Chapter 56: Snake Auntie Arrives

On the Cloud Ninja ship, the atmosphere was as heavy as a gathering storm.

"Aya, I'm sorry!"
Shu apologized to A, his face full of shame.

Looking at Killer Bee, who was now out of danger, A said in a deep voice, "It's not your fault. I misjudged the strength of the Konoha White Fang and his group."
"The Konoha White Fang is a powerhouse with the strength to contend for the title of Kage."
"And that guy who used Water Release and illusions—he was the other core pivot of this battle."

Shu nodded with a solemn expression: "That fellow seized the rhythm of the battle right from the start."
"Mastering Water Release and illusions isn't even his most formidable trait."
Liu Yun, standing nearby, chimed in: "That kid's execution speed was terrifyingly fast. If Shu hadn't created an opening, I'm afraid I would have been finished off by his Water Release as well."
"Someone like that shouldn't be obscure in Konoha. He's probably one of their newly emerged genius figures."

A stated immediately, "We'll investigate his identity the moment we return to the village!"
"The next time we cross paths, we will definitely have our revenge!"

***

After coming ashore, Shishita Genichi and his companions did not rush back to Konoha immediately. Instead, they spent another night in a small town, and the next morning parted ways with Wudang and Muwei from the Grass Village, heading toward Konoha.

Passing through the Land of Waterfalls to enter the Land of Fire, and finally returning to Konoha, it was already around eleven o'clock in the morning on the third day.

This time, Hatake Sakumo did not disband the squad at the village gates. Instead, he led them straight to the Hokage's Building.

Genichi and the other two were responsible for guarding the Cloud Ninja prisoners, accompanied by two Anbu operatives, while Hatake Sakumo went to see the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe as he listened to Hatake Sakumo recount the course of the mission.

Naturally, it wasn't a minute-by-minute retelling, but rather a focus on the key highlights of the mission—such as the performance of Genichi's trio and their skirmish with Cloud Village.

The encounter with the Third Raikage's son and Cloud's Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, in particular, was the absolute focal point.

After listening, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly spoke, "Hmm~ It seems Cloud Village's new Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is steadily coming into his own!"

Hatake Sakumo nodded. "Although the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki didn't unleash the power of the Tailed Beast during this battle, he managed to break free from Rai's Sharingan illusion almost instantly. The power of the Tailed Beast must have played a role in that."
"Furthermore, his swordsmanship is exceptionally brilliant. It's safe to foresee that he will inevitably become a powerhouse in the future, even without the Tailed Beast's power."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly and then asked, "How does he compare to Genichi?"

Hatake Sakumo replied, "In terms of raw talent for swordsmanship, Genichi probably cannot match the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."
"However... Genichi's talent in Water Release and illusions is extraordinary. What's even more precious is his acute battle intuition, his keen insight, and his ability to grasp the overall flow of the entire battle."

With that, Hatake Sakumo gave a detailed account of the battle on the open sea.
From Genichi anticipating the Cloud Ninja's visual illusion, to using a Water Clone to divide the battlefield, down to his true body fighting four opponents alone and eliminating two of them through brilliant mastery of Water Release and illusions...

***

Clearly, although Sakumo had been dealing with A at the time and occasionally keeping an eye on Uchiha Rai and the others, he had also maintained a close watch on the combat of Genichi's true body outside.

As he listened, a trace of genuine surprise surfaced in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.

That Shishita Genichi was a genius was beyond any doubt.
His performance during previous missions had already been quite outstanding, coupled with a remarkably mature mindset.

What surprised Hiruzen this time, however, was Genichi's displayed capacity to command and control the macro-situation of a battle.
This implied that in the future, Genichi would develop into a talent capable of standing entirely on his own and guarding a region single-handedly.

To be frank, even Hatake Sakumo did not possess precisely this kind of comprehensive aptitude.
Sakumo was an assassin-type powerhouse—Konoha's sharpest blade and fangs, capable of plunging straight into the enemy's heart.
During the last Shinobi World War, he had sliced straight through opposing frontlines single-handedly on multiple occasions.

