Confronting Jiraiya

"Uchiha?!" Sasuke jerked his head up, his emotions surging instantly. "What did you say?! Explain yourself clearly!!!" Looking at the three tomoe swirling in Uchiha Gen's eye sockets, Sasuke couldn't help but feel his previous assumptions were laughable.

However, having decided against stealing Sasuke's eyes, Uchiha Gen had no desire to pay him any mind for the moment. Uchiha Gen could have easily pretended to be a surviving clansman to trick Sasuke into trusting him, but—he still had his bottom line.

But it seemed he wouldn't be able to slip away this time without using the power of the Sharingan, so he might as well admit it openly.

"Uchiha?" Jiraiya's expression turned grave. It wasn't that he feared Uchiha Gen, but rather the awkward status of that surname in Konoha, coupled with his vague awareness of the various power struggles and dirty dealings among Konoha's high-ranking officials.

Caught in a pincer movement, escape was nearly impossible for Uchiha Gen unless he could fly.

"Since you are a member of the Uchiha clan, why did you kidnap Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya subconsciously glanced at Kakashi and his covered eye upon hearing this, thinking of Kakashi's connection to the Uchiha clan. "Do you know him?"

Kakashi shook his head while thinking to himself. The Uchiha clan had already been wiped out; was this man a survivor?

He had never held back in his training of Sasuke, partly out of guilt toward Obito for no one being able to help the Uchiha clan. Looking at Uchiha Gen before him, Kakashi's killing intent inevitably faded significantly. "Wasn't it Jiya who kidnapped Sasuke?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"This..." Kakashi found it difficult to reconcile the smiling Uchiha Gen before him with the previous buffoon, Jiya. Well, it wasn't entirely impossible to accept.

Uchiha Gen slowly backed away from the side, his tone light. "I'll leave Sasuke to you; how about you let me go?"

Naruto and Sakura finally arrived late. Seeing Uchiha Gen's eyes and recalling how Sasuke had awakened his own, Naruto was momentarily stunned. "Kakashi-sensei, is he a relative of Sasuke's?"

"Perhaps." Kakashi frowned; his killing intent had completely vanished now that Uchiha Gen had expressed a willingness to release Sasuke.

However, due to his position, the best way to handle this from Konoha's perspective was to take Uchiha Gen back. Furthermore, based on Uchiha Gen's earlier words—regardless of what he actually meant—all signs indicated that this "little fanboy" was no harmless character.

"But why did he take Sasuke..."

Kakashi shook his head at Naruto. "We'll talk about it later."

Not fully grasping the current situation, Naruto looked at the emotionally unstable Sasuke standing nearby and waved his arms, shouting, "Sasuke, come over here! Even if that guy has the same eyes as you, he wouldn't have kidnapped you if he had any good intentions!" Having been deceived once, Naruto was now on high alert regarding Uchiha Gen.

Sakura called out, torn between joy and worry, "That's right, Sasuke, come over here!"

Sasuke, however, was in no mood to pay attention to these shouts. He unleashed a barrage of questions at Uchiha Gen: "You survived that night? What do you mean by 'the returning avenger'? Were you the only one who escaped? Why didn't you notify the others? Itachi, you, the clan—what exactly are you all hiding from me?!"

Uchiha Gen was busy thinking about how to slip away, but with Sasuke constantly pestering him, his train of thought was forcibly interrupted. Uchiha Gen offered a strained smile and slowly turned his face toward Sasuke. "Let's make a deal. Look, I'm not your guardian, and I have no obligation to answer these questions. If you have questions, go ask Kakashi; he is your teacher, after all."

Sasuke was clearly unsatisfied with this answer. He had a premonition that Uchiha Gen might know the truth about that day. "Then I'll go with you..." Before Sasuke could finish his sentence, Uchiha Gen punched him directly in the face. Since he didn't hold back, Sasuke was knocked straight to the ground. (The "Friendship-Breaking Fist"—Dosu Kinata used it and highly recommended it.)

