He's Not Like You, Yet He's a Lot Like You

Kitagawa Gen might not have thought too much about it before, but now he realized something.

"The eyes that are brewing, the bones that have already slowly begun to brew—put them together."

He wouldn't call it Otsutsuki Kaguya, after all, since no eye had sprouted from his forehead yet. But Otsutsuki Hamura seemed to fit just fine.

Even if it was a mini version, it could only be called a "complete version Hyuga."

But he was still moving in that direction!

"Even those guys on the moon aren't as complete as me, right?"

Kitagawa Gen couldn't help muttering inwardly. He really couldn't say what the people on the moon were like.

At least judging from Otsutsuki Toneri, he did not seem to have any obvious "Shikotsumyaku" traits.

"Could it be that Otsutsuki Hamura also had two sons, one who went to the moon and one who stayed in the shinobi world?"

On the road to Konoha, Kitagawa Gen followed behind Jiraiya and couldn't help thinking to himself.

And he had noticed something else as well. His Yin Release came from Obito Uchiha, and his Yang Release came from Kimimaro, but in the end, the direction they were headed in seemed more or less the same.

Perhaps, for the Otsutsuki, these things were actually all pretty similar, without much difference?

"Kid, what are you thinking about?"

His taciturn silence left Jiraiya a little puzzled. He tilted his head and asked curiously.

"I haven't seen you say more than a few words the whole way."

"I was thinking about going back to Konoha and having a good soak in a hot spring."

Kitagawa Gen gathered his thoughts, then shrugged and sighed.

"After all, in the Land of Hot Water, I didn't get to enter a hot spring even once."

"Hey, hey, hey, that was their rule. It's not like I stopped you from going."

Jiraiya snorted lightly, then immediately changed the subject.

"All right, forget that. You really are impressive, kid, and that Purple Electricity is impressive too. The ultimate shape transformation and nature transformation—

That kind of extreme control, even I, the great sage, and perhaps even Minato, might not be able to match you. Now I do feel like you might really be able to learn the Flying Thunder God."

Jiraiya had also seen Kitagawa Gen's Purple Lightning before, but that time, it had been used against Obito Uchiha, appearing in a flash and ending just as quickly.

This time, although he had been fighting Orochimaru, he had still paid a little attention to Kitagawa Gen's side, so naturally he felt it more deeply.

That extremely powerful control made even him unable to help sighing with emotion. Now he truly felt that this kid might actually be able to do it!

"That subject change of yours was really stiff."

Kitagawa Gen raised an eyebrow and simply went along with Jiraiya's words.

"Maybe. But the Flying Thunder God's requirements aren't just high in the ordinary sense. Not only does it demand extremely high chakra control, its demands on the body aren't weak either."

"Looks like you've found some of the key points."

Jiraiya smiled without minding and began to explain seriously.

"That's right. This technique also requires extremely strong reflex nerves and physical coordination. After all, this is a technique that lets you pass through space, launch a surprise attack beside the enemy, and deliver a fatal strike.

If your physical coordination and reflexes aren't enough, then either you won't be able to react after crossing through, or you won't even be able to keep your balance.

When the time comes, if you slam straight into the ground or crash onto someone else's kunai, wouldn't that just be suicide?"

Hearing this, Kitagawa Gen couldn't help nodding. Without that level of powerful physical coordination and reaction speed, the Flying Thunder God really was no different from suicide.

"But physical fitness can be trained, and even reaction speed can be developed later."

Just then, Jiraiya spoke again.

"But when it comes to chakra control, training it isn't that easy. It's not that it can't be done, but a matter of sensitivity.

There's still a gap between innate and acquired talent. The precision required to cross space is far too high. Even the tiniest mistake can be fatal.

You have an innate advantage in this area, so you must work hard."

"Is that so?"

Kitagawa Gen nodded modestly, but chakra control was probably the thing he least needed to worry about.

Especially since he had also found that perception of space. Maybe after he got back, it would not take long before he could more or less start making some attempts.

"Still, I remember the Fourth Hokage and Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God seem to have become very different."

