"No, Chizan, we're here to pick up a mission."
"Why are we going to the hot springs? If you want to take a bath, just find a river later, right?"
"If that's too much trouble, I can help you with Water Release?"
Yahiko was still just a simple-minded kid, and because of the war, he had no experience in enjoying any sort of leisure.
But who was Gekko Chizan?
This was a guy whose head was filled with nothing but happy times. And now, with a beautiful girl on his team, when else would he go to the hot springs if not now?
"Come on, as a friend, it's just a bath, right?"
"My treat! Let's go, let's go!"
Gekko Chizan grabbed Yahiko and dragged him toward the bathhouse.
The people behind them looked at each other, but followed anyway. After all, since it rained all year in Amegakure, they still quite enjoyed soaking in a hot spring.
It could relieve fatigue, relax the body and mind—a pretty good way to de-stress.
It was just that their situation before had been rough, and as for money… well, let's not even talk about that.
"But Yahiko, you guys are a squad after all, doing missions together. Your pay shouldn't be that little, right?"
"Why are you all so poor?"
When they entered the bathhouse, Gekko Chizan paid the fee. His eyes kept sneaking glances toward Konan, but to avoid exposing his true intentions, he started chatting with Yahiko about their experiences.
The others all sighed when they heard this.
That surprised Gekko Chizan a bit.
One person sighing was fine, but nine people sighing together?
That was interesting.
"Chizan, you weren't in Amegakure, so you don't know."
"After the Second Great Ninja War, Amegakure was in a terrible state. The last war practically emptied all of the village's reserves."
"After the war, Hanzō drastically cut mission rewards to stockpile strategic supplies for the village."
"So now, we only get about half the original pay for missions—sometimes even less."
Yahiko's face showed his dissatisfaction with the village's policy, but there was nothing he could do. After all, he and his companions still needed to survive.
As ninja, the only reliable way to make money was through missions.
...
Having stepped into the men's bath, Gekko Chizan could no longer see Konan, so he turned his attention back to Yahiko.
Thinking about his situation, Gekko Chizan understood it well.
After all, Amegakure had directly launched the Second Great Ninja War, and Hanzō the Salamander had faced Sunagakure, and Konoha all on his own.
"Sigh, look at you—your brain really doesn't work, does it?"
Gekko Chizan looked at him with utter disappointment, leaving Yahiko completely confused.
What was wrong with him now?
"Why insist on staying in Amegakure? Don't you know that if you just step out of the Land of Rain, no matter where you go, with your skills, you'd have no problem making money?"
"Take me, for example. Along the way, both the Land of Birds to the west and the Land of Frost to the north are great places."
"While they don't have official ninja mission halls, the daimyos themselves directly hire people, saving a lot on commission fees."
Yahiko began taking off his clothes as he replied:
"But we're Amegakure ninja. Doing that would be betraying our country. We can't."
"I have to change the state of the Land of Rain and Amegakure with my own strength."
"No matter how bitter or tiring it gets."
Gekko Chizan was speechless to the extreme.
He suddenly understood why in the original story Nagato and Konan had to pull Kakuzu into the organization.
Strength was one thing, but another big reason was that Akatsuki was dirt poor.
The Land of Rain was tiny—why were they so stubborn about staying here?
"Fine, you guys go enjoy your bath. I'll go buy some sake and join you later."
"Alright, Chizan, thank you."
Yahiko was genuinely grateful to Gekko Chizan for looking out for them. Even though he couldn't accept his suggestion, the gratitude was real.
Gekko Chizan just waved his hand, then put on a bathrobe and headed toward the counter.
Little did they know, the moment he stepped outside, he slipped off to the side with a perverted grin on his face.
"Hehehehe..."
When no one was around, Transparent Release activated. Gekko Chizan carefully snuck toward the women's bath.
...
By now, Konan and Yugito had already changed and entered the bath.
"Yugito, how long have you known your teacher?"
"For a while now. Why, Konan-san?"
Since it was daytime, there weren't many people in the women's bath.
Yugito grabbed Konan and took the best spot she could find.
The two of them, one big and one small, entered the comfortable bath together.
Gekko Chizan had also found the perfect spot. Through the faint steam—
Wow.
The girl with the light blue hair radiated youthfulness.
If only the little one next to her could make things a bit more exciting.
Like, maybe accidentally dropping a bathrobe or something…
At that moment, Gekko Chizan wished he knew the Mind Body Switch Technique.
Ah, what a perfect jutsu for times like this.
No, if only he had the Byakugan…
That would be even better.
Tsk.
Say what you will, Konan was still young, but her figure… top-notch.
As expected, her usual outfit really ruined her looks.
Now that she was in the bathhouse, everything was revealed.
And with that hint of cold aloofness in her expression—absolutely stunning.
"Nothing, just that the Ghost of Konoha—you actually became his student?"
"Is his strength really that great?"
Admiring strength was normal, especially for someone like Konan who had grown up amid war.
And Gekko Chizan wasn't even much older than them, yet his strength was already famous across the ninja world.
Yugito relaxed in the warm spring, tilted her little head, and smiled faintly.
"Him? He's only a little strong. When I grow up, I'll definitely crush him!"
As Yugito made fighting gestures like she was already defeating Gekko Chizan, Konan couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
When she raised her hand, Gekko Chizan felt like his eyes were in heaven.
He thought:
Good disciple! Keep going!
"But it might be hard. My teacher might be unreliable sometimes, but his strength is very real."
"Just take his Flying Thunder God—ordinary people can't even fight back against him, not to mention his other jutsu are all insanely powerful too."
"And on top of that… tch, whatever, I'll definitely surpass him someday!"
"Right, Matatabi?"
That last line was spoken by Yugito in her heart to Matatabi.
Matatabi smiled gently, her voice full of encouragement.
"Yes, Yugito will definitely become a strong shinobi. Then we'll crush Gekko Chizan and Chōmei together."
Konan's smile faded.
She really liked this little girl Yugito.
Looking at her felt like seeing her younger self.
But she had to admit—Yugito was far luckier than she ever was.
Meeting someone as strong as Gekko Chizan…
That was a blessing.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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