The Land of Water was shrouded in a thick fog.
All of Kirigakure radiated an eerie and oppressive atmosphere.
Ever since the Fourth Mizukage took power, the entire village had fallen under a terrifying regime.
Bloodline clans were ruthlessly purged, and the village's cruel ninja graduation exams earned it the infamous nickname—the Village of the Bloody Mist.
At this moment, Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, sat in his office.
He looked like a child, but his true age was far from young.
Standing before him were the infamous Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a group known throughout the ninja world.
The current Seven Swordsmen were still composed of the original members. Each one possessed tremendous strength, serving as the sharpest blades under the Mizukage's command.
At the front was Loquat Jūzō, wielder of the Executioner's Blade.
"Mizukage-sama, are we finally declaring war on the Land of Fire?" he asked eagerly.
Not just Loquat Jūzō, but all the Swordsmen behind him wore excited expressions.
In Kirigakure's bloody atmosphere, no one could rise to power without staining their hands with blood.
And the Seven Swordsmen, the vanguard of the Mizukage's will, were more bloodthirsty than anyone.
After all, in this great ninja war, the Land of Water had been the only major nation to remain uninvolved.
If they didn't act now, when would they? Were they just going to watch Konoha grow stronger step by step?
Under the pressure of such militant fervor, Yagura made his decision.
"Anbu has captured the current Hokage's disciple. I plan to implant the Three-Tails into her, use a special secret technique to control it, and finally detonate the beast in Konoha."
The plan was simple and brutal: sacrifice a tailed beast to deal a devastating blow to the now-powerful Konoha.
However, Loquat Jūzō raised a concern.
"Mizukage-sama, Konoha currently controls four tailed beasts. They probably have considerable experience in countering them."
He left the rest unsaid—if the beast failed to explode, Konoha might just end up with yet another tailed beast.
But Yagura shook his head.
"Don't worry. I've made the necessary preparations," he said calmly. "With the life of the Three-Tails as the cost, it will be enough to shake Konoha to its core."
Now that the Mizukage had spoken, Jūzō said no more.
On the contrary, the enormous Fuguki Suikazan grew visibly excited.
"I heard Konoha has a new Hokage, Hanyu Simu."
Lifting his massive frame, he raised Samehada—still wrapped in bandages—his face full of anticipation.
"His chakra must be delicious."
Even the sword itself, Samehada, trembled slightly, as if hungering for the feast to come.
"Very well. All of you, prepare yourselves," Yagura commanded. "When the time comes, I want your vanguard units to rip open Konoha's defenses and deliver the Three-Tails deep into the village."
"Yes, sir!"
The Seven said nothing more and withdrew quickly.
Yagura stood in the middle of the office, gazing out at the Hidden Mist Village cloaked in moisture.
Suddenly, his pale red pupils turned crimson. Three tomoe appeared and began spinning rapidly.
In the shadows, a black-and-white figure emerged.
Yagura, the Mizukage, didn't react at all to this sudden presence.
He turned around mechanically.
"As expected of Lord Madara. With a single Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he's able to fully control the leader of an entire village."
White Zetsu marveled, his voice full of admiration.
He was, after all, Uchiha Madara's most loyal hound.
Black Zetsu clicked his tongue in disdain.
He still didn't understand how such a bizarre personality had emerged from the White Zetsu created by the God Tree.
"All right, enough talking. Hurry up and replenish his ocular power. If he breaks free from the genjutsu, things could get messy."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
White Zetsu impatiently extended his hand.
A Sharingan spun slowly in his palm.
As Yagura stared at it, the Sharingan in his own eyes began spinning in sync.
After a moment, White Zetsu withdrew his hand.
"Ocular power replenished. I'll leave the rest to the Mizukage."
His arm swelled and morphed into a giant pitcher plant. Inside, Lin—Vice Admiral of the Revolutionary Army—was released.
Then, Black and White Zetsu vanished together.
A flicker of confusion passed through Yagura's eyes before his expression became cold and resolute once more.
"We must defeat Konoha."
Though he appeared to be just a child, Yagura lifted Lin's body effortlessly and carried her toward a nearby lake.
A dozen masked Anbu operatives appeared beside him.
"Protect Mizukage-sama," one said firmly.
After all, they were about to handle a tailed beast.
Even with the Mizukage present, caution was essential.
Yagura formed a hand seal and gently pressed his palm to the surface of the water.
Ripples spread outward.
