"Danzo!"
"Your Konoha's Hokage Advisor, Lord Danzo!"
"He's one of my closest friends!"
"If he finds out you've treated me like this, he'll definitely hold you accountable once I return!"
"You don't want to become rogue ninja at such a young age, do you?!"
Yagura sat kneeling in filthy water with his pig-like swollen face.
His legs were bent at grotesque angles that defied common sense.
The agony had left his face covered in tears and snot.
Even so, he continued screaming at the top of his lungs.
Danzo was the final life-saving straw he could still grasp.
"There's no way you don't know Lord Danzo!"
"He's the Hokage Advisor!"
"The leader of Root!"
"He holds immense power in Konoha!"
"Brat, if you really dare touch me, Lord Danzo could crush you with a single finger!"
"The Root Organization will arrest your family, your brothers, your sisters!"
"He'll definitely uphold justice for me! He—"
Pfft!
Before he could finish, an extremely abrupt sound filled with mockery interrupted him.
Yagura froze.
Looking up, he realized it wasn't Kai or Sasuke.
Who was it?
Confused, he slowly turned his head.
Only then did he discover that the source of the noise was—
Kisame.
The very same "Tailless Tailed Beast" who had been kneeling on the ground moments earlier, desperately trying to bury his shark head underground.
Now, however, he had lifted his head from the rubble.
His dark-blue shark face split open into a grin, revealing rows of terrifying white fangs.
Interlocking razor-sharp teeth.
Noticing Yagura's gaze, Kisame looked back.
His eyes were filled with the pity one reserved for a dead man.
And—
A smile he could barely suppress.
Even the corners of his mouth twitched upward uncontrollably.
He might not know everything.
But lately he had paid close attention to news regarding Uchiha Kai.
Naturally, he knew one thing for certain.
Danzo had been dead for quite a while.
And the one responsible was standing right there.
Uchiha Kai's first true appearance under the spotlight of the ninja world.
The battle that announced his existence.
The battle before Kai beat him half to death.
"Justice? You want Danzo to uphold justice for you?"
Kisame suppressed his laughter with visible effort.
"Do you know that the grass growing on Danzo's grave is probably taller than you by now?"
His voice remained rough and gravelly.
Yet those words instantly shoved every rebuttal back down Yagura's throat.
The Fourth Mizukage froze.
His swollen throat bobbed repeatedly.
Several seconds later, he glared at Kisame through eyes squeezed into narrow slits and practically roared:
"Y-You! You're talking nonsense!"
"How could Lord Danzo of Konoha possibly—"
"How could he possibly what?"
Kisame interrupted again, his tone dripping with ridicule.
"He's dead."
"Dead."
"Completely dead!"
"Even his bones were ground into powder and fed to dogs—"
"Oh wait, that's not quite right."
He respectfully gestured toward Kai with his chin.
"This esteemed lord here scattered him."
"Not just the bones."
"Even the ashes are gone."
"If you want to find him, you'll have to start digging up the ground."
Only after finishing did Kisame cautiously glance at Kai.
Seeing no reaction, he finally placed his hands on his hips and burst into laughter.
He truly couldn't stand this idiot Mizukage.
Meanwhile, Yagura's face grew paler and paler.
More twisted with every passing second.
Until it resembled a grotesquely misshapen steamed bun.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Couldn't accept it.
After only a brief silence, he shouted back:
"No!"
"Impossible!"
"You must be lying!"
"That's Danzo we're talking about!"
His voice became shrill.
His head shook violently.
The movement aggravated his shattered knees.
Blood seeped out even faster.
Drip.
Drip.
Cold sweat trickled down the sides of his face.
Yet he ignored the pain.
Ignored the sweat.
He stubbornly repeated the same words over and over.
"Impossible."
"Impossible!"
"A figure like Danzo?"
"He survived the Second War!"
"He survived the Third War!"
"How could he possibly die?!"
"Besides!"
"He has Lord Third Hokage supporting him!"
"Oh right!"
"And Advisor Koharu Utatane!"
"And Advisor Homura Mitokado!"
"They grew up together with Lord Danzo!"
"How could they possibly ignore his death?!"
"So!"
"You're definitely lying to me, aren't you?!"
"You're trying to shake my ninja way!"
The more Yagura spoke, the crazier he sounded.
His eyes had already begun showing signs of complete instability.
Yet he never expected Kisame's next words to plunge him into absolute despair.
"Ohhh, right."
"The people you mentioned really are Konoha's top leadership."
"Of course they wouldn't just stand by while Danzo was killed, would they?"
Hearing those words, Yagura subconsciously nodded.
Like a lost dog finally spotting hope.
A trace of pride even appeared in his eyes.
He relaxed slightly.
Then Danzo really wasn't dead.
But Kisame's grin widened further.
His smile became cruel and mocking.
"Exactly."
"That's why all those old coffins died too."
"Tsk tsk."
"Danzo went first."
"The two advisors hurried after him."
"Couldn't bear letting him feel lonely on the road to the afterlife."
"As for the Third Hokage you mentioned?"
"The so-called strongest Hokage?"
At that point, Kisame deliberately paused.
He watched the final spark of hope vanish from Yagura's eyes.
Only then did he continue slowly, almost mournfully.
"He died too."
"And died miserably."
"Even his soul is gone."
"You see?"
"How can Konoha's F4 not be considered close friends?"
"When they left, they all left together."
BOOM!
Those words crashed down like a torrential storm.
Instantly washing away the final thread of sanity inside Yagura's mind.
The last string holding him together snapped.
"No!"
"No! No! No!"
"Impossible!"
He let out a scream that no longer sounded human.
The voice was filled with despair and collapse.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi—
Broke completely.
At the same moment, the already shattered Three-Tails chakra cloak surrounding his body suddenly reacted like dying embers drenched in oil.
Scarlet light erupted.
Blinding.
Violent.
Overwhelming.
The Three-Tails Jinchūriki, Yagura—
Entered complete Tailed Beast Transformation.
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