My Name Is Uchiha Gen

Sasuke suddenly grew curious about Uchiha Gen. "Is your name fake, too? What is your real name?"

"Just call me Gen. Alright, I've answered all the questions you asked. Is there anything you need to bring? It's time to go."

"Go where?"

Uchiha Gen turned his body sideways and tilted his head slightly. "--Remember when I said I was done answering questions?" Seeing Sasuke freeze, his originally cold eyes narrowed as he suddenly laughed. "You can start thinking about how to escape now, because this is the best time for you to run, though I can't guarantee your safety."

Sasuke's expression turned ugly, for in that instant, he had felt a killing intent no less potent than Orochimaru's. Every cell in his body was screaming a warning; in that moment, Sasuke was certain that this guy calling himself Gen truly wanted to kill him.

The moment Uchiha Gen jumped out of the window, he saw several small black dots rapidly converging on the inn where he was staying.

Looking closely, it was Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and the others. Uchiha Gen clicked his tongue internally; they had discovered him faster than he'd anticipated.

Suddenly, a sense of unease washed over him. After a split second of thought, he realized something. Uchiha Gen jerked his head upward just as Jiraiya swung his fist down from above, smashing it fiercely toward the spot where Uchiha Gen stood!

The Uchiha Gen who took the hit to the face puffed up and exploded into a wooden log. Using the momentum, Jiraiya shattered the ground with a stomp. After landing, he frowned deeply. A Substitution Technique? When did he do that?

Jiraiya had come only after Naruto's repeated requests. If he let this kid slip away just like that, his reputation as the Toad Sage would be completely ruined in front of Naruto (if he had any left to begin with).

At this moment, Uchiha Gen was sprinting for his life with Sasuke tucked under his arm. Damn it, I thought it was just Kakashi and that unstable bomb. I intended to show off a little in front of Sasuke, but who knew Jiraiya would show up in person? This is impossible to play now! As for Sasuke, I probably can't keep him; Jounin are still too weak!

On the other side, Orochimaru was searching for traces of Tsunade with Kabuto. A faint smile played on his face, but his golden slit pupils shimmered with cold light. The time should be about right. He looked at his numb hands. Snatching food from the tiger's mouth?

Uchiha Gen—what kind of secrets do you have? And why is there not a single shred of information about a person like you in the Uchiha archives? A pseudonym? Orochimaru had already checked the files on other clansmen, but none resembled Uchiha Gen in the slightest.

It was obvious that Orochimaru had been the one to leak Uchiha Gen's location to Konoha, but he had hidden the fact that Uchiha Gen was an Edo Tensei summon. In his view, it would be excellent if Uchiha Gen could kill a few Konoha ninja.

It was precisely because they knew Uchiha Gen's whereabouts that Naruto and his team had acted in advance, creating a time difference.

Meanwhile, Itachi had just received news that Sasuke had been captured. No emotion could be seen on his face, though his pace quickened slightly. Kisame felt the atmosphere was a bit strange; the speed of their travel seemed to have increased, yet it felt like an illusion.

On the road, Sasuke was being jostled so hard he felt like vomiting. "You, let, me, down! I can run myself!"

"Mm, I know you'll run."

"...My hands are already tied by you. I just want to be more comfortable." Sasuke said something even he didn't believe. He felt his IQ dropping; yeah, it must be contagious from Naruto.

"Fine."

The moment the thought crossed Sasuke's mind, he felt himself being set down.

As his feet touched the ground, Sasuke was stunned. ??? He wanted to say, "Are you serious?" but he was afraid Uchiha Gen would change his mind, so he swallowed the words.

Regardless of what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd, Sasuke followed Uchiha Gen while trying to figure out how to rendezvous with Naruto and the others.

Uchiha Gen, however, began asking him random questions. "What do you plan to do after you get your revenge?"

Sasuke: "?"

