**Iwagakure Frontlines**
Tsuchikage Mu and Mizukage Gengetsu stood facing each other.
"It seems your village is poorly managed, Gengetsu, which is why you seek to challenge me," Mu mocked.
With a fierce roar, Gengetsu fired back, "Mu, today you will meet your end!" and charged at him.
Witnessing their leaders in battle, nearby shinobi joined the fray.
The atmosphere crackled with intensity as the two Kage confronted each other on the rocky terrain. Around them, the sounds of war reverberated—metal clashing, powerful jutsu colliding, and shinobi engaged in fierce combat. Yet, in this small corner of chaos, only these two warriors mattered.
Gengetsu's form began to shimmer, becoming almost ghostlike as water flowed through him. "You've always overestimated yourself, Mu," he growled, his voice eerily amplified from the activation of his Hydrification Technique.
Mu's response was to simply vanish. His chakra signature disappeared completely, leaving only the subtle disturbance of dust to hint at his movement.
"Already hiding?" Gengetsu teased, though he cautiously scanned the battlefield. "Coward's jutsu!"
Suddenly, a powerful beam of white light struck, carving a path through the earth where Gengetsu had stood. The Mizukage's fluid form scattered like droplets, reforming a distance away as the Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu left a cylindrical void in the ground.
"You're still too slow," Mu's disembodied voice echoed from all directions.
Gengetsu quickly formed hand seals. "Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" A massive torrent erupted from him, flooding the area and creating a temporary lake as steam billowed from the spot where Mu's previous attack had heated the ground.
The invisibility spell slightly diminished as water clung to Mu. Gengetsu pointed confidently, launching a high-pressure jet of water like a bullet. However, Mu evaded just in time, the water making a hole in a boulder behind him.
Revealing himself fully, Mu began weaving intricate seals. "Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A giant dragon head burst from the ground, unleashing a volley of hardened mud projectiles. Just as the first wave hit, Gengetsu transformed into liquid, his form rippling to let the attacks pass through unharmed.
"My turn," Gengetsu retorted, gathering his power. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The battlefield responded to his call, water swirling into a massive, serpentine dragon that roared like a tsunami. Mu leapt into the air using his ability to fly, while the water dragon relentlessly pursued him.
As he countered from mid-air with another Particle Style beam, the dragon was too vast—his attack only sheared off part of its head, which quickly regenerated. The colossal water dragon crashed into Mu, sending him hurtling back down with immense force.
The Tsuchikage hit the ground hard, creating a crater. Though his enhanced durability protected him from severe injury, he felt his ribs strain from the blow. As he attempted to rise, Gengetsu began forming another attack.
"Water Style: Raging Waves!"
A massive wall of water rushed toward Mu. His hands worked rapidly. "Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
A colossal earthen barrier surged upward, bolstered by his chakra. The water slammed into it with a thunderous crash, spray flying everywhere. For a moment, it seemed the wall would hold—but cracks began to form.
Cursing, Mu abandoned his defense and leapt skyward just as the wall shattered, flooding more of the battlefield.
"You can't run forever!" Gengetsu taunted, altering his form as oil mixed with his water. "Let me show you something special—Steaming Danger Tyranny!"
A massive clone of Gengetsu burst forth, with steam billowing off its body, moving erratically. It raced at Mu at inhuman speed.
Mu attempted to counter with a Particle Style beam, but the clone's speed was too much. It grabbed his leg just as—
BOOM!
The explosion was overwhelming—a burst of superheated steam and shockwaves. Mu screamed as scorching heat burned his skin, setting his clothes ablaze. He fell from the sky, smoking and singed.
Yet, even as he descended, his tactical mind worked swiftly. The clone reformed from the water droplets; another explosion was imminent. He needed to act fast.
"Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!"
Mu burrowed into the earth just before hitting the ground, disappearing beneath the surface while the reformed clone searched desperately above, building pressure for its next blast.
Underground, Mu navigated through the earth quickly, utilizing his sensory abilities to track Gengetsu. The real Mizukage remained in liquid form, constantly shifting to avoid counterattacks. But Mu had a plan.
He surged up directly beneath Gengetsu, his hands already glowing with Particle Style energy. However, Gengetsu anticipated him—when Mu broke through the ground, Gengetsu unleashed a point-blank Water Gun Technique.
The high-pressure jet struck Mu's shoulder, spinning him around, but his attack was launched alongside it. The Particle Style beam grazed Gengetsu, atomizing part of his liquid form as he barely dodged.
Both Kage reeled away, gasping for breath. Gengetsu flickered, struggling to maintain cohesion, while Mu clutched his injured shoulder, blood seeping between his fingers.
"Getting tired, old friend?" Mu teased, despite his own strained voice.
"Not nearly as fatigued as you'll be when I finish," Gengetsu replied. He bit his thumb, drawing blood, and slapped his palm onto the water's surface. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A gigantic clam appeared, the size of a building. Instantly, a thick, iridescent mist began to flow from its shell, shrouding everything in a shimmering haze.
