"Aside from the three from the Usuryu clan, everyone else stay alert!"
"Looks like the old man guessed right. This isn't some natural disaster at all—someone's deliberately stirring up trouble."
Kitsuchi's expression was stern, the muscles on his arms bulging as he shifted into a battle stance.
The other shinobi also drew their weapons, scanning the surroundings in an attempt to locate Gekko Chizan.
But since they had been dispatched to deal with the snake infestation and insect plague, the Iwagakure shinobi returning to the Land of Earth this time were all combat types—there wasn't a single sensory shinobi among them.
And even if there had been, against Transparent Release they would have been powerless, unless Gekko Chizan himself revealed his position.
At that moment, Chizan had already landed, watching them from not far away.
In his mind, he was weighing how best to make his move.
"Chizan, what are you hesitating for? Just a bunch of small fry. I'll lend you my chakra—wipe them out already!"
"I swear, you're getting more cowardly by the day."
Hearing Chōmei's grumbling in his mind, Gekko Chizan couldn't even be bothered to respond. Did Chōmei really think he was too scared to act?
No—he was calculating how to maximize his gains!
After all, Kitsuchi was a well-known powerhouse. He couldn't just charge in and slaughter them outright. What about the rewards? If he missed out on those, how was he supposed to face the terrifying Akatsuki later? Or, worse, Madara himself?
"Not coming out?"
"Hmph. Then we'll keep clearing out the poisonous insects."
"Begin!"
Kitsuchi gave a cold snort, then ordered his men to resume the extermination.
The Usuryu clan shinobi immediately directed their swarms of bees to surge forward.
Seeing this, Gekko Chizan grew irritated.
He had gone through all that effort, enduring the constant buzzing, only for them to suddenly come up with a countermeasure?
"Chōmei, prepare some scale powder for me. My Flying Thunder God formula is right up ahead—let's wipe out these bees."
"Can you manage it?"
The moment Chizan spoke those words, Chōmei perked up with excitement.
"Heh heh, no problem. But instead of killing them outright, why don't I make them tear each other apart?"
"They're just hornets, after all. Still insects. My scale powder will work just fine."
Chizan didn't bother answering with words—his actions made it clear.
Just do it. No need to ask!
The Flying Thunder God activated, and Gekko Chizan appeared right in front of the enemy, scale powder already gathered inside him.
Without hesitation, he spread his arms. The moment he moved, his figure was exposed.
"There he is!"
"Bold of him! To just show himself in front of us like this!"
"What's he planning to do?"
Shouts rippled through the Iwagakure ranks.
But Kitsuchi's face instantly hardened the moment he saw Chizan.
"Whatever he's trying—stop him!"
"Too late!"
By then, the scale powder had already dispersed, colliding head-on with the swarm of hornets.
The moment the powder touched them, the hornets froze, then suddenly wheeled around, diving at their own kind and attacking savagely.
The three Usuryu shinobi were left wide-eyed in shock.
"Impossible! My bees? How can this be?!"
"That man—what did he do?!"
As members of the insect-controlling clan, they had been bonded with bees since childhood. Never once had they disobeyed.
This sight shattered everything they thought they knew.
One of the Usuryu, who had remained silent until now, forced himself to speak despite the unease on his face.
"Don't be fooled! It must be Genjutsu!"
"Dispel it!"
But blind confidence only led to failure.
The more certain they had been, the more stunned they became when they realized—they weren't under Genjutsu at all.
Everything before their eyes was real.
"How... how can this be..."
"If that's the case, then destroy the bees that won't obey!"
"Let's go!"
The massive hornets surged forward, quickly crushing the powder-controlled ones.
Seeing the giant hornets, Chizan smirked with disdain.
"Chōmei, more scale powder. Something that big is bound to work!"
"Uh... we're out..."
At that moment, both Chizan and Chōmei froze—the former in disbelief, the latter looking extremely embarrassed.
As the giant hornet barreled down on him, Chizan had no choice but to use Flying Thunder God to retreat.
Even then, he didn't forget to snap at Chōmei.
"Seriously?! How could you not prepare more scale powder?!"
"You're letting me down at the worst possible moment!"
Chōmei shifted uncomfortably, curling up as he replied with a touch of grievance:
"I wanted to—but you moved too fast."
"I barely had time to condense the scale powder before you jumped with Flying Thunder God. That only gave me enough for one shot."
"And that hornet's huge—it takes a lot of powder to confuse something that size."
"If you'd just give me ten more seconds, I could manage it."
Ten seconds? Hearing that, Chizan immediately regained confidence.
Without hesitation, he jumped back.
This sudden move not only startled Chōmei, but also baffled the Iwagakure shinobi.
"Did he just vanish? And then... come back again?"
"You're not mistaken—I saw it too."
Chizan's speed was simply too great, leaving them thinking their eyes had deceived them.
But Chizan didn't waste time mocking them. His hands blurred through hand seals, his eyes flashing fiercely as he roared:
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
A massive wall of earth surged upward. He hadn't chosen that technique because it was ideal—it was simply the only jutsu he could launch in time.
Boom!
The giant hornet, unable to brake in time, slammed into the wall, shattering it into rubble.
Using the cloud of flying debris, Chizan spread his arms wide.
"Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!"
Countless serpents poured forth in a writhing tide.
The sheer number of snakes stunned everyone present.
Once again, Kitsuchi reacted the fastest.
"Damn it! A Konoha shinobi—Orochimaru?!"
"Earth Style: Moving Core!"
Slamming his hand onto the ground, Kitsuchi made the terrain beneath his comrades quake, lifting them rapidly upward.
At the same time, the Usuryu clan directed their bees skyward, avoiding the serpentine flood.
"Chōmei! Is it ready?"
"Ready!"
"Good! Then let's finish off that big one!"
"No problem!"
With the Ten Thousand Snakes Formation buying time, Chizan had what he needed.
Empowered by scale powder, he leapt skyward, charging straight at the massive hornet.
Before the insect could react, he flung a fistful of powder—coating its face completely.
"Got it!"