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

Boom!

The ground trembled as a terrifying shockwave surged across the battlefield.

The moment Four-Tails hit the ground, it felt like an earthquake had struck. Falling from thousands of meters above, he should've been able to twist mid-air and land smoothly.

Too bad Kazuyama had no intention of letting that happen. The crystal dragon had already been lying in wait midair and slammed into Four-Tails Son Gokū with the force of a falling divine weapon.

In the end, the dragon shattered—but so did the monkey's landing. Son Gokū lost his balance and crashed hard onto the ground.

The once-chaotic battlefield instantly fell silent.

"Damn Konoha Ghost!"

"Cough, cough!"

Even with Son Gokū's durable body, the fall left him aching all over.

Rōshi and Son Gokū immediately started arguing.

"Damn it, Rōshi! Look at what you did! That fall nearly killed me!"

"We could've landed just fine, but no, you had to screw around with that stupid dragon. Are you an idiot?"

Complete Tailed Beast Transformation used the beast's body, and Son Gokū had no control over it. Now, after being slammed into the ground, he lay there baring his teeth in pain.

Rōshi, on the other hand, was completely unharmed—aside from a bit of psychological trauma from the freefall.

[Ding! Host has launched Four-Tails into the sky, causing a hard fall and sparking a quarrel between Son Gokū and Jinchūriki Rōshi. Effect: very successful. Special reward: Chakra consumption for Tailed Beast synchronization reduced by 10%. Note: Total reduction now at 20%.]

Having relocated to a safe distance, Kazuyama watched the scene while collecting his reward, grinning in satisfaction.

Chōmei munched on bugs with a loud crunch, watching Son Gokū flail on the ground, laughing so hard he couldn't stop.

"Kazuyama, when do you think Kokuō's going to drop?"

"Think she'll land on Son Gokū?"

"If she does, I'll die laughing."

"Hope she lands horns-first! That'll shut Son Gokū up real good!"

Kazuyama nearly short-circuited. Speechless, he turned to lecture Chōmei.

"Horns-first? Why not just tell them to start brawling?"

"Kokuō's not stupid. She knows Gokū's below—why would she land horns-first? Huh? Is she brain-dead?"

Chōmei let out a dumb chuckle.

True, unless she'd lost her mind, Kokuō would definitely land feet-first. But Kazuyama had no intention of letting her land that way—otherwise, what was the point of throwing her up there?

Unexpectedly, Kazuyama did move—but not toward the airborne Kokuō. He zipped toward Son Gokū, who was still sprawled in a crater.

He'd just gotten word from Kinrin.

"Son, stay put. I've got more fighting to do."

"But where did Han and Five-Tails go?"

Rōshi slowly got up. Though the fall had been rough, Tailed Beasts were tough. He wasn't really hurt. Once on his feet, he began scanning the area for his teammates.

But instead of finding Han and Five-Tails, his gaze landed on someone that made his blood boil.

Kazuyama.

"Damn Konoha Ghost! You really threw me into the sky? I'm gonna smash you to bits!"

A massive fist swung down toward Kazuyama, but come on—a cannon shot at a mosquito?

Especially when the mosquito in question was as slippery as an eel. Kazuyama had already thrown his kunai and teleported with Flying Thunder God, appearing right in front of Four-Tails.

That devilish grin spread across his face again, sending a chill down both Rōshi and Son Gokū's spines.

Rōshi: I've got a bad feeling about this.

Son Gokū: Same. Real bad.

Flying Thunder God triggered again, and Four-Tails vanished on the spot.

"Monkey, go dig a hole underground!"

"Huh? What's that... Wait, crap! Something's wrong—move!"

Still laughing, Kazuyama suddenly felt a faint tremor beneath his feet and immediately dodged.

Boom!

Another explosion rocked the battlefield—right where he had just been standing.

Flames flared. Debris flew everywhere.

"Dodged, huh... I thought I could take you out in that moment."

"As expected of the Konoha Ghost. That reaction speed's no joke."

A cold voice drifted into Kazuyama's ears, making him frown.

He turned and saw a middle-aged man flanked by two small squads. The man's hand still rested on the ground—clearly the source of the blast.

"The Iwa Explosion Corps?"

"Tch. Ambushed me twice now. Aren't you guys supposed to specialize in breaching fortresses? Since when did you start acting like the ANBU?"

The man's expression darkened.

"We're just carrying out orders. Killing the enemy is all that matters—the method doesn't."

Kazuyama let out a cold laugh. He wasn't some soft-hearted fool. Ambush him? He'd make you pay for it.

"Well then, let's see if you've got the skill for that."

"Still, you look familiar... Captain of the Explosion Corps?"

"If I'm not wrong, you're Iwapo, right?"

As he spoke, his hands rapidly formed seals, and a wave of chakra spread outward from him.

The Iwa shinobi tensed up immediately. The squads split off, seeking cover and readying for a counterattack.

"Everyone, stay sharp!" Iwapo barked. "Intel says the Konoha Ghost—Kazuyama—is not just a master of Flying Thunder God, but also packs serious power with ninjutsu!"

But just then, Kazuyama stopped forming seals and casually pulled an apple from his pocket, taking a big bite in front of everyone.

"Hehehe... Just messing with you. I was thirsty."

"What? You guys want one too?"

He kept chewing, grinning, driving the Iwa shinobi up the wall.

"Kill him!"

Iwapo shouted—but Kazuyama was already gone, leaving only one message behind.

"Have fun on your own, but I can't promise you'll survive."

"Look up."

Everyone—yes, even Iwapo—instinctively glanced skyward.

A massive white beast loomed into view.

"Damn it, that's Five-Tails."

"He threw Five-Tails into the sky too?!"

"Everyone, fall back!"

They had no choice. If Five-Tails dropped, they'd be crushed for sure.

Even if they weren't directly hit, the impact alone could bury them alive.

They had just seen the chaos Four-Tails caused on landing. No one wanted a repeat of that.

Forget killing the enemy—survival was now the top priority.