Daimyo's Mansion Castle.
Gekko Chizan sat in his seat, drinking the tea provided by the Daimyo's Mansion.
Not gonna lie, the special supply from the Daimyo's Mansion really tasted good.
"Hehehehe, one of Konoha's Twin Stars, the Ghost Chizan—meeting you in person truly lives up to the reputation."
"You flatter me, Daimyo-sama. How could a small figure like me possibly catch Daimyo-sama's eye?"
Facing the Daimyo's greeting, Gekko Chizan replied with a cheerful smile.
He originally had no intention of meeting the Daimyo. After all, he didn't like this kind of occasion.
"I just heard from Kazuma and the others."
"I never expected the infamous Shimura Danzō to be hiding in the Daimyo's Mansion."
"If you hadn't stepped in to help, the Daimyo's Mansion might have suffered even greater losses."
"For that, I am very grateful for what you did."
The newly appointed Daimyo was the skinny man Gekko Chizan was familiar with. But only after seeing him in person did he truly understand.
Anyone who could become a Daimyo was definitely not simple.
That smile alone made him feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Before I inherited the position of Daimyo, I had already heard your name many times."
"The previous Daimyo and his ministers also spoke very highly of you."
"I want to know—would someone like you be interested in joining the Guardian Shinobi under my command?"
Gekko Chizan finished the tea in his hand in one gulp, then smiled and shook his head.
"I'm someone who likes freedom. Joining the Guardian Shinobi isn't for me."
"Aren't Kazuma and the others already here?"
"They're all quite capable shinobi. With them around, the Guardian Shinobi are more than enough."
Hearing Gekko Chizan's refusal, the Daimyo showed no dissatisfaction at all. After all, it had only been a casual attempt.
"Hehe, very well. But if you ever change your mind, the Daimyo's Mansion will always welcome you."
...
That night, Gekko Chizan went to find Asuma alone.
The moment the latter saw him, a speechless expression appeared on his face, even carrying a hint of irritation.
"No, why do you have to come looking for me?"
"Danzō has already been captured—why aren't you hurrying back to the village?"
This was Asuma's residence, a small house located at the edge of the Daimyo's Mansion castle.
After leaving the castle, Gekko Chizan had come straight to his door.
Hearing Asuma's complaints, Gekko Chizan barely resisted the urge to kick him.
"You think I wanted to come?"
"If your old man hadn't asked me to check on you while I was here, I wouldn't have bothered with you."
"Hmph. A little brat who hasn't improved at all after so many years—what right do you have to make me come see you?"
Hearing the words "your old man," Asuma's face showed even more displeasure.
He simply couldn't stand Sarutobi Hiruzen controlling him.
Of course, the man in front of him shared part of the blame.
"Hmph, I don't need him to control me."
"I'm doing just fine staying here right now. No need for him to worry."
"And you too, Chizan. Even though I'm not your opponent yet, one day I will challenge you."
Oh? Not bad. Asuma had grown—just the courage alone had increased quite a bit.
Hearing this, Gekko Chizan almost burst out laughing.
Seeing the strange expression on his face, Asuma bit off the cigarette in his mouth and said viciously:
"What are you laughing at!"
"You might be strong, but even someone as strong as the old man will decline as he gets older."
"I'm much younger than you. When you get old, I'll come challenge you."
"I don't believe you can stay strong forever!"
Good grief—this line of reasoning almost left Gekko Chizan speechless.
But Asuma clearly thought very highly of his own idea.
"Alright, kid. Not bad."
"I'll wait for the day you come challenge me."
"But I still need to remind you of something. Do you think the Daimyo's Mansion is really that harmonious?"
"I've dealt with Kazuma and his group before. Many things aren't as simple as they appear on the surface."
Leaning against the wall beside him, a hint of seriousness appeared between Gekko Chizan's brows.
Asuma originally wanted to argue a few more words, but the next second he was forced back by a powerful aura.
"I'm talking—listen. Otherwise I'll turn you into crystal so you can properly listen to what I'm saying."
Asuma: ...what the hell!
Seeing that Asuma had finally stopped nagging, Gekko Chizan nodded in satisfaction and continued:
"You should know about the situation between Kazuma and me before."
"Back then, the Daimyo wasn't the current one."
"So I understand Kazuma far better than you."
"He's not that simple. I even suspect he might have something to do with the previous Daimyo's death."
Gekko Chizan spoke his thoughts aloud, because what happened back then had been very suspicious.
Not long after they left the Daimyo's Mansion, the Daimyo died.
If someone said the two events weren't connected, he wouldn't believe it no matter what.
Earlier, when he saw Kazuma at Root's base—and from Kazuma's attitude toward him—he became even more certain that Kazuma definitely had problems.
Even in the original story, that guy had once attempted to assassinate the Daimyo, let alone now.
Hearing this, Asuma finally couldn't hold back.
"Where do these ideas of yours even come from?"
"Kazuma has long been the captain of the Guardian Shinobi. Why would he assassinate the Daimyo?"
"Besides, the ones who tried to assassinate the Daimyo were clearly hired killers from other villages. What does that have to do with Kazuma?"
This just showed how young Asuma still was. He still couldn't see the problems hidden inside all of this.
In response, Gekko Chizan didn't explain further and simply left one sentence:
"Use your eyes more, and you'll discover the flaws."
"Asuma, don't think that just because you left Konoha, you're no longer a Konoha shinobi."
"No matter what you do now, Konoha is still your foundation."
"Alright. As for what comes next, figure it out yourself."
After saying that, Gekko Chizan directly used Flying Thunder God and left Asuma's residence.
Leaving Asuma alone with countless thoughts running through his mind.
At the same time, the outer perimeter of the Daimyo's Mansion—where the shinobi troops were stationed.
"Those damned bastards!"
"And Danzō, that useless trash, actually got taken down just like that!"
"Trash! Trash!"
Kazuma was raging. What happened during the day had been too sudden, leaving him no time to process it.
Danzō's death and the disappearance of Root dealt him a heavy blow, because he needed Danzō to train elite forces for him.
But now Danzō was dead, and his plan to cultivate elites had completely fallen apart.
"Kazuma, what should we do next?"
"Do you think that guy Gekko Chizan might discover something?"
Suichi stood behind him, his face equally unpleasant.
Kazuma shook his head.
"Probably not. All of his attention is on Danzō."
"Compared to us, Danzō is far more important. After all, that guy was the Darkness of the Shinobi World and Konoha's former Hokage advisor."
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