Chapter 222: I Am the Great Forger Sage! The Hyūga Under Watch
"Cheers!"
At Konoha's Akimichi clan barbecue restaurant, the Konoha Twelve, plus Kitagawa Gen and Karin, had gathered together.
Even Sakura—who had drifted away from the group—and the usually aloof Hyūga Neji were present.
"It's rare for us all to be together. Let's enjoy ourselves," Gen said with a smile, setting his cup down.
"Mm-hmm!" Chōji was the happiest of the bunch. Without hesitation, he started shoveling meat into his mouth nonstop.
"Slow down, no one's fighting you for it. Troublesome…" Shikamaru frowned, while Kiba nearly burst out laughing.
"Oi, if you keep eating like that, what am I supposed to eat?!"
"Senpai, it's rare for us to gather like this."
Rock Lee didn't scramble for food. Instead, he poured another glass of juice and looked at Gen seriously.
"I'd like to toast to you!"
"No need for that." Gen waved quickly, teasing, "Guy-sensei would never do that. And besides, Guy-sensei is also my teacher. Just keep working hard—that's enough."
"We won't let you down." Neji nodded firmly. Tenten blinked in surprise.
She remembered—Neji hadn't always been like this. Over the past three years, he had changed a lot. Maybe it was thanks to the Hyūga clan and his father's will. Or maybe it was because of Naruto's never-give-up spirit. But most of all, it was because of Gen's story.
Naruto's journey needed no explanation. But Gen? He was unbelievable.
A ninja with no kekkei genkai, not even considered outstanding in the Academy… and yet after that "beat my teammate" graduation match, everything changed.
Now his tale was told across the whole village—an ordinary ninja who rose against all odds. The perfect model of an underdog triumphing.
And since he was already considered a "future Kage," Konoha's leadership had been giving him every resource.
No wonder Neji couldn't help but be influenced—Gen had, after all, been the one who changed his destiny.
"Senpai, I heard you guys just finished another big mission?" Hinata asked softly, her voice hesitant but curious.
Even Shino, who rarely spoke and often blended into the background, nodded.
"And Sasuke… I heard he did something major as well."
"Tch, why's it always about him?" Naruto grumbled loudly.
"I've done plenty too, y'know! Damn it…"
"Hmph." Sasuke arched a brow, ready to fire back, but the thought of Naruto possibly being his "brother" stopped him. He stayed silent, though his heart was tangled in knots.
Gen, unfazed, raised a brow at Naruto. "Weren't you the one being chased around by those guys?"
"I fought them all too! And I won, every single one!"
"Oi, you had one-on-one fights. I was up against a whole group!" Naruto protested.
Sasuke finally cut in. "Whatever the case, Senpai's accomplishments outside the village more than make up for your blunders."
"Ugh…" Naruto deflated. Thinking of everything that had happened, he couldn't argue. He really was falling behind.
"Yes, we completed a major mission," Shikamaru muttered as he lazily grilled meat.
"That's right." Ino glanced at Gen, then smiled.
"Senpai told me Sasuke even took down a major rogue ninja of Konoha."
"What?!"
"Seriously? What happened?"
"Tell us, tell us!"
Her words instantly lit up everyone's curiosity. Even Sakura, sneaking glances at Sasuke, leaned in with questions.
Meanwhile, Gen, freed from the spotlight, enjoyed the relative quiet.
"Senpai, she's been watching you this whole time," Naruto suddenly said with a mischievous grin.
"What's strange about that?" Gen rolled his eyes, sipping his juice.
"Besides, Sakura's been staring at Sasuke. Can't be helped—he's handsome and strong. Didn't I teach you guys that three years ago?"
"…" Sasuke's face darkened. Three years ago, that cursed Make-Out Paradise had been his trauma.
Naruto's expression crumbled too. Forget Sakura—just that damned book had gotten him scolded by his parents more times than he could count.
Thinking back on those three years, Naruto felt full of betrayal, pain, and sweetness. And two of those feelings were Gen's fault!
"But, back to the point…" Gen tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"I think Sasuke really needs to step it up."
"I will," Sasuke said firmly. "I'll end the threat of Edo Tensei Itachi once and for all."
"That's not what I meant." Gen shook his head with a grin.
"Itachi's nothing to worry about. I mean other things."
"…Other things?"
"You say you want to restore the Uchiha clan, but how can one man revive an entire clan?"
"…"
"You need to have children. Lots of them. That's the only way to bring the Uchiha back."
Sasuke nearly lost it. Children? Was this guy serious?
But… the logic stung. Without numbers, how could the clan flourish again?
