Necklace

"Tss!"

Uchiha Gen opened his eyes. The aches coming from his body made him grimace.

He had only been developing Lightning Release: Kirin for a short time and still hadn't fully mastered how to guide natural lightning to attack. As a result, the Lightning Release chakra he used to draw down the lightning had also caused him some minor injuries.

"Kid, you're finally awake. If you didn't wake up soon, this guy was going to burn down my whole tent."

Beside him, Tsunade, who had been looking after Uchiha Gen, immediately came over when she saw him open his eyes.

"Roar~"

Along with Tsunade's voice came a familiar dragon's roar.

"How long was I asleep?"

Uchiha Gen endured the sharp pain in his body as he sat up in bed and reached out to stroke Charizard's head as it leaned toward him. Then he turned to Tsunade and asked.

"About a day. Is this your summoning beast? Pretty cool. No wonder you said you weren't considering signing a contract with Katsuyu for now."

Tsunade poured Uchiha Gen a cup of water and handed it to him. Then she looked at Charizard and asked softly, her eyes full of curiosity.

After all, Charizard looked rather extraordinary. Flames burned on his tail, and his build was very similar to the flying dragons in legends.

"More or less. But I prefer to call him... family, rather than a summoning beast."

Uchiha Gen accepted the cup and took a small sip before replying with a smile.

"Family? It's rare to hear someone express that so frankly. Kid, you really were too reckless this time. According to the Konoha Ninja who were there, you should've been able to dodge that Magnet Release ninja's first attack."

"That Magnet Release ninja was named Rasa. He was the Third Kazekage's student."

Uchiha Gen handed the cup back to Tsunade and spoke softly.

"So you know who he was. In this desert, even Orochimaru and I working together would've had a hard time dealing with a Magnet Release ninja who'd prepared in advance.

"With the advantage of that terrain, Rasa had definitely reached Kage Level strength. I never expected he'd still end up dying by your hand. That Lightning Release... did you develop it yourself?"

Tsunade spoke softly, her eyes filled with astonishment. She had witnessed the lightning that day with her own eyes. Though she'd been focused on finding Uchiha Gen and hadn't paid much attention to her surroundings, even without paying attention, she could still feel the intense aura of destruction those bolts carried.

"It wasn't me. It was another Uchiha. I just wanted to test my own strength. Besides, with Charizard here, it'd be easy for me to leave if I wanted to."

Uchiha Gen shook his head gently. Uchiha Sasuke hadn't even been born yet, but he still wouldn't claim credit for developing Lightning Release: Kirin. He had his own pride.

"Roar!"

Hearing this, Charizard proudly snorted a gust of air through his nostrils.

He thought Uchiha Gen was right!

"Charizard? What a strange name. No, that's not the point. Kid, do you know how much you've accomplished? You held off Sunagakure's attack alone and even killed a key enemy.

"Your battle also drew a lot of attention away from Hatake Sakumo, who was fighting behind enemy lines, allowing them to cut off Sunagakure's supply lines with ease.

"This war might end early because of that one fight. You really did something incredible this time. And how old are you? Nine! You defeated an opponent who might've been Kage Level in a head-on battle at just nine years old."

Tsunade spoke excitedly. Without a doubt, Uchiha Gen's achievements were among the most astonishing in the Shinobi World.

"He wasn't a Kage. Rasa was only a somewhat stronger Elite Jonin."

Uchiha Gen shook his head gently. Rasa had certainly put on an impressive showing in that battle, but the fact that the draw gave him an A-rank reward meant that Rasa's strength really was only at the Elite Jonin level.

It was possible that Mist Space hadn't counted Rasa's prepared Gold Dust as part of his strength, but that still showed Rasa hadn't actually been Kage Level.

"Don't take it so seriously. You weren't at full strength then, either, were you? You didn't use the Yin Seal or that golden chakra mode.

"I know you'd already been fighting on the battlefield for a long time before you faced Rasa. You'd even released the chakra stored in your Yin Seal.

"When are you going to ease up on yourself? With your abilities, becoming strong is only a matter of time."

Tsunade patted Uchiha Gen gently on the shoulder and spoke cheerfully.

Uchiha Gen didn't reply. He just gently rubbed Charizard's head. Looking at him, a thought suddenly popped into his mind: Could Charizard learn Senjutsu?

"Ah, well, do as you like. But you have to promise me you'll stay alive. With your talent, word of you will soon spread throughout the Shinobi World. But I hope..."

Watching Uchiha Gen sit silently, Tsunade sighed as she spoke. She took off the necklace around her neck and fastened it around his herself.

??????????????

As Uchiha Gen pondered whether Charizard could learn Senjutsu, he felt a sudden warmth at his neck, and his mind went completely blank.

Wait, what did you just put around my neck?

For a moment, Uchiha Gen, who had thought the Totem of Undying meant he could afford to be a little reckless, suddenly felt that even the Totem of Undying wasn't all that reliable.

But this thing... seemed to contain a powerful chakra. Was it the First Hokage's chakra, or...

As Uchiha Gen stared at the necklace, his mind spinning and struggling to keep up, he witnessed an even more shocking scene. Tsunade cupped his face in her hands and gently kissed him on the forehead.

In an instant, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated and began spinning wildly.

"Huh?"

After the kiss, Tsunade looked down and saw Uchiha Gen's Sharingan activated. She couldn't help letting out a surprised sound.

"Hey, hey, hey! Come on, it was just a kiss on the forehead. Why'd you activate your Sharingan? I was only giving you my blessing. Huh? Why am I talking like Kushina?"

Looking at Uchiha Gen's Sharingan, Tsunade spoke in exasperation.

Three minutes later, Tsunade stood outside the tent, trying hard not to laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Hearing Tsunade laugh outside the tent, Uchiha Gen looked utterly helpless. He... really couldn't handle Tsunade.