Gekko Chizan let out a soft laugh and nodded.
He had only come as a guest and hadn't planned on doing much, but considering the peace of Bird Country, he chose to show some respect.
After all, countries like this were far too rare.
That evening, Gekko Chizan leaned against the edge of the hot spring, letting out a contented sigh of relief.
"How long has it been since I've properly relaxed like this? Ah, this feels amazing!"
"If at this moment... tsk... how can I even have such thoughts..."
With a series of shakes of his head, he finally tossed away those strange ideas. But his thoughts still drifted back to Konoha.
After all, there was a beauty waiting for him there. Thinking of this, Gekko Chizan smiled—smiled in a way that was downright smug.
"Chizan, you brat, that's one perverted grin you've got there."
"Thinking about Pakura, aren't you?"
"Hahahaha, if you really can't hold back, I'll lend you some chakra and you can just teleport straight back to Konoha."
Hearing Chōmei's teasing voice, Gekko Chizan nearly lost it.
This Chōmei had really been getting bolder lately.
Still, the Flying Thunder God could indeed be used... just not to teleport back to Konoha.
With that thought, Gekko Chizan stood up, tidied himself, and under the cover of night found a pharmacy.
He bought out all the snakeberries stocked in that central shop of Bird Country.
"Chōmei, lend me chakra. I want to test if I can teleport straight back to Island Turtle."
Chōmei was shocked. What the—? Teleport straight back to Island Turtle?
This was Bird Country, positioned between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. To teleport all the way back to Island Turtle, he would have to cross the entire Land of Fire!
"Chizan, you're joking, right?"
"Do I look like I'm joking? I've already mastered the Flying Thunder God. As long as the chakra is enough, I'm confident I can teleport directly there. I just don't know how much chakra it will consume."
That was the truth. After all, the distance of Flying Thunder God teleportation was directly proportional to chakra consumption.
The farther the distance, the heavier the cost.
"If the chakra output is too large, you'll enter Cloak Mode. Are you sure that won't be a problem?"
To Chōmei's doubts, Gekko Chizan just chuckled indifferently.
"Chōmei, we're not on the battlefield. This is a land of peace. At worst, we'll just step outside the city to perform the Flying Thunder God. No problem."
Hearing that, Chōmei relaxed. True enough—so long as he didn't unleash Tailed Beast chakra in front of civilians, it would be fine.
In the end, Gekko Chizan took his snakeberries and, under the cover of night, headed into the forest outside the city.
"Chōmei, five tails' worth of chakra. Better safe than sorry."
"Alright, no problem!"
Crimson chakra burst out, five tails unfurling from Gekko Chizan's back.
"Ahh, I'll admit—it really does feel great every time this chakra surges through me."
"Chōmei, I'm going."
With those words, Gekko Chizan vanished from the spot.
...
At the same time, Island Turtle.
"Yugito, today's training went well. You have a real talent for ninjutsu and taijutsu. But as for Genjutsu..."
"Eh, that's hard to say. I honestly don't know why it is, but despite Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu leaning heavily toward Genjutsu, every ninja connected to it seems hopeless when it comes to illusions."
Tagitsuhime made no attempt to hide the helplessness in her tone.
After all, her own specialty was also Genjutsu. But neither Gekko Chizan nor Yugito in front of her had any aptitude for it.
"Genjutsu is nowhere near as useful as ninjutsu and taijutsu anyway."
"Besides, with Matatabi's help, ordinary Genjutsu can't even affect me. And even if I do get caught in one by accident, Matatabi can release me with her chakra."
That was another advantage of being a Jinchūriki: possessing both one's own chakra and the Tailed Beast's.
If caught in a Genjutsu, one could simply use external chakra stimulation to break free.
But this had a condition—the Jinchūriki had to become perfect. After all, if the Tailed Beast wasn't your partner, why would it help you break free?
Yugito had already established initial communication with Matatabi inside her, and though not yet as flawless as Gekko Chizan, she was far stronger than before.
"Hmph, hmph. Little Yugito, remember this—strength is not something you can rely on others for."
"Only when your own strength reaches the standard can you call it true success. Kno—"
"Hm? What's that?"
Tagitsuhime stopped mid-sentence, sensing a terrifying surge of chakra suddenly entering her perception.
A weary voice rang out from the distance.
"Ahhh, as expected... the distance is too far. Couldn't land precisely—almost teleported into the ocean."
"Looks like ultra-long-distance teleportation requires incredibly precise chakra control."
The speaker was none other than Gekko Chizan. Only now, his state was a bit different.
The five tails behind him had been reduced to four.
Clearly, the ultra-long-distance teleportation had consumed an entire tail's worth of chakra.
Once again, Gekko Chizan couldn't help but sigh about that certain blond kid.
As expected, that blond Uzumaki brat whose genes overshadowed his entire clan really was a monster—impossible to compare.
"Yo, Chizan, you little—"
"Whoa! Snakeberries!"
In an instant, the Serpent transformed into her true form. With a sweep of her tail, she gathered all five baskets of snakeberries into her embrace.
Her twin serpent pupils even turned into heart-shapes.
"Good evening, Tagitsuhime."
"Yo, Yugito. Looks like you've been doing well."
Seeing Gekko Chizan arrive, Yugito's hands immediately transformed into claws as she lunged at him.
"Take this! Human Cat Claws!"
Razor-sharp claws shot from her hands. On the small body of a little girl, the sight was somewhat strange.
But Gekko Chizan didn't underestimate them—they were one of Matatabi's abilities.
"Meeting me with an attack, huh?"
"Kid, I'm your teacher. Besides..."
With a casual flick of his crimson tail, a burst of violent chakra exploded, blasting Yugito away.
"Can't you see this glaringly obvious big tail?"
The chakra belonging to Chōmei was unmistakable. Of course Yugito could see it—she just couldn't resist the urge to test herself.
Even if it was her teacher, she wanted to try. After all, she was proud of her growth lately.
"Still, judging by that confident look of yours, you must believe in yourself. Fine then, I'll spar with you."
Dispelling the Tailed Beast chakra, Gekko Chizan waved her forward casually. The meaning was clear.
Come at him again.
"Hmph! Stinky teacher! I'll show you how much I've grown!"
"Alright, I'm watching."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo