"Pervy Sage, we've come to see you!"
Kitagawa Gen arrived at Konoha Hospital with Inoichi.
He flung open the door to Jiraiya's hospital room and shouted loudly—only to find the room already quite full.
"Eh? Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei, you're all here... and so many other senpais as well."
"Inoichi-senpai."
Asuma, sporting a full beard, turned his head and greeted Inoichi first, then looked toward Kitagawa Gen.
"Huh? Kakashi, this is your student? I read the report—sounds like he's pretty impressive."
"More than impressive. He's the only one participating in this year's jōnin exams."
Shiranui Genma, chewing on a senbon like a toothpick, chuckled as he looked over at Gen.
"Hey there. I'm Shiranui Genma. That's Asuma, the Third Hokage's son. I've heard quite a bit about you already."
"Yeah, your name's definitely gotten around. At the very least, all of us here have heard of your exploits."
Ebisu, wearing his signature sunglasses, walked over and gave Kitagawa Gen a once-over.
"Pretty incredible, really. It's just a shame early graduation isn't allowed anymore—who knows, you might've broken Kakashi's record."
"I told you all, Gen is really something else."
Might Guy laughed heartily from the side, and even Kakashi—who had been quietly reading—finally looked up from his novel and smiled.
"Is it true that each generation surpasses the last? He's already stronger than I ever was. These kids just keep getting more terrifying."
"Hey, hey, hey! Aren't you all here to visit me?"
Seeing everyone's attention shifting to Kitagawa Gen, Jiraiya, lying in bed, grumbled with clear displeasure.
"Come on! I'm the poor bastard lying in this hospital bed, and none of you even care?"
"Jiraiya-sama, hey now—I even brought you flowers."
Smiling brightly, Kitagawa Gen walked over and casually placed the bouquet in a vase before speaking.
"I heard what happened. Didn't Tsunade-sama go easy on you? Otherwise, I'd probably be visiting the cemetery instead of this hospital room."
"..."
Jiraiya's face darkened immediately. Gen's words hit him right in the gut.
"Tch… I just didn't want to fight a woman, that's all! And besides—wasn't it you who pulled something yesterday? Naruto was following me the whole time. What the hell got into him all of a sudden?"
Jiraiya was no fool—he had sensed something was off right away. But Gen only looked back at him with genuine confusion.
"Huh? Me? What are you talking about? I just got back to Konoha yesterday. How would I know anything about that?"
"But..."
"Maybe Naruto had a change of heart? Realized how awful you were and decided to give you some divine punishment?"
"..."
"But come to think of it, this mission—everyone came back safe. Even Kakashi-sensei didn't get hurt, so..."
As he said this, Kitagawa Gen intentionally glanced at Kakashi, who was silently reading his book.
Then, he turned his gaze back to Jiraiya, his expression unreadable—but clearly implying something without saying it outright.
Kakashi and Jiraiya exchanged a look.
In that moment, they both seemed to read something complicated in each other's eyes.
"Wait a sec… now that I think about it, someone does end up in the hospital every time we come back, huh."
Might Guy, blissfully oblivious, delivered the final blow without hesitation.
At that instant, both Kakashi and Jiraiya felt the other's silence ringing in their ears like a deafening scream.
"Hahahaha! Alright, alright, so what if I'm hospitalized? No big deal!"
After a brief pause, Jiraiya suddenly burst into loud, boisterous laughter.
"Who could've expected to run into Tsunade, right, Kakashi?"
"Mm, that's right."
Kakashi chuckled along, and the atmosphere quickly became lively again.
Even though the visit had been somewhat unexpected, Kakashi took the opportunity to keep introducing Kitagawa Gen to the others and explaining who was who.
They even made plans for the evening—to gather their old classmates from back in the day so everyone could get to know each other properly.
Whether it was to celebrate the success of their recent mission, or to congratulate Kitagawa Gen—who would most likely become a jōnin before long—it was reason enough to come together.
This kind of atmosphere was something Gen found himself enjoying a lot. After all, humans were social creatures—who could truly endure loneliness?
