Chapter 324: Layers of Mystery—Ice Release: Extreme Ice Eye!
As the Samehada Fusion activated,
Kisame's body gradually began to resemble that of a shark. His palms grew calluses, fins emerged from his elbows, and three closable gill slits appeared on each of his shoulders. A long, densely-scaled shark tail extended from his lower back.
His face also took on a menacing look, transforming into that of a ferocious shark!
Samehada Fusion Mode—
This was a transformation that allowed Kisame to merge with Samehada's power, turning into a half-man, half-fish form capable of moving and breathing freely underwater. Moreover, his inherent chakra-absorbing ability would be amplified to a truly absurd degree.
Through ninjutsu, taijutsu, or even simple contact, he could absorb chakra from his opponent's body.
At the same time, he also gained an extremely wide perception range!
"He's running low on chakra,"
Hovering in mid-air atop the head of an ice dragon, Bailan stood with eyes closed and calmly pointed out Uchiha Ci's weakness before laying out the plan:
"Kisame, you're in charge of draining and absorbing his jutsu."
"I'll block any Sage Art attacks, and if you're caught in a genjutsu, I'll dispel it."
"Push him to the edge!"
"Then, I'll finish it with Execution Water Soar—freezing his limbs and dismembering him!"
With that, Bailan leapt down from the dragon's head and eerily melted into the ice prison, appearing like a painting on the prison's mirror-like surface.
This was the Ice Release Secret Art—Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
The caster could move between mirrored surfaces at the speed of light. In the original story, this was used by Haku. But now, Bailan was not only casting this secret art—he was doing it while maintaining the Absolute Ice Prison technique, fusing his own body into the very prison itself.
Hearing his opponents openly discuss, right to his face, how they were going to take him down—
Uchiha Ci's expression twitched slightly, and his demeanor became immediately guarded.
If this were a one-on-one fight, killing Kisame wouldn't be all that difficult.
Sage Arts and his Sharingan genjutsu were both effective counters to Kisame's abilities.
But now,
he was facing two opponents.
Any Sage Art attack would be nullified by the Third Mizukage's strange Extreme Ice Shield. The Mizukage could also move freely inside the Ice Prison, appearing at Kisame's side at any time to dispel any ocular genjutsu.
Kisame, having no need to worry about anything else, was practically immortal in this environment—able to rapidly heal wounds using the chakra stored inside Samehada.
All Kisame had to do was keep attacking and slowly drain Uchiha Ci's chakra.
And then he would become nothing more than meat on the chopping block.
This was a blatant and undeniable open conspiracy, and the Third Mizukage wasn't the least bit concerned about Uchiha Ci hearing any of it.
However—
What truly baffled Uchiha Ci was—
How exactly was the Third Mizukage doing all this?
How could he perceive everything around him without using his eyes?
Uchiha Ci could only do that with his Mind's Eye. Could the Mizukage have a similar ability?
How could he instant-cast jutsu without making hand seals?
Even that so-called "God of Shinobi," who clapped his hands and summoned techniques at will, at least made a single 'Snake' or 'Water' seal with his hands. Even Uchiha Ci himself, with all his buffs and hacks, needed at least a final hand seal when casting one-handed.
In this world, those who could use jutsu without seals lived thousands of years ago during the era of the Shinobi Ancients.
Could the Third Mizukage really be that monstrous—so powerful he transcended the limits of a modern ninja and entered the realm of the Shinobi Ancients?
Then here comes the real question:
If the Third Mizukage truly possessed the power of both the Mind's Eye and a Shinobi Ancestor—
Why did he lose the position of Second Mizukage to that mustached brat, Gengetsu Hōzuki?
And how could he let Madara Uchiha manipulate the Land of Water behind the scenes, sinking it into stagnation and silence with no resistance at all?
These contradictions in the intel made Uchiha Ci feel an intense sense of dissonance.
He couldn't help but glance again at the mirror-like wall of the Ice Prison, where the silent and expressionless Third Mizukage stood with his eyes closed.
In battle, what mattered more than flashy moves—
Was your strategic thinking!
There had to be intel about this opponent that he didn't yet know!
And once he uncovered that missing piece, maybe he could flip the situation in his favor—
Turn the tables!
His mind racing,
Kisame had already assumed an attacking stance.
