Gekko Chizan shrugged, looking completely unfazed, and the moment he opened his mouth, he went straight into full humble-brag mode.
"No, no, Hokage-sama, you're joking."
"My tiny bit of ability is nothing compared to you. You're the famous ninjutsu professor—not only overwhelmingly strong but also the one who trained the legendary 'Sannin.'"
"Seriously, who doesn't know your reputation?"
Rainbow-level flattery. Absolute rainbow-level flattery. After this barrage of praise, look at how happy Sarutobi Hiruzen is smiling.
Look at how Danzo's face has turned pitch-black like the bottom of a pot, and look at the two advisors and the ANBU captain next to him, their expressions utterly speechless.
"Enough. You don't need to flatter him, and you don't need to butter him up."
"What exactly did you do in Amegakure? Amegakure is now completely locked down, and we want more information."
Turning the topic back to the battle in Amegakure again, Koharu Utatane forced the conversation into place, making Gekko Chizan click his tongue inwardly and curse silently: old fox.
Feeling the gazes of everyone in the room—and even Sarutobi Hiruzen had stopped smiling, watching him seriously—Gekko Chizan knew he wasn't escaping this.
He could only begin his performance.
"Alright, alright. Since you're all so curious, I'll make it short."
"First, I used a sparrow-style harassment tactic. I used Transparent Release to sneak in and unleashed a wave of Serpent Swarm inside Hanzō's fortress."
"You all know my summoning technique—tch, it's all snakes. I gave Hanzō's castle a complete cleaning."
"And that wasn't all—I planted trap seals and explosive tags on the snakes. Tch."
If he was going to tell the story, then he might as well make it hair-raising. Didn't they want entertainment?
Then let them hear it properly.
As expected, the moment Gekko Chizan mentioned the serpent swarm assault, the expressions of everyone—including Sarutobi Hiruzen—shifted dramatically.
In those gazes were speechlessness, helplessness, but mostly shock and disbelief.
Even without mind-reading, Gekko Chizan knew exactly what they were thinking: this kid truly refuses to act like a human being.
And he wasn't finished.
"That was just the first time. I rested for a few days afterward—summoning that many snakes is exhausting."
"Of course Hanzō's people also had to clean up the snake corpses."
"A few days later, I visited again. But this time, I didn't use the snake swarm. Instead… heh-heh."
Halfway through speaking, Gekko Chizan pulled out an empty bottle and placed it on the table.
"Here—this is the potion I got from Orochimaru earlier. It attracts bugs extremely effectively, and the range it affects is huge."
"I sprinkled the entire potion throughout Hanzō's fortress."
"Then I waited for the insects to blanket his castle, and only then did I act. Using Crystal Release, I gave Hanzō's castle a 'makeover.'"
As he said this, Gekko Chizan pressed his right hand on Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk and used Crystal Release to transform it into a unicorn sculpture.
The completely transparent crystal sparkled brilliantly.
But everyone's expressions became even more exquisite. Even Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane's lips began twitching.
They desperately wanted to pry open Gekko Chizan's skull and see how his brain was built.
What kind of rotten ideas are these?!
Stuffing someone's home full of bugs?
Then giving the place a crystal remodel?
If Hanzō managed to stay calm, that would be the real miracle. Who could accept some brat barging into their home to release snakes, release bugs, and redecorate the place?
And worse—the remodel was invisible from inside!
"After that operation, I figured Hanzō would definitely increase his defenses, so I stopped for a while."
"But since I was idle, I went to the black market to take some missions."
"What happened after that, you already know, so I won't repeat it."
"When I returned to Amegakure, I didn't even bother pretending. I went straight in with Transparent Release and attacked Hanzō's fortress head-on."
"A dignified demi-god of the ninja world—using any other method to greet him would be disrespectful. Then we fought."
"That's it!"
Listen to that. Is that even something a person says?
Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth twitched violently. He shoved his pipe into his mouth, took a sharp puff, trying to forcefully cover his embarrassment.
But he was already speechless.
This brat knew Hanzō was a demi-god, yet he still pulled that entire series of stunts? Forget Hanzō—if he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had been the target, he would have personally hunted Gekko Chizan down!
"Cough—cough—cough…"
He got so worked up that he actually choked on his own smoke, erupting into a round of coughing. But that coughing fit snapped the others back to their senses.
One by one, they stared at Gekko Chizan with indescribable expressions.
If they had to describe it, then to them, Gekko Chizan was no longer a human—he truly lived up to his nickname as a ghost.
No—worse. A demon.
Utterly heartless. Utterly without bottom line.
Just because Hanzō had targeted him on the battlefield, what happened?
He volunteered to go to Amegakure, and after his series of disasters, Hanzō probably wouldn't calm down for years.
"Alright, Chizan, you completed your mission excellently."
"Next, you can rest for a while in the village. The ninja academy still needs you to continue teaching."
"Shikaku has complained more than once about me stealing such an outstanding instructor."
Gekko Chizan grinned. He knew the remaining conversation had nothing to do with him, so he simply left the Hokage's office.
Once he left, Sarutobi Hiruzen took another drag of his pipe.
"You all heard it. Gekko Chizan completed this mission very well."
"Although the process was a bit… ah, forget it. The mission was completed."
For ninja, finishing the mission was the priority. Regardless of the methods, Gekko Chizan had perfectly accomplished the harassment mission in Amegakure.
"Hmph. A bunch of disgraceful methods."
"Hiruzen, this is your so-called promising young backbone of the village? He looks more like a hooligan!"
"I still recommend transferring Gekko Chizan under my command. I'll teach him what a real ninja should be!"
Danzo's face had been black since the moment Gekko Chizan opened his mouth, and he finally spoke up.
But his words didn't make Sarutobi Hiruzen lash out.
Because even Hiruzen felt that Gekko Chizan's methods were a bit… how to put it… unsightly.
Blocking someone's front door with snakes, bugs, and crystal decorations—was that something a normal person did?
Still, Gekko Chizan was under his side, and Hiruzen had to protect him.
At worst, he'd ask Shinnosuke to give him some proper discipline.
"Danzo, forget it. Gekko Chizan is already part of the ANBU. Guiding him should naturally be handled by ANBU."
"You just focus on raising your own Root operatives properly."