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"Here they come."
On a lush, verdant island, atop a massive rock, a Kirigakure Anbu ninja holding a telescope suddenly announced.
Beside him stood a middle-aged man clad in a dark ninja vest. Upon hearing the news, the man's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed somewhat.
Over the sea,
seven figures walked on the water's surface, advancing toward the island ahead.
Leading them was Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure.
Following Yagura were two Anbu escort squads.
Soon,
Yagura and the two Anbu squads landed on the island.
"Mizukage-sama!"
The middle-aged man respectfully greeted.
"Hm." Yagura nodded slightly, then said, "Take me to the command post."
"Yes." The man turned and said, "Mizukage-sama, follow me."
The group leapt onto tree branches and headed inland, arriving shortly at a small earthen mound.
The middle-aged Kirigakure ninja placed his hand on the mound's side. As chakra flowed, black jutsu markings appeared.
The mound recessed inward, revealing a pitch-black entrance. Inside, a slanting staircase descended into darkness.
Yagura frowned slightly. How could the command post be so deep underground?
The middle-aged ninja noticed Yagura's doubt and explained, "The Fourth Kazekage's sensory abilities are powerful. To avoid detection, the command post had to be hidden deep underground."
Originally, the command post was on the island's surface, not underground.
But after the Fourth Kazekage located and eliminated Kirigakure's coastal island bases one by one, they realized his wide-range sensory prowess.
Faced with such terrifying perception, the command post could only be temporarily concealed underground to evade Kenshi's Wind Release clone's passage.
This was Kirigakure's response in recent days to Kenshi's clone's massacre.
"About the Fourth Kazekage's strength…" Yagura furrowed his brows. Forced to this point, he wanted to ask about the Fourth Kazekage's power but reconsidered—it was unnecessary.
Being driven here spoke volumes about the Fourth Kazekage's might.
Soon,
after descending the long staircase, they entered an underground base.
In a secret chamber, the ninjas commanding the battle gathered around a long table. Seeing Yagura enter, they greeted him.
Yagura approached the head of the table and glanced around. Everyone lowered their heads slightly. Though the Fourth Kazekage was an unexpected factor in the war, Kirigakure's heavy losses were undeniable.
Yagura shook his head, cutting to the chase: "Where is the Fourth Kazekage?"
He was here to deal with the Fourth Kazekage, at least to prevent him from rampaging and slaughtering comrades.
"Sorry!"
The Kirigakure ninja commanding the war, named Akamizu, looked guilty and said gravely, "Mizukage-sama, the Fourth Kazekage can fly. We can't find his trace; we only know he's been searching for our bases."
Yagura's brow tightened. "How many of us remain?"
"Fifty."
"What!" Yagura gasped. "Only fifty? Where's everyone else?"
Silence.
The entire command post fell silent; no one answered.
Seeing this, Yagura knew the grim fate of the others.
Though aware the Fourth Kazekage had killed many comrades, he never expected only fifty to remain.
Keep in mind, Kirigakure's forces on the Land of Wind front had numbered around eight thousand, mostly genin and chunin.
But only fourteen days had passed since the Fourth Kazekage appeared on the battlefield.
In just fourteen days, only fifty remained!
How did the Fourth Kazekage do it?
Was his sensory ability really that terrifying?
Yagura was disheartened.
The six Anbu accompanying him were also deeply shocked.
They now understood why the command post had to be hidden underground.
The Fourth Kazekage's sensory ability was so fearsome, and his strength could instantly kill anything. Without hiding deep underground, they wouldn't evade his pursuit.
"Tell me everything you know again."
Yagura's expression was more serious than ever. Though he hadn't faced the Fourth Kazekage yet, he already felt the heavy pressure he brought.
"I…"
What?
Yagura waited but heard no more. Frowning, he was about to ask when he noticed a thin bloodline-like scar forming on Akamizu's forehead.
"Akamizu, you…"
Yagura's face changed. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Akamizu's body suddenly split in two and slid down.
Everyone was stunned and at a loss.
Their minds went blank, unable to comprehend how a healthy man could suddenly be cut in half.
Then—
Crack!
Everyone instinctively looked up. A thin crack on the ceiling was widening.
"Enemy attack!"
Yagura immediately reacted, shouting a warning and instantly activating his partial Tailed Beast Mode.
Clang!
Like a massive blade descending from the sky, it cleaved the entire island, revealing the underground base inside and a red-black swirling mass of flesh and chakra.
"Here comes the Fourth Mizukage!"
Above the island, Kenshi's Wind Release clone and Pakura stood enveloped in a swirling wind, overlooking the bloodied mass below.
It was the unique chakra form of a jinchūriki in partial Tailed Beast transformation, capable of shapeshifting and possessing strong defense.
The Fourth Mizukage used it to protect Kirigakure's people in the underground base.
Boom!
Massive seawater surged through the gap Kenshi's Wind Release Slash cut open, flooding the exposed underground base.
Pakura stared blankly from above.
Though she had witnessed Kenshi's Wind Release Slash's power over the past days,
this slash cleaving an entire island and forming a hundred-meter-deep canyon left her awestruck.
Now she understood why Shukaku had been defeated.
Her brother-in-law had surpassed the power a shinobi should possess—even the Tailed Beasts could only watch from afar.
Too strong!
That was all Pakura could think.
Boom!
Below,
the Fourth Mizukage, in partial Tailed Beast form, led all Kirigakure ninja up.
Standing on the shore, watching the rushing seawater quickly fill the gap and form a river tens of meters wide, everyone fell silent.
The Fourth Mizukage looked up to the sky. This was his first time seeing the man who had slaughtered Kirigakure's eight thousand down to fifty.
He looked very young, much younger than himself.
"Die!"
A cold gleam flashed in Yagura's partial Tailed Beast eyes. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and fired a small Tailed Beast Ball at Kenshi's Wind Release clone.
"Don't be so eager!"
Kenshi's clone smiled and, with a thought, sliced the Tailed Beast Ball in half as it passed him, sending the halves flying behind.
Boom boom!
Dazzling explosions erupted on both sides of Kenshi's clone, fierce winds whipping his hair, but otherwise no harm came to him.
"That guy…" Yagura's mouth slightly opened, heavy expression in his eyes. "His Wind Release can really cut through a Tailed Beast Ball!"
"How is that possible?"
Unwilling to believe it, Yagura fired two more Tailed Beast Balls, but Kenshi's Wind Release Slash cut them all apart.
The Kirigakure ninja beside Yagura were dumbfounded, cold sweat dripping.
They had heard of it, but seeing it was different.
They had never seen anyone so easily dispel Tailed Beast Ball attacks.
For a moment, everyone was stunned by Kenshi's clone's overwhelming power.
Even Yagura was momentarily distracted, forgetting to continue the attack.
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