Kimimaro raised both arms. Fine protrusions appeared across the surface of his skin as his bones broke through the flesh and grew directly from his palms, transforming into two ghastly pale bone blades.
The edges of the bone blades were so sharp that they seemed capable of slicing through the air itself, while their surfaces reflected a cold, bone-white sheen beneath the sunlight.
This was Shikotsumyaku, the Kekkei Genkai of the Kaguya Clan.
Kimimaro made the first move.
He leaped into the air, spread all ten fingers, and suddenly fired ten white bone bullets from his fingertips.
Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!
The bone bullets tore through the air at incredible speed, moving like bullets fired from a gun.
Itachi did not retreat. His Sharingan appeared in his eyes, with two tomoe spinning rapidly within the red irises.
In an instant, he determined the trajectories of all ten bone bullets. Every single one had been aimed precisely at a different chakra point on his body.
Kimimaro possessed an exceptionally sharp battle instinct. From the very beginning, he had targeted the points that would restrict his opponent's movements.
Unfortunately, his opponent was Itachi.
Itachi swung his kunai, knocking every incoming bone bullet away.
Using the force of the rebound, Itachi smoothly retreated several steps. He formed hand seals with both hands, his chest swelling slightly before he opened his mouth and expelled a massive fireball.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Orange-red flames, accompanied by waves of scorching heat, roared toward Kimimaro.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow!
Kimimaro's body began moving with a flexibility that an ordinary human could never achieve. His movements were fluid and graceful, allowing him to skim along the very edge of the flames like drifting willow branches.
Carrying his bone blades with him, Kimimaro spun around and closed the distance in an instant.
Itachi shifted his body to evade the blade, then swung the handle of his kunai toward Kimimaro's wrist.
Kimimaro twisted his wrist, and the bone blade in his other hand swept upward from below, slashing toward Itachi's chin.
Itachi tilted his head backward and narrowly avoided the blade. At the same time, the tip of his kunai stabbed toward the hollow beneath Kimimaro's shoulder.
Mei stood beside Kiyohara, the shock in her eyes growing increasingly intense.
She had known for a long time that Kimimaro was the strongest child of the Kaguya Clan.
However, that child named Itachi was only a few years older than Kimimaro, yet he was actually able to fight Kimimaro in pure taijutsu without falling behind in the slightest.
What was even more astonishing was that his Sharingan only had two tomoe, yet he could already perfectly predict every movement Kimimaro made.
Just how had these children been trained?
At that moment, Itachi suddenly retreated half a step.
The two tomoe in his dark eyes spun rapidly as his gaze met Kimimaro's.
Kimimaro's movements abruptly froze.
He wanted to move, but his entire body was completely immobilized.
Genjutsu: Sharingan!
Kimimaro desperately circulated his chakra, attempting to break free from the genjutsu.
However, by the time he finally managed to escape, a kunai was already pressed against his throat.
Itachi held the kunai with an expressionless face.
Kimimaro lowered his head and looked at the kunai resting against his neck. He withdrew his bone blades and took a step backward.
"I lost. You are very strong."
Itachi returned the kunai to his shinobi tool pouch.
"So are you."
Kimimaro straightened his body, without the slightest trace of unwillingness in his eyes.
For a clan that lived purely for battle, the process of fighting itself was the highest form of enjoyment.
Kimimaro turned toward Kiyohara and stared at him for a moment.
He began to wonder.
If even his disciple was this powerful, then how strong must the master be?
It was no wonder that the people of the world respectfully called him the strongest Hokage!
The Kaguya Clan's shinobis also silently put away their weapons.
They were indeed warlike, but they were not willing to fight to the death for no reason.
It was much like when the First Hokage was still alive. There had been very few Kaguya Clan shinobis foolish enough to challenge either Hashirama or Madara.
Otherwise, the Kaguya Clan would have been wiped out decades ago.
Kiyohara was not surprised by this result in the slightest. He turned his head toward Mei.
"Lead the way. It is time to deal with the real business."
Mei nodded and began leading Kiyohara toward the direction of the Mizukage Building.
After walking several steps, Kiyohara spoke again.
"I can let today's incident go, but afterward, you will have to come and apologize to me. Make sure your attitude is good. Otherwise, it will be hard to say how much effort I am willing to put in."
Mei's footsteps stopped.
She pressed her red lips together.
Of course, she understood exactly what Kiyohara meant.
It was very simple.
