The power of Hadō #88 was completely absorbed by Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan. Yet even so, the immense spiritual power contained within it left him somewhat surprised.
His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the two figures from which the Kidō had come. Then, with a light leap, Madara landed atop a shattered meteor boulder, smiling faintly.
"An attack of that caliber… finally, something decent. Captain of 13th Division, Yagura Karatachi."
"Uchiha Madara…"
Draped in his captain's haori, Yagura stared fixedly at Madara. He had never seen him before, yet at this moment he could sense from Madara's chakra a trace of familiarity.
It was the same as back when the Third Mizukage was still in power!
"It was you!"
Yagura's expression turned icy cold.
"So the one who controlled the Third Mizukage all those years ago—was you!"
Back then, the Third Mizukage had been manipulated by an unknown Uchiha, plunging the entire Kirigakure into suffering, shrouded in a "Bloody Mist" of despair.
It wasn't until the Fourth Mizukage, Yuki Yoru, rose to power that the situation was overturned and the illusion binding the Third was broken. Yet the true culprit had remained unknown.
Later, when Uchiha Obito repeatedly revealed his ability to control the Fourth Kazekage and even the Third Tsuchikage, everyone assumed the one behind the Third Mizukage's ordeal had also been Obito.
But now—feeling Madara's chakra for himself—Yagura, who had once been both a contender for the Fourth Mizukage's seat and a close confidant of the Third, finally understood everything.
"The Third Mizukage?"
Hearing Yagura's words, Madara chuckled softly.
"He was indeed a fine pawn. To be honest, if not for Yuki Yoru, I had quite high hopes for you as the Fourth Mizukage."
"A pity. You could have become the shadow of your village and fulfilled that childhood dream of yours, Yagura."
In the shinobi world, not only in the Five Great Villages but even in the smallest, every shinobi aspired to one day become the Kage of their home.
But times had changed. Yagura no longer held that obsession.
Perhaps faint traces of the dream still lingered, but over the years, he had seen with his own eyes Yuki Yoru's strength and the countless contributions he had made to the growth of the Kirigakure.
No one could have filled the role of Fourth Mizukage better than Yoru.
And so Yagura felt no resentment toward him. Instead, he harbored nothing but hatred toward Uchiha Madara—the man who had once controlled the Third Mizukage and inflicted so much pain on the Kirigakure.
Madara Uchiha's words made the look in Yagura's eyes even colder. He did not say any more nonsense. The Zanpakutō at his waist had already been slowly drawn from its sheath.
"A Zanpakutō, is it?"
Madara Uchiha's eyes slightly narrowed. He had already learned everything about Shinigami from Black Zetsu. And in the group battle just now, many Shinigami had also taken out their Zanpakutō.
Though their strength was beneath notice, their abilities were undeniably strange. If the powers were equal, they could indeed prove troublesome.
And according to intelligence, a Shinigami Captain's strength was at least on par with the peak of a Kage—equal to his own. Backed by such overwhelming energy, Yagura's Zanpakutō ability were bound to be formidable.
But so what?
"Come on, Yagura. Let me see what you're capable of!"
"Bankai!"
Unparalleled pressure erupted from Yagura's not-particularly-tall body.
Everyone present was shocked by Yagura's terrifying spiritual pressure. This former Kirigakure general who once competed with Yuki Yoru for the position of Fourth Mizukage finally revealed his absolute power.
A ripple of water appeared on the Zanpakutō in his hand, like an invisible wave covering Yagura's body.
Other than that, there seemed to be no change in Yagura's blade—but Uchiha Madara's expression turned solemn.
He could feel the shift within Yagura. This was no mere increase in strength or energy. The vast, fierce aura and pressure ranked among the top of all opponents Uchiha Madara had ever encountered in his life.
And... what was this Zanpakutō's ability?
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
No need for words!
Uchiha Madara clasped his hands together, activating the chakra within his body. In an instant, countless branches and vines erupted from the ground beneath his feet, spreading like an endless forest, surging toward Yagura and the countless Shinigami and Quincy standing behind him.
Yagura's face remained expressionless. He showed no surprise at Madara's use of Wood Release.
