“Jiraiya’s Sage Jutsu…”
Seeing the reward, even Gen Hoshino, who had seen his fair share of incredible things, couldn’t help but breathe faster.
Sage Jutsu!
This was the trump card that even Naruto—and the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju—had kept in reserve!
Even the Ten-Tails, that seemingly invincible beast, very likely possessed chakra of this nature within its body.
When Naruto confronted the Ten-Tails, Kurama had once told him that the Ten-Tails’ power was the natural energy circulating throughout the world, and that its power was inexhaustible…
Gen had naturally been interested in this kind of power for a long time.
The problem was that, on one hand, he had only just awakened his bloodline.
On the other, he had no way to safely absorb natural energy.
If he recklessly took in too much, there was a very real possibility that he would simply turn to stone.
“The natural energy in this world is completely different from what I knew before. The danger level is off the charts…”
Before the powers that be had sent him to this world, Gen had read plenty of novels.
He had never heard of natural energy being quite this terrifying.
Regardless, this was still one of the highest levels of power in the world.
And now, he finally had a chance to get his hands on it.
“Jiraiya’s Sage Mode isn’t exactly anything special to look at, but the most important thing is his knowledge of Sage Chakra…”
Knowledge was priceless!
Feeling the information pouring into his mind, Gen was extremely satisfied.
With all this experience, combined with his own bloodline, learning Sage Mode shouldn’t be too difficult…
…
After resting for another day in the Land of Waves, Kakashi finally felt somewhat better, and they immediately set out.
Although Gen’s deductions had led Kakashi and Jiraiya to suspect that Orochimaru and the others might be in the Land of Water, the Land of Waves was simply too close to the Land of Water.
After Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Jūzō returned to report what had happened, who knew whether they might come looking for them?
So, regardless of anything else, it was better to get out of there first…
Fortunately, they encountered no trouble on the way back.
In less than two days, they had returned to Konoha.
“Konoha is still the same as before. Nothing much has changed.”
Standing outside Konoha’s gates, Jiraiya gazed at the familiar sight before him, his heart filled with emotion.
Sometimes, he couldn’t help wondering: If he hadn’t left ten years ago, would things have turned out differently…?
Aside from tracking Orochimaru, another reason he had stayed away all these years was that he genuinely didn’t want to be reminded of those painful memories.
But what was done was done.
There was no point dwelling on it anymore.
Dealing with the situation in front of them was more important.
“Let’s go.”
Jiraiya turned toward Kakashi, whom Gen was supporting beside him.
“Kakashi, I’ll take you to the hospital first. Then I’ll go find the old man. Kid, keep an eye on Kakashi for me.”
“No need. I’ll go directly to the Hokage with you.”
Kakashi shook his head, immediately rejecting Jiraiya’s suggestion.
“I’m fine for now. Besides, something this important should be reported as soon as possible.”
“Hey, you don’t have to push yourself, you know.”
Jiraiya rubbed his forehead.
Seeing Kakashi in this condition gave him a headache, but Kakashi remained adamant.
“Don’t worry. I know my own condition. I won’t push myself beyond my limits.”
“All right.”
Jiraiya could only nod.
He looked toward Gen, who had remained silent the entire time.
“No problem!”
Gen obediently nodded.
In truth, he’d wanted to slip away for quite some time.
After all, with the two of them around, he couldn’t exactly find a quiet place to study the loot he’d just obtained from that old man.
He’d been holding himself back for so long that he was practically starving for it.
“Oh, right. Save some room in your stomach.”
Jiraiya stepped forward and took over supporting Kakashi.
Then, with an indifferent expression, he continued,
“This is your first completed mission, but Kakashi obviously can’t celebrate with you. So this Sage will reluctantly help him out. If you have any friends you want to bring along, feel free. Just come find me at the hospital.”
Jiraiya actually had a pretty good impression of Gen.
Sure, the kid’s mouth could be pretty vicious, but when faced with two extremely dangerous missing-nin like Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Jūzō, he hadn’t simply followed Kakashi’s order to flee alone.
Instead, he had calmly assessed the situation, deceived the two missing-nin, held his own against Hoshigaki Jūzō, and even managed to save Kakashi.