He was taking advantage of her difficult situation to extort a favor.
Yet she had no choice.
The only external support she could find was this very man who was taking advantage of her predicament.
She took a deep breath, suppressing both the humiliation rising within her and the frustratingly rapid beating of her heart.
"Understood. I will."
The Mizukage Building.
On the top floor, inside the office.
Yagura sat in the spacious Mizukage's chair, holding a document in his hand.
He was short in stature, and his appearance made him look like a boy in his early teens.
The Elder Genji was also sitting in the chair opposite him, seemingly waiting for Yagura to make some kind of decision.
Mei pushed open the office door and respectfully bowed to the two of them.
"Mei."
Yagura put down the document and raised his eyes toward her.
"What is the matter?"
"Mizukage-sama, there are some circumstances concerning the patrol deployment along the western coastline that I need to report to you in person."
Mei slowly approached, her eyes lowered and her posture respectful.
When she reached a point three steps away from Yagura, she took a scroll from inside her sleeve and presented it to him with both hands.
Yagura reached out to take the scroll.
The instant his fingertips touched it, Mei released the scroll.
She formed hand seals with both hands, opened her red lips, and exhaled a stream of white steam that was heated to an extreme degree.
As the saying went, once the picture was revealed, the dagger appeared.
Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!
Yagura's reaction was far faster than his youthful appearance suggested.
Almost at the exact instant the steam erupted, he leaned backward.
Unfortunately, he was still a step too slow.
The scalding steam swept across half of his cheek and one shoulder, instantly burning large blisters into his skin.
He let out a muffled groan and rolled away from the second stream of steam. He braced his left hand against the windowsill and used the momentum to widen the distance between them.
"Mei, have you gone mad?"
Yagura suppressed his fury.
The intense pain from his boiling-hot skin caused even his youthful face to twist slightly.
Bang!
The door was suddenly blasted open from the outside.
Mangetsu rushed inside with a squad of Mist shinobis, the swords in their hands gleaming coldly.
Genji was still inside the office.
He stared at Mei, who had suddenly attacked Yagura, and then at the shinobis outside, his face filled with disbelief.
His withered fingers trembled as he pointed at Mei.
"Mei, are you trying to stage a rebellion?!"
"I am not rebelling."
Mei shook her head.
She looked toward the shadows in the corner of the office, where more than a dozen black silhouettes had simultaneously emerged.
These were the Kirigakure Anbu, an organization loyal to the Mizukage.
"I am eliminating the traitors within our ranks. The Fourth Mizukage has been secretly manipulated for a long time. The orders issued over all these years have not truly been his own will."
"Have you never suspected anything?"
"Those unreasonable transfers. Those gaps in intelligence that just happened to avoid the crucial clues. Those Kekkei Genkai shinobis who were sent out and never returned. Do you truly believe all of this was merely a coincidence?"
"Take Mei down immediately!"
Genji slammed his cane against the ground.
A Kirigakure Anbu threw a shuriken.
Swish!
Mangetsu swung his sword and knocked the shuriken away.
"Do not act rashly, everyone."
Mangetsu spoke calmly.
For a moment, nobody dared to make the first move.
The space inside the office was far too narrow. If a full-scale battle broke out, someone like Genji, with his old and frail body, would be the first one unable to withstand it.
Yagura covered the burn on his cheek and let out a cold snort.
Then, his injuries began to heal.
He raised his hand and waved toward the shadows.
"Take them down."
Seeing this, Mangetsu raised his sword toward the Anbu and fired a water bullet from his fingertip.
Water Release: Water Gun Technique!
The water bullet struck the Anbu member at the front and sent him stumbling several steps backward.
However, even more Anbu poured out of the shadows, surrounding Mei and Mangetsu in the center.
The shinobis behind the two of them also rushed forward, and both sides immediately clashed.
Boom!
The narrow office was instantly filled with ninjutsu.
"What happened?"
Shinobis passing by looked on in horror.
The Mizukage Building had already been blasted open, leaving a huge hole in its structure. Numerous figures could suddenly be seen scattered outside, clearly engaged in battle.
"What a huge cloud of smoke!"
Another shinobi exclaimed.
Unfortunately, the smoke was so thick that it was completely impossible to see what was happening inside.
The collapsed sections of the building also blocked their line of sight.
Only the shinobis who emerged from the ruins and began fighting on the outskirts could be seen clearly.
