Water splashed in every direction.
At that moment, the copy suddenly froze.
Its body began to turn transparent and fade away, until finally—
Bang!
It burst apart into a pool of clear water that scattered across the ground.
[Water Mirror Technique: (Pupils trembling in disbelief) What?! I actually… Impossible! How could a mere brat possess such strength?! How could I lose to you?!]
[Water Mirror Technique: Very well… since I have been defeated by your hand… ngh, kill me!]
"…Six."
The corner of Yuu's mouth twitched.
He hadn't expected to encounter the classic "ngh, kill me" scene here.
But since the opponent had already been defeated, everything afterward was easy.
There was no need to carefully consider which dialogue option to choose.
He could just click through casually.
Within only a few thoughts, the Water Mirror Technique was successfully added to Yuu's current攻略 list.
His "harem" therefore gained another member, bringing the total to an impressive twenty "people."
After confirming his gains,
Yuu finally shifted his attention back toward the battlefield and looked at the only remaining opponent, Hōzuki Shimotsuki.
His brows furrowed slightly.
Strictly speaking, there was still Yagura Karatachi as well.
Yagura had been maintaining the Water Mirror Technique all this time.
But now that Yuu's copy had been defeated, he no longer needed to devote so much attention to sustaining the technique.
He rolled his shoulders slightly and looked toward Yuu.
However, he didn't immediately attack.
Instead, he also turned his gaze toward Hōzuki Shimotsuki, a complicated look appearing in his eyes.
At this moment, Hōzuki Shimotsuki had already changed drastically.
Lines of sealing symbols had appeared across the surface of his body.
The symbols were pitch black and extremely intricate, resembling countless ouroboros linked together in rings.
They spread outward from the center of his chest until they covered much of his body.
Dark-red light resembling blood flowed from beneath the symbols and merged into them, making the entire scene look strangely sinister.
More importantly…
as Hōzuki Shimotsuki continued his movements,
the chakra inside his body was rising at an unimaginable speed.
"…"
Yuu frowned.
He returned the White Fang short blade to the sheath on his back and drew the Sword of the Thunder God instead.
He had actually noticed long ago that something was wrong with Hōzuki Shimotsuki's chakra.
After all, all the time Yuu had spent practicing sensory ninjutsu hadn't been wasted.
However…
Yuu hadn't killed him beforehand.
First, Hōzuki Shimotsuki had consistently kept Jinin Akebino and Kaguya Shingo between himself and Yuu while deliberately maintaining distance.
Without first eliminating those two and the copied Yuu, getting to Shimotsuki wouldn't have been easy.
Second…
even killing him probably wouldn't have helped.
Because if Yuu's guess was correct, Hōzuki Shimotsuki's role in this battle wasn't really that of a mobile Water Release support ninja.
He was a human nuclear bomb waiting to detonate.
[Binding Seal Formula: Hey, little white-haired brat… I suggest you leave this place immediately.]
Yuu: "Hmm?"
[Binding Seal Formula: There's a power inside that man that feels very familiar to me. It should also come from Uzumaki sealing arts. Those seals are suppressing something inside his body. If that thing breaks free… everyone here could die! Leave immediately!]
[Summoning Technique: Mm, she's right. Even that toad and that slippery snake wouldn't be enough against whatever is inside him. If you want my advice, Little Mikami, I also think you should leave early. Of course, if you need to protect your companions, that's another matter.]
Just as two members of Yuu's "harem" spontaneously appeared and warned him—
on the other side—
"AAAAAHHHH!!!"
A shrill scream erupted.
A bright crimson color began spreading through the Water Prison Technique.
At that moment,
Hōzuki Shimotsuki's body looked as though it were being torn apart from within by some tremendous force.
Blue-gray tentacles pushed out from his chest.
They ripped his body open and forced their way outward, growing larger and larger…
until Hōzuki Shimotsuki's entire body was swallowed by solid blue-gray chakra.
He transformed into an enormous slug-like creature over twenty meters tall—
with six tails.
It appeared before Yuu and Yagura.
Bang—!!!
At that moment, Yagura dispelled the water platform created by his Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
The two humans and the beast began falling from the sky.
Yuu's figure flickered.
With a Substitution Technique, he crossed several dozen meters and landed steadily on flat ground.
The massive "slug," meanwhile, crashed heavily into the earth below.
Its inhuman weight shattered the ground across a radius of nearly a hundred meters.
Huge fissures spread outward like dragons crawling in every direction.
