The Land of Grass had been through the baptism of war, but apart from some environmental damage, neither the country nor its hidden village had suffered any real losses. In fact, they had made a tidy profit.
From the very start of the war, the Land of Grass had obediently withdrawn to the rear, granting Iwagakure free rein within its borders. The price for such cooperation was generous—substantial economic aid from Iwagakure.
While other nations were drained of manpower and resources, the Land of Grass had actually fattened its own coffers. As for the areas damaged by the fighting, those could be repaired slowly over time.
Kazuyama Gekkō stood atop a tree, surveying the area with thoughtful eyes.
On the surface, his visit was to check on Yugito's progress. But truthfully, he had other reasons for coming here—he wanted to take a closer look at the Land of Grass itself.
"Forget it. Let's find that brat Yugito first."
"Now… where did I put that coordinate…"
Yugito carried a kunai marked with his technique seal, so Kazuyama Gekkō had no worries about locating her.
In a flash, the Flying Thunder God Technique activated, and he vanished from his perch.
When he reappeared, he found himself standing in the middle of a village—and blinked in surprise.
"Huh? Damn sensei, what are you doing here?"
"Uh… Yugito, where is this exactly?"
He already had a guess, but since he'd never been here before, he wasn't completely certain.
Yugito shot him an unimpressed look, as if to say, How can you not recognize this?
Feeling that stare, Kazuyama Gekkō instinctively raised his fist, prompting her to quickly answer.
"This is Kusagakure. Didn't you see everyone wearing the village's forehead protector?"
"I only arrived here recently. A few of my subordinates are Kusagakure shinobi, so I came with them. This place is well-hidden—you'd never find it without a guide."
Kazuyama Gekkō nodded. No wonder. Kusagakure…
An interesting village, to say the least. It wasn't as peaceful as it appeared. In truth, the Kusagakure everyone saw was only a fraction of the whole.
Legend had it that back in the era of the Sage of Six Paths—a thousand years ago—there existed a Box of Bliss, capable of granting any wish to the one who opened it. Kusagakure had once opened that box and come close to seizing control of the entire world.
Then, without warning, the village was destroyed.
From its ruins emerged two opposing factions: the militant "Grass Seed," seeking to revive Kusagakure's former power, and the pacifist "Grass Flower." No one knew for certain whether the current public face of the village belonged to Grass Seed or Grass Flower.
And thinking of Hōzuki Castle brought to mind another familiar figure—Kakuzu. The man who once tried to assassinate the First Hokage, a so-called god who could throw shuriken across eight hundred miles. He'd been imprisoned in Hōzuki Castle once… before breaking out.
"Take me to your place."
"Huh? My place? I don't have one. I just got here. Why would I have a place to stay?"
Kazuyama Gekkō fell silent.
Good disciple… you haven't learned any of my skills, and you come to a new environment without even setting up a base?
Yugito's response was straightforward: "Why bother? Too much trouble. Isn't it better to just go where you want and play it by ear?"
With no other choice, Kazuyama Gekkō booked himself a room at an inn.
The innkeeper, seeing he wore no forehead protector and had a friendly face, let him in without question. Kusagakure rarely hosted outsiders—those who came were usually merchants or on official missions.
It was fortunate that Kazuyama Gekkō never wore a forehead protector. If they'd seen a Konoha headband, the village shinobi might have thrown him out on the spot.
Inside the room, he gave Yugito a long look before summoning four snakes to act as sentries.
"Just as I thought… you haven't picked up anything good, but you've mastered plenty of bad habits."
"But not wearing a forehead protector is a good one. Walking around with that thing on your forehead every day makes you look like an idiot."
He only said that in private—if the people from Konoha heard him, they'd have him tied up and paraded through the streets.
"It's uncomfortable. Better not to wear it," Yugito replied. "But sensei, why are you here? To keep an eye on me?"
Leaning against the wall, she sounded mildly annoyed. She thought she'd been doing fine and didn't need anyone breathing down her neck.
"Hmph. Your methods are… unique. So, tell me—how many fights have you gotten into? How many people do you have under you? And what about your intel network?"
Kazuyama Gekkō sounded like an old government inspector, even pulling out a notebook from who-knows-where.
Yugito's mouth twitched. "Stop! What are you doing?"
"This is only the beginning? Seriously? It's been a month, do you have to be like this?"
She might have been on a mission, but she was still just a teenager—and this level of questioning was frying her brain.
"Hmph. If I didn't push you, you'd drag this out for half a year. You're already struggling just to integrate Kusagakure's intel network—if I sent you to Sunagakure, you'd keel over from exhaustion."
He knew her personality. Without someone prodding her, she'd never take it seriously.
Though clearly displeased, Yugito didn't argue—after all, she hadn't even started gathering intel yet.
Seeing that, Kazuyama Gekkō sighed. If his three Snake Princesses weren't already busy, he'd have assigned one to follow her.
"For the next few days, I'll be here helping you. I expect you to give it your all."
"Right now—immediately—gather every single person you've recruited. We're meeting outside the village at eight tonight."
Yugito trudged out the door with obvious reluctance.
Watching her sluggish pace, Kazuyama Gekkō's brow twitched.
"Rasengan!"
A rough, unstable Rasengan shot toward her back.
Bang!
The moment it touched her, the chakra burst, the resulting air pressure giving her an unplanned boost forward.
"Ah! Damn sensei! You ambushed me! If it weren't for your age, I'd beat you senseless!"
Already airborne, she still found the breath to keep mouthing off.
Hearing that, Kazuyama Gekkō very nearly stormed over to teach his useless disciple a proper lesson.