Even the subsequent analysis of that mysterious organization had been prompted by this kid’s ideas!
A clever, loyal, and exceptionally talented kid like that was impossible for Jiraiya not to like.
Especially since he was Kakashi’s student…
“Then thank you, Jiraiya-sama.”
Gen certainly wasn’t going to turn down an offer like that.
Jiraiya wasn’t short on money.
The man was a bestselling author, whereas Gen, despite becoming a shinobi, was still pretty poor.
After entering the village with the two of them, Gen noticed that he didn’t even have to fill out any of the various forms and paperwork.
He couldn’t help glancing at Jiraiya again.
Kakashi still had to rely on his reputation to skip some formalities, but with this guy around, even those were taken care of.
“But I can finally go home.”
After watching the two of them leave, Gen turned and ran toward his house.
But just as he was approaching, he suddenly saw Naruto jump down from his window.
“Hey, hey, what are you doing?”
Gen was completely dumbfounded by the sight.
“Huh? You’re back?”
Naruto was startled as well, but he quickly lost his temper.
“Damn it! You were the one who asked me to water your flowers, but you didn’t even give me the key!”
“Uh… Was that it?”
Gen froze for a moment before remembering that he had indeed asked Naruto to come over.
He immediately felt awkward.
“Sorry, sorry. I was just saying it casually. I didn’t actually expect you to come…”
“That’s why you’re such a jerk.”
Naruto gave a light snort, then proudly added,
“But even if you’re a jerk, if I promise to do something, I’ll definitely do it. Just like I’ll definitely pass the graduation assessment and become a shinobi!”
“Didn’t you say before that you were going to take the exam early? So you’ve lowered your standards now?”
Gen blinked in confusion.
Naruto’s face instantly stiffened.
Before Naruto could say anything, Gen continued,
“Besides, if you want to pass the assessment, you need to study hard. Don’t you have class today?”
“Today is a day off…”
Naruto’s voice became noticeably weaker.
“Jerk! I’ll definitely pass!”
“All right, all right.”
Gen rubbed his ear.
This kid really was loud.
“I believe you. Keeping your word is your shinobi way. I get it.”
“Huh?”
Naruto froze.
Keeping your word?
His shinobi way?
It seemed…
That actually fit perfectly!
“Here. Take these.”
While Naruto was still processing those words, Gen suddenly pulled a kunai and a scroll from his ninja tool pouch.
“This kunai was the first weapon I used to take down an enemy.
Consider it payment for watering my flowers.
I hope you become a shinobi soon too.
“As for the scroll, I bought it as a gift while we were in the Land of Waves. It’s for you.”
“Uh… Th-thank you!”
Naruto hurriedly accepted the two items, staring blankly at what was in his hands.
For a moment, he completely forgot that he’d been calling Gen a jerk just moments ago.
His eyes even began to glisten with tears.
“Hey, don’t get all emotional on me. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Gen lightly punched Naruto in the chest.
After all, he’d been taking advantage of Naruto’s allowance for quite some time.
He had to give something back eventually.
“Also, I completed my first mission, so we’re having a celebration tonight. Save some room and remember to come. Don’t be shy.”
“Ah…”
Naruto came back to his senses.
He was excited at first, but then he immediately became wary.
“I… haven’t received my allowance yet…”
“Idiot. Someone else is paying. Don’t worry.”
Gen didn’t give Naruto a chance to refuse.
He turned around and walked toward his house.
“And don’t come bother me later. I’m practically exhausted after these past few days.”
Without paying Naruto any more attention, Gen entered the house and shut the door behind him.
Then he dropped onto his bed.
“Finally, I can properly give this a try…”
Closing his eyes, he began carefully reviewing the knowledge he had received from Jiraiya.
He had already organized most of the information during the journey back.
He simply hadn’t had the opportunity to put any of it into practice or study it properly.
Time slowly passed.
After an entire hour of reviewing the knowledge with his eyes closed, Gen suddenly opened them.
At the same time, a strange aura began emanating from his body.
In an instant, a patch of red pigmentation appeared around his eyes…