"It seems like there's no issue for now."
In the depths of the dense forest in the Land of Hot Water, inside a cave, Kakashi and Kitagawa Gen sat side by side against the wall, while Guy kept watch on the surroundings.
All three of them had tattered clothing—especially Kitagawa Gen, whose upper garment was completely gone. Kakashi's green flak jacket was also missing.
Only Guy looked completely normal. After finishing his sweep, he returned to the cave, looked at the two battered figures before him, and immediately gave them a thumbs-up with a bright smile.
"Yosh! Looks like I won this time. So now, let me be the one to protect you both—and show you the true power of youth!"
"Oi oi oi, now's not really the time for that..."
Kakashi rubbed his head, still feeling dizzy.
"What we need to do now is consolidate the intel and send it back, and we also need to get out of here fast."
He was definitely exhausted. It had been his first time using the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the sensation of his chakra being siphoned away was unbearable.
Thankfully, he could deactivate it. Otherwise, he wasn't sure if he would have made it. Still, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Too bad... I couldn't keep an eye on Obito."
"That couldn't be helped, Kakashi-sensei."
Kitagawa Gen replied from the side, his voice weary.
"That guy's space-time jutsu is practically impossible to predict. Under those circumstances, I doubt anyone could've done anything."
"That's true, Kakashi."
Guy nodded in agreement, offering his own words of comfort. But soon, his gaze shifted to Gen again.
"But Gen, you were incredible. If it weren't for you causing such a big scene, we would've had a much tougher fight on our hands."
"Just luck. Pure luck."
Gen gave a dry laugh, but Guy stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"There was something unusual about your performance earlier. If I hadn't dodged quickly, I might have been caught in the blast."
"That guy I was fighting got torn to shreds by the shockwave. It was terrifying."
"But it was thanks to your attack that Uchiha Obito had no choice but to stop and rescue him."
"I got caught up in your shockwave too."
Kakashi pressed his lips together and looked at Gen curiously.
"What exactly happened to you back there?"
"The Eight Gates."
Before Gen could respond, Guy cut in, his expression turning unusually serious as he looked straight at Gen.
"You might've opened the Eight Gates... and possibly used something else too, didn't you, Gen?"
Not just Guy—Kakashi also frowned deeply and turned toward him.
Gen felt a headache coming on, but Guy's guess actually aligned well with the excuse he had planned beforehand.
"More or less."
Gen nodded and followed along with Guy's lead.
"The opponent I faced seemed to have multiple hearts."
"Those hearts were transformed by his secret technique into monsters that could fight, each with a distinct chakra nature."
"He also knew I could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, so he was constantly on guard."
"Plus, he was highly skilled in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and everything else, so I had no choice but to take extreme measures. He didn't have any intel on my use of the Eight Gates, so..."
"Multiple hearts... monsters created by secret techniques that can fight?"
Guy stroked his chin again, and Kakashi frowned deeper.
"An enemy like that is seriously dangerous. But you can't be reckless either. The Eight Gates completely disrupt your chakra flow. Using them recklessly now could have serious consequences."
"Exactly."
Guy sighed, but his tone quickly turned stern again as he looked at Gen.
"You were lucky this time, but the Eight Gates are not something you take chances with. Got it?"
The two of them were both offering their advice—but neither seemed particularly surprised.
After all, with everything they'd experienced in recent years, they'd gradually gotten used to certain things.
For instance, how a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Obito triggered the Nine-Tails incident and killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife.
Or how a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Uchiha Itachi massacred the entire Uchiha clan—and even took down Kakashi in an instant.
Kitagawa Gen may have been a shinobi from a civilian background, but that mastery of Purple Lightning and the Flying Thunder God Technique? No matter how you looked at it, he wasn't ordinary.
After all, with Namikaze Minato setting the bar, back in the Third Great Ninja War he wiped out fifty Iwagakure shinobi in an instant.
Whether they were Jōnin or Genin, they were all taken down in a flash—no difference at all!
Besides, that guy didn't have full intel on Kitagawa Gen either, so launching a surprise attack wasn't too much of a stretch.
"I understand. I'll be more careful with it in the future."
Kitagawa Gen nodded. He genuinely meant it.
The Eight Gates Technique.
The results were impressive—but not without their downsides.
As an Ōtsutsuki, Gen was, in a sense, what you'd call a 'privileged cheat'. At first, he could still suppress the chakra turbulence caused by the technique.
But as he opened higher gates, his control over his chakra began to slip—especially at the instant he opened the Sixth Gate.
For that one second, it was like his boiling blood sent his chakra into a frenzy. And yet, at the same time, he felt immensely powerful.
'But the aftermath was rough too.'
The boiling blood granted him strength, but it wasn't a power that truly belonged to his present self. Once the rush faded, all that remained was a void—and fatigue.
Thankfully, he'd obtained White Zetsu's cells. After awakening his bloodline, his self-regeneration had grown significantly stronger.
Otherwise, he probably wouldn't even be able to walk right now. But as it stood, he was merely worn out and drained—nothing a few days of solid rest couldn't fix.
'This technique isn't something to use recklessly. Only in life-or-death moments should it be considered. So...'
He needed to choose something more stable. Something that didn't put such a heavy burden on him—and could still grant him real power.
'Sage Mode.'
Naturally, his thoughts turned to something he'd already acquired long ago, but hadn't yet refined: a power that didn't squeeze out his future potential like the Eight Gates did.
'And when Sage Mode activates, it's not just the face that changes—doesn't the eye color shift too?'
Kitagawa Gen recalled Uzumaki Naruto's Sage Mode. His eyes turned from blue to golden.
So if his own eye color changed from black to white... wouldn't that be completely reasonable?!
"I hope he really took that to heart."
Kakashi tilted his head as he looked at Kitagawa Gen. But in the end, he just shook his head. He figured it was best to talk to Jiraiya later and properly reason with this kid.
"Anyway, let's leave that aside. I've learned a bit more about Obito's abilities this time. But Guy, what about you? Any intel from your end?"
"Me? Honestly, not too tough."
Guy was also thinking about how to convince Gen once they got back. Still, after some thought, he spoke seriously.
"The guy I fought was decent at taijutsu. As for ninjutsu, there wasn't much to note. But—"
That 'but' immediately caught Kakashi and Kitagawa Gen's attention.
Especially Gen—he'd used the Eight Gates partly as a test, but also because he was worried something might happen to Guy.
And yet in the end, the one in the best shape... was Guy!
Gen couldn't help wondering how in the world Guy pulled that off.
"But that guy's secret technique was really strong!"
Secret technique?
Gen's eyes widened. Could it be that that scatterbrained Hidan had actually let something slip?
"His regeneration was insane. No matter how many bones I broke, he could recover from it."
"?"
"And his fighting style was anything but youthful! He even laced his weapons with poison, trying to kill me with it."
"..."
"So the way to deal with him is simple: just avoid his weapon attacks and look for a chance to take his head off!"
"..."
Kitagawa Gen was dumbfounded. He stared at Guy in disbelief, momentarily at a complete loss for words.
Wait—how did you get all the answers right but the logic completely wrong?
No—was it the logic that was right and the answers that were off?
Something didn't add up!
In that moment, Kitagawa Gen was completely confused.
But just then, his system gave a slight jolt.
[Side Mission Complete]
[This Team Can't Function Without Me!]
[Reward is being calculated...]
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---