Chapter 86: Who's This White-Haired Guy?
"Ugh… I feel awful…"
"You jerk, I knew you were cheating—hahaha!"
As the sun set, Gen left Ichiraku Ramen with the two blonde troublemakers. But Deidara, who had just been in an eating contest with Naruto, couldn't keep it together anymore.
He didn't throw up, but the mouths on his hands had clearly reached their limit.
Those mouths weren't meant for eating in the first place—they were designed for chewing and molding clay. But for the sake of showing off, the guy had stuffed them full, forcing them beyond their limits.
Now, his face looked absolutely drained, and the mouths on his hands hung open with their tongues sticking out—completely worn out and lifeless.
"Tch… whatever. I still won."
Deidara didn't care about Naruto's mocking at all. He snorted and lifted his chin.
"A loss is a loss. Don't make excuses. Hmph."
"You cheated!"
"Oh? Still not over it?"
"You two, shut it already!"
Before they could argue any further, Gen grabbed both of them by the collars and slammed them against a nearby wall.
"You two ate so much on my tab—and one of you even barfed it up? I don't care what your excuses are, I said five bowls each! Any extra, pay me back. Now!"
After yelling, Gen finally let go and stepped back, looking a bit more relieved.
But it didn't take long for him to realize—he had still underestimated them.
"Tch, it's just a few bowls of ramen. Why so stingy, huh?" Deidara muttered.
"Mhm, mhm! He used to scam me into treating him all the time—cost me a fortune in ramen!"
"Money? Crap… I just realized… Old Man always paid for me back then. I never carried any myself. This is a problem."
"Hehe, I've got you beat there. I have a grandpa too, and he gives me tons of money!"
What the hell? Both of them freeloading off their "grandpas"—are all Second Generation kids like this?
Gen didn't even bother responding anymore. Right at that moment, a few ANBU operatives appeared nearby—clearly ready to escort Deidara to his assigned quarters.
Since Deidara was an outsider, even though Gen had watched over him during the day, he still needed to be housed separately under ANBU supervision.
Gen was a little surprised by this. He'd noticed the ANBU watching them for a while—especially around Naruto—but they hadn't intervened in Naruto and Deidara's meeting at all. And Gen didn't believe for a second that Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know what was going on.
"Looks like they're not trying to hide things anymore. Or maybe... they're preparing for the future?"
After all, the upcoming Chuunin Exams would bring a wave of foreign shinobi to Konoha. Naruto had wandered all over the place back then too—and even got involved.
"Whatever. I'll just focus on my own business. The rest isn't my problem."
Deidara may have had a screw loose, but he wasn't totally clueless. He was still Onoki's disciple. So even with a grumpy look on his face, he obediently followed the ANBU. He even waved back casually to Gen and Naruto as he left.
"That guy's kinda awful," Naruto muttered under his breath, pouting slightly.
"But also kinda cool... How'd he end up with three mouths, anyway?"
"Right? But it looks like you two got along."
Gen chuckled as he nodded, amused. Naruto pouted again.
"He was alright… but he's still a total jerk!"
"Haha, congratulations. You've made a new friend."
"Hey, were you even listening to me?"
"Well, since you're friends now, you can cover the ramen debt for him. A friendly favor."
"WHAT?! I knew it—you bastard!"
Naruto exploded, hopping around in frustration.
But Gen didn't bother arguing. In a flash, he vanished from the spot.
Whoosh—
With a soft pulse of chakra, Gen reappeared inside his room.
Looking at the mark on the floor, Gen nodded slightly.
Each user's Flying Thunder God mark was unique. The Second Hokage's was a symbol, the Fourth's took the shape of a "Sword of Shinobi Love." As for Gen's—his was a simple magatama symbol.
These marks reflected their creator's preferences, and Gen had opted for the most straightforward design.
"Finally, no more interruptions from those two idiots. Now I just wonder when Ōnoki will come knocking to reclaim his man."
Massaging his temples, Gen sat cross-legged. He was about to test something he had obtained from Nagato.
Speaking of Nagato, Gen had never quite figured him out—how powerful was he, really?
From what he remembered, Nagato hadn't even reached his limit by the time he died.
"Otherwise, how could he have used enough chakra to resurrect thousands of the dead from Konoha?"
Resurrection techniques were extremely rare in the ninja world. From his memory, there were only three: Rinne Rebirth, Self-Reincarnation, and Dragon Life Reincarnation.
Well… perhaps the "Sage's Sigil" that saved the Sage of Six Paths could count as one, too.
But no matter which, all of them only brought back one person, and the cost was always the user's life.
And yet, Nagato—after fighting such a drawn-out battle—still managed to unleash Super Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei, and then used Rinne Rebirth to revive so many people.
