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NBB Chapter 17: Eat, Fight, Repeat
🕑 Added 2025-05-22 03:23:25 +0000 UTC“Kakashi-sensei.”
After asking around, Gen y Naruto quickly located Kakashi’s hospital room. As they opened the door, Kitagawa Gen was surprised to find that Guy was there too.
“Guy-sensei, long time no see.”
“Yo! Gen, huh?”
Guy’s eyes lit up the moment he saw him. With a hearty laugh, he walked over and gave Gen a strong pat on the shoulder.
“I’ve heard all about it from Kakashi—you really did great out there!”
“It’s all thanks to your excellent training back then, Guy-sensei.”
Gen responded humbly. And truth be told, he genuinely meant it.
If not for all that training under Guy, even with his own advantages, he might not have handled Biwa Jūzō so smoothly.
“By the way, Guy-sensei—we’re celebrating my first successful mission tonight. Want to come?”
“Oi, kid—I’m the one footing the bill, and you’re out here giving out invites?”
Jiraiya stepped out from the room, giving Gen a mock glare. But then he burst out laughing.
“Ah well, Kakashi’s coming too. If the tab gets too high, we’ll just make him pay.”
Kakashi, sitting on the hospital bed, said nothing—but he did roll his eyes.
He was a loyal fan of Jiraiya’s novels, after all. Was this really necessary?
But then something caught Kakashi’s sharp eye—someone standing just behind Gen. That person was...
“Na... Naruto?”
“Hm?”
“Naruto?!”
Guy also noticed Naruto, and immediately glanced at Jiraiya and Kakashi, then at Gen again.
After a moment’s thought, he smiled and stepped aside to make way.
Jiraiya was struck by the name as well. That was the name of the protagonist from his very first novel, Tale of the Utter Gutsy Shinobi.
And more importantly, it was the name of his beloved student Namikaze Minato’s child.
Could it be…?
“That’s right—Naruto.”
Gen smiled and nodded, then pulled out Naruto, who had been trying to hide behind him like an ostrich.
“Didn’t you say I could bring a few friends, Jiraiya-sama? This kid lives near me—we basically grew up together. He’s my friend.”
“A friend, huh...”
Jiraiya was honestly surprised. Even though he hadn’t been around the village much, he’d still heard enough to know that Naruto’s life hadn’t exactly been smooth.
That was part of how they raised jinchūriki—by forcing them to grow up used to pain and hardship, shaping a tough and resilient personality that could one day keep the Tailed Beast under control.
Jiraiya had never fully agreed or disagreed with that method. In the end, he chose to stay away. Out of sight, out of mind.
This time, he’d actually been planning to sneak a glance at Naruto. He hadn’t expected Gen to just bring him over like it was nothing—and that they were friends?
“Yeah, he’s kind of an idiot. And in the village...”
Gen chuckled, tugging Naruto forward to stand in front of Jiraiya.
“But Kakashi-sensei told me there were a lot of misunderstandings around him. And after knowing him for so long, I’ve never found anything wrong—so of course we became friends.”
“You’re the idiot...”
Naruto tugged at Gen’s sleeve, grumbling in protest. But the moment he remembered all the ramen that bastard had swindled out of him over the years, he immediately deflated.
“Naruto, huh?”
At that moment, Jiraiya suddenly crouched down and gently placed a hand on Naruto’s spiky blond hair, examining his face closely.
Those blue eyes, that yellow hair—just for a moment, Jiraiya was dazed. It felt like he was looking at Minato himself.
Time passed in a blink. He could still remember the day he first met Namikaze Minato... and now, his son had already grown so big.
After a long pause, Jiraiya finally smiled.
“I have to say—that really is a good name.”
...
“So that brat is Kakashi’s useless disciple?”
The moonlight was hazy.
Outside a tavern in Konohagakure, the figure of Uchiha Obito emerged from within the trunk of a large tree.
His black cloak blended seamlessly into the night, and the swirling mask he wore made him appear eerie and unsettling. His blood-red eyes were fixed intently on the tavern’s window.
Through the window, he could see Kakashi inside—still looking somewhat downcast, but with a faint smile on his face.
Guy had his arm around Kakashi, saying something to him, while Jiraiya, ever the scoundrel, was flirting with a pretty waitress.
