Dead Lasts Shouldn't Get Cocky

The moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and Konoha's streets lay empty.

Sasuke Uchiha, who had just finished a full day of training, was walking toward the Uchiha Clan with exhaustion written all over his face.

He had kept up this bitter training for a very long time, after all, he was an avenger!

"Hm?"

But as he walked, he suddenly heard what sounded like someone calling his name, making him turn his head despite himself.

And then he saw Naruto, the guy who had somehow always felt strangely familiar since they were little, yet was also incredibly annoying, and...

"Kitagawa Gen?"

Sasuke could be said to know Kitagawa Gen. This guy was a few classes above him, and he was fairly strong.

On top of that, he had heard that this guy had beaten all his teammates into the hospital and become the only one to graduate.

"You actually trained until this late?"

While he was thinking, Kitagawa Gen had already walked over with Naruto. After sizing Sasuke up, he turned to Naruto and said,

"Look. This is the kind of attitude someone should have if they want to become a ninja. I remember he's your class's top student, right? This is what you call a gap."

"Tch."

Naruto unhappily dug at his ear. He did not know why, but just hearing anything about Sasuke pissed him off.

"I'll definitely surpass him, become a ninja, and become Hokage!"

"Idiot."

Sasuke was not polite either. He gave a light snort.

"Say that after you pass the exam smoothly."

"Bastard Sasuke."

Naruto immediately got annoyed, shouting as he rolled up his sleeves to properly argue, while Sasuke looked at Naruto coldly.

Kitagawa Gen had no intention of stopping them at all. This pair of "blood brothers" in the Chakra sense was actually rather interesting.

Besides, he was still thinking about whether he could wait for these two to trigger some kind of mission!

One Sage Mode alone had given five percent. If these two's Chakra really dropped from a mission, he did not even dare imagine how much it would be.

"Hm?"

However, just as he was watching the two of them bicker with great interest, he suddenly felt a strange throb of alarm in his heart.

He felt as if something had locked onto him. That feeling was so clear, so vivid!

"What's going on?"

Kitagawa Gen did not dare make any rash move. He remembered that Anbu had indeed followed Naruto, but they had already left when he met up with Kakashi, Jiraiya, and the others.

Then who exactly was it?

New Side Quest obtained.

Just then, his system suddenly flashed!

Dead Lasts Shouldn't Get Cocky

Take the initiative and deal with Obito Uchiha.

"..."

All right, now he knew exactly who had come.

But he was even more confused. What had Obito Uchiha come running over for?

And dealing with this guy...

He might not be afraid of ordinary ninja battles, but Obito Uchiha had relied on a single Mangekyo to become one of the hardest people in the ninja world to deal with!

"But this is Konoha, and Kakashi's exclusive mission..."

Kitagawa Gen muttered inwardly. At that moment, Sasuke seemed too lazy to keep trading barbs with Naruto. He walked over and said in a low voice,

"I still haven't congratulated you on passing the assessment."

"Hm? Thanks."

Kitagawa Gen came back to himself and nodded, though his expression was a little strange.

Sasuke personally offering congratulations?

They did not seem that close, did they?

"Right."

Sure enough, Sasuke immediately changed the subject.

"I heard that as long as you beat all your teammates into the hospital, it also counts as passing. Is that true?"

"..."

Kitagawa Gen rolled his eyes. This matter was really getting more and more outrageous the more it spread.

"That depends on your Jonin Instructor's mood, as well as your personal ability. I just got lucky."

"Tch, lucky is right. You even left the village."

Naruto muttered quietly from the side, while Sasuke immediately grasped the key point.

"Left the village."

He had always longed to become a ninja as soon as possible, so he could leave the village and kill Itachi Uchiha. This had already become his greatest obsession!

"Right, left the village."

Kitagawa Gen also made up his mind. While reaching into his Ninja Tool Pouch and rummaging around, he said,

"And this time when we went out, we even ran into someone. Someone you're very familiar with too."

"Someone I'm very familiar with?"

