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

"The Land of Waterfalls, huh?"

The moment Gen heard the name, aside from thinking of Kakuzu, something else suddenly clicked in his mind.

'The Seven-Tails' jinchūriki is there.'

In his memory, the Seven-Tails was one of the more peculiar tailed beasts.

It had a ton of tails, sure—but in terms of raw combat power, it always seemed to rank near the bottom.

'And the Seven-Tails... even though it ranks third in tail count, it doesn't really stand out. Other than being able to fly and using attacks kinda like Deidara's, with solid defense, it doesn't seem to have much else going for it.'

Gen couldn't quite make sense of it, but he knew for sure—the Seven-Tails was in the Land of Waterfalls.

'If I could use this chance…'

That thought alone made his heart skip a beat.

The chakra he had gained from the Three-Tails last time had massively boosted his power—especially his eyes.

He'd been thinking for a while now about how to get more tailed beast chakra, though he always remained cautious.

Take Sora from the Fire Temple, for instance. It wasn't that Gen couldn't go after him—but he worried the system's version of tailed beast chakra might differ from what he could acquire on his own.

'The system's Three-Tails chakra didn't give off any noticeable aura and fused with my body perfectly. But…'

The Nine-Tails was on a whole different level, and Konoha monitored its chakra with extreme vigilance.

No one wanted another 'Night of the Nine-Tails' incident. That meant Gen had to be extra careful.

But this time…

'If I really do get a shot at testing it... then everything going forward will be much easier!'

Kitagawa Gen had made up his mind—no matter what, he was going to give it a try.

Even if it didn't work out this time, he'd come back again.

"The Land of Waterfalls... Right, that reminds me of something."

Gen stroked his chin, pretending to think deeply, and spoke in a low voice.

"Back when I was on a mission with Kakashi-sensei and Guy-sensei, we ran into a missing-nin from Takigakure."

"You mean the guy with all the hearts?"

Jiraiya immediately recalled the report Gen had once submitted. Tsunade, however, furrowed her brows slightly.

"A missing-nin from Takigakure?"

"Yeah. A very powerful one. From what Gen said, that guy had multiple hearts—almost impossible to kill."

As soon as the topic turned serious, Kakashi, who had been reading a novel with his head down just moments before, looked up.

"Our intel on him is limited to what we observed during the fight. We couldn't find any records on him, and even the Hokage tried contacting Takigakure, but we've never gotten a response."

"In that case, we should go check it out."

Jiraiya made the call without hesitation. Even though trouble was piling up, intelligence involving the Akatsuki wasn't something he could afford to ignore.

Besides, if they could uncover the truth about that rogue ninja from Takigakure, maybe they could dodge some of the blame coming their way.

"Fine by me. I've got no objections," Tsunade said with a nod.

Shizune, who had been quietly holding Tonton and hadn't found an opening to speak, nodded quickly as well.

When Tsunade made a decision, all she needed to do was follow—but then she frowned again.

"But what about the Fourth Raikage? That guy's a real headache."

"Actually, that's easy to deal with."

Before Jiraiya or Kakashi could respond, Kitagawa Gen suddenly flashed a smile.

"We just find a place with a decent crowd, leave him there, and then walk away. Let him find his own way out. Then…"

As he spoke, he turned to Kakashi—who looked completely bewildered—and made a gesture: tying his hands together in a knot, then pulling outward with force.

Then he looked at Tsunade with his most innocent, clear-eyed expression.

"This way, no more trouble. I already left a Flying Thunder God marker on him—so I can find him whenever I want."

"Plus, I'll remove the marker afterward. By the time they've gone their separate ways, we'll make sure there's no evidence left."

"And if we do it right, this could even crush Kumogakure's morale. It's a win-win."

"…"

Tsunade drew in a sharp breath.

She turned her head slowly toward Jiraiya and Kakashi.

Only to find both of them standing stiffly, their faces blank—though apparently not as shaken as she was.