Although they were both the Flying Thunder God, the Fourth had clearly made considerable improvements on the foundation of the Second.

In the hands of that Fourth, the Flying Thunder God was no longer a simple "shuttle." It could even be considered a special space-time barrier!

"Speaking of which, why didn't you tell me these things before?"

There was still much about the Flying Thunder God that needed to be studied later, so Kitagawa Gen stopped thinking too much about it and instead looked at Jiraiya with a curious expression.

"This is information left behind by the Fourth?"

"Of course. It's not like I know this technique."

Jiraiya nodded, not at all unhappy that he did not know the Flying Thunder God himself.

"I didn't tell you before because I was worried you'd get distracted. Learning any technique has to be done step by step.

Take it one step at a time. First thoroughly understand the knowledge on the scroll, then talk about the rest.

See? Aren't I telling you now?"

"Tch. If you'd told me earlier, maybe I'd already have learned it."

"You little brat, all you know is how to brag. What, you think this is some simple technique?"

"Also, Lord Jiraiya, didn't you say you were going to teach me some special techniques? How come in the end there's nothing special at all?"

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't blame me for that. You're the one who doesn't want to learn Mount Myōboku's Summoning Technique. There's nothing I can teach you."

The two of them bickered noisily along the way, and the return journey seemed especially relaxed.

A few days later, they finally returned to Konoha. With Jiraiya's face as a pass, they entered the village smoothly without any obstruction.

"We're finally back. I can't believe we were gone for almost half a month without realizing it."

Looking at the familiar surroundings before him, Jiraiya wore a bitter expression, as if freedom had left him behind.

"You go back and rest first, or go see your teacher Kakashi. I'll go report to the old man. What a pain."

"Yes, yes."

Kitagawa Gen shrugged. This was one good thing about following these jonin.

He did not even need to handle the reporting work. These jonin did it all for him, so he got to relax.

But just as Jiraiya was about to leave, Kitagawa Gen suddenly thought of something, then spoke.

"Right, Lord Jiraiya, can I apply for a chunin assessment?"

"Huh? Chunin?"

Jiraiya froze for a moment. Only then did he remember that this kid was just a genin who had only recently left the academy.

"For this matter, just find Kakashi, won't that do? He's directly responsible for you, so let him handle it. Anyway, I don't think you need to take the exam. Why go bully other people?"

Jiraiya really was not lying. At least in his view, Kitagawa Gen did not need to take an exam at all to become a chunin.

Although Kitagawa Gen had quite a few problems, and his command ability was still up for debate, becoming a chunin and continuing to learn under Kakashi was not an issue.

Chunin did indeed need sufficient mission experience, and they also needed the ability to command and lead a team, but no one had ever said that becoming a chunin meant they had to leave their original team, right?

Even jonin could keep teaming up forever if they were willing!

"Is that so? I understand. Thank you, Lord Jiraiya."

Kitagawa Gen was naturally quite happy to hear this news, but he still decided to ask Kakashi first.

After all, in his memory, Naruto had already become the savior, yet in the end, he still had to go take some Chunin Exams.

And in the final bout with Konohamaru, he even eliminated himself because he used Sage Mode.

"The Main Quest requires me to become a jonin. I'd like to see what it can give me this time, and I also want to try and see if I can become the jonin proctor for Naruto and the others."

Kitagawa Gen smiled and bowed slightly to Jiraiya, then turned and left.

Only as he walked, he suddenly realized something.

"When we went to find Orochimaru this time, I don't think I saw Yakushi Kabuto. That guy should be in Konoha, so..."

He couldn't be about to start taking the Chunin Exams from this year onward, could he?

"That kid..."

Jiraiya looked at Kitagawa Gen's back and couldn't help laughing. Then he turned his head, his gaze settling on Hokage Rock.

Under the sunlight, the four carved faces looked majestic and radiant.

His gaze swept across them one by one before finally stopping on the last young face. Only after quite a while did he reveal a faint smile.

"Minato... this little brat isn't like you, but he's also a lot like you."