Aburame Tatsuma didn't speak. He simply followed Hanzō the Salamander out of the room.
The moment he stepped outside, what greeted him made his scalp crawl—even with his composure as a Root member, his heart skipped a beat.
At the same time, he raised the danger level of Gekko Chizan in his mind to the absolute maximum.
Snakes.
Everywhere—coiling, slithering, in all colors imaginable. It was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
"Damn it… this guy really is Orochimaru's disciple, huh..."
"To actually summon this many snakes to attack?"
Thinking of how Gekko Chizan had turned into a serpent on the battlefield, commanding four giant snakes to rampage alongside him, Aburame Tatsuma suddenly understood why his superior had such a twisted obsession with Chizan.
Shimura Danzō: Hmph! If I can't have him, I'll destroy him! Even though I desperately want him! Talents like him belong in Root!
"That damn kid! He dares unleash all these snakes inside!?"
"Everyone, move! Get rid of those poisonous snakes—now!"
"You idiot! What are you doing with that torch!? Put it down! Are you trying to burn down my place!?"
Hanzō the Salamander's face twisted in rage as he yelled orders, his fury barely contained.
...
Amid the chaos, Gekko Chizan emerged from the hot spring building, a small green snake resting lazily on his shoulder.
The next instant, his figure vanished from the street—reappearing in midair.
Gazing down at the castle swarming with snakes, he wore a faint, cold smile.
"Tagorihime, summoning this many snakes—will that cause any problems?"
"After all, at this rate, these snakes might not last much longer. Hanzō won't sit still and let his own fortress get ravaged like this."
The small green snake—Tagorihime—rolled her bright vertical pupils at him and said calmly,
"Haven't you been to the outskirts of Ryūchi Cave?"
"Compared to the serpents there, this number isn't even one-thousandth. These are just ordinary venomous snakes that never entered the main lineage."
"Snakes are cold-blooded. Do you think I would care? Or that they would?"
"Chizan, since when did you become the sentimental type? That's not like you at all."
Chizan rolled his eyes.
"Well, I am a disciple of the Snake Sage now. Naturally, I should care a little about the serpents that heed my call."
"But hearing you say that, I guess I can relax."
He smirked again—that trademark mischievous grin.
Then, he formed hand seals with both hands.
The snake horde responded instantly, going berserk.
If before they had merely surrounded the entire fortress, now the real assault had begun.
...
Hanzō sliced through several venomous snakes lunging at him, splitting them clean in half, his fury boiling over.
"Damned kid! Sound the alarm! Purge every snake inside this fortress!"
"And prepare for combat—I want that kid dead, no matter what!"
Aburame Tatsuma glanced at him, then at the writhing mass of snakes around them. With a resigned sigh, he raised both hands.
His kikaichū swarmed forth, forming dark clouds of insects that began cleansing the area around him of snakes.
At the same time, Tagorihime, who was controlling the serpents, suddenly let out a small hum of surprise. Chizan immediately looked at her.
"Tagorihime, what is it?"
"Nothing much. I just sensed a different chakra inside the fortress… one I don't like. If I'm not mistaken, it belongs to one of your Konoha clans."
Chizan's brows furrowed deeply.
He trusted Tagorihime's senses—natural energy perception was incredibly sharp.
If she felt that, then there was no doubt: someone from Konoha was here.
And if it was Konoha, it could only mean one thing—Root.
So Danzō really had teamed up with Hanzō, huh?
Only this time, instead of targeting Nagato, they'd set their sights on him.
Interesting.
If Danzō wanted to play, he'd play.
A mocking grin curved across Chizan's lips.
Even if Danzō himself appeared here, he wouldn't care. Worst case, he'd just retreat. What was there to fear?
With disdain dripping from his voice, he said, "Doesn't matter who it is—if they dare come, I'll kill them all."
"After all, we're far from the village now. In a place like Amegakure, accidents can happen anytime."
"And besides…"
Before he could finish, Chizan dropped down toward an empty area.
As soon as he landed, Tagorihime instinctively activated her Sage Technique: Invisibility, concealing his presence.
Chizan crouched down, pressed one finger to the ground, and began to draw circles.
"Chizan, what are you doing?"
"Nothing. Just my little pre-battle prayer ritual."
He didn't speak further—completely focused on his ritual of drawing circles and cursing.
And the target of his curse… was Danzō.
...
Inside the fortress, the battle grew even fiercer.
The serpent horde crashed relentlessly against the defenders' lines.
Even though the guards were all elite shinobi, there were simply too many snakes.
In such tight quarters, even the strongest fighters couldn't hold out forever—and one by one, they were bitten to death.
"Useless fools!"
Seeing his men failing to handle a mere swarm of snakes, Hanzō's anger reached its peak.
"Water Release!"
Unable to hold back, he formed hand seals and unleashed his technique.
A massive surge of water enveloped the entire fortress, every droplet turning into a deadly needle that tore through the air.
Those familiar with Hanzō's power knew what was coming—they immediately threw up defenses with everything they had.
No one wanted to die alongside the snakes… and certainly not by being turned into a human pincushion.
In his fury, Hanzō demonstrated his overwhelming might.
Every single water needle pierced through serpents—each one sending another soul back to Ryūchi Cave.
"Oh? So he's finally making a move?"
"Heh… that old man's temper is worse than I thought."
Watching the countless snakes perish, Chizan chuckled softly.
It was all within his expectations—he just hadn't thought Hanzō would lose his patience this fast.
He figured the man would last a little longer.
"Well, that's enough for today. I've got plenty of time to play."
"Hahaha! Chizan, you're terrible—but I like that."
Chizan went on with his curse, intent on making Danzō pay the price for his schemes.
He wasn't worried about Amegakure's shinobi searching for him.
With the fortress now overflowing with snake corpses, they'd be too busy cleaning up all night to even think about hunting him down.
Exactly as he planned.
...
When Hanzō finally finished his jutsu, things were just as Chizan had predicted.
Every last snake inside the fortress had been slain—leaving behind nothing but a sea of corpses.
"Everyone, move! I don't want to see a single snake body here by sunrise!"
Duang!
As the wooden doors slammed shut, the shinobi of Amegakure exchanged bitter looks.
Still, they could only lower their heads and begin the exhausting work of cleanup.