Chapter 115
2-in-1-chapter
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In front of many of his own village's shinobi, the Fourth Mizukage lowered his head to the shinobi of Konoha. Even though it was still uncertain whether this Yagura Karatachi was truly their Mizukage, looking at that small figure bowing his head, many felt it really was the Fourth.
The Mist shinobi felt a suffocating weight in their chests, their breathing heavy and stifled.
"For the sake of your village, have you even abandoned the last of your dignity and honor?"
Rēn lowered his gaze, looking at the "shogi companion" he felt he had known for quite some time. It was the first time Yagura had ever bowed his head to him—and to do so in the capacity of Mizukage. With a sigh, Rēn said, "If the old men in my village had the same resolve as you, things might never have turned so ugly."
Then Rēn's expression grew solemn as he confirmed once more:
"Mizukage‑dono, does Kirigakure acknowledge defeat?"
"…Yes."
Yagura closed his eyes. His expression was bleak, but he still nodded in affirmation.
"I hope Mizukage‑dono keeps his word. Otherwise, my rage will burn Kirigakure into white ash." Rēn spoke as he turned to look behind him—where Momochi Zabuza had appeared in an instant using the Body Flicker Technique, his injured arm raised to complete a hand seal.
Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!
For a shinobi from a small clan, this was the strongest offensive technique Zabuza could wield.
Fueled by rage, he wrung out the last of his dwindling chakra, unleashing a torrent like a crashing waterfall. The technique targeted not only Uchiha Rēn, but even Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage himself.
"Stop! Fool!"
Yagura was furious.
Zabuza, that madman—attacking the monster Uchiha Rēn at this moment? Did he have a death wish? If he wanted to die, he should have slit his throat in some quiet place. To attack Uchiha Rēn now was to refuse to let the war end. Would he only be satisfied when Rēn slaughtered his way straight into the village?
"Hōzuki Mangetsu!!"
"Hoshigaki Kisame!!"
Mei Terumī was livid as well.
Could the two of them not even restrain one injured Zabuza? What useless trash. She didn't speak the words aloud, but her eyes made her meaning clear.
Mangetsu's face turned deathly pale. Together with Kisame, he began weaving hand seals at the same moment.
Rēn removed the Gunbai. As the torrent roared toward him, he reversed the fan and planted it into the ground like a shield. It stood like an unshakable pillar against the flood—or rather, not resisting, but absorbing it.
There are two ways to use Water Style. One is to expend a massive amount of chakra to create water waves when fighting in waterless or low‑water environments. Yagura's Water Colliding Wave earlier had also served to create favorable battlefield conditions.
The other is to fight in environments rich in natural water—by mixing one's chakra directly into the surrounding water and controlling it.
Here, Zabuza was clearly in the first situation.
The unnamed island was surrounded by ocean, but with no large water source nearby to draw from, Zabuza had no choice but to exhaust his nearly depleted chakra reserves to create this massive torrent.
But—
For all its spectacle, it was useless. These torrents, made from condensed chakra, lacked the stability of Earth Style constructs. Their fluid nature made them easy to absorb. At first, some of the current split past the Gunbai's sides, but within half a second, the entire flood was sucked in as if dragged into a vortex.
"Open your eyes and witness it—Uchiha Rebound!!"
Rēn gripped the fan's handle with his right hand. Though it had absorbed nearly an entire Great Waterfall Technique, the Gunbai's weight was unchanged. With a violent sweep toward Zabuza's position, he unleashed it.
An icy gale surged forth, thundering along the path Rēn directed. The very ground was stripped of its surface layer. Unlike intangible wind, it carried tangible weight, moving like flowing liquid.
It combined the agility of a storm with the crushing heaviness of a flood, its destructive power immense.
As the target, Zabuza had not anticipated this.
Rēn's counterattack came far too quickly.
His injured right arm slowed his hand seals; there was no time to use the Body Flicker to escape. He could only watch as the terrifying gale bore down on him. Yet there was little fear in his heart—only regret that he would die without ever realizing his dream of changing Kirigakure.
Water Style: Water Formation Wall.
Hoshigaki Kisame formed hand seals, refining a massive amount of chakra within his body. A thick, solid wall of water rose before them. Yet the barrier did not hold for long; in an instant, it was shattered by a storm that tore through it like paper.
The surging water was ripped apart by the howling wind. Shock flashed across Kisame's shark‑like face. This had been his Water Formation Wall at full power, yet it had been broken so easily.
Too outrageous.
The only consolation was that he had not come alone to seize Momochi Zabuza.
Water Style: Shield Crab Helmet.
Though called a Water Style technique, it was in fact a secret art unique to the Hōzuki clan. Vast amounts of water gathered to cover Mangetsu's liquefied body through the Hydrification Technique, transforming him into a massive, amorphous water monster to shield Zabuza and Kisame.
Then, in the next moment, he personally experienced the terror of the storm rebounded by the Uchia Fan.
A liquefied body could not feel pain. As long as the volume of water was maintained within a certain limit, after returning to human form there would not be a trace of injury. Yet, seeing his body torn apart into fragments by the storm, Mangetsu understood the true horror of this strike.
