My Goal Is Both Fame and Fortune!

"Kakashi's Lightning Release."

After parting ways with Kakashi, Kitagawa Gen quickly ran home.

Right now, his head felt swollen, because a vast amount of knowledge had already poured into his mind.

The system's reward was actually simple and crude. It stuffed things directly into his mind, including how to use them, how to perform them, and a whole series of related knowledge.

Of course, the drawback was obvious too.

For example, you could indeed use it, but whether your body was compatible with that ability was another matter.

Aside from that, having a huge amount of knowledge poured into you would not give you the feeling of swimming through an ocean of knowledge.

Instead, it gave him the illusion that his brain was itching, as if it were about to grow a new brain.

"Also, these Lightning Release techniques are way too extreme."

As he flipped through the information in his mind, Kitagawa Gen felt a bit of a headache coming on. Kakashi really did know a lot of Lightning Release.

It was just that most of them had been developed from the "Lightning Cutter," which did not seem all that valuable to him without the Sharingan.

However...

"These techniques can all be modified!"

As he pondered the information in his mind, Kitagawa Gen's expression turned strange.

He had discovered something very interesting: it really did not seem difficult for him to change these techniques.

This was not like carving a face onto an Earth Release Barrier, but changing the way a technique was used, even transforming its nature!

If he were a normal ninja, he definitely would not have come up with such an absurd idea.

But through the system, he had already learned Kakashi's Lightning Release knowledge, and with his own bloodline's abnormal affinity for and control over Chakra...

The situation was different!

With the knowledge in his mind to verify it, it was as if he were looking down from high above. These techniques were nothing more than special applications of Chakra, and combined with his body's command over these powers, it was all within easy reach.

Then he knew that he really could create things like "Chidori Stream," or even something like "Purple Electricity," without much effort at all!

Even if the power still depended on his Chakra level, that was still pretty good.

"Hiss..."

All of a sudden, Kitagawa Gen felt his teeth ache a little.

He abruptly realized that after obtaining the Otsutsuki Clan Bloodline, he seemed to have become a bit too much of a genius.

"That means the techniques I need to 'whitewash' have increased too..."

Techniques had to have a source, otherwise a lot of messy things would be impossible to explain.

Even though that old bastard Danzo had been temporarily removed from office on the surface because of the night of the Uchiha massacre, leaving him unable to move around freely for this period of time.

"But I still have to be careful. Who knows when he'll be reinstated? And I'll have to explain things clearly to Kakashi too. At least the source of the techniques has to be clean."

Kitagawa Gen rubbed the space between his brows. He still was not strong enough right now, otherwise he would not have to worry about any of this.

But if he wanted to become stronger, he had to further develop his bloodline.

"Gen! You bastard, so you were here!"

Just then, a voice rang out not far away. He turned his head and saw that it was actually Naruto.

And not just him. There were three other little guys with him too.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji?"

Seeing this lineup, he immediately knew what was going on. But Naruto had already rushed up in front of him and started baring his teeth.

"You bastard, you made me pay again! How many times has it been? Damn it, pay me back!"

Kitagawa Gen looked at the agitated Naruto, shrugged, and asked back in confusion.

"Hey, hey, hey, aren't we friends?"

"Uh... we are."

Naruto froze for a moment, but still nodded.

Kitagawa Gen was one of the few people who held no malice toward him, even though this guy was really nasty.

"Then since we're friends, isn't it perfectly normal for you to help me celebrate becoming a ninja?"

Kitagawa Gen blinked, then sighed theatrically.

"Naruto, looks like our bond has faded."

"No, you..."

For a moment, Naruto was at a loss for words. He kept feeling that this guy was spouting crooked logic, but he just did not know how to refute it.

"Also, it's class time right now. Why are you here?"

Kitagawa Gen "pressed his advantage," sizing Naruto up suspiciously before revealing a smile.

"I get it. You skipped class. In that case, Naruto-kun, you wouldn't want Iruka-sensei to know that you skipped class, would you?"

"..."

At that moment, Naruto's little face turned pale.

"Huh, Gen-senpai?"

