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

"So it's all-out war now?"

Gen wasn't particularly surprised that he had been targeted by Pain.

After that pointed, deliberately provocative monologue he'd delivered earlier,

It'd be shocking not to become a priority target.

Anyone would lose their cool after that.

"Wonder how Uchiha Obito's holding up… and Tsunade too."

Kitagawa Gen weaved through Pain's attacks, swiftly dodging as he muttered to himself.

Tsunade was likely still struggling with her hemophobia.

Then again, Gen figured it was less a fear of blood and more of a deep psychological wound.

She'd watched the two people she loved most die in pools of blood.

That vivid, gruesome image had carved itself into her memory—

A nightmare she could never wake from.

The moment she saw blood, it triggered that past scene, sending her mind spiraling.

Her strength? Useless. She couldn't even bring it out when it mattered most.

"Still daydreaming while fighting me?"

Pain's sharp voice snapped through the chaos—

And in the blink of an eye, his black chakra rod stabbed forward once more.

"And you know I'm daydreaming… how, exactly?"

Gen raised an eyebrow, just slightly—

And in that instant, his presence shifted.

Red markings bloomed around his eyes, and his irises turned a brilliant white.

"That's… that special state?"

Pain immediately recognized it—he'd seen the intel before.

And it reminded him of what Jiraiya had once said while training them: "So, you've mastered Jiraiya-sensei's Sage Mode…"

"But it's useless."

Just as he spoke, Gen vanished in a blur, reappearing in front of him—

White Fang's short blade thrust straight toward his chest.

Pain's chakra surged violently in response.

"Because in the face of these eyes… you have no chance of winning!"

In an instant, Gen felt a tremendous repulsive force erupting around him.

"Shinra Tensei, huh?"

Gen immediately understood—

And the very next second, his body was hurled backward by the violent shockwave.

But even as he flew, his hands flashed through seals at blinding speed, chakra boiling inside him.

"Sage Art: Great Fireball Technique!"

Just as the Shinra Tensei subsided, he unleashed his jutsu—

A massive fireball roared forth, hurtling toward Pain like a falling sun.

Pain let out a low scoff.

Even though this particular body wasn't especially vulnerable to Fire Release jutsu,

He still leapt back instinctively.

After all, no matter what, he didn't want Yahiko's body getting hit.

But just then—

Dozens of kunai tore through the flames, whistling through the air.

"Flying Thunder God Technique?"

Pain's eyes narrowed.

He immediately understood.

Akatsuki had already clashed with Kitagawa Gen many times before.

It was impossible not to be familiar with his tactics by now.

If he dared show up here…

He had clearly come prepared.

...

"Oi, what the hell is going on here?"

Elsewhere on the battlefield—still unengaged—the Fourth Raikage couldn't help but glance toward Shizune.

"What is Konoha even doing right now?"

"I don't know."

Shizune shook her head, genuinely at a loss. She really didn't have a clue what was happening.

"But Fourth Raikage-sama, if they really are here to assassinate you… Then we'll protect you with everything we have."

"…"

The Fourth Raikage's fist tensed slightly.

Here to kill me?

Yeah right—more like they're the ones who hired them!

Of course, he didn't say that out loud.

If he were in their shoes and faced with a problem as troublesome as him,

he'd probably resort to a few dirty tricks too.

[Zzzzt—]

Suddenly, before he could speak again, a sharp, crackling sound of electricity tore through the air.

[BOOM—]

A split second later, it was followed by a deafening explosion!

He snapped his head around—

And instantly clenched his jaw so hard his molars nearly shattered.

Because what he saw was—

"He's using my technique?!"

The Fourth Raikage's greatest point of pride had always been the unmatched speed and strength he could unleash when activating his Lightning Release: Chakra Mode.

With that kind of explosive power, he truly didn't believe there were many people in the shinobi world who could withstand him.

Even in terms of speed, he had always thought no one could catch up to him.

Perhaps Namikaze Minato had been an exception—but that guy had already been dead for over ten years. He had assumed that, as far as speed went, there was no one left who could rival him.

And yet now, out of nowhere, had appeared some utterly unknown brat—one whose strength was absurdly terrifying!

Not only had this brat mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, but…

"He's learned my taijutsu too?"

He saw, not far away, that Gen's figure suddenly flickered. Bathed in dazzling lightning, he reappeared beside that orange-haired man in a flash.

Right after, Gen used the standard 'Lightning Oppression Horizontal' attack stance.

Even though the kid was holding a short blade instead of using a hand chop, that form—there was no way he could mistake it!