'Even Uchiha Madara surrounded himself with countless White Zetsus just to keep from going mad. He even tolerated them talking back to him nonstop...'
The thought made Kitagawa Gen chuckle quietly.
As Kitagawa Gen mulled over these ridiculous thoughts, far away in the Land of Rain, Uchiha Itachi was making his way alone toward the Land of Fire.
But suddenly, he came to a halt.
His expression remained calm, but there was a faint tension in his eyes as he looked ahead.
"Uchiha Itachi."
With a ripple of space, the figures of Uchiha Obito and Kisame appeared before him.
Obito also stared at him coldly. After a moment, he finally spoke in a chilling voice: "Where exactly do you think you're going?"
"It's not like I'm on a mission right now. Can't I do something for myself?"
Uchiha Itachi stood calmly before the two men, his demeanor composed, though he was secretly bracing himself.
"Besides, if I recall correctly, this organization doesn't place any restrictions on our personal freedom. Are you trying to break the rules now?"
"Of course not. I'm merely expressing some concern for you, that's all."
Uchiha Obito let out a faint snort. He thought Itachi was truly a master at putting on an act.
Did this guy not know what kind of position he was really in?
A double-crosser, yet he expected anyone to fully trust him?
If this were any other day—if Konoha hadn't been acting so aggressively, if they hadn't been causing real trouble for the Akatsuki—he might've just let it slide.
But now, every single time they crossed paths, Konoha was a thorn in their side. Every time, it brought chaos.
There was no way he could just let this guy do whatever he wanted anymore.
"We're going to evaluate a newcomer. See if he meets the requirements."
Kisame now spoke up with a smile.
"Didn't expect you to be out and about too, Itachi-kun. Why don't we go together? It'll be more convenient that way."
Itachi didn't respond. He was still deciding whether or not to speak.
They kept running into people from Konoha—and those people were getting stronger every time.
Even though he still saw himself as part of Konoha, the people he faced certainly didn't see him that way.
He still remembered how, back in the Land of Earth, he had nearly been taken out by a single Flying Thunder God strike.
If it weren't for Susanoo, he'd be a corpse already. He needed a way to strengthen himself further.
As the son of the former Uchiha clan head, he had access to many classified documents—and recently, a few specific items had begun to occupy his mind.
'The Totsuka Blade... and the Yata Mirror.'
He'd read about them in old records. He had considered them before, but back then the situation between Konoha and the Uchiha had been far too chaotic.
After the massacre of his clan, he'd needed time to let things stabilize before taking action—but now, he couldn't wait any longer.
"Why so quiet?"
Kisame looked at the silent Itachi and grinned, his jagged teeth on full display.
"Don't tell me you've got some shady little secret of your own?"
"Everyone has secrets."
Itachi met Kisame's gaze, his tone ice-cold.
"Of course, if you two insist on coming along, then suit yourselves. But I'll make one thing clear: what I'm going after belongs to the Uchiha."
"Oh?"
Kisame raised an eyebrow. His tone remained polite, but there was a shift in his expression.
"Didn't think you were the sentimental type, Itachi-kun. Killed off your whole clan, and yet you still consider yourself one of them?"
Itachi didn't reply—but his gaze darkened slightly.
"Uchiha property, huh? Is this to help you deal with the Konoha guys?"
Obito, by contrast, remained calm, furrowing his brow as he asked.
"Something like that."
Itachi gave a slight nod.
"These things likely only work with Susanoo. Are you going to fight me for them?"
"Relax. I'm not interested. I'm just here to test the newbie."
At the mention of Susanoo, Obito shook his head. He really didn't seem capable of using it himself.
Truth was, he didn't care about any "Uchiha relics." All he cared about was keeping an eye on Uchiha Itachi.
After all, how could anything external possibly compare to his own abilities?
"Since we've run into each other anyway, why don't we check it out together? Consider it a favor from me."
"Please don't say it like that. I know exactly what you're thinking."
Uchiha Itachi remained cold and detached. Without another word, he turned and started walking ahead.
"If you're coming, then keep up. Just a friendly reminder— I don't have much intel. Finding it won't be easy."
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