Meanwhile, Kazuyama Gekkō was still busy overseeing his own looting spree. His clones were moving faster and faster, while the original body lingered on the snack street, munching away as he helped Chōmei collect the delicacies he wanted.
"Hey, Chōmei, how about trying some takoyaki? Huh? This stall owner's unbelievable—how do you just leave halfway through cooking?"
"No worries. I'm quite the versatile one myself."
Kazuyama rolled up his sleeves and started making takoyaki himself. Watching the small octopus tentacles sizzle on the grill made Chōmei's mouth water uncontrollably.
"Hey, Kazuyama, that one—I want that one."
"It's not an insect, but seeing octopus reminds me of that Gyūki guy."
"Hahaha, then we've definitely got to try it!"
Laughing, Kazuyama sealed one portion of the finished takoyaki for later and began eating his own. The snack street was in the opposite direction from where his clones were robbing, so he wasn't the least bit worried about being disturbed.
Besides, the whole street was deserted—everyone had already evacuated. Who would bother him?
Just then, a red light suddenly flashed across the sky and landed right beside him.
"Hm? Tagitsuhime's chakra?"
"Something happened?"
Sensing that chakra, Kazuyama instantly used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport back to the inn. As expected, Tagitsuhime had already reverted to human form, her expression grave.
"Kazuyama, something's wrong."
"I can sense an immense chakra source approaching the island."
"This chakra… doesn't feel human."
Not human?
Kazuyama frowned. A chakra that didn't belong to a human… could it be a Tailed Beast? The Land of Water's Tailed Beasts—Three-Tails, Six-Tails... Could it be a Jinchūriki?
"Which direction?"
"South."
From Kirigakure, then. Kazuyama's thoughts raced—clearly, they'd sent someone powerful.
"My clones are still looting. If they arrive, I'll have to call them off."
"I'll intercept them."
Even if it was a Jinchūriki, Kazuyama felt no fear. His goal wasn't to win—it was to stall them. He just needed to buy time for his grand robbery.
"Do you want me to go with you?"
"No need. If I use Senjutsu, I'll expose myself too easily."
He intended to rely only on regular ninjutsu. His Water and Fire Release techniques were both strong, and with the terrain on his side, not even a Tailed Beast would find him easy to handle.
"Alright. Besides that massive chakra heading this way, there are a few others with significant chakra signatures moving toward the northern island."
"They're probably reinforcements, so you need to act fast."
Tagitsuhime increased her natural energy output, expanding her sensory range to cover everything around them, then relayed the information to Kazuyama.
He nodded once and vanished with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
When he reappeared, he was already on the southern shore of the island.
"Chōmei, can you see them?"
"Yeah, I see them—a green-haired shorty."
Through his insect eyes, Kazuyama spotted him too. Just as Chōmei said, standing at the ship's bow was a short man with green hair.
The Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura. So, he really had become the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki.
"He's got the aura of the Three-Tails, Isobu. Definitely a Jinchūriki."
"Kazuyama, what's the plan? Take him out?"
Chōmei's voice carried a spark of excitement, as if he'd been wanting to go after the Three-Tails for a long time.
Kazuyama rolled his eyes.
"Hey, Chōmei, that's not like you."
"When did you get so violent?"
"That's the Three-Tails! You can't just go around killing it."
The old Chōmei wasn't like this—he used to be all about peace. When did he get so bloodthirsty?
Hearing Kazuyama's complaints, Chōmei laughed awkwardly.
"Come on, Kazuyama. Back then, I couldn't beat anyone! But now, with your help, I'm bursting with confidence!"
"Remember those jerks who used to bully me back when I was just a bug? Hmph! Now that I've risen up, of course I want some payback!"
That actually made sense. Kazuyama remembered clearly—before this, Chōmei really had just been a big white bug. Back then, he couldn't beat anyone. Even the Six-Tails, Saiken, could've wiped the floor with him.
"Unfortunately, we can't go after the Three-Tails this time. We're just here to stall him."
"Don't forget—I'm flying the Cloud Hidden banner. If I show too much strength, it'll be a problem."
Money was more important than fighting! So there was no way Kazuyama would go overboard.
With that thought, he started moving.
"Let's give the Fourth Mizukage a little welcome gift!"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough! Great Breakthrough! Great Breakthrough!!!"
He opened with a combined ninjutsu. Using the terrain to his advantage, Kazuyama's Great Waterfall Technique surged into a towering tidal wave. Boosted by the roaring wind, the massive surge crashed toward the Fourth Mizukage's ship with overwhelming force.
The Fourth Mizukage and the dozens of ninja behind him immediately noticed the disturbance across the sea. The colossal wave was impossible to miss.
"They've already spotted us?"
"The range and power of that jutsu… and this wind… Definitely not ordinary pirates. Looks like Kumo sent their elite this time."
Yagura stood calmly at the bow, his face unreadable. His sharp eyes instantly recognized the extraordinary scale of the attack. That alone confirmed this wasn't a pirate raid—it was a Cloud Hidden operation.
"Defend!"
At his command, nearly every ninja behind him stepped forward.
"Water Release! Ten-Thousand-Mile Water Wall!"
Dozens of Mist shinobi performed a combined technique, summoning vast walls of water rising one after another. The clash of seawater against seawater churned the entire surface into chaos.
"Tsk, tsk. Now that's what I call the Mist's elite."
"The ones I fought earlier must've just been a bunch of Chūnin..."
He glanced at their forehead protectors, the same Kirigakure emblem as the ones his clone had beaten earlier—but the difference in power was night and day.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Let's keep going. Water Release: Water Clone."
"Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!"
Grinning, Kazuyama pressed the attack first.