Sarutobi Hiruzen was troubled. He couldn’t tell whether it was Kitagawa Gen who had been led astray by Kakashi—

'Or was it Kakashi who ended up influenced by Gen?'

A C-rank mission was simple. Was it really appropriate to be making remarks like that?

Although Kitagawa Gen had gone through the same process back then, at that time Kakashi had only just withdrawn from the Anbu. It was natural that he still retained some of his Anbu habits.

'But you’ve been out for so long… why are you still like this?'

Hiruzen let out a weary sigh, but in the end, he still handed over a simple C-rank mission.

Gen hadn’t left the team yet. With two Jōnin watching over things, surely there shouldn’t be much of a problem.

“Old man, you called for me?”

Just as Hiruzen was stewing over it, Jiraiya’s voice suddenly came from outside the window.

“Honestly, I’m busy right now.”

“There’s news about Mizuki.”

Hiruzen rubbed at his temples, but before he could even speak, Jiraiya cut in.

“Mizuki? Oh, you mean that thing going around the streets? Figures. No wonder Gen turned out this way—seems like Konoha’s education really is a problem. Don’t blame me for it!”

“…”

Hiruzen’s grip tightened on his pipe. At this moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he himself was also the problem.

Otherwise, how could he have raised someone like Jiraiya, a shameless pervert… Tsunade, a hopeless gambling addict… and Orochimaru—

“Now isn’t the time to be talking about that!”

Hiruzen startled himself with the sharpness of his own outburst. Quickly, he shook his head. No—there had to be issues elsewhere. Right now, he had more important matters to address.

“Gen has already uncovered quite a bit. Mizuki is connected to Orochimaru.”

“Orochimaru?”

The instant that name left his lips, Jiraiya’s entire demeanor hardened.

“Did he say anything? What’s his goal? Don’t tell me… is it the Chūnin Exams?”

“Unclear. Mizuki’s just a Chūnin himself—he can’t know much.”

Hiruzen shook his head, pipe stem clenched tightly between his teeth as he spoke in an utterly serious tone.

“But this has to be taken into account. Especially since behind Orochimaru, there’s still the Akatsuki. Hard to say…”

“I understand.”

Jiraiya nodded grimly. The Akatsuki’s movements were nothing if not lawless.

“Looks like we’ll need to stay on our guard at every moment. I truly didn’t expect things to become this complicated.”

Even Jiraiya was troubled. A joint Chūnin Exam had somehow turned into this—it was absurd.

But now that it had come to this, there was no other choice. All they could do was prepare thoroughly.

“Then I’ll be going. If anything comes up, get in touch with me. Damn that bastard Orochimaru…”

“Hold on. There’s more.”

Just as Jiraiya was about to leave, Hiruzen called him back at once.

“What is it, old man? Don’t tell me you’re inviting me to watch your crystal ball?”

Jiraiya raised a brow, then smirked mischievously. The expression nearly made Hiruzen crack him over the head with his pipe.

“Be serious. How is Tsunade’s research coming along?”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Jiraiya pursed his lips, but then quickly realized something.

“Wait. Don’t tell me… Danzo really—”

“Mm. According to the investigation… he hasn’t completely stopped.”

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a deep sigh. Ever since obtaining that fragment of Uchiha Obito’s flesh, he had secretly launched an investigation into Danzō.

And indeed, that investigation uncovered no small number of problems—especially regarding the First Hokage’s cells, which had left even him stunned.

“But for now, we can’t move against him. Orochimaru’s actions this time may be connected to him somehow. I need to wait and see, so…”

“I understand. I’ll go and ask Tsunade about it.”

Jiraiya could at least grasp his sensei’s intent. In the end, he gave a firm nod, and that alone made Hiruzen breathe a little easier.

“Then I’ll leave that to you. Besides that, there’s one more matter I need to trouble you with.”

“Can’t you just say everything at once?”

Jiraiya pursed his lips, while Hiruzen’s expression grew heavy.

“This one concerns Naruto… it may even involve Minato and Kushina.”

“What?!”

Jiraiya’s face changed instantly, all urgency and alarm.

“What happened, old man? Out with it!”

“Last night, the Nine-Tails’ chakra inside Naruto erupted. And Gen was there. He said…”

Hiruzen clenched his pipe between his teeth, smoke curling to shroud his face, his voice alone echoing out.

“Within the Nine-Tails’ seal… there are two other chakra presences. And those two… are very likely Minato and Kushina.”

...

“Hell yeah! We’re finally heading out!”

On the road to the Land of Waves, Naruto’s face was brimming with excitement. Beside him, Sasuke didn’t say a word, but it was clear from his expression that his mood was rather good.

Only Sakura looked uneasy. She glanced toward their client—a drunken, shabby old man named Tazuna—and then at Kakashi and Kitagawa Gen, who were walking side by side at the rear.

After wrestling with herself for a while, she couldn’t hold back and finally spoke.

“Kakashi-sensei, Gen-senpai… are you sure this is okay? For our very first mission to take us outside the village?”

“Hah! Just as I thought! Konoha’s trying to scam me out of my money, isn’t it? This bunch of brats—on their very first mission?!”

Even Tazuna couldn’t keep quiet anymore. He had only just arrived in Konoha and submitted his mission request.

Sure, he admitted he had his own little schemes in mind. But he hadn’t expected Konoha to move so fast—to assign him escorts immediately!

Only… what kind of arrangement was this supposed to be?!

“Relax, relax. It’s only a C-rank mission.”

Kakashi spoke carelessly, glancing at Sakura before finally turning to Tazuna.

