"Masaki, just speak your mind."
Hearing the daimyo's words, the man named Masaki spoke again.
"I can't quite put my finger on it... but doesn't it feel like the intel we gathered was a little too easy?"
"It's like that kid's been guiding us step by step."
"I think you should be careful, Daimyo-sama. After all, forming a ninja unit needs to remain secretive in its early stages."
"If we pick the wrong person, it'll mess up everything that comes next."
The daimyo fell silent, because he felt Masaki had a point. Choosing the right person at the beginning was crucial—it would affect everything moving forward.
He pondered for a long time before slowly speaking.
"Yukimura, go make contact first. Observe that kid's movements."
"We can't afford not to test the waters. Masaki, gather more intel on this brat."
"Be quick. Their mission deadline is only one month, and a week's already gone."
Yukimura and Masaki both left, leaving the daimyo alone in deep thought.
...
Outside the city, Gekko Chizan and Obito were in the middle of a noisy argument about how to divide the stolen loot.
"Chizan-sensei, half of the money you got back was thanks to my effort! And you poisoned me on top of that!"
"Sure, I couldn't move at the time, but I saw exactly what you were doing!"
"You've gotta give me a cut for all the trouble I went through!"
Watching Gekko Chizan stuff the full five million ryō into his pocket, Obito was livid.
From his point of view, he deserved a share of that money.
But he had completely underestimated how shameless his teacher was.
"What are you talking about, Obito? Where do you think that money came from?"
"I'm the one who provided it, so of course it goes back to me."
"As for your share... just think of it as tuition. Without me, would you even get to experience something like this?"
"Alright, let's head back."
Gekko Chizan didn't care whether Obito was happy or not. The moment the money was in his hands, there was absolutely no way he was letting go of it—forget it!
They activated the Flying Thunder God and, having already released their Transformation Jutsu, returned to their house.
Kakashi and Rin looked at the dust-covered pair—especially Obito, who was so covered in dirt it practically matched his name.
"Chizan-sensei... is this really okay?"
"Ugh..."
Kakashi was speechless. His teacher was seriously unreliable—he took his student gambling, for crying out loud.
"And you, Obito! Instead of training properly, you actually went out gambling."
"Are you trying to follow in Lady Tsunade's footsteps?"
Gekko Chizan and Uchiha Obito both scratched their heads, clearly embarrassed by Kakashi's lecture.
"Kakashi, how about this—when we get back to the village, I'll hook you up with something fun. Interested?"
"I swear it's not gambling. Obito covers that category just fine. This is something only real men can watch."
"Want to give it a try?"
Kakashi stared hard at Gekko Chizan. His instincts told him this man was definitely scheming something, but he couldn't figure out exactly what.
He kept looking at that goofy smile on Chizan's face, trying to spot a hint of truth, but after a long while, still came up with nothing.
"Don't stare at me like that. I promise you'll love it. I'll make sure you experience it once we're back."
Hmph. Damn brat dared to mouth off to him.
Gekko Chizan had already made up his mind—since Obito had taken a dark turn, there was no way Kakashi was getting off the hook. They were in this together.
"Alright, Chizan-sensei, Kakashi."
"We're still in the middle of a mission, remember? By the way, after that run-in with the Kirigakure ninja, things have been surprisingly quiet."
Rin tried to smooth things over, and that reminded Gekko Chizan of the Kirigakure.
It had already been a week since they wiped out that Kirigakure squad. Seems like the enemy's progress wasn't as fast as he had imagined.
"Kakashi, by the way—have you learned the Summoning Jutsu yet?"
"Nope..."
Unbelievable. Gekko Chizan was completely speechless. A Kakashi who couldn't summon a big dog was not a real Kakashi.
This kid wasn't fully developed yet—wait, no—a Kakashi who didn't carry an Icha Icha Paradise book wasn't a proper Kakashi!
He'd make sure to get him a herbal edition to start with once they got back.
"Whatever. Just stay alert. I've got a feeling Kirigakure's definitely going to show up again."
"Starting tomorrow, expand the patrol area."
While the four of them were discussing patrol zones, Yukimura came calling again.
But this time, he only met with Gekko Chizan.
"Hehehe, Konoha jōnin Gekko Chizan—how's life been treating you here at the daimyo's residence?"
Yukimura's sudden arrival made it clear to Gekko Chizan—he was here on behalf of the daimyo.
No doubt this was the daimyo's way of initiating contact with him.
With that in mind, Gekko Chizan already had a plan forming.
"Heh, everything's been great. The scenery's nice, the people are nice, the food's good, and there's plenty of fun."
Hearing that, Yukimura nodded, then cut straight to the chase.
"What's your impression of the daimyo's court, Chizan-kun?"
"Hmm? The daimyo's court? We're talking about the leader of the Land of Fire here. Of course I hold it in high regard. Even the Hokage-sama of our Konoha village is beneath the daimyo."
That answer pleased Yukimura greatly. After all, the daimyo of the Land of Fire was the true ruler, and Konoha was merely its military force.
Without the daimyo's support, Konoha wouldn't last long.
"Indeed. The daimyo's court is the foundation of the Land of Fire."
"That being the case, if the daimyo's court wanted you to join us and serve under the daimyo's banner in the future—what would you say?"
He really wasn't beating around the bush at all.
Gekko Chizan's smile froze, and then he asked in a very serious tone:
"Is this the daimyo's own will?"
"Konoha is already part of the Land of Fire and serves the daimyo. I'm not quite sure what you mean, Yukimura-san."
Playing dumb despite knowing full well—no one played the fool better than Gekko Chizan.
The way he was acting even had Yukimura fooled.
Seeing that, he let out a soft chuckle.
"Hehehe, Chizan-kun, you're oversimplifying things. You're still a Konoha ninja, after all."
"Even if the daimyo's court wants to make use of you, we have to go through Konoha's mission request process."
"It's very inconvenient."
"What I mean is having you fully join the daimyo's court and serve the daimyo directly. On the surface, you'd still be a Konoha ninja, but behind the scenes, your loyalty would lie with us."
"Of course, you wouldn't be at a disadvantage doing so. You should know—the daimyo's court can offer you far more than Konoha ever could."
After hearing that, Gekko Chizan sneered inwardly.
So they were blatantly trying to poach Konoha's ninja now. Sure, the daimyo's court might offer more, but their missions were also more frequent and dangerous.
Old man Hiruzen would be thrilled to hear about this little scheme. Hmph. During wartime, not only did the daimyo's court refuse to provide support—they were even stabbing them in the back.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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