"Hey, why are you just standing there like that?"
Naruto's voice broke through Gen's thoughts. He pouted and asked, "How'd you get so pale anyway? Teach me! Maybe Sakura-chan will like it!"
"Tch. You're not working with the same raw materials, kid."
Gen snapped back to reality with a dismissive laugh. Besides, it wasn't just his skin that had gotten paler.
Even his eyes had changed.
They hadn't turned into traditional Byakugan—but something had definitely shifted.
In fact, they now resembled the eyes of Uzumaki Himawari from his memories of the future: the traits only manifested during use.
'Is it due to the Tailed Beast's chakra? Or maybe the chakra of the Asura lineage?'
Gen wasn't entirely sure. But either way, it had been a huge help—at the very least, he wouldn't be needing contact lenses.
And his eyes…
'Seem to possess the abilities of the Byakugan, while also showing some Sharingan-like traits?'
He wasn't sure if this was due to the Three-Tails' chakra, but one thing was clear:
His eyes not only had the abilities of the Byakugan—including extended range—but they also granted him a remarkable level of insight.
'Most importantly… my eyes have started absorbing chakra again.'
That previous sense of 'saturation' was gone. In its place… that old, familiar feeling of hunger had returned.
With this latest breakthrough, the amount of chakra being absorbed by his bones had also increased—a benefit beyond imagination.
The only downside was… his bones seemed like a bottomless pit.
'There's no end in sight, huh...'
Still, that wasn't a big problem. After all, the advantage was his.
"You bastard… what's wrong with you today?"
The little blond scratched his ear. Even though he'd grown somewhat used to Gen's antics, it still annoyed him. But Kitagawa Gen ignored him, lost in thought, until he suddenly spoke up.
"Naruto, what do you think—should I dye my hair white?"
"Huh?"
Naruto blinked in confusion. "Why would you do that?"
"Don't you think it'd look cool? Hey, why don't we both dye our hair white?"
Changing hair color wasn't a big deal for shinobi. Sure, there was the Transformation Jutsu, but a real dye job might be more convincing.
Gen's skin had already become paler—maybe his hair would follow suit next.
Rather than wait passively, he figured he might as well take the initiative!
Get it done in advance—it would save trouble later.
"If I go on missions with Kakashi and Jiraiya, we'd be the all-white-haired trio. That's synergy right there."
He chuckled internally, but Naruto shook his head with a look of firm refusal.
"No way, I'm not doing that!"
"I'm paying. What's the problem?"
"No!"
Naruto shook his head like a pendulum. And as soon as he heard the words "I'm paying," it seemed to trigger some deep instinct—he instantly went on alert.
"Hold it. Just to be clear—who's paying this time? I'm telling you now, I haven't gotten my allowance yet. And you're not going to suddenly disappear on a mission again halfway through, are you?"
"What are you so scared of?"
Gen couldn't help but laugh.
Was the little blond actually traumatized by him?
"The last two times were accidents, okay? I did pay, at least!"
"You paid once. The other time the Hokage did—and I got scolded for it for days!"
"That was just a slip-up. But hey, at least I didn't ditch you entirely, right?"
Naruto still refused, and Gen didn't push it. The two of them continued bickering as they made their way toward the restaurant.
But as they walked, Gen suddenly felt something and looked up ahead.
Not far away, Sasuke was walking alone, his silhouette quietly melting into the night like a shadow.
"Tch… that guy," Naruto muttered, following Gen's gaze.
"He really is going all out."
"Oh?"
Gen raised an eyebrow, curious. He'd been busy lately and hadn't kept up with everything.
"All because of you," Naruto said with a snort. "After what you told him last time about being a 'hardworking genius,' he's been acting like a madman."
Naruto sighed, then continued.
"Every day after school, he goes straight to train—only stops really late at night. Sometimes, he even ends up hurting himself."
"Is that so..."
Gen nodded slightly to himself. He knew Sasuke's drive. Even if he hadn't said anything, Sasuke would've pushed himself to the brink regardless.
Then he glanced over at Naruto with a strange look, clearly curious.
