Outside the Mizukage Building, three members of the Hyūga clan had just finished off a Kirigakure shinobi who was trying to rush inside when they suddenly heard faint screams echoing from within.
One of them tilted his head.
"Hey, did you hear that? Those screams… something's not right. Weren't Lord Hoshiyomi and that woman supposed to be doing a stealth mission? How could it get this loud? Don't tell me he's been discovered?"
Another shook his head immediately.
"Impossible. Lord Hoshiyomi's far too strong to get caught. My guess is that woman, Pakura, dragged him down. I just hope Lord Hoshiyomi's okay."
No sooner had he spoken than a massive X-shaped slash of sword energy ripped through the Mizukage Building, carving a gaping "X" mark across its entire side.
The third Hyūga swallowed hard, muttering:
"Um, I think the situation might be a bit different from what we imagined."
The first one spoke again, looking at the destruction in disbelief.
"This is completely different from the sabotage and assassination we discussed before."
The second one finally groaned, exasperated.
"Forget that! What we should be worrying about is whoever's coming after that. What the hell is Lord Hoshiyomi doing in there? With a blast like that, how are we supposed to hold this position?!"
Just as he finished speaking, a furious roar echoed out from within the giant X-shaped wound in the building:
"Gekko Hoshiyomi — I'll kill you!!"
Inside the shattered Mizukage Building, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, stood trembling all over. He had never—since the day he was born—felt such rage.
As the leader of the Kirigakure, as the Fourth Mizukage beloved by his people, he had just watched his subordinates — the shinobi who had worked beside him day after day — massacred in an instant before his eyes. And he had done nothing to stop it.
Fury consumed him. His chest heaved as he glared at Hoshiyomi.
"I'll make you pay with your life!"
As he spoke, Yagura drew the coral-studded staff from his back, its blade-like coral branches glinting green, and charged straight toward Hoshiyomi.
Hoshiyomi, meanwhile, hadn't expected his previous strike to be that devastating. But since these were the same people who had attacked Konoha, he had no reason to show mercy.
After a momentary pause, seeing Yagura charge at him, Hoshiyomi didn't hesitate either, meeting Yagura head-on with his Mikazuki Munechika.
Mikazuki Munechika and the coral staff collided with a clear, sharp clang. Looking at Yagura, who was using all his strength trying to slash him with the sickle-blade on the end of the coral staff, Hoshiyomi raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Despite Yagura's small frame — he looked barely one and a half meters tall — the power behind his strikes was immense, far beyond that of most elite jōnin.
So this brat's strength isn't all from the Three-Tails, huh? Hoshiyomi mused.
He had assumed Yagura's position as the Fourth Mizukage came entirely from becoming the perfect jinchūriki after Rin's death. But now it seemed that even without the full power of the Three-Tails, Yagura was still a formidable fighter on his own.
Still, that level of strength meant little before Hoshiyomi, whose power had long surpassed that of an ordinary Kage.
Unlike specialists like Pain or Obito, Hoshiyomi was a balanced warrior — a true all-rounder. Thanks to his system's enhancements, his mastery of swordsmanship had reached the level of a Grandmaster, and with it, his raw physical strength had risen to the super-Kage level.
He might not quite match Tsunade or the Third Raikage in sheer brute force, but against Yagura? He had more than enough power to crush him.
As Yagura poured everything into his downward swing, Hoshiyomi focused his strength into his arms, pushing the coral staff upwards from a mechanically difficult angle.
"This move…" he muttered with a faint grin,
"—is Dragon Soar Flash!"
Yagura had never imagined that Hoshiyomi's strength could be this terrifying. Confronted with the sudden surge of power, he found himself lifted clean off the ground—forced upward by Hoshiyomi's sheer brute force.
Of course, Hoshiyomi wouldn't let such an opening go to waste. As he threw Yagura up, he twisted his body midair, his feet pressing against the ceiling. With a powerful stomp, he launched himself downward, bringing his blade in a crushing overhead strike toward the airborne Mizukage.
At that moment, Yagura had no way to counter. All he could do was brace himself, raising his coral staff defensively.
Even so, it did little good. The coral staff managed to block Hoshiyomi's blade, but the impact's force still slammed Yagura into the floor with bone-shaking violence.
Yet Yagura was no pushover. Just as Hoshiyomi prepared to drive his sword straight through Yagura's chest, the Mizukage swung his coral staff, the bladed end arcing low toward Hoshiyomi's legs.
If Hoshiyomi insisted on finishing his stab, his own feet would be sliced open.
He had no choice but to abandon the strike, twisting his sword to parry the coral staff. But Yagura moved with shocking agility—he hooked the curved blade of the coral staff around Hoshiyomi's sword, tracing a half-circle that redirected the clash's momentum.
Using that same spin, Yagura leapt into the air. Instead of closing in again, he hurled his coral staff upward; the curved blade caught the ceiling, and Yagura flipped gracefully, his legs coiling around the staff to hang suspended midair. His hands blurred through a string of seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique."
With a roar, Yagura exhaled a torrent of water that took the form of a massive dragon, which lunged straight at Hoshiyomi.
Hoshiyomi raised his sword and sliced, splitting the water dragon in two. But in doing so, his vision was temporarily obscured by the huge amount of water that sprayed everywhere from the shredded dragon.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Yagura performed another set of hand seals:
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
As he completed the seals, the water on the ground coalesced once more, trapping Hoshiyomi within it at an extremely terrifying speed.
Watching Hoshiyomi trapped within the water prison, a cruel smile appeared on Yagura's face:
"Die! Water Release: Five Feeding Sharks!"
Within the water prison, the liquid churned violently—then solidified into five massive blue sharks, each with gaping jaws lined with teeth. Four darted toward Hoshiyomi's limbs, while the fifth lunged straight for his throat.
If any of them bit down, the outcome was obvious.
In the span of just seconds, Yagura had completely turned the tables—using two rapid-fire Water Release jutsu to restrain his opponent. It was no wonder he had earned his title as the Fourth Mizukage.
Had he been facing anyone else, that might have been the end.
But unfortunately for him, his opponent was the Demon King, Hoshiyomi.
As the five sharks surged forward, Hoshiyomi didn't even blink. He simply swung his blade.
Yagura's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"Impossible! Inside my Water Prison—you shouldn't even be able to move!"
Yet that's exactly what Hoshiyomi did. His superhuman physical prowess and broken-level nature transformation shattered every rule of ninjutsu logic. In an instant, he converted his chakra nature to Water, synchronizing perfectly with the prison around him, and then opened the Sixth Gate.
With a thunderous surge of energy, his power and sword energy exploded outward, tearing the water prison apart.
As for the five sharks? Once the Water Prison was broken, they had no form to maintain—disintegrating instantly into harmless spray.