Suspended in midair, Uchiha Keizumi's right arm, which had already been charged to its utmost limit, had swollen into an enormous molten sphere, blazing like a miniature sun!
The destructive energy compressed within it caused the surrounding space to tremble faintly!
Without the slightest hesitation, his motion was simple yet brutal—he drove that massive lava fist, filled with the power to scorch mountains and boil seas, straight down toward the back of the Three-Tails!
—That was clearly the strongest point of the Three-Tails' defense, yet Uchiha Keizumi chose to strike there!
[Boom!!!]
The instant his fist collided with the carapace, an earth-shattering roar burst forth, like a meteor crashing into the ground.
The overwhelming impact actually made the Three-Tails' proudest, hardest shell emit a bone-grating "crack" sound!
From the point of impact, one clear fissure after another spread rapidly outward like a spider web!
Even more terrifying, the magma's extreme heat surged through those cracks, seeping violently into the shell's interior, burning the chakra-formed flesh and organs of the Three-Tails.
"Roaaaar—!!!"
Curled within its shell, the Three-Tails once again let out a deafening, agonized scream, its voice filled with unprecedented pain.
But this was far from over!
The shoulder of Uchiha Keizumi's right arm, which had struck down, began once again to swell and compress violently.
Even more frenzied lava energy was being forcefully injected into his arm.
[Rumble—!!!]
An even stronger shockwave, like the full eruption of a volcano, surged along his right arm and violently pierced once more into the shell of the Three-Tails!
[Squelch—!!!]
This time, a beam of crimson magma, condensed to the very limit, pierced effortlessly through the Three-Tails' thick carapace defense like a red-hot steel needle through leather!
It tore through the layers of resilient flesh and tissue formed by tailed beast chakra as if splitting bamboo.
Then—
It burst straight through from beneath the abdomen of the Three-Tails!
That beam of magma actually pierced clean through its colossal body!
It formed a gaping, through-and-through, blazing hole whose edges continued to melt and flow!
"Rooaaarrr—!!!"
Indescribable agony swept across every fragment of the Three-Tails's consciousness in an instant.
It could no longer maintain its curled defensive posture and began to roll about madly in a frenzy.
Its massive body, burning with the flames of tailed beast chakra, turned into a gigantic, uncontrollable wheel of destruction, crashing and crushing in every direction without aim!
[Boom! Boom! Boom!]
Mounds and small hills were easily smashed to pieces by its rampage.
The ground was plowed open into terrifying trenches, some more than 10 or even 20 meters deep.
It was trying to use this carpet-like, indiscriminate, destructive rolling to grind that tiny human who had brought it such agony into dust!
However, this mindless rampage, aside from devastating the already-ruined battlefield even further—and terrifying the severely wounded Kirigakure Anbu in the distance into scrambling and fleeing for their lives—
Did not pose even the slightest threat to Uchiha Keizumi.
His figure had long vanished from the spot, coldly overlooking the suffering Tailed Beast.
…
The scorching heatwave made it almost impossible to breathe. Tachibana Jirō couldn't help narrowing his eyes; only like this could they feel a little less strained.
Watching the distant Tailed Beast rolling about in agony and chaos, he spoke: "Meow, Keizumi-sama once explained the information about the nine Tailed Beasts to me. I remember the Three-Tails is called Isobu, and it's best at all sorts of powerful Water Release techniques. But…"
He paused, pointing his paw at the hellish surroundings. "Keizumi-sama's Lava Release has baked the area so thoroughly that there's almost no moisture left. The ground is cracked, the air scorching, and the water vapor has all but evaporated, meow."
"This makes the Three-Tails, which relies heavily on water sources, unable to draw strength from its natural surroundings. Its Water Release power has been greatly weakened without even realizing it, meow."
"Although in theory, water restrains lava. Long ago, Keizumi-sama indeed used to be rather cautious toward shinobi skilled in Water Release."
Tachibana Jirō licked his nose, which had been dried out by the heat, and continued, "But when the amount of water in the surrounding environment is far less than the magma… then it's no longer restraint—it's magma that in turn restrains the remaining water, meow."
"It's like trying to pour a cup of water into a volcano."
Listening to Tachibana Jirō's words and watching the Three-Tails' miserable state in the distance, Biwa Jūzō drew in a deep breath of scorching air.
With a complicated expression, he spoke, "I suddenly have a question… The Three-Tails and Lord Mizukage—they're both puppets controlled by Uchiha Obito's Sharingan."
