A special thank you to my patrons:
—Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, Jose Sierra, Acedia, kurtis newman, Nhoxious, sediaz, Targaryen.
ad 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Mangetsu drew in two deep, steadying breaths. Only once his ragged panting had evened out did he have the mental energy to begin contemplating how to deal with the Gengetsu standing before him.
"Why don't you just kill me and be done with it?" Mangetsu demanded.
"Are you genuinely asking me that?" Gengetsu countered, his tone dripping with incredulity.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Look, even though I'm dead, I still have no desire whatsoever to see the Hidden Mist Village simply wiped off the map. And furthermore, I do wish for the members of the Hozuki clan to amount to something greater. But your performance so far has been... a bit of a letdown." Gengetsu spread his hands in a theatrical display of helplessness.
Mangetsu's brow furrowed deeply. Being spoken to in such a condescending manner was truly infuriating.
Even if the man was his own grandfather.
"And yet, here you are right now, actively aiding the Akatsuki," Mangetsu retorted, his voice thick with resentment.
"I have no choice in the matter... Blame Tobirama Senju for this. It's the jutsu he developed that has forced me to meet you all in this wretched form... To be perfectly honest, although it does feel rather pleasant to be able to lay eyes upon the Hidden Mist Village and all of you again, I am not the slightest bit happy about it. I have absolutely no desire to destroy the Hidden Mist Village with my own two hands. So, you need to put some real effort into this. If you don't defeat me, what will become of the Hidden Mist Village?" Gengetsu demanded.
Mangetsu's mind was a swirl of sheer bewilderment.
You're asking me what to do? I should be asking you the same damn thing!
"I'll give you one more chance. If you cannot manage to kill me, I will annihilate the Hidden Mist Village!" Gengetsu declared.
"Are you actually serious?"
"Whether or not I am serious has nothing to do with it. In truth, that young woman actually becoming Mizukage genuinely surprised me. She's around your age, isn't she? Why didn't you end up taking the position?" Gengetsu grumbled with evident dissatisfaction.
"Er... I have an illness," Mangetsu replied, clearly pained.
"I know you're sick—sick in the head. Otherwise, how could you possibly have ceded the title of Mizukage to a young woman like her?" Gengetsu fired back, twisting Mangetsu's words seamlessly.
"No, I mean I am genuinely, physically ill. I contracted the illness after returning from the Hidden Leaf Village. I was undergoing treatment there for a long time before this," Mangetsu clarified.
"Ah? Oh. Don't tell me it was Tsunade who treated you? No, wait. The Leaf and the Mist haven't exactly been on warm terms. Why would she agree to treat you?" Gengetsu asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Well..." Mangetsu opened his mouth, and the name Midorima nearly slipped from his lips unbidden.
The problem was, the moment the name "Midorima" was introduced, the topic would spiral into a long, drawn-out saga. And right now, the one commodity he remained most desperately short on was still time.
"Forgive me... the reasons behind it are not so simply explained. Before I went to the Hidden Leaf Village, I truly had no personal acquaintance with Lady Tsunade. And the reason she was willing to treat me was not because of the Hidden Mist Village, either," Mangetsu said, shaking his head.
Gengetsu's brows arched upwards with keen interest. "My, my. It seems a great many extraordinary things have happened during the time I've been dead. Well, if you don't wish to elaborate, then forget it. Let me share my perspective. To be perfectly honest with you, I'm already a dead man. Whether a battle is won or lost doesn't truly hold much significance for me. In the end, I'm bound to return to mere dust and ashes regardless. Of course, if I could witness you defeating me with your own strength before I'm sent back, that would bring me genuine joy. It would mean that the future of the Hidden Mist Village, and the Hozuki clan, has been properly secured... So, dig deep and put more effort into it. Kill me with your own hands, won't you?"
Mangetsu's face was a mask of utter exasperation.
This wasn't simply a matter of whether he was willing or not. It was that he found the task nearly impossible to accomplish.
Gengetsu's body shifted backwards as he rapidly formed hand seals. Suddenly, his entire form began to swell and expand with startling speed.
Mangetsu saw this and immediately ceased his attack, putting as much distance between himself and Gengetsu as possible in an instant.
"The Steam Imp?!" Mangetsu exclaimed in horror.
