Naruto: Scourge of the Ninja World

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Hatake Sakumo Plans to Resign



"Kid, did you just say you're going to be my custodian?"

"Yeah... I did!"

Gekko Chizan nodded. That was exactly what he had said earlier, and he wasn't about to deny it.

"Very well. I'm now a prisoner of Konohagakure. If you want intel, come get it."

She ripped off the forehead protector from her head and threw it on the Hokage's desk, then sat down directly on the sofa.

She looked as if she'd surrendered, but anyone who saw the fire blazing in her eyes wouldn't believe she had truly yielded.

Only Pakura herself knew exactly what she was doing.

She was now a prisoner, facing both the Hokage of Konohagakure and the White Fang standing to the side.

There was no chance of escape.

The only option was to play along for now.

And what made her decide to do so... were Gekko Chizan's words just now.

A person who's truly lonely would never have chosen the path of battle—unless the village demanded it.

She was an orphan... her talent discovered by the village, trained from a young age. Once she had strength, she was constantly used for missions...

A lonely person, huh... Damn brat...

"Sakumo, take her to the Interrogation Division first. Yamanaka Heichi, go with them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the hopeful expression on Gekko Chizan's face and smiled faintly.

"You'll go too. From now on, she's your responsibility. But you must guarantee she won't attack anyone in the village."

"Otherwise, you know the consequences, Chizan."

If she made a move inside the village, there'd only be one outcome—death.

Gekko Chizan understood this perfectly. He nodded solemnly.

...

The Interrogation Division wasn't as dark and scary as imagined—just an ordinary building.

The same people stood in front of Pakura.

The only difference was that there were more people around now.

Yamanaka Heichi placed his hand on her head and activated a mind-reading technique to extract information.

Meanwhile, Pakura's mind wandered back to the way that damned brat spoke.

A lonely person...

Yes, she'd always been alone—on missions or going home, always by herself...

Damn it... She hated loneliness. She really did...

Tears suddenly slid down from the corners of her eyes...

"Huh? Mind-reading can make people cry now? Heichi, are you sure your technique's working properly?"

"Seriously? Is your jutsu expired or something?"

Gekko Chizan, who had been standing to the side observing, suddenly noticed the situation and immediately doubted Yamanaka Heichi. Looks like even the Yamanaka clan can slip up sometimes.

Just then, Yamanaka Heichi finished his technique. He stared blankly at Chizan's skeptical expression and instantly looked offended.

"What the hell! I'm from the Yamanaka clan—there's no way my mind-reading technique would fail!"

"Besides, I just read her memories. At most, it would cause temporary mental confusion. Her crying has nothing to do with me!"

Pakura suddenly snapped out of it, wiped her tears, and returned to her usual cold demeanor.

"Can I go now?"

"Brat, take me out of here."

Gekko Chizan finally let Yamanaka Heichi off the hook and nodded.

Under everyone's watchful gaze, he led Pakura out of the room.

Once outside the Interrogation Division, Gekko Chizan unlocked the handcuffs on her wrists.

"I can remove the handcuffs, but the Five Elements Seal on your body stays."

"Your identity is too sensitive. From now on, you might have to live at my place."

"Don't worry, it's not just me. There are others living there too."

Pakura gave him a cold snort.

"What? Am I scary?"

"You sure weren't scared when you were peeking at me in the bath."

"I'm curious though—even though I was bathing, I wasn't off guard."

"You've got some pretty strong stealth skills."

Gekko Chizan didn't know how to respond. Should he just tell her he can turn invisible?

Which makes peeking all the more efficient?

"Tch. Whatever. Don't say anything. Let's go, brat."

"Hey, could you stop calling me 'brat'? You're not that much older than me..."

Gekko Chizan was really annoyed by how she kept calling him that.

How was he a brat? Let it be known—he's lived two lives. He's at least 40 now!

"I don't even know your name. And aren't you younger than me?"

Gekko Chizan: ...Damn it! Why am I arguing with her?

"My name is Gekko Chizan, from the Gekko clan of Konoha."

"Come on, I'll take you to my place."

...

Back home, Sayo was still sitting by the room, watching over Gekko Hayate.

The moment she saw Gekko Chizan return, she looked genuinely happy—but the joy only lasted three seconds before she froze.

"What the hell kid! Where'd you pick up this girl?"

"Tsk tsk, say what you will, but you've got good taste."

"Big boobs, wide hips—definitely good for bearing kids."

Pakura: ????

Gekko Chizan: Oh my god...

"Nice, nice. If your parents knew you had a girlfriend at your age, they'd be over the moon."

"Finally, the Gekko bloodline will live on!"

"Miss, don't worry. Our Chizan may look unreliable..."

"Hmm... and okay, his actions are kind of unreliable too, but he's a good person."

Pakura had never been welcomed so warmly before. She was momentarily stunned.

But seeing how enthusiastic the auntie was, she couldn't bring herself to stay silent.

"Um... Hello, I'm Pakura..."

"Pakura, huh? Nice. Great name—totally sounds like a beauty."

"I'm Sayo. You can just call me Sayo-san. I've watched this rascal grow up."

"Come on, are you hungry? I'll cook something for you."

Sayo completely ignored Gekko Chizan and dragged Pakura off toward the yard.

Gekko Chizan stood there frozen for a moment before chuckling softly.

He had been worried that Sayo might not accept him suddenly bringing a woman home, but clearly, he'd been overthinking it.

"Sayo-san, earlier you said Gekko Chizan always gets into trouble."

"What kind of stuff does he do?"

The moment Sayo heard that, she burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha, don't get me started on the dumb stuff he's done."

"Like peeking at people in the bath..."

Gekko Chizan was completely speechless.

"Hey! Sayo-san! If you could not say that kind of stuff, that'd be great!"

Pakura: Hehehe, little perv. So you're a repeat offender, huh?

...

Meanwhile, at the Hokage's office—

"Sakumo, what is the meaning of this?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the resignation letter Hatake Sakumo had placed on the desk, visibly stunned.

"Heh... I've hit middle age. I'm not as decisive as I used to be."

"If it hadn't been for Chizan's Flying Thunder God technique on this last mission, I probably would've made a terrible mistake."

"And the mission might've failed too."

Hatake Sakumo smiled faintly.

During this mission, he suddenly realized he wasn't the man he used to be—not in willpower, nor in sharpness of thought.

"Besides, I'm only resigning from my position as head of the ANBU. I'm not retiring as a ninja."

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