'Phoenix Fire Technique… and he used that method?'
That was unmistakably the standard Uchiha shuriken technique, wasn't it?
'Where the hell did he learn that?'
Kakashi was a little puzzled—but he knew it was time to get serious.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Rather than dodging, Kakashi instantly formed hand seals and expelled a massive fireball forward.
The blazing sphere not only devoured Kitagawa Gen's Phoenix Fire—it also disrupted the trajectory of the kunai and surged straight toward him.
"As expected of a jōnin. Then… Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kitagawa Gen didn't try to evade either. He went through a few symbolic seals before clasping his hands together.
[Boom—]
A fireball nearly the same size as Kakashi's erupted from him, colliding with the other in a deafening explosion.
The scorching flames rapidly heated the air, and patches of the training field's grass caught fire in an instant.
Kitagawa Gen quickly shifted positions—he wasn't about to just stand there and take a hit. All the while, his eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for Kakashi's location.
[Whoosh—]
In the blink of an eye, Kakashi appeared behind him, a kunai pressed right against his neck!
"The fight isn't over yet. Don't get careless."
Kitagawa Gen didn't respond. He simply twisted around and brought his own kunai up to clash.
[Clang—]
The sharp sound of metal meeting metal rang out as the blades collided.
With his left hand, Kitagawa Gen drew another kunai and slashed hard—but Kakashi easily dodged by shifting sideways.
Still, Gen didn't pause and immediately closed the distance again to continue the fight.
Although his body and chakra had been vastly enhanced, his actual combat experience was still lacking.
Ōtsutsuki bloodline wasn't something to take lightly—otherwise, why would freaks like Urashiki and Momoshiki, with such low combat intelligence, still be able to destroy entire planets?
And precisely because their battle IQ was so poor, one of them got taken down by a sneak Rasengan and the other ended up poisoned to death by Jiraiya…
Kitagawa Gen had no intention of being that foolish—especially since he had just realized something.
'Wait… is it possible that by training with Kakashi, I can 'cleanse' certain jutsu?'
Not just regular jutsu either—he'd apparently inherited Kakashi's swordsmanship yesterday as well…
Even though Kakashi was only wielding kunai, the movements were nearly identical to the sword techniques engraved in Gen's mind.
In that case…
Kitagawa Gen's gaze sharpened. He moved in even closer to Kakashi.
[Cling! Clang! Clang!]
The clash of metal rang out again and again as the two figures darted across the training field.
Kakashi was clearly holding back, while Kitagawa Gen was fully serious. For a while, the two seemed evenly matched.
But gradually, Kakashi's expression began to turn… strange.
'This kid… is copying me?'
He could feel it clearly—Kitagawa Gen was mimicking his movements.
At first, they were clumsy. Even the transitions between techniques were slow and disjointed.
But as the fight went on, Gen's technique became more fluid. His moves grew smoother, more natural. And even his feints and follow-ups started to show finesse.
For a fleeting moment… it almost felt like Kakashi was fighting himself.
This kind of learning speed—was downright absurd.
'No wonder he can use the Uchiha shuriken technique…'
At last, seeing just how closely Gen's movements mirrored his own, Kakashi couldn't go on.
He voluntarily called a halt.
"Alright. That's enough for now."
"Yes, sir."
Kitagawa Gen immediately stopped and backed away to create distance.
"I've got a solid understanding of your current level now. Honestly… it's even better than I expected."
Kakashi gave Gen a long, strange look before speaking again in a calm voice.
"What you lack right now is real combat experience. I know what to do next. Get ready—there's a good chance we'll be leaving the village tomorrow."
"Really!?"
At those words, Kitagawa Gen instantly perked up.
And just then, his system lit up again.
[Side Mission Complete: Who's the Real Copy Ninja?]
[Reward Unlocked: Kakashi's Lightning Release]
"Of course it's real."
Kakashi gave a tired wave, glancing at the burning training field with some concern.
"Alright, head back for now. Make sure you get up early tomorrow."
"Yes!"
Kitagawa Gen nodded immediately. Perfect—he couldn't wait to go check out his new reward.
