"Alright, you two just rest up. I still have to report to the Ninja Academy."
"This is the first graduation assessment since the academy reforms. The Third Hokage is taking it very seriously."
Gekko Chizan casually grabbed a banana from the fruit basket, peeled it, and first handed it to Fugaku. Then, under Fugaku's slightly surprised gaze, he took a bite himself.
"You bastard! You clearly wanted to eat it yourself—why did you bring it right in front of me?!"
Fugaku felt like Chizan was his natural-born nemesis. So freaking annoying!
Munching on the banana, Chizan glanced at Fugaku in surprise and casually explained:
"My arm was just a little numb, so I stretched it out. How did you think I was offering it to you?"
"Fugaku, don't get any strange ideas. Look, Mikoto is right here. If someone's going to feed you, shouldn't it be her?"
Well, now someone else was blushing too. Mikoto, cheeks red, quickly picked up a banana and brought it to Fugaku's lips.
Fugaku shot Chizan a vicious glare, then turned and looked at Mikoto with a gentle expression.
"Ugh, the four of you... I can't stand it. I'm out of here."
"This stench of love in the air is unbearable."
With that parting shot, Gekko Chizan earned four synchronized eye-rolls—and promptly leapt out the window.
Once he was gone, Minato and Fugaku exchanged a glance and both laughed.
"That bastard said the fruit basket was for us, but he's the one enjoying it the most."
"Whatever. Let's just focus on recovering. This first assessment after the Ninja Academy reform... I really wish I could watch it."
...
On the roof of the Ninja Academy, Gekko Chizan crouched by the edge, watching the training grounds below.
Two classes were in session.
One of them was practicing taijutsu. That teacher... hmm, it was Chen...
"Hatake Sakumo really pulled it off, managing to bring out such a powerhouse."
"The Konoha Dragon God... Tch. If Might Guy ever learns from him and opens all Eight Gates, who the hell could stop him?"
From Gekko Chizan's viewpoint, a group of students led by Might Guy were launching attacks at Chen.
But Chen evaded them all with smooth, flowing movements, lashing the students with a vine whip in his hand as he corrected their taijutsu form.
On the other side, a different group was practicing ninjutsu, and what surprised Gekko Chizan the most was that the instructors were Hatake Sakumo and... Pakura???
Most notably, Pakura was the one actively teaching ninjutsu while Hatake Sakumo stood off to the side, smiling as he watched.
What the hell? Why would Hatake Sakumo allow Pakura to teach at the academy?
Given her background?
"Aren't you curious how she's allowed to teach here?"
A familiar voice suddenly rang in Gekko Chizan's ear.
Hearing it, Gekko Chizan's pupils shrank, but he quickly relaxed. Without turning his head, he quipped:
"You're the principal, and you're still using Shadow Clones to teach?"
"That's going too far."
The speaker, unsurprisingly, was Hatake Sakumo.
And Chizan was right—the Sakumo below was a Shadow Clone.
"Hahaha, what's wrong with Shadow Clones? Ninjutsu is meant to be used, right?"
"Why else would we learn it?"
Hatake Sakumo strolled over to Gekko Chizan.
"Pakura's talent in ninjutsu is exceptional, and she's well-suited for teaching."
"Since you were away, I temporarily took over managing her. And since I already run the academy, I figured I'd bring her in as an instructor."
"When she heard the news, she accepted it gladly."
"Look at her—doesn't she look genuinely happy teaching the kids?"
Gekko Chizan said nothing. He could clearly see the gentle upward curve of Pakura's lips and the sincere expression on her face—both impossible to fake.
"But her background..."
"What about it? She's no longer a Sunagakure ninja. Ever since you captured her, that road has been closed off."
Could it really be that simple?
"Of course it's not that simple. But she's still carrying your Five Element Seal, right?"
"With that seal in place, she's just a regular ninja—at most, a standard jōnin."
"A strength level like that? Konoha has plenty."
Gekko Chizan nodded. That part was undeniable. With the Five Element Seal disrupting her, Pakura couldn't distribute her chakra to use Scorch Release. Without that deadly technique, she was no longer a powerhouse. And Konoha had more than enough of that level of strength.
"But, Sakumo-sama, she's still originally a Sunagakure ninja. That can't be changed."
"She hadn't even been on the battlefield yet when you took her, right? Her hands haven't been stained with the blood of Konoha shinobi."
Gekko Chizan froze for a moment. Come to think of it, Pakura had only just come of age during this period. She truly hadn't been to war yet.
Her Scorch Release reputation as the "Scorching Pakura" was earned during the Third Great Ninja War, which hadn't happened yet. Right now, she was still an unknown rookie.
"I investigated her further. Pakura was always treated as a hidden trump card. Even when sent on missions, she was never exposed to other villages."
"Think about it—even I didn't know her full background when we first met. How could anyone else?"
"Haneda Zaimon kept her concealed precisely to unleash her as a weapon in wartime. Too bad, hahahaha—your interference wrecked that plan."
"Chizan, do you know how the Hidden Leaf Village was founded?"
The sudden question made Gekko Chizan frown, but he answered truthfully despite his confusion:
"The Senju and Uchiha clans established the village together. Later, other ninja clans joined them."
Hatake Sakumo nodded.
"The Hatake clan, the Gekko clan—we were part of that."
"It was the union of various clans that made the village what it is today."
But Gekko Chizan still didn't understand what Sakumo was getting at.
Seeing his confusion, Hatake Sakumo looked up at the sky.
"In fact, it's not like Konoha has never accepted shinobi from other villages."
"Do you know Uzumaki Kushina? She was originally a genin from Uzushiogakure. Didn't she also become part of Konoha?"
Gekko Chizan nodded. He knew that—after all, he and Kushina were in the same class.
Kushina had transferred in halfway through.
"Chizan, if you want her to fully join Konoha and sever ties with Sunagakure, there's only one path."
"She must join a Konoha clan and completely abandon her past."
Gekko Chizan's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the white-haired man before him.
"I've already obtained her consent. After observing her for a while, if there are no issues..."
"I'll petition the Hokage to let Pakura join the Hatake clan—"
"She'll become my adopted daughter and officially a member of Konoha."
Gekko Chizan: Wait... Join the Hatake clan??? Why not the Gekko clan???
Hatake Sakumo: Kid, take a guess...
Gekko Chizan: You son of a—Old bastard! You tricked me! You want to be my dad!
...
A/N: About the matter of Pakura joining Konoha, I've thought about it for a long time.
First, please don't rush to flame me—just hear me out.
You all know Kabuto Yakushi, right? One of the main culprits behind the Fourth Great Ninja War. But what happened to him in the end?
He opened an orphanage in Konoha! A man who had blood of Konoha shinobi on his hands was still pardoned.
Pakura may be a Sunagakure ninja, but she never fought in the Third Great Ninja War. She wasn't a butcher.
And in the original series, her main battlefield was Kirigakure—not Konoha. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been sacrificed by Sunagakure and...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo