I’m Not Naruto, But I Got a Better Bloodline

"I have to find Yahiko's body. No matter what... I can't just let this go."

Nagato opened his eyes and said in a low voice to Konan. But his words made Konan a little uneasy.

"Nagato, don't do anything reckless."

"Don't worry, I—hm?"

Nagato nodded, intending to say something, but suddenly paused mid-sentence. Even Konan noticed the sudden shift.

"Relax. It's just me."

Before either of them could speak, a giant pitcher plant slowly rose from the ground, emerging before them.

"It's you?"

Nagato's brows remained tightly furrowed, but he showed no intent to act.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the fury in his chest, he asked in a low tone: "What do you want from me?"

"There is indeed something I came for... but more accurately, I've brought something to return to you."

As Black Zetsu spoke, he pulled out a scroll and immediately unfurled it.

[Bang—]

With a puff of smoke, a figure appeared.

Nagato and Konan were still wary—but the moment they laid eyes on that figure, both of their pupils contracted sharply.

Yahiko lay there quietly. Though half of his body was still damaged, it was clear that repairs and treatment had already been carried out.

"You…"

Nagato stood frozen for a long moment, staring at Black Zetsu in disbelief.

"Don't be so surprised. I was there the whole time," Black Zetsu explained casually, shaking his head.

"That explosion was truly terrifying. But Kitagawa Gen didn't dare get close—so I stepped in.

"Sorry I couldn't bring the body to you right away. I had to make sure there wasn't a Flying Thunder God mark on it.

"But I've taken care of that now. You can relax. As for the repairs... this is the best I could do. The rest—"

He stopped speaking at that point.

In truth, this was far from his limit. He simply wasn't willing to go any further.

He had plenty of White Zetsu bodies to work with, but he wasn't about to invest them into Nagato lightly—even as puppets.

Who knew what kind of hidden risks might come of it? Better to stay cautious.

"Why would you do this?"

Nagato was silent for a while before finally speaking. Black Zetsu, however, answered calmly.

"He was your friend. He mattered to you. And you matter to us."

He paused briefly, then spoke again—his tone serious.

"The current situation is looking worse and worse for us. Konoha is closing in step by step, and we've suffered repeated setbacks."

"That kid, Kitagawa Gen, is especially troublesome. We always seem to be on the losing side when he's involved."

"No matter the reason, the more he grows, the stronger he becomes—and the greater the threat Konoha poses to us."

Nagato didn't respond, but he didn't deny it either.

After all, he had been on the receiving end of one of those "setbacks."

Kitagawa Gen... really was no ordinary enemy.

"That's why I want you to look at your friend—and remember everything that happened that day."

Black Zetsu spoke again, watching Nagato calmly.

"That kid... and Konoha behind him—they could very well derail our entire plan. We have to be more cautious. More serious."

'That's true,' Nagato thought to himself.

It was exactly because he hadn't taken it seriously enough—because he hadn't prepared thoroughly—that they were in this situation now.

Just as he was about to respond, Black Zetsu spoke once more.

"At the very least, think about your friend."

"You wouldn't want to see his body shattered again by that brat, would you?"

"…Right."

He had a point... but why did it sound so wrong?

...

"Kakashi-sensei, what is it this time?"

In Konoha, Kitagawa Gen followed Kakashi with curiosity as they headed out of the village.

"Is the Fourth Raikage still waiting outside?"

"Yeah. The Hokage isn't letting him into the village—letting him in would stir up too much trouble."

Kakashi spoke while flipping through his book, casually shrugging.

"But most of the discussion's already wrapped up. Just some final touches left. Still... you really gave him a lot of pressure this time."

As he thought back to the negotiations—and the arrogance the shinobi from Kumogakure had shown years ago—Kakashi couldn't help but smile, his eyes curling like crescent moons.

Back then, he was still young, but he knew what had happened in Konoha.

At the time, it was said that a war was about to break out—only for the Hyūga Clan to eventually compromise, sparing Konoha from being dragged into another conflict.

But things were different now. Although the Fourth Raikage still carried himself with arrogance, Konoha was no longer the same village it had been back then.

Especially now with Kitagawa Gen—the Flying Thunder God mark he had placed on the Fourth Raikage had truly come in handy.

