Tsunade remained silent for a moment.
The idea of an assassination operation was good, but given the current situation, the level of danger was far too high.
Iwagakure's forces were already fully mobilized, and the Kamizuru clan was hidden among them — that made things much more difficult.
There was no other choice. She could only turn her gaze once again toward Gekko Chizan.
"Chizan, this is your area of expertise. You've handled missions like this before, whether in the Land of Rivers or the Land of Hot Water."
"Tell us what you think."
It was no surprise Tsunade threw the question at Gekko Chizan.
He really had done plenty of similar things — ambushing Sasori of the Red Sand alongside Orochimaru.
He'd also done quite a few of those "sneaky" jobs on his own. His experience was ridiculously extensive.
"What do I think?"
"Simple — we sneak over and take a look. How else are we supposed to know what's going on if we don't try?"
"Wait, what's with those looks on your faces?"
Halfway through his sentence, Gekko Chizan noticed everyone's eyes were fixed on him.
Those wide, staring eyes made his skin crawl.
And he understood perfectly well what those looks meant — he really wanted to refuse...
...
An hour later, a lone figure dashed out from Konoha's camp.
"A bunch of bastards! Bullying a weak guy like me again!"
"Hmph! Their hearts are all black!"
That person was none other than Gekko Chizan. Inside the meeting tent, everyone had unanimously agreed that he was the best person to scout the situation.
After all, his kekkei genkai and Flying Thunder God were both practically made for reconnaissance.
"Hehehe, Chizan, weak? You?"
"A Jinchūriki with two kekkei genkai and Ryūchi Cave Sage Arts — pick any one of those, and you're already one of a kind."
"In terms of combat power, few can match you. If you unleash the power of the tailed beast, even the Kage from each village probably couldn't do much against you."
Tagorihime's voice suddenly rang out. A small green snake appeared on Gekko Chizan's left shoulder.
And on his right shoulder, a blue snake slithered into view — Ichikishimahime also revealed her serpent form, though she said nothing, only smiling quietly.
"Yeah, yeah, but who am I?"
"I'm a man of reason — I don't fight unless I absolutely have to."
"All that fighting and killing is exhausting. Scale powder and Genjutsu — aren't those much nicer?"
"So what if I have Transparent Release? So what if I can use Flying Thunder God? Damn it!"
Though he grumbled, Gekko Chizan still activated Transparent Release and began to sneak toward the border of the Land of Grass.
After all, he was genuinely curious — how exactly did the Kamizuru clan manage to turn ordinary bees into poisonous ones? That was quite the rare trick.
This time, Iwagakure had focused nearly all their forces on Konoha.
Gekko Chizan had just crossed the border of the Land of Fire when he spotted dozens of people patrolling.
His heart tensed. Even though he was using Transparent Release, operating alone in enemy territory meant he had to be extra cautious.
He narrowed his eyes, watching those patrols move in well-formed groups of three to five, keeping perfect spacing between them — their vigilance was impressive.
He decided to avoid them for now, teleporting to a large tree not far away.Just then, he heard a faint buzzing sound.
Turning his head, he saw several bees glowing faintly with strange light flying toward him.
Gekko Chizan's lips curved slightly as he murmured, "Perfect timing."
"Chōmei, your turn. A little scale powder, please."
"Let's control these bees."
Chōmei chuckled darkly, gathering chakra before releasing the scale powder. The poisonous bees instantly froze midair, then began circling obediently around Gekko Chizan.
He studied them closely and noticed unique markings on their abdomens.
"Chōmei, look at these markings. Maybe that's the key to turning regular bees into poisonous ones."
Chōmei followed his gaze and nodded.
"These patterns... they look familiar somehow..."
"But I can't quite remember where I've seen them..."
Gekko Chizan's expression suddenly turned grim.
Chōmei might not remember, but he did.
These markings — if he wasn't mistaken — were the same ones he'd seen years ago on the toxic insects he'd engineered during the insect outbreak in the Land of Earth.
Don't tell me... these bees mutated after eating those poisonous bugs???
Damn it! If that was true, then he'd basically shot himself in the foot!
Still, that seemed unlikely. Bees didn't have assimilation abilities. Even if they ate a whole bunch of poisonous insects, it didn't mean they'd evolve.
"Chōmei, tell me — how hard is it for an insect to evolve venom?"
"Hard? Of course it's hard. Uh, not for me, of course — I'm a tailed beast. I can just use chakra to generate toxins. But normal bugs? No way. Unless someone, like your teacher, modifies them through special methods and then breeds them."
That made things clear for Gekko Chizan.
The Kamizuru clan, known for cultivating bees, must have used various research methods — combining venomous insects with bees to breed a new hybrid species.
That explained the toxic power these bees now possessed.
"In that case, the only way to stop them is to strike at the source. Otherwise, these bees will keep spreading uncontrollably."
"Kamizuru clan, tsk tsk... What a small world. Every time I come to Iwagakure, I end up running into them."
"A Jinchūriki who controls insects versus a clan that raises them — that's their misfortune, really."
Against other opponents, Gekko Chizan might not claim certainty of victory. But when it came to bugs? He was absolutely unbeatable.
What bug could possibly top Chōmei?
"Let's keep going. I can feel it — we'll probably run into the Kamizuru clan before long."
"Up to you. You've left your teleportation mark anyway. If something goes wrong, you can just jump back."
Gekko Chizan nodded and continued heading toward the Land of Grass.
...
At the same time, back at Konoha's camp.
Tsunade and several squad captains stood at the forward line of the encampment, staring off into the distance.
They were waiting for Gekko Chizan's return — even though he had only just left.
"Sigh... is the assassination squad ready?"
"Yeah... the team's fully assembled. As soon as Gekko Chizan brings back intel, we can move out."
Standing behind Tsunade was Uchiha Hachiyo.
Though one was a Senju and the other an Uchiha, there was no hostility between them.
After all, with war looming, personal grudges had to be set aside.
"Good. Let's hope everything goes smoothly on Chizan's end."
"The reagents Chizan left behind are only enough for five people... This mission's going to be tough."
Tsunade turned her gaze toward a squad waiting nearby — clearly, that was the assassination unit.