The fusion of Uchiha power with Senju power had long since been discovered—giving rise to the myriad forms of creation. Yuki Yoru had even relied on this very principle to help Uchiha Shisui awaken the Rinnegan.
Since Madara possessed the Rinnegan, it was only natural that he also wielded the Senju's power. Nothing strange about that.
Facing the onrushing sea of trees, Yagura neither dodged nor summoned Kidō in defense. Instead, strange ripples surfaced across his body.
The next moment, several dark-red spheres, radiating terrifying energy, burst out from within Yagura and shot straight toward the forest.
"What is this?!"
"Huh?!"
"Lord Yagura… since when could he… this is…"
From behind, Shinigami and Quincy stared blankly as the spheres slammed into the tide of trees, detonating with earth-shaking booms.
The shockwaves scattered clouds of wooden splinters, forcing even Madara's brows to furrow deeply.
"Tailed Beast Bombs… Even though you are not a jinchūriki, you can unleash tailed beast bombs? So this is your Zanpakutō's ability?"
"But with mere tailed beast bombs, you think you can stop me? How naive."
Chakra surged from Madara's body as the forest of flowering trees rose again, flooding outward toward Yagura and the others.
Seeing this, Yagura leaned back slightly, then spat out several more Tailed Beast Bombs.
The blasts tore through the incoming forest, halting its advance to some extent. At the same time, Yagura raised his Zanpakutō and turned his head sharply.
"Fall back to the village and support the defenses! Leave this to me."
The Shinigami and Quincy behind him understood well that they could do nothing in a battle of this scale. Sensibly, they retreated quickly.
Yet as they withdrew, many couldn't shake a strange feeling. The temperature around them was steadily dropping. Some sharp-eyed among them even noticed snowflakes drifting down from the sky.
A suffocating chill swirled around Yagura, spreading outward from his body.
A pale, frozen world began to form outside the Kirigakure. Ice blossoms fell from the heavens, leaving everyone stunned. Then, in the next moment, roaring glaciers erupted across the battlefield, freezing Madara's advancing forest solid.
Snow and ice filled the skies, cold beyond comprehension.
"This is—!"
Within the village, Shinigami and Quincy immediately noticed the rising glaciers. At first they froze in astonishment—but then their eyes lit up with joy.
"It's the Mizukage! The Mizukage has returned!"
"The Fourth is here! Excellent!"
"Hahaha, with our invincible Mizukage present, nothing can go wrong!"
The towering glaciers had become the greatest source of morale. Though many of the higher-ranking powerhouses immediately noticed that the spiritual pressure behind this colossal ice was not Yuki Yoru's, but Karatachi Yagura's, they were all wise enough not to say it aloud.
"Yuki Yoru?!"
Inside the Kirigakure's Duel Tower, Sarutobi Hiruzen—locked in fierce battle against Tsunade and Kushina—also noticed the surging, endless glaciers and froze in shock.
In that instant, Kushina suddenly raised her arms. Countless golden chains shot forward, wrapping tightly around Hiruzen.
"Ten Thousand Seals!"
"What?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression suddenly darkened. He wanted to activate his chakra to break free from these chains, but he found that the chakra in his body was like a stone sinking into the sea at this moment. He couldn't activate it at all.
Not just chakra, even the kekkei genkai in his body was completely suppressed at this moment. He couldn't use any of it.
This was the power of the Ten Thousand Seals. Once you were sealed by it, let alone Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was at the Semi-Six Paths level, even if you were at the Six Paths level, it would not be easy to break free!
"Heaven Kick of Pain!"
A delicate shout followed. Before Hiruzen could react, a crushing, irresistible force slammed into him—Tsunade's strike landing squarely on his shoulder.
The golden chains shattered in an instant. Blood sprayed through the air as Hiruzen's body was smashed into the ground, Tsunade's cold eyes unflinching.
"Kushina, don't give him a chance to fight back!"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"
In a battle between experts, victory and defeat are often decided in an instant.