Sasuke frowned. He seemed to realize something. Kitagawa Gen smiled, then continued,

"Yeah. That person was Itachi Uchiha."

The instant he heard that name, Sasuke's face twisted.

That intense hatred even startled Naruto beside him.

"And that guy also joined an organization."

Kitagawa Gen continued speaking. At that moment, his hand suddenly drew out of his Ninja Tool Pouch.

"The members inside are all extremely dangerous, for example..."

The next instant, several Kunai carrying Exploding Tags shot straight toward a large tree to the side!

Boom—

A violent explosion and firelight intertwined, looking so glaring in the quiet night.

"You..."

Sasuke and Naruto were both frightened, but very quickly, they discovered that beside the large tree that had been blasted apart, a hazy figure was flickering in and out of sight!

And at that moment, Kitagawa Gen's voice rang out once more.

"This guy."

"Jiraiya is back?"

Inside Root's base, Shimura Danzō was looking at the documents in his hand.

Although he had been dismissed because the Uchiha had been exterminated,

he still firmly believed that one day, he would make a comeback!

After all, he had been fine even after assassinating his old friend Hiruzen Sarutobi, not to mention he had also removed a huge problem for Konoha...

So he would still obtain information from within Konoha in order to make some simple judgments.

"What did he come back for? Could it be..."

His expression turned hesitant, then he suddenly thought of something and his face tightened.

Damn it, that guy couldn't have come back to inherit the position of Hokage, could he?

"Long time no see, Danzō."

But just then, a familiar voice sounded, and that voice made his body stiffen even more.

"It has indeed been a long time since you came here, Hiruzen."

Fortunately, his professional discipline was still quite high. He quickly calmed down and entered work mode.

"How rare. Busy as you are, you finally have time today to come see your good friend?"

"You've come to this point today through no fault but your own, haven't you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down across from Danzō with his pipe in his mouth. He sighed and said,

"You shouldn't have moved against Shisui, and you shouldn't have let Itachi do all of this. The Uchiha were always members of Konoha. You..."

"Hiruzen, enough."

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish, Shimura Danzō shook his head disdainfully.

"Do you not know the ability of Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyo? Would you have felt at ease letting him live?

Letting Itachi Uchiha do all of this prevented Konoha from falling into internal strife, and it even kept your own hands clean. Are you still not satisfied?

Besides, everything I did was for Konoha. I merely inherited the teacher's will!"

"You're truly beyond saving. Have you forgotten Kagami? What do you think he would think if he saw all of this?"

"Kagami was only one of the few. The vast majority were still like Setsuna Uchiha. I simply did the right thing!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Shimura Danzō, who had his neck stiffened and looked completely like he was saying, "I'm damn well not wrong," and anger surged in him.

His gaze turned somewhat cold as he stared at Danzō. His mouth moved slightly, and Danzō seemed to sense something.

"Enough. You didn't come here specifically to quarrel with me, did you?"

Before that line, "I am the Hokage," could even be spoken, Danzō struck first.

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed the space between his brows. Only after a moment did he speak.

"On Kirigakure's side, how many people does Root still have there now, and how do we activate them?"

"Kirigakure?"

Danzō's eyes lit up. He finally understood why Hiruzen Sarutobi had come to him.

The situation in Kirigakure was extremely complicated, and infiltrating it was far from ordinarily difficult, while his Root had once specialized in precisely these things!

And he also realized that this was an opportunity!

"I do indeed still have people there, but I'm the only one who can activate them."

"Danzō, don't go too far."

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had expected this, he still frowned as he looked at Danzō.

"I can restore part of your authority, but everything must be centered on the mission. The impact you caused was too vile, and everyone is not a fool."

"Hmph, I said before that everything I did was for Konoha. I don't care how others see me."

Danzō gave a light snort. He also knew he had to take things step by step, so he did not mind.

"As for the mission, you can rest assured. If I couldn't do this sort of thing well, you wouldn't have left me to continue serving Konoha back then either."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. Danzō's "professional competence" was trustworthy.

But just as he was about to continue warning Danzō, an Anbu suddenly rushed in.

"Hokage, something has happened."