“Kakashi’s Lightning Release…”
After separating from Kakashi, Gen Hoshino immediately made his way home.
His head felt as though it were about to burst.
An enormous amount of information had suddenly been implanted into his mind.
The system’s rewards were actually quite straightforward.
Rather than merely handing him an abstract ability, it directly transferred the necessary knowledge into his mind—how to perform the technique, how to control it, how to use it, and various pieces of information related to it.
Of course, there was an obvious drawback.
For example, he might indeed be capable of using an ability, but whether his body was actually compatible with it was another matter entirely…
Aside from that, having a massive amount of knowledge dumped into his mind didn’t make him feel as though he were swimming through a sea of knowledge.
Instead, it made his brain itch, almost as though it were desperately trying to grow a brain of its own…
“Besides, these Lightning Release techniques are way too extreme…”
As he went through the information in his mind, Gen Hoshino felt a headache coming on.
Kakashi really did possess a considerable number of Lightning Release techniques.
However, most of them had been developed from the foundation of Lightning Cutter, which didn’t seem all that valuable to him without a Sharingan.
But…
“These techniques can all be modified!”
As he pondered the information in his mind, an odd expression appeared on Gen Hoshino’s face.
He had discovered something rather interesting: modifying these techniques didn’t seem particularly difficult for him.
And he wasn’t talking about something as trivial as carving a face into an Earth-Style Wall.
He meant changing the very way a technique was used—even altering its nature!
A normal shinobi would never come up with such an outrageous idea.
But things were different after the system had given him a thorough understanding of Kakashi’s Lightning Release techniques, especially with his own bloodline giving him an extraordinary affinity for and control over chakra.
With that knowledge as a reference, it was as though he could look down upon these techniques from above and see them for what they really were.
They were nothing more than specialized applications of chakra.
And when combined with his body’s exceptional control over that power, manipulating them was practically effortless.
He knew that he could genuinely create things like Chidori Current, and even a technique like Purple Electricity, without much trouble at all!
Even if their power still depended on his overall chakra level, that was hardly a problem.
“Damn…”
Suddenly, Gen Hoshino felt a dull ache in his teeth.
He had finally realized something.
After obtaining the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, he seemed to have become a little too much of a genius.
“And that means I have even more techniques to ‘whitewash’…”
Every technique needed a plausible origin.
Otherwise, there would be no way to explain where all these strange abilities had come from.
Even though Danzo had been temporarily removed from office publicly in the aftermath of the Uchiha clan’s massacre, meaning he couldn’t make any moves for the time being…
“I still need to be careful. Who knows when that old bastard will be reinstated? And I need to explain things clearly to Kakashi too. At the very least, the origins of these techniques have to be clean.”
Gen Hoshino rubbed his brow.
He still wasn’t strong enough.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have to worry about these things at all.
But if he wanted to become stronger, he would have to further develop his bloodline.
“Gen! You bastard! So you’re here!”
Just then, a voice rang out nearby.
Gen Hoshino turned his head and saw Naruto.
And Naruto wasn’t alone.
Three other youngsters were with him.
“Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chōji?” This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Seeing this lineup, Gen Hoshino immediately understood what was going on.
However, Naruto had already charged up to him, baring his teeth angrily.
“You bastard! You made me pay again! How many times has this happened now? Damn it, pay me back!”
Gen Hoshino looked at the agitated Naruto, shrugged, and asked in confusion,
“Hey, hey, aren’t we friends?”
“Uh… yeah…”
Naruto froze for a moment before nodding.
Gen Hoshino was one of the few people who didn’t harbor any ill will toward him, even though the guy himself could be pretty shameless.
“Well, since we’re friends, isn’t it perfectly normal for you to celebrate when I become a shinobi?”
Gen Hoshino blinked, then deliberately sighed.
“Naruto, it seems our friendship has grown distant.”
“That’s not what I—”
Naruto was suddenly at a loss for words.
He had a feeling this guy was twisting logic around, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out how to argue back.
“Also, it’s class time right now. Why are you here?”
Gen Hoshino pressed his advantage, eyeing Naruto suspiciously before suddenly breaking into a smile.
“I see. You skipped class. Naruto, I’m sure you wouldn’t want Iruka-sensei to find out about that, would you?”
“…”
Naruto’s face instantly went pale.
Fortunately, Shikamaru and the others had already walked over.
“Eh? Gen?”
They were all rather surprised to see Gen Hoshino.