For a moment, her head buzzed.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened, is it?

"You call this how you taught him, Jiraiya?"

"No, no, no! He's Kakashi's student—definitely Kakashi's!"

"This is clearly a flaw in the Academy's curriculum! I've been working hard to correct him!"

Watching Jiraiya and Kakashi rush to defend themselves, Tsunade couldn't help but let out a sigh. What kind of rotten idea did this brat just come up with?

Still, this level of craftiness—it really reminded her of her granduncle.

That Flying Thunder God strike had come at the perfect moment: right when the Fourth Raikage thought he had it in the bag, Gen had flipped the tables with a killing blow.

And now, this new plan was even more underhanded. She couldn't help but recall memories of her granduncle—a man infamous for that very kind of strategy.

"Looks like it's not just Konoha's medical system that's in trouble... our education system clearly has issues too. Otherwise, how do you explain a kid like this coming out of it?"

"…"

Gen looked at Tsunade speechlessly—but right then, his system lit up.

[Reward calculation complete]

[Reward received: Lightning Release – Body Technique of the Fourth Raikage]

...

"Why aren't they here yet?"

Near Sugi Village, the Akatsuki members had already assembled.

Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame had been transported directly by Uchiha Obito, while Nagato remained hidden in the distance under Konan's protection. One of the Pain bodies was participating in this operation.

After arriving near Sugi Village, they didn't act immediately—they needed to confirm Kitagawa Gen and his team's exact location and make the necessary arrangements.

Just as their patience was wearing thin, one of the Zetsu clones emerged from underground.

"We've found their position. They've already entered the Land of Waterfalls."

"The Land of Waterfalls?" Obito narrowed his eyes.

"They plan to return to Konoha through the Land of Waterfalls?"

"Seems that way. And don't forget about Kakuzu."

Black Zetsu nodded, his tone low.

"Even though Kakuzu lost to him, they didn't seem to gather much intel on him afterward. So…"

"They're using this opportunity to investigate?"

Uchiha Itachi seemed to understand now, though he still had doubts.

"But aren't they still dragging the Fourth Raikage around? Isn't that a huge risk?"

"Hmph. Not with the Flying Thunder God involved."

Obito, having suffered firsthand from that technique, spoke coldly.

"As long as they've planted a Flying Thunder God mark on the Fourth Raikage, it's all under control. He can't escape."

"This actually works in our favor."

Pain suddenly spoke up from the side.

"Now that we know they have a specific destination, we can set up an ambush. That will help avoid unnecessary complications."

"I don't see any problem with it."

Uchiha Obito nodded in agreement—the plan was solid.

Takigakure had long since declined, but thanks to its early founding, it had even managed to acquire a tailed beast.

Even if that beast seemed relatively weak, checking on the situation in advance wasn't a bad idea.

And an ambush operation? That was always effective.

"In that case, let's move."

Pain didn't seem interested in further discussion. He turned around and walked off without another word.

Uchiha Itachi remained silent, but followed behind him without hesitation.

Only Hoshigaki Kisame was left grinning broadly on the side. After a moment, he finally spoke.

"They've all gone. Guess we'd better get moving too, huh?"

"Hmph."

Obito snorted coldly, clearly displeased with Pain's attitude.

Still, Kisame had handled things quite well—for now.

"But seriously… that Flying Thunder God Technique really is terrifying. And you seem to know quite a bit about it too."

What caught Obito off guard, though, was Kisame suddenly lowering his voice and asking: "Back in Kirigakure, that kid managed to hit you out of nowhere—and then launched a sneak attack right after."

"Forgive me for asking, but I have to wonder—are you…?"

As he spoke, Kisame couldn't help but eye Obito up and down, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

"…"

Even knowing Kisame's concern was understandable, both the question—and that look—pushed Obito's patience to the brink.

He realized now that Kisame wasn't exactly easy to handle either.

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