Naruto: Scourge of the Ninja World

After successfully leaving the Land of Wind and stepping foot once again on the soil of the Land of Fire, everyone couldn't hide their joy.

"Hey Nozuki, how's Aoyama's condition?"

"The poison's stabilized. What's left will need treatment back in the village."

Hearing that, Hatake Sakumo finally let out a sigh of relief.

"What the hell, why doesn't anyone ask about me? I'm still covered in wounds..."

Tsuchi, clearly displeased with his captain's attitude, hurried over and lifted his shirt to reveal several gruesome wounds.

"Oh, come on, your wounds are already scabbing over. Have some shame, will you?"

Yamanaka Heichi smacked him on the head, leaving Tsuchi scratching his head with an embarrassed grin.

"This mission's success was largely thanks to Chizan."

"Right—Chizan, what kind of sedative did you use on her? Why hasn't she woken up yet?"

Everyone looked at the still-unconscious Pakura in Gekko Chizan's arms with some surprise.

It's already been a full day—how is she still out cold?

What kind of sedative did Gekko Chizan use? That's terrifying.

"Heh, it's my own secret formula. One drop, three days of sleep. If any of you ever get insomnia, come find me—I've got you covered!"

Gekko Chizan gave a pervy little laugh, making everyone shake their heads helplessly.

"Sakumo-sama, when we return to Konoha, should Pakura be sent directly to the Interrogation Division?"

Hatake Sakumo nodded.

"Work like this is handled by specialists."

"What's wrong? You got something else in mind?"

Gekko Chizan glanced down at Pakura in his arms. To be honest, he was a little reluctant to hand over such a beautiful woman to the Interrogation Division.

Those guys don't even know what a beautiful woman looks like. They're a bunch of sick perverts.

"Everyone has their role. In the end, we follow the Hokage's decision."

"After all, I doubt he expected that instead of bringing back intel, you'd bring back the enemy's surprise attack captain."

As he spoke, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but laugh.

This mission had been an overwhelming success. Capturing a surprise attack captain was far more valuable than trying to dig up scraps of intel.

...

Back in the village, Hatake Sakumo first brought Aoyama to the hospital, then led the team straight to the Hokage's office.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't alone in his office. Another figure stood before him.

His old comrade—and constant thorn in his side—Shimura Danzo.

"Sarutobi, someone like Gekko Chizan should be assigned to my Root division."

"Don't you understand the value of his Transparent Release and Flying Thunder God techniques?"

There it was—straight to the point, demanding the man.

"Put someone like him in my hands, and I guarantee I'll make him Konoha's strongest intelligence operative."

"Not just some teacher stuck in a classroom!"

"Sarutobi, you're wasting a true talent!"

Of course Hiruzen Sarutobi understood Danzo's ulterior motives.

With a power like Transparent Release, if Gekko Chizan joined Root, the first thing Danzo would do is have him spy on Konoha's own.

Wouldn't be surprising if Hiruzen himself landed on Danzo's watchlist—hell, he was probably already on it.

Hmph. This damn old bastard—he never stops scheming.

"Danzo, you're overstepping. Gekko Chizan is currently a jōnin of the village and a teacher at the ninja academy."

"He's made no small contribution to the village. There's no need to assign him to Root."

"This matter is not up for discussion."

Hiruzen Sarutobi flatly rejected Danzo's request.

Just as Danzo opened his mouth to protest, there was a knock at the office door.

"Hmph! You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"

"You let talent like this go to waste—sooner or later, you'll pay the price for your own stupidity!"

Danzo realized he had lost this round, and left after tossing that bitter remark.

As he opened the door, Hatake Sakumo was standing right there, seeing clearly the unpleasant expression on Danzo's face.

He'd heard everything outside. That old bastard—while they were risking their lives on a mission, he was trying to poach his men?

Seeing Sakumo return, Danzo's expression changed slightly. But he was a man used to storms—he walked right past without a word.

Behind Sakumo were the members of his squad. Each of them averted their gaze, avoiding eye contact with Danzo.

Except Gekko Chizan, who looked right at him with a mocking smirk.

Seriously? The guy tries to steal him into Root while he's not even in the village?

Root was the darkest place in Konoha.

Danzo also noticed Chizan and gave him a cold, bitter look before finally leaving.

"Sakumo? You're back?"

"So soon?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked surprised to see Hatake Sakumo's squad return.

It had only been a few days—how were they back already?

Could it be the mission failed? Or something went wrong?

"The mission's complete—more than complete, actually."

Sakumo smiled, then gestured for everyone to enter the office.

Among them was Pakura, still being held in Gekko Chizan's arms.

"Hey, Chizan, why are you still carrying her? There's a sofa right there. Put her down!"

Hatake Sakumo looked at Gekko Chizan in exasperation. They were inside already, and he was still holding her?

Was he really that reluctant to let go?

Come on, she's just a pretty woman. Not like she's more attractive than his wife!

"Huh? Oh—oh, right. Sure, I'll put her on the sofa, then?"

Gekko Chizan didn't blush at all. Casually, he walked over to the sofa and gently laid Pakura down.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi caught sight of the female ninja placed on the couch.

Especially that headband—Sunagakure.

He looked genuinely surprised.

"She's from Sunagakure?"

A mission for intel, and they'd brought back a ninja?

No doubt—this woman had to be someone important.

"Yeah, here's the situation..."

Hatake Sakumo didn't hide anything and explained everything from start to finish.

Including his own solo breakout, and how Gekko Chizan used the Flying Thunder God technique to save the entire team.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already suspected something, but when he heard that the woman was Sunagakure's surprise attack captain, he still couldn't help showing his astonishment.

He looked at Gekko Chizan with genuine appreciation.

This kid—he doesn't act often, but when he does, it's incredible.

Between the incident with Kumogakure in the Land of Hot Springs and now this intel operation involving Sunagakure, Chizan was clearly an exceptional talent.

Hmph! Damn that Danzo, trying to steal someone like this away from him?

Not a chance!

"Aoyama's still in the hospital. Without Chizan's help on this mission, we wouldn't have gotten away so cleanly."

"Hokage-sama, that's the full report on our mission."

With Gekko Chizan's help, the mission hadn't just succeeded—it had ended with zero casualties.

An overwhelming success, by any measure.

"Good. Very good. Now, hand her over to the Interrogation Division."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back down, extremely satisfied.

"Um, Hokage-sama, about that—could we not send her to the Interrogation Division?"

"If it's about intel, Heichi's Mind Reading technique can still get what we need."

Suddenly, Gekko Chizan spoke up.

His words genuinely startled everyone present.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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