"That's brutal. This is the first time I've ever heard of bees being able to eat a person."
"Isn't that something only ants can do...?"
Gekko Chizan felt like his worldview had just expanded again.
He had watched countless horror movies in his previous life, and only bugs—like ants—were ever capable of devouring a person completely.
But now bees could do it too? Damn. You learn something new every day.
"Chizan, should we make a move?"
"If we're attacking, I'll start condensing the scale powder now."
Chōmei didn't know why, but suddenly he felt irritated.
Wasn't he, the grand insect king himself, impressive enough? And yet this guy was still shocked by a bunch of bees?
Displeased, Chōmei had the sudden urge to revert to his true form and blast all the bees below into dust with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Attack? No way. Calm down, Chōmei. My mission is just reconnaissance."
"Since we've already located the target, let's head back and report."
Chizan's trypophobia was starting to act up—he had zero desire to be chased by a swarm of bees. Just the thought made his skin crawl.
"You sure you'll go back and not return again?"
"You really think your village will let you back out of that decapitation mission?"
That line rendered Gekko Chizan speechless.
Yeah... even if he went back, Tsunade would probably drag him out to the front lines anyway.
Damn it, why did this guy have to be so honest! So annoying!
Just as Chizan was hesitating on whether to act, the Wild Bee down below spoke again.
"Everyone, start moving toward the border in groups. Remember, controlling the venomous bees requires extreme caution."
"No one should control too many at once. If something goes wrong, give a signal immediately."
Hearing this, Chizan instantly understood—these venomous bees were definitely not as simple as they appeared. Even controlling them seemed risky.
Then the Wild Bee bit his own finger, formed a few hand seals, and slammed his palm on the ground.
"Poof!"
White smoke spread, and a massive Queen Bee slowly emerged.
Its entire body glowed with an eerie blue light, and red markings pulsed all over its carapace.
Chizan's heart skipped a beat.
This big bee looked completely different from the ones he had seen before—he had seen the Kamizuru clan's giant summoning bees, but this one…
If the previous Queen Bee could be called a queen, then this one was an empress. The sheer aura it gave off couldn't even compare.
"Whoa... this thing's on another level. The toxicity alone makes me want to put it down."
"Chizan, what do you think?"
Chizan shook his head—he decided to keep observing for now.
As the Queen Bee appeared, the Wild Bee leapt onto its back and flew toward the front lines.
The rest of the Kamizuru clan began spreading out in all directions.
"They're moving..."
"Follow them..."
Chizan moved as well. Since it was a decapitation mission, he needed to record the correct coordinates first.
At the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire, a massive Iwagakure force had already assembled. The Kamizuru clan members were scattered among them.
That complicated the mission significantly. How could they carry out a decapitation strike when the targets weren't even concentrated?
Forget it. Better head back and mark the coordinates.
In an instant, Chizan vanished with Flying Thunder God.
When he returned, Tsunade and the others were still waiting at the front lines.
Chizan walked up to them, but his expression wasn't exactly pleasant.
"Chizan, you're back!"
"Well? Can we carry out the decapitation mission?"
Tsunade's joy at his return froze when she noticed his grim expression.
If even this eternal optimist looked like that, then…
The others were frowning too—the tension was thick.
"Chizan, what's going on?"
"Is the situation really that bad?"
Faced with Tsunade's question, Chizan sighed deeply.
"No, nothing like that. I just stepped on a sharp rock while teleporting back. It hurt."
Tsunade: .....
Everyone else: .....
"You little brat! What the hell are you playing at?!"
"You had me worried for nothing! I'll kill you!"
Tsunade erupted, her fist the size of a sandbag swinging down with terrifying force.
Chizan yelped and flickered away with a Body Flicker, dodging the blow.
The rest glared at him in irritation—clearly, he'd succeeded in getting on everyone's nerves.
"Hey, hey, don't be like that! I brought back intel, you know!"
"Not even a welcome back, and now you're getting violent!"
"Keep this up and I really will leave!"
Wearing his trademark mischievous grin, Chizan stayed a safe distance away, watching Tsunade and the others fume.
[Ding! Detected that the host provoked Tsunade and the others right before battle, successfully enraging everyone. Special reward: taijutsu +1.]
Chizan was speechless.
Why were all the rewards lately related to taijutsu?
Whatever. A reward was a reward.
"The situation is trickier than we expected."
"Stop chasing me already, Tsunade-sama! If you keep this up, I won't tell you anything!"
Tsunade froze, halting mid-step.
Her glare, however, was still blazing hot enough to burn a hole through him.
It was obvious that Chizan's little stunt had truly gotten under her skin.
"Hmph! You brat! Spit out the intel, now!"
"Or else, don't let me catch you!"
Tsunade glared furiously at Chizan—but come on, this was Gekko Chizan. His shamelessness could block a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Completely unfazed by her anger, Chizan began explaining what he had seen.
"The entire Kamizuru clan has mobilized, spread throughout the Iwagakure troops."
"Also, they're using some kind of forbidden technique that grants their bees venomous properties. That makes things complicated. Judging by the reaction of that venom, I doubt it can be treated like a normal toxin."
"Here, I caught a few of the bees. You can try formulating an antidote."
"But the problem isn't just the venom—their offensive power is far greater than ordinary bees."
"In huge numbers, they can devour a person completely, like termites."
Chizan's words left everyone—including Tsunade—stunned.
Venomous bees? Sure, venom is bad, but eating people?
Were those even bees anymore? What kind of cursed nonsense was that?
That immediately made them think of the Aburame clan of Konoha. Everyone turned in unison to look at one of their own standing nearby.
The man was Aburame Sangai, an elite of the Aburame clan and a squad leader in the support unit.
"Why are you all staring at me?"
"Our clan's insects feed on chakra, not flesh and blood."
"But what Chizan said caught my attention."
"If this forbidden jutsu really exists, the price must be enormous. After all, like us, the Kamizuru clan nurtures their insects—uh, bees—using their own chakra."