Uchiha Gen had no interest in a little burden testing his morality, and some things couldn't be laid bare unless one possessed sufficient power—and Sasuke was clearly too weak right now.

Moreover, the negative consequences of forcibly taking Sasuke were already beginning to manifest. Could this even be considered a failure where he gained nothing and only ended up covered in filth?

Shaking his hand, Uchiha Gen wore an indifferent expression as he moved away from Sasuke. He spread his hands toward Jiraiya and the others, blinking innocently to signal he had no malicious intent.

It was the moment closest to the truth... Sasuke slowly propped himself up, gritting his teeth in frustration. He was truly unwilling to let this go; if only he had the power.

Seeing Uchiha Gen move away, Naruto and Sakura hurried to Sasuke's side. Sakura reached out to help him untie the ropes, only to find that the ropes on Sasuke's hands snapped with a light tug. Hidden inside his sleeve was a kunai, seemingly stained with a trace of dark red.

"Are you hurt?" Sakura asked nervously.

Sasuke's mind cleared slightly, and he looked down, brushing her off. "I'm fine." And indeed, he was fine, save for the bruise on his face. As for the blood on the kunai, it wasn't his; Uchiha Gen had already confiscated his weapons.

Sasuke had secretly pulled this kunai from the wall while Uchiha Gen was busy pinning down that snake, hiding it away without any intention of returning it. As for his goal? He had originally intended to catch "Jiya" off guard and put a hole in him.

Seeing this scene, Jiraiya suddenly thought of something and laughed heartily. "You say you're an Uchiha, but as far as I know, the Uchiha have been wiped out. I apologize if this is offensive."

"But please, prove it to me. Prove that you are still alive, prove the Sharingan. Once confirmed, I can let you go. That is the promise I make here."

Kakashi looked over, surprised. "Lord Jiraiya..."

Jiraiya smiled with narrowed eyes and waved a hand at Kakashi. "This is what Konoha owes the Uchiha. Of course, if he isn't one, or if he's just a puppet controlled by someone else..." Here, Jiraiya's expression turned sharp. "I will send him off myself."

Was Orochimaru really so kind as to hand over such a significant piece of intelligence for free?

With a three-tomoe user like this, why would he bother kidnapping Sasuke? Or perhaps even Orochimaru didn't know this guy was from the Uchiha clan. In his view, it was more likely a trap—a trap created by Orochimaru using the Impure World Reincarnation, though the purpose remained unknown.

As for this clan, although he didn't know the specific circumstances of that year, he could roughly guess. Even if this had nothing to do with Konoha, the Uchiha were wiped out within his own village, and Konoha hadn't saved a single clansman; Sasuke had merely been spared.

Such a thing was inherently problematic!

This was exactly why he didn't want to be Hokage... It wasn't just exhausting; one had to constantly think about the schemes and entanglements of those people. It was a headache. As for the person in front of him, though he didn't know what he was planning, if he really was a living Uchiha, then let him be.

Hearing this, Uchiha Gen felt a slight sense of relief and nodded. "Then, excuse me." As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled six shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and flung them at Jiraiya!

Too slow! Jiraiya dodged to the side while simultaneously shooting forward toward Uchiha Gen!

Seeing this, Uchiha Gen didn't panic. He threw three more shuriken, and with his left hand, he pulled the chakra threads tied to the first six. Their trajectories shifted instantly, and their speed surged as they aimed directly for Jiraiya.

Jiraiya found his path blocked on both sides. Seeing the Great Fireball Technique gathering in Uchiha Gen's mouth, he had no intention of trading injury for injury. Jiraiya jumped instantly, landing behind Uchiha Gen.

With this, the shuriken that had passed by now had Uchiha Gen—who was standing in front of Jiraiya—as their target. Uchiha Gen appeared to panic, as if he were about to dodge...

At the same time, Jiraiya performed a hand seal behind him: "Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"

Uchiha Gen's feet sank into the ground simultaneously, leaving him unable to move and forced to face his own attack head-on.