Chapter 75: Forced Into a Corner
As Tsukasa's voice fell,
The battlefield suddenly cleared.
All five Kirigakure Hunter-nin had been eliminated, leaving only Hōzuki Mangetsu remaining from the team pursuing Yagura and intercepting Mei Terumi.
The torrential rain abruptly ceased, the dark clouds shrouding the fortress dissipated, the surging waves subsided momentarily, and
A beam of sunlight pierced through the dome, refracting off the water and the colorful stained glass, illuminating the entire hall.
Uchiha Madara, silently observing the battle, shook his head.
"Jumping around like that—his footwork is barely adequate."
Then he opened his crimson eyes and watched Tsukasa in the arena with amusement.
"But what will you do next, facing the Hōzuki brat?"
Behind Uchiha Madara, the Third Mizukage—caught in a genjutsu—spoke indifferently.
"With merely two-tomoe Sharingan, he probably can't even force Mangetsu to draw his legendary blades. The outcome is predetermined."
"Mangetsu is the successor I'm training as the next Mizukage. Naturally, he's no match for some random brat."
With that, in the hall below, a system notification suddenly flashed:
[The Third Mizukage expresses contempt for you.]
Tsukasa was startled.
He quickly glanced around, but fortunately saw no one. Speechless for a moment, he could only dismiss it as a system glitch.
Otherwise, this would be too embarrassing.
In just two days, he'd already encountered four or five Kage-level powerhouses along the way.
If another one appeared—
Especially at this crucial juncture where he needed to rescue Mei Terumi and reset the plot trajectory before continuing his death-seeking quest—
It would be incredibly problematic.
He turned around, took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, and looked gravely at Hōzuki Mangetsu before him.
While he might taunt enemies strategically, he still took them seriously tactically.
Mangetsu
Glanced at the broken blade in his hand, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He'd never encountered such a powerful hardening technique before—
Far superior to the standard Earth Release: Hardening Technique he'd witnessed previously.
He'd thrust with the added force of Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique, yet this brat wasn't injured at all;
Instead, his own ninja blade shattered.
Realizing this, he leaped backward, raising his hands like pistols.
He unleashed Water Release: Water Gun Technique at the brat's vital points.
This secret ninjutsu passed down through generations of the Hōzuki clan involved shaping one's hand like a gun, firing liquid bullets from the tip of the index finger to pierce enemies.
No seals required, instantaneous activation, and possessing immense penetrating power—
It was famously used by the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu, who nearly killed the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki with a single shot.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four water bullets blasted forth
In rapid succession. Tsukasa's Sharingan flickered, attempting to track the projectiles' trajectories, but the water bullets moved too fast to follow at such close range.
He could only instinctively activate Earth Release: Earth Spear, hardening based on danger sense alone.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The impacts echoed like bullets striking an iron plate.
The instant the hardening ended,
Tsukasa quickly formed hand seals and with a reverse grip, manifested a spiraling water blade, slashing at the approaching Hōzuki Mangetsu to interrupt another water gun barrage.
Simultaneously, he glared and roared,
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
Hōzuki Mangetsu's heart skipped a beat at the declaration. He instantly lost visual tracking of the strike and backflipped away, liquefying the area about to be hit.
Tsukasa seized the opportunity, launching four shuriken with his other hand while simultaneously reversing his blade grip and slashing outward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The ninja tools tore through the air, hurtling toward Hōzuki Mangetsu.
Then Tsukasa launched himself airborne, and Water Release: Water Cutting Sword wrapped around his foot like a blade of water, slicing toward his opponent's throat.
This flurry of attacks caught Hōzuki Mangetsu off guard, forcing a full retreat.
Even after liquefying in time, he was still grazed by the shuriken barrage.
In this exchange, Tsukasa unexpectedly
Gained the upper hand.
However, rather than feeling relieved, his expression grew even more grave.
He'd only managed to damage Mangetsu by relying on superior reflexes to compensate for his shortcomings,
And while Mangetsu was forced to retreat, a cold smirk crossed his face.
After this preliminary test, he'd completely analyzed the Uchiha brat before him.
The opponent possessed exceptionally fast reflexes, dazzling shuriken techniques, seemingly impressive taijutsu skills, and a ridiculously powerful Earth Release defensive technique.
He excelled at feints and favored underhanded tactics—quite annoying.
However, these strengths couldn't mask his opponent's critical weakness—
This brat lacked a decisive finishing technique!
Furthermore, Hōzuki Mangetsu had identified another vulnerability—
This brat's seemingly overwhelming hardening technique wasn't perfect; it inevitably caused bodily rigidity.
Using that technique actually restrained the opponent's exceptionally strong reflexes.
Hōzuki Mangetsu shifted his stance slightly, his gaze growing colder as he slowly withdrew a scroll from his back.
Tsukasa's eyes locked onto this movement, and he immediately reached for his leg pouch.
There too was a scroll—
Containing the Zero-Tails' dark chakra!
This was sufficient to activate a dark chakra state, combining it with Earth Spear to unleash a hyper-aggressive assault.
However, at that moment,
Mei Terumi suddenly appeared, blocking Tsukasa's attempt to draw the scroll with her body, gripping his wrist from behind.
She tilted her head, meeting Tsukasa's gaze with her clear emerald eyes, and spoke solemnly,
"It's not time yet!"
"Your deduction was correct. Leave the rest to me,"
She declared with firm determination, her eyes bright and resolute.
"Uchiha Tsukasa—can you trust me?"
Tsukasa frowned slightly, and after a moment's silence, nodded.
Mei Terumi immediately turned around, her expression hardening. She addressed Hōzuki Mangetsu before them in a clear, steady voice,
"Let's stop here, Hōzuki Mangetsu!"
"There's no point in continuing this fight."
Hōzuki Mangetsu raised an eyebrow at this, glaring at Mei Terumi.
"Meaning? How do you define 'meaning'?"
"I'm here to eliminate you—to eliminate Yagura, whom you serve!"
His expression remained calm and indifferent.
With a swift motion, he unfurled the Seven Ninja Swords Summoning Scroll—
[Hiramekarei], [Samehada], [Kiba], [Kabutowari], [Nuibari], [Shibuki], and [Kubikiribōchō]!
Seven circular sealing formulas suddenly manifested!
Hōzuki Mangetsu held the scroll as waves gradually surged beneath his feet, lifting him upward.
Standing atop a water platform, he looked down at the two and asked coldly,
"What? Do you think you've won just by eliminating five support units?"
With his words, water surged beneath the platform, which grew taller and taller, gradually draining all water from the floor.
Then—
BOOM!
The platform's surface collapsed, and a water construct over ten meters tall burst forth.
Its sharp teeth and ferocious visage caused the entire hall to rumble with every movement,
And dust rained down from the dome.
Water Release: Tate Eboshi!
This water monster born from the Hōzuki clan's secret technique suddenly manifested before them!
Hōzuki Mangetsu stood high atop his miniature mecha, holding the scroll.
His single purple eye looked down at them coldly,
And he declared indifferently:
"The real battle has just begun."
End of Chapter 75
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Power Stone or Review!
P@atreon/Soulforger (45+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01