"Damn it... When...?"
"Well, when you weren't looking at me. Have a nice trip. I'll make your death meaningful."
Kazuyama slowly drew his Crystal Release long sword.
Toroi's body fell heavily to the ground.
"Chōmei, what do you think I should call my Crystal Release long sword?"
"I finally managed to get this new Kekkei Genkai, so it can't just be called anything, right? It has to have a cool name, right?"
Looking at the transparent blade in his hands, Kazuyama sighed.
It was worth the 500 million.
"A name..."
Hearing that word, Chōmei suddenly fell into deep thought.
Back then, he too had no name until the old man bestowed upon him the name Chōmei. How many years had passed in the blink of an eye?
"Chōmei?"
"What are you thinking about? Name! Name! Hurry up and think of one for me."
Seeing Chōmei ignore him, Kazuyama impatiently urged him again.
"How about Wing Blade?"
Wing Blade?
Kazuyama repeated it to himself. It had a nice ring to it.
"Crystal Release: Wing Blade..."
He swung the crystal blade a few times, then burst into laughter.
"Yes! It's Wing Blade!"
Chōmei looked at the delighted Kazuyama and couldn't help but smile.
"Old Man Six Paths, you were right when you said the Tailed Beasts would be accepted one day..."
"Kazuyama, it is truly an honor to have met you."
[Ding! Detected that the host has used unknown methods to cause an inexplicable reaction in Seven-Tails Chōmei. Special reward: Tailed Beast Ball optimization increased by 10%. Note: Once the ball reaches 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%, the optimization ability can be activated once at each stage.]
Kazuyama was stunned at the sudden prompt.
An inexplicable effect on Chōmei? What was going on? What had he done?
Forget it. If he couldn't figure it out, it didn't matter. He and Chōmei were friends anyway, so what did it matter?
By now, Kazuyama had retracted Wing Blade and was crouched beside Toroi's corpse, lost in thought.
"Hey, Kazuyama, what are you doing?"
"You're not a necrophiliac, are you?"
Chōmei's disgusted voice snapped Kazuyama out of his thoughts, and he spat at him mercilessly.
"Tch, if you are, then count me out!"
"I was just thinking… this guy's already dead, so I need to squeeze every last bit of value out of him."
"Originally, I was going to personally stir up Iwa for him, but now it looks like I won't have to."
"With this guy, I can save myself a lot of trouble."
With that, Kazuyama pulled out a Kumo forehead protector from his robes—the one he had taken from Toroi earlier.
He tied it onto Toroi, completing the image of a true Kumo Jōnin.
"What are you going to do?"
"What do you mean? Of course, I'm taking him to Iwa to claim the reward!"
With that, Kazuyama used the Transformation Technique, morphing into a figure with a concealed face.
Red sclera, green pupils, long hair, a face mask, dressed entirely in black—his appearance was downright terrifying.
"Damn, what have you turned into? You're so ugly!"
Kazuyama: ...I'm really impressed. Why does everyone keep calling him ugly?
"Damn it! I'm not ugly! It's this guy who's ugly!"
"This person is called Kakuzu, and he's a bounty hunter."
"As for why I turned into him... hehe... because he has a very good reputation in this industry..."
A sinister laugh escaped Kazuyama's lips as he lifted Toroi's body and strode toward the heart of the Land of Grass.
The scapegoat had been chosen—now all that remained was for him to put on a show.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water.
"Tsunade! Where is that bastard kid?! Let him come out and die!"
A's squad had crossed paths with Tsunade once again. But this time, Kazuyama was nowhere in sight.
"Hmph! He's not here, so if you want to fight, I'll accompany you!"
"Lady Tsunade, I'll handle this."
A young man with blonde hair suddenly stepped forward, walking confidently to the front.
It was Minato Namikaze.
"Minato, don't push yourself. Your opponents are the A–B Combo."
Tsunade frowned in concern. Minato had only recently been deployed to the Land of Hot Water, and now, in his first real battle, he had run into none other than the A–B Combo.
Even Tsunade found the situation a little ridiculous.
"Don't worry, I'm very strong."
Under A's sharp gaze, Minato drew a kunai from his back and scattered it around the battlefield.
Seeing this, A's eyes flared with rage.
"That trick again! Boy, prepare to die!"
Lightning crackled as A suddenly accelerated, appearing in front of Minato in the blink of an eye.
"So fast!"
"But... I'm not afraid!"
Although amazed by A's speed, Minato had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique—he would not lose in a battle of speed.
Activating the technique, Minato instantly appeared at A's side, ready to counter.
However, A suddenly slammed on the brakes with such force that the ground beneath him cracked, forming a crater. His speed surged again as he charged directly toward Minato's new position.
"How is this possible!"
"Flying Thunder God!"
One second before A reached him, Minato teleported again.
But A still caught up.
For a moment, the two darted through the battlefield, locked in a chase, one teleporting, the other blitzing forward. It was a dazzling spectacle for the onlookers.
"Impossible! How do you know my moves so well?!"
"Hmph! Nothing's impossible! Get the hell down!"
Finally, A found an opening and threw a powerful punch.
But Minato's reflexes were extraordinary. Just as the fist was about to land, he teleported once more.
This time, he didn't reappear at his previous position but next to Tsunade.
"Damn it! Damn you, Space–Time Ninjutsu!"
"My speed still isn't fast enough!"
A clenched his fists, frustration flickering across his face. He had already deciphered the Flying Thunder God Technique, but it wasn't enough—if he were just a little faster, even Space–Time Ninjutsu wouldn't have been enough for Minato to escape his strike.
"However, kid, your speed is much better than the other one."
"Hmph!"
Shrouded in lightning, A stood like a thunder god of war.
Hearing his words, Minato's heart trembled.
"Kazuyama... I didn't expect the enemy to be this strong..."
"But I won't lose!"
Though slightly shaken, Minato was not one to admit defeat so easily.
Still, deep inside, he felt a bit bitter. Despite his determination, A had completely overwhelmed him in this exchange.
"Let's go, both of us!"
"Hmph! Let's go too!"
Since a one-on-one fight wasn't yielding results, the battle shifted.
In an instant, Tsunade and A moved at the same time, and both sides clashed in full combat.
Far away in the Land of Grass, Kazuyama once again received a system prompt.
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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