After a short rest, Gekko Chizan returned to the village with Orochimaru's battle report.
The frontline assault was progressing smoothly. He could already imagine how happy that old man, the Hokage, would be upon hearing the news.
All along the way, Gekko Chizan was in high spirits.
But for some reason, his right eyelid began to twitch again.
That twitch gave him quite a fright.
Stopping on a tree trunk, Gekko Chizan looked around warily.
"Chōmei, I suddenly have a really bad feeling..."
"I have this strong sense that something awful is going to happen if I go back to the village. What do you think I should do?"
This wasn't the first time his right eyelid twitched. Last time, he ended up on the receiving end of a solid Thousand Years of Death from that old man Hatake Sakumo.
He still had a trauma from the pain of that incident.
Feeling the continuous twitching of his right eyelid, Gekko Chizan began to panic a little.
"Chizan, you're overthinking it. With your strength, unless those few old geezers in Konoha take action, who could possibly be your match?"
"Besides, you're Orochimaru's student. Out of respect for your master, no one would dare touch you."
"And you're bringing back good news! Wouldn't your Hokage be overjoyed? Why would he beat you?"
"By the way, Chizan, my bugs are all out of food. When we get back, get me more."
"I've been watching a lot of plays lately and ran out fast. Can you also get a wider variety?"
Chizan was annoyed—damn you, Chōmei. He was asking for advice or at least some comfort, and instead, you come begging for food? Hmph! Glutton.
Still, Chōmei had a point. He was a hero of merit now. No one should be looking to pick a fight with him.
With that thought, Gekko Chizan felt a little more at ease and resumed his journey back to the village.
Thanks to his speed, it only took him a day to return to the village from the Land of Rivers.
Seeing the village gates, Gekko Chizan smiled slightly and then ran toward the Hokage Building.
Unbeknownst to him, over at the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building, things were on the verge of exploding.
"You old geezer! Tell me—who the hell leaked my whereabouts?"
"Don't tell me it was just these ANBU? I can sense their presence from a kilometer away."
"Hmph! Was it Jiraiya?"
Tsunade sat in a chair in front of the desk with her arms crossed, fuming.
Two ANBU stood behind her, one on each side of the door.
Across from her, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, looked as though he had a massive headache.
"Tsunade, the war has already broken out. The village needs your strength."
"I know how you feel, but Sunagakure started the war in the Land of Rivers. You know what Chiyo is capable of."
"And according to Orochimaru's report, Chiyo's grandson is on the battlefield as well. This kid surpasses his master—his poison is even deadlier than Chiyo's."
"Without you, the village's casualties will be significant."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was calm. He didn't get frustrated despite Tsunade's outburst.
After all, he was Tsunade's teacher and understood her situation well.
Sure enough, when she heard the word "war," Tsunade trembled slightly, a trace of panic flashing in her eyes.
But she quickly forced it down.
"Hmph, then tell me—who exactly leaked my location?"
"Or rather, who found me?"
Tsunade kept pressing for the identity of the person who found her because that day, she had clearly felt someone spying on her.
And she'd been bathing at the time, damn it!
Not only had someone peeped, but they even reported her location to the Hokage.
That was unforgivable!
"This..."
"You old geezer! Even if you don't say it, I know! It had to be that bastard Jiraiya!"
Tsunade slammed her palm on the desk. The immense force made the entire desk tremble, scattering scrolls and documents everywhere.
"Fine! That bastard Jiraiya—I'm going to beat him up right now!"
With that, Tsunade stormed toward the door.
Hearing her shout, Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly tried to calm her down:
"It wasn't Jiraiya. He's currently monitoring Iwagakure at the Grass Country front."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow and slowed her steps.
Not Jiraiya?
Then who could have spied on her right under her nose?
As she thought about it, she paced around, eventually walking up to one of the ANBU guards.
She glared at the ANBU, fuming, then turned around, ready to question more.
Just then, the door to the Hokage's office was knocked on.
"Come in!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly responded, hoping to shift Tsunade's attention.
The door opened, and Gekko Chizan entered with a big smile on his face.
"Hokage-sama, we've won at the Land of Rivers battlefield. This is the battle report from my teacher, Orochimaru."
He spoke while walking forward, completely unaware of Tsunade standing to the side.
"Oh? Victory in the Land of Rivers?"
"Chizan, are you serious?"
Just moments ago, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been worried about how to deal with Tsunade, but upon hearing the news of victory, he instantly lit up with joy.
He snatched the report from Gekko Chizan and began reading it quickly.
Orochimaru's writing was concise and clear.
"Good! Excellent work!"
"Using the internal conflicts of the region to spark turmoil in Sunagakure's rear, Chizan, you did brilliantly!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, copying Tsunade's earlier gesture, slammed his hand on the desk with joy.
"It wasn't just me. My teacher and I came up with the idea together."
"After all, during the Second Great Ninja War, the Third Kazekage was dispatched. He bears responsibility too."
"With a little guidance, we could get the result we wanted."
Gekko Chizan didn't want to hog all the credit. He already held multiple positions—Jonin squad leader and ANBU operative—and didn't want to bring more trouble upon himself.
Suddenly, Gekko Chizan thought of that unlucky kid, Sasori. He wondered how he was doing now.
He quickly continued:
"By the way, Hokage-sama, my teacher asked me to tell you—there's no need to send Tsunade-sama to the battlefield for now."
"After all, Chiyo's grandson has already disappeared. With just Chiyo's poison, our frontlines have nothing to fear."
As he spoke of Tsunade, Chizan couldn't help but recall the scene he saw that day—blonde hair... that enormous... tsk tsk...
But as soon as he finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen began blinking rapidly at him.
Gekko Chizan was puzzled and asked:
"Hokage-sama, what's wrong? Do you have an eye problem?"
"That can't be. I remember you never had that issue."
"Or... don't tell me Tsunade hasn't been found yet?"
At this, Gekko Chizan shook his head resolutely and said seriously:
"No way. I already told you Tsunade's whereabouts. There's no way ANBU couldn't find her with so many people checking the route."
"If that's the case..."
Before he could finish, he suddenly felt an intense killing intent from his rear left.
He couldn't help but turn around.
And when he did, he finally understood why his right eyelid wouldn't stop twitching...
Because Tsunade was standing there smiling sweetly at him. Such a beautiful smile.
If it weren't for the fact that her blonde hair was floating in the air...
He might not have been this terrified...