Everyone nearby hurriedly fled.
Several slower people fell directly into the cracks and let out miserable screams.
The Six-Tails, Saiken!
That was right.
Hōzuki Shimotsuki was actually Kirigakure's current jinchūriki of the Six-Tails!
And now he had entered full tailed-beast transformation!
"…I see."
Yuu slowly exhaled, his thoughts becoming clear.
He understood now.
Kirigakure had gained considerable benefits from the destruction of Uzushiogakure.
After all, it was the major ninja village closest to the Land of Whirlpools and also one of the villages with the strongest motives to attack it.
The warning from the Binding Seal Formula had just confirmed that.
However,
Kirigakure's methods of handling jinchūriki at this time were extremely crude.
They could practically be described as treating jinchūriki like disposable nuclear weapons.
Hōzuki Shimotsuki was exactly that.
In his tailed-beast state, he already appeared almost completely out of control.
Malice radiated from him indiscriminately toward everyone around him.
Even Yagura consciously moved farther away, apparently worried that Saiken might target him as well.
Perhaps…
Rin in the original story had been intended for exactly the same use.
Something unexpected had simply caused the jinchūriki to die before the tailed beast could fully emerge.
As a result, the Three-Tails entered its respawn period and was only found by Yagura several years later.
Thinking of this, Yuu glanced toward the sky from the corner of his eye.
Black Wing was still carrying Rin and the others while fighting their copies in midair.
However, perhaps because the copies had moved farther from Yagura, they no longer seemed as powerful as when they first appeared.
At this moment,
the sky was actually the safest place.
So Yuu temporarily relaxed and focused his attention on the Six-Tails before him.
Meanwhile,
on top of Shakuka Town's walls, Kakashi and the others were completely stunned by what they saw.
Most ninja had never seen a tailed beast before.
Nor had they seen a jinchūriki.
After all, both were strictly protected and monitored by every ninja village.
Even many jōnin knew of them only by name and had never seen one with their own eyes.
But…
when a gigantic creature with six tails appeared on the battlefield,
even the slowest person could figure out what it was.
"W-What the hell is that?!"
"Oh my god… a tailed beast! It's a tailed beast! Damn it, Kirigakure actually brought something like that onto the battlefield!!"
"We're finished! They even brought out a tailed beast! Why are Kiri ninja so damn shameless?! They're clearly bullying us because Konoha's reinforcements haven't arrived yet!"
Several young Konoha chūnin standing atop the earth wall trembled in fear.
One nearly dropped the kunai in his hand.
"What are you panicking for?!"
Kakashi shouted.
"It's only a jinchūriki!
"Even if the sky falls, Captain Yuu is there to hold it up!"
However, his own pupils had contracted sharply.
He stared at the massive blue-gray figure in the distance, fingers tightly gripping the hilt of his short blade.
Even Kakashi wasn't entirely certain whether this was still something Yuu could handle.
Nearby,
Kurenai had the same thoughts.
And compared with the others, her feelings toward Yuu were more complicated.
Her small face had turned pale, and cold sweat covered her palms.
"That's a tailed beast…
"Kakashi, are you sure he'll really be alright?"
"Trust the captain.
"He's the strongest among us. He won't lose that easily.
"And…"
A voice came from beside them.
"If things really become dangerous, we'll go help him.
"With these eyes…"
It was Shisui.
In a certain sense, Shisui really was the only person on this battlefield besides Yuu who might be capable of dealing with the Six-Tails.
After all, his ocular technique was Kotoamatsukami.
Although its title as the "strongest genjutsu" was somewhat exaggerated, hard-controlling the Six-Tails should still be possible.
Shisui could even use Susanoo.
However, he had only vaguely sensed that ability so far and had never personally activated it.
He also didn't want to reveal it in front of so many people and bring unnecessary trouble either to the other ninja clans or his own family.
So…
for now, he could only take things one step at a time.
On the other side of the battlefield,
Kirigakure's forces were equally chaotic.
The Six-Tails plan had never been publicly announced.
So even the frontline Kiri ninja had no idea the village would adopt such an extreme tactic.
This was practically treating them as disposable resources!
Several Kiri ninja had already been caught in the shockwave when Saiken first appeared!
"You idiots! What are you standing around for?!"
Ao shouted furiously, drawing the attention of many Kiri ninja.
"Can't you see the situation?!
"Lord Yagura and the others have already tied down the White Reaper!
"Now is the time to take Shakuka Town!