"In other words, if Naruto hadn't talked him down, Nagato could've kept fighting… and maybe even beaten Naruto."
That thought made Gen frown. He realized he had underestimated Nagato.
Based on his memory, Nagato's capabilities were nothing short of outrageous.
And the Edo Tensei version of Nagato? He had showcased his full power clearly.
Despite facing a post-Turtle-Island-trained Naruto and the perfect jinchūriki Killer Bee, Nagato still overwhelmed them both.
Keep in mind, he wasn't even fighting of his own will—he was merely being controlled!
"What a ridiculous guy."
Gen couldn't help but sigh. He even suspected that the Gedo Statue had been suppressing Nagato's growth on purpose.
"But whatever. No matter how insane Nagato was, I'll surpass him one day."
Shaking his head, Gen focused.
"All right—let's begin!"
Buzz—
With the hum of chakra, power exploded within him once more, and he felt that familiar sensation—his blood boiling with energy.
---
At that moment, in the Kazekage's Office in Sunagakure—
"Fourth, what is it? It's already this late."
It was twilight, and Chiyo and Ebizō had entered the office, puzzled. Wasn't this way past office hours?
They both noticed that the Fourth Kazekage looked visibly troubled. Did the village run out of money again?
"You're here. Please, take a seat."
Rasa massaged his forehead, then handed over a scroll after the two sat down.
"This is a message from Konoha. It just arrived—and the situation is urgent. Please read it."
"Konoha?" Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged glances. What could've happened now?
To be honest, relations between Konoha and Sunagakure weren't exactly friendly.
After all, the Land of Fire was rich in fertile land, great climate, abundant resources, and smooth transport. Everything the Wind Country—this barren land—desperately lacked.
In fact, the entire ninja world probably envied the Land of Fire.
Even though they were technically allies, that alliance had only been formed after losing a war.
"Konoha again? What now?" Chiyo muttered as she opened the scroll. Ebizō leaned over to read alongside her.
In just a few seconds, both of their faces froze.
"This—this is impossible!"
"I know it's hard to believe. But I'm sure you've both heard the reports."
Rasa spoke grimly.
"A major battle broke out near the Earth Country's border. It's suspected that even Ōnoki himself was involved. That whole region's been sealed off—but word is, Konoha's involved somehow."
"…Yes, we received that intel," Ebizō nodded. He still managed Sunagakure's intel network despite being semi-retired. Iwa was still their main rival, after all.
"In fact, we even sold Pakura back then just to focus on our fight with Iwa."
"But this information from Konoha—it's different. This involves—"
"I know how serious it is," Rasa interrupted. "That's why I brought you two in."
He sighed deeply.
"The puppet of the Third Kazekage… No matter what, we must investigate that."
"And they say the person controlling it was a red-haired puppeteer—one that looked extremely young. Do you think it could be—"
"Impossible!"
Before Ebizō could respond, Chiyo cut him off, unable to stay calm.
Of course, she knew exactly what Rasa was hinting at.
But halfway through her denial, even she couldn't finish the sentence—because deep down, she knew it was possible.
She just couldn't accept it.
"That's why I'm assigning you both to investigate this. Handle any contact with Konoha as well."
Rasa didn't bother arguing. After glancing at the siblings, he stood up.
"Thank you for your efforts. I'll take my leave now."
With that, he left—leaving Chiyo and Ebizō bathed in the golden twilight, silently seated in the Kazekage's office.
---
Meanwhile, under the moonlight in Iwagakure—
"Tch! That little brat Deidara!"
Ōnoki glared at the Konoha report in his hand, eyes wide with disbelief. Standing beside him, Kurotsuchi's father Kitsuchi didn't dare make a sound.
Neither of them could believe it—Deidara actually went and ran off to Konoha!
Luckily, that kid's head was full of nothing but explosions and "art." He had no real interest in any sensitive intel.
Otherwise, Ōnoki wouldn't just be mad—he'd be furious.
"…What now?" Kitsuchi asked hesitantly, gulping under his father's glare.
"Now? What else can we do? Konoha obviously wants contact—they're probably using Deidara to fish for information."
Ōnoki snorted, but then sighed.
"Fine. We want something too. Let's retrieve Deidara—and maybe we can probe Konoha a bit while we're at it."
He was very clear-headed. There was no doubt that Konoha had some agenda here, and they were probably the ones behind everything that happened.
Now that they wanted talks, they were probably looking for a breakthrough… maybe even admitting failure.
He could take advantage of that—see if he could squeeze some answers out of them.
"Especially that guy who can use the Flying Thunder God."
"But it doesn't look like Hatake Kakashi. So who is that white-haired guy? I've never heard of a powerful white-haired ninja in Konoha…"