"Obito, how does it feel?"
Uchiha Obito, clad in a White Zetsu, was using the "Mayfly Technique" to conceal himself in the shadow beneath the castle eaves, hidden within a short thicket from which he could clearly observe the battle taking place at the main gate. Even if the fight moved inside the castle, he could still continue watching by simply phasing through the wall.
Zetsu's head popped up from the same thicket, closely pressed against Uchiha Obito.
There was no other choice—the thicket was barely large enough to hide one person. For two, they had to stay tightly packed together, or risk exposing themselves.
"He should have already sensed something wrong with Yagura."
"Genjutsu?"
"That's right. Genjutsu. A required course for any Uchiha who awakens the Sharingan. Our earlier assumptions were correct. Uchiha Rēn's dōjutsu appears to be genjutsu-based. Just now... his genjutsu interfered with my control over Yagura. His genjutsu is very strong. If he uses Mangekyō Sharingan techniques, he might be able to completely break the genjutsu I used to manipulate Yagura."
White Zetsu suddenly realized what was going on and blurted out, "So that's why you didn't have the Fourth Mizukage make a move earlier! I thought you were just observing... turns out you couldn't!"
Then, he processed what Obito had said. "Wait, your genjutsu might be broken? That means Yagura could lose control?"
"That's correct," Obito replied calmly.
"Then... then what do we do? If Yagura loses control, won't Kirigakure and Konoha not go to war? All the work we've put into this will be wasted!"
"As long as the goal is achieved, sacrificing a few tools is no loss."
Obito's gaze deepened.
Even Yagura, who held the dual roles of Fourth Mizukage and the Three-Tails Jinchūriki, was to him nothing more than a convenient tool. As long as it helped him achieve his objective, losing one or two such tools was acceptable—so long as that goal was achieved.
So now,
The only question was whether he could obtain what he wanted.
His goal was simple:
First, confirm the nature of Uchiha Rēn's Mangekyō Sharingan. Only by confirming how dangerous it was would he decide his next move. If it proved to be of low threat, Obito would personally kill Uchiha Rēn and take his eyes.
If Rēn's dōjutsu proved to be dangerous, then he would try to preserve Yagura, this valuable tool, and use Kirigakure and other pawns to wear down Rēn's ocular power—slowly grinding away his Mangekyō Sharingan.
By now,
The former "Dead-last" had long shed his youth and innocence, hardened through years of pain and suffering. Though his actions seemed bold and brash, they were actually carefully calculated.
Five years ago, he dared to infiltrate Konoha because he knew his teacher deeply, and understood the village he had lived in for over ten years. That night, he struck decisively and, after a rampage, removed the man capable of countering his Kamui from the world.
After several seconds of consideration, Obito made his decision.
After calling Rēn's name once, Yagura, who had remained silent, finally spoke again. "Everyone, fall back!"
A command of extreme simplicity, yet it sent chills down everyone's spine.
The members of the Mizukage's guard understood exactly what this meant—the embodiment of destruction was about to be unleashed.
And so,
The Kirigakure shinobi quickly scattered.
They weren't afraid of death, but that didn't mean they wanted to be killed by their own Mizukage by accident.
"Preparing to go all-out already?"
As the shinobi scattered, Rēn understood what was coming. He stood his ground and simply clapped his hands. Skipping the finger-biting and blood ritual, he directly summoned Samehada, stored in the village, into his hand.
The moment he gripped Samehada, the blade obediently extended its handle like a rope, wrapping around his forearm and starting to replenish his depleted chakra. Pure chakra surged into his body like spring water.
As Rēn's chakra returned to full,
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, unleashed a volcanic surge of chakra. The seal that imprisoned disaster had been broken; a destructive aura erupted onto the earth.
A dark-red tailed-beast cloak enveloped Yagura.
Three dark red tails swayed behind him.
This was a partial Tailed-Beast Transformation—the critical state before full transformation. It retained a humanoid form while drawing out maximum power from the tailed beast. Few Jinchūriki could consciously maintain this state; most entered it only during berserk rampages triggered by loosening seals.
Only Jinchūriki who had fully mastered their tailed beast could control it.
Yagura happened to be one such Jinchūriki.
Boom!
With a single stomp, the Black Tide Mountain trembled.
The castle's main gate collapsed with a roar, a haze of dust shot skyward like a dragon.
That dark-red silhouette streaked across the land like lightning. Behind him, a terrifying shockwave carved a trench into the earth—Yagura's movement trajectory laid bare. In a blink, he reached Rēn, raised his right palm, and slammed it toward Rēn's chest.
This was Coral Palm.
His beast-like appearance was only external. As a perfect Jinchūriki, Yagura hadn't lost his mind. Even while under Obito's genjutsu, his intelligence remained intact. Otherwise, he wouldn't still hold the title of Mizukage.
Bang!
A deep crimson, semi-transparent ribcage formed beside Rēn.
The Coral Palm failed to connect.
Susanoo, the manifestation of chakra into tangible form, was not flesh. The attack that induced coral growth in living tissue had no effect.
But the force of the blow was still immense—Rēn staggered back, unsteady like a drunk.
"This is the power of a tailed beast?"
It was Rēn's first time facing a Jinchūriki, and his first real encounter with tailed-beast power. During the Third Shinobi World War, the Six-Tails Jinchūriki from Kirigakure was already elderly and being replaced. As for the Three-Tails—Uchiha Madara had taken it as a tool to train his proxy, so the Mist never had a chance to use it in battle before the war ended.
During the Nine-Tails rampage, he had only watched from afar in the Uchiha district. He'd never gotten close enough to witness the tailed beast's might.
Now,
Feeling the chaotic and violent chakra radiating from Yagura, Rēn didn't rush to counterattack. Instead, he widened his eyes and studied carefully.
There was no need to end the battle quickly.
The border defense command center was already wiped out, and rescue operations had failed before it could even start. Time was on his side. With Samehada, chakra depletion wasn't a concern. This was the perfect opportunity to study the secrets of Jinchūriki and tailed beasts.
Moreover, if Obito wanted to see him burn through his ocular power—then let him watch.
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