Half an hour later, Kakashi and Rin were gasping for breath, while poor Obito was pitifully lying on the ground.
"Why... why is it always me who gets hurt..."
Pakura stood on the side, watching the three little ones getting drilled by Gekko Chizan, her face full of helplessness.
This Gekko Chizan—was this even training?
No, for Kakashi and Rin, it counted as training.
For Obito, though, this was nothing but personal revenge.
Such a grown man, yet so petty.
Gekko Chizan: Hmph! I always pay back a grudge! This little Obito needs to be disciplined!
"Kakashi, Rin, your strength has improved very quickly. It seems Pakura has trained you well."
"Mm. You must remember Pakura-sensei's kindness to you. In the future, never forget it."
Kakashi: ...Has he gone mad?
Rin: No, I get it now. I understand why Pakura-sensei is wearing a skirt today!
Pakura covered her face, unable to look straight ahead... because she had already seen the gossip gleaming in Rin's eyes.
"Obito, as for you, hmph!"
"I..."
Just as he was about to continue speaking, Gekko Chizan sensed new arrivals nearby.
"That's it for today. Kakashi, you all escort Pakura back."
With a flash of Body Flicker Technique, Gekko Chizan disappeared on the spot.
Kakashi saw his teacher vanish and immediately understood—this meant the higher-ups knew Gekko Chizan had returned and had sent someone to find him.
Pakura also realized what was happening, a trace of worry showing on her face.
"Pakura-sensei, it'll be fine. Chizan-sensei is a jōnin of the village and a war hero. The Hokage-sama sending people for him is completely normal."
"But, Pakura-sensei... you and Chizan-sensei, hehe, is there...?"
Rin came to Pakura's side, comforting her while flipping on gossip mode.
At this question, though Kakashi kept a calm expression, his pricked-up ears betrayed him.
Even Obito, ignoring the pain in his body, sat straight up like a carp leaping from the water.
Pakura: ...Like teacher, like students, huh?
...
Gekko Chizan, after leaving with Body Flicker Technique, didn't appear directly before the newcomers but instead activated Transparent Release to observe.
Seeing the two groups arguing, Gekko Chizan smiled faintly.
Though both were Anbu, it was obvious they weren't from the same side.
Clearly, one group was under the Hokage, while the other belonged to Root.
"Yo, everyone, good morning."
His voice rang out, and the two groups instantly separated, the scene turning very awkward.
"Gekko Chizan, Danzo-sama requests your presence."
"Gekko Chizan, Hokage-sama requests your presence."
Well, now Gekko Chizan had become the dual target of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo.
Logically speaking, as Orochimaru's disciple, he should belong to the Hokage's side—after all, there was the teacher-grandson relationship.
However, Orochimaru had once worked with Danzo.
Though they had since fallen out, Danzo would never let such a promising talent slip by.
So, the news of Gekko Chizan's return had reached both sides at the same time, and now both sets of Anbu had shown up.
"Oh? Danzo-sama?"
"I wonder what Danzo-sama wants with me?"
"You know, I'm also Anbu—just not under Root, that's all."
Gekko Chizan kept a smile on his face, which irritated the Root side greatly, while the Hokage's Anbu smirked in amusement.
"Hmph, you'll know once you come."
"Come? Didn't you hear the Hokage-sama wants to see him too?"
The two sides clashed again, sparks flying.
Gekko Chizan waved his hand. After all, this was still within the village; neither side could really fight here. All they could do was spit words at each other.
"Let's go. I won't be seeing Danzo."
"Everyone, I'll head out first."
With that, Gekko Chizan vanished on the spot. Those who knew his abilities understood—this was Flying Thunder God Technique.
The Root members, seeing their mission fail, were extremely displeased.
After all, the consequences of failing a Root mission were very serious.
...
Inside the Hokage building, Gekko Chizan had already knocked on the office door.
Pushing it open and stepping in—oh?
Danzo was here too.
Seeing Danzo dressed in black, Gekko Chizan unconsciously smiled. He had just refused Root's invitation, and now here Danzo was?
"Hehehe, Danzo, what did I tell you? No need to waste your efforts."
"Chizan is my student's disciple."
Sarutobi Hiruzen happily puffed on his pipe. Just moments ago, Danzo had come to him, wanting once again to transfer Gekko Chizan to Root.
Hiruzen had flatly refused. Then both sides had sent people after Gekko Chizan.
"Hmph! Hiruzen, you'll regret this. You're wasting such a talent!"
"He survived a Tailed Beast riot—an elite shinobi like this belongs under me."
"With him, we could easily infiltrate other great nations to steal intelligence!"
"You know how important intelligence is!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen set down his pipe, his expression turning serious. With Danzo glaring at him so fiercely, he couldn't stay relaxed.
"I understand his value even better than you, so spare me the speech."
"With Orochimaru and me here, his value will be realized."
At the mention of Orochimaru, Danzo let out a cold laugh.
"Orochimaru? Hehehehe..."
That mocking laugh made Sarutobi Hiruzen frown, demanding directly,
"What are you laughing at?"
At the same time, Gekko Chizan, standing behind, grew wary at the sound of Danzo's laugh.
He sensed malice—aimed at his teacher.
And the next words made Gekko Chizan want to kill Danzo on the spot.
"You still don't know what your precious student has been up to, do you?"
"The Wood Release cell cultivation plan might have been our idea, but the one carrying it out was him."
"And aren't you curious what Orochimaru has been studying in his lab all this time?"
"Take a look at this, Hiruzen. This is what your dear student has been doing!"
Danzo threw a stack of documents onto the table.
On top were photos and records of Orochimaru's experiments.
The words "Human Experimentation" in bold made Sarutobi Hiruzen's vision blur for a moment.
Gekko Chizan's face, meanwhile, turned icy. Damn you, Danzo!
"Hehehehe, you're the Hokage. You deal with this yourself."
"As for Gekko Chizan, I won't give up. My stance remains the same—he belongs in Root."
As Danzo slowly rose and headed toward the door, he glanced at Gekko Chizan while passing.
His eyes were full of smugness, making Gekko Chizan want to draw the sword and stab a hole right through him.
This bastard—just because Orochimaru-sensei cut ties with him, he dared to backstab like this.
Those human experiments hadn't even begun. No, they hadn't been done at all.