"Let's see whether you have what it takes to counter this jutsu," Gengetsu said with a wide, challenging grin. "The exterior of this technique is a layer of oil. The interior is filled with water. If it engages in any movement, the surface oil is heated, and the water inside vaporizes into steam, triggering a violent explosion. Conversely, if it encounters hail, its volume will shrink drastically, allowing for an endless, continuous cycle of explosions. How about that? Impressive, isn't it?"
Cold sweat trickled down Mangetsu's forehead.
This was an extraordinarily formidable technique.
Not merely because its destructive power was immense, but because countering it was so absurdly, impossibly difficult.
What was even more critical was that, while this was a secret technique of the Hozuki clan, executing it himself was still incredibly difficult. As for the reason why—Gengetsu had died long before Mangetsu was even born. He had simply never had the opportunity to learn this jutsu firsthand.
He had come across records of the technique later on, but firstly, executing it was extraordinarily complex, and secondly, it demanded an immense volume of chakra.
By the time he had finally possessed the strength to even attempt to learn it, the Hidden Mist Village had been thrown into catastrophic upheaval, and he himself had contracted his severe, debilitating illness. The matter had been left unresolved and abandoned ever since.
Still, even without having mastered the technique, he understood all too well just how terrifyingly potent it was.
"This jutsu's destructive force is immense. At your current level of strength, I'm not entirely certain you have any real chance of defeating me... However, if we're to speak of a weakness, there is indeed one. In the brief window of time following each explosion, the main body becomes exceedingly vulnerable and weakened. Will you be able to seize that critical opportunity?" Gengetsu asked pointedly.
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Mangetsu demanded, baffled.
"Haven't I already stated it clearly? I wish for you to defeat me. No, better yet, kill me outright. I'm already dead, after all. Being killed again probably won't even cause me any real pain. And if you can manage to learn this technique in the process, then all the better," Gengetsu declared, spreading his arms wide.
The massive Gengetsu clone took the form of an enormous child. Upon uttering these final words, its body began to expand rapidly, swelling at an alarming rate.
"Do not disappoint me, Hozuki Mangetsu—"
"As if I'd ever want to disappoint you!!" Mangetsu roared through clenched teeth, even as his body shot backwards at maximum speed.
Gengetsu had already laid out the critical weakness of this jutsu for him. If he still foolishly charged headlong into the attack, that would be the height of stupidity.
Now was the moment to preserve his strength, waiting for the precise, opportune instant to deliver a single, decisive, fatal blow.
Gengetsu watched Mangetsu choose the path of evasion rather than direct confrontation. He was mildly surprised, but his overall reaction towards Mangetsu's tactical decision was one of deep satisfaction.
This massive, child-like entity was, in truth, shockingly agile and swift. Landing a clean hit on it through ordinary means would be exceedingly difficult. And once an opponent drew too close, putting distance between themselves and Mangetsu would become immensely challenging, as they would have already entered the detonation range of the Steam Imp Threat.
Still, he couldn't genuinely believe he could actually dodge this, could he?
The clone expanded at a catastrophic, exponential rate. A colossal wave of thermal energy erupted outwards in all directions.
The surrounding trees were blasted into splinters. The very earth was torn apart and upheaved.
Pulse after pulse of blistering heat rolled outward like a ceaseless, surging tidal wave, spreading infinitely towards the surroundings as though intent on vaporizing every last trace of moisture from the entire area.
Mangetsu was encased within his Water Formation Wall, but the searing heat waves seemed to penetrate straight through the thick barrier of water, blasting against his face. Even the water wall directly in front of him had become scalding hot.
Just as he felt he could endure no more, the overwhelming heat wave gradually began to lessen. The gigantic child-like clone was rapidly, visibly shrinking in size.
Now! The opportunity!
Mangetsu immediately released his defensive jutsu and surged forward at top speed.
Despite his body being already pushed to the very brink of utter exhaustion, in order to claim victory in this battle, he had no choice but to stake everything on this one, final gambit!
His body transformed, morphing into a colossal, monstrous shark that lunged directly before the shrinking child clone in a single, explosive burst of speed.
"The Super Shark Bomb Technique?! This jutsu alone cannot kill me," Gengetsu declared, the corner of his lip curling upwards. The child clone shifted, nimbly evading the charging Super Shark Bomb. But it had not anticipated that, in the very next heartbeat, the suddenly extended form of Samehada would clamp down ferociously upon its body.
"Did you honestly believe that in a fight against you, I wouldn't have a backup plan prepared?" Mangetsu's gaze was razor-sharp, his expression blazing with an unshakable, absolute determination to claim victory.