The moment Gekko Chizan stepped out, he skillfully left behind a Flying Thunder God marker.
But what he saw next left him speechless—Orochimaru pulling out a large stack of scrolls from his robes, each one prominently stamped with the kanji for "Seal."
Clearly, Orochimaru was preparing to set up a full defensive array for his laboratory.
Both master and student displayed their unique cleverness: one plotting to steal, the other guarding against theft.
...
When he returned home, Gekko Chizan was immediately visited by someone from the ANBU.
Of course, they came bearing a mission order.
It was an ANBU he didn't recognize, but the pattern on the mask made him narrow his eyes slightly.
The eye markings were distinctly feminine. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be Sarutobi Shinnosuke's wife.
Both of them were squad captain-level in ANBU. He didn't expect they would come directly to him.
"Number Six, this is your next mission."
"Remember, this mission is extremely important. The Hokage-sama thought long and hard before assigning it to you."
"Take your team with you."
Gekko Chizan opened the mission scroll, and was immediately intrigued.
Although it was issued by the ANBU, its content had little to do with ANBU operations.
Mission Details:
Rank: A-Rank.
Depart for the Daimyō's mansion in three days to carry out security operations for one month.
Tsk tsk, a mission at the Daimyō's mansion of the Land of Fire?
He didn't expect such a task to fall to his squad.
But why were the words "security operations" circled so prominently in red?
Could it be...???
"I'll take the team and head out in three days."
After the mission was delivered, the ANBU vanished from sight, leaving Chizan alone in place, deep in thought.
...
Not long after, inside the Hokage's office, two ANBU members were in discussion with the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama, are you really letting Gekko Chizan handle this mission?"
"You know the Daimyō's mansion is under threat from Kirigakure, right?"
These two ANBU were none other than Sarutobi Shinnosuke and his wife—Hiruzen's son and daughter-in-law.
"Precisely because of Kirigakure's sudden aggression, I'm sending him."
"That brat may not be great in direct combat, but he's far from weak."
"Take a look at this."
Hiruzen casually tossed an intelligence report in front of them.
Though confused, they took it and immediately froze after reading it.
"Thousand Years of Death? That jutsu actually has an advanced version?"
"You're kidding me. I doubt even Sakumo ever thought about developing such a bizarre ninjutsu."
"Huh? Is this info real? He fought that Cloud brute to a draw?"
"That guy's Lightning Release Armor isn't something easily dealt with."
From Shinnosuke's string of exclamations, it was clear how shocked he was.
His wife wore a similarly stunned expression.
Hiruzen flicked some ash from his pipe and gave a faint smile.
"This intel came from Tsunade. It's reliable."
"That kid Gekko Chizan has been advancing rapidly. Among the jōnin, he can be considered upper tier now."
"That's why I assigned him the Daimyō's mansion mission."
"Besides, he's always been a troublemaker. During the war, he even wandered off to the Land of Lightning."
At that, Shinnosuke smirked, his tone laced with mockery.
"Give me a break. I bet it's just the Daimyō causing more drama again."
"You sending that little rascal to the Daimyō's mansion is just your way of annoying them, isn't it?"
"Dad, if you're going to use excuses, at least make them convincing."
Like father, like son—they both understood each other too well.
Hiruzen's smile instantly disappeared as he glared in irritation.
"Hmph, those bastards used the war as an excuse to brazenly cut our funding. This is wartime!"
"You think this old man doesn't have a temper?"
"That brat Chizan is perfect for the Daimyō's mansion. Hmph, I hope he stirs things up a bit—let them suffer a little. It'll vent my anger."
The red circles around the words "security operations" on the scroll? Personally drawn by Hiruzen himself.
He wanted Gekko Chizan to go all-out on that task.
...
The next day, Gekko Chizan left home early.
First, he bought a large batch of daily necessities, then found a hidden spot and prepared to set off.
"Chōmei, lend me your chakra. I need to get back to Island Turtle."
"Got it!"
With Chōmei's chakra support, Chizan immediately activated his Flying Thunder God travel mode.
After a few jumps, he was already back on Island Turtle.
And that was with his chakra used in bursts—after all, within the village, he didn't dare draw too much from the tailed beast's chakra, so he could only teleport one step at a time.
"Yo, isn't that my freeloading teacher?"
"You still remember how to come back?"
Yugito, who had just gotten up, spotted Chizan and immediately greeted him.
"Here, this should last you for a while."
"I have a mission in three days and probably won't be back for a while."
"Here—this is your training notebook. It's got chakra usage techniques. I hope by the time I return, you've learned to control chakra properly."
"Oh, right—also this."
As he spoke, Chizan took out two more scrolls and placed them on the ground.
With a loud poof, one of the scrolls released a pile of weapons.
There were kunai, shuriken, and katana.
"Add shuriken practice to your training regimen. Also, make sure you learn to use the other weapons."
Yugito happily took the kunai and shuriken, a smile on her face.
The other scroll contained clothes, also prepared for her.
After finishing everything, Chizan felt more like a babysitter than a teacher.
"Thanks, sensei!"
"Now go on your mission—don't let me stop you!"
Having received gifts, Yugito directly shooed him away, leaving Chizan speechless.
"Hmph. Brat, if I come back and you haven't met my expectations, you're getting extra training."
"I'm out!"
Watching as Chizan vanished from sight, Yugito stuck out her tongue playfully and began sorting through the items he'd brought.
Can't deny it—Chizan was pretty good to her. Food, drinks, supplies—he brought everything.
...
Back in Konoha, Chizan went straight into lazy mode. After being out in the field for months, he was exhausted.
But before he could even rest, a red-haired girl barged into his house.
"Gekko Chizan, did you see Minato at the front lines?"
"How is he? Was he hurt?"
Seeing Kushina barge in, Chizan sighed in defeat.
"I just got back. Can't you cut me a break?"
"Minato is strong as hell, like a monkey on steroids. Who's gonna beat him? As long as he doesn't go looking for death, nothing will happen to him."
"After all, his Flying Thunder God is way better than mine." Chizan grumbled as he escorted her out.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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