The Mist Village ninja all knew that their leader, Yagura, possessed the unique secret technique known as the Mirror Clone.
So when two identical Mizukage appeared before them, none of them showed the slightest surprise.
Yagura swept his cold gaze across the crowd before it finally settled on the small anteater that was constantly sniffing the surroundings.
In a deep voice, he asked, "You were the first to arrive here, correct? Have you found any trace of them?"
Although Yagura was not very tall, he carried an unquestionable authority.
Just then, the tiny anteater leaped nimbly back to its master's side.
It waved its seemingly insignificant little claws, as though conveying information to its master.
The Mist ninja standing nearby immediately stepped forward and respectfully reported, "Lord Mizukage, we were indeed the first group to arrive as reinforcements."
"My summoned beast just informed me that the attackers are from the Kumogakure. There are eight ninja in total, and they're currently fleeing to the southwest."
Hearing the report, Yagura gave a slight nod.
After all, it was already impressive that someone had responded and reached the scene so quickly.
He then continued, "The enemy is very powerful. There's no need for you to continue the pursuit."
As soon as he finished speaking, the enormous wings on his back beat once.
The two Yaguras shot into the sky and sped toward the southwest, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant.
Watching him leave, the remaining Mist ninja looked at each other.
One of them muttered, "I wonder if Lord Mizukage will be able to catch those Cloud ninja this time."
Another replied confidently, "Don't worry. Lord Mizukage won't let us down."
———
After flying at high speed for some distance, Yagura suddenly came to a stop in midair and looked back at Rengoku, who was following closely behind.
"The rest is up to you."
Rengoku formed hand seals and closed his eyes.
As he did, invisible waves, like a radar scan, spread out in all directions like ripples on water.
Because this clone possessed the power of a tailed beast, his enormous chakra greatly enhanced his sensory abilities.
It didn't take long before he accurately located the Cloud ninja.
But after observing them carefully, he discovered that the Cloud team had quietly changed direction.
If they kept chasing along their current route, they would definitely miss their target.
Realizing the situation, Rengoku immediately tilted his head to signal Yagura, adjusted his flight path, and the two of them changed direction together before accelerating once more.
———
At the same time, among the Kumogakure team racing forward at full speed, the ninja named Kaifu suddenly became unusually serious.
He abruptly raised his arm, waved it, and shouted, "This is bad! They've found us!"
Before he had even finished speaking, the excited expressions on the other Cloud ninja disappeared.
Just moments ago, Kaifu had clearly felt a strange presence sweep across his body.
It definitely wasn't an illusion.
Even though they had changed routes several times, they still hadn't escaped the enemy's pursuit.
After all, anyone bold enough to chase them so openly had to be at least as strong as the jinchuriki on their side.
"Get ready."
Darui looked at the tall, powerfully built Cloud ninja beside him and calmly gave the order.
He nodded calmly and bit his finger without hesitation.
As blood seeped out, his hands quickly formed seals to perform the Summoning Jutsu.
A cloud of smoke burst forth, and a huge, majestic eagle appeared out of nowhere.
It spread its broad wings, circled through the air a few times, then landed steadily on the ground.
Just then, a sharp rushing sound came from the distance.
Yagura shot toward them like a bolt of lightning, bringing with him an overwhelming blast of wind pressure.
The Cloud ninja looked up.
When they saw the wide wings on Yagura's back, their expressions all changed slightly and became solemn.
After all, for people running on the ground, catching an opponent who could freely soar through the sky was no easy task.
"Attacking Kirigakure is your biggest mistake!"
Yagura gave them no time to react.
Before his words had even finished, he had already shot straight toward Killer B like an arrow released from its bow.
Facing the charging Yagura, Killer B showed no fear.
He instantly entered combat mode as several thick octopus tentacles burst from his waist.
The tentacles grew at an astonishing speed, producing a deep whistling sound as they whipped straight toward Yagura like giant serpents.
Yagura opened his mouth, releasing a wave of scorching heat.
At the same time, the long tail behind him whipped out like a steel lash, colliding with Killer B's octopus tentacles.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A series of heavy explosions rang out one after another.
The impact from the collision between the two jinchuriki's tails seemed to tear through the surrounding air, sending dust flying and rocks scattering.
Aside from Darui, who barely managed to hold his ground with his own strength, the remaining Cloud ninja all turned pale and quickly leaped away to avoid being caught in the terrifying shockwave.
At that moment, Darui also displayed astonishing power.
In an instant, he completed full tailed beast transformation.
His entire body was engulfed by surging chakra, transforming into the majestic flaming cat demon.
No one had expected Darui to achieve complete tailed beast transformation in such a short time.
And that was only the beginning.
The originally ferocious flaming cat demon rapidly changed under his control.
Countless pitch-black bolts of lightning slithered over Matatabi's massive body like living snakes.
As the black lightning continued to rage across it, Matatabi's appearance also underwent a dramatic transformation.
It gradually changed from its original cat demon form into a humanoid body of flames.
[🎉 Shoutout to Mozart and Photobug for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]