In Uzushiogakure, on the front lines against Kirigakure, the Uzushiogakure shinobi army fought a desperate battle against the combined forces of Kirigakure and the White Zetsus.
At the center of the chaos, Mereoleona found herself surrounded by three S-rank ninjas modified with Hashirama cells and ten Jonin. Among them, four were Hidden Mist elite, while the remaining six were similarly enhanced ninjas with Hashirama cells. All thirteen prepared to strike her from all sides.
As Mereoleona stood at the center of the encirclement, a wide grin spread across her face. There was not an ounce of fear in her expression. Fire flickered around her fists and across her body, sparking in sync with her rising excitement. It was as if the sheer overwhelming odds were only fueling her urge to fight.
"Well then, if you guys are so eager to die, I will show you what true power looks like."
"Mana Zone: Full Release."
"Fire Magic: Calidus Brachium Purgatory!"
Mereoleona seized control of the natural chakra around her, supercharging her own fire chakra. The Mana Zone—an invisible domain completely imperceptible to the surrounding ninjas—instantly expanded, enveloping them all.
The moment she unleashed the technique, sky-blue flames erupted from her body.
Boom!
The inferno detonated, filling the entire Mana Zone. The three S-rank ninjas had moved to attack her the instant they sensed the sudden spike in energy, but the sky-blue flames swallowed them before they could even close the distance. Their bodies turned to charcoal instantly, crumbling into ash.
The remaining Jonin, who had been charging right behind them, skidded to a halt. Their eyes widened in horror at the sea of sky-blue fire incinerating the battlefield. Without hesitation, they turned and fled.
But Mereoleona had no intention of letting them leave.
"As if I'd let you escape!" Her grin widened.
She thrust her fists forward in a blinding volley. Each punch unleashed a beam of sky-blue fire that tore through the domain. One beam. Then another. Then dozens more, until the entire Mana Zone was a lattice of rapid-fire, blazing light streaking in every direction.
The retreating Jonin desperately tried to evade, but within the confines of the Mana Zone, there was nowhere to hide. One by one, all ten were pierced by the flame beams. Their screams cut short as their bodies were consumed, reduced to nothingness.
The group of thirteen ninjas that had looked so menacing moments ago were now just piles of ash scattering in the wind.
On the other side of the battlefield, Erza was locked in combat with the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.
Yagura had not become a Jinchuriki in this timeline, nor was he under Obito's genjutsu. However, he was still being manipulated. He genuinely wanted Kirigakure to recover and grow stronger, and Obito had handed him the perfect shortcut: Hashirama cell modification.
Facing him, Erza wore her Nakagami Armor—one of her absolute strongest forms.
They had been clashing for some time, and throughout the duel, Erza had firmly held the upper hand. Yagura had repeatedly deployed his signature Water Release: Water Mirror Technique. Time and again, the mirror conjured a perfect copy of Erza, matching her strength and instantly attacking her. Yet every single time their weapons collided, Erza absorbed the impact with ease.
Clang!
The force of her own colossal strength crashed back into her, but she remained unmoved. It was as if taking her own full-power attacks head-on was completely natural. It was a phenomenon Yagura found deeply unsettling, but there was little he could do about it.
Once again, the surface of the water mirror rippled. Another reflection took shape, and a new Erza stepped out of the water mirror. The clone charged, swinging its halberd with the exact momentum of the original.
Boom!
The weapons collided. This time, Erza skidded backward slightly across the muddy ground, leaving shallow tracks from her boots before stabilizing her stance. She stopped, lifting her gaze to lock eyes with Yagura.
"Your ability to mirror me is impressive," Erza said, resting her halberd casually on her shoulder. "It is the only reason you are still alive. Otherwise, this would have been over long ago."
Yagura's expression darkened.
"But how long can you sustain it?" Erza continued calmly. "I can endure the impact of my own blows all day. You, however, cannot keep drawing my clones from that mirror forever. You are running dangerously low on chakra."
She tightened her grip on her halberd.
The surrounding battlefield was waterlogged. Puddles and rushing streams from Yagura's repeated use of water jutsu covered the earth, littered with the shattered debris of their clash. A cold breeze swept across the wet terrain as Erza stood firm, waiting.
Suddenly, Yagura erupted from a puddle directly behind her, his palm driving straight toward her spine.
"Coral Palm!"
The moment the blow landed, jagged coral burst from the point of contact, rapidly spreading across the back of her armor. Erza's eyes narrowed. Instantly, she realized the Yagura she had been talking to was merely a Water Clone.
Her intuition was proven right a second later.
Splash!
The Yagura in front of her dissolved into a harmless puddle. Meanwhile, the real Mizukage retreated several meters, a confident smirk touching his lips, believing the trap had sprung perfectly.
But the moment he planted his feet, the spreading coral on Erza's back ground to a halt.
Crack. Crack.
The coral fractured, crumbling into fine dust before scattering into the wind. Not a single blemish was left on the armor.
Yagura's eyes widened in genuine shock. "What?!"
Erza calmly turned to face him, entirely unscathed. "My Nakagami Armor possesses the power to dispel any and all ninjutsu. A technique cannot affect me if it cannot stick." She adjusted her grip on her halberd. "Granted, it has a massive drawback—it consumes a catastrophic amount of energy."
A faint, confident smile graced her lips.
"But I am an Uzumaki. The one thing I am not short on is chakra."
The energy within her surged, sending visible ripples through the water covering the battlefield.
"Your ninjutsu is useless against me."
Yagura's expression turned utterly grim. His greatest asset against any opponent was the versatile, unpredictable nature of his elemental jutsu. Yet against Erza, every technique withered the moment it touched her armor.
It was like fighting someone who was entirely immune to the laws of shinobi warfare.
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