Suddenly, the fog clouding Yagura's thoughts cleared. His eyes widened as realization struck him.
"So that's the reason."
Erza remained silent, watching him.
"The clones created by my Water Mirror Technique attacked you with your exact strength, yet they were completely useless against you." Yagura tightened his grip on his staff. "It wasn't because the technique only allows a single collision before the clone disperses. Rather, the moment the clone made contact, your armor's ability to dispel ninjutsu activated and destroyed it."
Erza chuckled. "So you finally realized it."
Yagura's expression darkened. Everything made sense now. Throughout the duel, he had been unable to understand why his Water Mirror Technique had produced such poor results. Now, the bitter truth was clear.
His clones weren't losing because they were weaker. They were losing because they were ninjutsu—and Erza's armor was their natural counter.
Meanwhile, Erza slowly raised her halberd, holding it vertically before her as a powerful glow radiated from the weapon. The surrounding air trembled, and the water covering the terrain rippled outward in concentric waves.
Yagura's eyes narrowed. He immediately understood what was about to happen: this was her strongest attack. There was no point in trying to run; if he attempted to retreat now, Erza would simply exploit the opening, and the result would be even worse.
No, he had to face it head-on.
Taking a deep breath, Yagura steadied himself and prepared for the incoming strike.
The next moment, Erza vanished.
Boom!
The ground beneath her shattered. Before Yagura's pupils could even contract, she had already appeared directly in front of him, her halberd descending.
"Nakagami Starlight."
A brilliant flash erupted across the field.
Slash!
Yagura's staff was severed instantly. The strike continued without losing an ounce of momentum, tearing a deep wound across Yagura's body.
For a brief moment, everything went silent. Then, blood sprayed into the air. The devastating injury robbed the Fourth Mizukage of any chance of survival.
The sheer force of the blow launched him backward. He flew across the clearing before crashing heavily, his body rolling several times through the mud and shallow water before finally coming to a stop.
The area fell dead quiet around him. Standing in the distance with her halberd lowered, Erza watched calmly as her opponent lay motionless. Yagura had been defeated.
Erza slammed the butt of her halberd onto the ground.
Boom!
The impact sent cracks spreading through the already ruined terrain.
Looking at the fallen Mizukage, she said, "Your defenses were useless against my Nakagami Starlight because that strike is no ordinary slash." She rested both hands on her weapon. "It cuts space itself. You never had a chance of surviving it. Your staff was as good as useless in front of an attack capable of severing space."
With the Fourth Mizukage defeated, the morale of Kirigakure's forces instantly collapsed. Many of the shinobi who had worked closely with Terumi Mei during previous missions—mostly belonging to the dove faction within the village—already knew what needed to be done.
Seeing the opportunity, Mei stepped forward and pointed toward Yagura's lifeless body.
"He is dead," her voice carried across the ranks. "I suggest you all stop fighting and surrender. I assure you that your lives will be spared. But if you continue this battle, the consequences will be disastrous for our village." Mei's expression softened slightly. "Please. I beg of you."
Her words caused many Kirigakure shinobi to hesitate. They could all see the writing on the wall. Erza had just defeated their leader and showed no signs of exhaustion; she was fully capable of wiping them out. On another part of the battlefield, Mereoleona was still on a complete rampage. Sky-blue flames erupted wherever she went. No one had been able to stop her—no one had even managed to slow her down.
The Kirigakure shinobi finally accepted reality: continuing would only result in a massacre. Furthermore, the Uzushiogakure army had displayed a terrifying proficiency with sealing techniques, trapping countless Mist ninja and crippling their momentum. Even their signature Water Release techniques had proven far less effective than expected.
The battle had become entirely one-sided.
One by one, the Kirigakure shinobi began lowering their weapons. Squad leaders who shared Mei's views started ordering their units to cease fighting. As more groups stopped resisting, the chaos that had engulfed the front lines slowly settled. The clash was finally coming under control, and at this rate, it would soon be over entirely.
…
Meanwhile, on the battlefront against the Akatsuki, the landscape had been completely transformed.
Massive, thorny vines choked the land, having crushed, impaled, and torn apart White Zetsus and Hashirama-cell-modified ninjas alike. Corpses littered the ground, while countless others were buried beneath the tangled mass of vegetation. The White Zetsu army had been completely wiped out by the Uzushiogakure forces.
Standing amidst the devastation was Benimaru. He stood calmly, his sword resting at his side. Black flames covered the blade, burning silently yet radiating a terrifying heat.
In front of him stood the only remaining Path of Pain: the Deva Path. Beside it lay the charred remnants of the second-to-last Path, slowly turning to ash under the cover of black flames.
When Benimaru had first engaged the Six Paths of Pain, destroying them hadn't been particularly difficult—his swordsmanship had repeatedly cut them to pieces. However, every time he destroyed one, the Naraka Path would eventually resurrect it.
Benimaru could have simply targeted the resurrecting Path first to end the battle efficiently, but he preferred overwhelming victories. So, he had chosen a different approach: one by one, he infused his sword strikes with Amaterasu.
Every slash not only severed the Paths of Pain but coated them in inextinguishable black fire. It consumed everything—bodies, limbs, fragments—leaving nothing behind. The flames reduced each Path to ash, erasing their existence entirely and making resurrection impossible.
And now, the final puppet beside the Deva Path was burning away. With a sharp crack, the charred body collapsed into black soot and scattered into the wind. Only the Deva Path remained.
On the other side of the clearing, Konan was breathing heavily. The prolonged conflict had clearly exhausted her, and sweat dripped down her face as she struggled to maintain her composure.
Benimaru glanced toward the Deva Path, which had been standing motionless like a statue for some time. A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"What happened?" he asked. "Are you trembling in fear? Or are you no longer able to control this puppet?"
His words weren't directed at the corpse, but at Nagato himself.
For a few moments, there was only silence. Then, the Deva Path slowly turned its head toward Konan.
"Run away from here. Hide somewhere safe." The voice was calm, yet carried an unusual, underlying urgency.
The next moment, the Deva Path collapsed to the ground, its body completely lifeless.
Benimaru's eyes narrowed. Konan's pupils contracted.
"NAGATO!"
The panic in her voice was absolute. Without hesitation, she rushed toward the fallen puppet before spinning around to look toward a distant direction.
Benimaru instantly understood: something had happened to Nagato's real body. The connection controlling the Deva Path had been severed.
Did someone reach Nagato? Benimaru frowned slightly. He didn't remember sending anyone after the leader, and more importantly, he hadn't even known where the true body was hidden. The location had been concealed behind a powerful sealing barrier that completely masked Nagato's chakra and life force, making him almost impossible to track through normal means. Yet somehow, someone had broken through.
Konan no longer cared about Benimaru or the war. Her only concern was Nagato. Ignoring everything else, she took off, sprinting in the direction of his hidden sanctuary.
Benimaru watched her for a brief second before giving chase. He wanted to know exactly what had happened—and who, exactly, had managed to find Nagato.
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