I’m Not Naruto, But I Got a Better Bloodline

"The Darkness of the Shinobi?"

Obito fell into deep thought. He knew a little about Danzo—that the man wielded considerable influence, and if memory served, had even served as an advisor to the Hokage.

He also knew Danzo had ties to the Uchiha Clan Massacre. In fact, many of the stolen Sharingan from the dead Uchiha were now in Danzo's possession.

One of Uchiha Shisui's eyes, it was said, was embedded in him as well.

As for anything else, Obito hadn't given it much thought. After all, someone like Danzo was, in his eyes, just a minor nuisance.

"Hmph. A rat crawling through the sewers, and he's capable of this much?"

Obito wasn't entirely convinced, but after a while, he finally spoke.

"Still, look into it. Once it's clear, report back to me."

"Don't worry. We'll make sure to get to the bottom of it."

Black Zetsu nodded earnestly. But on the other half of his face, White Zetsu looked visibly uncomfortable, the corners of his mouth twitching, as if itching to speak.

Unfortunately, with Black Zetsu taking the lead, there was no chance he'd allow White Zetsu to cause trouble at a time like this.

"That's fine then. You handle this—and keep a close eye on those people from Konoha. They're really becoming a nuisance."

Obito nodded. After checking the time, he finally added, "I've got other matters to deal with. Once I'm done with this, I should be able to enjoy some peace for a while."

Right now, Obito was utterly fed up with Kakuzu. That damn money-grubber was an absolute headache—completely obsessed with money and nothing else.

Still, at least he only cared about money. That made him relatively easier to manage.

"Hmph. If Kirigakure were still under our control, would it have come to this?"

After Obito disappeared, Black Zetsu sank into the ground with White Zetsu, muttering a curse under his breath after a long silence.

"Hey, isn't he just trying to avenge that girl, Nohara Rin?"

White Zetsu could finally speak again, and he muttered from the side without holding back. That earned a cold snort from Black Zetsu.

"I know. But there are all kinds of ways to take revenge—slowly bleeding them dry, steadily depleting their talented shinobi, cutting off all paths of resistance. Isn't that better? Doesn't that give us more resources in the long run?"

"Huh? What are you even talking about? That sounds so complicated…"

"…"

Black Zetsu rubbed his brow, feeling like he was trying to reason with a brick wall. White Zetsu, meanwhile, just grinned and continued cheerfully.

"Also, you're so bad! We're the ones who stirred things up, but you tossed the blame onto someone else. Still, Obito's as dumb as I am—he didn't notice a thing!"

"So you do know you're dumb."

Black Zetsu glanced at White Zetsu out of the corner of his eye but ended up saying nothing.

As for shifting the blame to Danzo…

That had always been part of his plan.

"This time the situation made such a big splash—and I was the one who leaked the intel—someone has to take the fall. Naturally, that someone should be from Konoha. And Shimura Danzo…"

He was the perfect candidate. After all, he was the Darkness of the Shinobi—and more importantly, the guy really had been up to something.

When Obito got his mask blown off during the fight in Konoha, Black Zetsu had clearly seen Danzo standing right next to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

It wasn't far-fetched at all to suspect that Danzo had a hand in the recent chain of events. Pinning the blame on him made perfect sense!

And if worst came to worst, Black Zetsu could always just make Danzo the 'confirmed culprit'.

"Oh right, Blackie, did you get any results this time?"

As Black Zetsu was deep in thought, White Zetsu suddenly blurted out the question.

"I mean, it's not like I care that much, but… I really don't want Obito to get mad at us."

"If he doesn't know, then he won't get mad."

Black Zetsu shot White Zetsu a look and shook his head slightly. As for the results of this time—

"That brat… he's got serious problems!"

This time, although Kitagawa Gen hadn't exploded with the same wild, overwhelming energy as last time, and his aura wasn't as chaotic or intense…

Somehow, Black Zetsu found him even more troublesome—and even more dangerous—because that boy's chakra was too steady.

"And on top of that… there's natural energy. That brat…"

Black Zetsu had lived for over a thousand years. Of course he knew exactly what kind of power Kitagawa Gen had tapped into.

But that was precisely the problem. When the boy entered Sage Mode, it had truly startled him!

Especially when the kid's eyes turned completely white—for that one instant, Black Zetsu had felt his entire body tremble.

But then he second-guessed himself. It wasn't unusual for a change in the eyes to accompany Sage Mode, was it?

He had lived for over a thousand years and had seen more than he could count. A pair of white eyes shouldn't have been anything special.

"But why does it just feel… wrong? What's the deal with that kid?"

The more Black Zetsu thought about it, the more agitated he became. That brat was far more complicated than he had expected.

Originally, he had wanted to investigate and settle his doubts—but now, he was even more confused… and even more uneasy.

After a long silence, Black Zetsu let out a sigh. He looked upward, as if he could see the sky through the layers of earth above him.

"I just hope… it doesn't turn out to be the worst-case scenario."

...

'Why do my ears feel hot? Is someone talking behind my back?'

Konohagakure – Ichiraku Ramen.

Kitagawa Gen was sitting at the counter eating a bowl of ramen when he suddenly paused, touching his ear and glancing suspiciously at the spiky blond next to him.

