The white light of the Reality Restoration shattered the palace's artificial gloom. Obito's spatial connection to Yagura's mind didn't just snap—it evaporated.
Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, gasped as the haze lifted from his eyes. His pupils contracted, and for the first time in years, the "perfect Jinchūriki" felt the true weight of the Three-Tails' chakra without the interference of the orange-masked man.
"You..." Yagura whispered, looking at Obito with a realization that turned into a glacial rage. "You used me. You used my village."
"The dream was almost complete," Obito hissed, his hand clutching his eye as the feedback from Kotoamatsukami and Dan's Ame-no-Uzume scorched his nerves. "Dan Uchiha... you are a cancer on the destiny of this world."
"Destiny is just a lack of imagination, Obito," Dan said, his stone arm pulsing with violet Sage-veins. "And I have a very vivid imagination."
The Dual Jinchūriki Resonance
Obito knew he couldn't stay. With Yagura awake and Dan in Sage Mode, the odds had shifted from an execution to a suicide mission. But he wouldn't leave without a parting gift.
"If I can't have the Mist, then no one will!" Obito roared. He performed a single-handed seal. "Uchiha Style: Fire Release: Spiraling Hurricane!"
A vortex of flames, twisted by Kamui's spatial suction, erupted from his mask, threatening to incinerate the entire palace.
"Water Release: Great Water Dragon!" Yagura countered.
But Yagura's water wasn't enough against the spatially-enhanced fire. Dan stepped forward, his stone arm glowing.
"Inorganic Animation: Palace Maw!"
The stone floor and coral walls of the sanctum literally rose up like a giant mouth, swallowing the flames and redirectly the heat into the foundation of the building.
[System Notification: Sage Mode Stability at 62%.]
[Physical Limit Approaching. Suggesting 'Final Strike' logic.]
"Yagura! Now!" Dan yelled.
Yagura didn't hesitate. He entered his Version 2 Tailed Beast State, three red tails of bubbling chakra erupting behind him. He and Dan moved in perfect sync—one a blur of red destruction, the other a glitching violet shadow.
Zip.
Dan appeared in Obito's front. Yagura appeared behind.
"Coral Palm!" Yagura struck.
"Stone-Fist: Shatter!" Dan struck.
Obito tried to phase, but his Kamui was still lagging from the "Spatial Anchor" Dan had placed on the room's architecture. Dan's stone fist connected with Obito's chest, while Yagura's coral palm began to grow parasitic blooms on Obito's white-Zetsu side.
"Gah!" Obito coughed up a mixture of blood and white sap. He forced his eye to dilate, pouring the last of his chakra into a desperate Kamui escape. "This isn't over! The Moon Eye will still rise!"
He vanished into a swirling void, leaving behind a severed Zetsu arm and the broken mask.
The New Mizukage
The silence that followed was deafening. Outside, the sounds of the rebellion were fading as the Mist ANBU, seeing their Mizukage's palace explode in violet light, began to lay down their arms.
Yagura reverted to his human form, leaning heavily on his staff. He looked at Dan, his gaze complicated. "You're a leaf shinobi. Why did you risk everything to save a rival village?"
"Because a 'Bloody Mist' is a playground for my enemies," Dan said, his stone arm finally beginning to crack, revealing normal, albeit scarred, skin underneath. The petrification was receding as the Sage Mode drained away. "The Architecture requires stability. A stable Mist is a better neighbor than a dying one."
Mei Terumi and Zabuza burst into the room, followed by Shisui and Anko. They saw the wreckage, the blood, and their Mizukage standing tall.
"Lord Yagura!" Mei cried out.
"It's over, Mei," Yagura said, his voice regaining its natural authority. "The nightmare is over. And it seems we owe the Uchiha a debt that can never be fully repaid."
The Architecture's Prize
As the sun rose over a Kirigakure that was finally clear of the supernatural fog, Dan stood on the harbor docks.
Yagura walked up to him, handing him a small, sealed vial. Inside, a drop of pure, concentrated Three-Tails chakra swirled like a miniature storm.
"You asked for the Three-Tails," Yagura said. "I can't give you the beast—it's bound to me and my village. But this 'Essence' contains the spatial coordinates of the Sanbi's origin. If I ever fall, or if the beast is ever extracted... you will be the first to know where it manifests."
[System Notification: Quest 'Mist Rebellion' COMPLETED.]
[Reward: Three-Tails Essence Acquired.]
[New Feature: 'Isobu's Shield' (Passive Water/Ice resistance).]
"This is enough," Dan said, tucking the vial into his cloak.
"What will you do now?" Mei Terumi asked, looking at Dan with a curiosity that hinted at something more. "Go back to being a 'child' in the Leaf?"
"I'm going back to finish the foundation," Dan said, looking toward the horizon where the Land of Fire lay. "The Akatsuki will be back. And next time, they won't just bring two members. They'll bring a god. I need to be ready to greet him."
The Return
The journey back was quiet. On the deck of the ship, Dan sat in meditation.
[System Status Check]
Age: 12 (almost 13).
Rank: S-Rank (Underground) / Jonin (Official).
Internal: Sage Mode stabilized at 55%.
The Architecture: Now has a permanent embassy in the Land of Water.
"Dan-kun," Anko whispered, sitting beside him. "You saved a whole country. Doesn't that feel... good?"
Dan opened his eyes. One was still a faint violet. "It feels like a successful calculation, Anko. But the most important variable is still missing."
"What's that?"
"Itachi's eighth birthday," Dan said, a rare, genuine smile touching his face. "I promised him a village worth living in. I have five years left to make that true."