The reason for this had everything to do with his extraordinary body.
No matter how much he got hurt, his physical strength and chakra would recover quickly during battle, which also gave him exceptional endurance.
In short, he was far from reaching his limit, so the truce from Fugaku still felt somewhat unsatisfying.
But just when he stopped moving, even though he hadn't reached his limit, the level of the fight was already quite high.
After all, it wasn't a real death match. Even though both of them were controlling their strength well, they had reached a point where, if they continued, things could easily get dangerous.
On the other hand, even though Fugaku had the upper hand during the fight, his physical condition told a different story.
Even with that dominance, with Gen's current strength, Fugaku had to give it his all just to keep up—and that was without Gen using the Sharingan.
His clothes were already soaked in sweat and his breathing was heavy. After a while, he approached Gen.
"Gen, it looks like I'm going to have to start visiting you less often... or I'm going to end up exhausted every time I come!" he said with excitement.
Hearing that, Gen, who was trying to steady his breathing, almost choked in shock.
For some reason, that sentence sounded pretty strange to him.
Feeling a chill run down his spine, he quickly shook those weird thoughts from his mind.
"I'm sorry, Lord Fugaku, I don't mean to bother you. It's just that real combat is also a form of training, and after thinking about it a lot, the only person I could think of to practice with was you," he said quickly, almost justifying himself.
"You're right. With the strength you have now, it's hard to find a sparring partner among the kids your age. Looks like I'll have to work even harder," Fugaku nodded.
Of course, Fugaku wasn't actually tired of fighting with Gen—he had only said that as a joke.
In reality, spending time with Gen was something that made him genuinely happy.
Not just because of the mission the clan had given him, to keep track of Gen's progress, but also because he truly wanted to build a good relationship with him.
Even though Gen had never shown the Sharingan, his talent and potential were more than enough to impress him.
Every time he visited, he noticed a clear improvement since the last time. And what would take others months or even a year, seemed to take Gen only a few days.
"By the way, about your vacation... the clan already handled everything. For the next three months, you won't have to go out on missions," he said, changing the subject with a more serious tone.
Gen frowned slightly, but then smiled.
"Thank you, Lord Fugaku."
"Don't thank me. I'm just passing on the message. The one who actually made the arrangements was the Patriarch. And given the circumstances, staying in the village for now is the best thing," said Fugaku, making a calm gesture with his hand.
The reason he said that wasn't a small thing. It had everything to do with what happened after the Chūnin Exams in Kumogakure. Since then, not only had Gen become known, but just like Kakashi in his time, he had started to be recognized as a super-genius by other villages. That fame landed him directly on the black market bounty list.
And if you add up all the bounties on his head, the total in the black market reaches 50 million Ryō.
Normally, at the center where those bounties are issued, the average bounty for a Jōnin barely reaches 10 million ryō. Only a few Jōnin with special positions or identities manage to surpass that figure.
For example, Asuma Sarutobi, who was one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja and also the son of the Hokage, has a bounty in the Bingo Book of only 35 million ryō.
So the 50 million offered for Gen are enough to attract all kinds of greedy people.
And as for who placed that bounty, there's no need to think too hard: it almost certainly came from the other four Great Villages.
Not only because he killed several geniuses from those villages, but because, simply due to the danger he represents, there are already more than enough reasons for them to want to eliminate him.
That's why Gen requested special leave through the clan.
Ninjas have a certain number of missions they must complete each month. And now that he was promoted to Chūnin, those requirements increased, especially since most of those missions involve going outside the village.
This is the riskiest time for him. If he sets foot outside Konoha, there's a nine in ten chance he'll be ambushed and killed by ninjas from one of the other Great Villages.
Even if it's for training, it all depends on the situation. And clearly, this is not a good time to take risks.
Three months in silence seems to Gen like the best option right now.
If he had made the request on his own, they would have given him ten days, or if lucky, half a month. That's why he asked the clan to take care of it and secure a longer leave.
…
In a room full of experimental equipment, Gen was lying on his back on a bed covered with a white sheet. His torso was bare, and several cables were connected to his body. To one side, a screen displayed a real-time graph of his heart rate.
"Alright, Gen, you can get down now."
After a good while, upon hearing Orochimaru's voice, Gen began removing the cables one by one, then sat on the edge of the bed and calmly got down.
"Master Orochimaru, how did the test go?"
As he picked up his folded clothes from the side and began to get dressed, he glanced curiously at Orochimaru, who was reviewing the data in front of the equipment.
"Everything is within normal parameters. Both the results of this checkup and those of the previous test on your cells show that there's nothing unusual in your body, except that your vitality is stronger than usual," Orochimaru replied, letting out a slight sigh.
And that sigh wasn't for nothing.
Ever since he noticed that Gen's chakra and physical condition were improving at an astonishing rate, Orochimaru began to suspect that his body had something special. That's why he asked Gen to undergo several detailed tests.
But the results were not what he expected.
Even after deep cellular inspections and other advanced tests, there was no notable abnormality. The most they found was that Gen's cells were more active than those of a normal person.
________
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