Fortunately, Shikamaru and the others had already walked over. They were all a little surprised when they saw Kitagawa Gen.

Especially Kiba. He looked Kitagawa Gen up and down in confusion before asking.

"I heard from Naruto that you beat your teammates into the hospital and then graduated by yourself. Is that true?"

"..."

Kitagawa Gen glared at Naruto. Was this brat spreading rumors too?

Although, it did seem like that was how he had told him about it...

"More or less, but my situation was a little special."

"Tch, you can pull something like that?"

Kiba pursed his lips, then looked at Naruto with a somewhat ill-intentioned gaze.

"Naruto, I heard you want to graduate early. How about we team up?"

"Hey, you bastard, what are you thinking!"

Naruto immediately got upset. He pointed at Kitagawa Gen and shouted.

"And I don't want to learn from him! This uncle is definitely going to graduate early without any problems!"

"The version I heard seems different from yours. Also, Konoha doesn't allow early graduation now. Even if it did, you might not pass."

Shikamaru swept a sleepy-looking glance over Naruto, then looked at Kitagawa Gen in confusion as well.

"Speaking of which, Gen-senpai, shouldn't you be doing missions now that you've become an official genin? Why are you here?"

"Yeah, and I heard genin have a lot of missions too."

Choji echoed Shikamaru while chewing on potato chips.

"Like pulling weeds, cleaning rivers, and so on. It's really hard."

"Huh? Aren't ninja supposed to go out and carry out missions after becoming ninja?"

Naruto glanced at the little fatty in confusion. He was even more unfamiliar with the process of being a ninja.

"It's not that simple. The path of a ninja is a hard one."

Kitagawa Gen shrugged and smiled casually.

"Choji is right. New genin have to do basic missions and keep accumulating experience."

"Is that so?"

Naruto rubbed his head. This was different from what he had imagined.

"What else did you think? Besides, becoming a ninja isn't easy to begin with."

Kitagawa Gen shrugged and continued smiling.

"Ninja need talent. People drop out every year. Didn't you notice?

After getting through this stage, there's still a real graduation assessment. If you can't pass that, you have to go back and retake it.

My team is the best example. If they fail again, I'm afraid it'll be very hard for them to become ninja."

"It's that hard?"

Naruto swallowed, seemingly in disbelief. The others, aside from Shikamaru, also looked somewhat surprised.

"What else? Not to mention the Land of Fire, there are so many people in Konoha, but how many ninja are there?"

Kitagawa Gen nodded, his smile unchanged.

"And becoming a genin is only the beginning. Some people lose their lives before they reach chunin. Some people reach chunin and lose their drive. Only a very small number can keep moving forward.

So, ninja work isn't playing house. For most people, failing to become a ninja is the norm. In fact, for you and me, genin might be the end of the road..."

Kitagawa Gen's words left the group of little class-skippers silent. For a moment, they all regretted skipping class.

Especially Naruto. He had always been yelling about graduating, but this was the first time he had learned that the world of ninja was so difficult and cruel.

But...

"Hmph, no matter how hard it is, I'll face it head-on!"

Naruto suddenly clenched his fists, and his gaze became firm.

"No matter what, I'll become a ninja. No matter what, I'll work hard to become Hokage. I'll absolutely never admit defeat!"

"Tch, don't talk big."

Kiba instinctively sang a different tune from Naruto, but his eyes clearly approved of him.

"Besides, you won't be the only one working hard."

"You two..."

Shikamaru looked at Naruto and Kiba and could not help rubbing his head. The topic had completely gone off track.

Fortunately, Choji seemed very clear-headed. As he ate potato chips, he asked in confusion.

"But Gen-senpai, you look pretty relaxed. Are you also someone whose 'end of the road is genin'?"

"That..."

Kitagawa Gen tilted his head, then smiled with bad intentions.

"Because I might be leaving the village for a mission tomorrow. Who's still staying in the village doing those basic missions?"

"Huh?!"

Naruto and the others' eyes instantly widened. This seemed different from what he had just said.

"As for 'genin is the end of the road,' that's for other people. My goal is both fame and fortune!"

"..."