"The Kaguya Clan, the Hozuki Clan, and shinobis from several other clans are fighting the Anbu. Why?"
The Mist shinobis were completely bewildered.
Could this be an armed coup?
If so, who were they supposed to support?
Or perhaps the more important question was, who had started this coup in the first place?
Inside the ruins of the Mizukage Building.
Yagura slowly rose from the rubble.
The blisters caused by the Boil Release on half of his face were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
New skin spread outward from the edges of the wounds. The dead, peeling skin gradually fell away, revealing completely unharmed flesh underneath.
Mangetsu tightened his grip around his shinobi sword, his narrow eyes narrowing slightly.
He had personally witnessed Yagura's injuries completely recover within just a few breaths.
That kind of recovery speed was absolutely not something an ordinary shinobi could possess.
"Be careful. Something is wrong with his recovery ability."
Mangetsu lowered his voice and warned Mei.
Then his entire body transformed into a blurred afterimage as he charged toward Yagura.
The shinobi sword in his hand was covered in a layer of Water Release chakra vibrating at extremely high speed, producing a sharp buzzing sound.
Water Release: Water-Shaking Blade Technique!
Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique!
Mangetsu used two ninjutsu techniques in succession.
The muscles in his arm suddenly swelled, becoming even thicker and more powerful than his torso.
The strength with which he wielded his sword increased several times in an instant.
He swung the blade horizontally toward Yagura's neck.
The speed and power behind this strike had reached Mangetsu's absolute limit. The force of the slash even stirred up the broken stones scattered across the ground.
Yagura struck forward with one palm.
A shield made of a coral-like substance suddenly materialized in front of him.
Clang!
Mangetsu's sword crashed into the coral shield.
Mangetsu immediately felt an enormous rebound force travel through the blade.
His palm went numb from the impact, and he nearly lost his grip on the sword.
The coral shield only had a shallow white mark left on its surface, and in the blink of an eye, newly formed coral grew over it and completely filled the mark.
"Is that all you've got?"
Yagura's right hand emerged from behind the coral shield, a layer of blue chakra appearing in his palm.
The chakra rapidly condensed into coral-like crystals, covering his entire palm.
Coral Palm!
Even without the Three-Tails, Yagura had used his own knowledge and training to reproduce a similar effect through Water Release ninjutsu.
Mangetsu instinctively tried to retreat, but he had put too much force into his previous strike. The momentum of his old movement had already been exhausted, while he had not yet recovered enough strength to launch his next movement. His legs simply could not exert enough force in time.
All he could do was watch helplessly as the palm covered in coral crystals moved toward his chest.
Just as the palm was about to strike Mangetsu, a stream of scorching white steam suddenly surged in from the side and shot straight toward Yagura's face.
Mei had made her move.
Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!
The temperature of the steam was terrifyingly high. Even the surrounding air was scorched and distorted by the intense heat.
Yagura had no choice but to withdraw the palm that had been aimed at Mangetsu and turn sideways to avoid the direct impact of the steam.
The white, high-temperature wave of steam grazed his shoulder and directly melted half of the broken wall behind him into a pool of dark-red magma.
Mangetsu took the opportunity to retreat.
His chest rose and fell violently. Several strands of his silver-white hair had been curled by the steam, and a layer of cold sweat had appeared across his forehead.
"Thank you."
He spoke while catching his breath.
"Don't let your guard down. His strength has increased far too much compared to before."
Mei's expression was solemn.
Yagura's current strength was completely inconsistent with what she had normally observed from him.
Was there something about him that she did not know?
Mei frowned deeply. She could clearly feel that the Yagura standing before her was different from the one she knew. It was not merely his recovery ability. His strength, speed, and reaction time had all risen by more than one level.
"Do you think you can defeat me just by working together?"
Yagura tilted his head slightly.
He raised his right hand with his palm facing upward. A stream of water surged out from his palm and slowly spiraled around his wrist.
Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!
The stream of water rapidly expanded in his palm and transformed into an oval-shaped water mirror.
Its surface was as smooth as glass, clearly reflecting the figures of Mei and Mangetsu.
Then, the two figures reflected inside the mirror simultaneously leaped out from its surface, transforming into two mirror-image clones that looked exactly like Mei and Mangetsu.
The two mirror-image clones attacked simultaneously from the left and right.
Mei's mirror image opened her mouth and sprayed out a stream of scorching steam.
Mangetsu's mirror image swung its shinobi sword, the blade covered in rapidly vibrating water blades.
