In recent years, the Daimyō's Manor had become increasingly brazen. Not only had they aggressively snatched ninja missions from the Land of Fire, but they had even gone so far as to suppress Konohagakure's other industries. This had led to a split within the ninjas of the Land of Fire, dividing them into two major factions.
The number of ninja units established by the Daimyō's Manor grew daily. Even Kazuyama Gekkō had to admit, Kazuma was daring—he truly had the audacity to act on his plans.
A while back, Rin mentioned she had visited the Daimyō's Manor, but the reception she received was terrible.
"Remember, she's your student. The attitude of the Daimyō's Manor toward the village is getting worse by the day," Pakura said, frowning.
As a sensei in Konohagakure, Pakura naturally cared deeply for the village's well-being. Over the years, she had trained countless students, many of whom had become competent ninjas. This brought her a sense of fulfillment she had never known before.
"Enough about the Daimyō's Manor," Kazuyama Gekkō said, brushing the matter aside. "Minato handles all the trouble anyway. I just run errands."
"Class is over. I'm off duty."
"I'm heading to Takigakure. Don't wait for me for dinner."
Pakura shot him a sharp look. This guy treated the Flying Thunder God Technique and chakra like they were nothing.
...
Takigakure Village. Kazuyama Gekkō teleported directly from Konoha using the Flying Thunder God Technique. Over the past few years, he had spent considerable time relentlessly grinding for rewards.
Finally, he had maxed out every attribute except Taijutsu.
[Name: Kazuyama Gekkō]
[Status: Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, Konoha Jōnin, Gekkō Clan Head.]
[Traits: Vigorous Vitality, Enhanced Damage Resistance.]
[Kekkei Genkai: Transparent Escape Technique, Crystal Release]
[Mastered Ninjutsu: Fire Release, Water Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, Summoning Technique, Fūinjutsu, Ninja Art (Snake), Taijutsu, Kinjutsu]
[Senjutsu: Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu (Unique Transformation!)]
[Tailed Beast: Seven-Tails Chōmei, Shikabane, Affinity 100%, Tailed Beast Transformation Progress: 100%, Tailed Beast Ball (Mastered, Activates Passive Skills: Handheld Ability, Compressed Bomb, Tailed Beast Ball Beam, Tailed Beast Ball Dragon Star Cluster), Tailed Beast Synchronization (Reduced Chakra Consumption).]
[Base Attributes: Strength 100, Speed 100, Chakra 100, Constitution 100, Taijutsu 95, Genjutsu 100, Hand Seals 100.]
[Active Abilities: Chakra Recovery, Yin Healing Wound Destruction (Passive), Light as a Swallow, Strength Doubling, Genjutsu Immunity (Immune to all Genjutsu below B-rank; Genjutsu above A-rank reduced by 70%!), Clap to Summon!]
[Resistances: Six Paths Resistance 45%.]
[Ninjutsu Amplification: 90%. Enhances ninjutsu power and produces Nature Transformation.]
Kazuyama Gekkō had transformed into a human-shaped beast. The emergence of various passive abilities made him radiate an aura of overwhelming power, even while standing still.
"Yahiko, any new intel?"
"Kazuyama, you're here. Nope. Both Akatsuki and Danzō are hiding their tracks well."
Kazuyama Gekkō regularly visited villages like Takigakure or Amegakure, always on the lookout for valuable intelligence. Over the years, his network had spread across nearly the entire Ninja World, reaching even the most remote villages.
Take, for instance, Nadeshiko Village and Hoshigakure.
Funny enough, Kazuyama Gekkō had once visited Nadeshiko Village himself—only to be chased out.
His eyes had widened in astonishment at the sight, but when he mentioned he was married, they immediately assumed he was trouble. They chased him out, punching him along the way.
As for Star Ninja Village, he had zero interest. Those ninjas cultivated techniques using meteorites from beyond the heavens. Such special techniques, relying on external forces, placed immense strain on the body. To him, they were nothing but defective products.
"Damn, are Uchiha Madara and Danzō both born under the rat sign?" Kazuyama Gekkō muttered, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table. "How the hell do they keep dodging?"
He sat there, his thoughts racing. He couldn't help it—two lingering threats still unresolved, and he couldn't shake the unease that gnawed at him.
"Chiyama, if I recall correctly, you mentioned the Three Great Sage Regions to me," Yahiko said. "Among them, the Great Toad Sage who leads Mount Myōboku—where Jiraiya trained—isn't he a prophet?"
Yahiko's words snapped Kazuyama Gekkō to attention. "Right! Yahiko, you're spot on. If we can't find them, we'll seek someone who can."
"The Frog Sage of Mount Myōboku's prophecies are one lead. The White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave knows everything about the Ninja World. I'll go find her!"
Kazuyama Gekkō had been searching aimlessly for years, flying from place to place, trying to track down his enemies. But no matter where he went, he couldn't find either of the two groups. Perhaps his obsession had led him down the wrong path.
Fortunately, Yahiko's timely reminder had averted many potential pitfalls.
"Oh, right—how's the response from Terumi?" Kazuyama Gekkō asked, shifting the topic. "Has contact been established with the Village Hidden in the Mist?"
Despite being far from the Village Hidden in the Mist, the Village Hidden in the Waterfall maintained good communication channels with them. Terumi had returned to the Village Hidden in the Mist under Kazuyama Gekkō's orders, tasked with connecting it to his other territories.
"No reply yet. Probably busy over there," Yahiko said with a shrug. "Even with Samui assigned to it, organizing such a large village will be overwhelming for Terumi."
Yahiko gestured to the piles of documents on his desk. "You're both working hard. And about Nagato..."
Kazuyama Gekkō's expression darkened at the mention of Nagato.
"I will avenge Nagato. If that damned Uchiha hadn't deceived him, Nagato wouldn't have died for him," he said firmly.
When they first heard the news of Nagato's death, both Yahiko and Konan were devastated. Everything they had worked for was to find Nagato, yet no one could have predicted that their friend would die. Worse still, he had died in a confrontation with Kazuyama Gekkō.
It was clear that Nagato had been manipulated—ultimately, it was the fault of that Uchiha.
"Alright. I'll be heading to the Land of Fire Daimyō's Manor in a few days," Kazuyama Gekkō said after a long pause. "Just handle the situation with Kirigakure as best you can."
"Oh, right. Any news on the revival of the Five-Tails and One-Tails? And the Three-Tails too?"
Kazuyama Gekkō had been keeping a close eye on the revival of the tailed beasts. After all, the tailed beasts were Akatsuki's primary objective. Reviving the Ten-Tails required collecting all the beasts, and the Three-Tails, One-Tails, and Five-Tails were crucial.
"The One-Tailed Beast already has a Jinchūriki," Yahiko replied. "The son of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. Gaara."
"There was intelligence earlier about the Five-Tailed Beast being spotted in the mountains of the Land of Earth, but the specifics are unclear."
Kazuyama Gekkō nodded, processing the information.
"No news on the Three-Tailed Beast," Yahiko added, looking up at him.
Kazuyama Gekkō's eyes narrowed, his thoughts drifting back to his main objective. It was all coming together, slowly but surely.