Child

After leaving, Uchiha Gen walked down the road with his thoughts in a jumble. He really didn't want to get involved in any of this; he could barely take care of himself as it was. But—this meeting might be the last time they ever saw each other. As he thought this, he took a fierce bite of a meatball, but it still tasted like nothing...

Annoying!

Thinking of his own identity, Uchiha Gen finished the last meatball. Why not—go see his own clansmen? He'd already done everything there was to do for fun, and he had nothing else going on anyway.

Looking at the food remaining in his hand, he realized that while someone would usually help him finish it after he bought it, it looked like he would have to handle it himself this time.

At this thought, Uchiha Gen lowered his gaze, then let out a self-deprecating "tsk." Since he had already decided not to care, there was no need to keep up the pretense.

Uchiha Gen arrived at a secluded spot. At the same time, a small snake slowly slithered over, opened its mouth, and spat out a scroll. The general contents were: the base had been compromised, the location had been temporarily changed, and he was to follow orders once the invasion began. In the absence of orders, his top priority was to abduct Sasuke.

After reading it, Uchiha Gen condensed flames in his hand and ignited the scroll. The fire slowly crept upward, and the flickering light in Uchiha Gen's eyes made it impossible to discern his emotions. As for the Anbu responsible for monitoring Uchiha Gen, he had long since shaken them off.

Uchiha Gen rubbed his chin in thought. He remembered that when Sasuke and Kakashi were training, it seemed to be on a desolate cliff. Although he didn't know the exact location, since a brat from Sunagakure could find it, the spot couldn't be that well-hidden.

While wandering around aimlessly, he suddenly spotted two figures in the distance—one tall, one short. Seeing this, Uchiha Gen quickly concealed himself.

Looks like I found them—

Sasuke panted heavily: "Again!"

He was sent flying once more...

Watching Sasuke's desperate efforts, Uchiha Gen crossed his arms, feeling a sudden sense of sentimentality. A chuunibyou teenager? He was nothing more than a poor kid being led around by the nose by the people above.

Kakashi saw that Sasuke was nearing his limit and signaled for a break, letting him rest for a moment: "Friends hiding in the shadows, it's not very polite to watch our master-student training like this, is it?"

As the words fell, Uchiha Gen was slightly taken aback, then rubbed his nose and walked out. To his surprise, Gaara, who had just arrived, was frowning, seemingly having been flushed out after being mistaken for someone else.

Seeing two people emerge, Kakashi was filled with question marks, as he had only sensed one person just a moment ago.

Uchiha Gen and Gaara stared intensely at each other...

Gaara's expression was extremely displeased, his eyes filled with contempt and killing intent: You're the idiot who got us discovered?

Uchiha Gen raised an eyebrow: How is it not you who got discovered and dragged me down with you?

"Gaara, Yoshi, what are you two doing here?" Seeing this situation, Kakashi was also very confused.

Gaara crossed his arms, his face blank as if he were speaking of a trivial matter: "I came to kill Sasuke."

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

Uchiha Gen was speechless. He hurriedly waved his hands at Kakashi: "Don't misunderstand, Senior Kakashi. I'm just here to see the only Uchiha in Konoha out of pure curiosity. And on a side note, I think the guy next to me has something wrong with his brain."

Kakashi gave Uchiha Gen a dead-fish-eyed look, sizing him up before ruthlessly saying: "Actually—I think you're about the same."

Hearing this, Uchiha Gen clutched his chest as if he'd been struck, stumbling back a few steps to hide behind a giant boulder and draw circles in the dirt.

Gaara and Sasuke looked on with speechless expressions, reaching a rare consensus: This guy must have a screw loose.

Sasuke's expression was somewhat disdainful. If someone like this could become a Jonin, and he couldn't even compare to Kakashi-sensei, then it really was a small, insignificant village.

Ignoring Yoshi, Kakashi spoke to Gaara in a tone one might use to coax a child: "If you want to fight, wait until the exam a month from now. If you do this, people will suspect you're afraid you can't beat Sasuke and are here to steal intelligence."

