"That's it? It's already over?"
"I was still waiting to make my move."
Chōmei looked at the retreating Iwa forces, clearly displeased. He thought to himself, "What a bunch of weaklings. Can't even handle a swarm of snakes."
"They really were pretty weak," Kazuyama muttered. "Even facing dozens of anacondas, those leading Jōnin were seriously underwhelming."
"If each of them had used a couple of higher-level jutsu, there's no way they'd have lost eleven people just like that."
He was genuinely puzzled. With a squad made up of Chūnin and several Jōnin, sure, defeat was possible—but this kind of total collapse? Something didn't add up.
Just then, Black Mamba chimed in to explain.
"Hmph, you think they're weak? That's only because you didn't see how brutally they went after the snakes at the start."
"They used realgar. Even from a distance, I could feel how nasty it was."
"If it weren't for Lady Ichikishimahime using Genjutsu to neutralize the realgar's effects on the snakes—and also to instill fear into those guys—they wouldn't have been hit so hard."
Oh? So that's what really happened.
Kazuyama turned to Ichikishimahime, eyes full of curiosity.
He was dying to know what kind of illusions she cast to scare them like that—and how she'd managed to purge the realgar's influence.
Feeling his gaze, Ichikishimahime shot a glare at Black Mamba, who immediately shrank back in fear.
"What are you staring at! Keep looking and I'll gouge your eyes out!" she snapped.
Kazuyama scratched his nose and chuckled.
"Don't be so fierce. I'm just curious how you pulled it off."
"Not telling you!" she huffed and turned her head away.
"Come on, maybe we can help each other out next time," he persisted.
"Hmph!"
Still no answer.
Then Black Mamba couldn't help but speak again.
"Lady Ichikishimahime, are you sulking right now? Ssssss... terrifying as ever."
Kazuyama couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.
That laugh finally cracked Ichikishimahime's composure.
"Stop laughing already! All I did was use Genjutsu to dull the snakes' senses and amplify their aggression, alright?"
Satisfied with the answer, Kazuyama nodded. She really had contributed a lot this time.
"I owe you one. With the Iwa forces in shambles and the other side still struggling, your help made a big difference."
"Don't worry—there'll definitely be snakeberries with your name on them."
Ichikishimahime beamed at the mention of snakeberries. That was exactly what she wanted.
She'd been out of the picture for so long, Kazuyama was starting to forget about her. And if she didn't get her share of snakeberries? Unforgivable.
"That's more like it. Stop always fawning over Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime. I'm amazing too!"
"Besides, isn't blue way prettier than green or red?"
Kazuyama was speechless.
This was about color now?
Tagitsuhime was the most practical because of her link to the Coiling Serpent Technique. Tagorihime had just shown up on her own.
How was any of that his fault?
Whatever. A summon's a summon.
"Alright, Ichikishimahime, since things are wrapped up here, I need to head back to the other side."
"You coming with me?"
Over on Kitsuchi's end, even though the giant bee had been an obstacle, it was now dead—along with its summoner.
That situation still needed handling, or else...
"Sure, want me to help out?"
"My Genjutsu's pretty strong, you know?"
At the mention of Genjutsu, Kazuyama lit up with interest and asked immediately.
"Ichikishimahime, can your Genjutsu create, uh… really exaggerated stuff? Like, over-the-top kinds of things?"
Ichikishimahime blinked, not quite understanding what he meant, but still nodded.
"Genjutsu from Ryūchi Cave focuses on transformation. As long as you tell me what you want, I can use Genjutsu to create it."
"I can even alter the entire environment with it. Why?"
Kazuyama broke into a grin. He already had a plan to thoroughly disgust the Iwa ninja—one that would definitely cause chaos.
"Ichikishimahime, so in a bit... do this... and that... got it?"
Ichikishimahime was stunned. She looked at Kazuyama's mischievous grin and couldn't help but wonder—what kind of brain comes up with this stuff?
But honestly... it didn't sound bad.
"Fine. When do we start?"
"Hold up, no need to head back. I'll use Flying Thunder God Technique to get us there."
With that, Kazuyama placed his hand on Ichikishimahime's shoulder, and in the next second, both man and snake vanished.
Left behind was Black Mamba, watching them disappear with wide eyes, muttering,
"Kazuyama, you bastard... just leaving me here?"
"Whatever. Mission's done anyway. I'm heading back. Bye!"
Poof!
The forgotten Black Mamba vanished on its own.
...
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Kazuyama returned to the insect-infested zone, picking a slightly distant coordinate.
After landing, he pulled Ichikishimahime into hiding, and the two quietly observed the Iwa ninja struggling in the distance to clear out the surrounding bugs.
Fire Release, Earth Release, explosive tags, kunai—whatever they had, they used.
If there was one word to describe them, it was: reckless.
"What are they doing?"
"Pest control."
"...A pest? What kind of pest could push people this far?"
It wasn't that Ichikishimahime didn't believe it—it's just that these people looked completely unhinged.
They're just bugs, right? Was this really necessary?
Kazuyama quickly answered.
"Eh, nothing too serious. Just poisonous bugs. The kind that can kill."
"As for how many? Just a few thousand. Maybe tens of thousands..."
Since insects are social creatures—and Chōmei's Scale Powder acted as a lure—their numbers had exploded in the past few days.
It was like a locust plague, only worse.
"...Where'd you even get them from?"
"Ah, never mind. I forgot—you're the Jinchūriki of the Seven-Tails. And Seven-Tails is basically a giant bug, right?"
With snakes on one side and insects on the other, Ichikishimahime realized she'd seriously underestimated Kazuyama.
"Heh, they're running themselves into the ground. Now's the perfect time."
"Ichikishimahime, get ready."
Kazuyama watched the exhausted Iwa ninja and rubbed his hands in anticipation.
"Chōmei, start feeding me chakra—I'm going in!"
"Got it!"
Ichikishimahime pressed her hands together, and natural energy surged around her.
Invisible to the naked eye, the energy spread like a tide, engulfing the entire area in preparation for what was coming next.
"Heheheh! Showtime!"