For the first time, Sasuke felt crushing pressure of a very different kind.
"Hehehe…" Naruto's grin turned wicked.
"Looks like it's all up to you now, Sasuke! Better get started!"
"Shut up, idiot!" Sasuke snapped.
"It's bad enough coming from Senpai, but from you—damn it!"
Naruto only kept grinning.
Gen, however, wasn't finished. He chuckled slyly.
"Speaking of which… Sakura's always had her eye on Sasuke. So maybe…"
"Hey, don't you dare say it!" Naruto's grin vanished. His fists clenched.
Gen ignored Naruto's chatter and turned to Sasuke instead.
"Come on, I believe in you. And if worst comes to worst—just use your dōjutsu."
"?"
"Doesn't one of your ocular powers specifically enhance the body?"
"..."
"Then go for it. Reforge the glory of the Uchiha clan—it's your duty!"
"..."
Sasuke's face was as black as thunder.
---
While Gen's true body enjoyed the barbecue with the Konoha rookies, one of his clones slipped quietly into the Senju compound.
The once-grand estate had been dug into a craterous mess. Gen's mouth twitched at the sight.
"Really going to dig to the bone for the honor of your ancestors, huh?"
He hadn't expected they'd actually start excavating—and at such a frantic, three-feet-deep pace.
But something felt off. "This isn't Tobirama's style. If it were him, he'd rewrite history itself with one of those 'Chronicles of Ages' tricks."
Gen knew that old Senju schemer well enough. Tobirama was capable of anything. And logically, fabricating history would have been far easier than digging holes for trinkets.
"Unless… Black Zetsu forged something."
He rubbed his chin. For three years now, Black Zetsu had been nudging him toward certain places and choices. Clearly, there was an agenda. Sending him to the Uchiha stone tablet, pushing him toward the Senju grounds… it all smelled of a setup.
"What, trying to make me fight myself by planting the idea that I'm a Senju descendant?"
The pattern was obvious. Still, it needed verification.
With Black Zetsu gone and even Hashirama and Tsunade exhausted from digging, the opportunity was perfect.
"Let's see what you planted here, you schemer."
Spreading his senses, Gen felt the underground twist into clarity. Something faint stirred beneath the earth—a skeleton clutching something tightly to its chest.
"What the…"
The burial was deep, so deep that even sensing it was difficult. Still, for him—even for his Divine Tree clone—it wasn't a problem. After all, his origin as a Shinju seed had been nurtured by Kaguya's chakra itself.
Melting into the ground with Earth Release, he surfaced moments later—something new in his hand.
"…You really did fake it."
It was an ancient, weathered slab of wood—or rather, tree bark. Gen blinked in disbelief.
Zetsu forging relics? That was a Tobirama move. Yet here it was.
And worse—the content was boringly proper.
It merely outlined the connection between the Senju and Uchiha clans, sprinkled in the Ōtsutsuki surname, and referenced Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Rabbit Goddess.
"So he really was scared stiff the last time I threatened him with Ōtsutsuki Genshiki."
Gen chuckled, fully grasping the intent: to clear suspicion from Zetsu while shifting focus onto the Ōtsutsuki threat.
"The tone even matches the Sage of Six Paths' style—almost identical to the Uchiha tablet."
He had to admit, Zetsu's forgery skills were impressive. The placement was even better—buried impossibly deep, aged with careful details, hidden so thoroughly it felt authentic.
But Gen's grin turned wicked.
"If you can alter the Uchiha's record, why can't I alter yours?"
"Maybe I'll add a message telling Ashura not to fight his brother, urging him to embrace peace instead. Or maybe… I'll drop a few hints about your true existence."
After all, he'd already used Ōtsutsuki Genshiki to spook Zetsu once. What harm in doing it again?
Of course, like Zetsu, he would also leave a hidden core message at the end—just as Zetsu had tucked away 'Project: Moon's Eye.'
Copying the style wouldn't be hard.
"After all, I started as the 'Forger Sage.'"
---
While Gen reworked Zetsu's forgery, Black Zetsu had already slipped out of Konoha.
He didn't return immediately. Instead, he lingered in a mountain cave outside the village, brooding over the Hyūga.
He needed a pair of Byakugan. And he needed to plant a forged relic of the Hyūga clan as well. Troublesome, but necessary.
"Looks like I'll need Obito's help for this."
But at that very moment, another figure watched from the shadows beyond Konoha.
An elderly man with a face pale as death. His milky-white Byakugan eyes locked on Zetsu's silhouette.
"So… this creature has his sights on the Hyūga as well?"
---