Kirigakure, the village that never stops weeping, had finally met its final trial.
As a sinister crimson pillar of light soared into the sky, everything seemed to freeze. The falling rain, the churning dark clouds, the shinobi of the Martial and Peace factions surrounding the Mizukage building, and the ordinary ninjas and villagers huddled behind locked doors on this stormy night—everyone slowed down.
In that moment, everyone witnessed the sky being torn asunder by that scarlet beam. Behind the clouds sat a massive, pale full moon, and beneath that moon stood a terrifying, writhing beast. Its six tails danced wildly as it emerged like a prehistoric monster reborn from its shell. Simply by standing up, this giant slug loomed taller than the highest building in the village: the Mizukage's office!
Then came a roar.
"ROOOOAR!!!"
Infused with excitement, fanaticism, disbelief, and a bone-deep hatred suppressed for years, an extreme, violent surge of chakra instantly erupted. A crimson shockwave radiated outward from the center of Kirigakure, expanding indiscriminately in every direction!
Rumble!!!
Wherever the red light passed, houses collapsed, buildings crumbled, foundations cracked, and floodwaters rushed in. In a single instant, endless wails and cries of terror echoed throughout the hidden village!
Suddenly, the sky cleared, and the dark clouds dispersed.
The torrential rain that had lasted all day stopped.
The village that had been weeping, struggling, and treading through blood and tears in the "Mist of the Blood" seemed to have finally ceased its crying.
But in its place came shock, disbelief, and a wave of irreconcilable fury at being betrayed.
"NO!!!"
"NO!!!"
Two roars of fury rang out simultaneously!
The Third Mizukage, Bailan, and the future Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, both stared with wide eyes. The skin on their faces twisted hideously, veins bulging on their foreheads. Both stopped fighting at once, looking toward the center of the ruins devastated by the Tailed Beast's advent. There stood the massive, grey beast swaying its six ominous tails—and atop its head stood a fourteen-year-old Byakugan youth, his expression calm and indifferent.
Yagura stared blankly at the boy. As they locked eyes, the fury of betrayal mixed with the sorrow of a heart weeping blood. His face contorted into a mess of tears and rage. "Hyu... ga... Yu!!!"
He gripped his iron staff tightly, turning his head inch by inch. Gritting his teeth, his face darkened with a shadow of murderous wrath as he let out a beastly howl, "I... will... KILL YOU! AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
However, a blood-red shadow was faster than him!
Enraged, the Third Mizukage unfurled blood-red wings from his back, transforming into a straight beam of scarlet light that shot directly toward Hyuga Yu!
At this moment, as he looked out over the scene of widespread misery, Hyuga Yu felt no ripple of emotion in his heart. He certainly possessed a conscience and knew the horrific nature of his actions. But if the people wailing here today weren't from Kirigakure, then tomorrow, the one wailing might be Hyuga Natsu.
He could not imagine a girl as beautiful as her standing blankly in the middle of ruins, weeping silently.
The one wailing might also be Hyuga Tetsu. What would that fool do—the one who always insisted on opposing Yu yet helped him in secret? Would he kneel on the ground, looking at the mountains of corpses, slapping his own face repeatedly while crying that if only he had been stronger, if only he had killed more enemies, maybe it wouldn't have ended like this?
The ones wailing might even be Might Duy and his son. Faced with the onslaught of the Kirigakure army, Duy would surely step forward. Having mastered the ultimate technique of the Eight Inner Gates, even if he didn't die in an encounter with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he would eventually sacrifice himself at some point when the war turned for the worse. What would Duy be thinking then? What kind of despair would Guy experience? Would he, like the future Kakashi, shut himself off for over a decade?
Scenes of these possible futures flashed like a revolving lantern through Hyuga Yu's pure yet bloodstained eyes. He knew very well that this was no longer the Naruto world he was familiar with; the future would not follow the original plot. From the moment his soul from another world arrived, the world had veered into an unknown darkness.
In this dark and bloody forest, the only thing Hyuga Yu could do was hold tight to his own light.
It was like a scale: on one side lay the present of the Mist, and on the other lay the future of the Leaf. To save one group, he had to make a choice as cruel as the "Shipwreck Dilemma."
Ultimately, in this world where bloodlines and power reigned supreme—a world where only pain could make people wake up—talking about mutual understanding was an impossible luxury.
Hyuga Yu slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His entire aura became even more somber, dark, and cold.
He patted the antenna of the Six-Tails beside him and spoke calmly, "Saiken."
"If you don't want to be put back in that cage, then show me. How far can you go?"
