"Me? I said it was just a coincidence I passed by. Do you believe that?"
"Earlier, I was fighting Sunagakure on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers. But because of a mission, I passed through the Land of Wind into the northern Bird Country. Yugito is my student and has always been following me."
"If I want to return to the Land of Fire, the easiest route is through the Land of Rain."
Gekko Chizan took out his Konoha forehead protector and then began spinning the story he had prepared long ago.
He had thought about this excuse for a long time. In his eyes, there wasn't a single flaw in it. It should definitely fool Yahiko and the others before him.
Sure enough, after Yahiko and the others heard this, they didn't have the slightest suspicion. After all, the war between Sunagakure and Konoha was attracting much attention. Even they had heard of it.
"No wonder a Konoha shinobi like you would come to the Land of Rain."
"But I still suggest you leave here as soon as possible. After all, we know very well what the situation in the Land of Rain is like."
Gekko Chizan grinned, looking extremely disdainful.
Next, he decided to show Yahiko what it really meant to be bold and fearless.
"You three really don't have the slightest bit of a hero's courage."
"A true strong man fears no one. Even though Hanzō of the Salamander is called a demigod, I am, after all, an elite jōnin. Even if I can't beat him, if I want to escape, he wouldn't be able to catch me."
Confidence. Absolute confidence.
Seeing Gekko Chizan's full display of confidence, Yahiko and the others were stunned.
Suddenly, Konan seemed to recall something. Her face showed a trace of excitement and surprise, and she blurted out:
"Your name is Gekko Chizan?"
"Yeah, that's me, the real deal. Why? Someone pretending to be me?"
Gekko Chizan looked at Konan with confusion. The others were the same; they all wanted to know what was going on with her.
"You're the one they call the Ghost of the Battlefield?"
"Ghost?"
This time, Gekko Chizan was dumbfounded.
This wasn't the first time he had heard this nickname.
But he had never thought much about it. Now that Konan brought it up again, he suddenly became interested.
"That's right! They say Konoha now has two shinobi as elusive as specters, both incredibly strong."
"They are even praised as the two new rising stars of Konoha, shining as brightly as the A–B duo of Kumogakure."
"One is called the Yellow Flash. The other, the Ghost of the Battlefield."
Konan's face was full of admiration. Clearly, she held these two in very high regard.
"The Yellow Flash earned his name because he often wins battles with his speed, becoming famous throughout the shinobi world."
"They say no one can catch even a glimpse of him. The moment the enemy sees him is the moment they are already dead."
"But I think he isn't the strongest. You, Gekko Chizan—the Ghost of the Battlefield—are the truly terrifying one!"
When she said this, her eyes were full of excitement as she looked at Gekko Chizan.
This, however, made Gekko Chizan a bit awkward. What was going on here?
Why was the future rich lady of the Akatsuki acting like this toward him?
"They say the Ghost of Konoha is a master of stealth techniques, and he also has abilities similar to the Yellow Flash."
"Coming and going without a trace, a genius among geniuses whether in reconnaissance missions or assassinations."
"Whether it's the Land of Rivers battlefield or the Land of Hot Water battlefield, there are rumors about him everywhere."
"Some even say the haunting in the Land of Fields back then might have been his doing too."
"Because no one can ever find his tracks, they call him the Ghost."
Yugito, Yahiko, and the others stared wide-eyed at Gekko Chizan, finding it hard to believe that the so-called Ghost of Konoha could actually be this guy in front of them.
This completely unreliable guy, who fought in such a… shady way.
"Wow, am I really that famous?"
"Hahahaha, I didn't even know myself!"
Gekko Chizan was so flattered that he was practically floating. His laughter was full of pride.
"The Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato. The Ghost of Konoha, Gekko Chizan."
"These titles come from Sunagakure and Kumogakure's information networks."
"If you really are Gekko Chizan, then you're the Ghost of Konoha!"
Konan looked at Gekko Chizan with excitement, waiting for him to confirm.
"Whether I'm the Ghost of Konoha or not, I don't know. But I am Gekko Chizan."
Admit it? Of course, he would.
He was already famous—why deny it?
People fear fame, pigs fear fattening? Nonsense. With Transparent Release, Flying Thunder God, and Chōmei's help, even if it were a Kage-level opponent, he could still handle it.
And besides, since Uchiha Madara had already set his sights on him, hiding was meaningless.
"For real? You? The Ghost of Konoha?"
"Oh my…"
Although Yahiko was shocked, there was still doubt in his voice. After all, in his eyes, while the man before him was strong, he was still far from the legendary Ghost.
Gekko Chizan, who had been quite pleased, was instantly unhappy when he heard this.
"Yahiko, seems like if I don't show a bit of skill, you won't recognize my power."
The Tiger Seal appeared again, and Yahiko immediately fell silent.
What else could he say? That terrifying Thousand Years of Death was still fresh in his memory.
"Enough about my identity already."
"Yahiko, I remember you said your team still doesn't have a proper name?"
After laughing enough, Gekko Chizan shifted the topic back to Yahiko's group.
Hearing this, everyone except Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato immediately looked curious.
An organization name?
It did sound good. After all, they had always been acting independently, not tied to any village. Though technically a team, they didn't have a proper name, let alone a formal organization.
"Yahiko, are we going to form our own organization?"
"That's a great idea! I'm all for it!"
Akatsuki was the first to cry out. He had long planned to follow Yahiko wherever he went, so having an organization of their own was perfect.
After the initial surprise, everyone else looked equally excited, full of anticipation for the soon-to-be-founded group.
"Ah, though I'm excited too, honestly, we only just started thinking about forming an organization."
"And we have to thank Gekko Chizan for this. After all, he suggested it. I didn't even think of it myself, haha."
Yahiko looked a bit embarrassed since the idea wasn't his—it came from Gekko Chizan.
"Stop pretending. Even if your team is small, you still need your own name."
"Here, I'll give you one. See what you think."
"Hmm… Let's call it Akatsuki. How about that? The Akatsuki Organization!"