"I accept the punishment."
"I'll go pay the fine in a bit."
Since things had come to this, Gekko Chizan accepted the punishment very straightforwardly. As for what he was really thinking inside, no one else knew.
"Very good. Then, Chizan, after you pay the fine, prepare to depart."
"As for the matter concerning Kumogakure, think it through first and then draft a plan for me. I must be kept informed about this."
"Fugaku, Shikaku, you two stay behind."
These two were already used to staying late, so they took it in stride.
Their Hokage at home had truly inherited the Third Hokage's style in this regard—once he found suitable assistants, he worked them to the bone.
Just look at Fugaku. The poor Uchiha clan head already had dark circles under his eyes.
...
After leaving the Hokage Building, Gekko Chizan created a shadow clone and immediately gave an order:
"Find Root's base for me. Those fifty million ryō—Danzō, that old bastard, has to spit it all out."
"Don't worry. Anyone who takes our money has to spit it back out!"
Although shadow clones possessed a certain degree of independent thought, they were still primarily guided by the original's mindset.
One had to know that Gekko Chizan's love of money was carved into his bones. Even his clones loved money. Just look back at what happened in Amegakure.
Those clones didn't hold back at all—always going straight for the expensive stuff. Money, items, even clothes—everything was fair game.
Without any need for instructions from Gekko Chizan, the clone had already activated Transparent Release and followed Danzō.
...
Back at home, Gekko Chizan didn't do anything in particular. He simply watched his son and daughter, soothing the children while thinking about Kumogakure.
Seeing this, Sayo went out directly for a walk and to buy groceries.
"Chizan."
"Hm??? Why didn't you go to school?"
Pakura suddenly came over to his side. Seeing her, Gekko Chizan was a bit surprised—normally, at this time of day, she would be in class.
"Sakumo-sama approved my leave."
"And ANBU have already been stationed around our home for protection."
"Have you planned how to act yet? I'll go with you."
Only then did Gekko Chizan notice that Pakura was dressed in tight combat gear. His gaze froze for a moment—damn, this was like going straight back to her most heroic and dashing days.
Even though it wasn't a backless outfit, it was still impossibly cool.
"What are you looking at, idiot!"
"Looking at a beauty..."
Pakura immediately lost her temper, raised her head, and smacked Gekko Chizan.
He burst out laughing, pulled Pakura to his side, and in a very serious tone explained everything that would follow.
"I've already made arrangements. You stay home and behave."
"This operation against Kumogakure will be large-scale and last a long time. I've already asked Minato for my most capable subordinates."
Gekko Chizan knew this matter required real effort, so he had no intention of handling it alone.
He didn't want to work himself to death.
"I—"
"Alright. Just stay peacefully in the village."
Seeing how firm Gekko Chizan's attitude was, Pakura understood that he truly didn't plan to let her participate, and could only accept it.
The family of four was warm and harmonious.
...
But that peace was quickly broken. The sound of knocking, combined with Uchiha Obito's booming voice, was incredibly penetrating.
"Sensei! We're here!"
"This has to be avenged!"
"Let's go! Now! Immediately! Right away!"
This string of furious shouts made Gekko Chizan's mouth twitch violently. At this moment, he felt a bit of regret—regret over why he had chosen this Uchiha Obito kid.
An Uchiha Obito who hadn't undergone the baptism of darkness was like a sun.
No wonder someone like this could be talked down by Naruto's talk-no-jutsu. This kid was a sun by nature—even if covered by a layer of darkness, his essence was still light. How could he not be influenced by another sun like Naruto?
Opening the door, Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Uchiha Obito, and Uchiha Shisui were already fully prepared.
Looking at the three who had shed their youthfulness and grown so much, Gekko Chizan felt a wave of relief in his heart.
As for Uchiha Shisui—well, he was still a little bean sprout.
"You all know what's going on, but aren't you acting a bit too quickly?"
"The mission was just decided. Can't you give me some time to think?"
Faced with Gekko Chizan's question, Kakashi spoke first.
"Sensei, stop pretending. That night, I'm guessing you'd already figured out how to retaliate against Kumogakure."
"So we can just depart directly."
"And I heard you already sent out a black snake to the Land of Lightning—that was to deliver the Flying Thunder God formula, right?"
Life in ANBU had greatly enriched Kakashi's experience. His observation skills and vigilance far surpassed what they used to be.
As for strength, there was no need to even mention it.
"Hehehe, not bad."
"Shisui, from now on, you're also my disciple. You don't have any objections to that, do you?"
Gekko Chizan looked at Shisui. After all, he had directly referred to Shisui as his disciple during the meeting, so it was only proper to ask his opinion.
Uchiha Shisui shook his head, his face filled with admiration, and spoke solemnly:
"Chizan-sensei, you've already taught me so much. Being your disciple is my honor."
"Hehehe, good."
"Come in, then. Let's talk about the next mission."
...
Once all four had entered, several crystals instantly appeared in Gekko Chizan's hand and were thrown toward the four corners of the courtyard.
Immediately after, his hands moved rapidly through hand seals.
As the crystals settled into the four directions of the house, a transparent barrier slowly took shape.
Seeing this, the four of them were momentarily stunned.
"Sensei, you can use barrier techniques too?"
"It's not a particularly strong barrier. If you want to learn it, I'll teach all four of you. This barrier technique happens to require exactly four people."
Though it was said to require four people, Gekko Chizan alone had deployed the barrier. After all, his crystals were complete chakra conductors.
More than enough to bear the responsibility of the formation's core.
"Awesome! Barrier techniques—I've never learned those before."
"Yeah, we did study barriers at school, but there was only one, right?"
"That thing's useless. Even if you cast it, it's basically the same as not having one."
The three youngsters spoke one after another, leaving Shisui staring wide-eyed.
Gekko Chizan laughed loudly and patted Shisui on the shoulder.
"Shisui, you need to integrate quickly. Our master-disciple relationship is very casual."
Shisui nodded. After all, this kind of master-disciple relationship really did feel quite nice.
"The Four-Corner Sealing Barrier Formation isn't a particularly rare barrier technique, and it can be adapted into different types depending on the user's needs."
"The first type, Search, can be used to locate targets. The second, Bind, can be used to restrain targets. The third, Lock, can be used to seal targets."
"And I used chakra to eliminate sound, so the effect here is sound prohibition."
"Let me see… ah, this one. Take it and read it yourselves."
With the barrier fully deployed, Gekko Chizan walked into the house, rummaged through boxes and cabinets, found a scroll, and tossed it to Kakashi.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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