"Hmph." Saiken, the Six-Tails, dismissively flicked its antenna away, seemingly unwilling to talk to the boy who had just beaten it.
However, it understood clearly that among the Kirigakure shinobi still capable of fighting, Yagura might not be able to defeat and reseal it, but the Third Mizukage certainly could. Moreover, the Third Mizukage had the assistance of the Three-Tails, which was being controlled by "that man."
The only thing Saiken could rely on was this kid on its head, who was already nearing his limit.
"What do you want to do?"
Forced by the situation, the Six-Tails had no choice but to temporarily cooperate with Hyuga Yu.
Hyuga Yu laid out the plan succinctly. "I'll help you hold back the Third Mizukage. You go and break the Sharingan genjutsu on the Three-Tails."
"After that, we each depend on our own skill."
In his Byakugan's field of vision, he had already discovered a layer of "sinister ocular power" covering the eyes of Isobu, the Three-Tails. It reflected in its eyes, turning the yellow beastly pupils into a blood-red color.
This was a Sharingan genjutsu. Without a doubt, it was a failsafe left by the elderly Madara Uchiha—who was currently in the Land of Grass—for the Third Mizukage to control the Three-Tails.
There are two ways to break a Sharingan genjutsu: one is to rely on a partner to inject chakra to disrupt the ocular power, and the second is to use ocular power of an equal level to break it by force. Without these two methods, it is extremely difficult for the victim to break a Sharingan genjutsu on their own.
Isobu was currently facing this exact situation. Both it and its Jinchuriki were controlled by Madara Uchiha's genjutsu, which is why they had become these puppet-like shells.
If he wanted Kirigakure to enter the final stage of total collapse, Hyuga Yu had to make both Tailed Beasts break free from the village's control. By letting them run rampant, they would completely demolish the Mist's home base!
At that moment, Hyuga Yu slowly looked up and saw the blood-red beam of light that was the Third Mizukage hurtling toward them!
The moment the Six-Tails intervened in the Kirigakure civil war, the Third Mizukage realized what Hyuga Yu was planning. With his Byakugan, Hyuga Yu had definitely noticed the genjutsu placed on the Three-Tails!
Once Hyuga Yu used his Byakugan to dispel the Three-Tails' genjutsu, the situation would be dire. With almost all of Kirigakure's top experts incapacitated, leaving only himself and Yagura, if the Three-Tails and Six-Tails went berserk in the center of the village simultaneously, no one would be able to stop them. If that happened, it wouldn't just be about winning or losing the coup—Kirigakure itself would be finished!
This was a result the Third Mizukage absolutely could not accept!
His eyes, which he usually kept closed, snapped open, revealing blood-colored pupils filled with violence. He looked down at Saiken and Hyuga Yu and, without hesitation, clapped his hands together!
"Blood Style: Sinister Bat Technique!"
"Blood Style: Ten Thousand Blood Net Technique!"
With a savage shout, blood surged over the Third Mizukage's body. He was encased in a liquid armor formed from the melted Kubikiribōchō (Executioner's Blade), entering a state similar to the Kisame/Samehada fusion. Then, as the second jutsu was cast!
Using the Third Mizukage—who was hovering mid-air—as the center, massive amounts of blood gushed up from beneath the Mizukage building!
The blood acted like wild silver snakes, flashing with endless blade-light. Thousands of blood blades erupted from the ground, forming a massive 50-meter-tall wall of blades between the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails, crashing down toward Saiken and Hyuga Yu!
However, at that moment: "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
An air cannon fired with a massive amount of chakra appeared!
BOOM!
The blue chakra of the Vacuum Palm acted like an armor-piercing shell, tearing a large hole through the wall of blood blades and shooting straight toward the Third Mizukage's face!
"What!?"
The Third Mizukage's expression tightened. He flapped his wings slightly to dodge the attack, while his hands remained pressed together.
Below, Hyuga Yu looked at him coldly. His gaze lingered for a split second on the Mizukage's joined hands, and his eyes narrowed. He first pulled a scroll from the pouch on his leg, clutching it in his left hand. He raised his right hand, a Chakra Scalpel shimmering in his palm, and struck himself.
The first strike hit the Gate of Opening!
The second strike hit the Gate of Healing!
The third strike hit the Gate of Life!
"Eight Inner Gates!"
"Third Gate: Gate of Life, OPEN!"
Green chakra erupted from Hyuga Yu's body. Using this surge, he employed the technique of the Hidden Lotus, stepping on the air to leap high. Like a fired arrow, he shot through the hole torn by the Vacuum Palm, rapidly closing the distance to the Third Mizukage. He drew the ninja sword from his waist with his right hand and spun into a direct slash!
