The Land of Grass, after being tempered by war, suffered some environmental damage, but neither the country nor its ninja village encountered any major problems. On the contrary, they even made quite a bit of money.
After all, the Land of Grass obediently withdrew to the rear as soon as the war began, allowing Iwagakure full freedom of movement within its borders.
The price for that was Iwagakure providing the Land of Grass with substantial economic support.
It could be said that while other countries were drained of manpower and wealth by the war, the Land of Grass instead used the war to fatten its own purse.
As for the places destroyed by the fighting, they could simply be repaired slowly over time.
Gekko Chizan stood atop a tree, looking at the surrounding environment, his gaze filled with contemplation.
This trip to the Land of Grass was ostensibly to inspect Yugito's progress, but he had other intentions as well—namely, taking a look around the Land of Grass himself.
"Forget it, I'll go find Yugito first."
"Let me see… where exactly is my marker..."
Yugito carried a formula-marked kunai on her, so Gekko Chizan wasn't worried at all about not being able to find her.
Soon, the Flying Thunder God activated, and Gekko Chizan vanished from the spot.
When he appeared again, he was surprised to find himself inside a village.
"Eh? Bastard teacher, why are you here?"
"Uh, Yugito, where is this place?"
In truth, Gekko Chizan had already guessed which village this was, but he wasn't entirely certain—after all, he had never been here before.
Yugito shot him a glance, clearly a bit disdainful. How could he not recognize such an obvious village?
Feeling her gaze, Gekko Chizan unconsciously raised his fist. Yugito immediately spoke up briskly:
"This is the Grass Hidden Village. The Grass Hidden Village."
"Can't you see everyone around is wearing the Grass Hidden Village forehead protector?"
"I haven't been here long either. A few of my underlings are Grass Hidden Village ninja, so I came along with them. The Grass Hidden Village is very well hidden—if no one leads you, it's not easy to find."
Gekko Chizan nodded. No wonder—it was the Grass Hidden Village.
It was a village with some interesting aspects. The Grass Hidden Village wasn't as harmonious as it appeared on the surface. No—rather, what was shown to everyone was only one part of it.
Legend has it that in the era of the Sage of Six Paths, a thousand years ago, there existed a Box of Ultimate Bliss capable of granting one wish to whoever opened it. The Grass Hidden Village had once opened it, and it was said they came very close to ruling the world through it.
Later, one day, the Grass Hidden Village was suddenly destroyed.
From then on, two opposing factions emerged within it. One was the pro-war faction seeking to revive the Grass Hidden Village, known as the "Fruit of Grass." The other was the anti-war faction, the "Flower of Grass."
As for the Grass Hidden Village that now existed openly, it was unclear whether it belonged to the Flower of Grass or the Fruit of Grass.
But when thinking of Hōzuki Castle, one had to mention another familiar figure.
That was Kakuzu—the man who once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage.
He had once been imprisoned in Hōzuki Castle as well, though he later broke out.
"Let's go to your residence."
"Huh? Residence? I don't have one. I just arrived in the Grass Hidden Village—where would I get a residence?"
Gekko Chizan: ...What a good disciple. She didn't learn even a bit of my skills—coming to a new environment without arranging a place to stay.
Yugito: What do I need a residence for? It's such a hassle. Isn't it better to just go wherever and play wherever?
Left with no choice, Gekko Chizan could only find an inn to stay at.
Seeing that Gekko Chizan wasn't wearing a forehead protector and looked fairly friendly, the innkeeper helped him complete the check-in procedures.
Normally, the Grass Hidden Village rarely received outsiders. Those who came were either merchants or people here to commission missions.
This was also thanks to Gekko Chizan's habit of never wearing a forehead protector. Otherwise, if the Grass Hidden Village ninja saw his Konoha forehead protector, they might have just kicked him straight out.
Gekko Chizan entered the room and looked Yugito over again.
Before speaking, he used a summoning technique to call forth four snakes, sending the little snakes to stand guard.
"Just as I thought… you didn't learn a single good thing, but you picked up a pile of bad habits."
"But not wearing a forehead protector is a good habit. Wearing that thing every day just makes you look like an idiot."
He only dared to say that in private. If anyone from Konoha heard it, they'd definitely tie him up and drag him through the streets.
"That thing is uncomfortable anyway. Better not to wear it."
"But, teacher, why did you come here? To supervise me?"
Yugito leaned off to the side, her tone somewhat dissatisfied. She felt she was doing just fine and didn't need anyone supervising her.
"Hmph. Your way of doing things is certainly… unique. Alright, tell me."
"How many fights have you gotten into?"
"How many people do you have under you?"
"What about your intelligence network?"
Gekko Chizan truly began interrogating Yugito like an old cadre, somehow even producing a notebook from who knew where.
Yugito's mouth twitched violently as she listened, and she hurriedly shouted for him to stop.
"Stop! What are you doing?!"
"You're starting already? That's too much! It's only been one month—do you really have to be like this?"
No matter what, Yugito was still just a teenager. This round of questioning nearly fried her CPU.
She had come with a mission, but there was no need to be this urgent, right?
"Hmph. If I don't push you, you'll drag this out for half a year."
"You're only being asked to integrate the Grass Hidden Village's intelligence network, and it's already this troublesome. If I sent you to Sunagakure, wouldn't you be exhausted to death?"
Gekko Chizan understood Yugito's temperament well. If he didn't come and push her, she wouldn't take it seriously at all.
Though Yugito was unconvinced, thinking about how she truly hadn't started the intelligence work yet left her speechless.
Seeing her like this, Gekko Chizan sighed weakly.
All three Snake Princesses were fully occupied now. Otherwise, he really would have wanted to send one of them to follow Yugito.
"For the next few days, I'll be in the Grass Hidden Village helping you. I want you fully focused."
"Now, immediately, right this instant, gather everyone you've recruited!"
"Eight o'clock tonight—assemble outside the Grass Hidden Village!"
Hearing Gekko Chizan's arrangements, Yugito reluctantly lifted her legs and walked out.
Watching her dawdling manner, Gekko Chizan's brow began to throb.
"Rasengan!"
A prototype Rasengan suddenly slammed toward Yugito's back.
"Bang!"
The instant the chakra made contact with Yugito, it exploded outward. The chakra-generated airflow directly gave Yugito a powerful boost.
"Ah! Bastard teacher! You actually sneak-attacked me!"
"If it weren't for your age, do you believe I'd beat you up?!"
Already flying away, Yugito still didn't hold back with her mouth at all.
Hearing this, Gekko Chizan truly wanted to rush over and properly discipline this unpromising disciple of his!
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo