The entire Land of Grass was now marked by traces of Iwagakure's presence.
Even with his Transparent Release activated, Gekko Chizan moved with his heart pounding in his chest.
There were just too many people...
As soon as he entered the Land of Grass, temporary outposts appeared one after another in his sight.
Gekko Chizan carefully weaved between the countless Iwagakure encampments, each step as cautious as walking on thin ice. Suddenly, he caught the sound of low conversation. Moving closer, he saw a few Iwagakure shinobi discussing battle plans.
"I didn't expect it. Those Kamizuru guys actually became our main force now."
"A bunch of bee tamers, and they've finally turned things around, huh?"
A scar-faced ninja spoke with clear disdain.
The others nearby, however, had different opinions.
"Don't underestimate them. Did you forget how many people got swallowed alive by those venomous bees?"
"Poison is terrifying enough, but with their bee-control techniques, those swarms are nightmares come alive."
"If it weren't for them leading the charge, we wouldn't have taken the Land of Grass so quickly."
Hearing their conversation, Gekko Chizan suddenly had an idea.
A sly grin crept across his face.
"Chōmei, bring over those bees we just controlled."
"Huh? What for?"
"Well, isn't this the perfect target? Since they conquered this place with venomous bees, let's see how they like being on the receiving end."
Chōmei instantly understood, and a sinister laugh echoed from him as well.
In the distance, a small swarm of bees came flying their way—those very same ones they had controlled earlier.
Under Chōmei's manipulation, the bees charged straight toward the small Iwagakure unit.
The Iwagakure shinobi were still chatting away, completely unaware of the danger closing in. It wasn't until the bees were right in front of them that they realized something was wrong.
"Damn it! Venomous bees!"
"Shit! What are the Kamizuru clan doing? Is this revenge?!"
The scar-faced ninja shouted as panic erupted.
The venomous bees circled them first, buzzing in a deadly spiral before launching their attack.
Though few in number, each bee was highly toxic—and under Chōmei's control, they were deadlier than ever.
"What's happening? Why are these bees attacking us?"
"What are the Kamizuru clan thinking?!"
A terrified shinobi drew his weapon to slash the bees, but the toxin-enhanced swarm was far stronger than before. Combined with Chōmei's manipulation, this squad stood no chance.
A scream soon tore through the night—a weaker shinobi had fallen victim. The venom coursed through his body as he convulsed violently before collapsing. In moments, the poison would spread throughout his body and kill him.
It was only because the swarm was small that he was still breathing. Had there been more bees, he would've been dead instantly.
Their comrade's death made the rest of the unit realize the danger. They immediately counterattacked, unleashing ninjutsu without restraint.
It was just a few dozen bees, but they were hurling rocks and detonating explosive tags—the quiet night was shattered in an instant.
"Whoa, talk about overkill. It's just a handful of bees, and they're going this far?"
"Chōmei, push harder—we need to get out of here."
At Chizan's words, Chōmei strengthened his control, but even so, Gekko Chizan had still underestimated Iwagakure's reaction speed.
"Tch. Forget it, Chōmei, pull back."
"Let's hide. We might get something useful out of this mess."
As he saw over a dozen figures rushing their way, Gekko Chizan didn't retreat. He figured that with all this chaos, he might just gather some valuable intel.
The bees, now freed from Chōmei's control, buzzed in confusion—only to be blasted into pieces by the very shinobi they had attacked moments ago.
"What happened?"
"Where's the enemy?"
The reinforcements arrived, faces tense as they scanned the surroundings for signs of their opponent.
The scar-faced ninja immediately stepped forward to explain.
"They've gone mad! The Kamizuru clan's lost it—they actually sicced their own venomous bees on us!"
"Captain, look at the ground—those are bee corpses!"
"That's your proof!"
The captain knelt down to inspect the remains, his brow furrowing.
"Why would the Kamizuru clan do this? Don't they realize what kind of consequences internal conflict could bring?"
The scar-faced ninja growled angrily.
"Who knows? I just said a few words, and next thing I knew, they tried to kill us!"
Then, a teammate muttered quietly from the side,
"Could it be that someone's pretending to be the Kamizuru clan?"
Everyone froze.
The captain shot him a look that screamed "idiot."
"Are you stupid?"
"The Kamizuru clan's bloodline trait is bee manipulation. Who else could possibly control bees?"
"Unless it's Konoha's Aburame clan—but they use insects, not bees."
Finally, the captain issued his command.
"Take these bee corpses back. Whether this was really the Kamizuru's doing or not isn't for us to decide. I'll report this to higher-ups."
"Yes, sir!" everyone responded in unison.
The scar-faced ninja gritted his teeth silently.
Damn bastards… you'll pay for this.
Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, Gekko Chizan almost laughed loud enough to give himself away.
This was exactly what he wanted!
If he followed these men, wouldn't they lead him straight to the Kamizuru clan?
That sure beat wandering aimlessly through the forest like a headless fly.
He really was brilliant!
Still, how to follow them was the question. His Transparent Release could hide his form and chakra signature, but it couldn't erase all movement or sound.
If he just tailed them on foot, he'd be discovered easily.
"Chizan, leave it to me and Ichikishimahime."
"You just enter Transparent Release mode and focus on gathering natural energy. Leave the rest to us."
Tagorihime's voice suddenly echoed in Gekko Chizan's mind.
The serpentine link of the Coiling Snake Technique flared to life once more.
Two streams of energy surged into his body.
The next instant, his body lifted into the air.
One of Ryūchi Cave's Sage Techniques—Floating.
Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime, the three Snake Princesses, all used this very ability to move freely through the air.
Now, with the help of the serpent princess of Langwi, he too had mastered this art.
"This ability… heh, it's like it was made just for me!"
"Amazing!"
Feeling the surge of sage energy flow through him, Gekko Chizan experienced something entirely new.
It wasn't like flying with wings—this was something smoother, freer, and infinitely more comfortable.