After offering a slight bow, he turned and ran off, leaving Kakashi alone—staring at the blazing flames in silence.
His eyes lingered on the Earth-Style Wall, now slowly being swallowed by fire… but still faintly showing the faces of the Four Hokage carved into it.
In that moment, Kakashi too fell deep into thought.
...
"Kakashi's Lightning Release…"
After parting ways with Kakashi, Kitagawa Gen sprinted straight toward his house.
At the moment, his head felt like it was swelling—because a massive flood of knowledge had just poured into his brain.
The system's rewards were simple and crude. It stuffed everything straight into his head—how to use it, how to perform it, and all the related techniques.
Of course, the downside was just as obvious.
Sure, you could use the techniques, but whether your body could actually handle them… well, that was another matter entirely.
And this kind of information dump didn't feel like leisurely swimming through a sea of knowledge.
If anything, it felt like his brain was itchy—like it was about to grow extra neurons.
"…And these Lightning Release techniques are way too extreme."
Sifting through the data in his mind, Gen winced a little.
Kakashi really did have a lot of Lightning Release moves up his sleeve.
But most of them were derivatives of Chidori—which didn't seem all that valuable for someone like him, who lacked the Sharingan.
Still…
"These jutsu can all be modified!"
As he analyzed the contents of his mind, Gen's expression turned a little strange.
He had stumbled across something truly fascinating: it actually didn't seem all that difficult to alter these techniques.
This wasn't like sculpting a face on a stone wall.
He was talking about fundamentally changing how a jutsu was executed—or even its very nature!
A normal shinobi would never entertain such a ridiculous idea.
But things were different for him—he now had intimate knowledge of Kakashi's Lightning Release from the system and possessed a bloodline that gave him extraordinary affinity and control over chakra.
With the knowledge in his brain acting like a bird's-eye view, he could clearly see that all these techniques were just specialized manipulations of chakra.
Combine that with his body's natural ability to channel those forces, and he could pretty much craft them with ease.
Now he realized… he could probably develop stuff like Chidori Stream, or even Purple Lightning, without breaking a sweat!
Sure, their power would still depend on his chakra reserves—but that was hardly a problem.
"Tch…"
Suddenly, Gen felt a pang in his teeth.
It hit him out of nowhere—ever since he awakened the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, he'd kind of become a little too much of a genius.
"…Which means I now have way more jutsu that I need to sanitize."
Every technique needed a proper backstory. Otherwise, he'd never be able to explain where all this random, overpowered stuff was coming from.
Even if Danzō—that conniving old bastard—had been temporarily dismissed from public office after the Uchiha Massacre and couldn't make any moves for the time being…
"I still need to be cautious. Who knows when he'll be reinstated? And Kakashi—yeah, I've gotta cover my tracks there too. These jutsu need clean origins."
Rubbing his temples, Gen sighed.
He just wasn't strong enough yet—otherwise, none of this would even matter.
And if he wanted to get stronger, he had to push the limits of his bloodline even further.
"Gen! You bastard, there you are!"
A voice rang out not far away.
Gen turned his head—and, sure enough, it was that brat Naruto.
And he wasn't alone. Three other kids were with him.
'Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chōji?'
The moment Gen saw the lineup, he knew exactly what was going on.
But by then, Naruto had already charged up to him, baring his teeth in frustration.
"You jerk! You made me pay again! How many times has it been now!? Dammit, give me back my money!"
Watching the agitated Naruto, Gen just shrugged and responded with a confused tone: "Hey, hey, hey, aren't we friends?"
"Uh… yeah."
Naruto froze for a second, then nodded reluctantly.
Gen was one of the few people who never showed any hostility toward him—even if he was kind of a jerk.
"Well then, if we're friends, isn't it perfectly normal for you to help me celebrate becoming a shinobi?"
Gen blinked innocently, then let out a theatrical sigh.
"Ah, Naruto… I guess our friendship just doesn't mean as much to you anymore."
"No, that's not—!"
Naruto fumbled for words. He had the distinct feeling that Gen was spouting nonsense, but somehow… he couldn't find a way to refute it.