"Hm? Did I say something strange? Why does he look so happy?"
Kakashi couldn't help but complain internally as he watched Yagura's babyish face flush red, not with embarrassment but what looked like overwhelming "excitement." His expression was so animated that it looked like blood might burst from his nose at any second.
Could it be that, as the Mizukage, no one has sincerely praised him in a long time?
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. That must be it.
"This Mizukage… he's actually quite pitiful."
He shook his head with a sigh, eyes filled with sympathy as he gazed at Yagura.
That gaze was the final straw.
Yagura's expression instantly darkened. His anger surged!
"Stop looking at me like I'm a charity case, damn it!"
"You damn brat! I'm going to kill you today!"
Roaring with fury, Yagura formed a one-handed seal—something only truly elite shinobi could perform—with blazing speed and uncontainable rage.
"Water Style: Grand Waterfall Technique!"
A tremendous roar echoed as endless torrents of water burst forth from behind Yagura. Within moments, a towering fifty-meter-high tsunami surged forward, crashing toward Kakashi with the might of nature itself. The terrain was instantly reshaped—the forest now transformed into an artificial lake.
The violent surge of water swept away all of the Flying Thunder God markers Kakashi had previously planted, erasing his escape routes. With nowhere to flee, he was slammed to the lakebed by the cascading wave!
But Yagura wasn't finished yet.
"Water Style: Thousand Meals!"
Slapping the surface of the newly formed lake, Yagura activated another jutsu.
From the lake erupted thousands of shark-shaped water bombs, each homing in on Kakashi, who was still submerged beneath the surface.
Kakashi was in trouble.
"Seriously… I get it. This is the Land of Water—it rains all the time, water's abundant, and Water Style users naturally have the home field advantage," Kakashi mused in exasperation as the water sharks closed in. "But isn't this too much? Won't you run out of chakra if you keep blasting ninjutsu like this?"
He sighed.
"Kage-level shinobi really are monsters..."
Faced with imminent danger, Kakashi knew he had to respond with everything he had.
"Seventh Gate—Open!"
Boom!
A blast of wind and blue steam erupted from Kakashi's body, instantly crossing hundreds of meters to appear right in front of Yagura. The compressed air surrounding him instantly dissolved the water sharks he passed by.
"Dynamic Entry!"
With a devastating roar, Kakashi launched a punch at Yagura. The air compressed by the speed of his fist burst forward like a supersonic shockwave.
Caught off guard, Yagura took the full brunt of the attack!
Boom!
Blood sprayed as his body was sent flying. His already-injured chest gave way under the impact. His sternum shattered, and the pain was so intense it nearly caused him to pass out.
But Kakashi didn't escape unscathed.
His body wasn't as hardened as that of Might Duy, who had spent over twenty years refining his physique to withstand the Eight Gates.
Kakashi had forcibly opened the Seventh Gate, and with just one punch, his right arm fractured in multiple places, the bones snapping like twigs. The pain surged through every cell, his nerves screaming as if thousands of needles were stabbing into him.
His entire body twisted in agony.
The violent and uncontrollable chakra raging through him stripped away his ability to maintain his advanced techniques.
His Lightning Style Armor, Sage Mode, and even the Hundred Healings Technique were all forcibly deactivated!
"Looks like this Super Saiyan-style mode, where I try to stack regeneration with the Shock Gate, is still a bit too much to handle," Kakashi mocked himself through gritted teeth, trying to distract his mind from the unbearable pain.
After a few seconds of focusing his breathing, Kakashi formed a hand sign.
A blue flame flickered between his fingers.
"Daytime Tiger!"
From between his palms, a white tiger formed from compressed air. It roared to life and shot toward Yagura, who was still tumbling through the air.
"Finish him while he's down!"
Yagura, coughing blood midair, tried to gather chakra for a counterattack.
But the pain in his shattered chest caused his chakra flow to falter. His hands trembled, and his vision blurred.
He could only watch helplessly as the white tiger descended upon him, jaws wide open and fangs gleaming.
Roar!
The tiger engulfed him in a violent explosion!
Boom!
Blood vessels throughout Yagura's body burst. The force tore him apart midair, his body exploding into a mist of blood that sparkled under the dim sky like a macabre firework.
His mangled remains fell into the lake below.
As his chakra dissolved, the man-made lake began to drain. The summoned sharks vanished into thin air.
Splash!
Kakashi, whose capillaries had ruptured from the strain, could no longer hold himself upright. He collapsed into the water as well.
The immense stress on his body forced the Eight Inner Gates to deactivate automatically.
"Not yet..."
With his remaining willpower, he managed to perform Mitotic Regeneration, pushing his body to rapidly repair itself.
Sensing the chakra signature of Shisui, located 20 kilometers away, Kakashi activated the last Flying Thunder God mark he had left.
And vanished.
---
Oink, ooink!
Moments later, over a dozen masked Mist Anbu shinobi appeared on the surrounding treetops.
"Is this the site of Mizukage-sama's battle?"
"The terrain's been completely altered... What kind of terrifying enemy was he facing?"
"Could it be that the Third Hokage himself infiltrated the Land of Water?"
These Anbu were the ones Yagura had previously left behind due to their slower speed. Drawn by the thunderous noise of the battle, they finally arrived, only to witness the aftermath of devastation.
Massive craters, shattered trees, and a drained lake greeted them—proof of an earth-shaking battle.
Then someone asked the question that chilled them all:
"Where's Mizukage-sama?"
The group fell silent, scanning their surroundings nervously.
Had their leader been forced to continue pursuit?
Did even such a fearsome display of power fail to stop the enemy?
"If even Mizukage-sama had to chase the intruder, is this something we should be getting involved in?"
Just then—
"Look! Over there—Mizukage-sama!"
One of the Anbu pointed toward the center of the drained lake.
There, lying motionless on the lakebed, was the bruised and blood-soaked figure of Yagura.
Swish!
All the Anbu instantly used Body Flicker Technique to surround their fallen leader.
One of them, a skilled medical-nin, knelt beside him and extended a trembling hand to check his pulse.
Nothing.
With a flash of green light, she began administering a healing jutsu on his chest.
She reached out with chakra to probe his internal injuries.
And froze.
A single tear slid down her masked cheek.
The light around her hand faded.
"What happened?!"
"Why did you stop treating him?"
"What's going on?!"
The Anbu's unease turned into full-blown panic as they gathered around.
With her voice breaking, the medical-nin finally spoke:
"Mizukage-sama... is dead."
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
"You must be joking! How could the Mizukage be defeated so quickly?!"
"This is the Land of Water! The power of Water Style here is enhanced by at least 30%!"
"Who could possibly kill the Mizukage in his own domain?"
"Was it really the Third Hokage himself?!"
The group descended into chaos, shock written on every face.
"Calm down!"
The leader of the Anbu, though his grief was obvious, managed to maintain composure. As the Anbu Commander, he still had responsibilities to uphold.
"Send Mizukage-sama's body back to the village immediately!"
"Also—report this to the Master and convene all Mist Shinobi high-ranking officials!"
"Understood!"
As the orders were swiftly carried out, the Anbu Commander looked up at the dark, clouded sky.
His eyes were heavy with sorrow.
"The sky over the Mist Village... is about to change."
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