Chapter 8: The Mission
The following days truly weren't easy—
Though, to be honest, not for Kitagawa Gen.
The one really struggling... was Kakashi.
Kakashi had planned for this trip to be long, combining hands-on missions with training
Gen along the way. But to his surprise, things were going far more smoothly than expected.
This wasn't the grinding, hardening experience he'd envisioned. What happened to the struggle?
Sure, at the beginning, Gen had his rookie moments. A few fumbles here and there due to inexperience.
But the kid adapted quickly—too quickly—and before long, his performance was exceeding expectations.
That surprise only deepened once the actual training started.
Because that's when Kakashi realized… this wasn't just a promising kid. This was a problematic genius.
Gen's fundamentals were solid. His talent? Off the charts.
Kakashi barely had to explain how a jutsu worked—how to weave the hand signs and circulate chakra—before Gen figured it out and pulled it off with ease.
And the craziest part? His execution often matched or even surpassed seasoned shinobi who had trained for years.
Even with taijutsu, it was the same story.
Kakashi showed a basic pattern of his blade techniques—using only a kunai, mind you—and Gen managed to imitate it almost perfectly.
At this point, Kakashi was starting to understand what his own teachers must've felt like back in the day.
So this… this is what it's like to teach a prodigy?
Except Gen was arguably more startling than he had ever been—he not only learned fast, he had ideas. He was constantly tweaking techniques, changing hand signs, adjusting chakra flow, trying to make everything his own.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
With a few hand signs—clearly simplified—Gen spat out a massive fireball.
It roared through the air and engulfed the bandit camp in a storm of flames.
The thieves didn't even have time to scream before they were reduced to ash.
"Task complete, Kakashi-sensei," Gen said casually, turning back.
"I scouted in advance. All thirteen bandits were inside. No hostages. No risk of collateral damage. Should be a clean sweep."
"...Right," Kakashi muttered, nodding slowly.
He gave a mechanical thumbs-up. "Good work. Your progress... exceeds expectations."
He'd said that so many times by now, it had lost all meaning—even he was tired of hearing it.
Teaching a genius? Not as fun as people think. They learn so fast, you run out of things to teach.
"Sensei, I think we've cleared all the C-rank missions by now, right? Shouldn't we move on to that B-rank one?"
Gen's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"If I remember right, it's the one involving a noble in the Land of Waves. Someone placed a high bounty on him in the black market, which means we might run into enemy shinobi?"
"Yeah." Kakashi instantly snapped back to serious mode. "That mission's a bit tricky. The target's bounty isn't low—so we might face capable opponents."
"Huh?" Gen blinked. "Then why is it only a B-rank?"
"Because the noble already has his own bodyguards," Kakashi explained, shrugging. "Samurai trained in chakra. They're not too fond of ninja involvement, so we're basically backup. The pay's not great, and we're expected to keep a low profile. Hence, B-rank."
"I see…" Gen nodded slowly, but internally, he couldn't help but scoff.
Low pay, unclear intel, unfriendly allies... yeah, sounds like a great job.
But for someone like him, still building experience, it was decent enough.
"Well then, Kakashi-sensei… since this is technically a B-rank mission, shouldn't I be leveling up too?"
Kakashi raised a brow. He'd heard that tone way too many times already.
"What do you want to learn now?"
"Guy-sensei mentioned your specialty is lightning style."
Gen scratched his chin thoughtfully. "And I did test positive for lightning affinity."
He had his eye on Chidori—or at least Kakashi's modified version, Shiden.
He wanted to learn it, analyze it, purify it into something uniquely his.
"Sure, I know lightning style," Kakashi said cautiously. "But it's not really meant for you. It's heavily tied to the Sharingan."
"I know," Gen nodded. "But I still want to try."
"..."
"Besides, don't you want your one and only student to master your signature style?"
"..."
———
"Mission verified. Payment received. Here's your reward."
"Mm."
Inside a hidden black market facility in the Land of Hot Water, two men dressed in black cloaks with red clouds accepted a large sum of cash from the administrator.
Without a word, they took another job and quietly exited the facility.
"Another one down," said the taller of the two—sharp teeth, red face paint, a massive sword slung across his back. His name was Jūzō Biwa.
"You're getting used to this, Itachi."
"It's been over a year," replied Uchiha Itachi, calm as ever, his forehead protector slashed straight through. "I've long since adjusted."
Indeed, Itachi had been in the Akatsuki for over a year now.
And during this early stage of development, their job was simple: earn money through missions.
It was mundane—but oddly fitting for the pair.
"What's next? A noble in the Land of Waves?" Itachi glanced at Jūzō, letting his curiosity show.
"Yeah. Another target for elimination. Some nobleman," Jūzō said after skimming the brief.
"But it doesn't matter. The more peaceful the world becomes, the more jobs we get. A target is a target."
He stuffed the paper away and gave a cold chuckle.
"We don't ask questions. Doesn't matter who they are or why someone wants them dead.
Even if it's just a prank job—if they pay, we kill."
"You've said that before," Itachi murmured, his gaze drifting to the distant horizon.
"But don't worry. I understand."
"Good." Jūzō nodded. "Then let's move.
If we finish early, maybe we'll have time to enjoy ourselves a little..."