Chapter 26: At This Rate, I Might Really Become "Hyūga Gen"
"Yin-Yang Release... and Uchiha Obito's special Yin Release?"
Even someone as experienced as Kitagawa Gen couldn't help but feel his heart pound wildly as he stared at the two rewards.
If he remembered correctly, these were the very techniques Uchiha Madara instructed Black Zetsu to teach Obito before pulling the plug on his own oxygen mask.
As for the other technique—according to Madara—it was one of the "Six Paths Techniques forbidden to the Uchiha."
"Seems like my luck's pretty insane today…"
Gen muttered to himself. While he was curious about this so-called "forbidden Six Paths technique," he wasn't too interested.
What if it really only worked for actual Uchiha?
"Then again… I am their ancestor, technically."
He scratched his head. Still, it was better to remain cautious. After all, not all Ōtsutsuki were created equal. An Ōtsutsuki who devoured the God Tree's fruit was on an entirely different level than a normal one.
As for the other reward...
"Uchiha Obito's special Yin Release… is that power tied to his Sharingan?"
Gen raised an eyebrow. Honestly, he was a little disappointed—why wasn't it the power from Obito's white half?
If memory served, that side of Obito's body contained Hashirama's cells!
Sure, White Zetsu was originally created by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, but after being tweaked by Black Zetsu and Madara, they had definitely become something else. Those two talkative White Zetsu might've acted like fools, but Madara treated them with strange fondness.
Maybe... just maybe, it was because their personalities reminded him of Hashirama?
"Anyway, let's just claim the reward."
Shaking his head, Gen wasn't in the mood to explore Madara's tragic bromance with Hashirama. What mattered more was his own power.
The shadow clone + Sage Mode combo had worked well to ambush Obito, but the guy wasn't an idiot. After a surprise like that, there was no way he'd fall for the same trick again.
Improving his own strength was the only path forward.
Yin-Yang Release could be studied slowly—he had the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, after all, which made learning such advanced jutsu far easier.
"Let's check out what Obito's special Yin Release can actually do."
With that thought in mind, Gen decisively chose the reward.
Even though he had already endured the intense transformation from awakening the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, the moment the special Yin Release was activated, his mind went blank.
He could feel an overwhelming Yin-type chakra surging within his brain, then flooding into his eyes...
---
Elsewhere, in a forest within the Land of Fire—
As space warped around him, Uchiha Obito stumbled out of the Kamui dimension, clearly shaken.
A short distance away, a pitcher plant-like bulb broke through the earth. The White Zetsu half popped up, snickering at Obito's disheveled appearance.
"Hehehe~ Obito, it's been ages since I saw you this embarrassed."
"Guess you believe now that kid's not so simple, huh? But man, how'd you end up like this—just like that fool Jūzō Biwa?"
"Shut up."
Obito glared at him coldly. After calming down, he spoke with icy indifference.
"I underestimated him. That brat just got lucky. He probably tried to ambush me, but didn't expect to hit my weak point so accurately."
No matter how he thought about it, it didn't make sense. Even if the kid guessed he used space-time jutsu and tried to force a mistake, he shouldn't have been able to touch the core of Kamui's ability.
Obito chose to believe it was a fluke.
Maybe the brat simply wanted to prank him with a transformation jutsu or some distraction, and by sheer dumb luck, Obito sucked a shadow clone into Kamui.
That triggered the whole mess…
"Yeah, that must be it. No way that brat figured it all out."
Rather than believe his secret had been exposed, Obito would rather accept that he simply made a mistake.
"Maybe so," Black Zetsu replied calmly. After considering it, he too felt it was just bad luck.
Still, regardless of the cause, the secret was out.
"So what now? That kid will probably share whatever he learned from the shadow clone. That could be a big problem, no?"
"Problem? Hmph. Don't overestimate him—or underestimate me."
Obito scoffed, his gaze sharp.
"No one can enter the Kamui dimension unless I allow it. Anyone sucked in has only one fate—death. As long as I stay cautious, this won't happen again."
"That's true," Black Zetsu nodded. Kamui was a one-way trip for enemies. Even if it was a battlefield, Obito could simply avoid absorbing random targets. As long as he used his Sharingan with focus, he could avoid such mishaps.
But...
"Don't forget—Kakashi still has one of your eyes. If anything changed with yours, his would too. He may recognize you."
"Kakashi?"
Obito frowned but then smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Let him keep the eye. I've already cut off that part of the past."
"Heh, isn't he the one who—"
"Shut up."
White Zetsu blinked in confusion, but was immediately silenced by Black Zetsu. He knew this idiot was about to bring up something he shouldn't.
Obito glanced at him for a moment but said nothing.
"You were going to say he killed Rin, right? Yeah... I saw it with my own eyes. But I didn't blame him."
"That moment made me realize—"
"That I was already in hell."
"The blame wasn't his. It was this entire world's."
"Ninja villages, shinobi, war, Rin's death, even me now—this world made all of it happen."
"As long as the system remains, tragedies like Rin's will repeat."
He looked up at the moon, as if he could see the Chidori piercing Rin's heart again.
There was a time he considered resurrecting Rin. Surely, Madara had the means.
But in the end, he gave up.
What good would it do? She'd just return to Konoha, get dragged into another war, and die again—maybe at the hands of another ally.
"Only by creating a new world can such tragedies be stopped."
"In that world… everything will be better. Rin… will exist forever."
Black Zetsu nodded internally.
Perfect.
The Uchiha always had strong ideals, but not enough brains to see they were being manipulated.
Obito had clearly fallen for the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan—hook, line, and sinker.
"Understood. Giving Kakashi your eye cuts off the past... and what about that brat? Are you going to deal with him?"
"Eventually," Obito said. "He's clever and a bit annoying… but first, we need to head back. Things in Kirigakure are far from calm."
---
Back in Konoha, the next morning—
Sitting in front of a mirror, Kitagawa Gen stared at his reflection.
His handsome face was still there—but now his eyes gave off a faint, eerie white glow.
Even he couldn't help but shudder.
After accepting Obito's Special Yin Release, that terrifying energy had stormed into his brain and kept feeding into his eyes.
It was as if his ocular power had leveled up on its own.
[Name: Kitagawa Gen]
[Age: 13]
[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Awakening: 8%)]
[Chakra Capacity: S- (Mid-tier between Elite Jonin and Kage level)]
The power hadn't fully integrated yet—just like his Sage Mode, it needed refinement and mastery.
Still, his Ōtsutsuki bloodline had advanced, and his chakra rating had jumped from low to mid-tier!
Feeling the ongoing transformation in his eyes, Gen let out a long, helpless sigh.
"At this rate… I really am going to become 'Hyūga Gen'…"