Chapter 106: Kitagawa Gen Resembles the Second Hokage the Most?
A torrential downpour blanketed the land.
Deep within a hidden underground chamber in Agakure, Nagato and Konan sat in heavy silence.
The battle in the Land of Waterfalls still weighed heavily on their minds.
For Nagato especially, the sting of defeat this ti was far too bitter—
He had even lost Yahiko’s body.
"It’s not your fault, Nagato," Konan said softly, seeing the gloom on his face. Her heart ached as well. "The situation back then was too complicated."
"I was careless," Nagato muttered, shaking his head. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
"If I had brought even a few more Paths of Pain, maybe things would’ve been different. That kid’s talent... it was far more terrifying than we expected."
Though his words were calm, turmoil churned beneath his composed exterior.
That fight with Kitagawa Gen had been a wake-up call—a brutal reminder of the overwhelming potential of space-ti ninjutsu. He had also seen firsthand Gen’s cunning and razor-sharp perception.
Just one second.
He had been just one second away from using Shinra Tensei again. Even if the next five seconds would have been a storm of attacks from Gen, blocking that one wave might have been enough to retreat with Yahiko’s body.
"Or if I had just brought another Path... the situation could’ve been completely different."
The Rinnegan was no joke.
With the Preta Path, he could’ve absorbed incoming ninjutsu. The Animal Path could’ve summoned reinforcents to harass the enemy.
"Even just buying ti could’ve let unleash Gedo: Mazo, Chibaku Tensei, or even..."
His eyes flicked toward the hulking, ominous silhouette of the Gedo Statue, slowly draining his chakra in the background.
Even though the Gedo Statue wasn’t fully restored, it was still viable in battle. He had used it once before—to fight Hanzo.
But this ti, he’d done nothing. He could only watch as Kitagawa Gen shattered Yahiko’s body, and even severed Nagato’s control over it.
The pain of that mont was indescribable.
"I have to recover Yahiko’s body, no matter what... I won’t just let this go."
Nagato opened his eyes, his voice low and determined. Konan, however, looked visibly concerned.
"Don’t do anything reckless, Nagato!"
"Relax, I—huh?"
Nagato nodded, about to respond, when he suddenly froze. Even Konan noticed the sudden shift in atmosphere.
Before either could speak, a figure slowly erged from the ground—a giant venus flytrap unfurling before them.
"Don’t worry. It’s just ."
"...You?" Nagato frowned but didn’t move. Though tense, he didn’t take action.
Taking a deep breath to calm his foul mood, he asked in a quiet voice, "Why are you here? What do you want?"
"I ca to return sothing," Black Zetsu replied calmly. As he spoke, he unfurled a scroll in his hand and released the seal.
Poof—
A puff of smoke appeared, revealing a figure lying on the floor.
Nagato and Konan were on guard at first, but the mont they laid eyes on the figure, their pupils shrank in shock.
It was Yahiko.
He lay there quietly. Though one side of his body was still damaged, it had clearly been repaired and treated to so extent.
"You..."
Nagato stood in stunned silence, staring at Black Zetsu in disbelief.
"No need to be surprised. I was there the entire ti."
Black Zetsu shrugged nonchalantly. "That explosion was terrifying, but even Kitagawa Gen didn’t dare approach it. So I made my move.
Sorry I couldn’t return the body imdiately. I had to be sure it wasn’t marked with a Flying Thunder God seal.
Now that it’s safe, I brought it back. But restoring it any further... that’s beyond ."
He paused.
Truthfully, he could’ve done more. But he didn’t dare.
Even though he had many White Zetsu clones and puppet bodies, he wouldn’t risk investing them into Nagato—not even as simple repairs.
Who knew what kind of hidden dangers that might provoke? He’d rather play it safe.
"Why did you do this?" Nagato asked after a long silence.
Black Zetsu’s expression remained calm. "Because this is your friend—he ans a great deal to you. And you an a great deal to us."
He paused again, then continued seriously.
"The situation has taken a turn for the worse. Konoha is closing in on us step by step, and we’ve suffered repeated setbacks.
Especially with that Gen boy... sothing about him is off. Every ti we confront him, we co up short."
"Whether it’s coincidence or not, as he grows stronger, so does the threat Konoha poses to our plans."
Nagato didn’t respond—but he didn’t deny it either.
