The moment that name rang out, the Third Mizukage's expression darkened.
So the boy was an Uzumaki survivor.
If that was the case, then even if Kirigakure tried to hold Konoha accountable afterward, the Hokage could easily brush it off using this very reason.
Before the Mizukage could think further, a violent surge of chakra abruptly interrupted his thoughts.
The Three-Tails had risen again.
No matter how gentle Isobu's temperament was, being beaten so relentlessly by the Nine-Tails would push anyone past their limit. Enraged, the Three-Tails began gathering chakra—condensing a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Hmph."
Kyusei didn't hesitate in the slightest.
"Kurama!"
He gathered chakra just as quickly, preparing his own Tailed Beast Bomb. As the strongest of the tailed beasts, Kurama's speed in forming one far surpassed the others.
Even though the Three-Tails had started first, Kurama overtook it with ease.
In barely an instant, an enormous sphere of destructive energy had already formed before the Nine-Tails.
This had to be stopped!
The Third Mizukage's eyes sharpened as his hands flew through seals.
Ice Release: Thousand Pillar Prison!
In the blink of an eye, a massive ice cage formed, completely enclosing the Nine-Tails. But Kyusei didn't hesitate for even a second.
Kurama was not comparable to a beast like the Three-Tails.
After all, if all tailed beasts were truly equal, why would Senju Hashirama have insisted on keeping the Nine-Tails in Konoha?
Hashirama may have been an idealist—but he was never a fool.
He knew perfectly well that the strongest weapon had to remain in Konoha's hands.
The Tailed Beast Bomb shot forward.
The seemingly solid ice prison didn't even slow it down.
The moment the bomb made contact, the ice shattered completely—disintegrating into nothing.
At the same time, the Three-Tails had just barely finished condensing its own Tailed Beast Bomb.
Two terrifying spheres of annihilation collided head-on.
For an instant, it was as if two meteors had smashed into one another.
Blazing white light swallowed the world, erasing all trace of night.
Then came the shockwave.
Mountains crumbled. Rivers were torn apart. Firestorms erupted, sweeping across the mountain range in a violent inferno.
The Three-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb was instantly overwhelmed—devoured by Kurama's—and the remaining force slammed directly into Isobu.
The Three-Tails screamed in agony amid the explosion.
Kurama showed no mercy.
With a casual motion, he clenched his hand in the air.
A colossal guandao—nearly a hundred meters long—materialized in his grasp.
Under the stunned gaze of the Third Mizukage, Kurama charged straight toward the wounded Three-Tails, blade in hand.
He was going to cut it down.
Kurama had finally been let loose after decades of confinement—of course he intended to enjoy himself.
And Kyusei's technique was simply too entertaining to put down.
"Damn it!"
The Mizukage's heart sank. Anyone could tell what the Nine-Tails was about to do.
Ice Release: Sperm Whale!
With a thunderous shout, the Third Mizukage summoned a massive ice construct—an enormous whale, even larger than the Nine-Tails itself—crashing down from behind.
It had to be said: even though he'd been manipulated by Uchiha Madara for most of his life in the original timeline, the Third Mizukage was no weakling. This Ice Release alone was worthy of a Kage.
Kurama glanced back at the looming mass.
Then, gripping the blade with both hands, he swung.
A flash of golden light split the heavens.
Like a blade through paper, the massive guandao cleaved the mountain-sized ice whale in two without resistance.
The construct let out a final, pitiful cry before dissolving into the night.
The sheer power of that single strike left the Mizukage shaken.
That technique had been one of his widest-range, highest-damage jutsu—yet Kurama had erased it with a single slash.
So even a jinchūriki's techniques could be used directly by the tailed beast?
Kurama didn't spare him another glance.
He was clearly determined to vent decades of pent-up fury on Isobu.
Now that he and Kyusei truly trusted each other, there was no reason to lash out at his own host. And Isobu had delivered himself right to Kurama's doorstep.
Besides—tailed beasts never truly died. In a few years, Isobu would simply reform somewhere else.
Under the Three-Tails' terrified gaze, the enormous blade plunged straight into the cracked shell—the very fracture left behind by the earlier hammer blow.
"ROOOAR—!!!"
Isobu's scream echoed through the night.
In the same instant the blade pierced his body, Kurama drove it straight through.
"Kurama…"
"…you bastard…"
Those were the Three-Tails' final words before his form shattered into pure chakra, scattering into the night sky.
Silence fell.
Everyone stared in disbelief.
Tailed beasts had always been disasters made flesh—forces of nature feared by all.
Yet today—
Today, Kirigakure's Three-Tails had been slain.
Cut down in full view of the Third Mizukage himself.
Humiliation.
Utter humiliation.
Having had his fill, Kurama allowed the massive chakra to withdraw, the golden sea collapsing back into Kyusei's abdomen.
The colossal beast vanished.
Kyusei reverted to his Kurama Mode, landing lightly on the ground.
Without hesitation, he charged straight at the Kirigakure forces alone.
With a simple clench of his hand, a golden spear formed once more.
His target was clear.
The Third Mizukage.
As long as he went down, Naori's eye would be secured.
Seeing Kyusei rush straight toward him, the Third Mizukage knew retreat was no longer an option.
To enforce the Blood Mist policies—survival of the strongest, suppression of bloodline clans—he had made far too many enemies.
Now that an enemy had stormed his gates, he had to stand his ground.
Win or lose—he had to fight.
Kyusei became a streak of golden light, tearing through the battlefield. Anyone who tried to stop him was sent flying with a single swing of his spear.
For a moment, the vast Kirigakure forces couldn't withstand even one exchange.
"Don't get cocky, brat!"
A tall, skeletal man wearing a mask lunged forward, wielding two needle-like weapons.
Kyusei vaguely recognized him—one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
It didn't matter.
In Kurama Mode, there was no difference between him and any other shinobi.
Too slow.
Far too slow.
Kyusei accelerated in a blur, slipping past the man in an instant.
The golden spear pierced straight through him.
One strike.
Decisive.
In his previous life, Naruto fans loved categorizing shinobi by tiers.
If that system were applied here—
Then Kyusei, in Kurama Mode, stood at only one level:
Beyond Kage.
To Read advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146