Naruto: Starting with the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline

Chapter 96: The Blood Feud Between Kitagawa Gen and the Akatsuki

"Why is there still no word?"

In the underground base of Root in Konoha, Danzo Shimura sat in silent frustration, waiting for a response from Orochimaru.

It had already been over a week since Orochimaru agreed to the deal. The money and supplies had long been sent. All Danzo could do now was wait.

Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to send payment upfront, but after years of collaboration with Orochimaru, this had become their established mode of operation.

And to be fair—this arrangement had yielded results in the past.

"Let's just hope nothing's gone sideways."

Danzo muttered to himself, but just then, a voice filled with rage suddenly echoed through the base.

"Shimura Danzo, get out here right now!"

That voice jolted Danzo upright. It was both familiar and unsettling.

He instantly recognized the voice—it belonged to his old comrade. But it had been years since he'd heard Sarutobi Hiruzen this angry.

Still processing that, he looked up to see Hiruzen walk in, his face dark as thunder, flanked by several members of the ANBU.

Danzo's heart skipped a beat.

Was he about to be surrounded again?

Trying to maintain his composure, Danzo stood and asked calmly,

"Hiruzen, what's the meaning of this?"

Hiruzen, still visibly seething, forced down the storm in his chest and spoke coldly,

"Back then—what did you really hide from me about the incident in the Land of Rain?"

Danzo's face darkened. The question instantly stirred a fire in his chest.

That incident—he hated even thinking about it. Why was Hiruzen dragging it out now?

"What happened? Why bring this up now?" he asked warily, though the stern look on Hiruzen's face made him fall silent.

Hiruzen took a deep breath and said solemnly,

"Jiraiya ran into Orochimaru."

"..."

Danzo's pupils dilated.

Jiraiya… ran into Orochimaru?!

Wasn't Jiraiya supposed to be looking for Tsunade?

Just what in the world had happened?

No matter what, though—Danzo could sense the danger in this situation.

He had once speculated that the mysterious organization, Akatsuki, might be linked to the people who had decimated his Root operatives. But the timing and the people hadn't lined up.

Hiruzen continued,

"Orochimaru revealed some intel. Some of the current Akatsuki members… were survivors of that so-called rebel group you and Hanzo helped 'eliminate' back then. So what really happened?"

Danzo's mind raced.

"I don't know the full details," he replied with a forced frown. "Back then, Hanzo invited me to assist in eliminating a rebel organization in exchange for future support."

"I agreed—for the sake of Konoha. But things quickly escalated. Hanzo later told me the group was completely wiped out."

"Wiped out?" Hiruzen's eyes bored into Danzo.

"Then how do you explain what's happening now? And do you even know who those survivors are?"

Hiruzen was beyond furious. Danzo had clearly never told him any of this.

Of course, he couldn't bring himself to say outright that those people were Jiraiya's disciples—because Jiraiya himself had never told him that.

Back after the war, Jiraiya disappeared for years. Both Orochimaru and Tsunade had simply said he'd gone off to "relax."

Turns out those two had been covering for him all along—leaving Hiruzen to deal with the aftermath.

Danzo frowned.

"Who are they?"

But Hiruzen didn't answer. He turned away, waving his hand dismissively.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I have one order for you—get in contact with Hanzo."

"You claim you did it for Konoha, right? Well, now I need answers. I want to know where those people are, and whether they hold a grudge against Konoha."

"If you can't even do that… then I'm sorry, but you'll be forced back into retirement."

With that, Hiruzen turned and walked off. The knot in his chest had finally loosened a little.

Just moments ago, it had felt like the sky was falling. He had nearly collapsed under the weight of it all.

But unfortunately, fate wouldn't let him pass out and avoid this. All he could do was face the mess and clean it up.

"Is this what it means to blow off steam?"

He didn't know. But at least now, he could breathe.

Danzo, however, was left cold and numb.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain—but Hiruzen was already gone, not giving him a chance to defend himself.

Forced into retirement?

That would be the end of him.

"Damn you, Orochimaru… you've ruined me!"

Danzo cursed silently as he watched Hiruzen and the ANBU disappear.

"And Hanzo… you've hidden yourself too well. Are you even still alive?"

---

Meanwhile — Amegakure, inside the Akatsuki hideout.

As the holographic figures flickered into place, Hidan immediately let out a shout:

"Oi, do we have a mission or not?"

Kakuzu shot him a glare—but as usual, it had no effect. Luckily, Pain spoke up.

"We've got an urgent mission—in the Land of Cedar. Those who are available should participate."

"The Land of Cedar?" Uchiha Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"What's going on over there?"

Pain's voice turned cold.

"We've run into a bit of… trouble. Our target is in the Land of Cedar."

He glanced around at the gathered members and continued:

"And lately, these people have been digging far too deep into our affairs. Several of you have already encountered them."