"Sakumo, you've trained a fine disciple," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile.

Hatake Sakumo responded, "It's entirely due to the child's own innate talent."

Noncommittal, Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Leave the Cloud Ninja prisoners to the Anbu to handle."
"You all should take a proper break for a while."

Hatake Sakumo nodded, bowed respectfully, and left the office.

Behind his desk, Sarutobi Hiruzen bit down on his pipe, pondered for a brief moment, and then called out, "Shinnosuke, what do you think about transferring Genichi into the Anbu?"

Wearing a mask, Sarutobi Shinnosuke materialized from beneath the floorboards. "Genichi's excellence is beyond question, but isn't it a bit too early right now? Mature though he may be, he is only eight years old after all."
"Perhaps delaying it for another year or two would be more appropriate. After all, Anbu missions are far heavier, and I believe Genichi currently needs more time to cultivate himself. His progression is already exceptionally rapid."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slowly. "Very well, let's leave it at that for now and review it in a couple of years."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke bowed, and his figure gradually sank back into the ground.

***

In front of the Hokage's Building, having completed the handover, Hatake Sakumo smiled and said, "Dismissed. Unless something unexpected comes up, you'll have a vacation for a while."
"However... three days from now... squad training in three days. Off you go!"

Genichi and his two companions acknowledged the order in unison, then vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

***

"Dad, Mom, I'm home!"
Shishita Genichi shouted out as he entered the dango shop.

From the kitchen, Genichi's father and mother immediately poked their heads out.
"You're finally back!"
"Are you alright?"
"Was the mission smooth?"
"Did you get hurt anywhere?"

The two of them swarmed around Genichi, fussing over him.

"Relax, relax, don't worry, I'm completely fine!"
Genichi chuckled softly.

There were quite a few regular patrons inside the shop, who now chimed in one after another.
"Our Genichi is a genius, after all. How could anything happen to him? You can rest easy, Genichi's mom!"
"I'm so envious. To raise such a brilliant child!"
"Indeed, indeed! That bicycle of his is remarkably useful, too!"

***

Amidst a chorus of envious remarks, Shishita Genichi headed upstairs.

Entrusting the shop's affairs to their hired employees, Genichi's parents hurried up right behind him to prepare delicious food for their son.

By the time Genichi finished a relaxing bath and came out, a table laden with mouth-watering delicacies was already waiting for him.

"There's really no place like home!"
Genichi plopped down in front of the dining table and began to feast with gusto.

Roughly an hour later, the entire table of food had vanished into his stomach. Genichi leaned back comfortably against his chair, half-closing his eyes as his thoughts drifted freely.

"Talent really differs from talent like night and day... Killer Bee's swordsmanship talent must be among the very peak tier across the entire shinobi world, and right now he's only using two blades."
"Killer Bee's age should be around twelve or thirteen, a few years younger than Rai. Even with the amplification of the Sharingan, Rai's swordsmanship still fell just a fraction short."
"It's foreseeable that Killer Bee will soon surpass Rai. As for me... I'll probably leave them in the dust."

Genichi couldn't help recalling the scene in the future where Sasuke Uchiha got mercilessly beaten down by Killer Bee.

"My swordsmanship still needs further tempering, but it has to progress in the direction of nature transformation; otherwise, I won't be able to keep up with a swordsmanship prodigy like Bee."
"And that inspiration of combining Water Release and illusions..."

Unwittingly, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon.

Genichi had digested his meal, and any lingering sleepiness had entirely vanished. He got up, changed into a fresh set of clothes, grabbed his sealing scrolls, and headed out.

At the Konoha Hospital, inside Tsunade's laboratory, Orochimaru looked over the data in his hands and smiled. "Tissue matching... interesting..."

Tsunade glanced sideways and let out a light huff. "Could you wipe that creepy smile off your face? Otherwise, I won't mind beating you right out of this room."