He bared his shark-like teeth in a grin, eyes locked tightly onto Uchiha Ci, and said in an unnervingly polite tone:
"Then, Third Mizukage-sama, my life is in your hands—"
"Oh, and also, please close the skylight."
Pa!
With a sudden clap of his hands, Kisame's eyes blazed with intensity, and he threw his head back with a roar!
"Water Release: Super Exploding Water Shockwave!"
"He's coming!" Uchiha Ci's face tensed. He raised his left hand to his chest and formed the 'Tiger' seal—
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
This Fire Release technique compressed a massive amount of chakra into a dragon-shaped inferno, which could then be precisely directed to assault the enemy. A skilled user could activate it with just the 'Tiger' seal.
In that instant—
Uchiha Ci hooked his index finger, flipped his body in a swift somersault, and puffed out a massive breath!
A refined flaming dragon's head erupted from his mouth, crashing toward the ice wall in front of him!
At the same time—
He suddenly raised his right palm, aiming at Kisame, who was flooding the area with his Water Shockwave.
A black sun-shaped mark on his palm flared, condensing into a Multi-Lotus Chainless Cannon!
A beam of golden-yellow light gathered at the center of his hand and fired with explosive force!
At this moment—
He launched simultaneous attacks on both enemies.
If the Third Mizukage chose to rescue Kisame, the ice wall would be shattered by the Fire Dragon, allowing Uchiha Ci to escape the mirror range and buy time.
If the Mizukage chose to defend against the fire, Kisame would be struck by a Sage Art attack that couldn't be absorbed—guaranteed to suffer a grievous wound!
"So then—what's your choice, Third Mizukage?"
Uchiha Ci raised his head and stared coldly into the ice wall, where the silent, closed-eyed Third Mizukage stood.
At that moment,
The mirror-like ice surface—
The Mizukage tilted his head slightly, and in an instant, opened his eyes—
Revealing a pair of icy blue pupils glowing like frozen fire, turning sharply toward Kisame!
"Ice Release: Extreme Ice Shield!"
A thin but chilling layer of ice suddenly materialized in front of Kisame.
"So it's true—his trigger for casting jutsu is opening his eyes!"
"Now's my chance!"
Veins bulged around Uchiha Ci's eyes, the whites flooding with crimson as three tomoe spun wildly—
"Sage Art: Sharingan—Eye of Blinding Radiance!"
This ocular technique ignored distance and eye contact. As long as the target was within 360 degrees and had their eyes open, the jutsu would land!
Uchiha Ci's entire ploy—attacking both enemies—was designed to force the Mizukage to act, to see whether or not he'd open his eyes and confirm the activation condition.
In that instant—
Their eyes met: Uchiha Ci's swirling Sharingan against the Mizukage's frosty blue gaze.
However—
Crack!
The sound of ice shattering echoed from somewhere to Uchiha Ci's side.
The Mizukage—caught in the genjutsu—vanished from the ice wall.
The ocular jutsu missed its mark!
Uchiha Ci whipped his head around toward the sound—
And saw it.
Floating in midair, hidden among the frosty mist from the ice wall—
Was an eye made entirely of ice, suddenly revealed!
No—
It wasn't "revealed," but rather—
It had cracked from the shock of chakra projected by the genjutsu, creating a flaw in its perfect camouflage. That's what let Uchiha Ci's Sharingan perceive it.
This eye, suspended in the air, resembled something he'd once seen in the original timeline—
The Third Eye formed by Gaara's Sand Release.
But this—
Was the technique Bailan had crafted with his Ice Release:
Ice Release: Extreme Ice Eye!
"!!" Uchiha Ci froze, staring at that icy pupil as if struck by sudden realization.
But in the next instant—
Because the Extreme Ice Eye had shattered,
The mirrored projection of the Third Mizukage on the ice wall turned faint, unable to open its eyes or cast any jutsu to block the oncoming Fire Dragon.
BOOM!
The concentrated fireball from the Great Dragon Fire Technique blew through the Ice Prison!
At the same time, Kisame's massive Super Exploding Water Shockwave surged forth to drown everything in its path—
BANG!!!
(TN: Sorry for the late update. This fanfic is currently on the drop list. If you would like me to continue translating it, please vote on my Patreøn.)