“Two years ago, the first time I led a team, Gen’s very first mission was a C-rank as well—and he ended up doing several of them back-to-back. With so many of us here now, this really is nothing.”

“That’s right. It’s just a C-rank.”

Gen chimed in with a smile, reaching out to pat Naruto and Sasuke on their shoulders, his tone utterly relaxed. Follow current novels on N0velFire.ɴet

“These two brats—one hotheaded, the other pigheaded, and with a few issues in their upbringing, sure. But they definitely have the skills. No need to worry.”

“You bastard, what did you just say?!”

Naruto couldn’t hold it in anymore, while Sasuke rolled his eyes to the side.

“This guy…”

“Upbringing… issues?”

Far from reassured, Tazuna only grew more uneasy. What unsettled him most of all was that Kakashi, standing right there, actually nodded in agreement!

“No way—what happened to Konoha’s reputation?”

“Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, so many years have already passed.”

Kakashi and Kitagawa Gen ignored Tazuna, Naruto, and the others. The two of them lagged behind the group, talking quietly as they walked.

Kakashi’s visible eye curved into a crescent. Though he had plenty weighing on his mind, at least for now he seemed to be in a good mood.

“I still remember your very first mission. You didn’t do so well—you couldn’t even handle the sight of blood.”

“First time. It happens.”

“But after that, you kept getting better. You even held your own against Biwa Juzo and Uchiha Itachi.”

“Of course.”

Gen grinned and nodded. Sasuke’s ears, however, perked up at once.

Uchiha Itachi?

He knew Gen had crossed paths with Itachi, but the details were unclear. Now, hearing the two mention him—how could Sasuke not be curious?

Not only him—Naruto, Sakura, and even Tazuna leaned in, straining to listen.

“History really does move in circles. Back then, our first mission was heading to the Land of Waves too. Never thought it’d turn out the same this time.”

Gen paid no mind to the eavesdropping and chuckled as he spoke.

“By the way, Kakashi-sensei, isn’t this Tazuna fellow one of Gato’s victims? This time around, maybe we could—”

“Hey, hey. After all these years, you still haven’t let go of that guy?”

Kakashi’s smile instantly vanished, his crescent eye turning into a dead-fish stare.

“And don’t tell me… the only reason you agreed to come on this mission is because you knew we were headed to the Land of Waves?”

“How could that be? Am I that kind of person? But come on—he’s loaded. Taking him down wouldn’t just make Konoha stronger, it’d be an act of justice too!”

“…”

“And this time, it’s tied to a mission. Kakashi-sensei, you’ve got no reason to object, right?”

“…”

Kakashi didn’t feel like speaking anymore. He was beginning to realize this disciple of his really hadn’t changed a bit.

After all these years, he was still fixated on Gato. Was that really a good thing?

Rubbing his forehead, Kakashi sighed.

“We’ll see. As long as he doesn’t go too far, you can’t take matters into your own hands.”

“Yes, yes, understood.”

Gen nodded. That promise was enough for now. After all, he was sure Gato would eventually cross the line.

'And even if he doesn’t… I’ll find a way to make him.'

After scraping by for so many years, he’d built up some savings. But that didn’t mean he was about to let go of Gato’s money.

'Besides, that kid Naruto has already brought me quite a few rewards…'

The Scroll of Seals—he still had his eye on it, even though he’d already learned plenty from it.

But the full version of the information would contain far more. How could he not be curious?

Last night, he had read the Scroll of Seals that Naruto brought out—but that was the “special edition.”

What he hadn’t expected was that, in the blink of an eye, the system delivered him the complete version!

'There’s quite a lot in here. Really interesting stuff…'

With this full version, he not only obtained Soul Imprisonment Technique, Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags, Four Red Yang Formation, and Four Symbols Seal—

'But also the initial version of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!'

Combined with techniques he already knew, such as Darkness Technique, and the Spirit Transformation Technique he later acquired from Sarutobi Hiruzen, this batch almost let him perfectly rival the Second Hokage!

'On top of that, there’s a good amount of material and records on Wood Release as well…'

Wood Release wasn’t something he had spent much time on, aside from targeting Earth Release and Water Release chakra, which he had already set his sights on.

The key issue was that he still couldn’t determine whether Wood Release counted as a Kekkei Tōta or a Kekkei Genkai.

'After all, there’s Yamato as a comparison—his Wood Release feels like home carpentry, while Senju Hashirama’s Wood Release could tear the heavens and earth apart!'

It was difficult to say whether Hashirama’s Wood Release was tied to Yang Release, but for now, there was no need for him to probe further.

'After all, the Source of the God Tree seems to have already solved those problems for me.'

After absorbing the chakra that erupted from Naruto this time, the Source of the God Tree had gained massive replenishment.

Although it didn’t advance through new tailed beast chakra, it did awaken several new abilities!

God Tree Clone—this ability was almost like the Wood Clone, but a fully enhanced version!

Uchiha Madara could use Wood Clones to manifest Susanoo, but this clone could wield nearly all of Kitagawa Gen’s abilities—aside from full Ōtsutsukification.

'In terms of strength, it’s about fifty to sixty percent of me. Not bad at all.'

'This thing… isn’t it far simpler and more effective than Wood Release?'

Gen rubbed his forehead. Even if his use of the Source of the God Tree was still clumsy, it seemed he could be said to possess Wood Release as well.

'Or rather… should I call it God Wood Release?'

As he pondered, a sudden noise reached his ears. From the forest’s shadows, two dark figures instantly appeared.

Chains in hand, they lunged straight toward Kakashi!

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. /TitoVillar

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