"Alright, don't touch my test subject."
"But this guy's condition really piques my interest. This is a secret technique—one that can actually affect his own physique."
"This confirms it for me—there are still far more mysterious things in this world."
"Perhaps even senjutsu isn't limited to just the Three Great Sacred Grounds."
Orochimaru put down his work and walked over to the container as well.
The moment Mangetsu Hōzuki saw Orochimaru, his body instantly turned into a stream of water and disappeared—clearly showing just how terrified he was of him.
"But tell me, what mission are you on that lets you wander all the way here?"
"Heh, nothing major. Remember how that old fossil Hanzō bullied me on the battlefield before? I'm just getting my payback. I just tossed a nest of snakes into his castle and figured I'd give them a little time to get comfortable."
Gekko Chizan moved away from the container holding Mangetsu Hōzuki and began idly fiddling with the things on Orochimaru's desk.
When he spotted an elegant-looking vial and reached out to grab it—
A hand suddenly appeared before him, snatching up all the vials on the table with incredible speed and pulling them out of Chizan's reach.
The sight made Chizan's mouth twitch violently. He turned his head toward Orochimaru, speechless.
"So your Physique Modification Technique is just to guard against me, huh?"
"And you're not worried about dropping all those vials?"
Orochimaru swiftly gathered all the vials, placing them neatly aside. His expression didn't change as he looked back at Chizan and said something that made him want to cry.
"My hands are steady. Always steady."
"By the way, Chizan-kun, if possible, I'd like you to head to the southwestern part of the Land of Fire."
Orochimaru shifted the topic, piquing Chizan's curiosity.
Southwest?
What's over there?
Seeing Chizan's puzzled look, Orochimaru continued,
"There's an orphanage there. The director's name is Yakushi Nonō."
What?
Chizan's eyes widened. Yakushi Nonō? Holy crap—that woman's an important figure!
"What? You know her?"
"You shouldn't, though. Her identity's very well hidden. Even as a member of the ANBU, there's no reason you should know who she is."
Orochimaru looked confused, but Chizan admitted it openly.
After all, it was just a woman—no reason to hide it.
"I've already clashed with Danzō. I know plenty about what happens in Root."
"That old bastard's caused me enough trouble as it is."
Chizan looked thoroughly annoyed, and before Orochimaru could even respond, he went ahead and assigned himself a task.
"Yakushi Nonō, huh? Should I bring her over?"
"I remember she's a spy—and one who's skilled in medical ninjutsu too."
"Tch tch, getting her as your assistant doesn't sound like a bad idea."
Orochimaru smiled faintly. As expected of his disciple—Chizan understood him perfectly.
Still, he offered a word of caution.
"Be careful. I know her abilities—but so does Danzō."
"I suspect he's already made his move on her. If things don't go smoothly, withdraw immediately."
"It's only one person. If not her, I can find someone else."
Chizan nodded, but he had no intention of giving up.
It was just one person. As long as she hadn't returned to the village yet, he'd grab her by force if he had to.
Better to send her to Orochimaru as an assistant than to let Danzō drag her into his spy network. At least this way, a beautiful woman would survive.
...
Amegakure had been in chaos lately.
After the sudden attack by a swarm of snakes, the entire village was on edge.
Rain ninja patrols filled every street.
Yet no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find the target.
"Hanzō-sama, could that bastard have already left?"
"We've searched for three days and haven't found a trace of him."
Salamander Hanzō listened to the report, his face dark as thunder. No way was he going to believe Gekko Chizan had already left Amegakure.
That kind of half-finished business? Impossible.
"Keep searching!"
"Not a single line of defense is to be relaxed!"
"And what about the people from Konoha? Have they arrived yet?"
His subordinate shook his head. Seeing that, Hanzō's expression grew even uglier.
"Damn that Danzō."
"Fine. Maintain the patrols. Don't let anyone enter the village."
The moment he finished speaking—
"BOOM!"
A deafening explosion rang out.
The entire castle trembled violently.
"We're under attack!"
"Enemy attack from above!"
"They're all explosive tags!"
"Brace for impact!"
The explosions continued, and Hanzō was about to lose his mind.
Why?! Why did that bastard keep targeting his castle?!
"Catch that bastard for me!"
"Everyone, move out!"
Hanzō himself joined the pursuit as all the ninja rushed outside.
But when they exited the castle, they saw nothing.
No enemies.
Not even a shadow of Gekko Chizan.
All that was in the sky was a kite-like contraption—covered entirely in explosive tags.
One by one, the tags fluttered down from above.
"That bastard!"
"How dare he mock me like this!"
"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
A massive surge of water formed and blasted upward.
Hanzō's Water Style was no joke—it could easily rival the Third Mizukage's.
The roaring torrent swallowed up both the kite and the falling explosive tags.
Watching from a distant corner of Amegakure, a sinister chuckle echoed.
"Hehehehehe..."
"Hanzō, you fell right into my trap!"
Chizan's smirk was pure wickedness as his hands flashed through hand seals.
In the next instant—
The kite he'd crafted with his Crystal Release shattered.
Its fragments, still covered in explosive tags, were swept into the water current, and the crystal began to assimilate the surrounding water.
When Hanzō saw it, a sense of dread hit him instantly. He hurriedly cut off his chakra flow and used the Water Body Flicker Technique to retreat.
He dodged—but the crystallization had already begun.
The rate at which the water turned into crystal far surpassed his imagination.
In just a few breaths, the entire water stream solidified into a towering mass of crystal—stretching from the ground all the way to the sky.
From afar, it looked as though his castle had sprouted a giant horn.
What made it worse—inside every crystal was an explosive tag.
"Hehehehehe..."
"Snakes you can handle—but let's see how you deal with this pile of crystals and explosive tags."
"Blow up, you bastards!"
This was Gekko Chizan's second grand gift to Hanzō.
The crystals were nearly indestructible—removing them would require brute force.
But if they used too much force, the tags would detonate—and when they did, it wouldn't just be one or two.
It would be hundreds.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo