"
Orochimaru licked his lips, a sudden thought emerging in his mind.
"Could he be… another Namikaze Minato?"
At that, his earlier intrigue quickly faded.
Jiraiya really is an irritating bastard.
Shaking his head, Orochimaru couldn't be bothered to think more on it. Right now, the priority was getting out of here.
Who knew if Jiraiya's damn bloodhound instincts might sniff their trail again?
"Luckily, it seems Jiraiya took the bait. Let him and the Akatsuki mutts tear each other apart."
...
"So, you used that method to bait Orochimaru?"
Inside an inn in the Land of Hot Water, Kitagawa Gen and Jiraiya were packing their belongings while discussing the situation.
But after hearing Jiraiya's account, Gen's expression turned rather strange—he couldn't quite make sense of what was going on between those two.
"Tch, this great sage's methods are far beyond your comprehension."
Jiraiya let out a couple of smug grunts, but upon catching Gen's look, he shook his head with a wry smile.
"Alright, don't look at me like that. I know that guy Orochimaru most likely did it on purpose."
"He might be trying to make me back off, or perhaps just divert my attention. After all, Uchiha Itachi was involved too."
"That just proves how dangerous and troublesome that organization is. But this time, my target is precisely that organization!"
Jiraiya's objective was crystal clear. Though he did regret not being able to dig deeper into Orochimaru's matter this time, when weighed against the threat of an organization that housed two Mangekyō-wielding Uchiha, even he knew where his priorities should lie.
Besides, in his eyes, investigating the organization was tantamount to investigating Orochimaru—it wasn't much of a compromise.
"Still, things have gotten a bit tricky."
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, his expression tinged with concern.
"Orochimaru's mysterious organization has been hired by the Mizukage. That puts us in a tough spot."
"Ha, no kidding."
Gen let out a helpless chuckle and followed the thread of the conversation.
"But internal strife in Kirigakure isn't necessarily a bad thing. From what I've heard, in the past ninja wars, they were always causing us trouble."
"You're not wrong, but having the Mizukage protecting them will definitely hinder our investigation."
Jiraiya stroked his chin again, clearly pondering his next move.
"Looks like I'll have to go back and have a serious discussion with the old man."
"Agreed."
Gen nodded, though he still found the whole situation a little too surreal.
He was starting to see the picture more clearly—these two former teammates, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, were likely fishing each other!
Jiraiya certainly knew Orochimaru well enough, but what he didn't realize was that Orochimaru had long since left the Akatsuki. He was deliberately pushing Jiraiya's attention toward the organization.
And Orochimaru—what a piece of work. Relying on his familiarity with the Akatsuki and his own intelligence on Kirigakure, he had cobbled together some bogus excuse or justification.
Yet somehow, all of it lined up suspiciously well with Gen's memories—because in the end, their goal pointed straight at the Mizukage!
'Was this all just a happy accident that led everyone toward a bright future?'
Gen had no idea what to say. Everything seemed wrong, and yet somehow, it all felt… right?
All he could do was admit—things were heading in a good direction.
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