"Cheers!"
Inside the Akimichi clan's barbecue shop in Konohagakure.
The Konoha 12, along with Kitagawa Gen and Karin, had gathered together.
Even Sakura, who had already fallen behind, and Hyūga Neji, who normally didn't care to socialize, hadn't missed it.
"It's rare for everyone to be together. Let's all just relax and enjoy ourselves."
Setting down his cup, Kitagawa Gen spoke with a smile.
"Mm-hmm!"
Chōji was the happiest of them all—without saying another word, he began stuffing meat into his mouth nonstop.
"Slow down, no one's stealing it from you—troublesome."
Shikamaru's brows twitched at the sight, while Kiba couldn't hold back.
"Hey, eat slower! What am I supposed to eat then?"
"Senpai, since we're all here together..."
Lee wasn't focused on grabbing food; instead, he poured another glass of juice and looked earnestly at Kitagawa Gen.
"I drink to you!"
"There's no need for that."
Kitagawa Gen quickly waved his hand, joking lightly, "Guy-sensei wouldn't do that either. Besides, he's also my sensei. You just need to keep working hard."
"We won't let you down, Senpai."
Neji nodded seriously beside him, which made Tenten blink.
She remembered—Neji didn't used to be like this.
Over these three years, he had changed quite a bit.
That probably had something to do with the Hyūga clan—like his father's will, for example.
Of course, seeing Naruto's comeback played a role too, but above all, it was Kitagawa Gen's story!
There was no need to mention Naruto. As for Kitagawa Gen, he was simply outrageous.
A ninja without any kekkei genkai, not even one of the top students in school—
Yet ever since the day he "beat his teammates" and successfully graduated, everything had changed.
His extraordinary rise was the talk of all Konohagakure, the very model of "an ordinary ninja's reversal."
Especially since he was already destined to be "the future Kage," Konoha's higher-ups had decided to "double down" on their support!
Neji couldn't help but be influenced—after all, Kitagawa Gen was "the man who changed his own fate."
"Gen-senpai, I heard you all completed another big mission recently?"
Hinata still spoke softly, but she looked at Kitagawa Gen with curiosity.
Even Aburame Shino, who had barely spoken and had almost no presence until now, nodded slightly.
"I heard Sasuke also did something major."
"Tch, why's it always about him?"
Naruto shouted in annoyance from the side.
"I've done plenty too, damn it…"
"Tch."
Sasuke raised a brow, wanting to sneer back—but then he remembered this guy might actually be his "brother."
For a moment, he couldn't bring himself to speak, his heart tangled in conflict.
"Even if I wasn't on your side, as I recall—you were the one being chased and beaten, weren't you?"
Kitagawa Gen, on the other hand, didn't mind at all. He raised his brows at Naruto.
"I've met all those guys myself, and I beat every single one of them."
"Hey, hey, hey! You fought them one-on-one—I faced them all at once!"
Naruto couldn't hold it in any longer. But then Sasuke finally spoke.
"The mess Senpai caused out there was enough to cover all of yours."
"Damn it."
Naruto wanted to talk back, but when he thought about everything that had happened outside, he was at a loss for words.
It seemed… he really couldn't compare.
"Yeah, they did complete a big mission—and quite a lot more too."
Fortunately, at that moment, Shikamaru, looking listless as he grilled the meat, spoke up casually.
"That's right."
Ino, sitting beside him, glanced at Kitagawa Gen and then said with a smile, "Gen-senpai told me that Sasuke took down a major rogue ninja of Konohagakure."
"Huh?"
"What happened?"
"Come on, tell us!"
Ino's words immediately piqued everyone's curiosity. Sakura, sneaking glances at Sasuke from the corner of her eye, asked in curiosity.
The others were about the same. Since Shikamaru and Ino had brought it up, it was clearly something they could talk about.
And with the attention drawn away, things grew much quieter around Kitagawa Gen's side.
"Gen, she keeps looking at you, you know."
Just then, Naruto suddenly grinned slyly.
"Could it be she's—"
"What's so strange about that?"
Kitagawa Gen rolled his eyes, sipping his juice before glancing at Sasuke.
"Sakura's been staring at Sasuke the whole time. Can't be helped—handsome and strong. Didn't I teach you this three years ago?"
"…"
Sasuke's face darkened. Three years ago, that book, Icha-Icha Paradise, was a wound in his heart.
Naruto's face sank even more—not just because of Sakura.
That damned book alone had gotten him scolded by his parents countless times.
Looking back on those three years, Naruto felt they had been full of betrayal, pain, and sweetness.
And two of those things were all thanks to Kitagawa Gen!
"But speaking of that…"
As if not wanting to dwell on that nonsense, Kitagawa Gen rubbed his chin and said, "I think Sasuke still has a lot of work to do."
"I'll work hard. I'll definitely eliminate the threat of Uchiha Itachi's Impure World Reincarnation!"
Sasuke nodded earnestly, but Kitagawa Gen only smiled and shook his head.
"That's not what I meant. Uchiha Itachi isn't even worth worrying about. I meant something else."
"Uh… what else?"
"Aren't you planning to restore the Uchiha clan? How are you going to do that all by yourself?"
"…"
"You need to have more children. That's the only way to revive the Uchiha clan!"
Kitagawa Gen spoke with heartfelt seriousness, but those words made the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old Sasuke nearly break down.
More children?
He kind of wanted to curse…
But he didn't dare—and thinking it over, it… did make sense?
