Kazuyama stood atop a giant crystal dragon, his body hidden by the crystal's transparency and his own invisibility—completely unafraid of being seen.
Before him lay a miserable, unconscious man—Tatsuma, the Root captain stationed in Amegakure and one of Danzō's closest confidants.
After taking a direct hit from the One Thousand Years of Death Rasengan, he'd passed out from the pain.
Kazuyama's face radiated killing intent. He wasn't some saint. A fellow Konoha ninja had come all the way to Amegakure and teamed up with outsiders to try and take him down?
Hmph. That bastard Danzō really had it out for him.
"Kazuyama, why keep him alive? Just finish him off already."
"Exactly. Anyone who lays a hand on you deserves to die."
"If you don't want to do it, just feed him to the snakes."
The three Snake Princesses chimed in one by one—and even Chōmei looked ready to say something.
Kazuyama shrugged, then unsheathed his Kusanagi sword. One clean slash—Tatsuma was dead.
Flicking the blood from his blade, he summoned several clones behind him.
With wings sprouting from their backs, the clones took off, diving toward the village below.
"Kazuyama, what are you doing?"
"Hmph. Not a single Root ninja leaves here alive. They all die."
His tone was ice-cold. There would be no mercy. If they had the nerve to come, they'd better be ready for revenge.
The clones moved fast, and with Crystal Release, ambushes were effortless.
"Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, Tagitsuhime, Chōmei."
"I need your help. If I know Hanzō, his castle is the best place to stash his treasure."
"Help me scout for any kind of treasure room."
"And while you're at it, scan the village—moneylenders, casinos, wherever cash is stored."
The three Snake Princesses and Chōmei stared at him, stunned into silence.
"Kazuyama... are you serious?"
"We're in the middle of a fight. Why are you suddenly talking about treasure?"
Tagitsuhime stammered the question, but the answer she got shattered her worldview.
Kazuyama grinned, voice dripping with mischief.
"Fight? Why would I fight?"
"He's a demi-god of the ninja world, and I'm just a Konoha Jōnin. You think I can take him?"
"Besides, I don't like fighting. I like robbing people."
"Hehehehe."
"Chōmei, chakra—now."
Kazuyama crossed his hands into a seal. In the next second—Multiple Shadow Clone Technique exploded into action.
Hundreds of clones appeared and quickly transformed into Amegakure shinobi.
Then they rushed toward the village.
The real Kazuyama stayed where he was, coldly watching Hanzō from above.
The clones spread out through Amegakure, boldly storming banks, casinos, and shops.
"What are you doing?!"
"Why are you breaking into my store?!"
With the village in chaos, most shops had locked their doors.
But the clones didn't care. They smashed in, said nothing, and immediately started looting.
Terrified shopkeepers shouted in panic.
"Hmph! Hanzō messed with Konoha—what do you think's gonna happen to us?"
"Grab the cash and run! Don't block my payday, idiot—move!"
The clones knew exactly what to do—fully committed to their roles. They tossed shopkeepers aside and cleaned the places out right in front of them.
The same scene unfolded across the entire village.
In seconds, all of Amegakure had descended into chaos.
Even Hanzō, still clashing swords with a clone, heard the uproar.
"What's going on?"
Clang!
But the clone gave him no time to think—Kazuyama thrust the Kusanagi sword forward, pulling Hanzō back into the fight.
"Lord Hanzō! Our own village's ninja are looting shops and stealing everything!"
"What do we do?!"
Though Hanzō couldn't see it himself, someone had come running to report back to the castle.
Of course, those "messengers" were Kazuyama's clones.
Heh... what does it mean to break someone mentally?
This was it.
"What?! That's impossible!"
"It's true, Lord Hanzō. They're saying you provoked Konoha, and the village is doomed. They're grabbing all the money they can and running for it."
The clones played their roles perfectly, selling the lie so well that even Hanzō was fooled.
"Bastards!"
"You little punk, this is all your fault!"
"Summoning Technique!"
Furious, Hanzō channeled all his rage toward Kazuyama. He bit his finger, slapped his hand to the ground—and summoned.
A massive salamander appeared once more. Not Ibuse this time, but another new summon.
"Hmph. I already killed Ibuse. Why would I be scared of this one?"
Though it was just a clone, Kazuyama showed no fear. He remained full of fighting spirit.
...
Inside the castle...
"Damn it! Lord Danzō will never let you get away with this!"
"Aaagh!"
Screams echoed one after another as corpses hit the floor. Each one wore a Konoha mask and forehead protector.
Root members—every last one.
With their deaths, Kazuyama's Crystal Release clones shattered, scattering into shards of crystal.
Realizing the entire Root team had been wiped out, Kazuyama smiled in satisfaction and turned his eyes back to the furious Hanzō.
Because they were inside the village, even with the salamander summoned, Hanzō refrained from releasing a full-scale poison mist.
Meanwhile, Kazuyama's clones were still looting valuables like madmen.
Enraged, Hanzō drove the new salamander toward one of the clones—but it dodged effortlessly.
"Kazuyama, we found it! It's in the lowest level of his castle. The steel around it is insanely reinforced—definitely where he stores his treasures."
Using Senjutsu just to locate a stash might have been overkill, but Kazuyama couldn't care less. He was having a blast.
While his clones caused havoc outside, the real Kazuyama silently slipped into the castle.
Following the Snake Princesses' guidance, he found a hidden chamber—overflowing with gold, silver, rare ninja tools, and valuable scrolls. Kazuyama's eyes lit up as he began sweeping it all into storage.
Outside, the chaos from the clones only escalated. Hanzō's face grew darker by the second.
"Damn you! Die!"
He finally snapped. Poison mist surged toward Kazuyama in a focused burst.
Even if it meant damaging his own castle further, he couldn't hold back any longer.
"Hehehe... Hanzō, you really are a Demi-God of the ninja world. Hehehe!"
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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