Chapter 101: The Mizukage is On His Way
Are all the Uchiha clan members completely insane?!
Looking at the man with that gentle, almost serene smile before him, Kushimaru Kuriarare felt a bone-deep chill run down his spine.
This guy had been wandering around Kirigakure territory for so long, and his real target was actually the Mizukage himself!
You have to understand—that's a Kage!
Not some random nobody, nor just an ordinary elite Jōnin.
Anyone who could earn the title of 'Kage' in the shinobi world was basically a walking force of nature. They were all forged through countless battles, renowned throughout the nations for their overwhelming power. Even in smaller shinobi villages, those who were recognized by other villages as 'Kage' were extraordinarily powerful individuals.
Not to mention, Uchiha Kazuki's target was the Mizukage!
If it were some ordinary village's Kage, perhaps they could potentially be assassinated by a skilled Jōnin.
But the Mizukage was one of the Five Kage—the leader of one of the five great shinobi villages! How could such a figure possibly be killed by a single ninja?
If it were truly that easy for him to be eliminated by an operative sent from Konohagakure, they might as well just surrender now and give up any thoughts of joining forces with Iwagakure to launch a coordinated war against Konoha.
"Fine then! I'll watch and see exactly how you plan to assassinate the Mizukage!"
Reassuring himself with this logic, Kushimaru Kuriarare sneered derisively, retrieved his Nuibari, and watched Kazuki warily from a safe distance.
Compared to the relative peace and calm here, Jūzō Biwa's situation was absolute chaos.
For some inexplicable reason, the Three-Tails Isobu seemed to have fixated entirely on him, completely ignoring everyone else while relentlessly pursuing him with single-minded fury.
In a twisted way, this could be considered achieving his initial objective—only in a completely different manner than intended. He was technically 'stopping' Isobu, but at the cost of one man bearing the full brunt of a Tailed Beast's wrath.
"Perfect—just what I wanted!"
Jūzō Biwa licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with pure bloodlust. "My Kubikiribōchō has been thirsting for blood for far too long. Today, let it taste the flavor of a Tailed Beast!"
He constantly teetered on the razor's edge between life and death, as if dancing on a thin wire suspended above a field of blades. Every nerve in his brain, every muscle in his body, was pulled taut with tension. One single mistake would instantly claim his life. This thrilling, death-defying sensation excited him immensely.
"Yes—this is the feeling!"
Jūzō Biwa could feel his mental energy becoming hyper-focused and concentrated. Under this extreme high-pressure environment, he seemed to be gaining entirely new insights into combat.
Perhaps, if he could somehow survive this insane battle, his strength would advance to an entirely new level!
"Come on then! Let's fight!"
Jūzō Biwa, moving like an absolute madman, hefted the Kubikiribōchō onto his shoulder and charged directly toward Isobu.
After being forced into retreat repeatedly by Isobu's overwhelming power, he finally spotted a sliver of an opening.
He moved faster and faster until finally, he became almost nothing but a blur across the water's surface—moving so rapidly that even the nearby Hunter-nin operatives couldn't track him with the naked eye.
However, the Three-Tails, standing like an immovable steel mountain in the center of the lake, reflected his figure perfectly in its bright yellow pupils—locking onto the almost-blurred form of Jūzō Biwa through dynamic vision far beyond human comprehension.
Isobu opened its ferocious jaws wide, resembling the entrance to a dark, bottomless cave.
"ROOOAAAR—!"
With a tremendous, earthshaking roar, atmospheric pressure was compressed violently into a concentrated sphere, and a massive, clearly visible ball of pressurized air shot forth instantly.
BOOM!
The lake's surface surged and churned violently, blasted into a temporary 'tunnel' by the high-pressure air sphere.
The almost tangible wind-attribute chakra ball, accompanied by a deafening sonic boom, accurately struck the constantly flashing, darting afterimage moving across the lake's surface.
BOOM!
The very next moment, the pressurized sphere exploded violently, creating a visible shockwave cloud.
A massive, ring-shaped sonic boom—carrying near-apocalyptic destructive force—swept outward in all directions. The lake water surged and churned wildly, creating towering waves that seemed propelled by invisible hands, spreading rapidly outward in concentric circles.
"Jūzō-sama!"
The Hunter-nin operatives who had come to provide support were forced backward by the massive tidal waves and could only shout anxiously from the periphery.
In a battle of this catastrophic magnitude, they were completely unable to intervene effectively and could only watch helplessly from the sidelines. How could they not feel utterly helpless?
