Chōmei had a keen sense of emotions.
At this moment, he sensed that the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, Killer Bee, was filled with anger—bordering on madness.
He was still a new Jinchūriki, and mastering the Eight-Tails' power in such a short time was already an impressive feat. But he wasn't yet a perfect Jinchūriki. If his emotions spiraled out of control, the Eight-Tails could break free from the seal and go berserk.
"Damn it, Chōmei, you're encouraging him!"
"If you're not going to encourage him, then go ahead and continue. I'll forget I said anything."
"Hey, come on, I don't want to face an out-of-control Gyūki. It's terrifying."
Kazuyama, of course, had no intention of letting the Eight-Tails rampage.
"Kinrin, let them go!"
Kinrin still wanted to chase them down, but Kazuyama stopped her.
"Kazuyama, you're not going to pursue them? They hurt me a lot!"
Kazuyama shook his head, looking helpless.
"I don't have enough chakra. Just using the Flying Thunder God Technique took a lot out of me."
"The opponent is still an Eight-Tails Jinchūriki. What am I supposed to do if the Eight-Tails goes berserk?"
Kinrin was full of resentment, her temper flaring. She hadn't even finished getting revenge for all the times they had hit her.
"There will be opportunities. Go back and rest for a while."
"Okay, but next time I run into them, you let me fight! I want revenge!"
With a bang, Kinrin disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
Kazuyama's remaining clone advanced.
His clone had failed to gain an advantage in the battle, making him realize just how strong the enemy was.
After all, he had used a Shadow Clone, which, while not as durable as a Crystal Release clone, was much more agile.
Out of the ten clones he had created, only three remained by the end, aside from the one Killer Bee had quickly destroyed.
"No wonder they're Jōnin from Kumo..."
"Their melee combat skills are seriously strong..."
After canceling his clones, Kazuyama suddenly vanished and reappeared atop a treetop.
He hadn't expected Killer Bee to actually retreat.
Using Hive Mind, he started searching for their location.
"Unfortunately, I only need to block you guys, hehe..."
"I can stop you without even fighting..."
As it turned out, Kazuyama's guess was right.
Killer Bee's squad, though temporarily retreating, had only lost three people and had no intention of abandoning their mission.
They stopped after putting some distance between themselves and Kazuyama.
"Bee, are we really canceling the mission?"
"The enemy is just one guy!"
Killer Bee, however, looked at his teammates with a serious expression.
"The mission is important. We'll go around."
"Our objective is to reach the Land of Rice Fields and gather intel. We can't let him stop us."
Everyone nodded.
The more their opponent tried to stop them, the more obvious it became that something major was happening in the Land of Rice Fields.
They had to find out what it was.
"The other party's tactics are very flexible, so we need to be careful."
"This time, we'll go around from the south."
"Go!"
Killer Bee gave the order, and everyone started moving.
Kazuyama saw them shift course and grinned.
"Chōmei, get me some more paralytic powder so they'll stay put!"
"Okay, I'll get it for you."
Before giving chase, Kazuyama first retrieved all the kunai he had thrown earlier.
He hadn't returned to the village in a long time, and his supply was running low—he had to be frugal.
Then, he took off after Killer Bee, and with Chōmei's wings boosting his speed, he easily caught up.
After all, while they were running, he was flying—there was no comparison.
To stay hidden, he activated the Transparent Escape Technique. The enemy had sensor ninja, so he had to be careful.
Meanwhile, in Killer Bee's squad—
"Ryu, Yui, has that kid caught up yet?"
The two sensor ninja closed their eyes, entering a sensing state.
A moment later, they shook their heads in unison.
"No, there's no one around."
"Good. Keep going. Once we cross into the Land of Hot Water, head straight for the Land of Rice Fields."
Killer Bee let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed their opponent had taken some damage in the previous fight. If they weren't following, that was for the best.
But unbeknownst to them, Kazuyama was flying just above them at that very moment.
"Chōmei, let's begin."
"Hehe, okay!"
Chakra surged, and paralytic powder began to rain down.
Killer Bee was the first to sense something was off. His intuition was sharp, able to pick up on the slightest disturbances.
"Oh! No! Everyone, run!"
"Run... Damn..."
Although he reacted quickly, the paralysis spread through his body in an instant.
The others barely heard his warning before they, too, collapsed to the ground, their bodies tingling and unresponsive.
"Hehehe..."
"Did you ask me if you could go to the Land of Rice Fields?"
"As long as I'm here, you'll stay put. Forget about the Land of Rice Fields."
Kazuyama's figure slowly emerged, his signature grin still on his lips.
By now, all ten members of the squad, including Killer Bee, lay paralyzed on the ground.
"Kazuyama, I've enhanced the paralytic powder this time."
"I don't think they'll be able to move for at least two days."
Kazuyama nodded, satisfied.
But his expression soon darkened.
"Damn Kumo. I was planning to go back and rest."
"Now this has been delayed again."
"How am I supposed to let off some steam?"
"First A, and now Killer Bee. Do they really take me for a pushover?"
Sighing, he turned toward the Land of Lightning, took out a piece of paper, and quickly wrote a letter. Then, he bit his finger.
"Summoning Technique!"
A black mamba slithered forward, its snake eyes filled with reluctant understanding.
"Sss?" Why did you summon me again?
"Hey, hey, deliver a message to Tsunade for me."
"Sss!?" That's it?!
"Yeah, just take this letter to her."
"Hiss…"
The black mamba had no choice. It took the letter in its fangs and slithered off toward the Land of Hot Water.
Kazuyama smirked as he watched it leave.
"Kazuyama, what are you going to do now?"
"I'm heading to the Land of Lightning to teach Kumo a lesson."
"Huh? What are you planning?"
"Kumo doesn't just have the Eight-Tails as a Tailed Beast. Let's go mess with the Two-Tails!"
Chōmei's eyes widened in disbelief.
This guy—was he planning to wipe out Kumogakure?
After unleashing the Eight-Tails' rampage in the Land of Hot Water, now he was aiming to let the Two-Tails loose on Kumo itself?
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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