"Why are you paying so much attention to him?"
"Because… I was paired with him in our last sparring class."
Naruto instinctively rubbed his face—like he could still feel the pain.
"Ugh! That guy's such a jerk!"
Well, Gen didn't need to hear more. It was obvious: Naruto had gotten his ass kicked. No wonder he was paying attention now.
Looking at Sasuke's back, Gen stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "Let's just invite him to join us."
"Huh?!"
Naruto's eyes went wide. While his expression showed clear interest, his tone was anything but excited.
"That guy's cold and obnoxious. Why would we call him over?"
"Do you really think that?"
Gen raised an eyebrow—and that instantly made Naruto scowl again.
"Ugh, stop nagging! Come on already, I'm starving!"
Gen didn't bother arguing. He simply walked straight toward Sasuke.
With this latest enhancement, he found that he could sense the deeply hidden chakra within both Naruto and Sasuke even more clearly now.
Still, those chakras hadn't awakened yet. Maybe it would take more time.
'I wonder when we'll get our next mission... and just how much development those two chakras could help me unlock.'
...
"You're so slow! Why aren't they here yet?"
In Konohagakure, inside a yakiniku restaurant.
Kitagawa Gen sat in a private booth with Naruto and Sasuke, waiting. Naruto couldn't stop muttering—he was really hungry.
Clearly, Kakashi and Jiraiya hadn't arrived yet.
"Just get used to it. Besides, they've got plenty on their plates too."
Gen didn't see it as a problem. He turned and smiled at Sasuke, who sat beside him.
"Relax. You have to balance work and rest. Even a so-called 'hardworking genius' needs to take a break."
"..."
Sasuke pouted. He hadn't wanted to come. He still needed to get stronger—he had a score to settle.
But in the end, Gen had just dragged him here. And for some reason, Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that there was something strange about this guy.
Shaking his head, Sasuke pushed the thought aside and asked curiously: "Gen-senpai, I heard you've been out on missions again recently?"
"Yeah."
Gen nodded. Naruto couldn't help chiming in from the side.
"This guy was gone for almost two whole months! I had to water his plants the whole time—unbelievable. But man, I'm jealous. I haven't even been outside the village yet."
"Two months?"
Sasuke was taken aback. He wasn't Naruto—he understood very well what it meant to be away on a mission for nearly two months.
It had to be either a string of consecutive missions or a major one.
Sasuke figured it probably wasn't a major mission, since Gen was still just a genin.
Even so, a string of continuous missions said a lot about how much his instructor trusted him.
"Can you train me?"
After a long silence, Sasuke suddenly asked in a low voice, catching Gen completely off guard.
"Huh? Me?"
"Hey, that actually sounds pretty good!"
Naruto lit up with excitement. He jumped to his feet and laughed.
"You've tricked me so many times—about time you paid me back! Besides, you're going to be training the future Hokage!"
"Idiot."
Sasuke couldn't hold it in anymore. He was the one who asked first, so why was this idiot Naruto jumping in too?
"You two, settle down."
Gen let out a helpless laugh. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I'm already swamped with stuff right now—how would I have time? And Naruto, you idiot, didn't I already tell you? Once you've settled things with Jiraiya-sama, both of you will be fine."
"Jiraiya-sama?"
Sasuke pressed his lips together, while Naruto muttered with a face full of distaste, "Ugh, that pervy old man..."
"But didn't you say last time that you were almost ready?"
Gen squinted as if sensing something, then smiled and said, "Come on, show me."
"Right now?"
"Yeah, hurry up."
"You're such a perv!"
Naruto grumbled, but reluctantly began forming hand signs. Sasuke turned his head away, not wanting to watch—he already had a rough idea of what was coming.
"Sexy Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, a blonde, blue-eyed beauty suddenly emerged from the mist.
"Gen, we're here."
But right at that moment, the door to the booth was thrown open. Jiraiya walked in, followed by Kakashi, Guy, and the others.
And for a moment, everyone stood frozen, eyes wide, as a deep silence fell over the entire booth.
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