“I honestly never expected things to turn out this way.”
Inside the Hokage’s office, Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to Kakashi’s account with an expression that was almost as blank as Kakashi’s had been earlier.
He had certainly not anticipated that Kakashi’s very first assignment as a jōnin instructor after leaving the ANBU would turn into something like this.
This was practically a failure of education!
And for children that young to already be willing to attack their own comrades…
Hiruzen didn’t even dare imagine what they might become when they grew up.
Damn it, what happened to the education at the Ninja Academy?
“All right. Don’t blame yourself. No one expected something like this to happen, and it isn’t your fault.”
Hiruzen was already thinking about how to ‘crack down’ on the education system when he saw Kakashi still keeping his head lowered.
He lit his pipe and smiled helplessly.
“There was nothing wrong with what you did. Clearly, they weren’t properly guided at the Academy. Having them go back and study some more isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But what about the other child? Are you planning to keep him?”
“Yes, Lord Hokage.”
Kakashi nodded.
Recalling those words that had struck him straight in the heart, he spoke almost instinctively.
“He’s a child who cherishes his comrades and wants to protect the village. Even though something like this happened, I don’t think he should be affected by it.”
“I see…”
Hiruzen nodded silently with his pipe between his lips.
Gen wasn’t exactly a stranger to him.
After all, Hiruzen frequently visited the Academy to give speeches about the Will of Fire, and he also made a point of learning about the current students.
Gen was considered one of the more outstanding children.
Of course, that wasn’t the most important thing.
More importantly, the boy seemed to have a decent relationship with Naruto.
Unlike everyone else, he didn’t seem to harbor any particular hatred or disgust toward Naruto.
Although, judging from Hiruzen’s observations, the boy seemed to be more interested in tricking Naruto out of his allowance…
Still, Gen’s background was as clean as a blank sheet of paper.
Even Guy had spoken to him about the boy, saying that he wanted to personally train him.
Hiruzen had remembered the boy because of all this.
Assigning him to Kakashi’s team this time had also been an attempt to see how things would turn out.
He had hoped that Kakashi, after leaving the ANBU, could start a new life.
There had been an accident, but from the current situation, things didn’t look too bad…
“So he’s a young man who carries the Will of Fire, is he?”
With that thought, Hiruzen chuckled.
“Then do as you suggested. You can fill out the team with new teammates later, just as it was with you back then, Kakashi.”
“Yes!”
Kakashi nodded seriously, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
“I’ll make sure I do my best.”
“No need to be so serious. You’re not ANBU anymore.”
Hiruzen shook his head with a smile, pipe still in his mouth.
“Go on. Take some time to readjust. And don’t use your ANBU methods anymore.”
“I understand, Lord Hokage.”
Kakashi nodded.
After all, someone capable of saying those words was already rather special to him.
Perhaps this is a good beginning…
…
“Here you go. One extra-spicy, large bowl of pork chashu ramen.”
“Thanks, Teuchi!”
At dusk, Ichiraku Ramen.
Gen took the bowl of ramen and immediately lowered his head, devouring it.
“Slow down. Eating something that spicy that quickly isn’t good for you.”
Teuchi couldn’t help shaking his head at the sight.
Gen didn’t care in the slightest.
He spoke with his mouth full.
“It’s fine. I haven’t eaten all day…”
Seeing how hungry he was, Teuchi could only smile.
It was certainly rare to see someone this hungry…
Gen was genuinely starving.
He hadn’t expected the body modification to come with so many side effects.
Not only had the pain knocked him unconscious, but after waking up, he had been so hungry that his teeth were practically chattering.
But…
[Name: Gen]
[Age: 13]
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Basic)]
[Total Chakra: A (Average Jōnin Level)]
[Chakra Natures: Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Yin, Yang]
As he slurped down his noodles, Gen examined his status panel while simultaneously sensing the changes within his body.
He still felt as though everything was unreal.
He had worked desperately for all these years, driven by his determination not to become cannon fodder and his resolve to outwork the native inhabitants of this world.
Step by step, he had made it this far.
And what had he gotten?
He had only reached the level of a Chūnin capable of using three chakra natures.
Yet a single Beginner’s Gift Pack had instantly raised his chakra reserves to the average level of a jōnin and awakened all seven basic chakra natures!
