[Ding! The system has detected that the host harbors the mindset of cheating, so this system is sanctioning you a little—deducting one percent from your enhanced One Thousand Years of Death!]
[Host! All rewards must be obtained through fair means! Trying to exploit system loopholes is impossible! This system is flawless! Absolutely will not give you such a chance! Give up!]
Gekko Chizan's loud laughter instantly vanished, replaced by a face full of irritation.
"Hey, system, you can't do this."
"How is this considered carding a BUG? Isn't One Thousand Years of Death invented by Hatake Sakumo?"
"I'm just attacking from the source—how can you deny that?"
[Hmph, don't think I don't know what you're plotting! Absolutely impossible! Be honest and go poke people with One Thousand Years of Death yourself.]
[Thinking about shortcuts? Don't even dream about it!]
Gekko Chizan was completely dumbfounded. He never expected that in this day and age, even carding a BUG wouldn't work.
Fine. Since this road doesn't work, he'll just switch to another one. It's not like he must card a BUG.
With a mindset of "as long as I profit, it's fine," Gekko Chizan hummed a little tune as he headed home.
Completely forgetting the Hatake Sakumo who was breathing fire because of the spice.
Hatake Sakumo: Kid! You're done for! Completely done for!
Gekko Chizan: Huh? I don't know anything. Don't talk nonsense. I'll call the security squad to arrest you! You're framing me!
Originally, Gekko Chizan didn't take the matter to heart.
But when he arrived for ninja reporting the next day, he understood—this day might not go well.
...
On the training field, Hatake Sakumo arrived at the stands wearing the same mask as Kakashi.
In front of him were all the teachers and students.
No one knew what he planned to do.
Only Pakura seemed to understand something. Standing beside Gekko Chizan, she whispered:
"You didn't offend the principal, did you?"
"I don't like his posture… something's off."
"Look at his eyes—he keeps sweeping them toward us. He's clearly not looking at me. It can only be you."
Gekko Chizan didn't need Pakura's words—he already felt the man-eating gaze coming from Hatake Sakumo.
Even though Sakumo wasn't looking at him directly, those sweeping glances were even more terrifying.
This made him panic inwardly: That old man definitely wants revenge. Otherwise, why such a huge setup?
Since he became the principal of the Ninja Academy, there had been no more than five scenes this formal.
And this one was the most abrupt—no warning at all. He simply ordered everyone to gather on the field for a speech.
How could this not be related to him?
Gekko Chizan's danger sense was second to none—he knew something was wrong.
Soon, his vigilance spiked even further as Hatake Sakumo began to speak.
"Teachers, students."
"Gathering everyone today—there is nothing else."
"As everyone knows, the Third Shinobi World War has ended, and our Konoha has achieved an extremely glorious victory."
As his words fell, everyone's face showed excitement and fervor.
In all their hearts was the same belief: their village, facing attacks from the other four villages, not only won but repelled every invader head-on.
This undoubtedly showed the village's strength.
"And one of the heroes of the Third Shinobi World War is a teacher at our school."
"The Hidden Curriculum instructor—Gekko Chizan, one of Konoha's Twin Stars."
"Come, let him tell us about his glorious history."
Hatake Sakumo spoke slowly, but when he said Gekko Chizan's name and "glorious history," he deliberately emphasized the words.
Those who knew his temper—such as taijutsu teacher Chen—immediately understood.
As someone who became famous even earlier than Hatake Sakumo, he knew the man well.
The Hatake clan is a samurai family, and Hatake Sakumo is upright and unwavering, but that does not mean he has no temper.
On the contrary, his temper is huge! Anyone who angers him faces one solution—one slash!
And judging from the situation, the one who angered him was Gekko Chizan.
Meaning—there was going to be a show.
Chen smiled as he waited for the situation to escalate.
He himself had gone to the battlefield again in this war and crushed Kirigakure's arrogance on the Land of Hot Water front.
He even took in two disciples—one big, one small. Hehehe. Suddenly, he felt that living a little longer wasn't so bad.
Gekko Chizan looked at the many eyes staring at him and nearly cursed Hatake Sakumo to death in his heart.
The old geezer knew he hated being in the spotlight, yet forced him to give a speech.
He was sure this was only step one. The old fox definitely had more traps prepared.
But right now, he had no choice but to step onto the stage—everyone was waiting.
He walked onto the stage, standing where Hatake Sakumo stood moments before, while the latter had already stepped aside.
Gekko Chizan remained hyper-alert, feeling something was off.
"Everyone, don't listen to the principal."
"I'm just an ordinary ninja—my strength is only slightly above average, and my luck just happens to be slightly good."
"If you want to talk about achievements, whether it's Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, or our current Hokage-sama, all contributed far more than I did."
Gekko Chizan smiled politely while speaking. He was an expert at hiding himself—he absolutely refused to expose himself in front of so many eyes.
But the crowd wasn't buying it. Even his wife Pakura covered her face, unable to watch.
This nonsense was as fake as fake gets.
Could someone without strength fight Salamander Hanzō head-on?
Even children knew how strong that man was.
Without overwhelming strength, how could one face him?
And the story of the Five-Snake Summoning on the Land of Rivers battlefield had already spread through every corner of Konoha. Those glorious deeds were real—no matter how much Gekko Chizan denied them, they could not be erased.
"Chizan-sensei! Stop talking nonsense!"
"Your strength is obvious to everyone!"
"Exactly! Don't be so humble!"
Seeing the crowd disbelieve him, Gekko Chizan could only keep talking with a stiff smile.
"Actually, when fighting Salamander Hanzō, it was also pure accident. The Five-Snake Summoning was just a coincidence."
The audience burst into laughter. Hatake Sakumo's lips curled upward. This was only step one of his plan.
Damn Gekko Chizan—making him eat that pepper and swelling his lips!
If not for that, he wouldn't need this mask! He was going to reclaim his dignity today!
How could the White Fang of Konoha endure humiliation? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
"Chizan-sensei, stop being modest. Excessive modesty becomes pretense."
"Your strength is known to all—please speak honestly, alright?"