Naruto: Starting with the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline

Chapter 103: Konoha's Medical System Is Seriously Falling Apart!

When the Fourth Raikage heard that Jiraiya intended to let him go, a sense of foreboding immediately rose in his heart.

"That bastard's planning to release me in front of all the Hidden Waterfall people, then have that brat come and kill me, isn't he?"

The Fourth Raikage wasn't afraid of battle—in fact, he thrived on it. He was a true battle maniac who found joy in fighting.

But what he couldn't stand was being taken out by some sneaky, cowardly trick. If he were to die, it should be face-to-face, with honor—not ambushed by some punk while he was unprepared.

If he had to live constantly on edge, always watching his back... then he'd rather die in a proper fight.

At least that way, he could die with his dignity intact!

---

"Are you really not leaving?"

On the way back to Konoha, Jiraiya couldn't help but double-check. But the Fourth Raikage wasn't having it.

"If you want to kill me, do it head-on. I'd gladly fight to the death. But don't give me that half-assed nonsense!"

"You lunatic!"

Tsunade couldn't help but curse, her gaze drifting toward Gen.

Seeing his innocent expression—as if to say "Don't look at me"—she felt a wave of frustration.

This brat! If you're going to act like him, then go all the way!

"Forget it, Jiraiya. You talk to the old man yourself."

"Got it. What a damn headache..."

Jiraiya sighed deeply, starting to wonder if the Fourth Raikage had overheard that strange conversation they had with Gen earlier.

Or maybe... during the fight with Yahiko, the Raikage had seen something he shouldn't have?

"Speaking of which, what exactly happened with Yahiko?"

Unable to suppress his curiosity anymore, Jiraiya asked once they left the Hidden Waterfall Village.

"You didn't go into much detail yesterday…"

"The one I fought was a puppet," Gen replied calmly.

He glanced at Jiraiya and handed over a broken piece of a black rod.

"I could feel the real body was somewhere far away. The puppet was being remotely controlled through this."

"They noticed I was tracking the signal and made a mistake. I seized the chance—but the real body escaped. Apparently, they can fly."

"Remote control... and flight?"

Jiraiya took the fragment and studied it closely. Very quickly, his expression darkened.

"This chakra…"

He could clearly sense the unusual nature of the chakra. It must've come from the Rinnegan's power.

And the news from Gen made his heart sink even further.

Yahiko was probably already dead.

And Nagato...

"You've done well, Gen."

Jiraiya carefully tucked away the black fragment before speaking softly.

"Also, don't get overconfident. I don't know exactly what happened, but those people aren't easy to deal with. After all, they're—"

"Don't worry, I understand."

Gen nodded, cutting him off. He knew exactly what Jiraiya was hesitant to say—Rinnegan.

As someone armed with inside knowledge, he understood the burden on Jiraiya's heart very well.

"But Nagato probably hates me now, huh?"

He thought back to how he shattered half of the Deva Path's body—Yahiko's corpse, no less. Nagato was likely furious beyond reason.

"And not just Nagato. Uchiha Obito probably wants to strangle me right about now too…"

Thinking of Obito, Gen couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.

He hadn't expected to get caught red-handed the first time he disguised himself and caused trouble.

Not to mention, he'd done and said quite a few things that had completely broken Obito's composure.

Though Obito did "leave behind" some things for him—unintentionally, of course—not that they were useful right now.

"Still, he's not all bad."

Gen quietly nodded to himself.

---

Just then, Kakashi suddenly appeared at his side and asked in a hushed voice:

"Gen, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Kakashi-sensei. What is it?"

"Last night, Obito seemed a little... mentally unstable. Like, something was seriously off. Do you know what happened?"

"Uh…"

"If we can figure it out, maybe I can try it too. It could help us fight him more effectively!"

"…"

"So tell me in detail—what exactly happened last night?"

"…"

---

"BASTAAARD!!!"

Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain, Uchiha Obito let out a furious roar.