"What's wrong?"

Deidara looked up, confused, then broke into a wide grin.

"I gotta say, the ramen here really is better than what we have back home. Mmm!"

"Uh, yeah? Well, eat as much as you like if you enjoy it."

"Oh right, let me show you a special trick!"

Out of nowhere, Deidara tossed his chopsticks aside, placed both hands into his bowl, and—

To Kitagawa Gen's complete shock, both of Deidara's hands opened into mouths, grabbed the noodles, and started slurping them up—while his regular mouth was also gulping down ramen at the same time!

In the span of seconds, all three mouths were at work, and he finished the entire bowl in one go. Then, grinning proudly, he turned to Kitagawa Gen.

"Ta-da! Pretty impressive, huh?!"

"…"

Kitagawa Gen rubbed his temples. He honestly didn't know what to say anymore.

Why is it that every spiky blond I meet is completely insane?

"That was amazing!"

Before he could respond, a familiar voice came from behind them. Naruto was standing there, looking at Deidara in awe.

"Three mouths? That means you can eat three bowls of ramen at once!"

"…"

Kitagawa Gen covered his face. He no longer wanted to look.

Deidara, on the other hand, simply raised an eyebrow and chuckled gleefully.

"Impressed? I've got another one for you."

As he spoke, Deidara placed both hands on his cheeks and opened his main mouth wide.

"Blehhh~"

All three mouths stuck out their tongues at Naruto in unison, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

"That's insane! How do you do that?!"

"Tch. That's a secret."

"Wait a sec—hang on—I don't think I've seen you before?"

"Well, I'm not from this village. I came here in pursuit of art. Mmm!"

The two spiky blond heads were chatting away like there was no one else around, leaving Kitagawa Gen momentarily dumbfounded.

They laughed and joked, looking almost like brothers.

'Well, I guess it makes sense. They're about the same age, both have blond hair, and their personalities are… somewhat similar.'

Kitagawa Gen slurped his noodles, watching the two of them with a shake of his head.

It was hard to imagine that, in his memory, these two had once fought each other to the death.

'But judging from the current situation, this guy most likely won't be joining the Akatsuki anymore.'

Deidara's reason for joining the Akatsuki had always been rather bizarre—he had agreed to join after losing a bet, and then kept his word.

Of course, part of it was also due to Uchiha Itachi's overwhelming technique, which made Deidara feel like his art had been challenged.

He had been silently preparing all along to one day defeat Uchiha Itachi and prove that his own artistic philosophy was superior. You could say he was deeply obsessed.

But now, after being taken down so cleanly by Kitagawa Gen's Flying Thunder God technique, all those ambitions had been swept away. If anything, his belief in his art had only grown stronger.

'Well, I suppose that's a good thing too. Still, I wonder if this kid's ever going to learn Dust Release... Give me some kind of help, will you?'

Kitagawa Gen grumbled internally. He was a little worried that Deidara might still be too stubborn for his own good.

But in the end, it didn't really matter. Whether Deidara helped or not, he'd manage on his own.

His goals and direction had always been solid.

At first, maybe it was just to avoid becoming cannon fodder in the Chūnin Exams or the upcoming Fourth Great War. But after awakening his bloodline, his goals had become far more ambitious.

'Develop my bloodline. Push the limits of this Ōtsutsuki heritage. Refine my tactical skills and techniques. I definitely don't want to end up like those Ōtsutsuki.'

Kitagawa Gen muttered silently in his mind. Then, glancing at Naruto and Deidara still bickering beside him, he opened his interface.

[Side Quest 'Life or Death' – Jiraiya Exclusive, Completed]

[Reward Obtained: Nagato's Special Yang Release Chakra]

Seeing the reward, Kitagawa Gen raised an eyebrow.

'Another Yang Release chakra?'

'In that case, does this mean… I've basically collected all the chakra inherited from Asura's descendants?'

'Besides, this trip to the Land of Earth brought me more than just that.'

In addition to acquiring a new form of Yang Release chakra and his initial comprehension of Dust Release, he had also—during the fight with Sasori—gained a deeper understanding of Magnet Release!

Magnet Release might not have seemed especially useful in terms of raw combat power or bloodline development, but Kitagawa Gen hadn't forgotten its other potential application:

Gold prospecting!

His eyes sparkled with anticipation. Just that one ability alone was enough to excite him.

After all, aside from having a bit of money right after graduating, he'd been practically broke ever since arriving in this world. That kind of poverty left a deep impression.

'All things considered, this mission turned out to be a massive success.'

Kitagawa Gen nodded to himself with satisfaction. But just as he was savoring the moment, the voices of the two blond troublemakers beside him suddenly cut in.

"That's not fair! You're cheating—using three mouths to eat!"

"Shut up, brat! This is Deidara-sama's ability. If you're weak, train harder! If you can't handle losing, then don't play at all! Mmm!"

"You bastard! I'm not gonna lose to a cheater like you!"

"Tch. Quit whining. If you can't win, then just admit it. Mmm!"

"…"

Kitagawa Gen covered his face, unable to watch any longer. Sure, this trip had brought him a lot of valuable gains, but—

'Even the bad gains came along for the ride. Damn it!'

Should he just… kill them both and be done with it?

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