A Final "Gift" to the Hidden Mist
That explosive power shook the battlefield.
For the first time, Yagura Karatachi felt a brush with death.
Even as a perfect jinchūriki, the elder's strike had been terrifying.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
If the opponent was this dangerous… then restraint was meaningless.
Dark red chakra surged violently from his body.
Tailed beast chakra wrapped around him like boiling blood.
Then
Three massive chakra tails erupted from his back, swaying like serpents.
His stance lowered.
Four limbs pressed against the ground, body crouched like a predatory beast.
From that posture alone, Elder Genji felt it
A suffocating pressure.
Malice.
Killing intent.
Ancient hatred.
Every instinct screamed.
This was no longer a human opponent.
It was a tailed beast wearing human skin.
Even Genji, a veteran of countless wars, felt every cell in his body trembling.
He knew how dangerous tailed beasts were.
He knew how terrifying jinchūriki were.
But a perfect jinchūriki?
That was an entirely different monster.
Predator and Prey
Without warning
Yagura vanished.
A blur.
Then he appeared directly above Genji.
A massive claw formed from condensed bijū chakra tore downward, aiming to crush his skull in one strike.
Genji reacted instantly.
He leapt backward while weaving seals.
"Water Style: Severing Wave!"
A blade of ultra-pressurized water erupted forward.
Sharp enough to cleave steel.
Fast enough to rival a master swordsman's slash.
It roared toward Yagura, intending to split him in two.
But Yagura didn't dodge.
One chakra tail lashed outward.
BOOM.
The attack shattered instantly.
Neutralized like mist before a storm.
The moment he landed, he kicked off the ground again.
No pause.
No hesitation.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat.
Another claw descended.
Too fast.
Even prepared ninjutsu couldn't interrupt that speed.
Genji's pupils shrank.
There was no time left.
He tightened his muscles, forcing strength into aging limbs, and met the strike head-on.
A Losing Clash
BANG!
The collision echoed across the battlefield.
For a brief instant, the two figures froze
Then one flew backward.
"Master Genji!"
Mei Terumī's cry cut through the chaos.
She almost rushed forward instinctively.
But a hand grabbed her sleeve.
It was Ao.
"Mei! Don't!"
"Remember the plan!"
Her body froze.
"…I know," she whispered through clenched teeth.
Genji crashed into the ground, rolling across broken stone before forcing himself upright.
Every bone in his body screamed.
It felt like his skeleton had been shattered and reassembled incorrectly.
Across from him
Yagura stood unharmed.
Not even a scratch.
The difference was absolute.
So this… was the gap.
A perfect jinchūriki was far more terrifying than any rumor suggested.
Yet Genji stepped forward again.
Because retreat meant annihilation.
The Puppeteer's Hatred
Hidden in warped space nearby, Uchiha Obito watched with cold delight.
Through Yagura's eyes, he experienced every strike.
Every scream.
Every drop of blood.
And he enjoyed it.
After this old man dies…
Next will be Mei Terumī and the rest.
A twisted smile spread across his face.
"The pain Rin suffered…"
His voice was barely human.
"I'll return it a hundredfold."
The memory of Rin Nohara dying pierced his mind endlessly.
That day had shattered everything.
If the world itself had allowed Rin to die
Then the world deserved destruction.
Even if he had to become the enemy of all shinobi…
He would create a world where Rin still lived.
Beside him, Black Zetsu watched silently.
To Obito, this was revenge.
To Zetsu
It was merely another step toward resurrecting his mother.
A Sudden Disruption
Just as Obito reveled in the carnage
Zetsu stiffened.
A message arrived through White Zetsu clones.
"Obito."
Something in his tone changed.
"Kakashi… has been rescued."
Obito froze.
"…What?"
"Rescued by that boy. The one called Ah Huo."
A dangerous silence followed.
"I suspect he's after the Sharingan," Zetsu added carefully.
The name struck like lightning.
Kakashi Hatake.
The eye Obito had given him.
A gift forged from friendship… and blood.
Rage twisted his expression.
"That eye… belongs to Kakashi."
"And to me."
He clenched his fists.
"No one touches it."
Yet beneath the anger, caution stirred.
He remembered that boy's terrifying technique
A rain of molten destruction that resembled the end of the world.
A shinobi capable of that was no one to underestimate.
Obito exhaled slowly.
"I'll deal with it personally."
A Parting Disaster
Zetsu tilted his head.
"And here?"
Obito glanced down at the battlefield.
The Mist was already broken.
Its forces halved.
Its unity destroyed.
This village… was finished.
"I've had enough fun here," he said casually.
"But before I leave…"
His smile returned.
"I'll leave Kirigakure one last gift."
His hands formed seals.
Zetsu's expression darkened.
"Don't kill the Three-Tails jinchūriki. We still need him."
After all, the Akatsuki's future plans depended on the tailed beasts.
Obito scoffed.
"Relax. Yagura won't die."
His voice turned cruel.
"The ones who'll die… are the Mist shinobi."
"A Mizukage is too valuable to execute outright. Even if he loses control."
"I've calculated everything."
Zetsu studied him silently.
Then nodded.
"…Very well."
The Elder's Final Gamble
Meanwhile, Genji's breathing grew heavier with every exchange.
The gap only widened.
The only hope left…
Was the plan.
If Mei Terumī and the others completed the sealing formation
If he could lure Yagura into it
They could suppress the Three-Tails using the entire village's power.
But for that…
Yagura needed to transform further.
A partial jinchūriki wasn't enough.
He had to force a full bijū manifestation.
Originally, everything had been arranged perfectly.
Mei and the others were already preparing.
Signals had been sent.
All he needed to do
Was hold on.
Just a little longer.
Catastrophe
And then
Everything collapsed.
Without warning…
Yagura's chakra exploded outward.
No buildup.
No signs.
Just instant catastrophe.
Scarlet chakra erupted like a volcanic eruption.
The air screamed.
The sea trembled.
Genji's eyes widened.
He had planned for this moment.
But not like this.
Not without preparation.
Not without the seal ready.
And certainly
Not now.
The Three-Tails' power surged violently.
And for the first time since the war began
True despair descended upon the battlefield.
Far behind the collapsing lines, a silver-haired girl stood unmoving.
Saint Roselith Seraphina of the Seraphina bloodline.
A clan once tied to ancient shrine guardians who monitored chakra anomalies across the seas.
Her eyes glowed faintly.
Not fear.
Calculation.
Then
The invisible system stirred again.
The glow faded.
But Seraphina's gaze hardened.
Because she understood something the others didn't.
This battle…
Had only just begun.
The Duel doesn't end here… it only gets more intense.
30+ chapters ahead are already waiting.
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