The next day in Konohagakure, Kazuyama Gekkō was dragging a kid through the ruins.
"Building a house?"
"50,000 ryo per build! Best deal in the village! All premium wood! Durable and earthquake-resistant!"
His calls drew a lot of attention.
Trailing behind him was Yamato—whose face had already turned dark.
"Kazuyama-sensei, isn't this kind of... not okay?"
"Lord Hokage said not to reveal my abilities unless absolutely necessary."
Kazuyama wasn't fazed.
This was Yamato, after all—the only person besides Hashirama Senju who could use Wood Release. How could he not take advantage of that?
Hearing the complaint, Kazuyama turned back, grinning in a way that made Yamato visibly uncomfortable.
"Yamato, do you know who you are?"
"Huh? I'm... me?"
"Wrong. You're a Wood Release user—the only one besides the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Do you know why our village is so strong?"
"Because our village has powerful shinobi?"
"Wrong again. It's because Hashirama's Wood Release was the king of infrastructure. With Wood Release, you could raise buildings in minutes. That's how we survived everything—no matter the destruction, he could clap his hands and rebuild the village just like that."
Yamato was stunned.
Was... that really how Wood Release was meant to be used? To build houses?
But then again... it made sense. Wood Release was wood. Houses used wood. Why not?
"Alright, a two-story building, was it?"
"No problem. Just 50,000 ryo."
While Yamato was still caught up in his thoughts, Kazuyama had already collected the money and was watching him with a smile.
"Yamato, quick, give us a Wood Release: Two-Story House Technique!"
"Don't worry about chakra or energy. Your sensei here has plenty of supplements."
"All-natural, zero side effects. One pill and you're bursting with energy!"
Before Yamato could make sense of it all, Kazuyama had already pulled him off to build houses.
Lately, Yamato's Wood Release had come a long way—not that Kazuyama had anything to do with it.
It was mostly thanks to the training from Kakashi and Obito.
"Sensei, I still don't get it."
"Forget getting it, just move! I already took their money!"
Kazuyama shoved Yamato forward and barked at him to start.
Helpless, Yamato began building.
Just as Kazuyama was happily counting the cash...
[Ding! Detected that host has further tapped into Wood Release user Yamato's potential. He's now confused about his own abilities and has begun to walk a crooked path. Excellent! Truly excellent!]
[Special reward for the host: Chakra +4!]
[Ding! Host's chakra has reached 100! Maximum value attained. Special trait unlocked: Enhanced Chakra Recovery!]
Oh?
Kazuyama paused mid-count. Just like with his physical stat, now his chakra stat had hit 100.
Enhanced Chakra Recovery—a trait that could be strong or not, depending. He was a Jinchūriki, after all. With Chōmei's chakra included, he rarely ran out. Plus, he could use Senjutsu, and with the Three Snake Princesses around, he had no shortage of chakra.
Still, a bonus was a bonus.
At that moment, Kazuyama couldn't have been happier dragging Yamato around building houses.
But as usual, the happier he got, the worse the aftermath.
A pitiful little voice reached him.
"Big bro..."
That voice was unmistakable—his cheap little brother.
Hayate Gekkō wore a thoroughly miserable expression, leaving Kazuyama a bit confused.
"Hayate? What's up? Need help building a house?"
"Perfect timing. Yamato could use an assistant. I remember your shadow clones are decent. Go help him."
Kazuyama was so focused on making money, he didn't even notice Hayate's resentful stare.
Then came the awkward part.
"Big bro, if you've got time to build houses for others... how about building ours first?"
"What? Our house?"
Crap.
Kazuyama turned and looked—and sure enough, the whole area was reduced to rubble.
Including the Gekkō Clan residence.
After dinner yesterday, he had dropped the kids off and immediately rushed off to Takigakure to be with his wife and kid. When he returned this morning, he went straight to work with Yamato—completely forgetting his own home.
If Hayate hadn't reminded him, it would've never crossed his mind.
"Yesterday the village alarm went off and everyone headed to the emergency shelters. It wasn't just our house—Aunt Same's house is gone too."
"But Ebisu's helping with the rebuilding. I came to ask—when are you planning to rebuild ours?"
Now it was Kazuyama's turn to feel awkward. Not because of what Hayate said—he was suddenly struck by a terrifying thought.
What if Pakura came home, saw the house was gone, and realized he hadn't even started rebuilding it?
Would she lock him out for a month?
Yeah... that seemed very possible.
Without hesitation, Kazuyama shouted,
"Yamato!"
"Wrap up this job quick, then go build a house for your teacher!"
"I've got all your supplements ready."
"Hayate, go with him. Once he's done here, take him to our house."
He shoved a kunai with a teleportation seal into Hayate's hands and got ready to teleport.
"Big bro, where are you going?"
"I'm off to buy decorations. You know, like fake mountains and saplings."
"...."
Watching Kazuyama vanish, Hayate felt his soul ache.
...
Rebuilding efforts in Konoha were moving fast—thanks to Kazuyama the walking disaster, and Yamato, the unpaid labor.
Kazuyama was raking in the money. As for Yamato, he was quickly silenced by one sentence from Kazuyama.
"What money?"
"You're living in my house now. Hayate Gekkō's your teammate. You two are the Infrastructure Duo!"
"You build, he handles the finishing touches. Go big, go strong, create a new legacy."
"Don't worry—meat every meal. Look, this is your room. Just tell me if you need anything."
Yamato looked around at the giant compound he had just built, complete with artificial hills and trees that Kazuyama had somehow scrounged up.
And for a brief moment... he thought maybe this wasn't so bad.
Poor guy had no idea he'd just been led completely astray.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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