Water Style: Shield Crab Helmet had been developed in the Warring States era by a prodigy of the Hōzuki clan to fight against Tailed Beasts. The results had been less than ideal—Tailed Beasts were not so easily opposed. That genius had once challenged the Nine‑Tails, only to be evaporated completely by a single Tailed Beast Bomb, leaving no remains at all.
But forcing the Nine‑Tails to unleash a Tailed Beast Bomb was proof enough that the technique had value.
That genius had died utterly, but the technique he created had been passed down through the clan before his demise.
And now, with just a single fan, Uchiha Rēn shattered his Water Style: Shield Crab Helmet. Because of the natural elemental interaction between wind and water, Mangetsu did not perish like his unlucky ancestor, but was blown away, tumbling together with Kisame and Zabuza until they finally landed far off.
"I do not wish to see this happen a second time."
Closing the Gunbai, Rēn continued from where he had left off. "This time was only a warning. Next time, not everyone will leave alive." He cast only a casual glance at Mangetsu and the others struggling to stand in the distance before withdrawing his gaze, paying them no further attention.
Yagura Karatachi exhaled in relief.
It was fortunate Uchiha Rēn had not delivered a killing blow. Mangetsu, Kisame, Zabuza—these were the future of Kirigakure. If they died here, he… he would grieve deeply.
"Thank you for your mercy, Uchiha clan head."
"Enough useless words, Mizukage‑dono. Reclaim your authority quickly. Otherwise, I'll begin to doubt whether you truly have the ability to fulfill our pact. If you cannot, I may have to visit Kirigakure as a hostile guest."
After speaking, Rēn retrieved a radio from his tool pouch and switched it on.
Ignoring Yagura's dark expression, he tuned it to the prearranged channel and transmitted the order: "Once safety is ensured, cease combat. All personnel are to gather at the island's center." The command was passed to the Yamanaka clan Jōnin. Led by Yamanaka Mokuren, they used their mental arts to transmit the order directly into the minds of every surviving Konoha shinobi on the island.
Yagura spread his arms in an unguarded posture as he strode quickly to stand before Mei Terumī and her group.
"Bring over the sensory shinobi. An impostor might mimic my appearance, but the Three‑Tails cannot be faked." Yagura's words were rapid, his tone firm. Rēn's threats were not empty. If he said he would march into Kirigakure, he absolutely could.
Such a crisis had to be avoided at all costs.
For that, he needed to regain the authority of the Mizukage without delay.
Mei Terumī frowned deeply but still signaled for the sensory shinobi to step forward and verify. At the same time, she relayed orders to Mist shinobi across the island, instructing them to cease combat.
After three sensory shinobi confirmed the presence of the sealed Three‑Tails, Mei led the Mist shinobi in kneeling on one knee before Yagura Karatachi. By then, the flames of battle across the island had already been extinguished.
The Konoha shinobi converged at the island's center. Following Mei's earlier orders, the Mist Chūnin and Genin retreated south, while the Jōnin remained, gathering with the Konoha forces at the island's heart.
It did not take long.
Two groups of shinobi, wearing different headbands, faced one another across the clearing. The divide was clear—east and west, their camps bristling with tension.
But when most saw Uchiha Rēn clasp hands with Yagura Karatachi, they understood.
The war was over.
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Dusk settled, and cooking smoke rose into the sky.
Barely an hour after the war had ended, the unnamed island had already returned to its former quiet. Perhaps because the end had come so swiftly and suddenly, the reaction of the Mist shinobi was not particularly intense. Extremists like Momochi Zabuza, who placed the village above all else, were clearly in the minority. For most, the war's end stirred little emotion.
More accurately, many Mist shinobi were simply numb.
Life inside the village was scarcely better than life on the battlefield. The endless internal strife was even more brutal than foreign wars. Walking down the street, one wished for eyes in the back of the head, lest a hidden arrow from behind strike them down. Living in such an environment, their emotions had long since dulled into cold indifference.
Few even felt any so‑called shame of defeat.
Especially the Chūnin and Genin treated as cannon fodder—whether victory or defeat, the end of the war was the only result that mattered. It meant they wouldn't have to die so soon. If luck held, they might even live a little longer. How long exactly, only fate could decide.
"War… it's already over?"
Uchiha Shisui stood at the edge of the camp, gazing toward the Mist shinobi encampment in the distance, still overcome with a strange, indescribable sense of absurdity.
Just like that, the war was over.
From the formal declaration of hostilities by Kirigakure until today, not even a month had passed. The war between two great shinobi villages had ended.
In his mind, war meant the Third Shinobi World War, that years‑long struggle, tens of thousands of shinobi clashing on the battlefield.
"What is it, Shisui? Feeling unsatisfied? Want to relive the glory days of the Third War?" Rēn strolled up casually, teasing.
"Don't joke. The sooner war ends, the better. I know you've always thought I'm naive, even stupid, but I still hate war. On the battlefield, human lives become nothing more than cold numbers. I can't stand that kind of icy feeling."
"Impressive you at least know you're naive. And stupid."
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