The Elder Steps Onto the Battlefield
"Then we must inform the Kaguya clan immediately," Elder Genji said firmly.
"We cooperate with them, subdue the Fourth Mizukage… and prepare for the Uchiha lurking in the shadows."
Now that the truth had been uncovered, hesitation would only lead to annihilation.
If they delayed any longer, Kirigakure would collapse before they ever had a chance to confront the one pulling the strings.
"Understood!"
The hesitation binding the elders vanished.
They stepped onto the battlefield at last.
Once it was confirmed that the Fourth Mizukage had been manipulated and reduced to an enemy of the village, there was only one path forward
Suppress him.
A surge of elite Mist shinobi joined the fray, turning their blades toward the faction still loyal to Yagura Karatachi.
Misunderstood Alliances
"Hahaha! Elder Genji, you truly are wise!"
A Kaguya clan leader roared with laughter.
"You chose correctly! Once I defeat the Mizukage and ascend as the Fifth Mizukage, you will stand above all elders!"
Genji's expression didn't change.
Internally, he nearly spat blood.
The Kaguya were as reckless as ever warriors drunk on battle, incapable of reading the situation beyond their own ambition.
If not for the crisis at hand, he would have scolded them into silence.
Around them, however, rumors spread like wildfire.
"The Kaguya leader actually convinced Elder Genji!"
"So the elders support the coup?"
"This revolution will succeed!"
Morale surged wildly.
Many Mist shinobi mistook necessity for alliance.
In their eyes, the elders had already chosen a new ruler.
Victory felt close enough to grasp.
The Truth Declared
Yagura stood calmly amid the chaos, crimson chakra flickering faintly beneath his skin.
"Heh… Elder Genji," he said coldly.
"So this is your answer?"
Genji stepped forward, voice ringing across the battlefield.
"Fourth Mizukage… or rather
The one controlling him from the shadows."
Silence rippled outward.
"With me here, your scheme will not succeed."
Gasps erupted.
"What does he mean?"
"The Mizukage… controlled?"
"Is this just an excuse to justify rebellion?"
Doubt spread among those unaware of the truth.
Genji raised his voice again, steady as iron.
"Months ago, the Mizukage encountered Uchiha Itachi and the rogue swordsman Biwa Jūzō. He returned gravely wounded. Soon after, his temperament changed, and the Blood Mist escalated beyond reason."
"From that moment… the village began collapsing."
Those experienced in intelligence operations froze.
Memories aligned.
Reports clicked into place.
Patterns emerged.
Especially those familiar with the terror of the Uchiha clan felt their scalps go numb.
The horrifying conclusion formed in unison:
Their first traitor…
Had been their own Mizukage.
And behind him
A Mangekyō Sharingan user.
The battlefield quieted.
Killing intent cooled like quenched steel.
Shinobi looked around and saw what frenzy had hidden
Friends.
Teachers.
Family.
All dead.
Grief tore through the mist like a storm.
The civil war had consumed nearly half of Kirigakure's fighting force.
A Puppet's Calm
"Hehehe…"
Yagura chuckled softly, utterly unconcerned.
"So you've seen through it, Elder Genji. And now?"
His calm revealed everything.
This was no leader protecting a village.
This was a puppet unconcerned whether the strings were exposed.
From afar, hidden within warped space, Uchiha Obito watched with quiet satisfaction.
Kirigakure was already shattered beyond repair.
Whether the survivors understood the truth no longer mattered.
Genji's eyes hardened.
To the one behind Yagura, Kirigakure was nothing more than a disposable toy.
In the shinobi world
Power decided everything.
The Elder's True Strength
Genji exhaled slowly.
Then he tossed aside his cane.
The wooden staff clattered against stone.
Gasps followed.
He removed his outer robe.
The hunched elder vanished.
In his place stood a warrior forged by decades of war.
A body packed with dense, coiled muscle.
Scars layered upon scars.
This was a relic of the era before the Mist grew soft.
Genji rolled his shoulders. Bones cracked like thunder.
"It's been a long time," he murmured.
"Let this old man witness the power of a perfect jinchūriki."
He moved.
A single step
And he vanished.
The ground shattered where he had stood.
Before anyone could react, he appeared directly before Yagura.
His hips twisted.
His leg snapped forward like a steel whip.
A full-force taijutsu strike, honed by decades of battlefield survival.
Yagura barely reacted in time.
Crimson chakra surged, forming a defensive layer of Three-Tails chakra around his torso.
Too late.
The kick landed.
The impact exploded like a cannon blast.
Yagura's body shot backward, smashing through the Mizukage Building. Walls collapsed in succession as he tore through multiple layers before crashing into rubble below.
The entire battlefield froze.
The Power of a Perfect Jinchūriki
Coughing echoed from the ruins.
"Cough… cough…"
Yagura staggered upright, blood staining his lips. His lungs burned with internal damage.
Yet almost instantly
Bijū chakra surged.
Wounds knit together.
Bones realigned.
The regenerative power of a perfect jinchūriki manifested before everyone's eyes.
Yagura wiped the blood from his mouth, gaze sharpening.
"So the old relic still has fangs."
Genji's heart pounded.
That strike had been everything he had.
A surprise attack.
Maximum output.
Perfect execution.
And yet
It only injured him.
Genji exhaled slowly.
"The next era belongs to the young," he muttered.
"If I don't fight now… I'll only rot in a coffin."
But deep down, he understood.
The first strike had failed to end it.
Which meant
The true battle was only beginning.
Far from the battlefield's center, a silver-haired young woman stood silently amid drifting mist.
Saint Roselith Seraphina.
Her lineage the Seraphina bloodline once tied to forgotten shrine guardians of the Land of Water remained hidden from all.
But something unseen stirred.
A radiant sigil flickered briefly within her pupils, shaped like a six-winged halo unique to her clan.
Then
A voice not heard, but known.
[ Directive: Await Optimal Intervention Window ]
The light vanished.
No one noticed.
But Seraphina's gaze shifted slightly toward empty space
As if staring directly at the unseen mastermind.
The Duel doesn't end here… it only gets more intense.
30+ chapters ahead are already waiting.
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