Your Dad's Teacher, Your Dad's Student

There truly were a lot of things required to assemble the complete Otsutsuki he had envisioned.

Fortunately, most of them were things he had already planned out, and the original difficulty had never been low to begin with.

It was just that now his conviction had grown even firmer. He really was curious what kind of scenery awaited him if he kept climbing all the way up!

"Still, eyes nurtured by Chakra seem slower than I imagined. Maybe I need to keep developing the bloodline. How strange. I remember the Otsutsuki's Byakugan being innate, don't I?"

After taking a bath, Kitagawa Gen looked at his handsome self in the mirror, feeling satisfied, but he could not help muttering to himself.

Perhaps it was because this bloodline was a blank slate, so everything had to start from scratch.

But he was not afraid. After all, with this bloodline supporting him, he believed he could reach that step. And time was on his side, so—

"The advantage is mine!"

Casually imitating the line in an accent even he was not very practiced with, Kitagawa Gen got dressed, pulled open the window, and jumped straight out.

Since he was already a ninja, he naturally had to learn a ninja's traditional arts!

"Hey, are you ready? We're leaving."

Jumping onto Naruto's windowsill, Kitagawa Gen pulled the window open and asked inside.

"You bastard, does my house not have a door?"

Naruto was startled by Kitagawa Gen and could not help complaining, while Kitagawa Gen merely shrugged.

"Don't you climb in through my window the same way? All right, enough nonsense. Get ready to go."

"That's because you didn't give me a key."

Naruto pursed his lips and stood up, while also handing over a box of ramen.

"Here, for you. Congratulations on completing your first ninja mission."

"No, I complete my first mission and you give me this?"

Kitagawa Gen nearly laughed from sheer exasperation. But when Naruto heard that, a vein throbbed on his forehead, and he pouted unhappily.

"Jerk, this is a limited-edition Ichiraku Ramen cup. It's super delicious, and really expensive too!"

"Thanks. Keep it for yourself. Later, when you become a ninja and finish your first mission, just give me your Kunai."

Kitagawa Gen did not really understand why Naruto would spend money on something like this, but he was not going to comment on personal preferences.

Besides, he had discovered something interesting: this brat Naruto had actually nailed the Kunai he had given him neatly onto the wall.

It was clear he really liked it. Since that was the case, Kitagawa Gen might as well ask for the same kind of gift in return.

"Still, don't tell me you won't even manage to become a ninja. I heard your grades don't seem too great."

"Aaaah! You bastard! I'm definitely going to succeed, and I'm definitely going to become Hokage!"

With one sentence, Kitagawa Gen made the little blond blow up. Fortunately, he had no intention of continuing to tease Naruto, and the two soon set off.

Before long, they arrived at the hospital entrance. Naruto looked utterly confused when he saw the place.

"Gen, didn't you say we were eating to celebrate? Why did we come to the hospital? I heard those two teammates of yours already got discharged."

"Of course it's not them. It's my Jonin Instructor."

Kitagawa Gen had long since forgotten he even had teammates. He shrugged and said,

"He got beaten into the hospital. But the person treating us is here too, so we're meeting here first."

"Oh, so that's it."

Naruto picked at his ear, thinking this Jonin Instructor sounded way too unreliable, didn't he?

But soon he grew a little worried again, and then asked somewhat cautiously,

"Speaking of which, is it really okay for me to come along?"

"Don't worry. No need to be nervous."

Kitagawa Gen froze for a moment, then quickly understood what Naruto meant.

"Even though they're all pretty unreliable, they're good people. And I'm sure they'll like you."

"Oh, okay."

Naruto nodded, but he was still a little conflicted.

He knew he was not liked in Konoha, even if he did not care and still wanted to gain everyone's approval.

But he also did not want his friend Kitagawa Gen to be affected because of him.

Only this time, he was clearly overthinking it.

After all, one was his dad's teacher, and one was his dad's student.

"Teacher Kakashi."

After asking around, they soon arrived at Kakashi's ward. When he opened the door, Kitagawa Gen discovered that Guy was actually here too.

"Teacher Guy, long time no see."

"Yo, it's Gen."

When Guy saw Kitagawa Gen, his eyes immediately lit up. He laughed heartily, walked over, and patted him on the shoulder.

"I heard all about it from Kakashi. You really did well, kid!"

"I still have to thank Teacher Guy for teaching me so well back then."

Kitagawa Gen was very modest, but he really was grateful to Guy.

If he had not trained with him, then even if he had a cheat, he might not have been able to handle Biwa Juzo so smoothly.

"By the way, Teacher Guy, we're celebrating my first successful mission tonight. Do you want to come?"

"Hey, hey, kid, I'm the one treating, and you're the one doing favors?"

Lord Jiraiya also walked out from inside. He glared at Kitagawa Gen, then laughed again.

"Forget it. Kakashi's here anyway. If the cost gets too high, we can just make Kakashi pay it back."

Kakashi, sitting on the hospital bed, said nothing, but could not help rolling his eye.

He was at least a loyal fan of Jiraiya's books. Was there any need to do him like this?

But Kakashi had sharp eyes. Suddenly, he noticed there was someone behind Kitagawa Gen, and that person was—

"Na-Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Naruto?"

Guy also saw Naruto. He immediately glanced at Jiraiya and Kakashi, then looked at Kitagawa Gen.

After thinking for a moment, he simply smiled and moved aside to make a path.

When Jiraiya heard that name, he also fell into a daze. That was the name of the protagonist of his first novel, Tale of the Gutsy Ninja.

Likewise, it was also the name of his most beloved disciple Minato Namikaze's child!

Could it be...

"That's right, Naruto."

Kitagawa Gen smiled and nodded, then grabbed Naruto, who had been hiding behind him like an ostrich, and dragged him out.

"Didn't Lord Jiraiya say I could bring a few friends? This kid lives near my place. We sort of grew up together, and he's my friend."

"A friend, huh..."

Jiraiya was somewhat surprised. Even though he was not in Konoha, he knew that this brat Naruto's life was probably a little miserable.

This could also be considered a method of raising a Jinchuriki. Only by forcing a Jinchuriki to grow used to a tragic life from childhood and cultivating a tough personality could the Tailed Beast be prevented from going out of control in the future.

Jiraiya neither approved nor disapproved of this method, so he simply chose not to come back, choosing peace of mind by keeping it out of sight.

This time, he had also thought about whether to secretly take a look at Naruto. He had not expected Kitagawa Gen, this brat, to bring him over directly—and for them to be friends?

"Yeah. Even though this kid is kind of dumb, and in the village..."

Kitagawa Gen smiled and dragged Naruto in front of Jiraiya.

"But Teacher Kakashi told me there were some misunderstandings behind it, and after knowing him for so many years, I haven't found anything wrong with him either. Naturally, we became friends."

"You're the dumb one."

Naruto tugged at the corner of Kitagawa Gen's clothes and retorted unhappily, but the moment he thought of all the ramen this bastard had scammed out of him over the years, he immediately wilted.

"You're Naruto, right?"

But at that moment, Jiraiya suddenly crouched down. He reached out and placed his hand on Naruto's head of yellow hair, while carefully studying Naruto's face.

Those blue eyes, that yellow hair—even they made him fall into a daze. At this moment, it was as if he had seen Minato Namikaze!

Time had passed so quickly. Jiraiya could still seem to recall the way Minato Namikaze had looked when he first met him. He had not expected that in the blink of an eye, his child would already be this big.

Only after quite a while did he reveal a faint smile.

"I have to say, that really is a good name..."