"That's right. That guy Minato only knows how to fight—nothing like me!"
"Pakura, I'm here!"
Just as Tsunade and Pakura were chatting, Kazuyama Gekkō pushed open the door and came in, smiling from ear to ear. Days like this were meant to be happy.
"Hmph! You bastard! I was having a great time in the Land of Iron, and you just hauled me back! I haven't even settled the score with you yet!"
Seeing Kazuyama Gekkō, Tsunade fumed. She'd realized that even if she tossed away the kunai marked with his formula, he could still track her down. Only after returning to the village did she figure out why.
"Head of the Intelligence Network—no wonder Pakura said you haven't been in the village all year. Not bad."
"Hmph."
With his intel network, Kazuyama Gekkō could quickly grasp what was happening across the Ninja World. He'd warned everyone—especially medics like Tsunade—that if they spotted her, they had to report immediately.
As it happened, Tsunade was in the Land of Iron when one of Kazuyama Gekkō's taverns saw her and notified him. The result? He used Flying Thunder God to jump to the Land of Iron, grabbed Tsunade and Shizune, and rushed back to Konoha. Shameless as ever, he even stamped a formula directly onto Tsunade's green battle robe—so he wouldn't lose her again.
"Honestly, Tsunade, just don't leave the village."
"With Minato as Hokage, you're basically an elder here."
"As for those old fogies like Sarutobi, they can just sit back and watch. Why would you leave?"
Kazuyama Gekkō handed Pakura the snacks he'd brought—her favorites. Pakura's eyes lit up, leaving Tsunade speechless.
"Forget it. I'm not free at all in the village. I prefer wandering around."
"But I'm curious—how did you know I went all the way to the Land of Iron? Don't tell me you set up intel posts there too?"
Tsunade looked at Kazuyama Gekkō with genuine curiosity, waiting for his answer. The Land of Iron wasn't a shinobi nation; most people wouldn't bother gathering intel there.
"Oh my, who knows?"
Kazuyama Gekkō wasn't about to reveal his intel network sites. Classified! Classified!
...
Right after returning from the hospital, Kazuyama Gekkō had barely stepped through the door when ANBU showed up.
"Hey, you lot—do you spend all day looking for me?"
"Captain Kazuyama, the Lord Hokage requests your presence."
"I know, I know. I was just taking my wife for a checkup! Always in a rush. If I didn't have to dodge you all, would I need to tiptoe back every time?"
Kazuyama Gekkō glared at the two ANBU in front of him—both had served under him before. Hearing his grumbling, the two could only sigh. Back in the Forest of Death, Kazuyama had made them spar daily against giant anacondas. Add in his infamous One Thousand Years of Death—"Devil Instructor" wasn't an empty title. These days, any ANBU who saw him broke out in a cold sweat. Those memories ran deep.
"Hmph. Let's go see that guy Minato."
Before they could react, Kazuyama Gekkō closed the distance, seized them by the arms, and in a flash all three vanished with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
...
Inside the Hokage's office.
"Kazuyama, could you use the door? This office has one!"
"My window!"
Minato Namikaze stared at the shards of glass all over the floor, his head pounding.
Kazuyama Gekkō looked utterly unconcerned. After vaulting in through the window, he sat naturally on the sofa and shouted toward the outside:
"Hey, you two idiots, aren't you coming in?"
"Or are you planning to use the door?"
That was for the two ANBU—thanks to Kazuyama Gekkō's Flying Thunder God, they'd arrived at the windowsill. The two stood there wide-eyed, unsure what to do. Only after hearing him did they sheepishly hop through the window.
"And you—already the Hokage, yet you're so stingy!"
"What? I'm stingy?"
Minato almost laughed from sheer anger. Over the past year, how much money had Tsukiyama Gekkō squeezed out of him?
More than fifty million ryō! An astronomical sum!
Worse, ever since he'd assigned Tsukiyama Gekkō to run the intel network, the man hadn't used the door once. Every time, it was through the window. The number of panes shattered was beyond counting.
[Ding! Detected that the Host has shattered fifty windows in the Hokage's office over the past year, causing immeasurable psychological trauma to Hokage Minato Namikaze! Special Reward: Rasengan Nature Transformation Progress increased to 100%!]
Huh? He'd smashed that many windows? How did he not know?
[Detected: Host's Rasengan Nature Transformation progress has reached 100%!]
[Activating Rasengan Nature Transformation (Fire)!]
[Note: The Host can continue accumulating Rasengan Nature progress. Each time it reaches 100%, another Nature Transformation branch can be unlocked.]
Hearing the fresh reward, Kazuyama Gekkō's eyes practically sparkled. As expected—though the system always denied it, as long as he exploited one particular person, some ability would get a boost. Just like when he messed with Hatake Sakumo and his One Thousand Years of Death got a huge upgrade. Now he'd been dogging Minato Namikaze—tsk, and the reward arrived right on cue!
Minato was still glaring at him, when he noticed—this bastard was smiling! That only made him angrier.
"Kazuyama! You bastard!"
"Pay for it!"
The two ANBU stood stiffly to the side, not daring to move, terrified of getting dragged in.
Kazuyama Gekkō, on the other hand, lazily scratched his ear with his right hand and said calmly, "Oh, come on, it's just a window."
"How about I fix it for you?"
"You haven't forgotten my Crystal Release, have you?"
"Watch this!"
"Crystal Release! Tempered Glass Technique!"
Kazuyama Gekkō flicked his hand, not even bothering with hand seals. Under the gazes of Minato Namikaze and the two ANBU, the shattered window rapidly crystallized. In no time, a transparent crystal pane was complete.
He strolled over and rapped his knuckles on it.
"See? My Crystal Release crystal—the toughest there is. You could blast it with a missile and it still wouldn't crack!"
"So yeah, Minato, you're just being petty. It's only a few windows. Is it worth the fuss?"
"As for these glass shards..."
"Hey, you two—come sweep up. Hurry and tidy the place for the Hokage!"
ANBU: ...This... I... Forget it. Let's clean.
Minato: ...That bastard!