Without waiting for a reply, Uchiha Gen seemed to be talking to himself. "It doesn't matter if you don't know. Your main goal right now is to get stronger. We'll talk about the future later!"

"..."

At this, Uchiha Gen suddenly turned his head to stare at Sasuke, scanning him from head to toe before his gaze settled on the rope binding his hands behind his back. He frowned deeply. "You are truly too weak." He didn't even know what he was angry about.

Although it was a bit unfair to say that to a child, as a wielder of the Sharingan, he was truly too weak. Everyone dared to come and spy on him, including himself.

A vein popped on Sasuke's forehead. Is he ever going to stop? He stopped in his tracks; he was truly angry now. After all, having been taken away so early, he hadn't seen the battle between Gaara and Naruto. "What do you mean by that! I am..."

"One of the top performers in the Chunin Exams?" Uchiha Gen also stopped. Observing the road ahead, he realized it should be surrounded by Kakashi; there was no running away, so he stopped trying.

"I..."

"Or are you saying that if the Sand ninja hadn't caused trouble, you would have taken first place?

In other words, let me ask you, what was Itachi's strength at your age!"

Being interrupted repeatedly made Sasuke want to curse, but he was left speechless by Uchiha Gen's final question.

He suddenly thought of something. "What about you? If you can beat Itachi, why bother taking me? Isn't it because you fear these eyes?"

"Yes." Uchiha Gen admitted it as a matter of course, which was unexpected. After all, although an Edo Tensei body was immortal, it had two obvious weaknesses: it could be sealed, and it could not be immune to genjutsu. Itachi happened to possess both: the Totsuka Blade and Shisui's eye.

Hearing this, Sasuke sneered, just about to mock him.

"Enough, you don't need to stall for time. Half a year. I'll only give you half a year. If you haven't grown to a level that satisfies me by then, I will gouge out your eyes." Uchiha Gen said coldly, as if he had made up his mind.

Sasuke's opinion of Uchiha Gen dropped to freezing point. A mocking smile curled his lips; he was just another pathetic worm coveting the power of his clan.

Ignoring Sasuke's thoughts, Uchiha Gen decided to abandon the plan to take Sasuke's eyes. Firstly, because of Orochimaru, Naruto and the others had come straight for them; if he took his eyes now, it would likely cause an unpredictable butterfly effect, and there was a high probability he would die here today.

Secondly, if there were no accidents, he would be the only one left of the Uchiha clan.

Since he had reincarnated as a predecessor of this clan, he shouldn't follow Uchiha Madara's example of screwing over his descendants. Thinking of this, Uchiha Gen inexplicably wanted to laugh. Black Zetsu played Madara, Madara played Obito, Obito played Itachi, and Itachi played Sasuke. The once-great clan had turned into this state. Forget it, this kid has suffered enough.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiraiya caught up from behind, only to see Uchiha Gen and Sasuke standing there with a strange atmosphere. He didn't choose to attack immediately, as Sasuke was still in Uchiha Gen's hands. He just asked with some confusion, "Who are you? That... what's-his-name..."

He watched as Jiraiya struggled to remember.

Uchiha Gen mourned for his previous "extra" face. "...Jiya."

"Right! That's the name! Jiya, right?" Jiraiya touched his chin, sizing up Uchiha Gen. "You are Jiya." He used a declarative tone. At this moment, Kakashi appeared, as expected, from the direction Uchiha Gen had been trying to escape toward.

Uchiha Gen nodded, acknowledging it.

"Then what is your real name? How did you end up hanging out with that guy Orochimaru? And why did you suddenly betray him?" The reason he was questioning instead of attacking was that he wasn't sure if he had done anything to Sasuke.

Furthermore, based on what Naruto had said about his behavior, this person wasn't a combat-oriented fanatic; it was possible to persuade him to surrender.

Uchiha Gen bowed to Jiraiya with a hint of respect from his past life. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Uchiha Gen—a returning avenger." When he raised his head, his three-tomoe Sharingan manifested in his eyes.