"You deserve to die!"
Upon hearing the masked man's admission of orchestrating the past incident, Mei Terumi could no longer contain the rage that surged within her. Despite years of emotional discipline forged through ANBU service, her killing intent erupted like a volcano.
Her hands flashed through a rapid sequence of seals, chakra radiating from her body with such intensity that it created visible distortions in the surrounding air.
Mei Terumi was the Terumi clan's most exceptional prodigy in generations. At merely five years old, she had accidentally awakened two distinct Kekkei Genkai—a feat almost unheard of in the shinobi world. Though she had spent her career in the shadows of ANBU, her prowess had long since elevated her among the elite of the ninja world.
Yet facing her murderous intent, the masked man remained unmoved. "You're merely wasting your energy," he stated with cold indifference.
Mei paused mid-seal, her eyes burning with hatred. "Eight years ago, you led the attack on Konoha," she accused.
The masked man shrugged dismissively. "Even knowing that, what can the entire Mist Village possibly do against me?"
His contemptuous tone ignited fury among the surrounding Kirigakure shinobi.
SWISH!
While Mei remained motionless, the ANBU surrounding them could no longer restrain themselves. Several operatives lunged forward simultaneously, their blades targeting the masked man's vital points.
CLING! CLANG!
He neither dodged nor evaded. The attacks passed harmlessly through his body as if striking air, the blades colliding with each other within the space he occupied.
The masked man tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing. Under Mei Terumi's watchful gaze, however, he refrained from retaliating.
"You're nothing but a rat that fled after being beaten by the Hokage," Mei taunted with a derisive smile. She understood that even Minato had been unable to permanently stop this man. She and the assembled Kirigakure forces stood little chance of detaining him.
At her words, the face beneath the mask contorted briefly before his eyes darkened. "The outcome of a single battle determines nothing," he replied coldly.
Mei Terumi had no interest in further debate. "You've manipulated Kirigakure for years," she declared. "We cannot simply allow you to leave."
Despite knowing she couldn't truly stop him, she refused to stand idle as he escaped.
"Is that so?" The masked man's voice deepened ominously. "You should worry about yourselves first."
His cryptic warning left everyone momentarily stunned.
The tomoe pattern in his visible eye began to rotate slowly, pulsing with malevolent energy.
ROAAAAR!
Yagura, who had been immobilized, suddenly convulsed violently. A terrifying roar erupted from his body, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
Mei's beautiful eyes widened as a monstrous chakra signature flooded the area. "It's the Three-Tails!" she exclaimed in horror.
The masked man lowered his gaze, his thoughts clear despite his silence.
Since you sealed the Three-Tailed Beast within him to win the war, today you shall experience its power firsthand!
"This is bad!" Mei burst from the forest clearing, recognizing the masked man's intention—he was attempting to release the Three-Tailed Beast from Yagura's body.
Though they stood at the village's periphery, if the Three-Tails manifested here, Kirigakure would suffer catastrophic damage.
"It won't be that easy!" the masked man snarled, his composure finally fracturing.
"I'll give you the same resistance. Your scheme won't succeed so readily!" A voice suddenly resounded, not in the clearing, but within the masked man's mind.
Mei Terumi emerged from the forest, her hands already forming complex seals as she concentrated her chakra. Though not versed in sealing techniques, she hoped to suppress the Three-Tails' chakra within Yagura's body long enough to formulate a better solution.
Yet as she prepared to strike, she noticed something unexpected—the Three-Tails' chakra emanating from Yagura was gradually receding, being contained once more.
Only one person could accomplish this: Yagura himself.
"Such powerful will still remains!" The masked man gritted his teeth in frustration.
He had used his ocular powers to simultaneously suppress the Three-Tailed Beast and control Yagura through genjutsu. Now, having directed most of his visual prowess toward releasing the beast's seal, his remaining influence couldn't fully subdue Yagura's resurgent consciousness.
After all, Yagura was once the Fourth Mizukage for good reason.
"As Mizukage, I was manipulated to harm my family—my village," Yagura spoke with difficulty, his partially liberated will allowing him brief control. "At this juncture, how could I stand idle and watch your conspiracy succeed again?"
"Lord Mizukage!" Mei exclaimed, comprehension dawning as she assessed the situation.
"You think you can resist me?" The masked man's voice chilled with deadly intent as the three tomoe in his scarlet eye rotated faster, merging to form the distinctive pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Even if I cannot defeat you," Yagura replied, his voice strengthening with resolve, "even if it costs my life, I will never again be your instrument to harm the Hidden Mist Village!"
Yagura's eyes gradually regained their clarity as the seal containing the Three-Tails weakened. Within him, the beast thrashed frantically against its constraints.
"Then you can die!" the masked man roared. The Mangekyo pattern of his Mangekyō reflected in Yagura's eyes.
THUMP!
Yagura's heart convulsed violently as his chakra signature rapidly deteriorated.
The masked man's control over the Fourth Mizukage relied on more than just his formidable ocular powers. From the moment he began manipulating Yagura, the Mizukage had been trapped in a complex genjutsu.
Now, as that illusion lifted, Yagura's life force began to fade—a failsafe built into the manipulation.
His vitality dissipated rapidly, and with it, the chakra suppressing the Three-Tails diminished precipitously.
"Mei Terumi," Yagura said, turning to her with effort, "the future of the Hidden Mist Village rests in your hands."
Mei stared back, shock evident in her expression. The Fourth Mizukage offered her a final, genuine smile.
In the next instant, his face hardened with determination. "You must resent being manipulated by others, Isobu!" he shouted.
BOOM!
Yagura's body shuddered violently as he channeled every remaining fragment of his chakra into the Three-Tails' seal. As a perfect Jinchūriki who had once maintained complete control over his tailed beast, his chakra reserves were immense even in his weakened state.
The last vestiges of his life force penetrated the seal, flooding directly into the Three-Tailed Beast's consciousness.
ROAAAAR!
Isobu, the Three-Tails, who had been thoroughly dominated by the Sharingan's power, roared as a flicker of its original will returned.
As Yagura's chakra surged into its body, it disrupted the beast's own chakra flow, creating chaotic interference patterns.
The masked man's eyes widened in alarm. The ocular power he had used to control Isobu suddenly faltered, broken by the turbulent mixture of Yagura's dying chakra and the beast's own disrupted energy!
"Forgive me, Isobu," Yagura whispered with a serene smile. "This time, I must take you with me."
The seal within his body remained partially intact. As every Jinchūriki knew, if the host perished while the seal remained, the tailed beast would also fade from existence—at least temporarily.
Yet the Three-Tailed Isobu harbored no hatred toward its host in these final moments, seeming instead to share in the sorrow of Yagura's sacrifice.
In the last fleeting seconds of consciousness, Yagura gazed at Mei Terumi, relief softening his eyes.
"Please," he implored, "bring a new future to our village."
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