Bloodline Progress!

"Was it really that complicated?"

Inside the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi, whose spirits were still low, and Jiraiya, whose face was grave. He could not help rubbing his brow.

At first, seeing Jiraiya return had given him quite a fright, while also making him very happy.

Konoha was showing signs of a talent gap now. Although Kakashi's generation of young people had already grown up, Konoha still lacked a few true pillars.

In truth, Hiruzen Sarutobi's three disciples were exactly that kind of figure.

In the end, of those three, one had defected, and two were "gambling and whoring their lives away."

Naturally, he was happy Jiraiya had come back. It was just that the news this fellow brought back gave him more than a little headache.

"Yes, old man."

Jiraiya nodded. He rubbed his own brow and said,

"If it weren't that complicated, I wouldn't have come back to find you. Everything is still only a guess, but that place is too sensitive, so I need your help."

"You know it's sensitive too?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shot Jiraiya an irritated glare.

"That place is Kirigakure. There's an entire sea between us. Sending people over is extremely difficult, and because of its policies, Kirigakure is practically cut off from the outside world. It's hard for anyone to know what's actually going on inside. How do you expect me to investigate?"

Kirigakure's problems were anything but ordinary. It was an island to begin with, which made passing intelligence far more difficult.

Later, because of some Blood Mist Policy, it had gone into "closed-door isolation," making it extremely hard for him to obtain intelligence.

Especially when it was also connected to that organization.

"Itachi Uchiha is in there, isn't he? He's been a spy for two and a half years. How is there not a single piece of news?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi held his pipe in his mouth and fell silent. He was somewhat puzzled now too.

"Hokage, the Anbu should still have people in Kirigakure, right?"

Kakashi, who had not spoken the entire time, pondered for a moment before asking quietly.

"Although it might be difficult, could we mobilize them and have them provide some information?"

"Well..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked troubled, which made Jiraiya very unhappy.

"Hey, old man, if this is really that much trouble, I might as well go over and take a look myself. That way, it won't put you in a difficult position, right?"

"No. You don't understand the stakes involved."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his brow. Only after thinking in silence for a while did he let out a sigh.

"Enough. I'll handle this matter. You absolutely must not act recklessly. Although you're good at gathering intelligence, you still can't compare to professionals.

"Stay in Konoha for this period and don't run around. I'll complete the investigation as soon as possible."

"Tch. Even if I wanted to leave, I'm afraid it wouldn't be easy now, would it?"

Jiraiya pursed his lips. He gave a slight nod before continuing.

"Don't worry. I won't act recklessly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come back. If there's nothing else, I'll take Kakashi to the hospital.

"Later, I still have to help that disciple of Kakashi's celebrate his first successful mission. What a pain..."

As he spoke, Jiraiya led Kakashi outside, while Kakashi nodded apologetically at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew his disciple's personality and did not mind. Only after the two left together did he sigh helplessly.

"What a pain."

Kakashi's question truly troubled him. Although the Anbu also gathered intelligence, Root's infiltration of the outside world went much deeper!

Many of the more secretive pieces of information from other villages were basically provided by Root. But in name, Root had already been disbanded by him.

Unless it was restarted, even he had no real solution.

"Forget it. Since the matter really is that serious, I'll go see Danzo. Besides, it's been some time since I last met him..."

After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally made a decision. He stood up and walked to the window.

Looking at the bustling Konoha outside, only after a long while did he murmur softly,

"Thankfully, Jiraiya coming back isn't all bad news. At least he's back. At least..."

"It seems another genius has been born in Konoha."

"It was actually that easy?"

Sensing the changes in himself, a strange look surfaced on Kitagawa Gen's face.

Even though he had already made some guesses, practicing Sage Mode had never been anything simple.

Just look at Jiraiya. He had practiced for many years before succeeding.

But even so, he still needed the help of the two sages of Mount Myōboku, and he also had to spend some time before he could smoothly enter Sage Mode.

As for Naruto, although things had been much easier for him, he had still taken a brutal beating at Mount Myōboku before finally breaking through.

But Kitagawa Gen had relied only on Jiraiya's knowledge, without even any auxiliary tools, and completed Sage Mode on his very first attempt!

"Bloodline really is cheating to the extreme..."

Only after a long while did Kitagawa Gen grit his teeth and curse.

Thinking back on his miserable thirteen years, he felt even more dispirited. How great would it have been if the newbie gift pack had come earlier!

"Forget it. Naruto and Sasuke both had to endure for so many years before their cheats fully kicked in too."

Rubbing his brow, Kitagawa Gen comforted himself, but soon he could not keep it together again.

Naruto and Sasuke's cheats came all the way in one step, while he had to slowly accumulate his!

Sure enough, some people were born in Rome, while some people were born pack mules.

"But at least I finally have a stronger means of attack!"

The might of Sage Mode, setting Jiraiya aside, had already been displayed to perfection by Naruto and Hashirama Senju.

With the Purple Lightning he was constantly improving on top of that, as long as he did not run into someone who was too much of a monster, he would have ways to deal with them!

And as his bloodline continued to develop, he firmly believed that in the future, he himself would become one of those "monsters," perhaps even far surpassing them...

"But I still need to think of a way to legitimize this technique. Forget it, I'll go prepare for the dinner gathering tonight first."

Stretching lazily, Kitagawa Gen had sat here for a very long time. Even he felt his body had gone a little numb.

"Mm?!"

But just then, he suddenly sensed something was wrong!

He abruptly realized that the Chakra surging within his body was a little too fierce.

Not only that, he even felt that his physical strength had increased!

Aside from that, he could also faintly feel a thin stream of Chakra constantly flowing into his eyes, as if something was being nurtured there.

"Could it be..."

Kitagawa Gen hurriedly opened his panel. When he saw the information on it, he froze completely.

Name: Kitagawa Gen

Age: 13

Bloodline: Otsutsuki Clan (Development Level: 5%)

Total Chakra: S- (a weaker level between Elite Jonin and Kage)

"It actually has an effect like this?"

Kitagawa Gen's breathing grew a little rapid. He had only just obtained senjutsu, and his first use of it had even been somewhat clumsy, yet he had unexpectedly completed a stage of bloodline development?

Even if his Development Level still belonged to the "total weakling" tier, at least it had reached five percent!

"So natural energy is actually part of the Otsutsuki's power too?"

Kitagawa Gen frowned, but soon shook his head again.

"Not necessarily. Perhaps Otsutsuki who possess the power of the Ten-Tails indirectly obtain natural energy!"

Thinking of this, a faint excitement appeared in Kitagawa Gen's eyes.

Originally, he had truly been very worried about whether his plan to collect everything that way would actually work, and what he should do if it caused some kind of mess.

But now he knew that as long as he did not court death too hard, the bloodline in his body seemed able to cover for him!

This kind of powerful bloodline was a form of confidence.

In that case, he could completely advance toward the complete Otsutsuki he had envisioned!

"It's just that there really are a lot of things I need to get."