This was a five-man squad, all Chūnin from Kumogakure.
Because they had lived in the mountains for many years, Kumogakure's ninja were exceptionally sturdy in build.
"I swear, when are we finally going to get some action? We've been patrolling this area for a whole month now."
"Alright, stop complaining. Lord Raikage already went to negotiate with the daimyo."
The five of them had no idea anyone was nearby and kept joking around with each other.
After all, their task was just reconnaissance and patrol — a dull assignment.
Gekko Chizan covered his feet in chakra to muffle his footsteps and quietly leaned in close to eavesdrop.
He had encountered situations like this far too many times to make any mistakes now.
Even if something went wrong, he wasn't worried — he had already set a formula on Yamanaka Heichi's end. If anything went south, he could instantly teleport away using Flying Thunder God.
"Tch, you think I don't know? I'm just complaining for the sake of it."
"By the way, did the Land of Hot Water really abolish their Ninja Village? Now they've got all these missions and have to rely on ninja from other villages."
"Third-sama sure is something, sending us all the way to the Land of Hot Water to run missions."
Huh? The Third Raikage? That brute actually had this kind of foresight?
Ignoring his own country's assignments just to take missions in the Land of Hot Water...
He's really not worried about pissing off his own daimyo, huh.
"Heh, you guys can say what you want, but the hot springs here are seriously top-notch. Once we wrap up this mission, wanna go for a soak?"
One of the ninja suddenly revealed a mischievous grin.
Clearly, he wasn't just talking about hot springs.
"Enough. We're still on a mission. Save your thoughts for later. The surprise attack unit ran into trouble a while back."
"They didn't complete their objective, so now we've been ordered to patrol just in case Konoha responds."
A more mature-looking ninja said.
His words drew nods from the rest of the team.
They'd been waiting for a chance to strike at Konoha for a long time.
If not for the ceasefire treaty, they would've gone for it ages ago.
"Chizan, who's the mission target they're talking about?"
"An old acquaintance of yours."
"Huh? The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki?"
"Yep. She's not one yet, but she will be in the future. I'm guessing Kumogakure has their eyes on her because of the special Physique of the Uzumaki clan. Looks like they're seriously gearing up for a war with Konoha."
Though he couldn't speak aloud, Gekko Chizan wasn't alone — he had a new companion inside him.
Chōmei was also extremely curious, and the two chatted happily in their inner world.
But Chōmei wasn't content just being a spectator.
He wanted to get moving.
"Hey Chizan kid, don't you wanna make a move? Just sitting here watching is so boring."
"Huh? You want me to act now? I'm supposed to stay hidden. If I make a move, I'll blow my cover."
Gekko Chizan thought Chōmei was just messing around. How could he make a move at a time like this?
As he spoke, he turned to leave — he had gathered enough intel anyway, and it more or less aligned with what the old man Sarutobi had predicted.
But in the next second, he stopped in his tracks and pulled his leg back.
"Just do it covertly!"
"I'm telling you, my scale powder has all kinds of uses. Just say the word — what effect do you want?"
"Lethal? Hallucinogenic? Poisonous? Paralytic?"
"You name it, I've got it!"
Gekko Chizan: !!! That's... a full inventory?
"Heh, of course I've got everything. Back when I was stuck in that cave, I had nothing better to do than fiddle with my scale powder."
"I'd use Chakra to stimulate its growth and toss some out the cave whenever I got bored."
"Watching how people reacted to it through insect vision was my only entertainment."
Whoa, what a twisted little bug...
"So? What do you say, Chizan? Wanna go for it?"
"Sounds good. How about paralysis?"
"Or should we go for the kill? I've never actually killed anyone before, but I'm sure my powder can handle it!"
Gekko Chizan glanced at the five targets in front of him, a slight smile forming at the corner of his lips.
An opportunity like this falling right into his lap — not taking it would be a waste.
And if this powder really worked, it'd be a must-have for future travels.
"Let's do it."
"Great! I'll teach you how to gather scale powder with chakra. You just need to stimulate its production inside your body."
No sooner said than done — Gekko Chizan moved to a spot upwind from the five.
Then, following Chōmei's instructions, he began gathering chakra.
Soon, he felt something new form inside his body.
This was... the powder?
"Alright, Chizan kid, what kind of effect are you going for?"
"Start with paralysis — ideally the kind that causes temporary blindness too."
"Got it! Just breathe out the powder from your body like you would a Fire Release technique."
Following the method of releasing a Fire Release, Gekko Chizan clasped his hands together and suddenly let out a forceful breath.
A massive cloud of scale powder burst forth — invisible to the naked eye.
"Dude, what the hell?! You think this is flour? Why'd you spray it all out like that?!"
"Couldn't you have opened your mouth just a little to let it gradually spread? That powder took so much Chakra to create and you just blasted it all in one go?!"
Chōmei was fuming. Who the hell used scale powder like that?
At the rate Gekko Chizan was going, no amount of Chakra would be enough — he was burning through it like crazy!
"Come on, you didn't tell me that!"
"You're the one who said to spray it!"
"Aaagh, damn it, my poor chakra…"
After several upgrades, Gekko Chizan's chakra reserves were decently high.
But just one blast of powder drained more than half of it in an instant.
Feeling the hollow ache in his body, Gekko Chizan was not feeling great.
But it was too late to regret — the powder was already in the air.
"Chōmei, you think this much powder might actually kill them? If they die, that could get really messy."
It wasn't that Gekko Chizan was some bleeding-heart saint.
After years in this world, he'd seen plenty of death — it was a brutal place, after all.
But he was on a mission. If something went wrong and he ended up dead too, that would really suck.
Though realistically, he probably wouldn't die. He had Flying Thunder God, stealth, and even flight — unless they sent a major powerhouse, he was still relatively safe.
"Nah, at most it'll make the paralysis way stronger."
"If you'd just used a little, it would've lasted maybe half a day. But with that much? They'll be down for at least two days before recovering."
Two days... crap. After this, I definitely need to get out of here quick.
Meanwhile, the five patrolling ninja suddenly felt a strange powdery substance in the air.
The next second, chaos struck.
"Ahh!"
"What the hell is this?!"
Screams rang out — but only for a second before falling totally silent.
The paralytic effect flooded their bodies, even numbing their tongues.
Their vision immediately darkened, going completely blind.
Thud!
Under heavy paralysis, the five collapsed one after another.
Staring at the convulsing figures in front of them, Gekko Chizan and Chōmei both fell silent.
"It's really this bad with that much powder...? Chōmei..."
"Yeah... this is my first time seeing someone convulsing too... kind of hilarious actually..."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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