Under the night sky, the Eight-Tails rampaged, its massive body wreathed in crimson energy as its eight tentacle-like tails lashed wildly.
The entire Kumo base was in chaos.
Far from the battlefield, Kazuyama and Tagitsuhime observed the destruction.
"My, my, that's it. The Kumo base in the Land of Hot Water is finished."
"Tagitsuhime, you're truly ruthless. But I have to admit—well done."
Just as Kazuyama was lamenting, a sudden notification echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Sensing that the host, embracing the philosophy of "A grudge left unavenged is a disgrace; revenge should be loud and clear," launched a nighttime assault on the Kumo base—using Genjutsu to torment A, the Raikage's sons, and a hundred Kumo shinobi, leaving them with unforgettable trauma and deep-seated hatred—a special reward has been issued!]
[Second Kekkei Genkai Fusion Progress: 10% → 100%]
[Ding! The host has achieved full fusion progress for the second Kekkei Genkai. A special reward has been granted.]
[Ding!] A mission has been triggered to activate the second Kekkei Genkai.]
[Ding! Ding! Ding! The mission has been issued!]
Kazuyama was stunned. Damn, I was just watching, and now the second Kekkei Genkai is already activated?!
Overjoyed, he grinned. He knew that what he lacked most was offensive power—he already had escape, stealth, and the ability to cause mayhem. While One Thousand Years of Death was amusingly effective, it wasn't exactly the most sophisticated technique.
Excitedly, he opened the system panel to check his mission. But the moment he read it, his mind went blank.
"System, you're joking, right…?"
[Ding! No. Please complete the mission as soon as possible to unlock the second Kekkei Genkai.]
Kazuyama stared at the screen, feeling completely targeted by the system.
It wasn't just difficult—it was downright absurd. His scalp tingled as he read the requirements.
Mission to unlock the second Kekkei Genkai:
Kekkei Genkai: Usually, only a rare few shinobi can develop a new form of ninjutsu on their own. Once successful, this unique ability is encoded into their genetics and passed down through their bloodline.
With such a powerful inheritance, all the host needs to do is deposit 500 million ryo in the bank to claim it!
Kazuyama's eye twitched.
"The system is the system, but just casually asking for 500 million ryo?! Where the hell am I supposed to get that kind of money?!"
After all, even after stealing so much gold from Rasa, he had only managed to scrape together a few tens of millions…
"System, are you messing with me?! Just casually asking for 500 million ryo?!"
[Ding! Yes, it's only 500 million ryo, so please complete the mission as soon as possible.]
Kazuyama froze, momentarily losing interest in the chaos unfolding before him.
Was Kekkei Genkai valuable? Absolutely. But 500 million ryo was insane.
Wait… did the system really just say deposit 500 million ryo? Oh, sure, no problem—except for the part where he had to earn 500 million ryo first!
[Ding! Host, don't forget the purpose of this system!]
[As long as the host completes the mission, this system guarantees that the new Kekkei Genkai will be far more powerful than your Transparent Escape Technique!]
Purpose? It clearly wasn't about being a decent person. But then again…
A sudden thought struck Kazuyama. He was a Rokudenashi—a scoundrel through and through. Did someone like him really need to go through proper channels to make money?
As the realization sank in, countless ideas flashed through his mind. Each one was a brilliant way to completely abandon his principles.
And they'd get him rich fast.
With a plan forming, 500 million ryo didn't seem so impossible anymore.
Besides, he had four elemental affinities—Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth.
His Transparent Escape Technique came from combining Fire and Earth. If he used Fire to heat Earth into glass… wouldn't that make it transparent?
This new Kekkei Genkai would definitely be stronger than Transparent Escape. The possibilities were endless.
Wind and Water's Ice Release? Fire and Earth's Lava Release? Both were solid choices.
Excitement surged through him.
"Hey, Kazuyama, what are you grinning about?"
"The Eight-Tails is being suppressed!"
What?!
Tagitsuhime's words yanked Kazuyama back to reality.
"Hey, Kazuyama, what are you grinning about?"
"Eight-Tails is being suppressed!"
What?!
Tagitsuhime's words yanked Kazuyama back to reality.
Snapping open his Hive Mind to check, he saw she was right.
The battlefield had split, with massive amounts of rubber trapping the Eight-Tails.
That was Dodai's doing. The man had initially been knocked out but had woken at the beast's roar, immediately rejoining the battle to restrain it.
Kazuyama focused on the Eight-Tails… and froze.
Because the rampaging beast was currently being rampaged by—
Rampaging A?!
Holy shit. His eyes weren't deceiving him.
A's eyes were bloodshot, his entire body crackling with lightning. The energy twisted around him like a coiling lightning serpent, surging with every movement.
Each punch sent arcs of lightning exploding outward.
Even the Eight-Tails, despite its monstrous durability, was getting knocked back—little by little.
"Why did he turn into this? And what's with the lightning around him?"
If the original A was a humanoid Tyrannosaurus, then the current A was a humanoid Ultraman, and Eight-Tails was the poor little monster getting utterly pummeled.
"He wasn't like this at first," Tagitsuhime said. "But then the Eight-Tails shouted something, and he transformed into this."
Kazuyama raised an eyebrow. Logically, it should be the Eight-Tails—Gyūki—going berserk. What could it have possibly said to push A into such a state?
"What did it shout?"
Tagitsuhime gave him a long, meaningful look before slowly uttering three words:
"One Thousand Years of Death."
Oh. Well, that explained everything.
No wonder A went berserk—he had just been pulled out of a Genjutsu nightmare, and the trauma of that technique was clearly too much.
"You brat," Tagitsuhime scoffed. "You look decent on the surface, but deep down, you're as wretched as they come."
"You actually used something like One Thousand Years of Death?"
Kazuyama completely ignored her.
She just didn't understand the greatness of this technique. When he used it, the damage output increased by 50%. No matter who the opponent was, they'd end up on their knees.
"Let's get out of here. With all this noise, I bet Tsunade and the others will notice. They're probably already on their way."
The Eight-Tails' rampage was far too loud, and this location wasn't too far from the Land of Fire's border.
The problem was that a Tailed Beast was massive. Even at night, it was hard to miss, especially with this terrifying amount of chakra radiating through the area.
Tagitsuhime nodded, stretching lazily. "Fine, I'll head back. But in the future, don't wake me up at night. Don't you know how important beauty sleep is?"
"Huh? You're a snake."
"So what? Does that mean I can't take care of my looks? Hmph! Brat!"
With a flicker of movement, she activated the Coiling Serpent Technique and slowly disappeared.
The moment she was gone, Chōmei's voice rang out.
"Hahaha! You're something else, Kazuyama! That bastard Eight-Tails went berserk again and got beat down—it's killing me!"
Kazuyama smirked, listening to Chōmei's laughter.
Without wasting any time, he activated the Transparent Escape Technique and sprinted toward the Land of Fire.
However, before he could get far, he spotted Shirakumo and several Konoha ninja rushing toward the Kumo camp.
It seemed they were going to investigate the situation with the Eight-Tails.
Kazuyama didn't reveal himself. Instead, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and teleported directly to camp.
By the time he arrived, the entire place was brightly lit.
Slipping into a secluded corner, he deactivated Transparent Escape and walked back to his tent—only to freeze the moment he stepped inside.
Tsunade was waiting for him.
"Kid, where have you been all night?"
Her sharp eyes narrowed.
"Hmph! I knew you wouldn't stay quiet. Now spill it—did you have anything to do with the Eight-Tails rampage?"
Kazuyama broke into a cold sweat.
Damn… the Eight-Tails rampage really set off a chain reaction.
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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