"Once we break inside, the tailed beast's attacks won't reach us!"
"If you don't want to die, follow me and kill your way in!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ao formed seals.
A powerful stream of water erupted from his mouth and slammed into the outer earth wall of the Konoha stronghold.
The surrounding Kiri ninja gradually reacted.
He was right.
Unless they intended to defect immediately, remaining outside here was actually the most dangerous option.
If they charged into the stronghold, they could at least use the fortifications as cover!
And if they won this battle, it would count as a major achievement.
"Kill—!!"
"Konoha ninja are nothing but marked heads waiting to be taken! Everyone, charge with me!!"
In an instant,
Kirigakure's offensive surged again—
even more ferociously than before.
The instinct to survive, combined with the desire for victory, drove hundreds of Kiri ninja toward Shakuka Town like a tidal wave.
The pressure on Kakashi and the hundred-plus Konoha ninja multiplied.
"Hold the line!"
Kakashi shouted.
"Earth Release team, reinforce the walls!
"Ranged units, keep suppressing them with Fire Release and ninja tools!
"Do not let them break inside!"
Shisui, Gekkō Shigure, Honekawa Koo…
Konoha jōnin and chūnin with jōnin-level strength became the backbone of the defense.
They swallowed military ration pills while flashing from one part of the stronghold to another, directing adjustments to the defensive line and stopping Kirigakure's assaults again and again.
But everyone understood—
all they could do right now was buy time.
The battle in the distance would decide the final outcome of the war.
…
"MOOOOO—!!!"
Saiken let out a deep roar resembling the bellow of an ox.
Its enormous body turned toward Yuu.
Then it opened its mouth—
and spat out a pale-green, nearly transparent cloud of gas!
Yuu's eyes sharpened.
He immediately used the Substitution Technique, disappearing from his original location and reappearing dozens of meters away.
Looking back,
the area where he had just been standing was already swallowed by the pale-green gas.
Every plant it touched visibly withered.
Even exposed rock began releasing white smoke as the gas corroded holes of varying sizes into the stone.
An acid mist attack.
If that landed on a human body,
bones would be visible within moments.
Seeing that the first attack missed, Saiken opened its mouth again.
This time, countless transparent bubbles emerged.
Each bubble was about the size of a single bed.
There were more than a hundred of them.
They floated densely through the surrounding area, covering an enormous range.
Under the moonlight, faint iridescent reflections could be seen along their edges.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Yuu spat out a rapid series of fireballs.
Combined with ninja tools created through the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, they crashed into the bubbles.
The bubbles that burst splashed liquid onto the ground.
Each one immediately corroded a pit of varying depth into the earth.
The sight was horrifying.
On the other side,
Yagura was also trapped within the bubble-covered zone.
He formed seals and used Wind Release: Typhoon Passing, blowing away a large patch of bubbles in front of himself.
Then he rapidly charged toward Yuu.
The rod-like weapon in his hands stabbed toward Yuu's back!
Clang!
Yuu swung Samehada backward and blocked the strike.
Amid the metallic crash, he immediately followed through with a slash toward Yagura's neck.
Yagura ducked beneath it.
At the same time, he pressed his weapon downward, its hooked edge slicing toward Yuu's waist.
The reason Yuu had switched to Samehada was simple.
He was worried that the Six-Tails might soon fire a Tailed Beast Bomb.
With Samehada in hand,
he could at least try taking a bite out of it.
Their exchange happened in the blink of an eye.
But it gave Saiken an opening.
"Guu…"
A strange, muffled noise erupted, sounding as though it came from deep underground.
Yuu and Yagura both stopped at the same instant and leapt backward.
The ground beneath where they had just been standing suddenly bulged upward!
Boom—!!!
The earth exploded!
Saiken's enormous head burst out from underground.
At some point, it had traveled beneath the earth and reached their position.
Its mouth opened—
and a thick blue-purple liquid erupted outward!
The liquid resembled a waterfall flowing backward, engulfing both Yuu and Yagura.
Yuu activated his Substitution Technique again and flickered sixty meters away.
Behind him, the ground struck by the acidic liquid hissed violently.
Rock and soil collapsed inward, forming a crater more than ten meters across.
Yagura, meanwhile, once again swung his rod-like weapon and created a Water Mirror.
The mirror blocked the corrosive liquid directly in front of him.
At the same time, he used the surface as a foothold, kicked off, and leapt backward—
reappearing seven or eight meters away.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!