As chakra poured into the lake, the ripples began to boil violently.
The entire lake began to shake violently, as if the water itself were boiling.
Such violent movement naturally disturbed the Three Tails slumbering beneath the surface.
Compared to the other Tailed Beasts, the Three Tails has a relatively calm personality.
On most days, it prefers to rest quietly in the lake.
As long as humans don't provoke it, it generally doesn't attack.
But what Yagura was doing clearly crossed the line.
"Roar!!"
With a deep growl, a black shadow appeared on the lake's surface.
Then—boom!—the water exploded upward as a massive figure burst forth.
A turtle-like beast the size of a hill emerged before them.
Its entire body was gray-white and covered in deadly spikes.
The massive, spiked shell resembled an island of thorns.
Its head had a vaguely human shape, with red eyes encircled by ripple patterns like the Rinnegan.
Three powerful tails rose behind it, blocking out the sky and tearing through the mist surrounding the lake.
Its terrifying aura was almost suffocating.
"Everyone, fall back."
Yagura's expression didn't waver. His youthful face was calm but filled with resolve.
He formed hand seals rapidly.
Streams of water surged from the lake, transforming into water dragons that tightly wrapped around the rampaging Three Tails.
"Roar!!"
The Three Tails let out a furious roar.
It opened its mouth, condensing countless water droplets into a massive cannonball and fired it at Yagura.
But Yagura didn't flinch.
A thick wall of water erupted in front of him, shielding him from the blast.
The high-pressure water bomb smashed into the wall, instantly exploding into countless droplets that rained down in a torrential downpour.
Yagura remained standing steadily atop the water.
Water-style ninjutsu flowed from him with ease. Even against the might of a Tailed Beast, he didn't falter.
The surrounding Anbu were stunned.
As expected of Mizukage-sama…
The water dragons constricting the Three Tails continued to tighten, draining its chakra little by little.
The beast's body visibly weakened.
It roared again.
But this time, it wasn't another water blast.
It drew upon a massive amount of chakra, separating yin and yang energies from the air.
A black sphere formed in its mouth—
A Tailed Beast Bomb!
As the Tailed Beast's ultimate move, not even Yagura dared take it head-on.
"Everyone, evacuate—now!"
The Anbu moved without hesitation.
Any attack that could make the mighty Mizukage so tense must be devastating.
Yagura's expression remained unreadable.
His hands moved faster than ever.
The lake surged like a living creature, waves crashing toward the Three Tails in an attempt to drown the buildup.
But the Tailed Beast Bomb fired before they could stop it—cutting through the waves with blinding speed.
A violent light flared as the bomb detonated.
The temperature instantly spiked, vaporizing all the nearby lake water.
The water dragons binding the Three Tails vanished.
It was like a terrible storm had erupted over the lake.
But Yagura was gone.
Suddenly, a massive column of water surged upward—larger than even the Three Tails—and engulfed it.
Yagura reappeared on the lake surface.
The water surrounding the Three Tails formed a sphere that floated high above.
This water had been infused with Yagura's chakra beforehand—chakra capable of continuously draining a Tailed Beast's power.
Without contact with the lake, the Three Tails' strength—and its ability to resist—plummeted.
No matter how it struggled, the water sphere held it tightly.
The Anbu, who had been waiting, emerged from all directions.
They formed hand seals in unison—sealing technique.
In the center of the formation stood Rin, the girl from Konoha.
A stream of water extended from the orb containing the Three Tails and connected it to Rin.
Reddish chakra poured from the Tailed Beast and flowed toward Rin along the channel.
Yagura watched the scene with cold eyes.
For some reason, only one thought filled his mind:
Turn Rin into a Jinchūriki... then send her to Konoha…
At the same time, Rei and Minato had crossed the ocean that separated the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.
In the pursuit of speed, they had made no effort to conceal themselves.
Naturally, they were spotted by Kirigakure's shinobi.
Mist Ninja guarding the borders rushed out to intercept them.
But Rei didn't have time to play games.
With a flash of light, two enemy squads—six Mist ninjas in total—were instantly sliced apart.
Rei and Minato sped off toward Kirigakure.
Even Minato was struggling to keep up with Rei's terrifying speed.
"How is it?" Rei asked.
Minato focused his chakra.
"Barely within range."
He sensed the Flying Thunder God mark and felt the chakra drain from his body.
He placed one hand on Rei's shoulder.
In the next instant, the two of them vanished from sight.
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