Konoha Village, Sarutobi Hiruzen was currently confronting Shimura Danzō.
"Hi—ruzen, you stopped my men. What exactly is the meaning of this?"
"Gekko Chizan escorting the orphanage director Nonō Yakushi out of the Land of Fire is an obvious act of betraying the village!"
"You won't assist in capturing them? Fine. But you even blocked my people."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a slow drag from his pipe, expression unchanged, and casually tossed out a scroll.
Danzō's pupils shrank when he saw the seal on the scroll. He felt something unpleasant coming, but still reached out and opened it.
Reading the contents, his expression turned extremely dark.
"Orochimaru issued a mission through an underground organization, requesting the escort of the orphanage director Nonō out of the Land of Fire."
"Gekko Chizan is a kid who never lifts a finger without profit, and this mission just happened to fall into his hands."
"Hmph. That damn kid… after stirring up trouble in the Land of Rain a few times, he runs off to earn benefits for himself."
"Danzō, don't think I don't know what you're planning. Gekko Chizan is one of the core members of the village. I will not hand him over to you."
Shimura Danzō set the scroll down, hatred filling his eyes.
Yes—Orochimaru had coordinated with Gekko Chizan long beforehand and released the mission through an underground network.
In Gekko Chizan's own words, this was called "misdirection." He would never leave a handle on himself so openly. As long as the underground organization issued the mission, he always had an excuse.
"Hmph, Hiruzen, if you indulge him like this, he's going to cause trouble sooner or later."
"Don't forget—he's Orochimaru's disciple. I refuse to believe there are so many coincidences in this world."
"A teacher issues a mission, and his student takes the mission?"
Facing Danzō's pressure, Sarutobi Hiruzen remained calm, took another drag, and exhaled.
The smoke hid his entire figure, making his expression unreadable.
Truthfully, Sarutobi Hiruzen had suspicions as well. That was why he sent a large number of Anbu—partly to stop Root's men, partly to bring Gekko Chizan back to the village. He needed confirmation.
"Lord Hokage, Anbu have returned. Gekko Chizan is back."
Shinnosuke suddenly appeared in the office. Hearing this, both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō had a sharp glimmer in their eyes.
Very soon, Gekko Chizan arrived along with several Anbu.
The Anbu captain stepped forward first and reported what they had experienced.
Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō wracked their brains, they would never have guessed that Orochimaru would actually backstab Gekko Chizan.
Especially when hearing how the Kusanagi Sword pierced through his body—and seeing Gekko Chizan's clothes, now tattered like rags—both men frowned.
"Where is Orochimaru?"
"By the time we arrived, he was already gone. Nonō was taken away, and he also killed three Anbu members."
Hearing that his own men were dead, Danzō's expression grew even uglier.
His Root members were all elites. If one died, he didn't care. If three died—hm, he also didn't care.
But dying so inexplicably? That irritated him immensely.
"Hmph. Were they really killed by Orochimaru? Gekko Chizan, don't you dare hide anything—tell the truth."
"Otherwise…"
Facing Danzō, Gekko Chizan had no intention of giving him face. Everyone in the village knew he'd been fed up with Danzō for a long time.
So he immediately began defending himself—while also verbally attacking Danzō.
"Old fossil, don't tell me you can't recognize Orochimaru's sword."
"You know the Kusanagi Sword, right? A divine blade. I almost got skewered to death just for trying to earn some extra cash."
"Hmph."
When the Kusanagi Sword was revealed, Danzō immediately shut his mouth.
He'd coveted Orochimaru's sword for a long time. In the entire ninja world, weapons worthy of being called divine were rare—and this one was definitely among the top.
Unfortunately, it was always in Orochimaru's possession. Now he finally had an opportunity.
But just as he was about to speak, Gekko Chizan cut him off again.
"Old fossil, I'm telling you—this sword is my spoils of war."
"I brought it back with my own blood. Hmph! No one is taking it from me!"
Gekko Chizan aggressively claimed ownership over the Kusanagi Sword.
Please—he was only borrowing the thing. He had to return it to Orochimaru eventually. If someone here snatched it away…
Who knew if Orochimaru would punish him? He wasn't that afraid, but still—this was his teacher.
The Anbu captain also stepped in at the right time, describing the countless snake corpses and wind-release cutting marks found at the battlefield.
Everyone knew Orochimaru's Wind Release techniques were incredibly refined. That level of power absolutely wasn't something Gekko Chizan could reproduce.
With this, Orochimaru's attack on Gekko Chizan and Root became unquestionable.
"Since that's the case, Gekko Chizan, let's address your other issue."
"You were clearly supposed to be in the Land of Rain. Why did you go to the Exchange Hall to pick up missions?"
Danzō was now openly intent on making things difficult for Gekko Chizan—he simply refused to let him off easy.
Hearing this question, Gekko Chizan turned his head to the side and refused to answer no matter what Danzō said.
"...Cough, cough…"
In the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen broke the stalemate.
"In this matter, Chizan is at fault first. Taking side jobs during a mission—cancel one year of his teacher stipend."
"And deduct one million ryō as penalty. No objections, right?"
Deduct money?
Gekko Chizan's eyes widened, staring directly at the old Hokage.
His reaction made everyone want to laugh.
"Wait—Lord Hokage, you can't be serious!"
"There's nothing to discuss. It's settled."
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him no chance to argue and finalized the decision.
Gekko Chizan looked like he has experienced something unpleasant, but knowing he couldn't change it, he quietly plotted how to earn the money back later.
At that moment, Shimura Danzō gave a cold laugh.
"Hmph. This punishment is far too light. He should make amends through service. I say hand him over to me—I will make sure he remembers he is a shinobi of Konoha."
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. He knew exactly what Danzō was thinking.
"Danzō, that's enough."
Hearing this, Gekko Chizan exploded. This old fossil really refused to let go of any opportunity.
"Old fossil, you're still not done? I haven't even called you out yet for sending Root to shadow me."
"What? You don't trust me?"
Danzō's expression changed. He never expected Gekko Chizan to speak to him so bluntly.
Anger surged to the surface, but unfortunately this was the Hokage's office—it wasn't a place where he could lose his temper.
"Enough! Both of you, stop making trouble."
"Chizan, you may leave. Your Rain Village mission continues."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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