The Hive Mind activated as Kazuyama Gekkō carefully examined the people before him.
Including Kitsuchi, there were fifty in total. Tsk, that's quite a number. And judging by appearances, there were quite a few Jōnin among them.
But the main concern was still Kitsuchi himself. Strength combined with Earth Release... I wonder who's better at it, him or Midori.
As he observed the Iwagakure shinobi, Kitsuchi stepped forward and began issuing orders.
"This mission is extremely urgent—otherwise, we wouldn't have been recalled from the front lines."
"Lord Tsuchikage has ordered us to swiftly eliminate the snake and insect infestations plaguing the Land of Earth. The two nearest affected areas aren't too far from here."
"We'll split into two teams: one to handle the snake infestation and the other to deal with the insect plague."
As soon as he finished speaking, the fifty-man unit instantly divided into two teams.
Just as Kazuyama had observed, there were five Jōnin in total; the rest were all Chūnin.
It was clear that Ōnoki was determined to eradicate these disasters as quickly as possible.
Under the cover of night, the two teams set off in separate directions.
Kazuyama smirked and muttered, "They even split their forces? Tsk, too bad that won't stop me."
"Summoning Technique."
With a quick seal, a puff of smoke appeared, and the Black Mamba materialized once again, its large eyes locking onto Kazuyama.
"Why did you summon me?"
The sudden voice startled Kazuyama so much that he nearly slipped off the tree trunk.
Once he steadied himself, he quickly asked, "Damn, you can talk now?"
The Black Mamba shot him a disdainful look, though gratitude flickered in its eyes. With a cheerful tone, it replied,
"All thanks to you. Since you summoned me so often, Lady Snake Princess gathered some natural energy for me. Now I can speak, and I'm a lot faster than before too."
Kazuyama was momentarily stunned. Was this done for his convenience? A regular Black Mamba—no, a messenger Black Mamba, at that. Well, that certainly made things easier.
"Alright, so why did you call me?"
"A mission, right? Let me tell you, last time when you mentioned something huge, I spotted it instantly!"
"That belly was enormous—no doubt about it!"
Kazuyama immediately sensed something was off and hastily asked,
"I meant huge as in 'oppai'! Oppai, you idiot! Where the hell did you take the message?"
"If we're talking about huge oppai, then it has to be the blonde one—Tsunade. Oh no... I feel like the sky is falling..."
The Black Mamba flicked its tail dismissively.
"Rubbish. Huge means body size. That fat guy from Konoha—the one with the kanji 'big' on his stomach—he's the biggest of them all."
Kazuyama was at a loss for words. He couldn't be bothered to argue any further, so he placed a hand on the Black Mamba. A moment later, a Flying Thunder God seal appeared on its body.
The Black Mamba, however, was not pleased.
"What did you just put on my beautiful scales? Huh? And it even looks like a curse word?"
Kazuyama Gekkō: This thing's a chatterbox! Which bored Snake Princess did this?!
Ichikishimahime: Achoo! Huh? Who's thinking about me?
"Follow that group ahead. Stay hidden and just track them."
The Black Mamba nodded before asking, "Just follow them?"
"Yeah. Go, but don't get spotted."
Without another word, the Black Mamba darted off. Just as it had claimed, its speed had increased drastically.
Kazuyama saw only a blur of black before it vanished.
"Damn, that thing's fast. Alright, since the Black Mamba is on the move, it's our turn."
Activating the Transparent Escape Technique, a pair of wings appeared on his back, and Kazuyama took off in Kitsuchi's direction.
From above, he watched the Iwa shinobi struggling to run below.
Since he had set up this area himself, Kazuyama instantly recognized the place ahead—it was the site of the infestation. A hotspot for venomous insects.
As the Iwagakure forces arrived, Kitsuchi showed no sign of panic. Instead, he turned to the rear and called out,
"It's your turn. Your clan is the best fit to handle this."
"Heh heh heh, Kitsuchi-sama, don't worry. With the Kamizuru Clan on the job, a few bugs are nothing."
Kazuyama's eyes widened. Kitsuchi was smarter than he thought.
Using poison against poison?
Having the Kamizuru Clan, who specialized in bees, counteract the venomous insects? Damn, if they pulled this off, it'd be game over.
No way. He couldn't let that happen.
"Kazuyama, those are bees—giant bees. Damn, they're huge."
"Huh? Why do they look familiar?"
Chōmei, ever opinionated about insects, spoke again as he watched the massive bees appear below.
"Yeah, I've run into their clan before. They use bees. They're fighting fire with fire."
"Using insects to battle insects... Damn it, how did I forget about Iwagakure's Kamizuru Clan?"
"Get ready. We can't let them succeed."
Seeing the enemy summon a giant bee, Kazuyama knew that if he didn't act, the swarm would definitely disrupt the insect infestation.
With that thought, he casually tossed a handful of kunai down.
Under the cover of night, they should've been undetectable.
That was the plan, at least.
But things didn't go as expected.
Kitsuchi suddenly snapped his head up, his eyes flaring with anger as he shouted,
"Something's falling!"
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
In an instant, countless stone spikes shot up from the ground. With precise control, Kitsuchi wove them together, forming a dense, interlocking barrier of jagged rock. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝕟𝕖𝕥
A crisp sound rang out as the kunai struck the stone spikes.
"It's a kunai! Captain, there's an enemy in the air!"
The other Iwa shinobi spotted the fallen kunai and quickly issued a warning.
"Hmph. The old man always told me—no matter where you fight, never forget to watch the skies. You never know when some flying ninja might try to pull an ambush."
"Looks like our enemies today aren't just a bunch of bugs."
Kazuyama was speechless. Was this guy always this sharp?
Then again, on second thought, it made sense. He was a future Fourth Great Ninja War commander, after all. This level of skill was only natural.
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