Chapter 46: A True Genius?!
"They all died?!"
Shimura Danzō stared at the report in his hands, feeling as if his heart were bleeding.
Over a decade ago, back when he was still full of ambition, he had led a group of Root ninjas to the Land of Rain to win over the fad demigod Hanzō. The goal? To add political weight to his candidacy for Hokage.
But then...
Nothing ca of it.
Every elite Root ninja he had brought died there—and he himself had barely made it out alive.
Forced to hit the reset button, Danzō had poured his efforts into raising a new subject—"A"—a promising young ninja gifted with Wood Release.
He had pinned his hopes on the boy, believing this child could resurrect Root and pave his way to the Hokage’s seat.
But then the boy failed to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Worse, Kakashi had sohow gotten emotionally involved with the kid?
And to top it all off, Hiruzen had the nerve to demand custody of the boy!
Faced with that situation, Danzō could only raise his hands in surrender.
Fine, take him if you want.
But was it really necessary to show up with a squad of ANBU and surround Root headquarters?
As if daring him to say no.
So the boy—forrly known as "A"—was taken. He had a new na now: Tenzo.
And despite the blow, Danzō didn’t fall into despair. In secret, he worked with Orochimaru to better understand the power of Wood Release. Later, he fulfilled his old teacher’s "final wish" and wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan.
He thought those deeds might earn him sothing. But no—Hiruzen didn’t even bother acknowledging them. Instead, he treated Danzō like so expendable tool and tried to have him eliminated!
Root was disbanded.
He was suspended.
Though he still retained a loyal few, the force he once commanded was a shadow of its forr self.
Then ca a brief reinstatent—limited, conditional.
Desperate, Danzō had sent his remaining elite to Kirigakure to either uncover intel about Uchiha Obito or snatch a Mangekyō Sharingan.
And now...
Silence.
They had all disappeared, without a trace—like corpses on the roadside.
All of them. Gone.
"These damned Uchiha, born evil..."
Danzō cursed under his breath. His forehead throbbed with rage, and his grip on the scroll in his hand tightened.
Root’s forces were now pitifully thin.
Aside from his personal guard and a few capable agents, the rest were just untrained kids.
"Root needs new blood..."
He clenched his jaw in frustration.
Just then, Yamanaka Fū stepped in quietly behind him and spoke in a low voice.
"Lord Danzō, the Hokage has sent soone again..."
"He’s rushing again?"
Danzō scowled. He wanted to vent, but when he looked down at the scroll in his hand, he swallowed his anger.
He had no more cards to play. His plans had failed. It was ti to give Hiruzen an answer.
"So eager, huh?" he muttered darkly. "Then let him go see the situation in Kirigakure for himself."
Turning to Fū, he gave his order.
"Tell that guy to deliver a ssage to Hiruzen for ..."
"Root has not failed in its duty. We’ve obtained more than enough information."
---
anwhile, back in Konoha—
At a training field...
Kitagawa Gen arrived just in ti to see Kakashi and Jiraiya standing together.
"Kakashi-sensei," Gen greeted with a nod, then turned to Jiraiya, puzzled.
"Eh? Lord Jiraiya, you’re here too?"
"What’s with that tone, brat?" Jiraiya huffed. "Can’t this great sage co see how you’re doing?"
He snorted, then added,
"You little punk... Thanks to you, Kakashi and I have been getting chewed out by the old man lately. You’ve sure stirred things up."
"Haha..."
Gen just laughed it off. But thinking about how downcast Naruto looked every day after school, he couldn’t help but smirk.
That kid was probably getting drilled hard by Iruka.
And not just him—likely the whole class.
"Gen, here."
Kakashi handed him a short sword.
"You’ve graduated. You’ve completed your first mission. These are milestones worth rembering.
I never gave you a proper gift, so I’m making up for that now.
This sword... used to belong to my father. I even used it for a while. But I no longer need it.
You’ve learned my sword techniques, so I’m entrusting it to you. Use it well."
"Sakumo’s blade?"
Jiraiya blinked, as mories of the fad "White Fang of the Leaf" ca rushing back.
That bold, proud man... It had been so long.
So many things had happened since then. Jiraiya couldn’t even find the right words.
But in his heart, he still agreed with Sakumo’s beliefs—
Comrades are what a shinobi should value most.
---
During warti, missions always co first. Sacrificing a critical task just to save a comrade could lead to even more casualties.
So, Kakashi could only sigh before chuckling and joking lightly.
"You didn’t seriously give that brat your blade, did you?"
"I did."
Kakashi nodded, his exposed eye narrowing into a crescent shape—smiling.
"I don’t use it anymore. Better to give it to soone who can make proper use of it than let it gather dust at ho."
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
Kitagawa Gen received the short blade with both hands, nodding sincerely. Then, slowly, he drew it from its sheath.
It wasn’t a long blade, but it was incredibly sharp—sunlight glinted off its edge.
Clearly, Kakashi had taken the ti to have it repaired and sharpened with great care.
Gen could also sense that the blade had excellent chakra conductivity. Curious, he gently surged his chakra into it.
Zzzzt—
In an instant, purple lightning danced along the edge of the blade.
"It channels chakra really well... And the more chakra I pour in, the sharper and tougher the blade becos?"
Gen thought to himself as he tested the feedback. He couldn’t help but wonder if the blade had broken before simply because not enough chakra was used back then.
Shaking the thought away, he stopped the flow of chakra and returned the blade to its sheath. Then, with a small bow, he looked at Kakashi again.
"I won’t let this blade go to waste, Sensei."
"Alright, alright, you two are getting a little too sentintal here."
Jiraiya smirked and shook his head, breaking up the mont before adding with a grin:
"Use that blade well, kid. Just don’t embarrass yourself, yeah? After all, its last wielder... was a true hero."
Gen nodded firmly. But then, curiosity got the better of him.
"By the way, Lord Jiraiya, you ca all this way too... don’t tell you’re giving a gift too?"
"Pfft. Maybe if you beco a Chunin—or better yet, a Jonin."
Jiraiya rolled his eyes before continuing.
"The old man asked to check in on your progress... Honestly, that’s the Flying Thunder God we’re talking about. If it were that easy to learn—"
"I’ve made so progress."
Gen cut him off before he could finish.
"Huh?"
Both Jiraiya and Kakashi widened their eyes at his words.
"Progress? You an—?"
"Like you said, Lord Jiraiya, the key to the Flying Thunder God is chakra control. Spatial awareness too, of course."
Smiling, Gen took out a kunai. He gripped it tightly, and his chakra began to surge.
"It’s vague—hard to grasp at first—but I got lucky. I think I’ve started to feel it."
As he spoke, he turned the kunai upright. Under Jiraiya and Kakashi’s astonished gazes, a distinct marking appeared on the handle—a unique sealing formula.
"And so..."
The next mont, he hurled the kunai past them.
A burst of chakra flared—and in an instant, Gen vanished from their sight.
His voice rang out behind them:
"I think... I can use it. At least a basic version."
"...."
His words weren’t loud, but they struck the two seasoned shinobi like thunder.
Slowly, they turned to see Gen standing behind them, the kunai now in his hand.
In that mont, a golden figure flashed in both their minds.
"Minato..."
"Sensei..."
Each of them murmured, filled with mories, disbelief, and quiet awe.
But just then, an Anbu agent suddenly arrived, dashing toward them with urgency...
---
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