“I’ve got sothing to do, so I’ll head out first. Study hard, alright? Don’t end up failing your graduation.”
Glancing at the ti, Gen ‘reluctantly’ decided to take his leave. Still, he had a kind heart and couldn’t resist offering so advice.
“Besides, one of your teammates might just drag you down. Especially you, Naruto.”
“You’re such a jerk!”
Naruto couldn’t hold it in anymore—but Gen was already turning away, waving goodbye as he vanished into the crowd.
“Was that… upperclassman Kitagawa Gen?”
At that mont, Sakura, Ino, and even a very shy Hinata had walked over. Sakura tilted her head curiously as she asked the question.
“Yeah, that was him.”
Sasuke replied uncharacteristically, which caught Sakura off guard. It even felt like Sasuke was close to Gen?
But wasn’t that the sa upperclassman who sent all his teammates to the hospital?
“That’s weird. When did his hair turn white?”
Ino blinked. She hadn’t t Gen before, so she didn’t know. But now that it was white… it actually looked kind of good?
“He went and dyed it. Tried to get to do it too.”
Naruto had quieted down by now. Watching Gen’s retreating figure, he gave a low grunt.
“And… don’t tell he’s off on a mission? He just graduated! So unfair…”
“True. And last ti I saw him, he was training with two jōnin.”
Even Sasuke nodded. He already knew that both Guy and Kakashi were jōnin—and what that ant.
“At this rate, he’ll probably make chūnin soon.”
“Wait, you guys seriously don’t know?”
Shikamaru suddenly opened his sleepy eyes and looked over at Naruto and Sasuke, confused.
“Aren’t you two close with him?”
“Know what?”
Sasuke and Naruto turned toward him in unison.
And they weren’t the only ones—everyone else leaned in, equally curious.
“Seriously? None of you knew?”
Shikamaru rubbed his head, sighing before finally speaking.
“Co on—he’s already a chūnin.”
“What?!”
“He even invited Sasuke and Naruto out for dinner, rember? That was the day he got promoted.”
“Nani?!”
All eyes instantly turned toward Naruto and Sasuke. The two of them looked genuinely confused—they really had no idea.
But a mont later, sothing seed to ignite in Sasuke’s eyes—burning like a wildfire. He suddenly felt completely inadequate.
Naruto, on the other hand, gulped. A mory had just surfaced.
“That guy… didn’t he say sothing about being my examiner?”
“No way—you were being serious?!”
anwhile, Kitagawa Gen had already arrived at the gates of Konohagakure—just in ti to run into Kakashi and Guy rushing toward him.
“I win this ti, my eternal rival—Kakashi!”
As they reached the finish line at nearly the sa instant, Guy proudly gave a thumbs-up, laughing triumphantly.
“Yeah yeah, you win,” Kakashi replied lazily, already pulling out Icha Icha Paradise from his pouch.
Noticing Gen watching them with a peculiar expression, Kakashi gave a light cough before speaking.
“Well, now that we’re all here, let’s head out. Gen, since you’ve been to the Land of Hot Water with Jiraiya-sama before, you probably know the place well. Anything you’d like to share?”
“Share…?”
Gen blinked, paused for a mont, and then said dryly, “Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei, if we’re going to visit a hot spring… can we please go to one I’m allowed to enter?”
“…”
Kakashi’s dead-fish eyes imdiately rolled upward. Guy just looked around in confusion.
“Huh?”
...
“Hmph, so this is the guy trying to claim my bounty?”
Deep in a forest in the Land of Hot Water, Uchiha Obito looked down at Kakuzu, visibly displeased. Black Zetsu, standing nearby, looked especially exasperated.
“Yes, it’s him. But he’s one of our top assets—highly effective in carrying out missions. Don’t do anything reckless.”
“Relax. I’m not that stupid.”
Obito shook his head, then spoke seriously while keeping his eyes on Kakuzu below.
“I know exactly how valuable he is to the Akatsuki right now. More importantly… I know he’s the type who has the guts to do anything for a reward. That kind of person is… interesting.”
“You an…”
Though Black Zetsu still worried that Obito might go overboard, he couldn’t help but ask after giving it so thought: “You want to bring him over to our side?”
Although Nagato and Obito were technically allies, they both knew they weren’t fully aligned. And Konan barely even hid her distrust of Obito.
There was no way Obito hadn’t already thought about tightening his grip on the Akatsuki’s control. Uchiha Itachi was a planted piece. Kisa had been brought in by him too. And he wanted more people like that.
“Exactly. On the surface, they’ll follow Nagato’s orders…”
Obito nodded, his gaze turning distant and deep.
