"Lord Madara, it has begun over there…"
In the dim underground chamber, a White Zetsu clone passed through the earth and appeared beside Madara Uchiha, who had been resting with his eyes closed.
It reported the latest intelligence to him.
"That brat has not only directly pressured the Third Mizukage to surrender power, but also seems to have seen through the genjutsu you left on the Third Mizukage… What should we do? Should we use more of our hidden pieces and find a way to kill him there?"
"What an impatient brat… But I will concede victory in this round to him for now."
Madara shook his head.
Almost without fluctuation, he decided to abandon the various arrangements he had made in Kirigakure.
"Is that really all right?" White Zetsu's main body hesitated for a moment, then said worriedly, "That brat from the Kaguya clan is growing far too quickly. If you give up this chance, by the time your plan begins, he may truly become a threat capable of endangering you."
"It is not that I want to give up this round. It is that, right now, I have no choice."
Madara slowly sighed.
He raised his head and looked at the enormous, sinister Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind him, murmuring to himself.
"As long as I leave the range of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, I will immediately die from my failing vitality.
"Obito's ocular power is increasing rapidly, but without the other compatible Mangekyo Sharingan, he cannot immediately grow to the level where he can oppose Rei Kaguya.
"As for Kirigakure, the Third Mizukage is nothing more than a mediocre fool. Even if he wagers his life, he will not be able to pose much of a threat to Rei Kaguya.
"Although I also left a contingency on the Six-Tails, a single rampaging Six-Tails is not enough to decide the outcome of this battle. Since that is the case, there is no need to expose it."
Hearing the helplessness now mixed into Madara's voice, White Zetsu fell silent for a while.
Then it sighed emotionally.
"How unbelievable. Even a ninja like you, Lord Madara, would admit that there is not much you can do against Rei Kaguya… After you leave, even if Obito wants to inherit your name and stir up storms in the shinobi world, he will have to restrain himself because of Rei Kaguya's existence, won't he?"
"There is nothing to be done. I misjudged Rei Kaguya's capacity. This is the bitter fruit I must swallow for that mistake."
Madara paused slightly.
Then he said with a hint of self-mockery, "However, this is not entirely a bad thing… Obito has his own ideas. He may not obediently follow my plan. But if his willfulness leaves him badly battered in front of Rei Kaguya, he should obediently borrow my power to realize the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Speaking of that, one of my clones brought back rather bad news from the Land of Rain."
White Zetsu spoke again, delivering news that made Madara rather displeased.
"Before returning to Kirigakure, Rei Kaguya specifically went to meet Nagato. Counting the matter in the Land of Whirlpools before, this is already their second meeting."
"Tch. Does that Kaguya brat enjoy sticking his hand into everything that much?"
Madara fell silent for a moment.
Then he reached his hand toward White Zetsu.
After a burst of dark writhing, half of White Zetsu's body turned black.
At the same time, Madara's already weak aura deteriorated even further.
"Hah… hah… My time is running out."
Madara glanced at the half-black, half-white Zetsu and spoke while breathing heavily.
"Go, Zetsu. Go to the Land of Rain and make Nagato fall into darkness… His heart already hides pain he cannot let go of. Use greater loss and greater agony to make him feel and remember the darkness that exists everywhere in the shinobi world."
"Yes."
…
"M-Monster… He took out an entire Anbu squad with one strike…"
Looking at the scene of the Anbu squad that had charged into the Mizukage's office being disarmed by one casual slash from Rei Kaguya, then nailed to the wall one by one by Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets, one of the Anbu covering the Third Mizukage's withdrawal from the room could not help swallowing.
He muttered to himself in shock.
"If he weren't a monster, how would that guy dare launch a coup alone?"
A colleague moving with him punched the dazed man and spoke urgently.
"Hurry up and prepare! Lord Third is about to counterattack!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Dozens of Kirigakure Anbu formed hand seals together.
With the Third Mizukage as the core, they jointly released a super-amplified version of the Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
A gigantic water dragon, as large as a small mountain, coiled around the Mizukage Building.
Brandishing its claws and baring its fangs, it pounced toward Rei Kaguya, who stood before the huge hole left behind when the Third Mizukage fled.
At the same time, another wave of Mist shinobi skilled in Lightning Release launched their coordinated attack right afterward.
"Lightning Release: Multiple Thunder Balls!"
Thunder balls flashing with bright lightning flew from their hands.
In midair, they struck the water dragon just before it hit its target.
In an instant, the water dragon's body became covered in leaping lightning, transforming into a compound ninjutsu possessing both Lightning and Water natures.
This scene made Rei Kaguya think of the original worldline without his existence.
Back then, the Fourth Raikage and Mei Terumi had jointly used a Lightning-Water Dragon Bullet to restrain the reincarnated Madara Uchiha.
As expected, cooperation between living people is still better than that between corpses and puppets controlled by someone else…
Though to me, that doesn't mean much.
