"Mizukage-sama!"
Although Mei Terumi was not a sensory-type ninja, she could clearly feel the violent chakra of the three-tailed within Yagura's body rapidly calming and weakening. There was only one explanation for such a drastic change.
The tailed beast was dying alongside its Jinchūriki.
Though Yagura had ruled the Hidden Mist Village with bloody methods over the years, these actions weren't born from his own desires. He had been manipulated by others, a puppet dancing on invisible strings. And now, in his final moments, he had chosen to use his life to protect the village he had always truly loved.
Ripples formed in Mei Terumi's eyes, which had been filled with murderous intent only moments before. Gradually, two trails of tears streamed down her fair cheeks. She knew this wasn't the time for grief, but the emotion overcame her nonetheless.
Wiping away the tears and the wet streaks on her face, Mei Terumi suddenly turned around. Though she couldn't see the expression hidden beneath the mask of the man before her, his voice revealed his dark mood.
"Damn it!" the masked man growled. "He actually dragged the Three-Tails into death with him. How utterly insane!"
"If you're so devoid of humanity, how could you possibly understand Lord Mizukage's feelings?" Mei Terumi spat through gritted teeth. "His desire to protect the village and his comrades drove him to make the ultimate sacrifice!"
If she had possessed enough power, she would have struck down the figure before her without hesitation, regardless of the cost. But this man's abilities were too strange and powerful—he had managed to control the Fourth Mizukage, a perfect Jinchūriki. If the hundreds of Kirigakure ANBU engaged in battle now, they might inadvertently harm their own people in the chaos.
"Feelings?"
The word seemed to trigger something in the masked man, causing his visible eye to flicker with emotion.
At the beginning, she chose the same path to protect the village and her companions.
But who remembers what she did?
She was the kindest person in the world. She wasn't meant to be a shadow, carrying these burdens!
She shouldn't have died!!!
"AAAHHH!!!"
The masked man suddenly roared in anguish, his hoarse voice echoing through the forest like that of a wounded beast. His outburst left everyone stunned, the raw emotion completely unexpected.
Swish, swish, swish!
As the echoes of his cry faded, footsteps approached rapidly from the forest's edge. Multiple figures rushed toward the scene.
The Kirigakure ninjas had naturally detected the battle between Mei Terumi and the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, as well as the chakra fluctuations emitted by the Three-Tails. Word had spread quickly.
"Mizukage-sama!"
Upon hearing the news, not only had Mei Terumi's ANBU rushed to the scene, but also members of the Terumi clan, the Hozuki clan, and elites from many other major clans. They hurried to Yagura's fallen body.
"The Mizukage and the Three-Tails are both dead!" announced a sensory ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, his voice filled with disbelief.
When these words were spoken, many of the gathered ninja trembled with fear. The implications were enormous.
"What happened here?" Terumi Ryuunosuke asked sharply.
Because of Mei Terumi's complicated relationship with her mother, the connection between her and Terumi Ryuunosuke had always been strained. With so many Kirigakure ninjas present, he could only address her by her ANBU title out of formality.
Mei Terumi glanced toward the masked man who stood surrounded by hundreds of Mist ninjas in the deeper part of the forest—a figure temporarily ignored by everyone else. She explained carefully, choosing her words with precision:
"The Mizukage has been controlled by that man for some time. Just now, our ANBU discovered his secret and exposed his true identity. He was attempting to release the Three-Tails from within the Mizukage's body. Lord Mizukage prevented this by sacrificing his own life."
As soon as these words left her lips, everyone's eyes widened, and their gazes collectively shifted toward the forest. The previous battle had destroyed some of the trees, providing a clear line of sight to the masked figure.
However, doubt was evident on their faces—they clearly struggled to accept such a revelation. After all, Yagura was the Mizukage. The idea that he had been manipulated by someone else seemed almost inconceivable unless witnessed firsthand.
Mei Terumi immediately added, her voice grim: "He is the same masked man who attacked Konoha eight years ago."
"What?!"
Although news of the masked man's attack on Konoha wasn't common knowledge throughout the ninja world, senior figures like Mei Ryuunosuke were well aware of the incident.
The claim that the Mizukage had been manipulated was still difficult to believe. However, having lived through the Third Ninja World War, they understood Konoha's tremendous strength in the aftermath of that conflict.
The masked man had coordinated with several accomplices to attack Konoha, and though he had failed, he had escaped unscathed. If it was truly him, then manipulating the Mizukage suddenly seemed within the realm of possibility.
Terumi Ryuunosuke believed Mei Terumi's words without question. After quickly processing the situation, rage overtook him. "How dare he toy with the people of the Hidden Mist Village?" he shouted. "Capture him!"
"Yes, sir!"
The ninjas of the Terumi clan responded in unison and rushed toward the masked man.
"Heh heh."
The masked man simply sneered at their advance. Though even the combined might of the Hidden Mist Village couldn't capture him, a confrontation would still require some effort on his part.
He hadn't completed all his preparations yet, so openly becoming an enemy of Kirigakure wasn't in his best interest. Moreover, due to considerations of their own reputation, Kirigakure would be unlikely to inform the ninja world that their Mizukage had been manipulated after today's events.
As Mist ninjas fell continuously around the masked man, he suddenly formed hand seals with practiced precision. Tilting his mask slightly, the blood-red Sharingan beneath gleamed ominously.
The space around him distorted, spreading outward with his right eye as the center. Within the twisted space, a terrible firestorm suddenly erupted, sweeping outward at incredible speed. Flames shot skyward in an instant, illuminating the forest in an orange glow.
"This is bad!"
Mei Terumi noticed the danger immediately, but the masked man had released his Fire Style technique with astonishing speed. Before she could complete her own hand seals, flames had already begun rolling outward through the distorted space.
The fire moved so swiftly that even the skilled ANBU ninjas couldn't evade it. Several elite members of the ANBU and Terumi clan were immediately engulfed in flames, their screams cut short as they fell.
Yet the inferno continued to rage, sweeping toward Mei Terumi and the others.
"Water Style: Water Pillar!"
As the flames approached, Mei Terumi expelled a massive column of water from her mouth. The powerful jet collided with the terrible fire.
"Shhhh!"
When water met fire, the extreme temperature difference instantly produced an enormous volume of steam. Thick fog rapidly engulfed the forest, reducing visibility to almost nothing.
Within the dense mist, Kirigakure's sensory ninjas still managed to track the masked man's position. But in this chaotic situation, how could they possibly stop someone who possessed space-time ninjutsu?
"The world will be mine sooner or later," the masked man's voice echoed through the fog. "I'll let you enjoy your pride for a little while longer."
In the thick mist, space distorted once more as the masked man was sucked into the vortex of his own creation, leaving behind only his ominous parting words.
"Damn it, don't you dare escape!"
All the Kirigakure ninja had bloodshot eyes filled with rage—all except for Mei Terumi, whose gaze remained cold and calculating.
Because she understood a harsh truth: not even the entire might of Kirigakure could stand against his power.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~