Hearing this, Gaara suddenly erupted with immense killing intent toward Kakashi. At the same time, the stopper on the gourd on Gaara's back opened, and yellow sand flowed out. Gaara's face twisted: "Do you want to die?"

Such heavy killing intent? Kakashi gradually shed his nonchalant attitude. This kid was different from Sasuke and the others. Kakashi's expression didn't change, still smiling with squinted eyes: "You can try! But no matter the result, I guarantee you won't even be able to touch Sasuke this time."

"..."

Hearing this, Gaara contemplated the feasibility of killing Sasuke right in front of Kakashi. After a moment of silence, he forcibly suppressed his emotions, only glaring at Sasuke, who was resting nearby: "I will definitely kill you!"

Sasuke snorted coldly: "Talk big when the time comes."

Seeing Gaara about to leave, Uchiha Gen, as if courting death, reached out to symbolically block him: "Excuse me, that..."

"Get lost, or die!" Gaara's eyes widened, staring daggers at Uchiha Gen. Kakashi was one thing, but who was this guy? Because of the emotions he had just forcibly suppressed, he was now extremely unstable.

Uchiha Gen: "???"

Actually, he really wanted to say that he was already "dead," and if Gaara wanted to see, he could even perform a decapitation on the spot.

Since he was already "dead," there was no need to choose the "get lost" option: "I have a rather important question, I hope you can answer it. Has Dosu Kinata been to see you?"

Before the words were finished, the next instant, a blade of condensed sand smashed directly toward Uchiha Gen. With a boom, dust filled the air, and a huge, jagged crater appeared in the ground, but Uchiha Gen was nowhere to be found.

At the same time, Uchiha Gen suddenly appeared behind Kakashi: "He's crazy! Idol, save me!" he said, cowering behind Kakashi.

Gaara gritted his teeth. Although his mood was terrible, his basic reason remained. Looking at Yoshi and Kakashi, he didn't want to clash with Kakashi for the time being without releasing Shukaku; there was no benefit in it.

Besides, even if this Jonin named Yoshi was incompetent, he was still a Jonin. If he was determined to run, Gaara might not be able to catch him. Thinking of this, the sand behind Gaara stopped, and he temporarily gave up the attack.

Kakashi glanced at Uchiha Gen. He had appeared behind him so suddenly that even Kakashi had barely noticed. With that speed and the ability to hide himself, it was clear that anyone who could become a Jonin was no simple matter. Still, he was annoyed that the guy had used him as a human shield for the trouble he'd caused.

Kakashi stepped to the side, but to his surprise, Uchiha Gen mimicked his movement perfectly like a shadow. After trying a few times, Kakashi remained blocked in front... Damn it! He used the Substitution Technique to turn into a wooden log.

Looking at the fallen log, Uchiha Gen froze in place. No way, that's so heartless...

"Kakashi-sensei, aren't you going to do something?" Sasuke asked, looking at Kakashi, who was now sitting next to him.

After all, they were superficial allies. If someone were to die inexplicably in Konoha while a Konoha ninja capable of stopping it was standing right there, there would be no end to the investigations, appeasements, and reparations.

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively: "It's fine. This Yoshi might not have much combat power, but if he wants to run, I might not even be able to catch him."

Back to facing Gaara, Uchiha Gen said with a sheepish grin: "Hey, just tell me if Dosu Kinata has looked for you, and I'll get lost immediately..."

After this interruption, Gaara thought about how he might not be able to kill him, and his mood gradually calmed down. He frowned and said impatiently: "No!" With that, he turned and left.

Uchiha Gen shouted from behind, "If you happen to run into him, please show some mercy. Consider it a favor I owe you!"

Gaara gave no indication that he had heard, vanishing in the blink of an eye as if the words had never been spoken.

Seeing this, Uchiha Gen let out a helpless sigh, "Sigh..."

This left the two spectators feeling rather disappointed, and Kakashi walked over, asking in confusion, "What is wrong with Dosu Kinata?"

"Nothing, just a parent worried that the child might do something reckless," Uchiha Gen replied with a sorrowful expression.

Kakashi looked at the person in front of him, who looked at most twenty years old... well, alright, a child. Even though, by comparison, Dosu Kinata looked older than Gen, the boy was indeed only fourteen.