"You mean… those Konoha pests?" Sasori raised a brow. Then it hit him.

"That kid—Kitagawa Gen?"

His name might not yet have spread across the Shinobi world, but within the Akatsuki, everyone knew who he was.

It started with Itachi and Jūzō running into him—and suffering a humiliating loss.

Then Kisame got played in the Land of Water.

Kakuzu and Hidan clashed with him, and Kakuzu had several of his hearts destroyed.

And finally, Sasori himself had his puppets wrecked during the Iwagakure mission. His body and the Third Kazekage puppet were almost completely dismantled.

He'd lost nearly all his combat strength.

That Iwa mission had also led to Ōnoki intervening… and Deidara being snatched away to Konoha—meaning they effectively lost the Hidden Stone as a major client.

And if you factored in Uchiha Obito…

These were grievances soaked in blood.

Sometimes they couldn't even fathom how a single brat kept outplaying them.

But they had to admit: this kid, Kitagawa Gen… was the real deal.

"That's right," Pain confirmed. "Kitagawa Gen, Hatake Kakashi, Jiraiya, even Tsunade—they're all there."

Kisame bared his teeth in a twisted grin.

"Heh, what a lovely reunion."

Itachi remained silent.

Kakuzu and Sasori, on the other hand, were seething.

After a while, the two of them couldn't help but shake their heads.

"I haven't fully recovered yet—can't move out."

"My puppets still need to be rebuilt. I won't be able to go either."

Hearing this, Pain nodded. It wasn't unexpected.

"In that case, both of you will stay behind. Hidan, you stay too. Help them with their recovery."

"Tch. Works for me. I wasn't interested in going anyway."

Hidan shrugged nonchalantly. He hadn't really clashed with that brat Kitagawa Gen much. The one who left a real impression on him was that damn 'kappa ghost'. (Guy: Tee-hee!)

But since that guy wasn't around, he didn't care.

"So it's just the two of us and the leader?" Kisame glanced at Itachi and grinned.

"But that's not a lot of people. And we're still pretty far from the Land of Cedars."

"No need to worry. It's not just the two of you," Pain said calmly, shaking his head.

"There's another one joining you. Someone will take care of your transportation."

---

Inside a cave in the Land of Cedars—

"I swear I'm going to kill you, brat!"

"Oh, shut up. No one comes out of a fight without a scratch. Besides, can you even catch me?"

"You bastard!"

Kitagawa Gen shrugged as he watched the Fourth Raikage roaring in fury.

The Raikage had already regained consciousness, but he was clearly struggling to accept his current situation.

As a taijutsu-focused ninja, suddenly losing an arm was a crushing blow.

Gen recalled clearly—it was the Raikage himself who had severed it, trying to stop Amaterasu's flames. A brutal but necessary choice.

And now? Not only had he lost pathetically, but it was Gen who had sliced his arm off.

"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Don't take it personally," Gen said kindly—though that only made the Raikage more furious.

"Bound to happen!? You damn brat—I'll kill you!"

"Same lines over and over. Your chakra's sealed anyway. What can you even do?"

Gen tilted his head with a casual smirk. The Raikage was practically fuming.

"Hmph! You think you can kill me? That'd start a war! You wouldn't dare! You'll have to let me go. And when you do—"

"Yeah, yeah. Same old logic: you guys can take advantage of everyone else, but if something bad happens to you, suddenly it's a problem."

Gen cut him off mid-rant and turned to leave.

You couldn't argue with bandits like this. Not his problem anyway—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi were all here.

And if that wasn't enough, the Third Hokage was still calling the shots.

"Oh, and by the way, don't expect to get that arm reattached. Sasuke burned it, and I…"

Gen ignored the renewed shouts behind him and walked toward the others, silently reflecting.

His strike—charged with purple lightning—had severed the Raikage's arm and instantly fried the nerves inside.

It wasn't intentional. It was just a side effect of Purple Lightning.

Even someone like Tsunade couldn't fix it.

Well, that's what she said, at least.

Some things are just meant to be.

---

[Side Quest Complete]

[One Big, Happy Family]

[Assist Jiraiya in finding Tsunade and bringing her back to Konoha.]

[Reward: Being Calculated…]

Gen nodded to himself as he read the mission screen.

This task wasn't especially difficult. As for the reward—he wasn't sure yet.

"But with Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Orochimaru, and the Fourth Raikage all involved, the reward has to be something good."

He stretched lazily and smiled. Finally, a chance to relax.

"Then it's back to Konoha. I've got research to speed up."

There was still plenty he needed to improve, and he wasn't one to waste time.

But just then, his system screen suddenly flashed again.

[New Side Quest Available]

[We're All Just Trying to Survive]

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

"…Seriously?"

Gen's eye twitched at the screen.

"Again?"