The subject now was Danzo and his Root organization.
Ever since the Nine-Tails rampage, a considerable amount of time had passed. The ordinary ninja without strength or political standing had been largely ignored in the grander schemes.
All the burden had fallen on Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Anbu under his authority.
He hadn't even had time to tally the casualties from his faction yet—but the number surely wasn't small.
Danzo!
Don't tell me that while the Nine-Tails was wreaking havoc on the surface, you were still sleeping soundly in your underground base, undisturbed by the chaos above.
Yagura turned the water blade in his hand slowly, eyes fixed on his opponent.
The Third Hokage... With the Third Kazekage and the Third Raikage already behind him, all that remained was the Third Tsuchikage. Once he defeated Sarutobi Hiruzen, he could say he'd gone up against all the Thirds of the ninja world.
And since Orochimaru had said he didn't mind...
Then maybe Yagura could leave Hiruzen Sarutobi behind—permanently.
A flying blade shot forward as Yagura charged straight at him!
'Flying with Wind Release... it's similar to the Magnet Release flight of the Third Kazekage.'
He couldn't let his guard down. Sarutobi Hiruzen treated this youthful Mizukage as a true enemy. Rather than rushing to clash directly, he dodged Yagura's lightning-fast blade with agile movement honed by decades of experience.
Aerial combat favored Yagura—he could strike from above with ease.
For Hiruzen, fighting upward from below was much harder.
But those decades of battlefield intuition allowed him to close that disadvantage little by little.
Seizing an instant, Hiruzen sidestepped, pivoted, and slammed an elbow into Yagura's extended arm before it could be retracted.
This wasn't the aged version of Hiruzen from the Konoha Crush. Though past his prime, he hadn't declined too far yet.
Quickly, a coral barrier began spreading across Yagura's captured arm.
Hiruzen's years of combat experience kicked in. He immediately gave up on pressing the advantage in close-quarters taijutsu.
The world spun around for Yagura.
Before he could recover, Hiruzen hurled him high into the air.
Any slower, and the coral would've spread to Hiruzen's body, reversing their positions entirely.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Thanks to Yagura's own Wind Release jutsu, a current had formed in the air, perfectly aligned with his airborne trajectory.
Wind fueled flame—as the dragon of fire surged upward, Hiruzen followed, chasing Yagura through the sky.
Surrounded by flame—
Water chakra surged to the surface of Yagura's body, reinforcing the coral armor to withstand the searing heat.
He narrowed his eyes. The flames were nearing white-hot intensity, and even his reinforced defense was starting to falter.
Shocking. The Hokage really did specialize in Fire Style.
Out of all the Hokage, Hiruzen was the only one who truly stayed loyal to it.
Even Danzo knew Fire Style had no future for a Hokage—he'd abandoned it in favor of Wind Release.
But going head-to-head with me in chakra and ninjutsu? That's not a smart bet.
This kind of Fire Style couldn't cause real damage. Yagura didn't even bother using Water Mirror Technique to counter—it would've been a waste of chakra.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
The most basic, most practical water defense extinguished the flaming dragon's head.
Water burst outward around him and came crashing down like a broken dam.
Hiruzen's Fire Dragon scattered and died like a moth to the flame.
With the surrounding Mist ninja already evacuated, Yagura had no qualms about using large-scale jutsu. A tidal wave of water slammed downward, surging toward Sarutobi.
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
A towering wall of earth rose, but the attack was too wide—there was no room to dodge left or right.
Hiruzen leapt up the freshly formed wall.
In terms of elemental affinity, Earth beats Water.
But not when the incoming water is of this scale.
The base of his wall was shattered by a second wave of the deluge.
He had just fought the Nine-Tails not long ago.
And now, another Tailed Beast.
Hiruzen stayed calm. At least he had stopped Kirigakure's forces here, before they could reach deeper into Konoha. If they had pushed further in... the consequences would've been unthinkable.
Splat—
Two water arrows zipped through the air.
They struck the crumbling wall precisely, shattering Hiruzen's footing.
