A massive black snake emerged from the water, its golden eyes cold and emotionless.
"Black Snake, everyone is an enemy."
Standing atop its head, Kiyosuke gave the order.
The snake opened its jaws and spewed a thick cloud of poisonous mist. Caught off guard, several shinobi instinctively inhaled it—and died instantly, without a chance to react.
"It's poison! Fall back!"
"Medical squad! Get the medical squad here!"
"Who can use Wind Style?"
Crack crack crack!
Suddenly, the purple mist crystallized into shards of ice and fell to the ground. The air turned frigid—someone from the Yuki clan had made their move.
Snakes were creatures that thrived in warmth and hated the cold. Even the enormous Black Snake was no exception. It turned its head toward the Yuki shinobi. Its tail, thick as a tower pillar, slammed down. The Yuki ninja didn't even have time to dodge—they were sent flying like rag dolls.
A single sweep of its tail sent waves crashing, along with several unfortunate shinobi caught in the strike. Kiyosuke seized the opening and spewed flames, catching his targets in a direct hit.
"Insects."
The Black Snake hissed the word coldly, twisting its body to make way for a massive shark charging up from beneath the water.
This shark was entirely made of water.
"Water Style: Giant Shark Bullet!"
Kisame Hoshigaki, still in his half-man, half-shark form, surged forward inside the technique, racing toward Kiyosuke.
"Black Snake!"
The snake lashed its tail, shattering the Giant Shark Bullet and striking Kisame within it.
Yagura Karatachi leapt onto the Black Snake's enormous body and sprinted toward Kiyosuke on its head.
He soared into the air and blasted out a torrent of high-pressure water. Kiyosuke countered with a stream of fire, nullifying the attack.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Mei Terumī launched her jutsu, but the Black Snake snorted in disdain.
"Hey, don't use me as a shield. I'm just here to fight!"
Was that... actual attitude?
"Yes, yes, I got it. That one's on me."
Kiyosuke said, "We're pulling back. Otherwise, we might be dealing with Jinchūriki soon. If a Tailed Beast goes berserk, we're screwed."
Kirigakure had both the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails. While not as terrifying as Konoha's Nine-Tails, they were still far too much for them to handle. The Black Snake had already carved out a path—there was no need to linger.
"Hmph! Even if it's a Tailed Beast, I won't lose! Let them come!"
Despite its bravado, the Black Snake knew all too well how strong Tailed Beasts were. It might not be able to win a real fight. So, it chose to retreat.
It twisted its body and raced across the water's surface.
"Water Style: Water Whip!"
A whip made of water silently lashed out, binding Kiyosuke without warning.
"What the—?"
His feet were firmly stuck to the snake's scales with chakra. Turning to look, he saw a sharp-featured middle-aged man with his eyes closed calmly restraining him.
"Got you," the man said softly.
"Lord Mizukage!!"
Yagura and the others instantly called out with respect.
Kiyosuke was stunned. For someone like him to warrant the personal attention of the Third Mizukage... just how big of a threat did he pose to Kirigakure?
"No way... the Third Mizukage himself? What an honor for a nobody like me," he said, trying to keep his composure.
The Black Snake fired a thin water arrow, snapping the whip.
"He's dangerous."
"You don't say. That's Kirigakure's strongest shinobi. I'm not dumb enough to fight him head-on."
Kiyosuke lowered his voice. "Take me back to Ryūchi."
Once they were out of Kirigakure territory, he could use Reverse Summoning to escape. No big deal.
"No. I want to fight him."
"..."
Kiyosuke stared at the snake.
You're a snake! Why are you so eager to fight human powerhouses?
"Why don't you go fight Manda?"
"The Snake Sage forbids us snakes who can use senjutsu from fighting among ourselves."
"How generous of her."
"Mostly because our fights would wreck Ryūchi. Otherwise, she wouldn't care."
"..."
Okay, maybe he had overestimated the White Snake Sage's sense of responsibility.
Across from them, the Third Mizukage spoke calmly.
"As expected of Orochimaru's student. Asakawa Kiyosuke... you're probably among the very best of Konoha's younger generation. If we let you escape today, you'll become a major threat to Kirigakure in the future."
"Oh? To receive such praise from you is truly flattering."
Kiyosuke took a fighting stance. With the Black Snake acting on its own whims, he had no choice but to face the Mizukage head-on.
"Asakawa Kiyosuke. Your value is immense."
The Mizukage formed hand seals at a speed even faster than Yagura.
Suddenly, enormous surging waves—each over twenty meters high—rose from the water, crashing with deafening force, as if they would annihilate everything in their path.
Kiyosuke didn't act.
The Black Snake did.
With a powerful swing of its tail—like a steel whip—it shattered the towering wave in a sharp crack, then continued its swing toward the Mizukage.
Whoooosh!
The strike slammed into the surface, sending water flying everywhere.
But the Mizukage had vanished.
A chilling sense of danger flooded Kiyosuke's mind. He instinctively dodged, narrowly avoiding a sudden ambush from behind.
"You don't fight fair! Sneak-attacking a twelve-year-old like me?!"
Wham!
Too fast.
The Mizukage's right leg whipped out in a powerful roundhouse kick.
Kiyosuke raised his arms just in time, but the sheer force shattered his form.
He exploded into flames and scattered.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Whip!"
Above, a water orb formed and released countless thin jets like petals from a flower, each one zeroing in on the scattered flames.
The watching Kirigakure shinobi were awestruck by the Mizukage's mastery of Water Style. Yagura, Kisame, and Ao all looked visibly relieved—now that the Mizukage had taken the field, this battle was won.
Only Mei Terumī's expression was complicated.
Even if Kiyosuke survived, he'd be gravely wounded. But that was his fate—they weren't from the same village, after all...
In midair, flames converged into a humanoid shape.
Kiyosuke hovered temporarily, while the Black Snake tried to shake the Mizukage off its head to launch an attack—but the Mizukage dodged every strike with ease.
To the Black Snake, the Mizukage was like a fly to a human.
And just like a human couldn't catch a fly barehanded, the Mizukage was too small, too quick, too agile to pin down. Humans had invented fly swatters and insecticide for a reason.
The snake had neither.
Too troublesome to catch.
Suddenly, it spoke.
"Kiyosuke, time's up."
"Then take me—"
Poof!
The Black Snake disappeared...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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