"Inorganic Reincarnation!"
With a low shout, Kiyosuke infused the water beneath his feet with a massive amount of senjutsu chakra.
Instantly, the surface began to boil like a pot over fire, bubbling and gurgling.
Streams of purified water surged upward, and under Kiyosuke's precise control, they shot out as water arrows in a sudden burst, piercing through the bodies of the unsuspecting Kirigakure shinobi.
"Ahhh!!"
Screams rang out in succession as blood dyed the water crimson. Mei and a few others who had managed to dodge stood off to the side, watching with unease, deeply wary of Kiyosuke's sudden surge in power.
"How… how is this possible? How did he grow this strong, this fast?"
Just moments ago, they had been fairly evenly matched.
Was he hiding his true strength all along?
"Mei, fall back. I still don't want to kill you."
Water coiled protectively around Kiyosuke, as if standing guard. It was inorganic matter, naturally under his control, but moved as though it possessed thought.
Mei Terumī gritted her teeth.
"No. I'm a shinobi of Kirigakure. I can't let you run rampant here."
"Then… that's a shame," Kiyosuke sighed.
He stretched out his hand, and the swirling water morphed into snarling, lifelike dragons that lunged toward the group.
Crack!
One of the water dragons bit clean through a thick tree trunk, forcing Mei and the others to retreat.
Kiyosuke didn't rest either. He stepped onto the back of a water dragon and surged forward, closing the distance between himself and Taketori. In his hand, a kunai laced with water-nature chakra gleamed. He leapt high.
"Water Style: Water Blade Slash!"
The kunai slashed downward toward Taketori.
Immediately, sharp bone spikes burst from Taketori's chest to form a defense. More and more bones erupted forth, intercepting the attack. With a boom, the impact flung him back, smashing through several trees before he crashed into one, coughing blood and collapsing against the trunk.
Though he'd managed to block the attack, the sheer force of it gave him no time to disperse the impact. It was impossible to count how many bones had shattered inside him.
Thankfully, the Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku allowed new bones to regenerate quickly.
But only if he stayed conscious.
"Lava Style!"
Dozens of acid globs the size of fists flew in, forcing Kiyosuke to retreat. Mei rushed over to Taketori and found him unconscious, her heart sinking. She immediately signaled for someone to carry him away.
Then, turning to face Kiyosuke, she said, "Your strength… it's growing faster than I imagined."
"Well, it's war," Kiyosuke replied, forming hand seals quickly. "If I don't get stronger, I'll die out here."
"Mei… I really don't want to kill you, but you—"
Before he could finish, a terrifying wave of chakra exploded in the distance. It was ancient, primal—like the wrath of some prehistoric beast, full of rage and savagery.
"What the hell…"
She whipped her head around. Her chakra perception instantly picked up a massive chakra presence, so enormous it defied belief.
ROOOOAAARRRR!
The roar thundered across the battlefield, full of fury and madness. She turned to look—where just moments ago the Third Mizukage had been fighting Orochimaru, now a red cloak of chakra engulfed his body. Three tails swayed behind him, and a massive turtle shell rose from his back.
Kneeling on the water's surface, the Mizukage faced forward. A ball the size of a basketball, glowing with intertwined red and blue yin-yang chakra, condensed in front of him.
Even that tiny orb could easily obliterate scores of shinobi.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
"Summoning: Triple Rashōmon!"
Faced with the Mizukage's Tailed Beast Bomb, Orochimaru's expression turned grave as he summoned three massive demonic gates. Each gate bore a grimacing demonic face, as if mocking the attack itself.
BOOM!
The Tailed Beast Bomb slammed into the gates. The massive explosion tore through the surrounding forest and blasted away the pooled water.
When the dust finally cleared, Orochimaru stood unharmed, though the three Rashōmon gates had been destroyed.
He surveyed the now-barren landscape with a smile.
"So this is the power of the Three-Tails… Third Mizukage, I truly underestimated you. You actually sealed the Three-Tails inside yourself and used its power against us. No wonder you were worthy of being called 'Mizukage.'"
There was admiration in his eyes.
Knowing he was nearing his end, the Third Mizukage had sealed the Three-Tails into himself, becoming its Jinchūriki in a last-ditch effort to win the war.
Whether he won or lost, it didn't really matter anymore.
If he won, Konoha would suffer a severe blow and wouldn't dare invade the Land of Water again anytime soon. Even if he died, the Three-Tails would vanish with him. Its eventual resurrection would open a path for the next Mizukage to retrieve it.
If he lost, then he would die—simple as that. At that point, there'd be nothing more he could do.
As long as the tailed beasts weren't sealed away, they could always come back. Even death couldn't erase them forever. The Three-Tails would resurrect in the Land of Water—it'd just be a bit troublesome to capture again. A trial, perhaps, for the future Fourth Mizukage.
Truly, the Third Mizukage was a man worthy of the title. Even at the end of his life, he thought only of his village.
After Orochimaru's words, he no longer had the ability to respond. The Three-Tails' chakra was eroding his mind, rendering him speechless. All he could do was roar in return.
His strength depleted, his body at its limit—he could no longer suppress the rampaging chakra of the tailed beast. This chakra was primal, ferocious—born from the origin of all chakra. Not just anyone could contain it.
And certainly not a dying man.
ROOOOAAARRR!
Savage. Frenzied. All rational thought was gone.
The Three-Tails… had gone berserk.
...
"Hm? A full rampage? This is going to be troublesome." Even Orochimaru didn't dare let his guard down in the face of a berserk tailed beast.
The Third Mizukage—no, now it was the Three-Tails—began to swell in size. Chakra gushed out of its body in massive waves, even more terrifying than before. Finally, an enormous turtle lay sprawled on the ground, its single eye filled only with madness and rage.
Before it stood the humans who had once tried to bind it.
And it hated them.
Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate!
Die, humans!!!
It lifted its head high. Another Tailed Beast Bomb formed—and fired—instantly blasting apart the peak of a nearby mountain.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The shockwave ripped through the forest like a hurricane. Kiyosuke quickly ducked behind a tree.
"Yaaah!"
Mei screamed as the blast knocked her off her feet and flung her through the air.
"Tch. Guess I owe you one."
With a swift motion, Kiyosuke sent several snakes slithering out. They wrapped around Mei's body, catching her midair and pulling her into his arms.
She squirmed instinctively, uncomfortable with the closeness, but Kiyosuke barked,
"Don't move! If you do, we're going to be blown away!"
CRACK!
The words had barely left his mouth before the tree behind them finally gave way under the pressure and snapped.
The two of them were lifted into the air together.
...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo