Chapter 13: Divine Artifacts?
"It's over now, Kakashi-sensei."
Watching the silhouettes of Itachi and Jūzō fade into the distance, Kitagawa Gen finally relaxed, though he couldn't help muttering to himself.
This battle had been far more dangerous than he'd imagined.
If not for Uchiha Itachi being conflicted—whether for his brother's sake or for the sake of the village—and for his own lightning technique Purple Lightning being dazzling enough, they wouldn't have gotten out of this alive.
"Yeah…"
Kakashi slumped to the ground once he was sure the two had left.
Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan was even more terrifying than he had expected.
Even though he possessed a Sharingan himself, the gap between it and the Mangekyō was overwhelming.
"No wonder he was able to slaughter his entire clan single-handedly…"
Kakashi still felt a chill down his spine. Had it not been for Gen's interference at that critical moment, things would've ended very differently.
Especially that lightning—there was something deeply unsettling about it.
But just as he was deep in thought, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Gen. His expression darkened.
"Didn't I tell you to run? You did well, even developed the technique you were working on, but—"
"Alright, alright, Kakashi-sensei," Gen cut him off with a grin before he could finish.
"We fooled them, didn't we?"
"But what if we hadn't fooled them?"
Kakashi's voice grew stern.
"If this keeps up, you'll end up dead."
"But I couldn't just leave you in danger, could I?"
Gen blinked, then said with a soft smile,
"Maybe I didn't follow orders, but… didn't you say it yourself? 'Those who abandon the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'"
Kakashi stared at him, momentarily speechless.
"Anyway, you should rest now. I'm going to check on our client."
Gen got to his feet and jogged toward the palanquin nearby, leaving Kakashi sitting there with a complicated look in his eyes.
"...This kid…"
Kakashi murmured.
To be honest, when they encountered Jūzō and Itachi, Kakashi had thought it was the end.
His life had always felt cursed with loneliness—his father's suicide, Obito and Rin's deaths, then the loss of his mentor during the Nine-Tails' attack.
He had wandered through darkness, numb and drifting from mission to mission. If not for Guy and the others pulling him back, he was sure he would've died in the ANBU.
After leaving ANBU, he finally got his first student.
At first, he hadn't thought much of Gen—he was even ready to give up on him after the others were injured.
But then, that kid had said the exact same words that Obito once told him.
And now, Gen had proved that he truly believed in them—by saving him.
"This time… I was lucky," Kakashi whispered.
The last person who saved him after saying those words… died right after.
But this time, everything turned out differently.
Slowly, Kakashi's gaze softened. He pulled his headband down over his Sharingan. The visible eye curved into a half-moon smile.
"Looks like… this really is a new beginning."
---
[Side Mission Complete: "The Light in Kakashi's Heart"]
[Reward Gained: Information on a Divine Artifact]
As Kakashi sat reminiscing, a notification appeared in Gen's mind.
He couldn't help but sigh—Obito's words really hit Kakashi harder than anything else.
But when he saw what the reward was, his expression shifted into something much more complicated.
"…What the hell is this?"
In his memory, the term "divine artifact" only brought to mind those weird tools used by those crazy brothers from the Cloud Village.
But after reading the info carefully, his expression changed.
"Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror?" Gen frowned.
Weren't those the weapons used by Itachi's Susano'o?
If he recalled correctly, Itachi had used the Totsuka Blade to instantly seal Orochimaru—even when Orochimaru had used the forbidden Eight Branches Technique.
And both weapons were made of chakra.
He had always assumed they were just part of Susano'o's standard equipment.
But now…
"Could it be… those so-called divine artifacts are chakra-based entities that existed long before, and Itachi just equipped them onto his Susano'o?"
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it sounded.
After all, both Orochimaru and Black Zetsu had recognized the weapons immediately the first time Itachi used them—right down to their abilities.
Which meant, these divine artifacts had always existed in the ninja world and even had legends about them.
Otherwise, those two wouldn't have known so much about them right off the bat.
So how did they end up in Itachi's possession…?
"Either he got really lucky, or the Uchiha clan had access to this info all along."
That thought made Gen's eyes light up.
He didn't particularly care for fancy gear, but if these divine artifacts were connected to the Uchiha—or even further back...
"Could they belong to Indra… or even the Sage of Six Paths himself?"
No matter which it was, a chakra-based artifact would retain traces of its original user's chakra.
And that chakra—if obtained—might help Gen unlock more of his own bloodline potential.
Especially if it came from the Sage of Six Paths… that could shortcut years of training.
"And now that they're retreating, they'll probably report back to Obito about Kakashi…"
Gen's expression grew thoughtful, but also… excited.
Even if he didn't like Itachi, he couldn't help whispering:
"You really are… a good guy, Uchiha Itachi."
---
Elsewhere, in the forest…
"You alright?"
Itachi glanced at Jūzō, whose body still twitched occasionally from the lingering numbness.
"I'll live, but I'll need time to recover."
Jūzō scowled.
"I was careless—charged in without intel. But damn, that kid's lightning technique is insane…"
Despite having been outplayed by a kid, as a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Jūzō didn't deny it.
In the world of ninja, trickery was part of the game—he'd lost fair and square.
What stuck with him most was that dazzling purple lightning. That move had left a real impact.
"No surprise. He's Kakashi's student, after all. And Kakashi himself isn't easy to deal with either—even with the Mangekyō, he still resisted."
Itachi nodded, then closed his eyes.
"Let's get out of here. I need to recover as well. If Konoha's ANBU catch up, it'll be a problem."
He wasn't sure if the ANBU backup was real, but as a spy, he stuck to the story.
"Yeah, let's move."
Jūzō nodded and stretched his numb limbs.
"Damn… got my identity exposed by a brat. Mission failed. I'll let the others know later."
"Still… we were up against the Copy Ninja Kakashi… and a little genius."