"Sigh, is that so?"

Kitagawa Gen tilted his head slightly, asking with an amused tone.

"But the Fourth Raikage doesn't strike me as the type to back down so easily. The impression I got from him was: kill him, and it's war; let him go, and the more he thinks about it back home, the angrier he gets—also ending in war. Negotiating with us now... that can't be simple."

"True enough. But we're not afraid either."

Kakashi nodded. He had no intention of hiding this matter from Kitagawa Gen.

"The Third Hokage told him—true peace in the shinobi world is rare, and Konoha is willing to make its stance clear."

"We'll provide a medical plan to treat his arm, and we'll wait for Kumogakure's delegation to arrive and escort him back."

"Of course, if he insists on war, Konoha will respond in full. But the responsibility will be entirely on them—especially now that we know what they did in Sugi Village."

"So tough?"

Even Kitagawa Gen looked a bit surprised. He hadn't expected the seemingly more timid Third Hokage to take such a hardline stance.

Then again, the Third hadn't always been soft.

He'd stood firm in the past too—also against Kumogakure. Back then, under pressure from Kumo, he and Danzō were prepared to go to war. It was only the Hyūga Clan that failed to hold up under the weight.

"Of course. Times have changed."

Kakashi patted Kitagawa Gen on the shoulder and said with a smile, "The Fourth Raikage may be hot-tempered, but he's still a Kage. The agreement has already been signed."

"Can a deal like that really be trusted?"

Kitagawa Gen raised an eyebrow. He wasn't inclined to trust anyone from Kumogakure—and Kakashi was no different.

"Of course it can't be trusted. But at the very least, he won't dare make a move openly. As for what they'll do behind the scenes? That's guaranteed.

"We're well aware of that. Why do you think we're walking there now—instead of teleporting with Flying Thunder God?"

"…"

Kitagawa Gen stared silently at Kakashi.

He had a growing suspicion that the reason everyone kept saying he had "flaws in his education" could be traced back to this.

Among all his senseis, aside from Might Guy, was anyone actually normal?

Sure enough—when the sensei fails to teach properly, the blame falls on the student.

"By the way," Kakashi suddenly turned toward him with curiosity, "you still haven't told me what exactly you did to Obito last time, have you?"

"Come on, share it. I might find it useful someday."

"…Rather than worry about Uchiha Obito, shouldn't we focus on Kumogakure instead?"

Kitagawa Gen's mouth twitched slightly before he suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"This time, the reason I'm going out there... it's to remove the Flying Thunder God mark I placed on the Fourth Raikage, right?"

"Yeah. Hold on—don't tell me you're planning something again?"

"I actually am. What if I just tell him it's been erased, then have Hokage-sama gather a team, and I follow them using Flying Thunder God?"

"…"

"When they stop to rest, we strike all at once—wipe them out completely. Then we bury the bodies somewhere no one will ever find them!"

"…"

"And afterwards, we can say it was the Akatsuki's doing. We're already investigating them anyway—dragging Kumogakure into that investigation would actually be pretty helpful, don't you think?"

"…"

"Kakashi-sensei? Say something?"

"…"

Kakashi didn't respond. He simply walked forward in silence.

For a brief moment, he genuinely thought Kitagawa Gen might be better suited for the ANBU than he ever was.

Back in the day, when Kakashi was in ANBU, he was swift and decisive—he'd eliminated countless targets. But at least his actions were straightforward. He never came up with schemes as convoluted as this.

And Kitagawa Gen…

These tactics were just downright devious.

'Sensei…'

Kakashi couldn't help but glance up toward the Hokage Rock. In the golden light of the setting sun, the Hokage faces looked solemn and dignified.

'The village keeps getting better. There's more and more talent… but maybe we've gone wrong somewhere along the way.'

Kakashi sighed inwardly, wondering how on earth he was supposed to "correct" Kitagawa Gen.

But as he kept looking, his brow slowly furrowed. His gaze shifted from the Fourth Hokage's face... to the Second.

And all at once, stories of the Second Hokage began flooding his mind.

After a long silence, he couldn't help but mutter: "Could it be… Gen has actually resembled the Second all along?"

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