They were the techniques of the two of them!
Mei and Mangetsu simultaneously dodged in opposite directions.
The Boil Release steam grazed Mei's shoulder, scorching part of her sleeve until it turned black.
Mangetsu, meanwhile, raised his sword to block. The two shinobi swords, both wrapped in Water Release chakra, collided in midair and erupted into a dazzling burst of white light.
However, at that very moment, Yagura's real body suddenly appeared between the two of them.
Water Release: Body Flicker Technique!
He struck out with both hands at the same time. The palms of both hands were covered in pale-red coral crystals as he slammed them toward Mei's and Mangetsu's chests.
Coral Twin Palms!
Mei quickly gathered her chakra and unleashed another ninjutsu.
Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!
A stream of highly corrosive molten liquid surged toward Yagura.
"Troublesome."
Seeing this, Yagura immediately avoided the attack.
The power of this technique was considerable, and he did not dare to withstand it with his body.
If he were seriously injured, it would affect his ability to continue fighting.
Yagura believed that if Mei had dared to overturn the entire situation and openly challenge him, she must have had some kind of trump card.
Otherwise, based solely on what the two of them had demonstrated so far, they were nowhere near strong enough to make such a move.
Just as Yagura was about to retreat, Mei followed up with another attack.
Water Release: Water Formation Pillar!
Mei spat out a gigantic ball of water toward the front.
The moment it struck the ground, the water ball dispersed into a powerful wave that surged in all directions.
Yagura used Water Release: Body Flicker Technique to evade it.
The Lava Release liquid splashed onto the ground, melting through the floor tiles and creating a deep pit.
Mangetsu supported himself with his shinobi sword and knelt on one knee. There was a wound on his left arm where a fragment of coral had cut into his flesh, and blood flowed downward along his elbow.
He raised his head and stared at Yagura standing in the distance, gritting his teeth as he spoke.
"Just how much chakra does he have? He has already used so many ninjutsu techniques in succession, yet he still doesn't seem particularly affected."
"I don't know."
Mei's expression was equally grim.
Her chakra reserves were not particularly massive to begin with. Using two different Kekkei Genkai simultaneously placed an enormous strain on her chakra network.
"Then let's finish this quickly."
Mangetsu tightened his grip around his shinobi sword once again.
The two of them were responsible for fighting Yagura, while the other shinobis dealt with the Kirigakure Anbu and Genji.
As for Kiyohara, he was their final trump card.
Mangetsu charged toward Yagura once more.
This time, he extracted every bit of chakra he could possibly refine and gathered all of it into the shinobi sword in his hand.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Mangetsu swung his shinobi sword repeatedly, leaving one streak after another of flowing water in the air.
Mei coordinated with his assault. She formed hand seals once again and sprayed out an even hotter stream of Boil Release steam.
The steam spread through the air, forming a vast white wall of mist that completely blocked Yagura's vision.
The coordination between the two was flawless.
But Yagura did not dodge or retreat at all.
He simply raised his right foot and stomped heavily on the ground.
Boom!
A violent wave of chakra erupted outward from his body.
The stone slabs beneath his feet shattered from the impact, and countless fragments of rock flew in every direction.
Mangetsu was struck head-on by the shockwave halfway through his charge.
His entire body was sent flying backward, and his back slammed heavily into a stone pillar within the ruins.
His throat tightened, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
Mei's Boil Release steam was also scattered by the shockwave, breaking apart into countless wisps of white mist before disappearing into the air.
Yagura's body slowly emerged from the white mist.
A pale, ghastly human face was visible on his chest.
What was that?
Mei frowned.
"It seems that asking me to intervene was indeed the right choice, Mei."
Upon hearing that voice, Yagura immediately thought of a particularly hateful person.
Kiyohara!
Yagura attempted to use Body Flicker Technique to leave the area, but every ninjutsu technique required a certain amount of time to activate.
"Only 0.2 seconds before it activates? That's enough."
Kiyohara stood with both hands in his pockets, and the world seemed to slow down in his eyes.
From Kiyohara's perspective, Yagura's movements while activating the ninjutsu were simply far too slow.
In the next instant, an invisible force of Yin Release ocular power was released.
That Yin Release ocular power struck Yagura's body directly, completely washing away the remnants of ocular power that Obito and Madara had left within him.
"I... What happened to me?"
