Salamander Hanzō, the demigod of the ninja world—his strength was undeniable.
But as he grew older, his sense of danger also grew stronger.
This eventually led him, for the sake of self-preservation, to collude with Danzō to strike at Yahiko's Akatsuki organization.
...
Gekko Chizan looked at the distant castle, his eyes flickering with thoughts.
He was pondering.
To make himself safer, he planned to win over Yahiko and Konan.
It was also under his subtle influence that Akatsuki was established.
Now the first great obstacle Akatsuki faced was Hanzō.
With Hanzō's control over Amegakure, he would never allow another organization like Akatsuki to exist.
The two sides were bound to clash eventually.
Thinking of this, Gekko Chizan couldn't help but want to investigate the situation.
But the cold rain dripping onto his body didn't feel good at all.
He decided to go back and change clothes first.
...
Forcing himself to act calm, Gekko Chizan returned to the bathhouse, only to run right into Yahiko.
"Chizan, where did you go?"
"Just now Konan and Yugito ran into a peeping tom!"
"Hurry, come with us to find him! If I catch that guy, I'm going to beat him to a pulp!"
"That was Konan we're talking about! I wouldn't even dare look at her that way!"
Hearing Yahiko's furious tone, Gekko Chizan simply chose to play dumb.
And with clever words, he diverted their attention.
"Really?"
"I was just about to go buy some sake, but I didn't even know where to go."
"Then I got caught in the rain and froze half to death. I need to hurry and soak in the hot spring to warm up."
As Gekko Chizan spoke, he headed straight for the hot spring.
Yahiko, after searching for a long time and finding no trace of the peeper, had no choice but to give up.
...
So the group entered the hot spring and began enjoying life.
When everyone finally came out of the bathhouse, Yugito and Konan glared daggers at Gekko Chizan.
Their looks sent shivers down his spine, but with his strong mentality, Gekko Chizan actually smiled slightly, unfazed by their anger.
"Ah, Yugito, Konan, how was it?"
"Amegakure's hot springs are quite nice, right?"
Yugito knew full well how thick-skinned her sensei was and that he would never admit to peeping.
Other than glaring fiercely at him, there was nothing else she could do.
But recently, besides growing stronger, she had also become much sharper with her words.
"Yes, the hot spring was lovely. I just wonder who had the guts to stroll right into the women's bath in broad daylight to peep."
"Hmph! A person like that—sooner or later, they'll step on an explosive tag and get blown sky-high."
Her words made Gekko Chizan's forehead twitch.
When did this little brat get such a sharp tongue?
Cursing him, even?
Oh?
Speaking of curses, Gekko Chizan suddenly remembered his own curse technique—the one where he drew circles to curse someone.
Right, he had nothing better to do anyway. Later, he could find a place to continue cursing that old relic Uchiha Madara, maybe send him to the Pure Land a little sooner.
As for Konan, at the moment her gaze toward him carried not only anger but also a hint of shyness.
Gekko Chizan found this perfectly normal—after all, she was a young girl.
Of course, this was only because Konan had a rather good impression of him to begin with. Otherwise, that shyness would have turned into killing intent in an instant!
...
"Is that so? I hope your curse works!"
"When it blows up, you make sure to watch carefully!"
Gekko Chizan responded with a fake smile, then ignored Yugito.
"Yahiko, are you guys going to continue your missions next?"
"Yeah, we need to earn money after all."
Yahiko's eyes were full of longing for the future.
After the hot spring bath, he felt completely recharged.
Not just him—Nagato and the others felt the same.
The bath had washed away their exhaustion and renewed their fighting spirit.
...
"Alright then, in that case, I won't join you. I still have my own tasks to handle."
"But I'll be staying in Amegakure for a while. If you need anything, you can come find me."
"Oh right, here, take this."
Gekko Chizan pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.
On it was a bright crimson cloud, vivid as if it were burning on the page.
Konan curiously accepted the paper and studied it closely.
The crimson cloud looked so lifelike it seemed to blaze right before her eyes.
"This is..." Konan looked at Gekko Chizan in puzzlement.
Gekko Chizan smiled mysteriously and explained,
"This is a special emblem I designed for Akatsuki. I believe it will bring the organization good luck. After all, a proper organization needs its own symbol, doesn't it?"
As he spoke, Gekko Chizan pointed at the forehead protectors they wore.
As Amegakure shinobi, Yahiko and the others all wore Amegakure headbands, the mark of their identity.
Yahiko leaned in.
The moment he saw the crimson cloud, he fell in love with it at first sight.
"This design is amazing! A burning cloud... Does it symbolize the birth of Akatsuki?"
"It's perfect!"
"Chizan, I don't even know how to thank you!"
Seeing the overly excited Yahiko, Gekko Chizan chuckled.
"This is nothing. Since I already named your group, I couldn't just leave you without a symbol."
"I've been thinking about this cloud for a while. To me, clouds are the freest things in the world, drifting wherever they please—just like Akatsuki's original dream."
"And red represents passion and determination. To gain freedom, you must be willing to fight for it. Combine the two, and there you have it—the emblem."
Everyone was stunned.
Gekko Chizan's casual words made it feel like their brains were about to overheat.
Clouds? Fire? How did he even come up with this stuff?
...
"Thank you, Gekko Chizan," Yahiko said sincerely.
Gekko Chizan waved his hand, then spoke seriously:
"Yahiko, if you run into any trouble, just leave this emblem somewhere. If I see it, I'll come help you for sure."
"After all, we're friends."
Yes, friends.
Without them, Gekko Chizan wouldn't feel nearly as safe.
But in Yahiko and the others' ears, these words moved them deeply.
Although Gekko Chizan was a Konoha shinobi, after all this time together, they already saw him as one of their own—Nagato being the only exception.
...
"Chizan, what you said—I feel the same way. If you need help, just say the word."
"I believe not only me, but everyone here will lend you their strength."
Gekko Chizan grinned, patted Yahiko on the shoulder, then turned to leave with Yugito.
"Yugito, make sure to get stronger!"
"Oh, and teach him a good lesson for me, you know what I mean!"
Before leaving, Konan gave Yugito a hug and whispered in her ear.
Yugito nodded firmly.
"Leave it to me!" she said with absolute determination.