Naruto: Starting with the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline

Chapter 102: The Stirring of the Eye

"Take a guess—do you think I found it?"

The moment Kitagawa Gen reappeared, Pain's body stiffened slightly.

He hadn't expected it at all. This was their first real clash—how had this brat already figured out so much?

His analytical ability was… terrifying.

"Konan, we're pulling out," Nagato said without hesitation.

Even if he didn't believe Kitagawa Gen could truly threaten him, his immobility was a serious vulnerability.

And Konan was right beside him.

If he were alone, Nagato might not care what this kid did.

But Konan couldn't necessarily handle that guy on her own—even if she could fly, he wouldn't risk any unforeseen mishaps.

The original trio… only two remained now.

Nagato had sworn to protect Konan with his life.

---

"What's going on? Is it really that troublesome?"

"It's... complicated," Nagato replied, shaking his head.

But just as he was about to explain, his face changed drastically.

"Crap!"

---

Back on the battlefield—surrounded by a storm of kunai and caught off guard by Kitagawa Gen suddenly emerging from behind—Pain, though shaken, remained calm under Nagato's control.

"Shinra Tensei!"

A wave of overwhelming repulsive force blasted the sky full of kunai away, and even Kitagawa Gen behind him was sent flying like a rag doll.

But...

As he saw Gen's body fly away, the boy suddenly grinned—and a moment later, puff—the figure burst into smoke.

A shadow clone?!

Pain's gut dropped.

"So… how many seconds do you have left?"

The voice came from behind him—Kitagawa Gen had already reappeared at Nagato's actual location.

With techniques borrowed from the Fourth Raikage and a blade in hand, he struck decisively.

"Damn it—he left a Flying Thunder God mark underground?"

Thinking back, Gen had been chatting him up just minutes earlier... so he'd been stalling on purpose?

He'd been played.

"One second."

The blade came down. This time, Pain had no time to react—Gen's sword slashed directly across his back.

Still, Pain used the force of the blow to propel himself outward, accelerating his escape.

"Two seconds."

Just as he took to the air, another volley of kunai rained down—and Gen had already begun forming seals.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique!"

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Pain pulled a massive boulder into place as a shield—

But in the very next instant, that rock was shattered by a single strike.

Gen reappeared behind him again.

"Three seconds."

BOOM—

A purple lightning-charged punch smashed into Pain's body, sending him flying like a meteor.

---

"...This kid…"

The Fourth Raikage swallowed hard.

He had followed the battle from afar, wanting to observe this mysterious boy more closely.

He didn't expect to arrive just in time to see Gen pummeling one of Akatsuki's core members.

Those flickering movements—it reminded him of someone.

"Namikaze Minato…"

He still remembered how Minato, alone, had overwhelmed both him and his brother back in the day.

And now another one shows up?

His eyes lingered on the short sword… the white hair… something clicked.

"Didn't they say the Second Hokage invented Flying Thunder God… also skilled with a blade… and had white hair?"

But there was no time to dwell on it.

Gen's form blurred again, and a shadow clone appeared by his side.

In each of their hands formed spinning chakra spheres—

Not blue like the usual Rasengan… one was white, the other black.

The Raikage's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Rasengan? No… the color's off—"

"Four seconds."

Without sound or warning—Gen's voice rang out just as he slammed both chakra spheres into Pain's body.

"Damn it!"

Pain realized what was happening, but there was no time to react.

With no other bodies brought into the field, he couldn't switch out or escape.

In this desperate moment, Nagato unleashed a torrent of chakra to protect himself.

A blue aura erupted around Pain, but Gen's Rasengans had already landed.

---

BOOM—

The devastating power exploded at once—

Night was momentarily turned to blinding day as white and black light mingled into a violent flash.

A massive mushroom cloud surged into the sky.

Wild flames engulfed the landscape.

The ground quaked as shockwaves tore through the terrain, cracks spreading outward like a web.

"Shit—!"

The Fourth Raikage was instantly blasted away by the shockwave.

He crashed through countless trees before slamming into a massive boulder, shattering it.

Luckily, his body was strong enough to survive—even sealed from his chakra, he was still resilient.

But his expression darkened.

"That brat definitely left a Flying Thunder God seal on me…"

He recalled their first encounter—the way Gen waited patiently to strike until Raikage thought victory was his.

A chill ran down his spine.

He remembered how his father once described a certain Hokage…

"This brat… could he be planning to take me out too?"

The Raikage wasn't afraid to die.

But if he was going to die, it had better be in battle—not by being outwitted.

---

Whatever the Raikage was thinking, Gen was already far away.

His Byakugan locked onto Pain's body from a distance.

Lying in a pool of blood, Pain's robes were tattered—

Half his body was gone.

The chakra rods infused with Yin-Yang Release had been scattered.

"Looks like it's over."

Gen finally let out a breath.

Fighting just one of the Pains—especially with enough intel—wasn't too difficult.

But if all six had shown up…

That would've been another story entirely.

"Especially Edo Tensei Nagato… now that guy is terrifying."

He still remembered how Nagato, even after being reanimated, managed to beat both Naruto and Killer Bee.

The thought excited him.

"But for now, let's find someone."

He took out a shard of a black chakra rod—

A fragment he'd just extracted from Yahiko's corpse.

As for Yahiko's body… he had no interest in it.

Taking it would only mess with Nagato's head temporarily—new bodies could always be made.

