Gekko Chizan forcibly suppressed the irritation in his heart and continued listening to the Daimyō deliver his speech.
"This kind of fallen clan is often the easiest to buy off."
"And I've heard that this Gekko Chizan, while powerful, is greedy and lecherous—an easy target!"
"My Daimyō estate lacks everything except money! As long as the price is right, I'm sure he'll join my ranks!"
Honestly, in Chizan's eyes, the Daimyō actually looked somewhat dashing when he said that.
After all, people who are willing to spend money… always look cool!
Even though he currently had five hundred million ryō, who would ever complain about having too much money?
Despite being an intelligence operative, a member of Konoha's Anbu, and even a squad leader Jōnin—there's no rule that says someone like him can't make some extra cash on the side, right?
He was working for the Land of Fire either way. Earning a bit of side income under the Daimyō wasn't such a bad option.
"That's true, but isn't he a bit too young?"
"I still suggest we find someone more steady. The team hasn't fully formed yet, and we need a solid leader."
Before he could finish his sentence, the Daimyō waved a hand and interrupted, his voice full of confidence.
"I know. Don't worry. I have a plan."
"You guys go try contacting him. Especially you, Yukimura."
"You're in charge of the castle's security anyway. Find some time to test the waters with him."
The white-robed elder Yukimura nodded and accepted the task.
Seeing the meeting wrap up, Gekko Chizan had no reason to stick around. He used Flying Thunder God to return directly to the courtyard the Daimyō had arranged for them.
"Kakashi, Obito, Rin, I'm back."
"Alright, let's assign the missions."
The moment they heard Gekko Chizan's voice, the three of them snapped to attention.
"Kakashi, you and Rin go set up the perimeter defense around the castle."
"Rin, you—"
[Ding! Due to the host's instigation, Kushina has already prepared to welcome Minato back to the village. Preparations include: ropes, handcuffs, and a number of indescribable items. In light of Minato's soon-to-be 'tragic' return, special reward: Ninjutsu +4!]
Gekko Chizan immediately felt a surge of energy pour into his body, but that wasn't what shocked him.
What shocked him was… is Kushina planning to completely drain Minato?
Good god, that many indescribable things? This is going way beyond the limit!
Before he could even react, a second notification followed.
[Ding! Host's Ninjutsu attribute has reached 100—the numerical peak—activating Ninjutsu Power Boost and Nature Transformation. Original Ninjutsu stat is now converted to Ninjutsu Amplification.]
Oh my god, he finally maxed out one of his attributes! Power boost? Nature transformation? Looks like there's a limit to base values, but no limit to amplification, huh?
Just as Gekko Chizan was about to open his status panel and take a look, Rin's voice pulled him back to reality.
"Chizan-sensei?"
"Chizan-sensei, what's wrong? You were about to tell me what to do!"
Looking at Rin's anxious face, and the curious expressions on Kakashi and Obito, Gekko Chizan quickly coughed twice to ease the awkwardness.
"Uh, Rin, I just remembered I have something to take care of. You go with Kakashi and Obito to finish setting up the perimeter."
"Once you're done, the three of you return to the residence and wait for me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gekko Chizan used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared before the trio's eyes.
The move left the three of them dumbfounded.
"What's with Chizan-sensei? Did something trigger him? Why is he acting all jittery?"
Obito wiped his goggles, his voice full of confusion.
Kakashi nodded without thinking and said something no one could argue with.
"I've always thought Chizan-sensei was a bit jittery. Especially when he smiles—it makes your hair stand on end."
"And don't forget that One Thousand Years of Death of his. Tsk tsk… It's better to stay on his good side, or risk getting strung up."
Hearing them complain, Rin grumbled in annoyance:
"You two just keep talking behind Chizan-sensei's back. If he finds out, you're both dead!"
"Alright, let's go set up the perimeter already!"
Kakashi and Obito exchanged glances, and from the look in each other's eyes, one thing was clear:
Absolutely never mess with Gekko Chizan! No—never mess with someone with mental issues!
Meanwhile, Gekko Chizan was completely unaware of how highly his students 'praised' him.
At the moment, he had found a tall building and was crouching on the rooftop, gazing at his status panel.
And with just one look, Gekko Chizan fell into deep thought.
The main panel hadn't changed much—only the Ninjutsu section had.
Ninjutsu Amplification: 10 (After reaching 100 in Ninjutsu, the stat becomes Amplification 10. All Ninjutsu power increases by 10%, and Nature Transformation difficulty decreases by 10%)
The power boost part was easy to understand.
But the Nature Transformation improvement left Gekko Chizan puzzled.
Shape Transformation and Nature Transformation were both methods of enhancing Ninjutsu.
Shape Transformation strengthened Ninjutsu by changing the form of chakra.
For example, in the future, Sasuke turned Chidori into Chidori Stream and Chidori Blade.
But Nature Transformation was much harder. In the original, only Naruto succeeded—turning the Rasengan into the Rasenshuriken, which boosted its power from an A-rank to an S-rank. That was a massive leap, and throughout the series, Naruto was the only one who pulled it off.
Nature Transformation was a true qualitative leap, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—it was that difficult.
"I've got four chakra natures. By logic, I should be able to learn the Rasengan. And if that doesn't work, I'll just make a Rasenshuriken myself."
"It just needs Sage Mode support, right? I've got that too!"
Just thinking about the terrifying power of Rasenshuriken made Gekko Chizan's eyes shine.
A plan quickly formed in his mind. He already knew the secret behind the Rasengan. He could start training as soon as he got back—and when he mastered it, Minato would probably die of jealousy! Then his stats would go up and up!
But apart from the Wind Release nature transformation, he had no clue how to handle the other three natures.
Gekko Chizan decided not to think too hard—he'd just take it one step at a time. Casually, he activated Insect Vision to locate Kakashi and the others.
Seeing the three of them setting up perimeter defenses around the castle, he nodded in satisfaction.
Though he had been away from the village for a while, with Pakura's help in training them, the three had clearly made significant progress.
Soon, night fell. The trio and Gekko Chizan all returned to their residence and enjoyed the Daimyō estate's lavish meals.
"Tsk tsk, this really is the Daimyō estate—the food's ridiculously good."
Gekko Chizan was completely enchanted as he munched on tempura.
The three students were in the same state—just short of chewing off their own tongues.