"Alright, kid, take your time packing."
Just as Gen was silently griping about how absurd everything was, Jiraiya suddenly let out a long sigh.
"It's such a shame we're about to leave this beautiful Land of Hot Water."
"You're just upset that Konoha doesn't have brothels as fancy as the ones here, aren't you?"
Hearing that, Gen couldn't help but roll his eyes. Jiraiya, meanwhile, looked offended.
"Nonsense! Do you think a great sage like me indulges in such things? Besides, this is merely the human instinct to seek out beauty."
"I'm simply admiring a fleeting ray of brightness in these mundane years—a glimpse of color in the vast, dusty world."
"You little brat, what would you understand?"
"Tch."
Gen didn't even bother responding. Poetic nonsense, all of it—and the places he spoke of didn't even allow minors in?
And he still had the gall to call it 'appreciation'?
"Alright, you pack up. This great sage has something to do."
With those words, Jiraiya stood and made for the door. Gen, suddenly a bit flustered, called out to stop him.
"Hey, it's broad daylight—and we were just in a fight not long ago! You—"
"What are you thinking?"
Jiraiya shook his head and sighed.
"I'm going back to that izakaya. The waitress's husband died at Orochimaru's hands. It doesn't really have anything to do with us, but…"
He paused, letting out a bitter smile.
"I just can't shake the guilt. And her family's not doing well either. Since we crossed paths, I figure we should help however we can."
"Alright, just wait here for me. Don't wander off—I'll be back soon."
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Kitagawa Gen fell silent. It was a bit sentimental, sure, but weren't people emotional creatures by nature?
Still, Gen furrowed his brows—he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being taken advantage of.
"Oh right, should I bring you back some oranges? I saw some being sold on the street earlier. They looked really sweet."
Just as he was lost in thought, Jiraiya suddenly turned around and asked.
"…"
"And change your clothes while you're at it. You look like a beggar in those rags—don't go embarrassing this great sage."
Waving his hand, Jiraiya finally left.
"Tch."
Gen grumbled to himself and looked down at his clothes.
Staring at the slashes and tears across the fabric, his mood suddenly improved a bit.
"Didn't expect things to go this smoothly, huh."
This mission had indeed gone fairly well. Even though the infiltration had failed, everyone seemed to have ended up with a so-called 'bright future'.
In his fight against Kimimaro and Jūgo, Gen had clearly dominated the battlefield. Still, without a Sharingan, there was no way he could come out entirely unscathed.
Getting grazed by Kimimaro's bones or taking a few punches during Jūgo's attacks was only natural.
Especially at the end, when Kimimaro unleashed his chakra in full force and performed Dance of the Seedling Fern.
Even though Gen had used Purple Lightning to defend and had managed to slash through many of the bone spears, he still got stabbed a few times.
And yet—
"The mission was a success, and I even obtained Kimimaro's Yang Release… and it caused this kind of transformation?"
After acquiring that Yang Release power, the chakra had instantly spread throughout his body, and Gen immediately felt like something inside him had changed!
Though the chakra itself didn't feel particularly reactive, his speed and strength were clearly improving in a steady, tangible way.
But more importantly—it was his healing ability!
Under the effect of that power, his wounds visibly stopped bleeding and began to heal at a pace fast enough to be seen with the naked eye.
By the time Jiraiya had returned to check on him, he had already made a full recovery!
"This power… it's truly unbelievable."
Now Gen could finally understand the joy that Senju Hashirama must've felt. Every time he fought Uchiha Madara, he was covered in wounds—yet each time, he recovered in no time at all.
Such overwhelming regenerative ability had turned him into a perpetual motion machine on the battlefield. Even Madara had once lamented, 'No one can kill Hashirama in war.'
Of course, Gen hadn't reached that level—but even this much was more than enough for him!
"After all, the power is still slowly developing, and I'm still adjusting to it. Besides…"
He lightly clenched his fist. Gen could feel that his bones were faintly absorbing his own chakra—almost imperceptibly.
Just like with his eyes, it felt as though something was being nurtured within. Only, the process in his bones was slower than in his eyes, and the chakra absorption rate was gentler.
"This is enough… After all, time is on my side."
Gen stripped off his tattered clothing and pulled out a fresh set of clothes to wear.
But just as he was slipping them on, a sudden realization struck him.
