He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.
Ever since his uncle died, he had been completely alone in Konoha. Not wanting to get involved with anyone, he had become extreme in his conduct and isolated in his actions.
Anna Takemoto had always been there, standing quietly behind him, but he had turned a blind eye to her because of his own prejudices.
Fortunately, in the end, he chose to reconcile with himself. No one wants to be lonely for a lifetime—not even a cold-blooded, selfish bastard like him.
After walking quietly for a while, the sound of a girl crying suddenly drifted from a patch of woods ahead.
Anna pulled Gisei's arm and led him over.
In the clearing, a teenage boy was pulling a young girl's hair and laughing loudly.
Gisei knew her identity the moment he saw that red hair.
Kushina Uzumaki.
Was this a coincidence?
Gisei silently extended his senses, scanning the surrounding aura. He immediately detected Anbu surveillance stationed five hundred meters away.
Just as Anna was about to step forward to intervene, Gisei stopped her. He shook his head gently and led her away from the scene.
"Why?"
"There are Anbu watching. We shouldn't meddle in things that aren't our business. It'll only raise suspicion."
The two gradually walked away. Kushina looked up at their retreating backs, her violet eyes suddenly filling with fresh tears.
She had thought the pretty big sister would save her, but she hadn't expected her to just glance and turn away.
Sure enough, the people in this village really do hate outsiders.
But why?
It wasn't like she insisted on coming here. Why did they have to treat her like this?
Kushina's small universe exploded.
With a scream, she tore her own hair free from the boy's grip, tackled him to the ground, and straddled him, raining punches down on his face.
She cried the whole time she hit him.
Gisei sensed this scene unfolding behind him and suddenly recalled a memory from the past—specifically, the time he was straddled and beaten by Anna.
His mood instantly soured.
Although he could now beat Anna in every sense of the word, the shadow of being beaten up back then still lingered over his pride.
"Do you still remember things from when we were kids?"
Having raised a butterfly seed, Anna naturally possessed sensing abilities too. She looked back toward the woods and smiled. "Did that remind you of certain... past events?"
"Why did you beat me up like that back then?"
"I'm not telling you."
Seeing Anna smiling like a fox, Gisei's curiosity was piqued.
"Really not telling me?"
"Why are you so fixated on this? You're so petty."
"It's not about being petty. Do you know how much trauma that incident caused me?!"
Gisei was determined to get to the bottom of it today and started to get handsy, tickling her sides. Anna couldn't fend him off and eventually raised her hands in surrender.
"I'm older than you. Girls mature earlier, you know."
"So?"
"The first time Grandpa took me to see you, I knew that sooner or later we would get married."
"Hey, what kind of logic is that? Since you knew we would get married, you still beat me up like that? What kind of brain circuit do you have?"
"Because you were annoying. You always looked so listless, muddling along without a care in the world. You didn't look like a man at all."
"...Just because of that?"
Gisei was speechless.
"Isn't that enough? That look of yours was really untrustworthy. The thought of marrying someone like that in the future made me very angry."
"Do you know that I'm very angry right now too?"
Anna tilted her head and blinked at him, pretending to be innocent and pitiful.
Gisei didn't buy it and whispered a vicious threat. "Just you wait until tonight."
Anna spat, blushing. "What are you saying?!"
Gisei chuckled. "I'm saying whatever you're thinking. Some people... their mouths say no..."
Before he could finish, Anna's hand quietly crept to his waist and pinched him hard.
Gisei quickly grabbed her hand to counterattack, and the two instantly started wrestling playfully on the path.
Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was puffing on his pipe as usual. A crystal ball sat on the desk in front of him.
The crystal ball displayed two young people playing around in the street.
"Time truly is the best medicine. The change compared to before is remarkable."
The Third remembered Gisei's strange attire and rebellious behavior after Eisawa's death, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.
He had just taken office not long before that time and was constantly thinking about how to stabilize the village. If he had possessed more patience and tolerance back then, perhaps the relationship between him and Gisei wouldn't have become what it was now.
Unfortunately, time cannot be turned back. The mistakes of the past have been made. Was it too late to correct them now?
He didn't know, but he felt he could try.
The current Gisei had become someone he could trust—because he finally had bonds in this village.
Down in the street, Gisei suddenly felt the sensation of being watched.
He quickly scanned for any ninjas monitoring nearby. Finding no one, he looked up toward the sky.
The Third's Telescope Technique?
Snap.
Gisei snapped his fingers. An invisible fluctuation rippled out from his body, gradually enveloping him and Anna.
Seeing the figures disappear from the crystal ball, the Third smiled. "He really is sharp."
After discovering he was being peeped at, Gisei lost the mood for horseplay. The two wandered around Konoha for a while longer before heading home.
Sitting on the lounge chair in the courtyard, Gisei closed his eyes to rest.
He found that he liked lounge chairs more and more. He had moved twice, and each time he made sure to put a lounge chair in the courtyard. Feeling the warmth of the sunlight on his face, his whole being seemed to become transparent.
Anna always said he looked like an old grandpa lying there.
Gisei never refuted her; he did what he wanted to do. This was his unique way of relaxing.
Unfortunately, the relaxation didn't last long before Rie arrived to find him.
"Orochimaru has started mobilizing our people."
Gisei was stunned for a moment. "What is his position now?"
"Three days ago, he was promoted to Grand Captain."
Grand Captain, huh?
That guy Orochimaru rose to this position in just two years. Gisei wouldn't believe it if someone said the Third didn't have selfish motives.
Well, this was a good thing for him too.
Since Orochimaru was mobilizing his people, it meant he had developed other ideas. The master and disciple were not far from turning against each other.
"Pay attention to Orochimaru's moves. He won't trust our people. It's very likely he's using them to cultivate his own confidants. Be careful not to get bitten back by him."
Rie nodded. "Danzo asked us for people again. This is the third time this year. The other ninja clans have big complaints."
Gisei took a deep breath.
Danzo stirring up trouble crazily naturally meant high casualties. No matter how much manpower those ninja clans had, they couldn't withstand such consumption.
"Tell Danzo to increase the mission quota for those ninja clans, otherwise I can't help him either."
After nodding, Rie pulled a scroll from her chest pocket. "This is the compilation of secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai from other ninja villages. Are we going to make a move now?"
Gisei took the scroll and read it carefully. After finishing, he fell into deep thought.
He had ordered people to collect this intelligence naturally because he intended to seize these things.
But let those intelligence agents handle it?
After thinking about it, he decided against it. It might not succeed, and it would definitely alert the enemy.
It was better for him to handle this kind of thing personally.
As long as he had the intelligence support, he didn't think anyone could escape from his grasp.