"Huff... huff..."
Regaining his consciousness, Zabuza realized that something had changed.
While he was bound, he wasn't locked behind a cell. Hell, there wasn't even a single ninja to monitor him. There was no one to stop him from undoing the rope around him.
Huffing profusely, he was currently on the run.
The mild earthquakes recurred all over Kirigakure.
Heat, light, and gust. They expanded and retracted over and over again at a distant sight.
Yes, Zabuza realized that the ninjas who were supposed to lock him up had run away from the site.
'Bloody Mist my ass.'
Zabuza felt like chuckling. The so-called emotionless killers ran away out of fear of death.
In the end, they too were no different than any other.
'Anyhow, that's not the point.'
Huffing even now, Zabuza gritted his teeth.
'I need to find Mei. If Yagura is fighting without an ounce of rationality like that, his opponent must be that monster, Akashi! The fact that Akashi is free must mean that Mei is alive... it must be!'
Then, Zabuza stopped.
Instead of Mei, whom he was looking for, he encountered another fallen figure.
"...Ao?"
"...Zabuza."
Lying in a heavily injured form, Ao groaned.
"Cough, cough... help me out here... will you?"
"You... what's that wound on your chest?"
"A stab, of course... barely missed my heart, and I stopped the bleeding by burning the wound—cough, cough!"
Ao was in a state several times worse than Zabuza's.
"But... I cannot move... huff... huff... lift me up."
"...Don't fall asleep."
Zabuza lifted Ao carefully. He then asked,
"Any idea where Mei may be?"
"...No."
"Fuck."
__________
A messy scene ensued on the outskirts of the village.
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist!"
Mei released numerous ninjutsu one after the other. Each one of them was lethal, and one would've noticed how bottomless her chakra reserve seemed based on her feats.
Fuguki's Samehada has an ability to eat or absorb chakra. Although the sentient sword felt the pain that came from contacting the ninjutsu, it was nevertheless capable of absorbing the chakra of the released ninjutsu and rendering it null.
The problem was, Fuguki wasn't able to do so, all because of one crazed shinobi after him, Hoshigaki Kisame.
"Since when..."
Fuguki was visibly shocked by Kisame's strength.
As Samehada and Kisame's broken greatsword met, Samehada clearly had the upper hand. However, in terms of swordsmanship alone, it could be said that Kisame, in fact, overwhelmed Fuguki.
"Since when have you gotten this strong, Kisame?!"
It was a hard blow to Fuguki's pride.
Him getting pushed back by a chunin? By his direct subordinate?
Fuguki's face churned in rage, although Kisame didn't seem to care.
A rage of greater extent was burning in Kisame's mind.
CLANG.
He simply swung his weapon instinctively. It was the moment that his countless experiences, ones built from completing the dirty missions that Fuguki handed out to him, came to shine.
Kisame roared,
"DIE, FUGUKI!!!"
With Fuguki completely occupied, Jinin and Jinpachi were the ones to deal with Mei's ninjutsu.
"We have to prevent her from using any further ninjutsu!"
Jinin shouted.
"Her bloodline limits are too dangerous! A slight touch will result in a near-death state!"
"I know!!"
Jinpachi growled. The two leaped out of their spots to evade the incoming acidic mist.
"But—"
Raising his Shibuki, Jinpachi blocked the heavy blow of Juzo's Kubikiribocho.
"This traitor, Juzo, keeps interrupting us! When we try to collaborate to deal with this man first, Terumi Mei interrupts!"
"...Heh."
Grinning, Juzo pushed himself away from Jinpachi just in time to dodge a swing of Jinin's Kabutowari.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition!"
Mei's ninjutsu then flew toward the two. Without pursuing Juzo, who backed off, the two were forced to dodge yet again.
"That damn woman... is there no end to her chakra?!"
The fatigue was starting to catch up to the three Swordsmen.
After subduing the rebellion, they were forced to fight Akashi. Though the fight didn't go on for long, they had to squeeze everything that they had just to survive, and even then, Kushimaru ended up getting critically injured.
Unlike them, this was Mei's first fight tonight. It was clear that the time wasn't on their side.
"Then..."
Jinin's eyes gazed at the house nearby, one that Kirano, Gai, and Hidan took refuge in.