Thinking this, Rei formed the Dragon seal with his hands and shouted in a low voice.
"Wind Release: Explosive Vacuum Sphere."
Highly compressed Wind Release chakra gathered in Rei Kaguya's mouth.
Then it was released in a way similar to a Tailed Beast Ball, colliding directly with the Lightning-Water Dragon Bullet.
The water dragon opened its enormous mouth and swallowed the Explosive Vacuum Sphere in one bite.
Immediately afterward, the highly compressed sphere of wind exploded violently inside the water dragon's body.
Accompanied by a storm so fierce it nearly lifted people into the sky, the Lightning-Water Dragon Bullet was blasted into countless tiny electrified water droplets.
A lightning rain fell within Kirigakure, paralyzing anyone struck by it and knocking them to the ground.
"He broke the Lightning-Water Dragon Bullet led by Lord Third using only Wind Release!?"
"So strong…"
Looking at the shocked Anbu members around him, Fuguki Suikazan's expression darkened.
He unwrapped the bandages around Samehada's blade and shouted loudly.
"Stop standing there in a daze! Follow me! We'll buy time for Lord Third to activate his ninjutsu! Juzo, use the Hiding in Mist Technique!"
Hearing Fuguki Suikazan suddenly call his name, Juzo Biwa, who was still hesitating over whether to follow, froze for a moment.
Then he asked in disbelief, "What? Hiding in Mist Technique? Now? Here? Against Rei Kaguya!? Are you joking, Fuguki!?"
"Uh… Habit."
Fuguki Suikazan, who had already been about to charge out, stiffened.
With embarrassment, he remembered that Rei Kaguya was the shinobi in Kirigakure most skilled in the Hiding in Mist Technique.
But before the two of them could think of a new tactic, Rei had already cast an improved version of the Hiding in Mist Technique.
Thick mist released through senjutsu chakra merged into the perennial fog of Kirigakure.
Silently, the area around the Mizukage Building turned into a pale, soundless dead zone.
"Wind Release: After the Typhoon!"
Within the spreading mist, a somewhat immature voice shouted words that made everyone's spirits rise.
A sharp and majestic gale blew from his location as the starting point, forcibly stopping the thick mist from spreading any further toward them.
"Good work, Yagura! Push harder! We can't let that guy take away our vision and senses so easily…"
The short jonin with a childlike face, carrying a hooked staff taller than himself on his back, nodded.
Just as he was about to further increase the amount of chakra he was outputting, his expression suddenly changed.
While stopping After the Typhoon, he grabbed his staff and swung it forward.
A rippling water mirror suddenly appeared.
"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"
A figure formed of water leaped out from the mirror.
With movements no different from the original, it blocked Rei Kaguya's attack as he emerged from the mist.
Rei frowned and looked at Yagura Karatachi, whose expression was as if he were facing a great enemy.
"Don't get in the way, Yagura."
"I refuse!"
Yagura used the Body Flicker Technique to charge forward.
Together with the figure that had leaped out from the water mirror, he launched a pincer attack against Rei from both sides.
At the same time, he clenched his teeth and questioned him.
"Lord Third already promised that after the war ended, he would hand the Mizukage position to you! Why aren't you willing to wait even that little bit of time, Rei Kaguya?"
"Because the person controlling him from behind still wants to continue the war. And I don't want to take over a Kirigakure whose elites and middle ranks have all been beaten into a generational gap."
Rei shifted his move and knocked back the mirror image created by the Water Mirror Technique.
His expression remained calm as he answered.
"What nonsense are you talking about!? Lord Third is the Mizukage! He is the strongest shinobi in the village! How could someone silently control him with genjutsu!?"
Yagura glared at Rei with disbelief and anger.
"Your words insult the will of the strong ruling over the weak passed down from Lord First Mizukage Byakuren! Correct yourself immediately!"
"…Tch. Those words have absolutely no persuasiveness coming from you, Yagura."
Rei looked speechlessly at Yagura's serious expression.
Then, using the Fleet Footwork that had finished charging during his struggle with the water mirror image, he suddenly erupted with unimaginable speed.
Before the mirror image and Yagura himself could react, Rei circled behind Yagura and pressed his finger against his spine.
"Wha—"
"Rest on the ground for a while. It'll be over soon… Dead Bone Pulse: Bone-Replacement Puppet."
"Uwaaaaaah—!"
A special bone produced through the power of the Dead Bone Pulse shot from Rei's fingertip, pierced Yagura Karatachi's body, and pressed against his spine.
Then, under Rei's control, that bone rapidly extended into a bone membrane, tightly covering Yagura's spine.
As the child-faced Yagura spasmed and collapsed to the ground, the dense mist that had once been stopped by his Wind Release began spreading outward again.
After closing his eyes and sensing the situation on the Third Mizukage's side, Rei frowned and took a step back.
Like a ghost, he once again merged into the thick mist.