When Black Zetsu laid out his plan, Muren Uchiha's brow twitched violently—he looked like he was about to lose it.
"You think I'm an idiot?"
"Those people left Amegakure ages ago. Only three are still alive! Where the hell am I supposed to find them?"
"Seriously, it's easy for you to flap your gums, but even if I could cross a thousand miles a day, it wouldn't matter if there's no one to find!"
Black Zetsu's whole head filled with black lines—though, being pitch black already, they didn't show.
He had cursed Madara Uchiha in his heart more times than he could count. Why'd that bastard pick such a dimwit? Sure, his Dōjutsu was decent, but his personality was a nightmare.
Short-tempered, whiny, and talkative—nothing like a real Uchiha.
Madara, you bailed, and now I'm stuck with this guy...
"Hmph. If I didn't have intel, do you think I'd even bring this up?"
"From what I've gathered, Konoha held a Chūnin Exam a few days ago and invited surrounding villages—Amegakure, Takigakure, Yugakure, and Kusagakure."
"And the one leading the Takigakure team... was Konan, one of those original survivors."
Muren's eyes lit up at that.
Takigakure? That's the village with the Seven-Tails, right?
Why not just snatch the Seven-Tails outright?
Black Zetsu massaged his temples, already knowing what kind of nonsense Muren was about to say.
"I said kidnap one person. Don't do anything extra."
"It's not time to go after the Tailed Beasts yet. Got it?"
"If you stir things up now, it'll mess up everything we've planned."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Since when were you so chatty, Black Zetsu?"
"Takigakure it is. I'm heading out now."
Black Zetsu shot him a sharp look and reminded him again, dead serious:
"Use your brain during the mission. Genjutsu or any subtle method will do. Just keep it quiet."
"Your Dōjutsu is powerful, but don't get cocky."
"We need stealth and time. Understand?"
Muren rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Genjutsu, huh? My Mangekyō Sharingan can handle that... though Genjutsu isn't exactly my strong suit."
"Otherwise, that Mizukage would've been my puppet long ago."
Black Zetsu let out a cold snort.
"You've got some nerve. An Uchiha who's bad at Genjutsu? I don't even know what to say."
That was too much for White Zetsu—he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Stop, I can't take it anymore."
"An Uchiha who's weak in Genjutsu? Tsk tsk, Muren, you're totally lopsided."
Muren scoffed at their mockery and snapped back:
"So what if I'm not good at Genjutsu?"
"I'm a specialist in Ninjutsu and Dōjutsu. Isn't the Senju Clan the same? Only the First Hokage had Wood Release, right?"
"Hmph, and the Second Hokage was great at Water Release. Being specialized isn't a flaw."
"I'm just good at what I'm good at. I'm done talking. It's a long trip to Takigakure."
With his Mangekyō Sharingan—shaped like a spear of Longinus—activating, Muren vanished on the spot.
Black Zetsu sighed as he watched him go.
At Konoha's base, the success of Tsunade and Kazuyama's mission had fired up the entire force.
But when someone went looking for the heroes of the night, they found—no one.
"That damn brat must've used the Flying Thunder God Technique to sneak off and relax somewhere!"
"Hmph! If he's not back by dawn, I swear I'll report him to the Hokage myself!"
"Little bastard!" Follow current novels on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩
Tsunade was seething, practically grinding her teeth. She was furious!
That brat had the nerve to sneak off without her—meanwhile, there wasn't a single drop of sake left in the whole base!
Just as her rage was boiling over, a sudden breeze swept through the area, the air rippling softly.
"Yo, Tsunade, why so fired up?"
Kazuyama's voice rang out as he appeared before everyone.
"You still dare show your face?!"
Tsunade charged at him, fists raised.
Kazuyama's eyes widened and he quickly dodged to the side. It was only then that everyone noticed the large bag slung over his back.
"I'm telling you—if you hit me, this thing's gone. I went through a ton of trouble to bring everyone something good. I brought back gifts."
As he spoke, he set down the bag and opened it up.
Whoa—snacks, treats, drinks—an entire stash of goodies.
The surrounding shinobi lit up with excitement. Even Tsunade paused.
"Not bad, kid. Instead of hogging it all for yourself, you actually thought of the rest of us."
Tsunade grabbed a can of drink and took a deep gulp.
"Tch. So in your eyes, I'm the kind of guy who eats everything alone, huh?"
"Anyway, here. This is for you."
"It's a chakra recovery medicine made by my sensei. You probably burned through a lot during the mission, right?"
"As the field commander, your condition's critical."
Kazuyama pulled a small bottle from his pocket and tossed it to her.
Tsunade caught it, her expression softening into a smile.
"You little brat. Not bad at all."
"But I doubt Iwagakure will be able to mount another attack so easily. I mean, ha!"
She couldn't help laughing as images of the chain explosions filled her mind.
Sure, she felt a bit bad for Katsuyu—but the payoff had been enormous.
Why hadn't she ever thought of fighting this way before? Katsuyu couldn't be killed by explosions anyway. Tsk tsk. Even she didn't know how massive the slugs in Shikkotsu Forest really were.
The ones she summoned were just a minuscule part of the whole.
She'd decided—she was going to start stockpiling explosive tags. This tactic was too damn satisfying.
Compared to the cheerful atmosphere at Konoha's base, the situation at the Land of Grass front was downright grim.
Kazuyama and Tsunade's surprise assault had devastated the Kamizuru Clan's poisonous bee forces.
Yabee stared at the heaps of bee corpses covering the ground, his teeth clenched in fury.
"Yabee, do we still have enough bees to support tomorrow's offensive?"
Shibito Azuma's brow was furrowed. The loss of so many bees had him genuinely concerned. They were a vital component of the operation.
Yabee's face was dark. The massive bee casualties were a crushing blow to the Kamizuru Clan.
Without enough poisonous bees, they'd lose their edge—and that would put the entire clan in a very precarious position.
"Lord Shibito Azuma, don't worry. Give me two hours—I'll have the border of the Land of Grass swarming with bees again!"
At his words, the surrounding Kamizuru clan members stared in disbelief. None of them understood why their clan head would make such a claim.
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