For Hiruzen to lapse into momentary distraction while facing Tsunade and Kushina—one attacking, the other restraining—was enough to determine the outcome.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
With her Zanpakutō released, Kushina's Adamantine Sealing Chains could suppress everything. Golden chains fell upon Hiruzen once more—
But at that very moment, two black rods shot forth at impossible, lethal angles, streaking straight for Kushina's and Tsunade's hearts.
"Watch out!"
Tsunade's pupils shrank sharply. She flared her spiritual power, but an overwhelming repulsive force swept out, warping even the air itself. The atmosphere twisted unnaturally, shimmering with a misty glow.
Tsunade and Kushina were completely immobilized, unable to move even a fraction.
Clang!
Yet just as their faces paled—metal clashed. A golden figure appeared before them, intercepting the incoming black rods of Yin-Yang Release.
"Was I late??"
A pure white haori fluttered in the wind, and behind it, three characters gleamed above a head of golden hair. Everyone present froze in shock.
Kushina's eyes trembled, but then her beautiful face softened into a smile.
"Not at all, Minato."
"Good thing you're here, Fourth Hokage," Tsunade let out a long breath. That moment just now—if not for Minato's timely arrival—both of them might truly have lost their lives!
Minato Namikaze turned to Tsunade and Kushina with a gentle smile.
"You've both worked hard."
Then he faced Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose fists were clenched and expression dark. Minato, however, said nothing to him. Instead, his eyes shifted toward a ripple in the air.
Whrrr—
Space distorted. Obito, without his mask, slowly materialized, looking down at Minato and his wife from above.
"Obito… I truly didn't expect it to be you." Minato's eyes were heavy with emotion—anger, shock, but above all… disappointment.
"That incident in Konoha back then—it was you as well, wasn't it?"
"Is there any point in saying such things now?"
Obito's gaze was indifferent as he raised his right hand. Banshō Ten'in quietly activated, pulling the heavily wounded Hiruzen to his side.
With his extraordinary regenerative ability, Hiruzen's injuries healed rapidly. He cast a wary glance at Minato, then quickly turned to Obito.
"Yuki Yoru is here. What should we do now!?"
"Yuki Yoru?" Obito scoffed. "You've never fought him. Why are you panicking like this, Sarutobi Hiruzen? That isn't Yuki Yoru—it's Yagura's trick."
"What?!"
Hiruzen froze, then realization dawned on him. Of course—the chill and glaciers earlier, though powerful, were still far beneath Yuki Yoru's true strength. That man's overwhelming spiritual power on that day had been enough to suppress the entire shinobi world.
"The Water Mirror Technique…"
Hiruzen understood. Even before becoming a Shinigami, Yagura had been renowned throughout the shinobi world. His secret technique, Water Mirror Jutsu, was immensely powerful. Obviously, the glaciers earlier were Yagura's replication using that ability. They had panicked at the sight of it and nearly blundered fatally.
"A man's name casts a shadow, just like a tree." Obito glanced at Hiruzen, then let his gaze pass over Minato, Kushina, and Tsunade, landing instead on the sealed Duel Tower of Kirigakure.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki is at the bottom of that tower as well. You go and bring out both the Nine-Tails and the Three-Tails. Leave these three to me."
"Understood."
Hiruzen drew in a deep breath, said nothing more, and darted toward the Duel Tower.
At once, Minato's form flashed golden, moving to intercept him.
But Obito raised his hand expressionlessly. A terrifying, irresistible suction force surged forth, halting Minato, while at the same time, a pale finger bone shot out, intercepting Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai mid-flight.
It was Hiruzen's Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!
"Third Hokage… you—!"
Disappointment flooded Minato's eyes. Yet Hiruzen didn't care in the slightest, his figure streaking past the three and vanishing into the Duel Tower.
Seeing this, Kushina's face turned pale, and even Tsunade, grasping the weight of the situation, instinctively moved to chase after Hiruzen.
But in that instant, the oppressive chakra surging before them forced the three to fix their attention on Obito instead.
The pitch-black Sword of Nunoboko was clenched in Obito's hand. The overwhelming pressure radiating from his former student pressed upon Minato, who drew in a long breath, lowered his head, and said quietly:
"…I'm sorry, Obito. About Rin—"
"You have no right to speak her name!"