"Crap… I'm headed straight toward Ōtsutsuki Hamura…"
Kitagawa Gen hadn't thought much of it before, but now, a realization began to dawn on him.
"The eye that's beginning to form… the bones that are starting to take shape… when combined together—"
Maybe he couldn't say it resembled Ōtsutsuki Kaguya just yet—after all, there was no eye on his forehead—but as for Ōtsutsuki Hamura… that didn't seem like a stretch.
Even if it was just a miniature version, it could still be called a 'complete-form Hyūga'.
And he was clearly evolving in that direction.
"Even those guys on the Moon aren't as complete as I am, right?"
Gen muttered internally. He couldn't say for certain what the people on the Moon were really like.
At the very least, judging from Ōtsutsuki Toneri, he didn't seem to display any significant traits of the Shikotsumyaku.
"Could it be that Ōtsutsuki Hamura also had two sons—one who went to the Moon, and one who stayed behind in the shinobi world?"
As he walked along the road to Konohagakure, following behind Jiraiya, the thought tugged at his mind.
What's more, he'd noticed something else—his Yin Release came from Uchiha Obito, and his Yang Release from Kimimaro, yet the ultimate direction they led him toward was surprisingly similar.
Maybe, for the Ōtsutsuki clan, these distinctions didn't really matter all that much. Perhaps there wasn't much difference between them at all?
"Hey, kid, what are you thinking about?"
His uncharacteristic silence made Jiraiya curious enough to glance over and ask, tilting his head.
"You haven't said a word this whole time."
"I was thinking about soaking in a good hot spring once we're back in the village," Gen replied with a sigh, pushing those thoughts aside and giving a half-hearted shrug.
"After all, back in the Land of Hot Water, I didn't get to enjoy a single bath."
"Oi oi oi, that wasn't my fault—that was their rule, not mine," Jiraiya huffed, then quickly changed the subject.
"All right, never mind that. You, kid—you're seriously impressive. That Purple Lightning of yours is something else. Extreme shapeshifting and transmutation… that level of control, even this Sage here—not to mention Minato—might not match you. I'm starting to think you could actually learn the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Jiraiya had seen Gen's Purple Lightning once before, during his confrontation with Uchiha Obito, but that time it had flashed by in an instant.
This time, even though Jiraiya had been busy fighting Orochimaru, he'd still managed to keep an eye on Gen's performance—and what he saw left a deep impression.
That level of chakra control… it genuinely amazed him. Now he really believed this kid might pull it off!
"That topic shift of yours was pretty stiff," Gen quipped, raising an eyebrow but playing along.
"Maybe I could. But the Flying Thunder God Technique has extremely high requirements—not just for chakra control, but for physical condition as well."
"Looks like you've figured out a few of the key points."
Jiraiya chuckled without a care, then began to explain more seriously.
"That's right. The technique demands lightning-fast reflexes and top-notch bodily coordination. After all, it's a jutsu used to teleport next to an enemy and launch a surprise, lethal strike."
"If your coordination or reaction speed is off, you might not even be able to respond after teleporting. Worse, if you can't stabilize your body, you'll either crash straight into the ground or end up impaled on someone's kunai."
"At that point, it's basically suicide, isn't it?"
Gen nodded in agreement. Without those elite-level reflexes and body control, using the Flying Thunder God really was no different from killing yourself.
"But physical prowess can be trained. Even reflexes can be improved over time," Jiraiya continued.
"Chakra control, though… that's a different story. It's not that you can't improve it, but the issue lies in sensitivity."
"There's always going to be a gap between natural talent and acquired skill. The precision required for space-time teleportation is extremely high—even the smallest error can be fatal."
"And that's where you've got a natural edge. So don't waste it—keep working hard."
"Is that so…" Gen nodded humbly, though in truth, chakra control was probably the least of his concerns.
Especially now that he'd started sensing the structure of that space… if things went well after returning, it wouldn't be long before he could start experimenting.
"But if I remember correctly," Gen added, "the Fourth Hokage's version of the Flying Thunder God is already quite different from the Second Hokage's, isn't it?"
Though they were both the Flying Thunder God Technique, the version developed by the Fourth Hokage had clearly undergone significant improvements compared to the Second's.
In the hands of the Fourth, the technique was no longer just a simple 'teleportation jutsu'—it had evolved into something more akin to a special space-time barrier.
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