Jinpachi read Jinin's thoughts. He revealed a shrewd smile, agreeing with the unspoken plan.
As Mei, taking in a deep breath, underwent yet another series of hand seals, the two Swordsmen moved toward the house.
"Idiots."
And such a decision turned out to be a mistake, a huge one at that.
"If it's an idea that you can think, why can't we?"
The current state of the battle was a repeat of the following order:
1. Jinin and Jinpachi attempt to attack Mei.
2. Juzo interrupts them, stopping their advance.
3. Before he loses a one-versus-two clash, Juzo backs off.
4. Before Jinin and Jinpachi can pursue Juzo, Mei shoots a ninjutsu of Boil or Lava Release, one dangerous enough to even their mystical swords.
It was the unending stalemate, one that would've continued until one side ran out of chakra and stamina.
However, Jinin and Jinpachi broke this stalemate by moving in a completely different direction, coming to think that maintaining this stalemate would result in their loss.
"?!"
Jinin's eyes widened as he saw Juzo snorting at them as he chased them from the back.
"The purpose of hand seals is to aid the process of molding chakra."
Mei formed a final seal with her hands. It seemed to be a technique different from what they used the last time.
"As long as you understand the specific characteristic that each hand seal bestows, modification becomes possible."
She was initially forming the hand seals meant for Boil Release: Skilled Mist. However, seeing that Jinin and Jinpachi broke the cycle, she switched the technique mid-way.
"Earth Release: Ground Subversion."
The ground right underneath Jinin and Jinpachi cracked.
Then, the entire plain was lifted up, curved, before folding in half—
BOOM.
It could be said that from the start, this was a trap that Mei and Juzo set up for them.
"Urghhh!!"
Upon looking closely, it could be seen that the ground wasn't entirely folded. Between the layers, Jinin and Jinpachi were holding their blades up, having barely stopped the technique that was about to crush them.
Now, they were vulnerable to Juzo.
"JUZO!!"
Jinin shouted with a vivid trouble on his face. He and Jinpachi were eventually forced to discard their mystical swords that were stuck between the earth layers.
Backing, the Swordsmen were stripped away from their swords, which caused Juzo to laugh in amusement.
"What can you do now, without your prized weapons?"
Juzo looked certain that it was their victory.
"All your techniques revolve around your swordsmanship anyway. Without those blades, what can you do?"
Jinin and Jinpachi cursed, knowing that Juzo was true. Their eyes then headed to Mei.
How could they have forgotten? That red-haired young woman was the only one in Kiri who had the slightest chance of taking Yagura down.
Two bloodline limits, an enormous chakra reserve, and a genuine talent in the art of ninjutsu.
That was the monster named Terumi Mei, the kunoichi who surpassed her parents, the clan leaders of the Terumi clan, before the age of 10.
"...Jinpachi."
Jinin finally suggested, finding no way to win.
"Let's run."
"...What about Fuguki?"
Jinpachi's eyes headed at Fuguki who was unable to put his attention anywhere other than Kisame, the chunin who didn't seem to care about the damages that he's been accumulating.
"A sacrifice."
"Well... I guess we've got no other option."
Quickly, they took out the smoke bombs and exploded them right underneath.
"You...!!"
The grin on Juzo's face died down. Not having expected a pitiful run without even bothering to retrieve their prized swords, Juzo shouted urgently,
"Mei-sama!!"
However, Mei shook her head.
"Let them go, Juzo."
That's when Juzo noticed, that Mei was acting.
She was sweating. Immediately after their run, she began to pant.
Juzo realized that Mei couldn't have been in an optimal state. She was locked in prison for a week.
Clicking his tongue, Juzo turned his attention to the ongoing fight between Fuguki and Kisame.
"Leave the rest to me, Mei-sama."
...
Jinin and Jinpachi, dashing away without daring to look back even once, eventually ended up at the edge of the village, surrounded by the body of water.
"...Hm?"
However, Jinpachi had to frown. After all, there was one ship, quite huge at that, approaching Kiri.
"How come? The news should've reached all the places in the land of water by now."
No one should dare to reach the village when the report of the civil war's resumption reached throughout the land.
Yet, their eyes told them otherwise, that someone was indeed trying to come into this dangerous state.
"Wait, that's...!"
Jinin's eyes widened.
