Dusk. Ichiraku Ramen.
"Here you go. One large, extra-spicy pork-flavored chashu ramen."
"Thanks, Teuchi-ojisan!"
Kitagawa Gen took the bowl and immediately hunched over to wolf it down.
"Slow down. That much spice, eaten that fast... not a good idea."
Teuchi couldn't help shaking his head at the sight, but Kitagawa Gen didn't seem to care at all. With his mouth full, he mumbled, "It's fine. I haven't eaten all day."
Seeing this, Teuchi could only chuckle. To be that hungry—it really wasn't something you saw often.
Kitagawa Gen was absolutely starving.
Even he hadn't expected that the body modifications would come with so many side effects. Not only had the pain knocked him unconscious, but when he finally came to, the hunger gnawed at him so fiercely he could barely stand it.
But still—
[Name: Kitagawa Gen]
[Age: 13]
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Unawakened)]
[Chakra Capacity: A (Jōnin-average level)]
[Chakra Nature Affinities: Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Yin, Yang]
Slurping noodles as he read his own stats and sensed the changes within his body, Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but feel like it was all unreal.
After struggling for so many years—driven by the obsession not to be cannon fodder, and the determination to outpace the locals—he had finally come this far.
And yet... he'd only reached the level of a chūnin with three chakra natures.
Now, a single starter pack had instantly boosted his chakra reserves to jōnin-level—and simultaneously unlocked all chakra attributes?
Even if… it was just an Unawakened Ōtsutsuki bloodline?
'Damn it, it really is a world ruled by bloodlines!'
After holding it in for a long while, Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but curse inwardly.
He had known this for a while. After all, in the world of Naruto, the series might as well be called 'Five Great Villages Brawling Over Eye Powers' or 'Little Black Zetsu's Search for Mommy'.
If you didn't have a bloodline, the limit of hard work might be someone like Guy—but even so, it was hard not to feel disheartened.
'And now... I'm already close to having 'One-Kakashi worth of power'.
Using Kakashi as a unit of measurement might've been a bit much, but this transformation had brought such massive changes!
Even if his bloodline was dormant, he could already feel how much more effortlessly he controlled chakra.
It even felt like he didn't need hand seals to cast ninjutsu anymore. In some ways, he might be more suited to being a Copy Ninja than Kakashi himself.
And not only that—his chakra was still steadily increasing!
'But… how do I actually develop this bloodline?'
Kitagawa Gen bit down on his chopsticks, pondering the thought. He knew the kind of power the Ōtsutsuki possessed.
But as for how to awaken it? It wasn't like the Sharingan—he had no guidance, no roadmap like Uchiha Madara had provided.
"Hey! Hey! Ramen! Ramen!"
Just as he was thinking, a loud voice rang out. A little kid in an orange outfit with spiky blond hair burst into the shop.
"Oh, Naruto—you're out of class already?"
Teuchi was always warm and gentle. He was one of the few people who held no prejudice against Naruto.
"Yeah, class finally ended. I was starving!"
Naruto nodded eagerly, but then noticed Kitagawa Gen sitting nearby. His eyes lit up with surprise.
"Hey, Gen, you're here too? I heard you guys got sent to the hospital!"
"…"
Gen nearly rolled his eyes. Good news never travels far, but bad news spreads like wildfire.
"It's nothing, really. We just failed the test, that's all—not a big deal."
But Naruto didn't care about the details. He just kept grinning.
"Who knows, maybe we'll be on the same team someday!"
"Heh. Rather than worry about me, you should be thinking about whether your stipend's enough for ramen, you reckless spender."
Gen didn't even look up as he replied casually.
"And who knows—maybe I'll be the one grading your genin graduation exam."
He wasn't kidding. Now that he'd completed his first main quest, it made sense for the next one to appear.
[New Main Quest Acquired]
[Become a Jōnin]
Looking at his stat panel, Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but purse his lips.
He'd only just become a genin, and already he was supposed to aim for jōnin?
What was next? Even he didn't dare imagine.
But…
If the newbie reward was already an Ōtsutsuki bloodline, then maybe… the future would be full of even more unbelievable rewards.
"…Huh?"
Suddenly, Kitagawa Gen glanced at Naruto with a strange look.
He sensed two very odd—and very familiar—auras from the boy. It filled his gaze with thoughtful speculation.
Wait a second… could it really be done that way?
"Tch. I just got my stipend…"
Naruto had no idea what Gen was thinking. As he started speaking, he suddenly realized something and looked at Gen in disbelief.
"Wait—wait, wait! You mean… you passed?!"
