Chapter 33: The Elderly, Weak, Sick, and Disabled on the Moon
"What's wrong?"
Naruto tilted his head, puzzled as he saw Kitagawa Gen suddenly come to a halt. Following his gaze, Naruto quickly noticed a girl looking their way not far ahead.
"Oh hey, it's Hinata?"
"Yeah, your classmate."
Gen snapped out of it and nodded slightly—only to be met with Naruto's mischievous grin.
"Oho, why'd you freeze up the moment you saw her? Don't tell me… you've got a thing for—"
"Idiot."
Gen promptly reached out and gave Naruto a good rub on his spiky head. This brat really loved jumping to conclusions.
Still, he understood Naruto's mindset. Right now, Naruto barely noticed Hinata. Or rather, to him, she was just another classmate. His eyes were full of Sakura, the girl constantly fawning over Sasuke. It wasn't until Pain came to Konoha and Hinata stood up to protect Naruto that a seed was finally planted in his heart.
"This guy really doesn't know how lucky he is…"
Gen sighed inwardly.
Totally taking his blessings for granted. Gen muttered in his heart.
But just as the two were messing around, Hinata had already walked up to them.
While the two of them were goofing around, Hinata had already walked over.
"N-Naruto-kun, and Gen-senpai…" she stammered, head bowed, cheeks bright red. Still, her eyes kept darting toward Gen.
"Long time no see, Hinata," Gen said with a warm smile, releasing Naruto's head. "Why are you alone? Not heading home?"
"My father took Hanabi to visit an old friend from another clan, so… I thought I'd head to school a bit early…"
Her voice was small and shy, her head still lowered. Naruto scratched his head awkwardly at her bashfulness.
"I see."
Gen didn't think too much of it. After a moment, he smiled again and said, "Perfect timing. I was just about to take Naruto out for food. Come with us."
"Eh? E-Eh?!"
Hinata's face turned a deeper shade of red. She wanted to say she'd already eaten—but as a member of a noble clan, it would be impolite to refuse outright. Besides, she figured she could manage another small bite…
More than that, something about Gen-senpai made it hard to say no. He had a strange kind of allure—something warm and familiar… but also slightly intimidating.
It was a confusing mix of feelings that left her completely unsure how to respond.
Naruto, meanwhile, was rubbing his temples in exasperation. Thankfully, Gen didn't press her, simply smiling as he made the decision.
"Settled then. Let's go. Ichiraku should be fine for today."
"O-Okay…"
Hinata nodded lightly, still flushed, and followed behind them with her head down.
"She's so shy…" Naruto muttered quietly as they walked. Then, smirking, he leaned toward Gen and whispered, "Hey, I think she was staring at you the whole time, Gen."
"What can I say? Totally normal."
Gen shrugged nonchalantly.
"I mean, between the two of us, who's she gonna look at? The tall, handsome guy—or the short, dumb one?"
Naruto froze, comparing their heights. His face turned red from sheer indignation.
"Y-You jerk!!"
But Gen wasn't in the mood to bicker. He had noticed Hinata's reactions too.
Clearly, she wasn't the only one feeling that strange sensation earlier—he had felt it as well.
"Is this because of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline…?"
Gen pondered to himself. The possibility seemed strong.
His bloodline had now reached 10% development. The Hyūga clan's Byakugan originated from the Ōtsutsuki after all. Even if the branch in the shinobi world had degenerated over time, Hinata was still the "Byakugan Princess."
Her pure bloodline might naturally draw him in—and vice versa.
"Ramen! Ramen! Old man!"
They arrived at the ramen stall, and Naruto yelled out excitedly, making Ayame scowl.
"Keep it down! Geez, it's not like he can't hear you. Learn from Gen, will ya?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Lively is good," Teuchi said, unfazed, already starting to prepare their ramen with a grin. "It'll be ready in a moment."
"Thanks, old man!"
Naruto plopped down happily. Once they were all seated, he glanced at Hinata—still blushing and silent—then looked back at Gen, slightly bored.
"You've barely said a word. What're you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about training," Gen said lazily, rolling his eyes to cover his thoughts. His gaze flicked to Hinata again.
What was happening on the moon right now?
Running into Hinata today was pure coincidence, but that strange mutual reaction caught his attention.
If both he and Hinata were affected, what about the Ōtsutsuki still on the moon?
"Can I eventually sense the Tenseigan on the moon by continuing to develop my bloodline…?"
That celestial eye had been on his mind for a while now.
Even before gaining his current bloodline, he'd been itching to figure out a way to beat up the old and feeble up there.
The Ōtsutsuki clan's civil war on the moon had wiped most of them out, leaving behind only Ōtsutsuki Toneri. It felt like a golden opportunity, and Gen hated to let chances like that go.
The problem? Getting to the moon was a massive hassle.
If Toneri hadn't shown up to kidnap Hinata back then, even Naruto and the others might've never found a path there.
"After all… even Black Zetsu never went to the moon to find 'Mother.'"
Maybe Black Zetsu didn't know. Or maybe he did know and was too scared. But still, it's not like Gen could just go ask him for directions.
"Forget it. Time to eat!"
Teuchi had served up their bowls. Naruto clapped his hands together, grinning ear to ear.
"Hinata, eat up! He's paying today! This guy's mooched off me so many times, I'm getting my money's worth today!"
"Th-Thank you for the meal…"
Hinata blushed even more at Naruto's loud declaration. He scratched his head, not quite sure what he'd said wrong.
But to him, all that mattered was one thing—ramen!
"I'm digging in!"
Naruto immediately began devouring his bowl with gusto, making Gen chuckle.
"Slow down, no one's taking it from you. Eh, whatever, do your thing."
Watching Naruto wolf down the food like he hadn't eaten in days, Gen gave up on reasoning and snapped his chopsticks open.
His mood was great right now.
"At this point in the timeline, the civil war on the moon should be over. Whatever's left of them is probably just the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled…"
Old, weak, sick, and disabled… the perfect targets for a heavy punch.
His only concern was whether they'd sense him first.
Sensing went both ways. Just like Hinata had reacted earlier, the Ōtsutsuki on the moon, with access to the Tenseigan, had been spying on Earth for years.
Otherwise, Toneri wouldn't have known about Hinata in the first place.
The Tenseigan was a power of the Ōtsutsuki—it was entirely possible they could "see" him, get spooked, and go into hiding, cutting off access to the moon altogether.
That would be a pain.
Sure, Gen wasn't the only Ōtsutsuki on Earth. There was also Isshiki, hiding in his "Kāma" state, possessing Jigen. But unlike him, Gen was a full-fledged, flesh-and-blood Ōtsutsuki.
"So I need to train. Push my bloodline. Sense the Tenseigan before it senses me… I'm not letting that thing slip away."
He nodded to himself, then cast another glance at Naruto.
This guy… might actually be a bit of a good luck charm. After all, it was thanks to Naruto that he ran into Hinata today.
Just as Gen lifted his chopsticks to finally dig in—
"Hey! There you are, brat!"
Jiraiya came sprinting toward him, out of breath.
"No more ramen for now—we've got a mission!"
"....."
Gen hadn't even said a word yet, but next to him, Naruto—who'd just started slurping his noodles—suddenly looked like the color drained from his face.