Yagura stared at his own hands, then looked at the face on his chest. A profound sense of confusion suddenly filled his mind.
What had he been doing all this time?
Why could he not remember anything?
And what had happened here?
Yagura looked around and realized that he was standing in the middle of a field of ruins.
When he looked again, his eyes widened.
This was the Mizukage Building of Kiri!
Seeing this, a complicated mixture of emotions welled up inside Mei.
She and Mangetsu had exhausted every ounce of their strength and still could not defeat their opponent.
Yet Kiyohara had merely used a single glance to strip Yagura of all ability to resist.
Was this the strength of the strongest Hokage?
"Ki..."
Mei wanted to warn Kiyohara.
However, she suddenly saw Genji standing on top of a half-collapsed stone wall.
His hands were already forming seals, and his withered fingers moved so rapidly in front of his chest that they left afterimages.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Scale Technique!"
His aged face was filled with rage.
A gigantic water dragon rose from the puddle beneath his feet.
This water dragon was far larger than an ordinary Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
The enormous, ferocious water dragon opened its jaws and lunged toward Kiyohara.
Mei instinctively shouted,
"Be careful! Genji is the most senior Water Release master in Kiri. His Water Release is extremely powerful!"
However, Kiyohara did not even look at the imposing water dragon.
He simply raised his right hand casually.
Smack.
His palm struck the dragon's head.
The water dragon had been condensed from an extremely high-density stream of water and possessed enough force to shatter even a mountain peak.
Yet the instant it came into contact with Kiyohara's palm, the entire dragon exploded from head to tail.
The condensed Water Release chakra lost the form that had restrained it and transformed into countless droplets that scattered in every direction.
Water poured down with a loud splashing sound, covering the ground. Among the rubble of the ruins, the water gathered into countless tiny streams.
Genji stood beneath the rain created by his own technique, his entire body drenched.
His eyes were wide with disbelief, while his withered fingers remained suspended in midair in the same hand seal position.
Kiyohara gave him no opportunity to react.
He threw another punch through the air.
The resulting shockwave directly sent Genji flying.
Bang!
Genji crashed into a wall.
His aged body slowly slid down the shattered stone wall before collapsing into a seated position at its base.
He was not killed on the spot because Kiyohara had deliberately held back some of his strength.
Mei stood frozen in place, her lips slightly parted.
Kiyohara's back was reflected in her eyes.
Suddenly, she felt as though everything she had done before this had been completely pointless, as if she had taken a huge detour for no reason.
She and Mangetsu had fought with everything they had.
They had exhausted every technique and every ounce of strength at their disposal, yet they had still been unable to defeat Yagura.
And Kiyohara?
He had restrained Yagura with a single glance and shattered Genji's Water Release ninjutsu with one palm.
If that was the case, why had she gone through so much trouble before this?
Why had she contacted the Hozuki Clan and Kaguya Clan and carefully planned this entire operation?
She could have simply negotiated with Kiyohara alone.
Furthermore, throughout the entire process, Kiyohara had never once shown the slightest hint of exhaustion or nervousness.
At that moment, dense footsteps suddenly came from the distant street.
The higher-ups of Kirigakure had heard the commotion coming from the Mizukage Building.
They were now rushing toward the area with a large group of shinobis.
Mei finally came back to her senses.
She took a deep breath and suppressed the heart pounding chaotically within her chest. Then she raised a hand and tucked the strands of hair dampened by cold sweat away from her cheek and behind her ear.
Mei quickly walked over to Kiyohara and lowered her voice.
"The higher-ups of Kiri are coming. You should hide for a while. I will handle things here."
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at her.
"You are the Hokage of Konoha. If they see you here, things will become much more complicated."
Mei quickly explained, her speech noticeably faster than usual.
"I know you are not afraid of them, but it would be better if this matter were handled by a Mist shinobi like me."
"Otherwise, even if everything is settled peacefully, the higher-ups of Kirigakure will think that Konoha is manipulating Kiri's internal affairs from behind the scenes."
Kiyohara looked into her emerald-green eyes and nodded with an ambiguous smile.
"Very well."
He turned around and walked toward the shadows of the ruins.
After taking several steps, he stopped and added without turning his head,
"Remember our agreement."
Mei's body trembled slightly.
She pressed her red lips together, but in the end, she did not say anything to refute him.
Kiyohara's figure disappeared into the shadows.
In any case, from today onward, Kirigakure would be under new leadership.
(End of Chapter)