Those were the final words that they could mutter before they were beheaded.
Caught off guard, their heads flew before falling into the water.
Standing behind them, a white-haired shinobi with two red dots on his forehead grinned.
"Oops~"
The ship docked near the land. A wooden piece was then laid to make a path between the ship and the land.
One obese man, wearing luxurious garments, walked his way out.
"Hm..."
He stroked his beard as he stared at the headless bodies.
"Where are their swords? Kabutowari and Shibuki?"
"Who knows?"
The white-haired man shrugged.
"...How unsightly."
Snorting, the obese man then waved his hand as a sign to remove the corpses from his sight.
"Hmph, I don't feel like walking. Prepare a carriage. We will be entering the village after some time."
"Yes, daimyo-sama!"
__________
Akashi stood high up in the sky, on top of Kirigakure's central tower that served as the Mizukage's, Yagura's office.
Quickly dashing, his figure disappeared from the spot. Immediately after, a dense, ball-shaped energy flew past the spot.
Said ball of energy exploded magnificently in the sky with a boom.
Kiri's night was brightened as much as the day for a brief moment.
Akashi, landing on top of another building, saw the demonic form of Yagura with its jaw open wide.
'...Bijuudama.'
It was the technique that mongered fear in many. It was the signature technique of the tailed beasts.
The ability to use such a technique while maintaining consciousness meant that Yagura truly did have full control over the three tails.
Swoosh.
Yagura, vanishing from his spot, suddenly appeared right in front of Akashi.
CLANG CLANG CLANG.
With Ryuma, Akashi blocked Yagura's assaults that used his weaponized body. Claws, tail, head—everything was iron-hard.
'Two fold... no, three fold.'
Yagura has gotten incredibly quick. He was at a speed that reminded Akashi of the Kumo shinobi, A, who had the technique named Lightning Release: Chakra Mode.
CLANG.
Meeting his sword with Yagura's claw, Akashi raised the force in Ryuma to push himself away from Yagura, creating a short distance.
"..."
He noticed that a hard coral was growing out of Ryuma's blade. Akashi quickly wrapped the blade with fire chakra, incinerating it in an instant.
Yagura blasted himself at Akashi once more.
BOOM.
Akashi dodged Yagura's tail. The tail smashed down, creating a cravice.
CLANG.
The fire-encased Ryuma met Yagura's claw. Upon looking closely, a layer of water could be found around the claw; Yagura seemed to have done so out of instinct.
However, Akashi's fire wasn't normal.
Tsss...
The water layer around the claw bubbled.
"GRAHHH!!!"
Yagura screamed painfully before retracting his claw and backing. The claw quickly regenerated.
Lowering his body as both hands and feet were on the ground, Yagura opened his mouth—or jaw—again.
'Here it is.'
Energy began to gather within Yagura's jaw. He was about to use Bijuudama once again.
This time around, Akashi was prepared, however.
Rasengan. Fire.
A ball of fire appeared atop Akashi's palm.
This already was an unbelievable feat. The fact that Akashi was able to control his chakra such that a wild fire was kept under complete control within his palm—it was a feat that no one other than him would be capable of in the entire world at the moment.
Then, under Akashi's will, said fire churned. It began to rotate, spinning rapidly yet mystically—drawing a perfect circle.
The flow of fire deviated into numerous branches. The directions by which they rotated differed.
An endless number of strings made out of fire, spinning in a perfect circle, joined at different angles.
It was no longer the extension of Rasengan; it was an entirely different technique.
It simply borrowed the concept of 'spin' out of the technique. Instead of 'pressure', Akashi drew a different answer to control the fire, which was to convert its innate energy into kinetic energy—centripetal force and acceleration—thus the speed by which each strand of fire spun.
Each string of fire was essentially not that huge in terms of its total energy. However, when the countless number of them were combined, it was a different story. Its destructiveness was incomparable.
A bright, blazing ball of red color was now above Akashi's palm. This was the technique that he came up with... his first S-ranked ninjutsu.
It looked like a miniature sun, one that would've drawn disbelief out of many.
"Fire Release,"
Then, just as Bijuudama left Yagura's mouth, the miniature sun too left Akashi's palm.
It could be said that he 'threw' it.
"Pulverizing Sun."
Two techniques collided.