The ground beneath Kazuyama Gekkō's feet cracked inch by inch. They were already standing at the edge of a cliff—now, he had completely lost his footing.
"Damn it! Yugito! You're setting me up!"
It turned out the collapse was caused by Yugito using too much power from the Tailed Beast. The ground beneath her feet had fractured from the force.
So when Kazuyama applied even slight pressure, it completely gave way.
"Hey, hey, hey! We're gonna fall! Help!"
Yahiko was the first to scream. The others' faces turned pale—this was a cliff with a raging river and jagged rocks below.
A fall from here would be fatal.
"Don't move! Hey, hey, hey! All of you, stop moving!"
"If you move again, I'll throw you out!"
Kazuyama managed to stabilize himself, but the eight people on his shoulders were squirming, throwing off his balance. He nearly fell.
Furious, he grabbed them with one hand.
"You brats! Fly over there!"
With a roar, he gathered all his strength and launched a massive kick at them.
Whether it was bad luck or intentional, the kick landed squarely on Yahiko.
Yahiko took the full brunt of the blow, his eyes bulging, mouth wide open—he nearly threw up his dinner from the night before.
But thanks to that whip kick, the eight of them were sent flying to the opposite cliff.
Still falling, Kazuyama paused after the kick, curious if he'd get a reward.
[Ding! Detected that host's kick made Yahiko feel like he lost half his life. Special reward: +2 Strength.]
"Your sensei's falling!"
Konan stood there, jaw dropped. Yahiko and the others had been kicked across, but Kazuyama Gekkō was now plummeting off the cliff.
Yugito, unfazed, said calmly, "Relax. Even if everyone else falls, my sensei won't."
"His strength isn't what it looks like."
As soon as she finished speaking, a figure appeared beside her in a flash.
"Yugito, look what you've done!"
"Why'd you use so much strength? You broke the cliff!"
"Trying to kill me or what?!"
Kazuyama glared at his little apprentice, his whole presence exuding irritation.
Yugito, completely unfazed, rolled her eyes.
"The kunai you left with me—I've kept it on me the whole time. You were never going to fall."
"Let's go, Sister Konan."
Konan blankly nodded but didn't head toward the camp. Instead, she walked over to Yahiko and the others and began untying their ropes.
They'd screamed again upon landing—especially Yahiko, who was now moaning, eyes rolled back.
Kazuyama came over to help, and soon the eight of them were untied.
"Hey, you're all young guys. Why are you acting so pathetic?"
"Hurry up and get back to camp to rest."
Yahiko shot him a bitter glare, his tone full of annoyance.
"Did you do that on purpose? Why'd you kick me?"
"I feel like I'm about to die."
But this was Kazuyama—his skin was thicker than a city wall. He didn't care at all.
"Let's go. Back to camp. After all that, I'm starving."
A few swift kicks and Yahiko's group got up quickly.
Even Nagato stood, trembling. Under his red hair, a flicker of something strange glinted in his eyes.
Their camp was nestled in the forest—three small wooden cabins.
"Barefoot, you guys go rest. I'll go hunt and see if there's anything to eat nearby."
As team leader, Yahiko quickly told his companions to rest. After the battle—and Kazuyama Gekkō's abuse—they were all exhausted.
Two cabins—Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan shared one, while the others split the remaining two.
Kazuyama and Yugito followed Yahiko into one of the cabins. He immediately plopped down on the tatami.
The others followed suit, settling in.
Just as Yugito was about to sit down, Kazuyama called out.
"Yugito, you and Tagitsuhime go hunt."
Yugito: ...Did he really just say that? Send a kid hunting???
"What, you've got all that energy, and you want the injured to go instead?"
"Don't forget to bring back a few rabbits. I saw some on the way—really fat ones."
Kazuyama grumbled impatiently. Yugito was speechless, but remembering how he had knocked everyone out earlier, she kept her mouth shut.
A long crimson snake slithered out and gave Kazuyama a glare.
"Hmph, fine! I'm going!"
Before Yahiko and the others could react, Yugito had already walked out the door.
The red snake startled them. Its intelligence reminded them of their own sensei—Jiraiya.
Jiraiya loved using frogs and even made them act like frogs before.
"What? Curious about Tagitsuhime?"
"I told you, I know your sensei. By seniority, you should call me 'Senpai.'"
"After all, my sensei is one of the Sannin." The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
At the mention of the Sannin, Yahiko and his teammates were stunned.
They weren't unfamiliar with that title.
As Amegakure ninjas, they understood the weight of it even more.
It was a title earned from fighting Amegakure's demi-god—a symbol of true power.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Kazuyama Gekkō."
Kazuyama smiled as he looked at them.
"So you're also from Konoha? If that's the case, why are you in Amegakure?"
"You should know Konoha's at war on multiple fronts."
Though still young, Yahiko understood the situation well. That's why he led his group through Amegakure—neutral in the war and untouched by external forces.
"Wow, you're well-informed. But yeah, I'm from Konoha. Missions still take me out of the village."
"Happened to see you fighting someone and thought I'd lend a hand."
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