The days that followed were indeed not easy.
The person having a hard time, however, wasn’t Gen Hoshino.
It was Kakashi…
Kakashi had planned this trip to last for quite some time.
His intention was to train Gen Hoshino while having the boy complete missions along the way.
But as they proceeded, he was astonished to discover that everything was going far more smoothly than he’d imagined.
This wasn’t how he’d expected things to go.
Where was the promised training?
Admittedly, when they first started carrying out missions, Gen Hoshino did make a few embarrassing mistakes due to his lack of experience.
But he quickly adapted.
And not only did he adapt, he performed exceptionally well.
That alone had already been a pleasant surprise for Kakashi.
However, that pleasant surprise turned into genuine shock after he began personally training Gen.
Because Kakashi discovered that Gen’s fundamentals were extremely solid, while his talent was astonishingly good.
Usually, all Kakashi needed to teach him was the hand-seal sequence for a technique and how to circulate chakra through his body while using it.
The boy could then figure out the rest and learn it on his own.
And once he used the technique, his performance was in no way inferior to that of people who had painstakingly trained for years!
Even his taijutsu was like this.
Kakashi had demonstrated his swordsmanship using nothing more than a kunai, yet somehow, Gen had learned it as well…
After spending all this time together, Kakashi seemed to finally understand what his own teachers had felt back then.
So this is what it’s like to teach a genius?
And this kid was even more outrageous than Kakashi himself had been at that age.
Not only did he learn quickly, he also had plenty of ideas of his own.
Whatever technique he learned, he seemed determined to modify it.
Whether it was changing the technique’s form or reducing the number of hand seals required…
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”
After performing a noticeably shortened sequence of hand seals, Gen Hoshino spat out a massive fireball.
The fireball roared toward the bandit camp in the distance, exploding into a vast sea of flames.
The bandits caught in the inferno didn’t even have time to scream before they were reduced to ash.
“Kakashi-sensei, mission complete.”
Gen Hoshino turned toward the silent Kakashi.
“I scouted the area. All thirteen bandits were inside, and there were no hostages, so there was no risk of collateral damage. Unless something unexpected happened, they should all be taken care of.”
“Mm…”
Kakashi nodded mechanically and offered equally mechanical praise.
“Good work. Your progress has exceeded my expectations.”
He was getting tired of hearing himself say it.
He was beginning to genuinely feel that teaching a genius wasn’t necessarily enjoyable.
When someone learned too quickly, you could soon find yourself with nothing left to teach them…
“Kakashi-sensei, it looks like we’ve basically completed all our C-rank missions. Shouldn’t we deal with that B-rank mission now?”
Gen Hoshino blinked and asked curiously,
“I remember it was a nobleman from the Land of Waves. For some reason, someone put a high bounty on him in the black market, so there’s a possibility we’ll encounter other shinobi.”
“Mm.”
The moment they started discussing the mission itself, Kakashi immediately returned to his professional demeanor.
“There is something unusual about this mission. The bounty on him in the black market isn’t low, so we may encounter some fairly capable shinobi.”
“Huh?”
Gen Hoshino froze.
If that was the case, the mission didn’t sound easy at all.
“Then why is it only a B-rank mission?”
“Because, as a nobleman, he has personal samurai serving as his guards. The kind capable of using chakra.”
Kakashi shrugged and casually explained,
“They probably aren’t particularly fond of having other shinobi involved.”
“That lowers the difficulty. And besides, the amount he’s paying isn’t particularly high, so it can only be classified as a B-rank mission.”
“I see…”
Gen Hoshino nodded.
But inwardly, he couldn’t help complaining.
So that’s what this mission is.
Little money, uncertain circumstances, and samurai who don’t like shinobi.
Most shinobi probably wouldn’t be particularly interested in accepting it.
But for a rookie like himself to use as training?
It was actually a pretty good opportunity.
Fortunately, Gen Hoshino didn’t mind.
He blinked and looked toward Kakashi.
“Kakashi-sensei, although this mission doesn’t seem particularly complicated, it is still a B-rank mission, so…”
“…”
Kakashi raised an eyebrow the moment he heard that.
He’d heard similar words plenty of times throughout this journey.
“What do you want to learn this time?”
“I heard Guy-sensei say that your greatest specialty is Lightning Release.”
Gen Hoshino rubbed his chin before continuing.
He had wanted to find a plausible explanation for his Lightning Release techniques for quite some time.
Now he finally had the chance to properly try out Purple Electricity!
“After all, it’s your signature technique. And when I had my chakra nature tested earlier, I was found to have an affinity for Lightning Release too.”
“But it isn’t suitable for you…”
“I know. Guy-sensei told me that your Lightning Release is designed to be used in conjunction with the Sharingan. But I still want to give it a try.”
“…”
“Kakashi-sensei, surely you don’t want your only student right now to be unable to use even your strongest specialty, do you?”
“…”
…
“Verification complete. Mission accomplished. Take your payment.”
“Mm.”
Inside an underground exchange in the Land of Hot Water, two men wearing black cloaks adorned with red clouds accepted the cash handed over by the administrator.
They then casually accepted another mission before turning around and leaving.
“Another mission completed.”
Once they were outside the exchange, one of the men spoke.
He carried a massive sword over his shoulder.
His teeth were sharp, a cross-shaped scar marked his face, and red markings covered his features.
“Besides, you’re getting more and more accustomed to this life, Itachi.”
“It’s been more than a year. I’ve long since gotten used to it, Jūzō.”
The other man nodded.
A Konoha forehead protector with a slash across its symbol rested on his forehead, clearly indicating his former affiliation.
The two men were none other than Hoshigaki Jūzō and Uchiha Itachi.
The Akatsuki was still in its early stages of building up its resources.
At present, the two of them were constantly taking on missions and earning money for the organization.
Their lives were relatively monotonous, but the routine suited the two of them quite well.
“What is the next mission? The Land of Waves?”
Uchiha Itachi looked curiously at Jūzō.
Having only joined the organization about a year ago, there were still many matters on which he would defer to Jūzō’s experience.
“Mm. We’re supposed to assassinate someone. Apparently, he’s a noble.”
Jūzō glanced at the mission list before putting it away.
“But that has nothing to do with us. The more peaceful the world becomes, the more missions we’ll have. As long as there’s a commission, we take it, regardless of what it is.”
“So it doesn’t matter who this nobleman is or who wants him dead. We don’t need to know.”
“Even if it’s some ridiculous job, there’s no point in asking who commissioned it or why. We get paid to do the job. That’s all.”
“You’ve said that many times already.”
Uchiha Itachi spoke calmly, his gaze turning toward the distant horizon.
“Don’t worry. I’ve memorized it.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
Jūzō nodded and walked forward without looking back.
“Let’s finish it quickly. Maybe we’ll even have time to do some things we actually want to do…”