Child

After leaving, Uchiha Gen walked down the road, his thoughts a complete mess. He really didn't want to deal with any of this; he could barely take care of himself right now. But—after this meeting, it might also be their last. As he thought, he took a vicious bite out of a meatball. It still had no taste...

So annoying!

Thinking of his identity, Uchiha Gen swallowed the last meatball. Maybe—he should go see his clansman? He had already done everything there was to do for fun, and he had nothing else to do anyway.

Looking at the food still left in his hands, someone would usually help finish it after he brought it back. But now, it seemed he could only deal with it himself.

At that thought, Uchiha Gen lowered his gaze, then gave a self-mocking click of his tongue. Since he had decided not to care, there was no need to put on a hypocritical act.

Uchiha Gen went to a secluded spot. At the same time, a small snake slowly slithered over, opened its mouth, and spat out a scroll. Its contents roughly said that the base had been invaded, the location had been changed at the last minute, and once the invasion began, he was to follow orders. Until then, his foremost task was to take Sasuke away.

After reading it, Uchiha Gen gathered flames in his hand and set the scroll alight. The fire slowly crawled upward, flickering in his eyes and making it impossible to see what emotions lay within. As for the Anbu assigned to watch him, he had shaken them off long ago.

Uchiha Gen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He remembered that Sasuke and Kakashi seemed to train near some barren cliff. He didn't know the exact location, but if that brat from Sunagakure could find it, it probably wasn't particularly well hidden.

As he searched around aimlessly, he suddenly spotted two figures in the distance, one tall and one short. Uchiha Gen immediately hid himself.

Looks like he found them—

Sasuke panted heavily. "Again!"

He was sent flying once more...

Watching Sasuke push himself so desperately, Uchiha Gen crossed his arms and felt a little emotional. A chuunibyou teenager? He was just a pitiful brat who had been thoroughly fooled by the people above him.

Seeing that Sasuke was nearly at his limit, Kakashi made a time-out gesture and called for a temporary rest. "Friend hiding in the shadows, don't you think it's a little rude to watch a teacher and student train like this?"

As soon as he spoke, Uchiha Gen froze slightly, then rubbed his nose and walked out. Unexpectedly, Gaara, who had just arrived, frowned as well, apparently having been inadvertently exposed.

When Kakashi saw two people emerge, his mind filled with question marks. He had only sensed one person just now.

Uchiha Gen and Gaara stared deeply into each other's eyes...

Gaara's expression was extremely displeased, his gaze filled with contempt and killing intent. Was it you, idiot, who got discovered?

Uchiha Gen raised a brow. How do you know it wasn't you who got discovered and dragged me down with you?

"Gaara, Jiya, what are you doing here?" Kakashi was thoroughly confused by the situation.

Gaara crossed his arms, his face blank as though he were discussing something utterly insignificant. "I came to kill Sasuke."

"..." Big brother, was it really okay to just say that out loud?

Uchiha Gen was speechless. He quickly waved at Kakashi. "Don't misunderstand, Kakashi-senpai. I came to see Konoha's only Uchiha. I was purely curious. And by the way, I think the guy beside me has something wrong with his head."

Kakashi gave Uchiha Gen, his little "fanboy," a dead-fish stare and looked him up and down. Then he mercilessly said, "Actually—I think you're about the same."

Hearing that, Uchiha Gen clutched his chest as though deeply wounded and staggered back several steps, hiding beside a huge rock to draw circles.

Gaara and Sasuke both looked speechless. For once, they shared the same thought: There was probably something wrong with this guy's brain.

Sasuke looked disdainful. This guy could become a Jonin looking like that? He couldn't even compare to Kakashi-sensei. As expected of a minor ninja village.

Ignoring Jiya, Kakashi faced Gaara and said in a tone used to coax children, "If you want to fight, come back for the exam in a month. Doing this will make people suspect you're afraid you can't beat Sasuke, so you came to spy on him."

At that, Gaara suddenly unleashed an enormous killing intent toward Kakashi. At the same time, the stopper of the Crimson Gourd on his back had somehow come loose, and yellow sand flowed out. Gaara's face twisted viciously. "Do you want to die?"

