"Damn it... When did you..."
"Right when you couldn't see me anymore. Safe travels—I'll make sure your death has meaning."
Gekko Chizan slowly drew out the long crystal blade.
Troy's body fell heavily to the ground.
"Chōmei, what do you think I should name this Crystal Release blade?"
"A newly created Kekkei Genkai like this shouldn't go nameless, right? I ought to give it a badass name."
Looking at the transparent long blade in his hand, Gekko Chizan let out a sigh.
He thought to himself: That 500 million was well earned.
"A name, huh..."
Hearing that word, Chōmei suddenly fell into a memory.
Back then, he hadn't had a name either—it was that old man who had given him the name Chōmei. So many years had passed since then.
"Chōmei?"
"What are you spacing out for? A name! A name! Hurry and think of one!"
Seeing Chōmei ignoring him, Gekko Chizan urged impatiently.
"How about... Crystalblade?"
Crystalblade?
Gekko Chizan repeated it carefully and found it quite catchy.
"Crystal Release: Crystalblade, huh..."
He swung the crystal long blade several times in a row, then burst into laughter.
"Great! Crystalblade it is!"
Seeing Gekko Chizan laughing so happily, Chōmei couldn't help but chuckle as well.
"...."
"Chizan, kid... getting to meet you really has been my honor."
[Ding! The system has detected that the host has somehow emotionally moved the Seven-Tails Chōmei through unknown means. Special reward: Tailed Beast Bomb optimized by 10%. Note: At 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%, optimization abilities will be unlocked.]
Hearing the system's inexplicable prompt, Gekko Chizan was momentarily dumbfounded.
He moved Chōmei emotionally? What? What did he even do? He had no idea himself.
Forget it. If he couldn't figure it out, no point dwelling on it. They were friends, after all. Who cares.
By now, Gekko Chizan had already sheathed Crystalblade and was crouched next to Troy's corpse, deep in thought.
"Hey, Chizan, what are you doing?"
"Don't tell me... you've got some corpse fetish? Ew..."
Chōmei's voice was dripping with disgust, snapping Gekko Chizan out of his thoughts. He spat at Chōmei without mercy.
"Ptui! Even if you had it, I wouldn't!"
"I'm just thinking—this guy's dead, so I might as well squeeze out the last bit of value from him."
"Originally, I was going to go and create a problem in Iwagakure myself. But now? Doesn't seem necessary."
"With this guy, I can save myself a ton of trouble."
As he spoke, Gekko Chizan pulled out a Kumogakure forehead protector from his chest.
It was the one he'd taken from Troy earlier.
He tied the forehead protector back onto Troy—now perfectly playing the part of a Kumogakure Jōnin.
"What are you planning to do?"
"What else? Take him to Iwagakure and claim the reward, of course!"
With that, Gekko Chizan performed a Transformation Jutsu and turned into a man with a concealed face.
White sclera, green irises, long hair, a veil covering his face, black clothes from head to toe—he looked completely sinister.
"What the hell did you transform into? That's ugly as hell!"
Gekko Chizan: ...I swear, why does everyone keep calling him ugly!
"Damn it! I'm not ugly! This guy is!"
"His name's Kakuzu. Currently a bounty hunter."
"As for why I chose him... heh heh... because he's pretty famous in this line of work."
A sinister laugh echoed from Gekko Chizan's mouth as he hoisted Troy's corpse and began walking deep into the Land of Grass.
The scapegoat had been chosen.
Now it was time for his performance.
...
At the same time, on the battlefield of the Land of Hot Water—
"Tsunade! Where's that damn brat?!"
"Tell him to come out and die!"
A's squad ran into Tsunade again—but this time, Gekko Chizan was not among the group.
"Hmph! He's not here. If you want a fight, I'll entertain you!"
"Tsunade-sama, allow me instead."
A blond-haired youth suddenly stepped forward from the group, full of confidence.
It was none other than Namikaze Minato.
"Minato, don't push yourself. That's the A-B combo you're up against."
Tsunade was a bit concerned. Minato had only recently been reassigned to the Land of Hot Water.
She hadn't expected that his first mission would pit him against the A-B combo.
Even Tsunade was at a loss.
"It's fine. I'm very strong."
Under A's intense gaze, Minato pulled a special kunai from his back and threw it into the surroundings.
Seeing that, A's eyes immediately ignited with fury.
"That trick again!"
"Brat! Prepare to die!"
Lightning sparked as A shot forward with blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Minato.
"So fast!"
"But... I'm not afraid!"
Though shocked by A's speed, Minato—having mastered Flying Thunder God—wouldn't lose in speed.
Flying Thunder God activated, and Minato instantly appeared to the side.
Just as he was about to launch his attack, A suddenly braked hard, kicking up a massive pit in the ground, and immediately accelerated again toward Minato's new landing spot.
"No way!"
"I'm flying!"
Just before A reached him, Minato activated Flying Thunder God once more.
But A still managed to keep up.
In that moment, one flew and the other chased, putting on a lightning-fast performance in front of everyone's eyes.
"Impossible! How do you know my technique so well?!"
"Hmph! Nothing's impossible! Now get down, bastard!"
Finally, A seized an opening and threw a punch.
But Minato's reaction speed was outstanding—just before the blow landed, he activated Flying Thunder God once more.
This time, his landing point wasn't from earlier but right next to Tsunade.
"Tch! Damn space-time ninjutsu!"
"My speed still isn't fast enough!"
Having already seen through the Flying Thunder God, A now felt some regret. If he'd just been a little faster—
Even with space-time ninjutsu, the enemy wouldn't have been able to escape!
"But, brat, you're a lot faster than that other kid."
"Hmph!"
Covered in crackling lightning, A looked like a god of thunder.
Hearing those words, Minato's heart trembled.
"Chizan... I didn't expect the other guy to be so strong..."
"But I won't lose!"
Though surprised by the opponent's strength, Minato was not one to admit defeat easily.
Still, his heart was a little bitter—after all, he'd confidently stepped up, only to be completely schooled.
"Bee! Let's go!"
"Hmph! We're in too!"
If they couldn't win one-on-one, then it was time to fight for real.
In a flash, Tsunade and A moved at once, and both sides clashed in full combat.
...
Meanwhile, in the Land of Grass, Gekko Chizan received another system prompt.
Blood was still staining his body.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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