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

"So brutal... I never knew bees could eat people."

"Isn't that something only ants can do...?"

Kazuyama had just learned something new. He'd seen plenty of horror movies in his past life, and only bugs like ants could strip a body to the bone.

But today, bees proved they could do it too. Tsk, the more you know.

"Kazuyama, should we attack?"

"If so, I'll start condensing Scale Powder now."

Chōmei didn't know why he was suddenly so annoyed. Wasn't he, the great Insect King, impressive enough? And yet Kazuyama was shocked over a bunch of bees?

He was irritated. He suddenly wanted to transform into his true form and blast all the bees below with a Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Attack what? Calm down, Chōmei. My job is just recon."

"Now that I've located the target, I'm heading back to report."

Kazuyama's trypophobia was flaring up—he had no interest in getting chased by a swarm of bees. Just imagining it was enough to make his skin crawl.

"You sure you're going back and not coming back?"

"Think the people in your village are going to let you off the hook on that beheading mission?"

That shut Kazuyama right up.

Right... Even if he went back, Tsunade would probably just rope him in again as cannon fodder.

Damn it, why'd he have to bring up the truth? How annoying!

Just as Kazuyama was debating whether to make a move, Yabee spoke up below.

"Everyone, begin moving toward the border in groups. Remember—be extremely careful controlling the poison bees."

"Don't control too many at once. If anything goes wrong, signal immediately."

Hearing that, Kazuyama immediately realized these bees weren't as simple as they looked. Even controlling them was dangerous.

He watched as Yabee bit his finger and slammed his hand to the ground in a Summoning Technique.

Boom!

White smoke cleared, revealing a massive queen bee slowly rising into the air. Its body emitted a ghostly blue glow, covered in eerie red markings.

Kazuyama's eyes widened. This was no ordinary bee. He'd seen the Kamizuru Clan's summoned giant bees before.

If those were queen bees, this one was a tyrant—the sheer pressure it gave off was on another level.

"Damn, this thing's serious. That poison level... I want to kill it."

"Kazuyama, what's the call?"

Kazuyama shook his head. He wasn't ready to act just yet.

As the queen bee rose, Yabee leapt onto its back and flew toward the front lines.

The rest of the Kamizuru began to disperse.

"They're on the move..."

"Let's follow."

Kazuyama moved as well. If this mission was going to be a successful decapitation strike, he needed to mark the right coordinates.

Near the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire, Iwagakure's forces were already fully mobilized, with Kamizuru units scattered among them.

This made the beheading mission far more complicated—how could they strike if the targets weren't grouped together?

Forget it. Time to head back and leave the markers.

Kazuyama vanished with the Flying Thunder God Technique.

...

At the front line, Tsunade and the others were still waiting when Kazuyama returned, his face less than cheerful.

"Kazuyama, you're back?"

"How is it? Can we go ahead with the decapitation mission?"

Tsunade was visibly relieved to see him, but when she saw the look on his face, her heart sank.

For someone usually so upbeat to look like this...

The others didn't need to hear anything—they already looked grim.

"Kazuyama, what happened?"

"Is it really that bad?"

Kazuyama sighed.

"No... I just stepped on a sharp rock on the way back. Stubbed my foot. It hurts..."

Tsunade: ...

Everyone else: ...

"You little brat! What the hell are you pulling?!"

"Had me all worked up for nothing! Die!"

Tsunade exploded in rage, her fist swinging like a boulder. Kazuyama dodged with a quick Body Flicker, vanishing on the spot.

The others looked equally fed up—clearly, Kazuyama had succeeded in getting under everyone's skin.

"Hey, hey, hey, that's not fair—I came back with intel!"

"You don't have to throw a party, but violence? Really?"

"Keep this up and I'm seriously going to vanish!"

Kazuyama stood at a distance, flashing his signature mischievous grin as he watched Tsunade and the others.

[Ding! Host has provoked Tsunade and the others right before the war, successfully infuriating the group. Reward: Taijutsu +1.]

Kazuyama groaned. Why was it always Taijutsu lately?

Whatever. A reward was a reward.

"The situation over there is worse than we expected."

"Stop chasing me, Lady Tsunade! I swear, if you don't stop, I'm not saying another word!"

Tsunade paused, though her fiery glare didn't fade. It was obvious Kazuyama's antics had truly pushed her buttons this time.

"Hmph! You little bastard! Spit out the intel already!"

"Or so help me, if I catch you—!"

She shot daggers at him, but Kazuyama? He had the thickest skin in the village.

Completely unbothered by her anger, he started explaining what he'd seen.

"The entire Kamizuru Clan has mobilized. They're scattered among the Iwagakure forces."

"And they've used some sort of Kinjutsu to make their bees venomous. That complicates things—poison created through forbidden techniques probably can't be treated with standard antidotes."

"Here, I brought back a few samples. You can try crafting a counter-agent."

"But poison isn't even the biggest issue. These bees are physically stronger than normal, and in large swarms, they act like termites—they can literally eat people alive."

His words left everyone stunned—Tsunade included.

Poisonous bees? And poison wasn't the worst part?

They could devour people?

What kind of bee does that? That's just absurd.

The group instinctively turned to look at the Aburame Clan members standing off to the side.

One of them, a composed figure named Aburame Kuro, was a captain-level elite in the support unit.

"What are you all staring at me for?"

"Our clan's bugs feed on chakra, not flesh and blood."

"But... Kazuyama's report is concerning."

"If this Kinjutsu really exists, it must come at a huge cost. The Kamizuru Clan, like us, raises their insects—er, bees—using their own chakra."

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

p@treon com / PinkSnake