Chapter 387: The Great Bluff

"Kazuyama, can't we keep fighting a bit longer? We just got out here."

"Fight what? Are your sensory abilities broken? People are already closing in around us. Do you expect Kazuyama to take on a hundred by himself?"

"Exactly. I still don't get why Kazuyama contracted with you first. You're all red and flashy, but clearly your brain doesn't work."

Soaring through the sky, Tagitsuhime found herself getting double-teamed by Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime.

Their tri-colored auras tangled together as their bickering echoed through the air, making Kazuyama shake his head in exasperation.

Now he understood Jiraiya's pain. Sage Mode was great and all, but having constant chatter buzzing in his ears was enough to give anyone a headache.

"Enough, you three. My head's killing me."

At his command, the squabble among the Snake Princesses finally ceased—well, more like the two-on-one beatdown paused.

"So Kazuyama, what's your plan now?"

"Why don't we just stay here? With the Coiling Serpent Technique, we can gather Senjutsu energy on our own."

Tagorihime made it clear—they had no plans of going back!

Why sit around in the dark, damp Ryūchi Cave when they could travel with Kazuyama, enjoy the sights, fight when needed, and eat well? It was a perfect setup.

Tagitsuhime rolled her eyes, only to get smacked by Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime in unison.

"Alright, stay. With you here, it'll be easier to explain things."

"If anything comes up, I'll just blame Ryūchi Cave. Just play along when the time comes."

"Otherwise, I'm pretty sure Tsunade will kill me."

Just thinking about Tsunade's earth-shaking roars and punches that could split a mountain made him shiver. It was downright terrifying.

With the Snake Princesses' perception guiding him, Kazuyama quickly located Konoha's main forces.

They weren't far from the earlier battlefield, but the camp was gone. Everyone had spread out into the nearby forest.

Kazuyama's brows furrowed at the sight.

It was worse than he expected. The base was destroyed, and the forces had already split up to hold off Iwagakure's advance?

He'd also noticed significant signs of widespread devastation on his way over.

The Four-Tails and Five-Tails had really gone all out.

Dispelling his invisibility, Kazuyama stepped into the forest. The hidden sentries around him immediately tensed—but once they recognized him, they returned to their posts.

"Yo, minasan! Why the long faces? Hey hey hey, Tsunade, what are you—"

"Minato, save me!"

Kazuyama barely got the words out before Tsunade charged at him like a raging beast.

The ground cracked beneath her feet. Her speed was terrifying, and all Kazuyama could do was yelp and flash-step behind Minato in the blink of an eye.

He had to move fast—any slower and he'd have taken a direct hit.

"You bastard, where the hell have you been?!"

"Abandoning the battlefield like that—I should throw you in prison, you know that?!"

"You've gone too far! Running off in the middle of a major battle, seriously?!"

"Get over here! I swear I won't kill you!"

Normally, Jiraiya and Minato might've stepped in to calm things down, but this time, Kazuyama had crossed a serious line.

Leaving the battlefield without permission—there wasn't much difference between that and desertion.

"Kazuyama, you need to give us an explanation. Otherwise, I think Lady Tsunade has every right to beat you."

Minato grabbed Kazuyama by the collar and shoved him forward, his expression grim.

But the moment he did, he immediately paid the price—courtesy of the three Snake Princesses' collective malice.

Three serpent heads lunged toward Minato, fangs bared. But to his credit, Minato's reflexes were lightning-fast.

In a flash, he shot backward, vanishing like a bolt of lightning.

Tsunade and Jiraiya narrowed their eyes. They saw it clearly—three long snakes, each glowing in a different hue.

Tsunade had seen Kazuyama's Sage Mode before, so she immediately recognized the meaning behind the three-colored glow.

"Sage Mode? What are you doing activating that out of nowhere?"

Jiraiya's jaw dropped at the words.

What the hell? Sage Mode?

Wasn't that what he was still training for?

Snakes... Ryūchi Cave?!

"Hmph, Kazuyama was summoned by Ryūchi Cave. The White Snake Sage personally called him back."

"So what if he's a Konoha ninja? He's also the heir of Ryūchi Cave. Are you saying he needs your permission to respond to a summons from his own sacred ground?"

Tagorihime shed her usual gentle demeanor. Her green light condensed into a humanoid form, her expression stern and unyielding.

Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime followed suit, both taking human form, their faces just as serious.

With all three Snake Princesses standing behind him, Tsunade's expression shifted dramatically. Her anger evaporated in an instant, replaced by sheer surprise.

Jiraiya didn't even wait—he stepped forward to try and smooth things over.

"No wonder he disappeared so suddenly. A summons from a sacred place is something no summoner can refuse. It's a duty."

"Tsunade, you can't blame the kid. If Mount Myōboku suddenly called me, I'd have to go too."

He really should've kept quiet.

The moment the words left his mouth, all three Snake Princesses turned their reptilian eyes on him. Jiraiya instantly felt uneasy under those sharp, vertical pupils.

"Hmph, reeks of toad."

"Don't talk. You smell like toad."

"Not worth our time."

Their venomous remarks left Jiraiya speechless. He took a full step back in defeat. Minato started to step in, only to catch his own wave of mockery.

"Same toad stench."

"Blond toad."

"So annoying."

The master and disciple duo were both KO'd by the trio of serpents. Sharing a look, they could only give each other a bitter smile.

"You all heard them—it's not like I ran away."

"Right after the battle, I got summoned to Ryūchi Cave. As soon as I came back, I was ambushed."

"That mess just now? That was me fighting Hanzō."

Kazuyama played the victim perfectly, his pitiful expression right on cue.

And with the distant sounds of battle still fresh and the unmistakable stench of Hanzō's poison lingering in the air, his story sounded more than convincing.

For a moment, Tsunade and the others fully believed him.

[Ding! Host has skillfully used the three Snake Princesses to deflect blame and successfully fooled Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze. Well done!

Special reward: Genjutsu +1 +1 +1. Three targets fooled, three points gained. Keep it up, host!]

Kazuyama heard the system prompt in his mind and forced back the grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

He thought smugly, "See? Nailed it. And they wanted to hold me accountable? Please."

No way would he, Kazuyama, let anyone pin him down. Not a chance. Never.