The mission itself hadn't been a complete failure—they'd merely wanted to divert Konoha's attention, not fight seriously.

But still—

"Kakashi! This is your brilliant student?!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier Obito became. He just couldn't understand—how could someone be this shameless?

"Obito, calm down. The battle's over."

Even Black Zetsu couldn't stand watching anymore. He tried to soothe him in a low voice.

"It's over now. We need to focus. That kid's a freak—we have to take him seriously."

"What the hell do you know?!"

Obito shot him a glare that immediately silenced Black Zetsu.

Because the truth was… he hadn't been there.

He didn't actually know what had happened—just that Obito had gotten wrecked.

He glanced at White Zetsu—he probably saw something.

But things had happened so fast—especially with Gen defeating the Deva Path—he hadn't paid close attention.

"Thinking about it won't change anything. Nagato lost, and badly."

Black Zetsu sighed, but Obito just snorted.

"Nagato was too arrogant—sent a single puppet body in. Sure, it was strong, but Gen can use the Flying Thunder God. What was he thinking?"

Obito had never agreed with Nagato's methods.

Even he had repeatedly suffered because of Flying Thunder God.

"And Kakashi's twisted little brat is cunning and ruthless. He'll exploit any opportunity."

"…"

Black Zetsu looked at Obito in silence.

Just how badly did you get beaten?

"Enough. I don't want to talk about it."

Obito suddenly remembered that earthen wall from last night—the sheer trauma made him switch topics immediately.

"Did you recover the Pain body?"

"Yes," Black Zetsu nodded.

"That body belonged to Nagato's friend, so I grabbed it right after the fight. It's badly damaged though."

"Give it back to him," Obito said through gritted teeth.

"And try to repair it. Help him remember this disgrace forever!"

"…"

Black Zetsu blinked.

Obito's brain was... actually working for once?

Was it possible he'd been pushed so far that he leveled up mentally?

"Hey, Obito~ Weren't you the one who said that kid wasn't worth mentioning?"

Just then, White Zetsu couldn't help blurting out from the sidelines:

"Now you're finally taking him seriously, huh? I told you he was special. Way stronger than you back then—and he even tricked—"

"YOU WANNA DIE?!"

Before he could finish, Obito turned and gave him a glare so cold it could freeze air.

White Zetsu instantly shut up. Obito glared one last time, then his body twisted and warped.

"I'm going to check on Nagato. You two handle the rest. And check for any Flying Thunder God marks!"

With that, he vanished on the spot.

White Zetsu finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew... He really looked like he wanted to kill me this time."

"Just stop talking."

Black Zetsu had a headache. The tasks Obito left him were not easy—especially fixing the Pain body.

They couldn't use White Zetsu's body, could they?

It was effective, sure, but too risky.

Especially with Nagato's unique bloodline—it needed extreme caution, even in a puppet.

"We'll figure something out... Anyway, what did happen in the Hidden Waterfall yesterday? Why was Obito so messed up?"

"Oh, I saw it through a clone!" White Zetsu said brightly, though he looked confused.

"But it was weird! Even if someone pretended to be him and did bad things, it shouldn't have made him that angry. I use clones all the time!"

"…"

"Also, I remember Obito always calling out for Kakashi and Rin in his sleep. Last night, that kid used Earth Style to show them to him—and Obito got even angrier!"

"…"

"What's there to be mad about?"

"…"

Black Zetsu finally understood.

No wonder Obito had snapped.

That kid... really doesn't treat people like people.

Meanwhile, in the Hidden Leaf Village, Hiruzen Sarutobi was pacing anxiously, waiting for Jiraiya's return.

Ever since their last communication, some time had passed—but there was still no sign of them.

"Could something have gone wrong?"

"And from the looks of it, the Hidden Cloud is on the move too... It won't be long before we find out what's really going on."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had a splitting headache. Gen and his group had made their move right out in the open.

Which meant—if the Hidden Cloud wanted to dig up information, all they had to do was poke around that small border town in the Land of Cedars. Someone would definitely talk.

