"Damn Minato. He just took office and already starts ordering me around. This guy—once he became Hokage he completely forgot his friends."
"And what happened to 'if I ever rise to wealth and rank, I won't forget you'?"
"Hmph! When I get back, I'm absolutely teaching him a lesson!"
Gekko Chizan walked down the road with his wife Pakura in his arms, the three little ones following behind carrying the luggage.
Pakura let out a soft laugh at his words and comforted him:
"Alright, we're not the only ones being sent out on missions. Look, even Fugaku got dispatched."
"And plenty of other jōnin have already formed teams and gone out."
"The war's over—ninjas still need missions to make a living."
Her words made the three little ones nod repeatedly.
Kakashi and the others held no resentment at all—they hadn't gone on a mission with their teacher in a long time.
They were actually quite happy to go this time.
But Gekko Chizan was extremely unhappy, because this mission was not a normal mission.
It was the final curtain-closing ceremony of the war.
To deliver the ceasefire agreement to Kirigakure and bring back the signed documents from the Mizukage.
And what kind of place was Kirigakure???
The Village Hidden in Blood Mist!
Why did Gekko Chizan have to travel to a place like that? No—take a mission there!
Pakura really shouldn't have mentioned Fugaku earlier. The moment she did, he got even angrier.
Why did Uchiha Fugaku get to go to Iwagakure? Hm?
And why did Nara Shikoku, Akimichi Dōtō, and Yamanaka Heichi get to go to Sunagakure?
As for Kumogakure—Tsunade herself was going!
Every single place was better than Kirigakure!
Wait… Kirigakure?
Gekko Chizan suddenly looked toward Kakashi and Obito behind him.
That blazing stare made the two kids' hair stand on end.
"Chizan-sensei… what's with that look…?"
"I didn't do anything wrong…"
Uchiha Obito adjusted the backpack on his shoulders, suddenly far less confident.
Kakashi didn't speak, but his eyes were full of confusion.
Seeing this, Gekko Chizan withdrew his gaze and said calmly,
"Haven't seen you two for a while—you've gotten sturdier."
"Looks like the war brought you quite a bit of progress."
"Good. Keep it up—strive to become powerful ninjas."
Those words of affirmation made Kakashi and Obito exchange a happy look.
Which immediately made Rin a bit annoyed.
"Chizan-sensei, you're only praising those two. What about me?"
Hearing Rin's unhappy tone, Gekko Chizan laughed loudly, while Pakura shot him a glare and said:
"Rin, your teacher knows your progress very well—he just likes acting difficult."
"Don't mind him."
"The three of you are a team. You must inspire each other and grow together."
After spending so much time together, how could Rin possibly not understand her teacher's personality?
She knew very well he intentionally refused to compliment her.
He always let Pakura-sensei say the nice things.
This man—such a big troublemaker.
"Alright, let's hurry up."
"This time we have to take a boat to Kirigakure. Ugh—just thinking about all that mist makes me uncomfortable."
"I really don't understand how that village even survives."
In truth, Gekko Chizan wasn't happy about Kakashi and Obito because of their strength.
He was thinking about something else—what kind of gains Kirigakure could bring him.
He absolutely wouldn't make a trip to Kirigakure for nothing—he needed compensation.
This time, Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage, had given them plenty of time—after all, Konoha was the victorious side and needed to maintain its presence.
So Gekko Chizan took his time and moved leisurely along the way.
It took them three days just to walk from Konoha to the easternmost coastal city of the Land of Fire.
Seeing the boundless ocean before them, the three kids were overjoyed… but only for half a day.
Once they boarded the ship, they wanted nothing more than to run straight back to Konoha.
"Oh my god…"
"I feel awful…"
Uchiha Obito leaned over the railing, pale as death. Beside him were Kakashi and Rin.
None of them had ever been on a boat before—now that they were, they were horribly seasick.
Meanwhile, Gekko Chizan and Pakura sat calmly on deck eating fruit, completely unaffected.
"Hey, Kakashi, Obito, Rin—come have some watermelon."
"Hahahahaha, juicy juicy watermelon—so refreshing."
Hearing his words, the three kids felt a rush of nausea hit them, overwhelming them again.
They didn't even have the strength to complain—only to face the sea and begin another indescribable round of suffering.
[Ding! Sensed that the host doesn't even spare his own students. They're suffering so badly, yet you still tease them. Shameless. Special reward: physique +1.]
Hearing the familiar system notification while eating watermelon, Gekko Chizan felt wonderfully at ease.
He casually opened his status panel.
[Name: Gekko Chizan]
[Identity: Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, Konoha Jōnin, Clan Head of the Gekko Clan.]
[Trait: Vigorous Vitality, increased resilience.]
[Kekkei Genkai: Transparent Release, Crystal Release.]
[Ninjutsu Mastery: Fire Release, Water Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, Summoning, Sealing Techniques, Snake-style Techniques, taijutsu, Forbidden Techniques.]
[Sage Mode: Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode (exclusive!)]
[Tailed Beast: Seven-Tails Chōmei, affinity 100%. Tailed Beast Transformation progress: 100%. Tailed Beast Ball (mastered, optimization 70%, active skills: Grip Ability, Compressed Bomb, Tailed Beast Ball Beam). Tailed Beast Synchronization (chakra consumption −40%).]
[Base Attributes: strength 77, speed 85, chakra 96, physique 93, taijutsu 78, Genjutsu 85, hand seals 84.]
[Resistance: Six Paths Resistance 20%.]
[Ninjutsu Amplification: +50%, enhanced power and nature transformation.]
Seeing how slowly his stats were increasing, Gekko Chizan muttered inwardly, "Sigh, system… your rewards are getting stingier."
"At this rate, when will I ever get strong enough to stomp Uchiha Madara and kick Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?"
[Ding! Host, I really don't like hearing that.]
[Have you done anything earth-shattering recently? No, right?]
[Giving you even a little reward is already because you've been hardworking.]
[Don't be ungrateful!]
Hearing the system scold him, Gekko Chizan was speechless.
But the system was right—he really hadn't done anything big lately.
All because of those two bastards, Hanzo the Salamander and Danzo.
Thanks to them, he hadn't had the energy to grind rewards at all.
Thinking of this, Gekko Chizan put down his watermelon, stretched out a finger, and started drawing circles on the deck.
If they made his life difficult, then none of them would have it easy either!