Below was now a vast lake—no ground left for an Earth Style response.
He had no choice but to leap down across tumbling stones and debris.
And this was Yagura's home field—water.
Yagura closed in, landing atop the falling stones as well. They locked eyes from a distance—danger radiating between them.
Hiruzen formed another Fire Style seal, spitting out a series of compressed fire bullets. One struck a stone midair, burning through it cleanly.
Then, he released chakra from his feet, sliding behind another stone for cover.
A flash of inspiration hit Yagura. He whirled around and kicked a rock behind him hard—just as another fire bullet was about to strike.
He immediately formed Water Style signs and used pressurized water to slice the falling stones around him to pieces.
Tap. Tap. Tap...
He moved with nimble speed, dashing and leaping through the stone field. His strong, compact legs sent him flying toward Hiruzen, each kick reinforced with chakra.
He used the debris both to block the fire bullets—and to turn them into projectiles.
Each falling boulder hurtled like a meteor toward the Hokage.
...
The speed and frequency of Hiruzen's fire attacks couldn't keep up. Watching the meteor-like barrage rain down, he muttered,
"Is this the power of a Jinchūriki...?"
To hurl boulders this easily—was this really the Mizukage, or was it the Raikage in disguise?
Boom!
The first stone struck, and the rest followed. Hiruzen was swallowed in the barrage.
A blade tore through the aftermath, slashing with rapid light.
Hiruzen's Earth Clone was shredded along with the debris.
Yagura landed on the surface of the water and quickly scanned his surroundings—but Sarutobi Hiruzen was nowhere to be seen.
With such density in the attack, even a Chūnin could've dodged. Let alone the Hokage.
There were plenty of fallen stones to use for hiding...
But Yagura's instincts told him that Hiruzen wouldn't be in any of those obvious places.
Then the only possibility was—below!
The land beneath the water shook violently. A jagged mountain thrust upward from beneath the lake!
Yagura jumped back fast, stunned by Hiruzen's daring counter.
"He really was hiding underwater!"
And this was his battlefield.
If he'd been just a moment quicker and sealed the underwater area with Demonic Water Domain, Hiruzen would've buried himself alive.
But in the end, it was Hiruzen who proved more decisive—and more cunning.
Yagura's jump lacked force. The mountain rose faster.
The sharp peak slammed into him with brutal force.
Against the raw power of Earth, even coral was as fragile as paper. The blunt impact broke through and struck Yagura's chest.
The sudden pressure knocked the wind from his lungs. His vision went black for a second.
A chakra arm extended from his body, pressed against the peak, and pushed him away using the recoil.
The stone mountain came to a halt.
"Nice dodge," Hiruzen muttered, looking up.
No point wasting more chakra. He understood now.
A Water Shadow who excelled in offense, speed, ninjutsu—and even defense.
"I guess you have no weaknesses... but that's not possible."
...
The massive rocks crashed to the ground.
Yagura dropped his water barrier and lashed his three tails outward, sweeping away the water and smoke around him.
He had entered the Tailed Beast Chakra Mode. His purple eyes now held a beastly glint, his body turning toward Hiruzen's location.
With a flick, his water blade cleaved through a giant stone in his path, the sharp edge splitting it cleanly.
Through the narrow gap, they saw each other again.
He was now drawing on the power of the Tailed Beast. Things were about to get serious.
Just what Hiruzen wanted.
He already knew—if it came to a contest of chakra or ninjutsu, he wasn't likely to win.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!"
Hiruzen slammed his palm to the ground, summoning his loyal partner, Enma.
Enma arrived in his staff form, landing directly in Hiruzen's grasp.
With a familiar weight in his hand, Hiruzen spun the staff expertly and pointed it straight at Yagura.
"Enma! Looks like I'll be needing you again tonight."
A pair of eyes appeared near the staff's tip.
"What's going on tonight?"
"No time to explain!"
Enma wasn't complaining—he was genuinely concerned for Konoha.
Hearing the urgency in Hiruzen's voice, he nodded gravely.