"That damn brat…"

Just as his heart surged with fury and disbelief, Gen had already brought his short blade down.

[BOOM—]

With a thunderous crash, the ground split open beneath the blow, carving out a violent crevice!

Gen raised an eyebrow, surprised to see a makeshift wall of shattered stone had suddenly risen in front of him.

That wall had blocked the blow—and also gave Pain the chance to launch a counterattack.

"Universal Pull?"

Gen immediately realized what had happened. Pain had drawn up a mass of rubble straight from the ground to shield himself.

"Looks like he really came prepared."

Seeing Pain now charging at him, Gen rushed to meet him head-on.

[Clang—]

[Clang—]

[Clang—]

In an instant, their figures flickered back and forth through the forest.

The White Fang short blade clashed fiercely against the black receivers, emitting ear-piercing screeches with every collision.

As the chakra surging from them grew increasingly intense, those metallic screeches turned into booming shockwaves.

All around them, trees snapped from the impact of their exchanges!

The ground trembled and caved in beneath their feet, spiderweb cracks spreading in all directions.

With Lightning Release: Chakra Mode combined with Sage Mode, Gen's speed had reached a level beyond imagination.

And the boost granted by the dual modes was even greater than he could have anticipated—it was the first time he had ever felt his speed could reach such extremes.

"And I don't even need to worry that my eyes can't keep up with how fast I'm moving."

Back when Kakashi didn't have the Sharingan, using Chidori nearly got him killed—his eyes simply couldn't keep up with his own speed.

But Gen didn't have that problem at all. His vision wasn't just good—it was crystal clear.

"Still, Pain's taijutsu and physical durability... they're surprisingly strong."

As Gen launched attack after attack, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Thankfully, he understood the situation. After all, this was someone trained by Jiraiya—and more importantly, Pain's body had clearly been modified.

From what he remembered, no matter how much Naruto went berserk and beat him down, there hadn't been any issues.

As for the moment when a Rasengan finally stopped him, there were probably two reasons.

One, Nagato might've been low on chakra after fighting for so long.

Two, the Rasengan had likely disrupted the chakra flow inside Pain's body, causing a delay in Nagato's control—and Naruto had used that window to yank out the black receiver rods.

"I think Naruto even said it himself—once those black rods are pulled out, Pain can't move anymore."

Regardless of the specifics, Gen was confident he could take on the Deva Path of Pain.

After all—

"I know your intel!"

[VMMM—]

A sudden burst of chakra surged forth. Gen hurled several kunai in the blink of an eye, and in the same instant, his body flickered to Pain's flank.

His White Fang short blade lashed out, its edge crackling with violet lightning as it sliced straight toward Pain's neck.

"Universal Pull!"

Pain had been on high alert the entire time. The moment Gen moved, he instantly crouched down and slammed his palm against the ground.

At once, massive chunks of stone were yanked from the earth and pulled up to form a barrier around him. But just as he looked up—he caught sight of a kunai flying overhead.

In the next moment, a figure appeared midair—and that instant, Pain unleashed a surge of violent chakra.

"Shinra Tensei!"

An invisible repulsive force exploded outward, blasting Gen's just-emerged figure away.

But that violet blur twisted effortlessly in the air and landed lightly atop a snapped tree trunk.

"Your techniques… are completely useless against me."

Pain didn't pursue. Instead, he simply spoke.

"I've seen through you, brat."

"Oh yeah?"

Gen tilted his head slightly, then gave a small chuckle and asked, "But I'm really curious about one thing. When we ran into Uchiha Obito back in Kirigakure, he was pretending to be Uchiha Madara.

"And he's part of your organization. So tell me—did you guys ever really know who he was?"

"And that's what's on your mind before you die? Such a pointless question?"

Pain shook his head, his voice as detached as ever.

"Who he is doesn't matter. No—what matters is what he can bring us.

"Whether he's Uchiha Madara or just a nobody like Uchiha Obito, it makes no difference to me.

"So your question… really was a waste of time."

"I see."

Kitagawa Gen nodded—just as he had expected.

Uchiha Obito's bounty posters were plastered everywhere. Given that Nagato had been in contact with him, there was no way he hadn't harbored doubts.

But whether he doubted or not wasn't important. What mattered was that both he and Konan seemed to have never truly trusted Obito from the beginning.

Obito's version of peace was a world where everyone fell into an illusion, a fabricated paradise born of people's desires.

But Nagato's vision… was to crush the world with his own power and become its 'god'.

To make the entire world submit through force—eliminate resistance, end war—even if enemies still existed, they would all be him alone.

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