"Their actions aren't under their own control at all. In that case, everything they've done… can it really be counted as their 'sin'?"
Tachibana Jirō stopped licking his paw, tilted his head, and looked at Biwa Jūzō, countering, "What makes you think the Fourth Mizukage was some 'innocent good person' before he was controlled, meow?"
Its words, sharp as cold needles, pierced through the fragile emotion in Biwa Jūzō's heart. "Didn't you say it yourself? Before Uchiha Obito ever controlled the Mizukage, Kirigakure had already begun enforcing that cruel 'Blood Mist Policy,' meow."
"Meow, as the Kage of a village, could he really have been unaware of how such a self-destructive policy would bring immense harm to the village's future? During his reign, did Karatachi Yagura ever try to stop it—or make any effort to reform the Blood Mist Policy?"
"If he had, even if he failed, perhaps it could still be said that his sins weren't unforgivable, meow."
It paused, its tone growing sharp. "But… did he? Was someone holding a blade to his neck, forcing him to carry out the Blood Mist Policy to the very end?"
"Meow, in your Kirigakure, is there really anyone who could command a Mizukage who wields the power of a Tailed Beast, forcing him to do anything?"
Tachibana Jirō's chain of questions struck Biwa Jūzō's heart like heavy blows.
Once again, he was left speechless.
At the same time, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head—suddenly, he saw everything clearly.
"…Hah!"
Biwa Jūzō exhaled a long, turbid breath, a faintly self-mocking smile appearing on his face. "Perhaps… it's precisely because I, too, am from Kirigakure that I felt such a misplaced sense of pity toward the Fourth."
Those words of his had already, in fact, indirectly answered Tachibana Jirō's question.
—No!
The Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, had never tried to stop or reform the Blood Mist Policy.
On the contrary, he might well have been its most resolute enforcer.
Although he was not the founder of the Blood Mist Policy, he was one of the key figures who ensured its continued implementation and intensification.
That alone…
Was enough to explain a great deal.
At that thought, the last trace of hesitation in Biwa Jūzō's eyes completely vanished, replaced by a cold, clear resolve.
In a deep voice, he said, "You're right. Karatachi Yagura… he himself was never an innocent man!"
…
"What… what exactly happened here?!"
A figure finally rushed onto the scene—it was Ao, bearer of the Byakugan.
However, the situation he had expected—surrounding the rogue ninja Biwa Jūzō and driving him into a desperate corner—did not exist.
What entered his sight was a scene like the end of the world.
And a colossal Tailed Beast rolling about wildly, letting out roars of agony!
He gasped sharply, nearly burned by the searing heat that rushed toward him.
Ao hastily turned his gaze toward the familiar silhouette not far ahead, his voice anxious as he asked, "Terumi Mei-sama! Mizukage-sama—what… what happened to him?!"
Terumi Mei did not turn around; her gaze remained locked tightly on the distant figure—much smaller than the Three-Tails, yet impossible to ignore.
Her voice carried a complex emotion as she said slowly, "Mizukage-sama… is probably about to be killed by that 'Lava Release Monster' from Konohagakure."
"What?!!"
Ao's eyes widened instantly, and even the Byakugan beneath his eyepatch seemed to tremble faintly.
No!
What did that have to do with the Lava Release Monster?!
What on earth happened?!
Ao stood there completely bewildered.
...
[Boom!!!]
Amid a deafening roar and a quake that made the ground tremble, the frenziedly rolling Three-Tails, which was trying to crush everything, finally slammed heavily into the foot of a great mountain.
The immense impact caused the entire mountain range to shake violently.
Countless fragments of rock tumbled down from the mountainside.
Its enormous and battered body finally came to a stop.
The Three-Tails stretched out its curled-up body, and its thick legs, covered in grayish-white hard shells, extended from the carapace. Like giant pillars, they drove deeply into the already devastated and cracked earth beneath, trying to steady its stance.
Its single eye, bloodshot and ferocious, darted nervously back and forth across the area it had just crushed into mud, restlessly searching.
It was looking for the human who had brought it endless pain.
On its back shell, that terrifying hole pierced through by magma—and the chakra flesh within that had been burned—was, under the immense vitality of the Tailed Beast, visibly and slowly healing.
The newly grown shell tissue squirmed like creeping flesh buds, while the Tailed Beast's chakra acted like adhesive, filling the gaps.
However, that scorching pain that had sunk deep into its soul could not be easily erased.
Like maggots gnawing on bone, it kept incessantly tormenting its nerves.