"Third Mizukage,"
"I am your opponent!"
As the wind of the blade neared his face, the Third Mizukage gritted his teeth. He was forced to release his hands, swinging his arm to condense a blood-formed Executioner's Blade to parry Yu's strike!
However—CLANG!
It was as if Hyuga Yu had predicted the Mizukage would swing that blade. He changed his sword path mid-air, his toes kicking off the air to propel himself. He flipped in a mid-air loop, rapidly reversing his grip on the sword, and drove it down toward the Third Mizukage's neck!
"This is... my own sword style!?" The Third Mizukage's eyes widened in shock. But soon, his face filled with impatience and cruelty. Facing the strike, he gave his wings a slight flap, instantly retreating several meters. Hyuga Yu's downward thrust missed, and he began to fall.
The Mizukage dispersed the blood blade in his hand, preparing to join his hands again to exert full control over the river of blood blades to attack the Six-Tails!
But quickly, a green, beast-like figure came flying through the air again, stepping on nothingness!
"This brat... he's like a haunting ghost!"
Seeing this, the Third Mizukage's expression darkened. His wings vibrated as he brushed past the leaping Hyuga Yu. Right now, suppressing the Six-Tails was more important to prevent further damage!
Yet, just as he dodged another of Yu's attacks and prepared to resume his Blood Style, the Third Mizukage's nostrils flared. He whipped his head around to see an arrow wrapped in a gale shooting straight for his back!
Further back, surrounded by green chakra and his long black hair whipping wildly in the wind from his speed, Hyuga Yu was suddenly holding a massive 2.2-meter-long wa-kyu (Japanese longbow). That arrow had been fired by him while mid-air.
It wasn't powerful, but at this close range, the speed was unimaginable—enough to interrupt the Third Mizukage's jutsu!
The Mizukage was forced to turn, swinging a blood blade to deflect the arrow. That single opening was all that was needed.
Below, the Six-Tails had tucked its six tails together, rolling into a ball. Its surface was covered in a thick layer of acid. "Corrosive Style: Human Bullet Tank!"
—RUMBLE!!!
The massive meat tank that was the Six-Tails spun ferociously, slamming head-on into the Third Mizukage's wall of blood blades!
Blood and acid flew everywhere!
The moment these strange liquids touched the ground, they burned massive craters into the buildings!
Visibly, before the Six-Tails had even pierced halfway through the blood wall, the acid layer on its body was almost exhausted. But then:
"ROOOAR!!!"
Saiken, mid-spin, let out a furious cry. "Slug Great Division!"
The 54-meter-tall slug body, while spinning wildly, split into tens of thousands of tiny slugs—just like the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest—showering toward the motionless Three-Tails behind the blood wall!
"Not good!" Seeing this, the Third Mizukage's face changed drastically. He turned back and roared at Yagura Karatachi, who was rushing over in a rage to attack Hyuga Yu: "Yagura! Forget the brat! Quick, stop the Six-Tails!"
Yagura was startled, but his iron staff, propelled by the "Water Style: Great Hydration Arm Technique," was already swinging toward the landing Hyuga Yu. There was no time to change his move!
CRACK!
Hyuga Yu raised his bow to block, but he hadn't expected the force to be so incredible. The longbow he was using as a staff snapped instantly. The momentum didn't stop; carrying a massive gale, the staff slammed heavily into Yu's chest!
THUD!
CRACK! CRACK!
At least six ribs shattered. Hyuga Yu was sent flying, crashing heavily into a pile of building debris.
However, as he lay in the ruins, Hyuga Yu painfully tilted his blood-covered head back. He bared his blood-stained teeth and flashed a victorious smile!
In the next instant, it was as if Eren Yeager and Zeke Yeager had completed their century-defining contact at Wall Maria—one of the small slugs split from Saiken landed on the Three-Tails' head. Their chakras merged in that heartbeat. Countless streams of information were transmitted in a single exchange. The Three-Tails' pupils flashed through countless images; they turned scarlet, then gold, and finally, the red tint faded. The will of Isobu, the Three-Tails, reclaimed its body!
Immediately after, the hearts of every Kirigakure shinobi present skipped a beat.
"—ROOOOAR!!!"
"—ROOOOAR!!!"
Two roars of uncaged beasts suddenly erupted in the heart of Kirigakure!
On January 25th, in the 50th year of Konoha, the people of the Mist finally remembered the terror of being dominated by them—and the humiliation of being imprisoned like birds in a cage.
The Three-Tails and Six-Tails went berserk simultaneously. A version of the "Nine-Tails' Riot" had broken out... inside Kirigakure!
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