"Bug?"
"You're the Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki? A ninja from Takigakure?"
"Impossible! Takigakure has never had a Jinchūriki! And why are you mixed up with Sasori?!"
Even someone like Haneda Zaimon was momentarily overwhelmed.
Among the nine Tailed Beasts, only the Seven-Tails takes the form of an insect.
Likewise, only the Seven-Tails is not affiliated with any of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
So how could a Jinchūriki from the reclusive Takigakure appear in the outside world?
A flood of questions nearly burst Haneda Zaimon's brain.
"Hehehehe..."
"Can't figure it out? Then don't bother thinking!"
"Wouldn't it be nice to stay buried in this yellow sand forever?"
"Insect Assault!"
He thrust both hands forward, and blade-like appendages resembling beetle antennae instantly shot out.
Gekko Chizan suddenly charged toward Haneda Zaimon.
"Damn it!"
"Magnet Release! Iron Sand Wall!"
Black iron sand quickly gathered and formed an enormous, sturdy wall in an instant.
But could iron sand really withstand the charge of a Jinchūriki?
The answer was no.
Chōmei, the Seven-Tails, is a dragonfly-like beast with long antennae.
The appendages Gekko Chizan formed were Chōmei's antennae.
Insect Transformation — the ability to materialize parts of Chōmei's body through chakra, granting him the same offensive power as the beast itself.
How could an ordinary defense hope to withstand a Tailed Beast's assault?
"Boom!"
A metal-on-metal clash rang out instantly.
In the next moment, the iron sand wall was completely pierced through.
"Not good!"
With undiminished momentum, Gekko Chizan sent Haneda Zaimon flying.
At the last second, Haneda Zaimon used a Sand Clone to substitute himself.
"To use a substitution jutsu at a time like this?"
"As expected of the Kazekage."
"But..."
Before he could finish speaking, Haneda Zaimon's body was once again paralyzed.
"Scale powder—how will you resist that?"
Yes, every wave of attacks had been laced with scale powder.
Now the paralysis was even stronger.
If he hadn't forcefully coated his body with iron sand and used Magnet Release to control it, he wouldn't even be able to move.
"Huff... damn it..."
"Who the hell are you?"
The immense chakra drain left Haneda Zaimon gasping.
"I told you, who I am doesn't matter."
"Just become a stepping stone!"
He launched another charge.
This time, Haneda Zaimon couldn't dodge.
"Bastard! Don't underestimate the Kazekage!"
"Ninja Art! Iron Sand World Method!"
Since dodging was impossible, then he would fight head-on!
The pitch-black iron sand stained the surrounding desert dark.
Countless spikes burst from the ground, aiming forward.
"Tch, still got some fight in you?"
"Shit, no good—Sasori better not die from this, I still need him!"
Seeing Sasori within the range of the attack, Gekko Chizan immediately gave up the charge and sprinted toward him.
Just before the iron sand spikes exploded, he kicked a clump of sand in front of Sasori, sending both him and the sand flying in the opposite direction of the battlefield.
That one action filled Gekko Chizan with unexpected joy.
[Ding! Host has been detected to have struck the unconscious Sasori, causing permanent damage to his body and further deepening his obsession with becoming a puppet. Special reward: Tailed Beast Transformation Mastery +10! Note: At 100, you can attempt to use Tailed Beast Bomb.]
[Ding! Host's Tailed Beast Bomb Mastery has reached 100! Gained Tailed Beast Skill: Tailed Beast Bomb!]
[Ding! Tailed Beast Bomb Optimization unlocked. You can now improve this skill in the future!]
Holy crap! Sasori! My boy! All the effort I put into you is finally paying off!
Just look at that reward! Instant explosion!
After all this time, I finally got the Tailed Beast Bomb!
Gekko Chizan was about to laugh himself senseless!
What's the Tailed Beast's strongest attack? Obviously the Tailed Beast Bomb!
He turned to look at Haneda Zaimon, who was still attacking, with a wicked grin.
"Chōmei! Let's wrap this up quickly!"
"Kill him with a Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Chōmei was shocked.
"Chizan, don't joke around! You've never used the Tailed Beast Bomb! You won't succeed!"
"That move requires fusing the Tailed Beast chakra in a precise yin-yang ratio!"
Gekko Chizan laughed heartily and shouted with full confidence:
"Just supply the chakra!"
"Leave the rest to me!"
"I chose this desert location specifically—nobody will notice an explosion here!"
"Otherwise, why do you think I used your chakra for teleportation?"
"This place is even deeper in the desert than Sunagakure itself!"
Chōmei could sense Gekko Chizan's absolute confidence and was briefly stunned.
But trusting him, as always, Chōmei fully released his chakra.
That was the power of 100 Tailed Beast Affinity!
"I'll send you to the afterlife with my strongest move!"
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Gekko Chizan raised both hands above his body and roared.
A massive amount of chakra began to condense.
Purple and blue chakras swirled together.
They represented yin and yang.
Seeing this, Haneda Zaimon's scalp tingled.
But paralyzed from head to toe, he couldn't move at all.
"Damn it! I won't let you succeed!"
"Magnet Release! Iron Sand Burial!"
This was Haneda Zaimon's final gamble. All of his iron sand surged like a crashing galaxy toward Gekko Chizan.
Under normal circumstances, anyone buried by iron sand would be dead without question.
But the man before him was no ordinary shinobi—he was a perfect Jinchūriki.
Gekko Chizan's Tailed Beast Bomb took shape at astonishing speed under Chōmei's stunned gaze.
So fast that Chōmei was left speechless.
"DIE!"
With a deafening roar, the Tailed Beast Bomb launched like a meteor.
That meteor, before Haneda Zaimon's eyes, crushed his iron sand to dust.
And then exploded right in front of him.
At the last second, Haneda Zaimon gathered iron sand around his body and braced for the explosion.
"Boom!"
Deep in the desert over 100 miles southwest of Sunagakure, a massive explosion erupted.
The blast triggered a desert storm.
Endless yellow sand swallowed everything nearby.
When the explosion finally died down, Gekko Chizan had exited his half-beast transformation and used all four limbs to claw his way out of the sand.
"Blegh! Ptui!"
"Damn it! I ate a mouthful of sand!"
He collapsed to the ground, brushing himself off.
At the same time, he activated his insect eyes to locate Haneda Zaimon.
Soon, he found him in a large crater 500 meters away.
"Oh? Still alive? That's some ridiculous tenacity..."
Though he was in terrible shape.
Massive burns covered his body, and black powder was scattered all around.
By the time Gekko Chizan reached him, Haneda Zaimon was gasping for breath.
"Da... damn it..."
"Who... are... you... really?"
Gekko Chizan smiled slightly and pulled out the last venom-coated kunai from his pouch.
"Me? I'm the one who's going to kill you."
"This poison belongs to Sasori. There's no better way to send you off."
Without hesitation, Gekko Chizan sliced open Haneda Zaimon's chest with the kunai.
Haneda Zaimon's eyes widened. Even paralyzed, he could feel the venom invading his body.
Already at his limit, the toxin quickly finished him off, leaving him to die with confusion etched across his face.
"Next, I just have to find Sasori and place this bastard's corpse beside him."
"Then the mission will be perfectly complete..."
To make the act convincing, the corpse of the Third Kazekage had to be stolen by Sasori.
That way, no one would suspect Gekko Chizan.
After all, who would ever imagine that a Konoha ninja would sneak into Sunagakure and assassinate the Kazekage?
And succeed.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo