Chapter 27: Jiraiya's Guidance
"Hey, hey, hey—Gen, where are you headed?"
"To the hospital, to visit my teacher. Also, why are you two following me? Don't you have classes today?"
On Konoha's bustling street, Kitagawa Gen walked with his head down, making his way to the hospital. Behind him trailed Naruto and Sasuke, refusing to leave him alone, much to his annoyance.
He had noticed something odd about his eyes that morning. He was seriously considering getting colored contact lenses to hide the strange glow—just in case. He remembered how Kakashi used a similar trick to conceal his Sharingan and still managed to mess with these two knuckleheads without them catching on.
Though Gen's eyes weren't that obvious yet—just faintly glimmering if someone looked closely—he figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
But before he could make it to the hospital, he was intercepted by these two brats.
"It's our day off. What class?" Naruto rolled his eyes, then quickly brightened up.
"Hey, hey, Gen, train with me! I just realized how insanely strong you are!"
"Tch. You think they let me go on missions outside the village for fun?"
Gen snorted and then shook his head.
"Besides, I'm a busy shinobi. Helping you train? Not happening. You've got Jiraiya-sama, and he's way better than me. I already gave you the method, didn't I?"
"Jiraiya? Method?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, glancing at Naruto. Naruto, meanwhile, looked like he'd just tasted something sour.
"Ew. That creepy method?" Naruto's face scrunched in disgust.
"You've pulled off enough pranks of your own, haven't you?"
Gen shrugged.
"Same concept. You're just weaponizing your mischief. What's there to be afraid of?"
"Hmm… I guess you're right."
Naruto nodded, his tone still reluctant, but his eyes lit up with interest.
"You… did you really encounter him?" Sasuke spoke up suddenly, eyes sharp.
"And how did you get so strong?"
While Naruto could be easily distracted, Sasuke wasn't so easily shaken off.
Last night, Gen had dropped the name "Uchiha Itachi" like a bomb, rattling Sasuke's nerves. But before he could ask more, they'd run into another Uchiha.
That mysterious man had been terrifying, wielding strange space-time abilities. Yet Gen had gone toe-to-toe with him—held his ground, even gained the upper hand long enough for Konoha's reinforcements to arrive.
Sasuke couldn't comprehend it. Gen wasn't much older than him. And Sasuke was an Uchiha! So why?
"You mean Uchiha Itachi?"
Gen feigned ignorance, pretending to think for a moment.
"I did see him. But unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to fight. As for being strong… well, not really. I just worked hard."
He paused, glancing at Sasuke.
"Take Itachi, for example. At my age, he was already—"
He stopped. Sasuke's face had darkened.
Originally, he was going to say "had already turned his whole clan into red bean paste."
Not a smart move.
"—already a captain in the ANBU. That's what Kakashi-sensei told me. They used to work together."
"I see…"
Sasuke lowered his head. He had always known Itachi was a prodigy. Their father never stopped praising him.
But what did he have to do to catch up to someone like that?
"Keep working hard, Sasuke."
Gen stepped up and patted his shoulder with a grin.
"I once had a teacher who was considered dead last. But now, he's one of Konoha's elite—just under Kakashi-sensei. He worked his butt off. He knew he didn't have Kakashi's talent, but he believed in something else: becoming a genius through effort. He poured his soul into it, and he made it. I believe you can too."
"A genius through effort…"
Sasuke repeated under his breath, lost in thought.
"Well, I'm heading out. And thanks, by the way—staying with Naruto last night meant a lot."
Gen shrugged and smiled, then turned to leave, waving without looking back.
"Gen-senpai!" Sasuke suddenly called out.
"You… you got where you are through hard work too?"
"Me?"
Gen paused, then put on a show of deep thought before nodding.
"Absolutely. Every step I've taken was built on sweat and effort!"
And… a little help from my cheat system.
But hey, I did work hard to complete those hellish missions.
"Hard work, huh…"
Sasuke stared after Gen's fading figure, his expression becoming more serious.
He had always thought he was training hard—but compared to this upperclassman, maybe he wasn't doing enough.
Maybe… he needed to push himself even further.
"Alright! That's it!"
Naruto suddenly yelled, breaking the silence.
"I'm gonna try that method right now! Let's see how effective it really is!"
Method?
Sasuke blinked, glancing at him.
A strange idea crept into his head.
Should… should he try Naruto's "method" too?
---
Meanwhile, at Konoha Hospital…
"Kakashi-sensei—huh? Jiraiya-sama, you're here too?"
Gen stepped into the hospital room with a fruit basket in hand, surprised to see Jiraiya.
"What? You think it's weird for me to be here?"
Jiraiya scowled at him, arms crossed.
Kakashi, meanwhile, was lying in bed, nose deep in a certain orange book. He finally looked up when he noticed Gen.
"Gen, good timing."
He set the book aside.
"Just came to check on you, sensei."
Gen placed the basket down and smiled.
"Looks like you're healing well. Maybe we'll be back on missions soon?"
"Don't push your luck."
Kakashi chuckled dryly.
"We just got back to Konoha. There's no rush. But you acted fast during the mission—so my injuries weren't as bad as they could've been. Otherwise, I might not have been able to tag along last night."
Gen nodded.
He had a feeling Itachi had held back.
After all, if Itachi still saw himself as Konoha's spy, it made sense he'd hesitate to harm its shinobi—especially when fighting solo, without backup.
But in Konoha itself, things changed. With Kisame around and reinforcements incoming, Itachi might have gone all out to retreat safely. (Note: Canon )
"Still… never expected last night to turn into that."
Kakashi sighed and looked at Gen seriously.
"I'm glad you're okay. You handled it well—but don't be so reckless next time."
"Alright, enough."
Jiraiya cut in, waving a hand.
"You're still recovering, so stop overthinking. You'll have plenty to do once you're back on your feet. For now, rest."
He understood Kakashi's pain. After all, Jiraiya was still chasing Orochimaru to this day.
He didn't want Kakashi constantly burdened by the past—especially not in his current state.
"Hey, brat. You're with me for now."
Jiraiya turned to Gen, his expression one of pure irritation.
Gen blinked. "Huh?"
Jiraiya clicked his tongue.
The look Sarutobi-sensei had given him last night already made his stomach twist, and sure enough, after the meeting he'd been pulled aside.
Now he was stuck babysitting.
"Your teacher's out of commission, so guess who got volunteered? Me! How lucky for you."
He grumbled.
Gen's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected such a great turn of events.
Sure, Jiraiya could be a mess, but when it came to teaching? The man had no equal. Every student he ever trained ended up a legend.
"Alright, let's go. Let your sensei get some rest."
Jiraiya stood up and gave Gen a quick once-over before smirking.
"But be warned, brat. This isn't gonna be easy. I've been personally asked to train you—so get ready for hell."