Such heavy killing intent? Kakashi gradually dropped his carefree attitude. This brat was different from Sasuke and the others. Yet there was no visible change in Kakashi's expression; he still smiled with narrowed eyes. "You can try! But regardless of the outcome, I guarantee you won't touch Sasuke at all this time."

"..."

Hearing that, Gaara considered whether it was possible to kill Sasuke in front of Kakashi. After a moment of silence, he forcibly suppressed his emotions and merely looked at Sasuke, who was resting nearby. "I'll definitely kill you!"

Sasuke snorted coldly. "Save the big talk for then."

Seeing Gaara about to leave, Uchiha Gen recklessly reached out and made a token attempt to stop him. "Excuse me, um..."

"Get lost, or die!" Gaara opened his eyes wide and glared at Uchiha Gen. Kakashi was one thing, but who the hell was this guy? The emotions he had just forcibly suppressed now became extremely unstable again.

Uchiha Gen: "???"

He really wanted to say that he was already dead. If Gaara wanted to see it, he could even perform a live dismemberment right there.

Since he was already dead, then he didn't need to choose the other option. "I have a rather important question. I hope you can answer it. Has Dosu Kinata ever come looking for you?"

Before his words had even faded, the next instant, a sharp blade formed from sand slammed straight toward Uchiha Gen. With a boom, dust filled the air, and a huge, grotesque crater appeared in the ground. Yet Uchiha Gen was nowhere to be seen.

At the same time, Uchiha Gen suddenly appeared behind Kakashi. "He's crazy! Idol, save me!" As he spoke, he cowered behind Kakashi.

Gaara gritted his teeth. Though he was in an extremely foul mood, he retained his basic rationality. He looked at Jiya and Kakashi. Without releasing Shukaku, he didn't want to face Kakashi for now. There was no benefit in it.

Besides, no matter how poor a Jonin this Jiya might be, if he was determined to run, Gaara might not necessarily be able to catch him. At that thought, the sand behind Gaara stopped, and he temporarily abandoned his attack.

Kakashi glanced at Uchiha Gen. When he had suddenly appeared behind him just now, Kakashi had nearly failed to notice. That speed, and that ability to conceal himself—sure enough, no Jonin was simple. Still, using him as a shield after causing trouble was seriously irritating.

Kakashi stepped to the side, only for Uchiha Gen to imitate him exactly like a shadow. After trying several times, Kakashi was still standing in front of him... Damn it! He directly used the Substitution Technique, turning into a wooden log.

Looking at the fallen log, Uchiha Gen froze in place. Seriously? That heartless...

"Kakashi-sensei, aren't you going to do anything?" Sasuke asked, looking at Kakashi sitting beside him.

They were allies on the surface, after all. If someone died for no reason in Konoha while a Konoha ninja capable of stopping it stood nearby, there would inevitably be some soothing and compensation to deal with afterward.

Kakashi waved a hand indifferently. "It's fine. This Jiya might not be much in a fight, but if he wants to run, I might not even be able to catch him."

Facing Gaara directly, Uchiha Gen gave an awkward smile. "Um, just tell me whether Dosu Kinata has come to see you, and I'll leave immediately..."

After that interruption, Gaara remembered that he might not be able to kill him after all, and his mood gradually calmed. Then he frowned and said impatiently, "No!" With that, he turned and left.

Uchiha Gen called after him, "If you run into him, please show mercy! I'll owe you one!"

Gaara gave no response, as though he had not heard him at all. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

Seeing that, Uchiha Gen sighed helplessly. "Sigh..."

The two spectators hoping to watch a show found that rather disappointing. Kakashi walked over and asked in confusion, "What happened to Dosu Kinata?"

"Nothing. I'm just worried that, as his parent, the kid might do something rash." Uchiha Gen looked sorrowful.

Kakashi looked at Jiya, who appeared to be no older than twenty at most... Well, fine, kid. Though compared by appearance alone, Dosu Kinata looked older than Jiya, he really was only fourteen.