"Yeah."
Gen drank some of his soup and nodded nonchalantly.
"Kid, the guy sitting in front of you right now is officially a ninja."
"But… didn't you guys get sent to the hospital?"
"Yep. But not me. I sent my teammates to the hospital—so naturally, I was the only one left to graduate."
"???"
Naruto stared at Gen in stunned silence, utterly confused yet somehow impressed.
You could graduate… by sending everyone else to the hospital?
Was that even allowed?
He felt a bit dazed. He didn't even know how he managed to finish his bowl of ramen.
But once he did, he suddenly slammed his hands on the table!
"Yosh! If Gen can do it, then so can I! I'm gonna be Hokage one day! I'm heading out to train—this year, I will graduate!"
"No, you won't!"
Just as Naruto made a break for it, he was abruptly stopped by Ayame, who had returned at some point.
"You haven't paid yet—where are you going?"
"Ah! Sorry, sorry!"
"Oh, and Gen told Dad you were treating him to celebrate becoming a ninja. So be generous, yeah?"
"…"
...
Kitagawa Gen had a pretty decent relationship with Naruto.
After all, they lived in the same neighborhood, in houses of the exact same style, and both were orphans.
On top of that, since Kitagawa Gen was a transmigrator, there was no way he'd harbor any ill will toward Naruto.
After a few interactions, they'd gradually grown close.
At first, he'd been somewhat apprehensive. After all, there were probably Anbu or even Root agents secretly monitoring Naruto.
But after spending some time with him, he realized no one ever came to cause him trouble. That finally put his mind at ease.
"Guess I'm still a kid, and my background's squeaky clean. I'm not a damn Uchiha—what the hell do I have to be afraid of?"
Even if he were an Uchiha, Sasuke was still in the same class as Naruto.
Besides, this kid Naruto was loaded. His allowance wasn't just generous—it was extravagant.
The only problem was that the villagers harbored a lot of resentment toward him. Sometimes, they even refused to sell him things, which made Naruto buy in bulk and stockpile supplies at home.
But since he didn't use them fast enough, stuff often expired just sitting there.
And for some reason, he had a real obsession with buying so-called 'limited edition' ramen—which was absurdly expensive.
Kitagawa Gen wasn't exactly dirt poor, but he definitely wasn't going to pass up the chance to cozy up to a 'big spender'.
"I gotta thank this kid, actually. He made me realize what I needed to do."
Back home, Kitagawa Gen plopped down on his bed, still thinking about the strange feeling he'd had when he first met Naruto.
He knew what composed the power of the Ōtsutsuki, but his own bloodline was a blank slate. That made his thoughts all the more complicated.
If he'd been born an Uchiha, things would've been simpler. Even a Hyūga would do—as long as he could find the passage to the moon, he could just wait until the time was right, then go in swinging and blindside some fool with a sucker punch.
But now, after meeting Naruto, he realized that something in the boy's power actually resonated with him. That stirred up a lot of new thoughts.
"If I'm a blank slate, then my compatibility and adaptability should be even stronger. In that case…"
Why not gather all the powers that might be related to the Ōtsutsuki?
For instance—Indra and Asura's chakra?
Sure, their powers were essentially mutated derivatives of the God Tree fruit that Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had consumed.
But aren't those powers still part of her lineage?
Then there were the tailed beasts—born from the Ten Tails. And the Ten Tails… wasn't that just Kaguya's pet?
"And what about that Kaguya Clan—the ones with Uchiha-grade psychosis and the same focus on physical prowess as the Senju?"
Whether or not the Kaguya were truly descendants of Ōtsutsuki Hamura, Kitagawa Gen wasn't sure.
But the Hyūga were descended from Ōtsutsuki Hamura. Compared to the Uchiha and Senju, shouldn't at least one of those clans have inherited the physical strength aspect?
Besides, didn't Kaguya herself use the All-Killing Ash Bones?
As for the Byakugan…
"Maybe if I develop my bloodline properly, I can awaken it on my own?"
At first, Kitagawa Gen had been worried—what if he awakened the Byakugan and people started calling him 'Hyūga Gen'?
But in the end, that fear turned out to be both a relief and a letdown.
There had been no such transformation whatsoever.
Maybe he just hadn't developed his bloodline enough. Or maybe he'd have to acquire someone else's power.
"Well, I think I've pretty much figured out what I need to do."
With that thought, Kitagawa Gen gave a subtle nod to himself. Now he just had to wait for Kakashi to take him out on missions.
After all, only out there could he meet more people—and gain access to higher-level side quests suited to him!