"If only no one had seen anything…"

Hiruzen let out a long sigh—then, suddenly, an old friend came to mind: Danzo.

If it were Danzo, his likely solution would be…

Trap the whole town with Earth Release, then burn everything down with a Fire Release?

"Tch…"

Hiruzen inhaled sharply. He realized he absolutely couldn't let himself think like Danzo. That line of thought was far too extreme.

"I wonder how that guy's negotiations with Hanzo the Salamander are going…"

He immediately cut off the chaotic thoughts swirling in his mind. He didn't dare let them continue.

Just then, an ANBU operative came rushing in, clutching a toad in his arms.

"Hokage-sama! New intel!"

"Hm."

Hiruzen straightened up at once. The toad leapt out of the ANBU's arms and, as if it had done this a hundred times before, spit out a scroll right onto the desk.

Hiruzen unrolled it instantly—and the moment he read it, he felt as if the very air had become too heavy to breathe.

"…It's begun."

---

Land of Fire, a mountain not far from the Hidden Leaf Village.

Jiraiya stood gazing down at Konoha, feeling unexpectedly sentimental. It had only been a little over a month since he left, but it felt like a lifetime.

So much had happened in that short time.

"Tch… Back again, huh?"

Tsunade looked down at the village too, her expression complicated. After all these years, returning now brought up too many mixed emotions.

If it weren't for some pressing circumstances, she honestly wouldn't have wanted to come back at all.

But in the end, this was her home. Sooner or later, you have to return to it.

She glanced at Shizune, who was practically glowing with excitement—and felt a little awkward all over again.

Still, she held back her words. Instead, she turned to Jiraiya.

"You're explaining this mess to the old man. That man insisted on tagging along—not my problem."

"Yes, yes, leave it to me," Jiraiya replied with a strained smile.

Especially when he glanced at the Fourth Raikage walking silently behind them, eyes locked on them the entire time. Yeah… this was a huge headache.

"Well, we're all back now. Let's head in."

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Gen—who had caused the whole thing—finally spoke up, trying to lighten the mood.

"Besides, we were lucky this time. At least Kakashi-sensei doesn't need to be hospitalized."

"…"

Kakashi glared daggers at Gen, who was clearly tempting fate.

What, did he think every mission had to end with someone in the hospital?

"Hm? Someone's coming."

Just as Kakashi opened his mouth, ANBU operatives approached. One glance at the Raikage told him exactly what was happening.

"Looks like we're not done yet."

"Indeed," Tsunade nodded. "This meeting is critical, after all."

Jiraiya and Tsunade both turned to Gen.

"Gen, go on ahead and rest. We'll contact you later if anything comes up."

"Gladly!"

Gen nodded eagerly. He'd been dying to get away.

Right now, what he wanted most was to tally his spoils—and study his eyes a little more.

"I'll be taking my leave, then!"

Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Gen had vanished from sight.

"You're just letting that brat leave? He did start this whole thing, you know."

Tsunade couldn't help but ask, watching Gen disappear.

Jiraiya just sighed.

"Keeping him here would only make things worse… Anyway, despite the unexpected turns, we made it through. Right, Kakashi?"

"…"

Kakashi could only nod weakly as the ANBU reached them.

"Jiraiya-sama. Tsunade-sama. Kakashi-senpai."

"Thanks for your work," Jiraiya acknowledged them. Then he got straight to the point:

"So, where are we meeting the Raikage? I assume the old man's not bringing him straight into the village."

There were sensitive matters to handle first—things that had to be discussed outside the village walls.

"Well…"

The ANBU looked a little troubled. After a moment's hesitation, he lowered his voice.

"Hokage-sama said… you should decide. He'll head there shortly."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"…Hokage-sama is currently recovering in the hospital, so…"

"…"

Jiraiya was momentarily stunned. Tsunade stared in disbelief, then finally scoffed.

"Figures. Konoha's medical system is as broken as its shinobi education."

"…"