Mu's eyes narrowed—he recognized this technique. The clam's mirage genjutsu was one of Gengetsu's most dreaded abilities. In moments, the battlefield was filled with deceptive images: multiple Gengetsu clones and giant clams, all appearing absolutely real.
"Try to find me!" Gengetsu's voice echoed from all directions.
Mu closed his eyes, focusing on his other senses. Despite his advanced sensory abilities, they struggled against the complicated illusion. Each mirage felt tangible and real.
An attack came from his left—a Water Gun. He dodged, only to find it was a distraction. The real assault struck from behind, another high-pressure jet slicing into his back.
Frustrated and injured, Mu opted for a bold tactic. "If I can't pinpoint you individually..."
He began gathering chakra for a massive area attack, his hands glowing with intense energy as he prepared to unleash a broad Particle Style jutsu.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu—Wide Range!"
Beams of destructive light shot out in all directions, slicing through the mist and erasing everything they touched. Illusions vanished, along with trees, rocks, and parts of the landscape.
One beam struck true—the actual giant clam. Its shell cracked and began to disintegrate, its cry echoing through the battlefield. As it died, the mirage genjutsu wavered, the false images flickering out of existence.
Gengetsu had prepared for this moment. As the mist lifted, Mu found himself surrounded by six Steaming Danger Tyranny clones, all priming for simultaneous explosions.
"Checkmate," Gengetsu declared from their midst.
Mu's eyes widened in horror—there was no escape at this range. Still, he had one last trick up his sleeve.
"Earth Style: Moving Earth Core!"
The ground beneath them rocketed upward like a pillar, soaring hundreds of feet in seconds. The explosive clones detonated simultaneously, but the shape of the pillar directed their blast away from Mu.
Although the combined explosion was devastating, the stone pillar shattered, and both fighters were cast into freefall. Mu used his flight ability to slow his descent, while Gengetsu transformed to absorb the impact.
They landed on opposite sides of a crater-filled battlefield, both exhausted, both at their limits.
"Still on your feet?" Mu asked, wiping blood from his mouth as his invisibility flickered; his chakra reserves were nearly depleted.
"Always," Gengetsu replied, though his form was unstable, struggling to maintain its shape.
Mu decided that if conventional tactics weren't working, he'd have to resort to his most dangerous technique.
He split himself in half.
This was disorienting to watch—one moment a single shinobi, the next two identical figures, each with half of his previous power and chakra.
"Now it's two against one," both Mu replicas spoke in unison. "Let's see how you handle this."
Gengetsu sprang into action, heating his form as he mixed more oil with his liquid self. "You think numbers matter? Allow me to show you real multiplication!"
From the water emerged multiple Steaming Danger Tyranny clones—not six, but dozens. Each clone was smaller and weaker, yet their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
Chaos erupted on the battlefield. Both halves of Mu darted in different directions to evade the swarming clones while firing Particle Style beams to reduce their numbers. Earth Style walls sprang up and fell, providing brief cover before being annihilated by steam blasts.
One half of Mu was caught by three clones at once. Though their combined explosion was less intense than previous blasts, it was still enough to bring him down, his body battered and burnt, chakra nearly spent.
The remaining half pressed forward in desperation. "Earth Style: Earth Spear!" His body hardened dramatically as two more clones approached. The explosions sent him flying again, but his enhanced durability kept him alive.
Gengetsu emerged from the turmoil, his form flickering with instability. "One down," he panted, "one to go."
The surviving Mu struggled to his feet, his hardened skin cracking and bleeding. "One is all I need."
Both fighters stood at their absolute limits—Gengetsu's liquid form was nearly unsustainable, while Mu's chakra was almost exhausted. They faced each other across the ravaged terrain, knowing the next exchange would be their last.
"No more tricks," Mu asserted, hands glowing with the remnants of his chakra. "No more games."
"Agreed," Gengetsu said, his body bubbling and shifting. "Let's end this properly."
With everything they had, Mu focused on one final, ultimate technique. His form illuminated with brilliant energy as he readied the most powerful Particle Style jutsu he'd ever attempted, one that would obliterate everything in a vast radius, including himself.
Gengetsu matched that desperation, transforming into a massive bomb. His body expanded and heated, preparing to unleash an explosion greater than any before.
"PARTICLE STYLE: ATOMIC DISMANTLING JUTSU—MAXIMUM OUTPUT!"
"STEAMING DANGER TYRANNY—ULTIMATE FORM!"
The two techniques collided at the center of the battlefield. For an instant, silence enveloped everything—the calm before devastation. Then, reality shattered.
The explosion was indescribable—a blend of atomic destruction and superheated steam that generated its own weather. The shockwave flattened everything for miles, and the brilliance of the blast was visible from neighboring countries.
When the chaos subsided, nothing remained but a perfectly round crater, its walls smooth as glass. Nearby ninjas succumbed to the overwhelming force.
Those who survived rushed to a find their Kage's positions, discovering both had perished. A temporary truce was declared in the wake of the calamity.