“But when it truly matters—when the plan needs to go off without a hitch—I need them to listen to .”
“That’s true. Uchiha Itachi isn’t exactly reliable… and Kisa alone isn’t enough.”
Black Zetsu nodded in agreent. But before he could continue, his other half—White Zetsu—suddenly asked in a puzzled tone: “Sigh… Obito, I rember your eyes looked super scary earlier—like you were ready to kill soone.”
“…”
“…”
Both Obito and Black Zetsu fell silent at the sa ti. A mont later, they simply chose to ignore the comnt. Obito went straight back to business.
“Prepare yourself. Try to win Kakuzu over—and while you’re at it, test out that new recruit as well.”
“No problem.”
Black Zetsu nodded cooperatively. But just then, White Zetsu couldn’t help chiming in again.
“Um, there’s sothing…”
“Think carefully about what you’re about to say. I’m not promising I won’t kill you in the next second.”
“Whoa, whoa, don’t be so scary. One of my other clones sensed soone approaching.”
“Who?”
“All familiar faces of yours, Obito~”
White Zetsu paused deliberately before continuing in his usual playful tone.
“I recorded their chakra signatures. One is Hatake Kakashi, one is that brat who injured you last ti, and the last one… well, he looks kinda like a kappa.”
Upon hearing that, the face beneath Obito’s mask visibly darkened.
“You again?!”
...
"Tch, didn’t expect you to be one of those immortal types too."
Deep in the forests of the Land of Hot Water, strange black-and-white markings resembling a skeleton spread across Hidan’s body.
A massive scythe was still lodged in his abdon, blood gushing endlessly from the wound. Yet there wasn’t even a hint of pain on his face—only madness, and a touch of confusion.
"You’re not the only one who can’t die."
Kakuzu slowly climbed back to his feet from the ground, speaking coldly as he looked at Hidan, though his mind was screaming in pain.
One of his hearts—gone. Just like that, thanks to this bastard.
'But I’ll admit, this guy’s ability is bizarre. No wonder he swings such a huge scythe.'
Kakuzu had mostly figured out how Hidan’s technique worked. The guy used that oversized scythe to collect blood, then employed so kind of secret ritual to link his injuries with his target.
The problem was, while Hidan was immortal, the sa couldn’t be said for anyone else. Even for Kakuzu, the cost had been imnse.
"Have you made up your mind?"
Despite the internal anguish, Kakuzu’s tone remained cold and composed.
"Join us. Sure, you might be immortal—but what you did in the Hidden Hot Water Village is bound to draw more pursuers. We can offer you protection."
"Besides, we don’t care what god you worship, and we won’t ddle in your personal business. Just complete the missions and help the organization make money."
"Tch, what a pain..."
Hidan bared his teeth in annoyance. Truthfully, he wasn’t particularly interested in joining any group, nor did he care about this so-called protection.
If soone really ca after him, he’d just treat them as sacrifices for Jashin-sama—problem solved. But the terms this guy was offering… weren’t half bad.
Especially the part about not caring what he believed in. That alone made them better than the Hidden Hot Water Village. And besides, the man standing in front of him was immortal too.
"Fine. I’ll join your whatever-it-is organization. Damn it."
After a mont of thought, Hidan gave a nod, which finally let Kakuzu breathe a sigh of relief.
He really didn’t want to keep fighting this lunatic. He’d been caught off guard due to the lack of intel, allowing his blood to be taken.
If they kept going, he might be the one who ended up screwed.
If they started over with proper intel, he wouldn’t be afraid—but that’s how it is for shinobi. One slip-up without intel could be fatal.
"A wise choice. Then I’ll bring you—"
Kakuzu’s voice remained cold, but just as he began to speak, another voice suddenly rang out.
"Looks like your mission was a success."
The mont the voice reached them, Kakuzu’s eyes narrowed, and even Hidan behind him raised a brow.
The air distorted, and in the next instant, a figure erged from the warped space.
The eerie entrance had the desired effect—it was ant to be intimidating. That was exactly the kind of impact Uchiha Obito was going for.
"No need to worry. I’m Uchiha—"
"Uchiha Obito?!"
Before Obito could finish his sentence, Kakuzu’s eyes lit up and he suddenly looked ecstatic.
"A guy in a mask, showing one Sharingan—yep, it’s him! Hidan, let’s take him down together! We’ll make a fortune!"
"..."
Obito’s face darkened.
At that mont, he seriously considered whether it’d be easier to just kill this guy instead of trying to recruit him.
Where the hell did this money-grubbing lunatic co from?
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I will post so extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar
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