At this moment, Gekko Chizan was standing atop a massive crystal dragon. Relying on the crystal's special transparency and his own invisibility, he had no fear of being seen by anyone.
In front of him, a miserable-looking man who had already fainted was lying on the ground.
It was none other than Root's captain stationed in Amegakure, Danzo's trusted subordinate, Aburame Tatsuma.
Having been struck by the Thousand Years of Death, he had passed out from the pain.
Looking at him, Gekko Chizan's face was filled with murderous intent. He was not a benevolent man—and a fellow villager actually dared come to Amegakure to join outsiders in attacking him.
Hmph. Danzo truly hated him to the bone.
"Chizan, why are you keeping him? Just kill him already."
"Yeah, anyone who dares raise a hand against you—kill him."
"If you don't want to do it yourself, how about feeding him to the snakes?"
The three Snake Princesses each spoke one line, and even Chōmei was about to chime in.
Gekko Chizan merely shrugged, then drew the Kusanagi Sword from his waist. One stroke fell—Aburame Tatsuma, dead!
Shaking off the blood from the blade, several clones condensed behind Gekko Chizan.
They grew wings and flew downward.
"Chizan, what are you doing?"
"Hmph. Root operatives—none of them can be allowed to live. Every last one must die."
Gekko Chizan's expression was dark. He would not spare a single member of Root.
If they dared come, then they needed to be ready for his revenge.
The clones moved with incredible speed, and his Transparent Release clones made sneak attacks even easier.
...
"Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, Tagitsuhime, Chōmei."
"I need your help. Based on my understanding of Hanzō, his castle is definitely the safest place for storing wealth."
"Help me locate a treasure room or something similar."
"Also, help me sense where the money houses, gambling dens, and such are in the village."
The three Snake Princesses and Chōmei froze.
They listened to Gekko Chizan's words, unable to recover for a long moment.
"Chizan, are you serious?"
"Aren't we in the middle of a fight? What are you looking for those places for???"
Tagitsuhime stammered out the question, but the answer she received shattered her expectations.
Gekko Chizan chuckled slyly, voice dripping with scheming intent.
"Fight? Why should I fight?"
"He's the demigod of the shinobi world. I'm just a lowly Konoha jōnin—how could I beat him?"
"And fighting isn't something I enjoy. I much prefer taking other people's wealth."
"Hehehehehe."
"Chōmei, supply me with chakra."
Gekko Chizan formed a cross-shaped hand seal. In the next second, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique erupted.
Hundreds of clones appeared, and then one after another transformed, quickly taking on the appearance of Amegakure shinobi.
Then they charged toward the village below.
His real body continued watching Hanzō, coldly snorting.
Gekko Chizan's clones scattered across Amegakure, openly rushing toward money houses, gambling halls, and various shops.
"What are you doing?!"
"Why are you breaking into my shop?!"
With fighting erupting in the village, all the shop owners kept their doors tightly shut.
But Gekko Chizan's clones simply smashed the doors open, said nothing, and immediately began looting everything.
The shop owners screamed in terror.
"Hmph! Hanzō angered Konoha—do you think we'll have any good days after this?"
"Getting money and running is what matters! You idiot, don't block me from getting rich! Move!"
These clones knew exactly what they were doing.
Their acting was perfect—they tossed the shop owners aside and plundered wealth right in front of them.
This same scene played out all over the village.
Within moments, the whole village was in utter chaos.
Still clashing swords with one of Gekko Chizan's clones, Hanzō heard the commotion.
"What is going on?"
Clang!
But the clone gave him no chance to think—Kusanagi Sword thrusting forward, dragging Hanzō's attention back to the battle.
"Hanzō-sama! Our village's shinobi are storming into shops and looting everything!"
"What should we do?!"
He couldn't see for himself, but someone rushed to the castle to report.
Of course, those messengers were also Gekko Chizan's clones.
Hehehehe… What is true destruction of the mind and spirit?
This—this was the true definition of killing a man's heart.
"What?! Impossible!"
"It's true, Hanzō-sama! They said you angered Konoha, the village is finished, and they need to gather money and flee!"
The clones acted so convincingly that Hanzō believed every word.
"A bunch of bastards!"
"Brat! This is all because of you!"
"Summoning Technique!"
Hanzō poured all his fury onto Gekko Chizan. He bit his finger, slammed his hand onto the ground, and performed a summoning.
A massive salamander appeared—not Ibuse, but a new one.
"Hmph, Ibuse is already dead by my hands. Why would I fear this one?"
Even as a clone, facing Hanzō did not frighten him—he remained eager for battle.
...
Inside the castle at the same time—
"Dammit! Danzo-sama will never spare you!"
"Ahhh!"
Screams echoed one after another. Bodies fell to the ground—each corpse wore a Konoha mask and forehead protector.
They were all Root shinobi.
As every Root operative was slain, Gekko Chizan's Transparent Release clones shattered into crystal fragments.
Sensing that all Root members had died—
Gekko Chizan smiled in satisfaction and casually watched Hanzō rage below.
Because they were within the village, even with the salamander summoned, Hanzō didn't release large-scale poison gas.
Gekko Chizan's clones continued their frenzy of plundering.
Hanzō furiously drove the new salamander toward the clones, but they slipped around its attacks with ease.
"Chizan, we found it—at the very bottom floor of his castle. The metal around it is unusually strong, so it must be where he hides valuable items."
Using Sage energy to search for treasure was overkill.
But Gekko Chizan delighted in it.
His real body moved quietly toward Hanzō's castle.
Entering it, guided by the Snake Princesses, he indeed found a hidden chamber filled with gold, silver, precious ninja tools, and scrolls. Gekko Chizan's eyes lit up as he quickly gathered them all.
Outside, the chaos caused by his clones grew even wilder, and Hanzō's expression darkened further.
...
"Bastard! Die!"
He finally snapped—releasing a small-scale poison mist that enveloped Gekko Chizan.
Though it meant damaging everything around his castle, he could endure no more.
"Hehehehe… Hanzō, you truly live up to your title of demigod… hehehehe!"