Seated across from them, a handsome, black-haired youth was eating heartily alongside a small blond-haired boy, both of them hunched over their plates.
Obito recognized him almost instantly. He couldn’t help but scrutinize the brat for a long while before finally shaking his head.
“Hmph. Looks pretty ordinary to me.”
“Well, well. Didn’t expect even you to misjudge someone, Obito.”
At that moment, a pitcher plant sprouted beside him. The white half of Zetsu’s face surfaced with a strange grin.
“That kid’s chakra is massive, you know. And at his age, he’s already way ahead of where you were back then. At the very least, he managed to escape Kakashi’s curse…”
“Shut up!”
For a brief moment, Obito truly wanted to strangle White Zetsu on the spot. But in the end, he restrained himself.
Part of the reason he came here in the first place… was because White Zetsu had gotten under his skin.
He had to see what made this brat so special.
Why he had managed to escape back then—
When he himself hadn’t?
When Rin hadn’t?
And this brat did?
Though he didn’t blame Kakashi anymore—he had long since accepted that this world was to blame—it didn’t mean he could accept it.
“This kid just got lucky. Maybe he has some talent, but that’s all there is to it.”
“You’d better keep a closer eye. That brat might not be so simple.”
It was Black Zetsu, who had remained silent all this time, that finally interrupted them. Frowning, he gazed into the distance at Kitagawa Gen and spoke.
“Something about his aura feels... off. I can’t quite put my finger on it yet, but we need to stay alert.”
Black Zetsu, after all, was a being created by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. His sensory abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people.
Still, he wasn’t a true Ōtsutsuki. Kitagawa Gen’s bloodline was underdeveloped, so he couldn’t perceive the full picture. But it was enough to draw his attention.
“Oh?”
Obito raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
“Looks like it might be worth testing this brat sometime.”
“Sigh... Don’t you have more important things to deal with?”
White Zetsu looked at Obito’s profile with a confused expression.
“Weren’t you planning to check in on that Uchiha Sasuke fellow? Maybe give Uchiha Itachi a little warning? Why the sudden change in plans?”
“This won’t get in the way. It’s just something I can handle along the way.”
Obito snorted coldly, a deeper light flickering in his eyes.
“Itachi made a deal with the Akatsuki—to keep me from going after Konoha or Uchiha Sasuke. But this time, he was the one who broke the agreement."
"So my warning won’t be too excessive. Just a bit of simple, truthful information on Uchiha Sasuke will do."
"As for this brat... consider it part of the warning to Uchiha Itachi. And a little test while I’m at it.”
“Oooh, a warning for Uchiha Itachi, huh?”
White Zetsu blinked, then chuckled slyly.
“Let’s be honest—you still can’t accept the truth, can you?”
“If you say one more word, I’ll kill you right here and now!”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down, Obito! Don’t do anything crazy—!”
“Shut up!”
As the half-body of White Zetsu and Obito resumed their bickering, Black Zetsu didn’t bother trying to stop them. His eyes remained fixed on Kitagawa Gen.
'What’s going on with that boy? Why does he feel so familiar… and yet so foreign?'
Time passed quickly. Beneath the full moon, Kitagawa Gen and the others finally wrapped up their celebration.
“Seriously… we actually spent that much money!”
Jiraiya looked at the bill in his hand with a pained expression. He turned and glared fiercely at Kitagawa Gen.
“You little brat! How can you eat so much?!”
“I don’t know either… I was just hungry.”
Kitagawa Gen shrugged innocently. He was starting to understand why Hinata had such a huge appetite.
Hinata was a well-known glutton—and she was a true Byakugan Princess.
In some ways, maybe she had inherited more ancient genes. If even she could eat that much, it wasn’t surprising that someone like Gen, who possessed true battle potential, could do the same.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back with Naruto.”
“Yeah, yeah—go on, you two gluttonous brats. Don’t disturb this sage’s nightlife!”
Jiraiya waved them off with a look of disdain. Kitagawa Gen gave a small bow, gently tugging at Naruto, whose belly was bulging from overeating, and the two of them finally left.
Though Jiraiya still wore a look of contempt, as the two disappeared, his gaze gradually softened, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
