Chapter 31: Boiling Bloodline!
Konoha – Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office, fingers resting near the crystal ball on his desk. He was just about to inject chakra into it to get a better view of Konoha's current state.
Kakashi seemed stable for now—he'd been through his share of hardships, but his resilience was commendable. The investigation into the mysterious organization and Uchiha Obito was left to Danzo. As for Kitagawa Gen, Jiraiya had him under watch. That meant, for once, Hiruzen could afford to relax.
Just as he prepared to activate the crystal ball—
"Hiruzen."
The door burst open. Shimura Danzo strode in, causing the Third Hokage to flinch and nearly fumble the ball.
"Danzo? What brings you here?"
Feigning confusion, Hiruzen casually tossed a cloth over the crystal ball before addressing him.
"News from Kirigakure, perhaps?"
"Hmph."
Danzo scoffed. Of course, he knew what Hiruzen had been up to, but he couldn't be bothered to point it out.
"There's been some progress with the investigation. Kirigakure's in chaos—on the brink of civil war."
Danzo spoke plainly. If he wanted to reclaim any semblance of his former power, he needed to tread carefully. After all, he wasn't Hokage… not yet.
"Civil war?" Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
Both he and Danzo had always viewed the Mist Village with suspicion. Chaos there wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Still, considering current circumstances, Hiruzen couldn't afford to be complacent.
"You think our target is involved in backing one of the factions?"
"Exactly."
Danzo nodded.
"The situation is tense but hasn't reached its boiling point. I propose we send in more of my operatives for a deeper, more comprehensive investigation. Also, I've discovered Orochimaru's whereabouts. He's in the Land of Hot Water."
Danzo didn't hesitate to throw Orochimaru under the bus now that he'd made his decision.
"If he were fully involved, he'd already be in the Land of Water. That he's still lingering means the situation hasn't fully erupted. We should investigate him too—it might help."
"Orochimaru, huh…"
Hiruzen frowned. Now he saw Danzo's real intention: inching back into power by deploying more Root agents. Still, Hiruzen couldn't deny the logic. The Root's involvement was technically appropriate—and Orochimaru couldn't be ignored.
After a moment of silent thought, Hiruzen finally spoke.
"Very well. If the situation were that dire, Orochimaru would already be in the Land of Water. But from the Land of Hot Water, it's just a short trip by sea. Investigating his movements is reasonable. As for your Root operatives…"
He paused, deliberating again. After a long breath, he nodded.
"I'll allow it—temporarily. But you know the rules, Danzo. No information leaks. I trust you understand the consequences."
"Hmph. Spare me the lecture. I know."
Danzo's tone was calm, but inside, he was elated—his goal had been achieved.
"I'll take my leave then. There's still much to be done."
Without wasting another word, Danzo turned and left. This time, his footsteps even sounded lighter.
"…Tch."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples, watching him go. But there was no use complaining. There were still a mountain of things to deal with.
He tapped the table, calling out.
"Bring Jiraiya here. I need to speak with him…"
---
Deep in a forest near Konoha.
"Kid, looks like you're still struggling, huh?"
Jiraiya grinned smugly at Kitagawa Gen.
"It's been days, and you still haven't made much progress."
Gen merely shrugged, unfazed.
"It is tricky. But if you didn't keep bothering me, maybe I'd have figured it out already."
A week had passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, Gen had been dedicating himself to recalling and organizing every bit of knowledge he had about the Flying Thunder God technique. Since it wasn't granted by the system, and the scroll had already self-destructed, he had to rely solely on memory—which made learning it twice as difficult.
Given the secrecy of such a jutsu, it was expected.
Though Jiraiya wasn't the most serious teacher, he had stayed by Gen's side the entire time. To prevent him from spiraling into obsession, he often dragged him away to hot springs or taught him unrelated techniques—urging him to loosen up a little.
According to Jiraiya: "It's all connected. You might learn more by stepping away for a bit."
Still, while well-intentioned, it had been distracting.
"You brat, no appreciation for good advice."
Jiraiya rolled his eyes and plopped down nearby.
"Space-time ninjutsu is ridiculously hard. Even I haven't figured it out. Only the Second and Fourth Hokages ever truly mastered it. Pushing too hard won't help—sometimes you need to unwind. That's just facts."
"And don't even get me started on how stubborn you are. Still refusing to make a contract with the Toads of Mount Myoboku? Summoning jutsu is a type of space-time technique too, y'know."
"I just don't like toads."
Gen shook his head, though his reasons ran much deeper.
His bloodline was no longer human—it was Ōtsutsuki.
The elder toad from Mount Myoboku had once helped the Sage of Six Paths fight Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. If he signed that contract, and they sensed something about his lineage… things could get complicated.
To stay safe, he had no choice but to decline.
"Tch. Whatever."
Jiraiya gave up trying to convince him, just as he noticed an ANBU approaching from afar.
"More trouble, huh?"
Rising to his feet, he glanced at Gen.
"Looks like you're training solo today. Don't slack off."
"Got it."
Gen nodded as Jiraiya leapt away with the ANBU operative.
Watching him disappear, Gen stretched and muttered to himself.
"Yeah… time to focus. This Flying Thunder God is seriously a mental grinder."
All the other techniques Gen had learned before—even the non-system ones—weren't this complex. The system-granted jutsu came with shattered-down knowledge injected directly into his mind, making learning efficient.
But this?
This demanded full recall, analysis, and reconstruction.
"Still… I think I've got a grip on it now."
Closing his eyes, Gen began channeling his chakra according to the structure he had rebuilt in his mind.
Time passed.
The chakra within him surged—growing stronger and more refined.
Then, suddenly—
Woom—
A sharp tremor of spatial energy pulsed through him.
In that instant, all his chakra burst forth—and most startling of all, he felt his very blood begin to boil…