Chapter 6: My Goal? Fame and Fortune!
"Kakashi's Lightning Release..."
After parting ways with Kakashi, Kitagawa Gen sprinted straight home. His head was buzzing—an overwhelming surge of knowledge had just flooded his mind.
The system's rewards were always simple and brutal: it directly shoved everything into his brain—how to use it, how to execute it, and all the intricate theory behind it.
Of course, there were drawbacks.
Sure, he could use the jutsu now, but whether his body could handle it? That was a whole different story.
Not to mention, that massive data dump didn't exactly give you a euphoric "surfing the sea of knowledge" vibe. If anything, it just made his brain itch—like he was growing a second one.
"Also... these Lightning Release techniques are insane..."
As he sifted through the knowledge in his head, Gen felt a headache coming on. Kakashi had tons of Lightning Release jutsu, yes—but most of them stemmed from Chidori, which relied heavily on the Sharingan. Not exactly ideal for someone like him without one.
But...
"These jutsu can be modified."
The more he thought about it, the weirder his expression became.
He was discovering something truly intriguing: modifying these jutsu wasn't all that difficult for him. This wasn't like sculpting a face into a mud wall—this was reshaping the entire functionality of a jutsu, even changing its very nature.
A normal shinobi wouldn't even dare entertain such a wild idea.
But Gen wasn't normal. With a system that fed him full jutsu knowledge and a bloodline that gave him an extraordinary affinity and control over chakra, things were... different.
From this high-level overview in his brain, he could see that jutsu were just specialized applications of chakra, and with the control granted by his Ōtsutsuki lineage, he could tweak them with ease.
He realized something chilling.
If he wanted to, he could effortlessly create his own "Chidori Stream," or even "Shiden".
Sure, the power still depended on chakra capacity, but the potential? It was off the charts.
Suddenly, Gen felt like he had a toothache.
He was hit with a realization—ever since he'd awakened the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, he'd been too much of a genius.
And that led to another problem: he now had to "clean up" or justify a lot more jutsu.
After all, jutsu needed a clear origin. You couldn't just pull random overpowered moves out of nowhere—that'd only draw suspicion. Even if Danzo had been quietly sidelined after the Uchiha Massacre and wasn't pulling strings from the shadows at the moment...
"I still have to stay cautious. Who knows when that old snake will crawl back into power. I need to explain everything to Kakashi too. At the very least, I need my techniques to have a clean source."
Gen rubbed his forehead. He wasn't strong enough yet. If he were, he wouldn't need to be so careful.
But if he wanted to grow stronger, he'd need to dig even deeper into his bloodline's potential.
"GEN, YOU BASTARD—THERE YOU ARE!"
A loud shout broke through his thoughts.
Gen turned his head. It was—unsurprisingly—Naruto.
And he wasn't alone.
With him were three other brats: Kiba Inuzuka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi.
Gen sighed. He already knew what this was about.
Naruto had run up, teeth bared in frustration. "You bastard! You ditched me with the bill again! How many times is this now? You better pay up!"
Gen shrugged, playing innocent. "Hey hey hey, aren't we friends?"
"Uh… yeah…" Naruto hesitated, but nodded.
Gen was one of the few who never treated him badly—even if he was kind of a jerk.
"Well then," Gen said, eyes twinkling mischievously, "shouldn't a friend help celebrate when another becomes a ninja?"
He sighed dramatically. "Naruto… I guess our friendship isn't what it used to be."
"You—!?"
Naruto froze. Somehow, this all sounded wrong, but he couldn't quite argue against it.
"Also," Gen added slyly, "shouldn't you be in class right now?"
Naruto blinked. "Uh…"
Gen smirked. "I get it. You're cutting class. Well then, Naruto-kun… I'm sure you wouldn't want Iruka-sensei to find out you're skipping, right?"
"..."
Naruto's face went pale.
"Hey, Gen-senpai?" Shikamaru and the others had finally caught up.
Kiba gave Gen a curious look. "Naruto said you hospitalized your teammates and graduated alone. Is that true?"
"..."
Gen shot Naruto a look. Really, bro?
Okay, technically that's what he'd told him, but still.
"Something like that," Gen said vaguely. "My case was... special."
"Tch, you can graduate like that?" Kiba grumbled, clearly annoyed.
Then he turned to Naruto with a glint in his eye. "Hey Naruto, if you're graduating early, want to team up?"
"WHAT?! No way, you jerk!" Naruto snapped. "And I'm not gonna copy him! I'll graduate my way!"
"But doesn't the academy ban early graduation now?" Shikamaru chimed in lazily. "Not that it matters. You probably wouldn't pass anyway."
"Shut up!"
Shikamaru turned to Gen. "By the way, Gen-senpai, if you're a genin now, shouldn't you be doing missions or something?"
"Yeah, I heard genin have to do tons of chores," Choji added through a mouthful of chips. "Like weeding, cleaning rivers... sounds rough."
"Wait, I thought being a ninja meant going on cool missions?" Naruto looked confused.
"Not that easy," Gen said with a shrug. "Like Choji said, new genin start with basic chores to gain experience."
"Really?"
Naruto scratched his head. This wasn't what he imagined at all.
"Of course," Gen said. "And even becoming a genin isn't guaranteed. Some students drop out every year. You haven't noticed?"
He looked at them seriously now.
"There's still a final graduation exam ahead. Fail that, and it's back to the academy. My old squad? Perfect example. One more fail and they probably won't make it as ninja at all."
"It's that hard?" Naruto gulped. Even the others looked surprised—except for Shikamaru, who just looked annoyed he was still part of this conversation.
"Of course it's hard. Think about it," Gen continued. "Konoha's huge, but how many actual ninja do you think there are?"
He smiled. "And even becoming a genin is just the beginning. Some die before ever reaching chunin. Some lose motivation once they do. Only a few ever push further."
"That's why... being a ninja isn't child's play. For most people, not becoming a ninja is the norm. And for people like us... being a genin might be the end of the road."
The group went quiet.
For the first time, Naruto and his friends really grasped how harsh the ninja world could be.
But then—
"Hmph! No matter how hard it is, I'll push through!" Naruto suddenly clenched his fists, eyes burning with resolve. "I'll become a ninja! Then I'll become the Hokage, no matter what! I won't lose!"
"Tch, stop running your mouth," Kiba shot back, though his eyes showed a glimmer of admiration. "You're not the only one working hard."
"You two..." Shikamaru groaned. "This whole conversation's gone off the rails."
Thankfully, Choji was still focused. "But Gen-senpai, you don't look like you're struggling at all. Are you just planning to stay a genin forever?"
"Oh, that?" Gen tilted his head, then gave a devilish grin.
"Well... I might be leaving the village for a mission tomorrow. So no, I'm not exactly stuck doing chores."
"WHAT?!"
Naruto and the others gawked. That was not what Gen had just said.
"As for staying a genin?" Gen smirked, eyes gleaming. "That's just something I say to other people."
"My real goal? Fame and fortune, of course."
"..."
The kids were speechless.
So was Naruto, who suddenly felt like he'd been tricked again.
But deep down... he couldn't help admiring him.