Konoha Hokage Office Building, conference room.
It was still the familiar Konoha Council, but this time, Tsunade was also there.
Gekko Chizan was clutching the Sword of the Thunder God for dear life, grinning so widely he looked like his face might split. The sight was as ridiculous as it could be.
"Alright, the Sword of the Thunder God is yours. You don't need to look like that."
"Tch, I still don't know if giving you my grand-uncle's weapon is a good thing or a bad thing. Hmph."
Tsunade looked at Gekko Chizan with great disdain—this brat really had no shame.
It was just a weapon, was it worth all this?
"Hey, hey, hey, you're just a full man who doesn't know what it's like to starve. I'm just a pitiful jōnin with no real offensive means and no good weapon. Finally, I've got my hands on the Sword of the Thunder God. You could never understand my joy!"
Gekko Chizan's words left everyone present speechless.
Koharu Utatane could only shake her head helplessly.
"Alright, the weapon is yours now. But I hope you won't waste it. You have to understand—this was the personal sword of the Second Hokage. If it weren't for your merits in protecting the daimyō, and the fact that the daimyō's office sent a commendation letter… Hmph, your achievements wouldn't be enough to trade for this weapon."
Whenever someone is too happy, there's always that one person who just has to rain on their parade.
Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura served as Konoha's high-ranking advisors, responsible for making decisions on important village matters and overseeing its governance.
When it came to this reward, Hiruzen Sarutobi had sought the opinions of both of them, as well as Danzō.
After all, the Sword of the Thunder God was no ordinary weapon—it belonged to their teacher.
When Koharu first heard about this, she flatly refused to agree.
It wasn't until the daimyō's office sent word praising Gekko Chizan's team for their outstanding performance and provided Konoha with a large amount of supplies that she finally shut her mouth.
"Alright, Chizan, your next mission is going to be rather tough. I hope you're mentally prepared."
Hearing this, Gekko Chizan suddenly felt the sword in his hands lose its shine.
Always sending him on jobs—one after another. Were they not afraid they'd work him to death?
"Uh… can I give this sword back and just take a good rest for a while…?"
He reluctantly placed the Sword of the Thunder God on the table, his face full of heartache.
But he really was exhausted.
"Unfortunately, no. Since the Sword of the Thunder God has been given to you, it's yours now. And you still have to carry out the mission. Kirigakure's offensive has already begun. Battles have broken out within the Land of Hot Water and even on the outskirts of our Land of Fire."
"And right at this moment, the Land of Rivers front is also critical. This time, I'll let you choose—go to the Land of Rivers front, or to the Land of Hot Water front."
Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a sly smile—he had him cornered.
After all, when you accept something, you owe. He didn't believe this brat would actually be willing to give up a weapon he'd just gotten.
Homura and Tsunade also smiled, waiting for Gekko Chizan's choice.
Only Danzō kept his eyes closed, not making any comment at all.
"Fine, I'll accept it this time. I'll go to the Land of Rivers. After all, I just fought Kirigakure—they're all lunatics. Sunagakure's little darlings are at least easier to deal with. Will I be going alone, or leading a team?"
In the end, Gekko Chizan chose the Land of Rivers. The battle there had already fully broken out, and both Kirigakure and Iwagakure had a certain old white-haired figure behind them. He was doing his best to avoid that person—how could he possibly run toward them?
Uchiha Madara: … One Third Mizukage might not be enough!
"Lead a team. I've seen the progress of Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, and Nohara Rin. At this point, all the genin in the village have already been deployed to the battlefield. We have to mobilize all our strength."
"Chizan, your task is to assist your teacher, Orochimaru. If possible, cutting off their supply lines would be an excellent approach."
Easy for him to say. The Land of Rivers wasn't the Land of Grass.
In the Land of Grass, there was only one route to invade Konoha—across the Kannabi Bridge. But behind the Land of Rivers lay nothing but desert—how exactly was he supposed to cut off supplies there?
"Alright, stop talking, Hokage-sama. Cut off someone's supply lines in the desert? You might as well send Hatake Sakumo—he wouldn't be able to do it either. That's their home turf. We're fighting away from home—how could we possibly have the advantage? Alright, I'll go make preparations. We leave tomorrow."
Just thinking about another mission made Gekko Chizan's head hurt, but he couldn't refuse.
As he turned to leave, Danzō slowly opened his eyes, his gaze full of calculation.
Clearly, he had plans of his own—whether they were good or bad remained to be seen.
...
When he got home, Pakura wasn't at the academy—she was training in the yard instead.
Gekko Hayate and Sayo were nowhere to be seen.
"Why this face? Weren't you all smiles when you left?"
Hearing Pakura's question, Gekko Chizan set the sword aside and explained the upcoming mission in a helpless tone.
When she heard he was heading for the Land of Rivers front, Pakura's brows furrowed slightly.
"Sunagakure, huh… I heard the Third Kazekage has gone missing… Ah… war—it's always full of unexpected turns. Even someone as powerful as Haneda Zaimon-sama…"
Looking at the uncharacteristically silent Pakura, Gekko Chizan didn't know what came over him—he suddenly pulled her into his arms.
The sudden embrace made Pakura's mind go completely blank, and then her face flushed red.
"You… what are you doing?"
"Nothing. Can't I just want to hold you?"
Gekko Chizan suddenly thought of Fugaku, that bastard. Damn it—between him, Minato, and Fugaku, Fugaku was clearly the ugliest, yet he was the first to get married. What on earth did Uchiha Mikoto see in him? His nasolabial folds?
That thought sent a rush of hot blood to his head. Two lifetimes, and though he'd been surrounded by flowers, he'd never once picked one…
Pathetic. Pitiful!
"Hmph, you little rascal. Don't think I don't know what you're after. But… it's not impossible. Let's talk about it when you get back from the Land of Rivers front."
The next second, Pakura slipped out of his arms, showing a rare hint of playfulness that made Gekko Chizan's heart itch.
"You said it yourself. I'll take it seriously."
"Of course I said it. Now go on—when you get back, I'm going to see Mikoto and Kushina."
Watching her walk away, Gekko Chizan grinned, then vanished from the spot in a flash of Flying Thunder God.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo