Yagura's use of the Water Mirror Technique was nothing short of eerie and unpredictable.
Thanks to the large-scale Water Release just moments ago, Sarutobi Hiruzen now stood surrounded by a watery battlefield—perfect conditions for the Water Clone Technique.
With Hiruzen's extensive combat experience, there was no way he hadn't anticipated that the Yaguras around him might just be clones.
It was impossible he hadn't thought of it.
And yet, the sheer speed of the Water Mirror Technique's activation—and its uncanny ability to replicate Hiruzen's own jutsu—caught him completely off guard.
It was just like earlier, when it had duplicated Enma's attacks. A replication ninjutsu that copied techniques exactly!
The power and destructive force were identical. It required no hand seals and could be activated almost instantly, even in tandem with Water Clones.
Hiruzen had already seen through and understood the nature of this mysterious technique used by the Mizukage.
A jutsu so unheard of and strange had managed to drive the experienced Third Hokage into a dangerous corner.
His eyes darted around.
Ahead of him, four Water Mirror clones were still building up chakra for Tailed Beast Bombs, all aimed in Konoha's direction. None had turned to join the attack on Hiruzen himself.
Behind him was his own Five Nature Grand Barrage—high-level chakra attacks of all five elemental releases—now hurtling toward him with deadly force.
Since he was the original creator of that technique, neutralizing it shouldn't be difficult for him.
But the problem was time. If he focused solely on defending himself, he wouldn't be able to deal with the Tailed Beast Bombs before they were unleashed!
Enma shouted, "Hiruzen!"
Hiruzen gritted his teeth and made his decision. Both his main body and shadow clones continued spewing out the Five Nature Barrage.
For the sake of Konoha, he absolutely could not allow those Tailed Beast Bombs to hit the still-recovering village!
"I'm counting on you, Enma!"
The barrage struck the Water Mirror clones just as they were about to release the Tailed Beast Bombs—interrupting all four blasts before they could fire.
At the same moment, the replicated Five Nature Barrage, copied by the Water Mirror, slammed directly into Hiruzen!
—BOOM!!!
The massive explosion rippled outward, sending shockwaves across the entire battlefield.
Even the Mist and Konoha forces locked in combat at a distance felt the tremor.
Akimichi Choza, already in his Partial Expansion form, staggered under the shockwave and tumbled backward.
Behind him, more than a hundred Konoha shinobi—also momentarily stunned—barely avoided being crushed by Choza's massive bulk.
"Crap!"
Nara Shikaku couldn't even steady himself before crashing into Yamanaka Inoichi. Forming a quick seal, he shouted,
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
His shadow reached out, connecting to Choza's body. Gritting his teeth and breaking into a sweat, Shikaku froze him in place just in time.
The shinobi underneath scrambled out, realizing they'd narrowly escaped becoming pancakes.
As the danger passed, Shikaku released his jutsu and got up off of Inoichi.
"Sorry, Inoichi."
"No problem."
Choza sat down with a relieved huff, shaking the ground again—but it paled in comparison to the ongoing chaos caused by Yagura and Hiruzen.
...
Regaining their bearings, the Kirigakure shinobi launched another fierce assault under Kaguya's command.
Since the battle against the Raikage, Kaguya's unit had suffered the heaviest losses but also earned Yagura's greatest favor.
Kimimaro, a young prodigy from their clan, had been singled out for training and praise. As long as the Kaguya didn't mess up, promotions and assignments came easy.
In return, they gave back loyalty and raw strength in equal measure.
Kaguya Ichima led the charge, barreling into the enemy ranks with ferocity that rivaled even Utakata's tailed beast form.
Choza's oversized body was an easy target. With his strength still recovering, he shrank back to normal.
"So this... this is the battlefield of a Kage-level shinobi?"
Still shaken from the earlier shockwave, Choza turned to another battlefield.
"I hope Lord Hokage is okay."
Shikaku glanced at Choza but didn't reply. His gaze instead locked on the Mist shinobi.
Especially that mad Kaguya leading the charge.
Unlike Choza, the Mist shinobi seemed completely unconcerned about their Mizukage's safety.
"Their will to fight is overwhelming," Shikaku muttered.
To them, defeat wasn't even a possibility. Their Mizukage had always stood victorious.
They believed in him—utterly—and threw themselves into battle with that belief.
Yamanaka Inoichi, familiar with Shikaku's thoughts from years of teamwork, patted Choza on the shoulder.
"Worry about ourselves for now."
...
Utakata had just been pinned down by Nara clan's shadow jutsu. Roaring, he tore himself free with brute force.
Tailed Beast transformations were hard enough to restrain as is. Utakata, taking full advantage of the opening, lashed out again.
His rubbery, elastic form twisted and stretched to entangle the surrounding Nara shinobi like constricting vines.
Between his raw power and slug-like flexibility, the Konoha ninja had no hope of breaking free.
Eyes blank and vicious, Utakata scanned for threats.
He'd lost all reason in this state—only distinguishing friend from foe by sheer instinct.
How dare these weak humans restrain him?
A corrosive yellow fluid oozed from Utakata's skin, dousing the trapped Nara shinobi at point-blank range.
Their flesh sizzled as the acidic liquid ate through it.
He snapped his body back, letting the limp shinobi collapse in a heap.
...
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"
There—an opening!
An Akimichi ninja struck from above, launching a massive fist toward Utakata's exposed side!
But Utakata reacted faster, springing upward and twisting midair to wrap his rubbery form around the attacker. Acid began to corrode again.
Except—
It was just a log.
A Body Replacement Technique.
The acid hit nothing of value.
Utakata blinked, confused: "?"
BOOM!!
A giant punch crashed down on the narrowest part of Utakata's elongated form, slamming him into the ground!
Writhing in pain, he sprayed more acid in defense.
"Again with the acid!"
The Akimichi's iron-reinforced gloves corroded instantly, reduced to black sludge.
Some of the acid splashed onto his light armor, eating straight through to his flesh.
Before he could react, he heard a sonic boom by his ear—then saw the alarmed faces of Shikaku and the others.
A sharp pain exploded in his side.
Utakata had recoiled, claws raking across the Akimichi's body, tearing out half his right abdomen.
He moved like a snake, killed like a bug—tough to kill and impossible to predict.
It was only now, in direct combat with a Tailed Beast jinchūriki, that the Konoha shinobi finally understood why the villages treated them as living weapons.
And compared to this...
Their own Tailed Beast—
They couldn't let this one rampage unchecked any longer!
Shikaku's gaze swept over the field. The other two already knew what he meant.
"Inoichi, Choza—let's take this guy down together!"
They nodded without hesitation.
"Got it!"
"Leave it to you, Shikaku!"
The trio—Ino-Shika-Cho—had been deployed alongside Hiruzen to defend against the Mist's assault.
With the Uchiha clan under tight surveillance and other major clans like the Hyūga off supporting Jiraiya against Kumogakure, they were the only elite forces Hiruzen could still command directly.
They weren't about to let the pride of their clans die in vain to this Mist jinchūriki.
Normal shinobi couldn't even scratch someone like this. They'd only drain a bit of chakra before dying.
But there'd be no promotions for the dead.
If they wanted their clansmen to survive and earn merit, they had to stop this jinchūriki here and now.
"Nara-sama, we'll back you up!"
Several members of the Hokage's personal ANBU force stepped forward.
Seeing that they were reliable allies, Shikaku nodded.
"Thanks."
"No need. We're all fighting for Konoha!"
Ino-Shika-Cho and the ANBU elite charged in to face Utakata.
The battlefield shifted again—this time, a small but deliberate split.
Kirigakure held the upper hand.
...
Yagura moved slowly and steadily, conserving his strength. After all, the Konoha forces had just finished fighting the Nine-Tails.
On top of that, he'd only brought a few people—but each one was handpicked from the best of the Mist's chunin and jonin.
One ninja spun in a deadly dance, his body covered in bone protrusions, cutting down any Leaf shinobi that tried to block his path.
With Konoha's top fighters tied up, their side pushed forward with ease.
Kaguya stole a glance toward Utakata's direction. Surrounded by elite jonin, he was starting to falter under the pressure.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio focused on locking him down, while the ANBU hit hard from a distance, avoiding Utakata's rapid close-quarters charges.
"We're going over there!"
No point in wasting time on weaker opponents. He had to ensure the Six-Tails stayed safe.
Calling out two top-tier Mist jonin, Kaguya's team joined the battle against Utakata, helping divert the ANBU's attention.
Now left on their own, Ino-Shika-Cho's ability to contain Utakata dropped sharply.
...
Black smoke slowly dispersed with the wind.
Yagura finally saw Hiruzen's state clearly.
Earlier, Hiruzen had made the decisive call to protect Konoha and destroyed the Tailed Beast Bombs before they could detonate.
As per the "no serious damage if there's smoke" rule, he was still alive.
He had shielded himself inside a defensive cage created by Enma's transformed golden staff clones, blocking the Five Nature Barrage reflected by the Water Mirror.
Thanks to that defense, Hiruzen had taken little damage.
Still, he muttered, "Thanks, Enma."
The barrier faded, and Enma returned to his normal staff form.
Hiruzen twirled the staff and pointed it at Yagura.
"Mizukage... let's see what other tricks you've got!"
"That was it," Yagura said with a smile. "That Five Nature technique you saw? That was my trump card. Yours too, I'd guess?"
Hiruzen's heart sank.
He hit a nerve.
Come to think of it—the five clones he'd summoned earlier lined up perfectly with the five elemental natures.
Could he have baited Hiruzen into using that jutsu?
Was this all a trap to counter it with the Water Mirror?
He'd anticipated one of Hiruzen's trump cards.
Hiruzen scowled.
