Naruto: Konoha’s Trickster, Starting as the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki

"Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu mainly focuses on Genjutsu and personal enhancement techniques."

"Levitation is just one of them. There's also invisibility and transformation."

"Invisibility doesn't really help you—after all, you've already got the Transparent Escape Technique."

"But you can try transformation. I'm curious to see what form you'd take."

Tagorihime, now a small green snake, flicked her tongue as she explained more about Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu to Kazuyama.

Ichikishimahime let out a huff, clearly irritated that Tagorihime had once again beaten her to it.

"That's just what Tagorihime happens to be good at."

"If it were me, I'd recommend Kazuyama learn the Absorption Technique. It's the Senjutsu I've mastered—using your own Senjutsu energy to absorb the opponent's chakra."

"That kind of technique suits Kazuyama far better."

Kazuyama simply nodded at the snake princesses' suggestions. He already understood Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu well.

Each of the three had her own specialty.

Tagorihime could shapeshift and alter forms. Ichikishimahime excelled in absorption. Tagitsuhime specialized in binding techniques.

"Why choose?"

"Wanting everything—that's just who I am. Once I bring Tagitsuhime back, I'm learning all three of your Senjutsu."

"Transformation, absorption, binding—every one of them feels like it was made for me."

Kazuyama wasn't the type to pass up any advantage. With Senjutsu laid out before him, how could he not seize it all?

His words made both Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime pause for a moment, then they both let out soft laughter.

"All right, save the chit-chat for when we're back."

"I think we're almost there."

Suspended in the air by the Hive Mind, Kazuyama could already see flickering lights in the distance. That had to be his destination.

At the same time, with his enhanced vision, he spotted something...

A sight that would terrify anyone with trypophobia.

Everywhere—tree trunks, forest floor, branches—was swarming with bees.

As the Iwa squad drew near, the bees began to part, slowly and deliberately, forming a passageway for them to walk through.

"Kazuyama, these Kamizuru shinobi seem stronger than the ones we've encountered before."

"And something's off with the bees. I don't feel that usual energy from them—they're radiating... death."

Chōmei frowned. As a giant insect himself, he was naturally in tune with insect swarms, but this batch gave him a deeply unsettling vibe.

And it wasn't just him. Even the snake princesses felt it.

"Kazuyama, these bees... they give me a terrible feeling..."

"Yeah, same here. It's like they exist only to kill. Actually, I wouldn't even call these things alive."

With Chōmei and the two princesses all saying the same thing, Kazuyama realized his gut instinct had been right.

He felt it too.

While they were still trying to make sense of it, the Iwa squad had already stepped into the zone.

Familiar faces began appearing in Kazuyama's line of sight.

"Lord Shibito Azuma, I have a report."

"Hm? What is it?"

Jōnin Shibito Azuma stepped forward slowly, followed by several others. Some had bee insignias on their shoulders—clearly the elites of the Kamizuru Clan.

"Lord Shibito Azuma, while patrolling the Land of Grass border, we found some poisonous bees attacking our own men."

"You there, explain."

"These are the corpses I retrieved."

The squad leader respectfully recounted the situation and presented the remains of the bees.

Shibito Azuma turned with an expressionless face and looked toward one of the individuals behind him.

"Clan Head Yabee."

"Yes, Lord Shibito Azuma."

The middle-aged man named Yabee stepped forward with a single stride, coming to a stop in front of the squad leader. He reached out and picked up the corpses of the poisonous bees.

Seeing this, Kazuyama couldn't help but ask Chōmei, "Chōmei, you don't think he'll recognize the Scale Powder, do you?"

"What are you talking about? A guy who plays with bees isn't qualified to detect my Scale Powder. I mean, come on..."

Chōmei scoffed, full of disdain. After all, he was the King of Insects. But sometimes, you really shouldn't speak too soon.

"Lord Azuma, these bees were being controlled. This is the same situation we encountered last year in the Land of Earth."

"It's not visible to the naked eye, but based on my sensory perception, there's an unknown substance present—something highly attractive to insects."

Kazuyama: …Chōmei, what did you just say?

Chōmei: I... I must've dozed off. Yeah, I totally fell asleep just now.

Yabee, as head of the Kamizuru Clan, had dedicated his life to the study of bees.

The Kamizuru weren't a major clan in the Land of Earth and had never been valued by the village. Their efforts to earn recognition during previous wars had all ended in failure.

But last year, when countless poisonous insects were discovered across the country—though no one knew where they had come from—Yabee saw it as a golden opportunity.

He went as far as to invoke his clan's forbidden technique...

And now, having finally gained recognition, he wouldn't allow anyone to jeopardize the Kamizuru Clan's rise.

"Lies! You people killed us just because I said a few things about your precious clan!"

"Even Nikawa was murdered by your hands!"

"You poison handlers are heartless!"

"You kill and then pretend it never happened!"

The scar-faced shinobi exploded in fury, practically drawing his blade.

Yabee's expression shifted—cold, deadly. Sensing his killing intent, the surrounding poison bees stirred. A suffocating, dreadful aura flooded the forest.

The scar-faced ninja immediately fell silent. The sensation of being targeted by countless eyes was like sitting on needles—he didn't dare make a sound.

"That's enough. I believe Yabee," Shibito Azuma said coldly, not even sparing Scarface a glance. "The poison bees have never gone out of control."

"The Kamizuru Clan are heroes of this campaign. They are our sharpest weapon."

"We launch the attack at dawn tomorrow. I don't want to see anything like this happen again."

"Yabee, handle the rest yourself."

With that, Shibito Azuma turned and left. He didn't like being around these bee tamers anyway—creepy.

Now alone with his orders, Yabee turned his eyes back to Scarface. But this time, that man was already dead in his eyes.

"No one will stand in the way of the Kamizuru Clan's rise."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the poison bees around them surged into the air. The forest echoed with a deafening buzz.

Screams? There were none. Once you were swallowed by thousands of venomous bees, you didn't even have the chance to scream.