After all, he had felt that "heavy punch" firsthand.
Kitagawa Gen... was no ordinary foe.
"That’s why I want you to rember your friend—and everything that happened that day," Black Zetsu continued, voice steady.
"That boy... and the village behind him—Konoha—will shape the future of this world. We must be more cautious, and more serious than ever."
"Agreed," Nagato thought grimly.
He had underestimated his opponent. He hadn’t taken it seriously enough.
And now... he was paying the price.
---
anwhile, back in Konoha—
Kitagawa Gen followed Kakashi curiously toward the village gates.
"Kakashi-sensei, what’s going on this ti?"
"The Fourth Raikage’s still waiting outside," Kakashi replied, flipping a page in his book as he walked.
"Hokage-sama isn’t letting him into the village — we don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble."
"But the negotiations are pretty much done. Just a few loose ends to tie up.
"You really gave him a hard ti, you know."
Thinking back to the earlier talks, and the way Kumo used to strut around with arrogance, Kakashi couldn’t help but smile.
Back then, war was nearly upon them — only the Hyuga Clan’s forced compromise had prevented another full-blown conflict.
But tis had changed.
The Fourth Raikage was still as proud and fiery as ever, but Konoha wasn’t what it used to be.
Especially now — with Kitagawa Gen having left a Flying Thunder God mark on the Raikage... that had changed everything.
"...Really?" Gen tilted his head, amused.
"But the Raikage doesn’t seem like soone who compromises easily. He gave the kind of vibe where: kill him, and it’s war. Let him go, and he gets angrier and still starts a war."
"Is he really that easy to negotiate with?"
"Not really," Kakashi admitted. "But we’re not afraid either."
"The Third Hokage made things clear — Konoha desires peace. We’ll treat his injuries and await Kumo’s delegation to escort him ho.
"However, if he wants war, we’re ready to et it head-on.
"Especially since we now know exactly what they were doing in the Land of Cedars."
"...So firm?" Gen blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected Hiruzen, usually so cautious in old age, to take such a hardline stance.
Then again, Hiruzen hadn’t always been soft.
He too once stood up to Kumo — until the Hyuga Clan buckled under pressure.
"Well, tis have changed," Kakashi said, patting Gen’s shoulder with a smile.
"The Raikage might be a hothead, but he’s still a Kage — in the end, he signed the agreent."
"Can we really trust it?"
Gen raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not," Kakashi replied without hesitation. "But at least he can’t act openly. He’ll definitely try sothing behind the scenes.
"That’s why we’re walking there instead of teleporting with Flying Thunder God."
"..."
Gen stared at Kakashi in silence.
He was starting to understand why people said his ’moral education was lacking.’
Were any of his teachers even normal? Aside from Guy-sensei, maybe?
Truly... bad teaching is the teacher’s fault.
"Oh, that reminds ," Kakashi suddenly turned to him with a grin. "You still haven’t told how you ssed up Obito last ti.
"Co on, spill the details. I might need that trick soday."
"...Rather than worry about Obito," Gen muttered, "maybe we should be more concerned with Kumo."
"This whole trip is probably just for to remove the Flying Thunder God seal from the Raikage, right?"
"Yeah. Wait — you’re not planning sothing again, are you?"
"...I am."
Gen smirked. "How about I pretend to remove the seal — then once they’re on their way ho, we follow them via the mark?
"When they stop to rest, we ambush and wipe them out. Bury the bodies sowhere no one will ever find."
"..."
"Then we bla it on the Akatsuki — say they’re targeting villages, and drag Kumo into the investigation too. It’s a win-win!"
"..."
"Kakashi-sensei? Say sothing?"
"..."
Kakashi said nothing — just silently walked forward.
For a mont, he seriously wondered if Gen was better suited for ANBU than he ever was.
Back in the day, Kakashi had been efficient, decisive, and ruthless — but he never used tricks like this.
Kitagawa Gen... this guy is on a different level of devious.
He looked up at the Hokage Monunt, bathed in the evening glow.
"The village is thriving. So many talents now... but sothing feels off."
Kakashi sighed in his heart. How can I correct this kid’s twisted thinking?
His eyes drifted from the Fourth’s face... to the Second Hokage’s.
And all of a sudden, a thought struck him:
"...Could it be that Gen has been most like the Second Hokage all along?"
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