"Just leave the wreck behind, let him deal with it himself. As for finding someone now—what's said must be done. Leaving a lasting impression isn't such a bad thing either."

Gripping the black staff tightly, he slowly closed his eyes to sense the surroundings. But after only a moment, his expression turned strange.

He looked up toward the sky, and after a long pause, muttered to himself:

"They sure ran fast."

As sunlight bathed the land, a new day began.

But the villagers of Takigakure wore fearful expressions. Last night's events were far beyond anything they had ever experienced.

Takigakure, once hidden behind a majestic waterfall and surrounded by lush mountains and rivers, had become a shadow of its former self.

After the fierce battle that raged through the night, the waterfall's entrance was nearly sealed off, and the once verdant landscape had been devastated.

Flames still burned across the terrain. Trees that once stood tall and green had been snapped like twigs. The once-peaceful scenery now resembled a war-torn battlefield.

"Last night was terrifying…"

"Yeah… Are all Konoha shinobi like that? But who exactly were they fighting?"

"No idea. What worries me most is whether they'll come back. After all, last night…"

"Enough. Let's wait for the elders to decide."

Inside Takigakure, whispers filled the air as the villagers discussed the chaos of the previous night. Meanwhile, in one of the village rooms, a man walked in with a thick stack of documents.

"Lord Jiraiya, here are the materials you requested—all of them."

"Thank you, and good work."

Jiraiya stood up immediately, smiling as he nodded. Then, looking a little embarrassed, he added:

"We honestly didn't expect things to turn out like that last night."

"Still, it's thanks to your timely arrival. If not…"

The elder shook his head and nudged the dark-skinned girl beside him.

"Fū, go ahead and thank them. If not for them, you would've been in real danger."

"Thank you all."

Fū bowed respectfully, but her gaze lingered on Kitagawa Gen with a strange look.

That stare made Kitagawa swallow nervously.

Did she figure something out?

"Well, I won't keep you any longer. I'll be taking my leave."

The elder didn't linger either. After all, with everything that had happened, there was much to deal with.

He took Fū with him and quickly exited. Once they were gone, Jiraiya let out a long sigh.

"Last night was a real mess."

"It ended better than it could have. Fairly smooth, all things considered."

Tsunade, who was treating the Fourth Raikage, shot Jiraiya a glare.

"But those guys retreated really decisively. And what was that technique anyway?"

Indeed, the battle had been intense. But once Gen caused that massive disturbance, the fight came to an abrupt end.

With Uchiha Obito forcefully using Kamui, even Kakashi couldn't stop them from escaping. Just like that, the enemy vanished without a trace.

"That was a Mangekyō secret technique. Kakashi can explain it to you later."

Looking at the documents in his hands, Jiraiya sighed softly.

"It's a shame—we still couldn't uncover the whole truth."

"We'll figure it out eventually. For now, let's take a look at this guy's file. Takigakure calls him Kakuzu, right?"

Gen muttered to himself on the side. With Pain defeated, the battle was naturally over. Dragging it on would've helped no one.

"Yeah, let's check the info first."

Jiraiya nodded and murmured:

"But tracking them down is such a pain. They're always on the move—it's nearly impossible to locate their base."

Gen pursed his lips. He figured this attack was probably a diversion, triggered by how close Jiraiya had gotten to uncovering the truth about Amegakure.

Nagato would never allow the Rain Village's secret to be exposed prematurely.

"Whatever. Doesn't matter. I made quite the haul this time anyway."

Walking to the window, Gen glanced down at Fū as she followed the elder away, a smile creeping onto his lips.

[Side Quest Complete: We're All Just Trying to Survive]

[Surviving is hard for everyone. Prepare for the Akatsuki's next assault]

[Reward Acquired: Seven-Tails Chakra]

Seeing the message flash across the system interface, Gen nodded in satisfaction.

Even though that lunatic Uchiha Obito had interrupted him, he still got what he came for.

It was unfortunate that he couldn't harvest wild Tailed Beast chakra for further experiments, but...

"This is safer anyway. Besides…"

Recalling the way Fū had looked at him earlier, Kitagawa wondered if she had sensed something the previous night.

Fortunately, they were about to leave. He was itching to go home.

"My eyes… They're reacting again!"

Gen couldn't tell if it was the battle or the reward of the Seven-Tails chakra, but his eyes were experiencing an eerie fluctuation.

It felt like something new was being born—like the stirrings of a developing life.

It was… like fetal movement.

"Are my eyes evolving?"

He looked up at the sky again, uncertain of what kind of power these new eyes might bring.

Would they resemble the Tenseigan from the moon? He could only hope.

But then, a strange thought struck him.

"Wait a sec. I remember Tenseigan comes in three colors: blue, gold, and purple. If I really get one… which color would mine be?"

While Gen dreamt of the future, Tsunade had just finished treating the Fourth Raikage.

"Tch. Always stuck cleaning up the mess. Such a pain."

"Hmph." The Raikage snorted but said nothing. Jiraiya, rubbing his temples, suddenly spoke up.

"Let's just release him. Once we've reviewed the files, we'll head back to Konoha. What, are we going to drag him along too?"

"You've got a point."

Tsunade looked conflicted. Letting him go was risky—but taking him back was even more trouble.

Since Jiraiya had made the call, she didn't argue.

"You're releasing me? In Takigakure?"

But the Fourth Raikage froze, his expression shifting in an instant.

"No! Don't! I'll go with you to Konoha!"