"Understood!"
"A staff, huh..."
Yagura looked at the weapon modeled after Sun Wukong's golden staff. Funny—his own predecessor had wielded one too.
That green-flowered staff had been passed to Karatachi Natsuhiko. It hadn't made its way to Yagura.
Not that he needed it anymore...
Yagura thrust out a palm, launching a blast of heavy water.
But Enma didn't wait for orders. Acting on his own judgment, he shrank just in time to dodge the beam—a shot powerful enough to slice through even his adamantine body.
Hiruzen Sarutobi vaulted into the air with a push off Enma's extended staff. At the same time, Enma shrank to his normal size in his master's hand, twisted midair, and lunged downward, aiming directly at Yagura!
Yagura easily dodged once more. This time, learning from the last exchange, he didn't waste a second—he immediately fired a jet of heavy water straight at the airborne Hiruzen.
Enma shrank again, carrying Hiruzen, who still gripped the staff's end. The opposite end of the staff slammed into the ground right next to Yagura!
Its length could change at will, and the timing of the transformations was nothing short of perfect—deviously precise.
Enma didn't rely solely on Hiruzen's commands. He could assess the battlefield on his own, and Hiruzen, in turn, could keep up with Enma's independent decisions without missing a beat.
After decades of working together, their coordination was flawless.
Still, Yagura was struck in the gut by the staff's sudden extension. He grunted in pain and sprang backward to widen the distance.
"Troublesome," he muttered, skidding back while forming hand seals.
Water Mirror Clone Technique.
Four water clones leapt out, diverging from the trajectory of the previous attack.
Yagura brought both hands forward. Behind him, his tails swept over his head, joining his arms in a three-point convergence of chakra.
Tailed Beast Ball!
Hiruzen's expression darkened the moment he sensed it—those five rapidly expanding spheres of chakra.
That's right. Five!
Every Yagura, perfectly synchronized, was gathering chakra to unleash the Tailed Beast's ultimate technique—the Tailed Beast Ball.
And all of them were aiming west.
Toward Konoha.
Yagura's target wasn't the nimble Sarutobi darting around like a monkey—it was Konoha Village itself!
Realizing Yagura's true intent, Hiruzen's face twisted with fury. "Mizukage—you!"
But Yagura ignored him, fully focused on completing the technique.
"Enma! Extend!"
Gripping the lengthening staff, Hiruzen swung from the far left clone and swept in a wide horizontal arc toward the right!
Water Mirror—reflection!
The moment the staff struck the first clone, that Yagura dissolved into water, canceling the Tailed Beast Ball mid-formation. But in the same instant, an identical staff emerged—mirroring Enma's—and collided with his.
What kind of technique is this? It's using the same power as mine?
There was no time to think. The Tailed Beast Balls were nearly complete!
Hiruzen couldn't allow them to be launched—not toward Konoha.
Without hesitation, he recalled Enma and began forming hand seals.
Four Shadow Clones split from him as he landed, positioning themselves directly in front of the Yaguras.
"Mizukage! I will protect Konoha's people—its safety is my duty!"
Yagura scoffed, not bothering to hide his disdain.
"You won't protect anything."
The Tailed Beast Balls were seconds from being fired.
Desperate, Hiruzen acted. He and each of his four clones formed different hand seals, drawing on different chakra natures.
Each clone used a different element.
"Five Elements: Grand Barrage!"
Wind. Fire. Lightning. Water. Earth.
Five elemental jutsu surged forth together, converging toward the Yaguras.
The far-left Yagura had already reverted to water. The remaining four Water Mirror Clones locked eyes on the five-nature assault.
They were all reflections. All Water Mirror Clones.
We've been waiting for this.
Behind Hiruzen, the real Yagura reformed from a puddle on the ground.
With a snap of his fingers, water spun into a short blade, which landed cleanly in his grip. He slashed outward without hesitation.
"Water Mirror: Full Counter!"
The five elemental jutsu were copied and immediately turned back—hurtling toward Hiruzen!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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