Mei Terumi's voice rang out, causing the Mist ninja nearby to pause in their tracks. Ao, who had been called by Mei, hesitated for a moment but eventually activated the Byakugan in his right eye and looked toward Yagura.
"Forgive me, Mizukage-sama!"
He apologized to Yagura first, then his expression shifted. Through his Byakugan, he clearly saw abnormal chakra fluctuations inside Yagura's head.
A cold glint flashed in Yagura's eyes. Suddenly, he formed hand seals and shouted:
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Mei had anticipated this and countered Yagura's attack with a swift incantation of her own. She then shouted, "The Mizukage is under a genjutsu! Anbu, restrain him!"
The surrounding Mist ninja hesitated for a moment as they witnessed the clash.
But it was obvious to many that something was indeed wrong with Yagura. Moreover, the masked ninja who had just fought against Kaede had also emerged from inside the Mizukage's building.
Within mere seconds, the nearby Mist ninja and Anbu split into three factions, one small group rushed to Yagura's side to protect him, while another group stayed frozen in place.
The third faction, led by Ao and Mei Terumi, launched an attack on Yagura.
A chaotic battle broke out instantly!
Since Yagura's recent behavior had been growing increasingly suspicious, more shinobi were inclined to trust Ao and Mei. Even some who hadn't been completely brainwashed and were simply loyal to the Hidden Mist Village quickly chose to side with Mei.
However, even though Mei's faction had the numbers advantage, Yagura, being the Fourth Mizukage, was undeniably one of the strongest individuals in the village.
"My condition is perfectly normal. So, this is your idea of a coup?"
Yagura spoke coldly as he looked at Mei and the others. Chakra surged from his body with Kage-level intensity, cracking the rooftop beneath him with loud snapping sounds.
His presence caused several of the hesitant shinobi to waver and switch sides, joining Yagura in resisting Mei and Ao's assault.
"Stand down!"
"I'm only trying to dispel the genjutsu on the Mizukage!"
Ao tried to explain while clashing with an emotionless Anbu operative who blocked his path like a lifeless machine.
Seeing the situation spiraling into a full-scale civil conflict, Mei Terumi gritted her teeth and formed rapid hand seals to unleash her kekkei genkai, hoping to control the battlefield.
"Lava Style: Acid Slime Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"
Yagura simultaneously performed hand seals.
A mirror of water formed in front of him and reflected Mei's image. From it, an identical acid attack shot forth, colliding with Mei's jutsu mid-air. The two Lava Style techniques exploded, sending corrosive fluid splashing in every direction.
Sizzle!
The ground and buildings nearby were immediately eroded by the corrosive attacks.
The battling Mist ninja were forced to retreat in all directions.
"Damn it…"
Mei's expression darkened. She had only intended to push back the nearby shinobi to create a better opportunity, but now she had unintentionally damaged the village instead.
In the next instant, Yagura flickered forward and appeared before her, delivering a fierce kick.
Boom!
Mei didn't have time to perform another jutsu. She quickly raised her arms in front of her to block, but the force still sent her flying backward.
Yagura followed up with another jutsu that blasted Ao, who had charged in from the side, into the air. Then he swept his chakra staff horizontally, forcing back a Jonin.
In the blink of an eye,
Several Jonin and elite Jonin were defeated and repelled by Yagura alone!
"This isn't going to work…"
"Even under genjutsu, Mizukage-sama's strength is barely diminished. There's no way we can subdue him like this."
Ao, knocked down and struggling to rise, spoke through gritted teeth.
Mei's expression was equally grim. The Mist ninja who had sided with them also looked deeply troubled. Yagura's strength was simply overwhelming, they couldn't find a way to deal with him.
But then,
Just as Yagura stood alone, causing Mei and Ao to hesitate and freezing the battlefield,
A swirl of black space suddenly opened above Yagura.
Out of it stumbled Uchiha Obito, blood streaming down from both eyes, dripping onto his cracked mask.
Whoosh!
The moment he landed, Obito immediately fled toward the distance.
And right behind him,
Golden ripples appeared, and Kaede stepped out from a spatial portal.
Yagura's eyes flashed with light as he gathered chakra into his staff and swung it toward Kaede's neck.
But Kaede casually extended his left hand and, moving like an afterimage, seized Yagura by the neck. Then, as if tossing aside a ragdoll, he flung him away.
Whoosh!
Yagura's body flew like a cannonball, smashing through over a dozen buildings in the village before slamming into the distant mountain wall at the village's edge, embedding into it and leaving countless cracks spidering across the stone.
Kaede didn't spare him a glance. His eyes remained locked on Obito as he took a step forward, and instantly vanished.
Watching the Fourth Mizukage get thrown like a doll and embedded into the cliffside, with his fate unknown,
The surrounding Mist ninja fell into stunned silence.
Kaede reappeared like a phantom behind Obito, casually swinging his right hand, which pierced through Obito's left shoulder and out his right chest.
At that very moment, blood burst from Obito's chest as if something had pierced straight through his heart, leaving a gaping hole front to back.
"Guh…"
Obito coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body froze mid-escape and toppled downward, crashing heavily onto the street below.
The moment he realized he couldn't stop Kaede from entering the Kamui dimension, Obito panicked and used Kamui to return to the real world in an attempt to escape.
But once Kamui's dimension was compromised, his defeat was inevitable.
Kamui's intangibility works by shifting parts of the user's body into the pocket dimension to evade attacks, an almost invincible defense.
However, that only holds true as long as the Kamui space remains under his sole control.
Once it's breached,
Even leaving behind a single shadow clone inside the dimension renders the ability useless. Any body part shifted into that space can be attacked freely without resistance.
"Ugh…"
Obito coughed up another mouthful of blood as he lay on the ground. Numerous Wood Release vines tried to envelop and drag his body underground.
But Kaede simply made a grasping motion with his left hand.
Crash!
Obito's body was violently yanked back into the air and pulled before Kaede, who seized him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
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Completed version available on Patreon Patreon.com/Veltoria