If he kept using jutsu recklessly, he'd just be feeding Yagura more firepower.
Even Enma's staff strikes had been copied by those clones.
Every attack just came back at him.
At this rate, it would become a battle of stamina—and Yagura's chakra reserves were far deeper.
Unless he could figure out the exact mechanics and limitations of the Water Mirror Technique, Hiruzen couldn't risk another attack.
Yagura waited a moment, then, seeing Hiruzen's hesitation, smiled without fear.
He turned—and began marching toward Konoha.
Fighting on enemy turf had become an advantage.
All thanks to Deidara. Hmph.
"Extend!"
There was no way Hiruzen Sarutobi would allow Yagura to reach the Leaf! His staff shot forward, stretching to block Yagura's path.
Yagura came to a halt, glancing toward Konoha, then turning his gaze back to Hiruzen.
"You're that afraid of me reaching the village? It's not like I haven't been there before."
If I'd known this would happen, I should've 'accidentally' dealt with you back during the Chūnin Exams!
Hiruzen swung his staff down with force.
Damn it!
At that moment, Enma's eyes widened. The staff, which had lunged toward Yagura, suddenly snapped back at high speed.
We need to catch up!
Yagura surged forward out of nowhere. He stepped down hard on the retreating staff, pinning it—and Enma—to the ground. Bending low, he said coldly:
"You're too slow."
Because it had already happened.
Schlick—
From behind, Orochimaru emerged from the earth. The Kusanagi Blade slid from his mouth and pierced straight through Hiruzen's chest.
Hiruzen coughed up blood.
"Urgh—!"
With great effort, he turned his head slightly, catching sight of the familiar-yet-foreign face behind him.
"O-Orochimaru!"
"You were so focused on the Mizukage, weren't you, sensei?" Orochimaru said with a cold, mocking smile.
"You're the one who taught me—never let your guard down, no matter the situation."
The sword, soaked in his teacher's blood, slowly pulled free from Hiruzen's chest as the old man stumbled forward, every step draining his strength.
"Cough, cough..."
At the tail end of the staff, Enma's hand lashed out, trying to grab Orochimaru.
But Orochimaru had already retreated a step, avoiding it.
Enma instantly returned to his original form, catching Hiruzen's collapsing body with trembling hands.
A full chest wound—impaled clean through.
Even someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't ignore a wound of this severity. His consciousness was already slipping into darkness.
Then—
Four water blades shot in from a distance, piercing Enma's hands and feet, pinning him to the ground!
Yagura's voice echoed over:
"You had a clear shot at his vital organs just now, Orochimaru."
You let him go. Then came back.
You chose to help kill Hiruzen Sarutobi, but even then, you avoided his vitals—just a single piercing wound. It was clear:
Orochimaru couldn't bring himself to land a killing blow on Hiruzen.
And he didn't want to see Hiruzen die at Yagura's hands, either.
So now, Orochimaru stood there, facing the animosity of Yagura, Hiruzen, and Enma all at once—with a strangely calm expression.
Maybe this was the role I was meant to play in this life, Orochimaru thought. A role with no clean side.
He didn't respond directly to Yagura's accusation—just gave a vague, "Is that so?"
"…"
Yagura smiled at him. Not mockingly—more like they shared a mutual, unspoken understanding.
Then, silently, he walked toward the fallen Hiruzen.
He didn't care whether Hiruzen lived or died—so long as his own objective was met.
If Hiruzen died, then the title of Hokage would surely fall to Danzo Shimura.
Jiraiya? Tsunade? Neither of them were a match for Danzo.
Unsurprisingly, Orochimaru still had a soft spot—he didn't want Hiruzen dead.
So, Yagura would play it accordingly. He had his own methods to keep Hiruzen alive.
After all, he had his eyes on the Uchiha clan—and this time, he wasn't leaving empty-handed.
No matter who became Hokage, Danzo Shimura would still be in the picture.
If Danzo became Hokage himself, the only difference would be how quickly things escalated.
"Hokage. Where's the Uchiha clan? I haven't seen them around."
Hiruzen said nothing, just listening—trying to figure out Yagura's intentions.
Is there a connection between the Mizukage and the Uchiha? Does this have something to do with the Nine-Tails' rampage tonight?
Did the Uchiha tip them off?
The thought occurred to Hiruzen—but he quickly dismissed it.
Impossible.
Maybe the Uchiha had something to do with the Nine-Tails tonight. But there was no way they were working with the Mizukage.
The Uchiha might covet the Hokage seat, sure—but ever since the Second Hokage's era, suppressing them had become the "politically correct" stance in Konoha.
Even so, the Uchiha clan was loyal. Loyal to the village, to Konoha itself.
Yagura didn't push the topic.
"I heard from Orochimaru that Uchiha Shisui's eyes have evolved into the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan. Is that true?"
Orochimaru's face twitched.
No choice now. He had to take the blame for that comment—just to keep this entire game moving.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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