Relying on his jutsu, he returned to Konoha's original encampment.
However, the moment he landed, he realized everything had changed.
Where were the tents?
Where was the campfire?
Why was everything gone???
Not only were those things missing, but the area was a complete mess—clearly the aftermath of a fierce battle.
The smell of gunpowder hung thick in the air.
At the same time, he suddenly felt dozens of gazes lock onto him.
"Hmm? There's still a Konoha ninja here? Kill him!"
"No—wait! That face! He's Konoha's Ghost! Everyone, attack together!"
"Slaughter him!"
"Earth Release!"
Gekko Chizan stared at the rain of kunai, swords, explosive tags, rocks, and fire raining toward him—his entire body stiffened.
He had only left for… what, a little over half a month?
What the hell happened here???
Facing the overwhelming barrage, Gekko Chizan quickly dodged while his eyes scanned the area.
Finally, in one corner, he spotted a kunai—it was his special kunai used for the jutsu.
That made him even more confused. If he remembered correctly, he'd left that kunai in Tsunade's care.
So why was it lying on the ground???
Damn it, Tsunade—you've betrayed my trust!
"Die!"
"Konoha's Ghost!"
The furious shouts of the Iwagakure shinobi never stopped.
Until all their attacks came crashing down.
"Boom!"
An explosion erupted, flames engulfing the spot where Gekko Chizan had been standing.
The shockwave kicked up a storm of dust and debris.
"Did we get him?"
"Not sure—where's the sensor ninja?!"
The smoke was too thick, and the surrounding shinobi didn't dare to rush in. Even if his reputation wasn't as fearsome as the Yellow Flash's, Gekko Chizan still represented the pinnacle of Konoha's younger generation.
They approached cautiously.
"No, he's not in the smoke."
"He's above!"
During wartime, sensor-type ninja always moved with the unit. Very soon, one of them pinpointed Chizan's chakra.
Everyone looked up.
Gekko Chizan had leapt high into the sky, clutching his kunai.
It was obvious—when facing that barrage of attacks earlier, he had wrapped the kunai with chakra and thrown it upward, then activated Flying Thunder God to teleport himself into the air.
"Damn… looks like the camp fell while I was gone."
"Where did they retreat to, I wonder?"
Chizan's gaze swept across the distant horizon. They were already deep within the Land of Fire's territory, and he could hardly believe that the army led by Tsunade and Jiraiya had actually been defeated by a bunch of Iwagakure shinobi.
What kind of nonsense was this?
"Oh? Hehehe… So you're Konoha's Ghost?"
"I didn't see you earlier, but I didn't expect to run into you now. Let me see for myself how strong the other half of Konoha's Twin Stars really is."
A cold voice echoed from below.
Immediately, a deep purple miasma spread upward, blanketing the sky.
The Iwagakure shinobi below scattered in every direction the instant they saw the poisonous cloud, terrified of getting caught in it.
Gekko Chizan's expression darkened instantly. That single technique was enough to tell him why Konoha's camp had collapsed.
Damn that Ōnoki—he actually dragged Amegakure into this war!
There had to be some kind of filthy deal behind this. Otherwise, with Hanzō the Salamander's personality, how could he possibly agree to help Iwagakure!?
"Chōmei, use your scale powder to numb my body—Hanzō's poison isn't to be taken lightly."
"Hmph! This little bit of poison? Hardly worth worrying about. Don't hold back, Chizan—just pound him! Leave the rest to me!"
Chōmei released chakra, coating Chizan's entire body with scale powder, using poison to counter poison and prevent the toxin from invading his system.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A fierce gust roared out, blowing the poisonous cloud away in an instant. Chizan finally laid eyes on the man before him—the one who had earned the title of "demigod" purely through his own strength.
The leader of Amegakure, Hanzō the Salamander.
Wearing his iconic gas mask, Hanzō radiated the aura of a seasoned warrior.
"Oh? You resisted my poison? Impressive."
"I've heard you're Orochimaru's disciple. Let's see how much of your teacher's skill you've inherited."
"Salamander: Ibuse!"
The ground trembled violently. A gigantic salamander burst forth from the earth, and Hanzō leapt onto its head, looking down at the falling Gekko Chizan.
When Chizan landed and saw Hanzō atop that enormous creature, his face twisted with irritation.
"Tch. You're this old, and you're still running around battlefields?"
"What did Ōnoki offer you to make you crawl out here?"
"At your age, wouldn't staying home be a lot more comfortable than all this nonsense?"
"Fire Release: Hiding in Ash and Dust Technique!"
Scorching hot smoke erupted from Chizan's mouth, spreading over a massive area—its reach nearly matched the poison cloud from earlier.
Seeing this, Hanzō's eyes widened slightly. He hadn't expected this brat to produce a jutsu of that scale.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A torrent of water surged upward around him. As a demigod, Hanzō's power wasn't limited to poison alone.
His gas mask allowed him to breathe underwater, and his control over Water Release surpassed anyone's.
Fire and water clashed violently once again, both sides pouring more chakra into their techniques.
"Damn, this old man's power is insane."
"His Water Release is on par with the Third Mizukage's."
Chizan watched as his scorching smoke was slowly pushed back. He could only sigh—why was it that every time he ran into someone, it was always a Water Release prodigy?
"This isn't over yet."
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Hanzō formed hand seals again, and from the Great Waterfall surged a massive water dragon that burst through the smoke, lunging straight at Chizan.
"Old man, I'm done fighting you. Just wait—give me a few days, and I'll personally send you back home to Amegakure!"
"You and I have a score to settle!"
"Crystal Release: Crystallization! Mirror Image Clone!"
Crystals rapidly formed, freezing the water dragon mid-air, while countless crystal clones emerged and charged toward Hanzō.
Meanwhile, Gekko Chizan activated Transparent Release and vanished before everyone's eyes.
"Sensor ninja! Find him!"
"Drag him out!"
The surrounding Iwagakure shinobi couldn't join the fight, but seeing Chizan disappear, they shouted anxiously.
Soon, they received a response that left them stunned.
"Can't sense him!"
"He's gone!"
Only then did they truly understand why Gekko Chizan was called Konoha's Ghost.
His invisibility kekkei genkai completely ignored sensory ninjutsu—appearing and vanishing without a trace.
It reminded them of their own Second Tsuchikage, Mū-sama...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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