Konoha Village, a village full of vitality.
But at this moment, inside the Hokage office building, it was a completely different scene.
"Hokage-sama, I'm suffering! I was on duty yesterday, and suddenly a figure rushed in and beat me up. Even though I couldn't see who it was, I know it was that Gekko jōnin!"
"I've already been beaten four times this month, please spare me!"
A chūnin's miserable complaint drew sighs from those around him, and also sparked widespread resonance.
"Hokage-sama, I'm suffering too..."
"What happened to the promised missions? What about the rewards? I gathered so many medicinal materials, but that Gekko jōnin only gave me 5,000 ryō as payment—he cut it down by ninety percent!"
"I ran around for half a month for a single mission, and this isn't even enough for hard work pay!"
Minato Namikaze felt his head swelling.
Ever since Gekko Chizan started his so-called training, the situation in the village had begun to change.
This past year, no one knew what kind of medicine Gekko Chizan had taken, but he had started going wild without restraint both inside and outside the village.
Within the village, he had become a devil-like existence.
The complaints of the two ninjas just now were merely the tip of the iceberg, not worth mentioning at all.
He had run off to the Uchiha clan to "observe" their Sharingan, which led Uchiha Fugaku to chase him with a blade for three days and three nights, exhausting the Uchiha clan head to the point of breaking down and cursing loudly.
And what about him? Laughing, he escaped with Flying Thunder God.
The village's pharmacies also suffered repeated "attacks," with medicinal materials frequently going missing. Fortunately, that bastard at least knew to leave money behind—or if not money, then something else, like wild boars? Giant snakes?
Just as Minato Namikaze was still thinking about how to deal with this, in the next second, the office door was suddenly flung open, and a masked figure rushed in hastily.
"Hokage-sama, this is bad."
"Reports from the intelligence network say Gekko Chizan has gone to Sunagakure in the Land of Wind and confronted the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, insisting on taking his son, Gaara, as a disciple."
"The two are already fighting in the desert of the Land of Wind..."
Minato Namikaze almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
What the hell is that bastard trying to do?!
"When did this happen?!"
"Yesterday..."
"According to frontline intelligence personnel, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa was furious—his overwhelming gold dust could even be seen in the sky above the desert."
"Bang!!!"
Minato Namikaze finally couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his hand onto the desk and stood up abruptly.
"Dispatch the Anbu immediately—send them to the Land of Wind!"
"No! Send Shinnosuke! Hatake Sakumo too! Bring Gekko Chizan back to me!!!"
Hearing his furious roar, the Anbu's trembling voice sounded again in the next second.
"Um, Hokage-sama..."
"White Fang-sama already went... Tsunade-sama went as well..."
Minato Namikaze felt like his head was about to explode.
"Dammit!!!"
...
The desert of the Land of Wind.
"Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!"
"Chizan, you bastard! Are you trying to start another war?!"
In the desert, his home ground, Rasa could mobilize an enormous amount of gold dust. Magnetic Release, when combined with terrain, was completely different from when it wasn't.
The overwhelming gold dust dyed the entire area in gold.
"The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa..."
"At this level of Magnetic Release, in this desert, there are fewer than five people in the village who can deal with him."
"Among the younger generation, even the current Hokage, Minato Namikaze, would probably avoid confronting him head-on to some extent."
On a distant sand dune, Hatake Sakumo sat cross-legged, a tray placed in front of him with a teacup and teapot on it.
Sitting opposite him was Tsunade, though she wasn't drinking tea, but alcohol.
"Tch, I don't even need to think to know who those five are."
"You, Minato, Jiraiya, the old man, and that brat Gekko Chizan."
Tsunade downed the alcohol in her cup in one gulp.
"But this kid stayed quiet for a whole year, and the moment he reappears, he runs to the Land of Wind to provoke them—and even drags the two of us here to watch the show."
"What exactly is he trying to do?"
Faced with Tsunade's question, Hatake Sakumo shook his head. He couldn't figure it out either.
If he really wanted to cause trouble, there was no need to notify them at all.
With confusion, Hatake Sakumo once again turned his gaze toward the battlefield.
"Gold Dust Drizzle!"
After several years, Rasa's application of Magnetic Release had become even more refined. Using the terrain, he spread gold dust across the sky, then transformed it into sharp spikes that rained down from above. The range of this move directly covered the area where Gekko Chizan had set up his Flying Thunder God markers.
Clearly, Rasa knew that to deal with Gekko Chizan, he had to first suppress Flying Thunder God. Otherwise, relying on space-time movement, he wouldn't be able to touch him at all.
"Hey, hey, hey, Rasa, why are you being so violent toward me?"
"I just beat you up a few times back then, didn't I?"
"Hey, hey, that's all in the past. Do you really have to hold a grudge like this?"
"I see that your son has great compatibility with me. I want to take him as my disciple—I'm serious about this."
Gekko Chizan didn't dodge or evade, allowing the gold spikes to fall. Yet around him, there seemed to be some kind of force that blocked all the gold dust approaching him, while he continued his verbal assault.
Seeing this bizarre scene, Rasa's pupils shrank.
No technique, no movement—yet Gekko Chizan blocked all attacks. What was going on?
Rasa wasn't the only one who noticed—Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade saw it as well.
"What is that? An invisible barrier?"
"Tsunade, what do you think?"
Hatake Sakumo felt a trace of shock. Even with his eyesight, he couldn't tell what technique Gekko Chizan was using to defend himself.
And Tsunade, just like him, had no clue.
"Sage jutsu? But what kind of sage jutsu is this?"
The gold dust continued to rain down, and Gekko Chizan grew slightly irritated. With a light wave of his hand—
In the next second, a burst of chakra-filled light spread outward, and wherever the chakra reached, all the gold dust vanished completely.
"What did you do?"
"What kind of technique is that?"
Rasa retreated cautiously, gathering a large amount of gold dust around himself in preparation for any sudden situation.
"Rasa, the war is already over. Stop fighting all the time."
"So? How about considering my suggestion?"
"I know you've sealed the One-Tail inside your son. It's fine—I'll help you train him properly."
Gekko Chizan grinned, his body beginning to emit waves of pressure that made Rasa even more cautious.
He had clashed with Gekko Chizan many times before, and every time had ended in defeat.
Deep in his heart, Rasa already regarded Gekko Chizan as a lifelong enemy.