"I am—Jūzō Biwa!"
A defiant roar rang out clearly, and then, from the very epicenter of the explosion, Jūzō Biwa—now covered head to toe in blood—dragged his Kubikiribōchō forward and charged toward Isobu once more.
Instead of retreating to safety, he actually moved even faster, like a human cannonball, leaving a billowing trail of disturbed air behind him. His terrifying momentum reached its absolute peak at this moment, and his killing intent was condensed and refined to the point of becoming almost tangible—strands of dark, ghostly energy wrapping around the heavy cleaving blade.
"DIE!!!"
This time, Jūzō Biwa held absolutely nothing back, pouring every ounce of his remaining strength into this single attack.
His own blood mixed with the Kubikiribōchō, along with his unwavering will, indomitable spirit, and all his chakra. He had literally staked everything on this—unleashing a strike condensed from his lifetime of training and experience, like a vengeful demon crawling out of hell itself, roaring and howling as it carried his absolute conviction—a strike powerful enough to cleave mountains in half!
CLANG—!
The massive blade swung downward with earth-shattering force.
A simple, unadorned strike—yet containing a lifetime of will and conviction, infused with cruel and bone-chilling killing intent—actually carved a visible rift through the very air itself.
The terrifying blade aura rippled violently through space, billowing air currents following in its wake, resembling a colossal dragon emerging from the depths of an abyss. Rising majestically into the air, its massive ethereal body swaying with power, its scarlet eyes filled with pure killing intent, before suddenly swooping downward with devastating force!
The Three-Tails Isobu released a low, threatening growl, as if finally sensing genuine danger.
Its flat, enormous tail lashed through the air like a steel whip of apocalyptic proportions, gathering immense destructive power as it struck directly at Jūzō Biwa.
CRACK!
The power of a Tailed Beast was absolutely terrifying—the air itself crackled and split with a deafening sonic boom.
The incredibly hard tail, covered entirely in spikes and armored plating, collided head-on with the oncoming, chilling blade aura in mid-air.
BOOM!
The instant they made contact, a catastrophic explosion seemed to tear the very sky apart.
A deafening metallic clang echoed across the entire lake region, the shockwave so powerful it momentarily halted even the raging blizzard itself.
Then, a violent gale roared to life, whipping up clearly visible shockwaves that swept across the battlefield with unstoppable force. Wherever the shockwave passed, the lake churned violently, thick ice shattered into countless fragments, and the nearby Hunter-nin operatives felt devastating impacts to their chests—being thrown backward helplessly by the overwhelming force.
Jūzō Biwa was sent flying backward like a crimson meteor, trailing sprays of blood as he slammed brutally into the broken ice surface.
Meanwhile, the Three-Tails Isobu now bore a clearly visible, bleeding scar across its armored forehead.
"ROOOAAAAAR!!!"
Clearly enraged beyond reason at being actually injured by a mere mortal, Isobu struggled awkwardly to reposition itself, raising its massive head high into the air.
"Jūzō!"
Kushimaru Kuriarare's eyes widened in sudden realization, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints. "GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"
"Cough... cough..."
However, Jūzō Biwa was simply physically incapable of moving.
Using his Kubikiribōchō as leverage, he desperately pushed himself up from the ground. Blood streamed continuously down his forehead, his vision blurring severely. An unprecedented weakness made even the simple act of standing nearly impossible.
"It sounds like... someone is calling my name?"
Jūzō Biwa couldn't hear clearly anymore—he felt as if all his senses were slowly fading away into darkness.
"Danger! Move! Get out of there right now, Jūzō!"
Kushimaru Kuriarare could no longer maintain his position and sprinted desperately toward Jūzō Biwa, shouting frantically and waving his arms to alert him of the imminent danger.
"Danger...?"
Jūzō Biwa hesitated for a brief moment, then slowly turned to look behind him.
There, the colossal beast—as massive as a living mountain—stood with its head raised high, and an impossibly dense concentration of chakra was rapidly gathering within its gaping jaws.
Deep purple and bright blue spheres of compressed, high-density chakra were continuously fusing together toward the center point, eventually forming a massive chakra sphere several meters in diameter. Its surface appeared deep black, radiating an overwhelmingly ominous and destructive aura.
"A Tailed Beast Bomb...?"
Jūzō Biwa stared at the massive black sphere forming above him, an icy chill of absolute dread running through his entire body.
Was that... the legendary Tailed Beast Bomb?
[End of Chapter 101]
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