Kiba was especially curious.
After looking Gen Hoshino up and down, he finally asked,
“I heard from Naruto that you beat your teammates so badly they ended up in the hospital, and then you graduated by yourself. Is that true?”
“…”
Gen Hoshino glared at Naruto.
So this brat had been spreading rumors too?
Although…
That did seem to be more or less what he’d told Naruto himself.
“More or less. But my situation was a little special.”
“Tch. You can actually get away with something like that?”
Kiba pursed his lips before looking at Naruto with a somewhat mischievous expression.
“Naruto, I heard you’re planning to graduate early. How about we form a team?”
“Hey! What the hell are you thinking?!”
Naruto immediately became annoyed and pointed at Gen Hoshino.
“Besides, I don’t want to learn from him! I’m definitely going to graduate early myself!”
“The version I heard seems a little different from yours. Besides, Konoha doesn’t allow early graduation right now, and it’s not like you’ll necessarily pass the exam even if they did…”
Shikamaru glanced sleepily at Naruto, then turned toward Gen Hoshino with curiosity.
“Come to think of it, Gen, shouldn’t you be out on missions now that you’re an officially registered genin? Why are you here?”
“Yeah. And I’ve heard genin have lots of missions.”
Chōji chimed in while munching on potato chips.
“Things like pulling weeds and cleaning out waterways. Sounds exhausting.”
“Huh? Isn’t becoming a shinobi supposed to mean going out and taking missions?”
Naruto looked at the chubby boy in confusion. Get faster updates on g.com.
He knew even less about how the shinobi system actually worked.
“It isn’t that simple. The shinobi path is a difficult one.”
Gen Hoshino shrugged indifferently and smiled.
“Chōji is right. When you first become a genin, you have to take on basic missions and continually accumulate experience.”
“Is that so?”
Naruto scratched his head.
That wasn’t how he’d imagined things at all.
“Of course. Besides, becoming a shinobi isn’t easy in the first place.”
Gen Hoshino shrugged and continued with a smile.
“A shinobi needs talent. People drop out of the Academy every year. Haven’t you noticed?”
“Even after making it through that stage, there’s still a proper graduation assessment. If you can’t pass it, you have to go back and repeat your studies.”
“My team is the perfect example. If they fail again, becoming shinobi will probably be very difficult for them.”
“Th-That difficult?”
Naruto swallowed.
He seemed unable to believe it.
Even the others, aside from Shikamaru, looked surprised.
“Of course. Forget the Land of Fire—even in Konoha, there are so many people, but how many of them actually become shinobi?”
Gen Hoshino nodded, his smile unchanged.
“And becoming a genin is only the beginning. Some people lose their lives before they ever reach Chūnin. Others reach Chūnin and then lose the motivation to advance any further. Only a tiny number of people can keep moving forward.”
“So, being a shinobi isn’t child’s play. For most people, failing to become a shinobi is actually the norm. Even for you and me, becoming a genin might be the end of the road…”
Gen Hoshino’s words silenced all the little truants.
For a moment, they all regretted skipping class.
Naruto especially.
He had always shouted about wanting to graduate, but this was the first time he’d realized just how difficult and brutal the shinobi world could be.
But then…
“Hmph! No matter how difficult it is, I’ll face it head-on!”
Naruto suddenly clenched his fists, determination shining in his eyes.
“No matter what, I’ll become a shinobi! And no matter what, I’ll work hard to become Hokage! I will never give up!”
“Tch. Don’t make such big claims.”
Kiba instinctively contradicted Naruto, though there was clear approval in his eyes.
“Besides, you won’t be the only one working hard.”
“You two…”
Shikamaru looked at Naruto and Kiba and couldn’t help rubbing his head.
The entire conversation had gotten completely derailed.
Fortunately, Chōji seemed to be the only one still thinking clearly.
As he continued eating his chips, he asked curiously,
“But Gen, you seem pretty relaxed. Does that mean becoming a genin is also the end of the road for you?”
“Well…”
Gen Hoshino tilted his head, then gave them a mischievous smile.
“Because I might be leaving the village on a mission tomorrow. Who would still be sitting around doing those basic missions in the village?”
“What?!”
Naruto and the others’ eyes instantly widened.
That didn’t sound anything like what he’d just told them!
“As for ‘becoming a genin is the end of the road’…”
“That was something I said for other people to hear.”
“My goal is to gain both fame and fortune!”