Without enough clan members, how could the Uchiha ever flourish again, how could they return to their former glory?
At that moment, Sasuke felt his pressure increase infinitely.
"Hehehe…"
Naruto's face broke into a mischievous grin as he looked at Sasuke.
"You better work hard, Sasuke—it's all up to you now!"
"Shut up, idiot!"
It was fine when Kitagawa Gen said it, but once Naruto opened his mouth, Sasuke completely lost it.
"You should worry about yourself, damn it."
"Hehehe."
Naruto didn't mind at all, still grinning shamelessly—while Kitagawa Gen suddenly burst into laughter.
"Speaking of which, Sakura really likes Sasuke, doesn't she? From the looks of it—"
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't talk nonsense!"
With that, Naruto stopped laughing—his fists even clenched.
Unfortunately, Kitagawa Gen ignored Naruto and instead turned his head toward Sasuke.
"Do your best. I believe in you. If all else fails, just use your dōjutsu."
"?"
"Doesn't your dōjutsu have an ability that targets the body?"
"…"
"Come on—restore the glory of the Uchiha! That's your duty!"
"…"
Sasuke's face had now turned completely black.
Meanwhile, as Kitagawa Gen's main body enjoyed the gathering with the Konoha 12, his clone had quietly arrived at the Senju clan compound.
Looking at the courtyard, now dug into a mess of pits and craters, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
'So they're planning to risk their lives for the honor of their ancestors?'
He hadn't expected they'd actually start searching—and at a pace like they were digging three meters into the ground.
But what struck him as even stranger was that this didn't seem like Senju Tobirama's style at all.
'If it were Senju Tobirama, he should've just rewritten history—performed a 'Chronicle of the Ages' operation, right?'
Kitagawa Gen considered himself rather familiar with that "evil old ghost of the Senju." The things that guy could pull off—there was nothing beyond him!
And logically speaking, that should've been his move. After all, there was no way they could actually dig anything up.
Only…
'Black Zetsu probably faked it, didn't he?'
Kitagawa Gen rubbed his chin. Over the past three years, that guy had been guiding him all along—there had to be a reason.
And since he'd been led to the Uchiha Stone Tablet through him, it was hard not to suspect that the bastard intended to stir something up using the Senju.
'Suspecting I'm a descendant of the Senju, and trying to make me fight myself?'
He had more or less guessed Black Zetsu's trick. Of course, everything still needed to be verified.
Now that Black Zetsu had left, and both the First Hokage and Tsunade seemed exhausted from digging, he finally had his chance.
'I'd like to see what kind of game Black Zetsu's playing!'
Thinking this, Kitagawa Gen quietly activated his sensory ability.
Within his perception, everything became different—and faintly, he truly sensed something!
'There's a skeleton buried deep underground… and it's holding something in its arms. Don't tell me…'
Kitagawa Gen's expression turned slightly odd. Whatever it was, it was buried deep—even sensing it was troublesome.
Though to him, that didn't really matter. Even his Divine Tree clone could handle it just as well.
After all, the source of his Divine Tree had been nourished by Kaguya's chakra.
Silently merging into the ground with Earth Release, before long he emerged again from another spot—this time with something in his hand.
"No way, you actually forged it…"
Looking at the aged-looking wooden piece—or rather, something like bark—in his hand, Kitagawa Gen was momentarily dumbfounded.
He truly hadn't expected Black Zetsu to pull such a stunt. Wasn't this kind of trick supposed to be Senju Tobirama's specialty?
"And the content recorded inside is so proper and restrained."
"It only describes the relationship between the Senju and the Uchiha, and even mentions the surname Ōtsutsuki."
"Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, Goddess of the Rabbit. Looks like I really scared him last time."
Kitagawa Gen rubbed his chin; by now he fully understood Black Zetsu's intent.
To remove suspicion from himself and draw attention to the danger of Ōtsutsuki Genshiki—nothing more.
"Though I have to admit, this really does sound like the tone of the Sage of Six Paths, almost identical to the Uchiha Stone Tablet."
Kitagawa Gen sincerely admired Black Zetsu's skill at forgery.
"And to make it look aged, he went to great lengths—burying it so deep that no one could ever find it. But…"
A sly smile appeared on Kitagawa Gen's face—clearly, a new idea had formed in his mind.
"Since you altered the Uchiha's tablet, why can't I alter yours?"
"For instance, I could add a passage advising Asura not to keep fighting his brother, but to face everything with a peaceful heart."
"Or perhaps… something about your existence."
After all, Kitagawa Gen had already scared Black Zetsu once with the name Ōtsutsuki Genshiki—he didn't mind frightening him again!
Of course, he would also hold something back—like how Black Zetsu had hidden the 'Eye of the Moon' plan at the end.
He could easily imitate that; it wouldn't be difficult for him at all.
"After all, I was the 'Fake Sage' to begin with."
While Kitagawa Gen was forging his own version, Black Zetsu had already left Konohagakure.
He didn't go straight back. Instead, he stopped in a cave outside the village, pondering the matter of the Hyūga.
He needed someone to obtain a pair of Byakugan—and he also needed to leave behind relics of the Hyūga clan. That made things troublesome.
"Looks like I'll have to ask Obito for help."
Meanwhile, another figure appeared outside Konohagakure as well.
His appearance was extremely aged, his complexion deathly pale.
His Byakugan had been fixed upon Black Zetsu's position, and in his heart he couldn't help but think to himself: "So this guy's set his eyes on the Hyūga clan too?"
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