Chōmei's emotional perception was incredibly sharp.
Right now, he could feel the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, Killer Bee, was filled with rage—and even a hint of madness.
He was a newly appointed Jinchūriki, and the fact that he could control the Eight-Tails' power in such a short time already proved his exceptional talent.
But after all, he wasn't a perfect Jinchūriki. Once his emotions spiraled out of control, the Eight-Tails might very well break free from the seal and go on a rampage.
"Tch! Chōmei, are you chickening out?"
"If you're not scared, then go ahead. Pretend I said nothing."
"Hehe, forget it. I really don't want to face the berserk Eight-Tails. That thing's terrifying."
Gekko Chizan, of course, wasn't really going to let the Eight-Tails go on a rampage.
"Jinlin! Let them go!"
Jinlin still wanted to pursue, but Gekko Chizan stopped her.
"Chizan, you're not chasing them? They beat me up pretty bad!"
Gekko Chizan shook his head, putting on a helpless expression.
"I'm low on chakra. Just using Flying Thunder God to move you around burned through a lot."
"And the enemy is the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki. If the Eight-Tails goes out of control, what am I supposed to do?"
Jinlin was full of reluctance. With her fiery temper, she hadn't even gotten payback for all the hits she'd taken.
"There'll be another chance. Go back and rest for now."
"Fine. But next time we meet them, let me go! I want revenge!"
With a puff, Jinlin turned into white smoke and vanished.
All that remained was Chizan's clone.
During the earlier battle, his clone hadn't gained any advantage. This made him realize just how strong the other side was.
After all, he'd used Shadow Clone—not as tough as his Crystal Release clones, but much better in terms of mobility.
Out of ten clones, only three remained after Killer Bee quickly wiped out the others.
"No wonder he's a Jōnin from Kumogakure..."
"Close-quarters combat is definitely their forte..."
Canceling the clones, Gekko Chizan disappeared from his spot in a flash, reappearing atop a tree.
He didn't believe Killer Bee would actually retreat.
Relying on his insect vision, he began searching for Killer Bee's squad.
"Too bad. My only goal is to block you guys, hehe..."
"I don't even need to fight to stop you..."
Just as Gekko Chizan had predicted, the temporarily retreating Killer Bee squad—though they had lost three members—clearly had no intention of canceling the mission.
They stopped a short distance away.
"Bee, are we really aborting the mission?"
"The enemy's just one person!"
Faced with his teammate's question, Killer Bee's face was deadly serious.
"The mission's priority. We're taking a detour."
"Our task is to investigate intel in the Land of Fields. We can't let him hinder us."
Everyone nodded. The harder the enemy tried to stop them, the more it meant something serious was happening in the Land of Fields.
They had to go investigate.
"His technique is highly mobile. We need to stay alert."
"This time, we'll circle around from the south."
"Move out!"
At Killer Bee's command, the squad began to act.
Gekko Chizan saw them moving again and grinned.
"Chōmei, prep extra paralysis powder. Let's keep them nice and still!"
"Got it, I'll make it extra potent."
Before pursuing, Gekko Chizan picked up all the kunai he'd thrown earlier.
He hadn't returned to the village in a while, and his stock of technique-marked kunai was low. He needed to conserve.
Then he dashed off toward Killer Bee's direction, moving at incredible speed thanks to Chōmei's wings.
After all, they were running—he was flying. No comparison.
At the same time, he activated Transparent Release. The enemy had sensory ninja, after all—better safe than sorry.
Meanwhile, with Killer Bee's squad...
"Is that kid following us?"
The two were the team's sensory ninjas. They both closed their eyes and entered a sensing state, then shook their heads.
"No one nearby."
"Good. Keep moving. Once we cross the border into the Land of Hot Water, head straight for the Land of Fields."
Killer Bee felt a bit more at ease. He thought, looks like that last fight drained the enemy too. Good that he's not following.
But what he didn't know was that Gekko Chizan was flying just above them.
"Chōmei, let's do it."
"Hehe, okay!"
Chakra surged as paralysis powder rained down like a storm.
Killer Bee was the first to sense something was wrong. His instincts were razor sharp—he could detect even the slightest disturbance.
"Oh! NO! Everyone, run!"
"Ru...n... dam...n..."
Though he realized what was happening, a wave of intense paralysis swept through his body in an instant.
The others were no different. They had just heard Killer Bee's shout, but had no time to react.
One after another, they collapsed to the ground, completely numb.
"Hehehehe..."
"You wanna go to the Land of Fields? Did you ask me first?"
"As long as I'm here, you're not going anywhere. Forget about the Land of Fields."
Gekko Chizan slowly appeared, his signature smile still on his face.
All ten members, including Killer Bee, were now paralyzed on the ground.
"Chizan, I specially enhanced the paralysis powder this time."
"I'd say they won't recover for at least two days."
Gekko Chizan nodded with satisfaction.
But soon, a trace of irritation appeared on his face.
"Damn Kumogakure. I was planning to go back and rest."
"Now I've been delayed again."
"How should I vent this?"
"First it was A, now it's Killer Bee. Do they really think I'm a pushover?"
With that, Gekko Chizan turned his gaze toward the direction of the Land of Lightning. He casually pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote a letter. Then, he bit his finger.
"Summoning Technique!"
Black Mamba swayed its head as it was summoned, looking at Gekko Chizan with a trace of helplessness in its snake eyes.
"Hiss?"
Called me again, for what?
"Hehe, help me deliver a message to Tsunade."
"Hiss!?"
That's it?
"Yeah, just deliver this letter. That's all."
"Hiss..."
Fine, whatever. Gimme the letter.
"Oh right, the Land of Hot Water is crawling with battles right now, so be careful. You're too good a courier—I'd hate to lose you."
Black Mamba said nothing. It simply grabbed the letter in its mouth and slithered off toward the Land of Hot Water.
Watching Black Mamba leave, Gekko Chizan smiled slightly.
"Chizan, what are you up to now?"
"Heading to the Land of Lightning. Time to teach Kumogakure another lesson."
"Huh? What are you planning?"
"Kumogakure doesn't just have the Eight-Tails. Let's go mess with the Two-Tails for a change!"
Chōmei's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Gekko Chizan.
Good grief, was this guy planning to take down all of Kumogakure?
The Eight-Tails just rampaged once in the Land of Hot Water—was he now going to make the Two-Tails rampage inside Kumogakure itself?