Even if it was only a Basic Ōtsutsuki bloodline?
“Damn it. As expected, this really is a world where everything depends on bloodlines!”
After holding it in for quite some time, Gen finally couldn’t help cursing inwardly.
He had known this for a long time.
After all, the Naruto world was jokingly known as The Legendary Eye Saga: Five Villages Fighting Over Weapons, as well as Black Zetsu’s Search for Mother.
Without a special bloodline, the ceiling for someone relying purely on hard work might be Guy.
Even so, Gen still found it difficult to accept.
“Right now, I practically have ‘one Kakashi’s worth of power’…”
Using Kakashi as a unit of combat power wasn’t exactly ideal, but the transformation this time had brought him was simply too great!
Even though it was only a Basic bloodline, he could already feel that controlling his chakra had become extraordinarily easy.
He even felt that he might not need hand seals to perform ninjutsu anymore.
In a sense, he was even better suited to becoming a Copy Ninja than Kakashi…
And that wasn’t all.
His chakra was still steadily increasing!
“But how exactly am I supposed to develop this bloodline?”
Gen bit his chopsticks and pondered.
He knew very well just how powerful the Ōtsutsuki could become.
But as for how to develop their bloodline…
There was no way he could be as familiar with it as he was with the Sharingan.
After all, the Sharingan had Uchiha Madara to show the way…
“Old man! Old man! Ramen! Ramen!”
Just as he was thinking, a little boy dressed entirely in orange and sporting blond hair rushed inside.
“Oh, Naruto. You’re out of class?”
Teuchi was very gentle with him.
He was one of the few people who didn’t harbor any prejudice against Naruto.
“Yeah! I finally made it through class. I’m starving!”
Naruto nodded.
But he soon noticed Gen sitting nearby, and his eyes immediately lit up.
“Hey, Gen! You’re here too? I heard you guys got sent to the hospital!”
“…”
Gen almost rolled his eyes.
Sure enough, good news stays behind closed doors while bad news travels a thousand miles.
“It’s nothing. I just didn’t pass. It’s not a big deal.”
Naruto didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
He continued cheerfully,
“Maybe we can form a team together someday!”
“Heh. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about whether your allowance is enough to keep buying ramen, you spendthrift.”
Gen didn’t even raise his head.
“And who knows? Maybe I’ll be the one administering your genin graduation test someday.”
Gen wasn’t joking.
Now that he had completed his first Main Quest, naturally, a new one appeared!
[New Main Quest Obtained]
[Become a Jōnin]
Looking at his status panel, Gen couldn’t help pursing his lips.
He had only just become a genin, and the system was already telling him to work toward becoming a jōnin?
What came after that…
He didn’t even dare imagine it!
But…
The Beginner’s Gift Pack had given him an Ōtsutsuki bloodline.
So perhaps the rewards further down the line could be something he truly couldn’t even dare to imagine?
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Gen looked at Naruto strangely.
He could sense two incredibly peculiar auras emanating from the boy.
They were both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
A thoughtful look appeared in Gen’s eyes.
Could it really work like this?
“Whatever. My allowance was just issued…”
Naruto had no idea what Gen was thinking.
He had barely begun speaking when he realized something was wrong.
He stared at Gen in disbelief.
“W-Wait! You mean you passed?”
“Yeah.”
Gen nodded casually while drinking his soup.
“Kid, the person sitting in front of you is now a shinobi!”
“But didn’t you guys get sent to the hospital…?”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t me. It was my teammates. If they were the ones who got sent to the hospital, doesn’t that make me the only one who graduated?”
“???”
Naruto stared at Gen in disbelief, his eyes filled with utter confusion.
He had beaten the other two and sent them to the hospital…
And that meant he could graduate?
You could do that?
Naruto was somewhat dazed.
He didn’t even know how he had managed to finish his ramen.
But after he finished eating, he suddenly slammed his hands onto the counter!
“All right! If Gen can do it, then so can I! I’m the man who’s going to become Hokage! I’m going to train right now! I’ll definitely graduate this year!”
“No!”
Just as he was about to rush out, Ayame, who had returned at some point, stopped him.
“You haven’t paid yet. Where are you running off to?”
“Uh… Sorry, sorry…”
“And Gen told my dad that you were going to treat him to celebrate him becoming a shinobi. That’ll be…”