In front of many of his village's ninjas, the Fourth Mizukage bowed his head to the ninjas from Konoha. Even though they weren't entirely sure whether this Yagura was really their Mizukage, looking at the small figure bowing down gave them an uneasy feeling that it truly was the Fourth.
The Mist ninjas felt a stifling sensation in their chests, their breathing becoming heavy with frustration.
"Have you truly given up even your last shred of dignity and honor for the sake of the village?"
Sougen lowered his gaze at this person, who had been his 'chess partner' for what felt like a long time. This was the first time Yagura had bowed to him, and as the Mizukage no less. With a sigh, he remarked, "If the old geezers in our village had even half your sense of responsibility, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so ugly."
Sougen's expression turned serious as he asked once more for confirmation:
"Mizukage-dono, does the Mist Village admit defeat?"
Yagura closed his eyes, his expression bleak, but he nodded in agreement.
"I hope Mizukage-dono keeps his word. Otherwise, my wrath will burn the Mist Village to the ground," Sougen said, turning around to glance behind him. Standing there was Zabuza Momochi, appearing in an instant using the Body Flicker Technique, injured arm raised and hands already weaving seals. "Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
This was the strongest offensive jutsu Zabuza, hailing from a small clan, could muster.
Fueled by the fire of extreme anger, he squeezed out the last bit of chakra he had, unleashing a torrent as if a waterfall were crashing down. This attack wasn't aimed solely at Uchiha Sougen—Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, was also within its reach.
Yagura shouted, furious.
Zabuza, this madman—was he so eager to die that he would attack a monster like Uchiha Sougen now? If he wanted to end his own life, he could just quietly slit his throat! Attacking Sougen—did he want the war to continue? Did he want to see Sougen rampage through the Mist Village before he was satisfied?
Terumi Mei was equally enraged.
How could these two not keep an eye on an injured Zabuza? What kind of incompetence was this? Though she didn't say it, her expression conveyed the sentiment clearly.
Suigetsu's face grew even paler, but without saying a word, both he and Kisame began weaving hand signs at the same time.
Sougen, meanwhile, removed his Uchiha Flame Fan. Watching the raging torrent surge toward him, he flipped the fan and planted it in the ground like a shield. It stood firm against the onslaught—not just holding the line, but absorbing the attack!
Water-style techniques can be employed in two main ways. The first involves using large amounts of chakra to generate water, enabling combat in dry environments. Yagura's earlier Water Wave technique was one such jutsu, designed to create a favorable battlefield. The second method utilizes natural bodies of water—like seas or lakes—mixing chakra into the water to control it in battle.
At this moment, Zabuza had used the first method.
Though they were on an island surrounded by water, there was no significant source of water nearby for Zabuza to use, so he had to drain his nearly depleted chakra to generate this massive torrent.
Despite its grand display, the torrent was useless. The water was a transformation of Zabuza's chakra, and unlike the solid nature of Earth-style techniques, Water-style chakra is absorbed quickly. Half a second after the torrent began, all the water was drawn into the Uchiha fan like a vortex.
"Let me show you... Uchiha Rebound!"
Gripping the fan tightly in his right hand, Sougen swung it toward Zabuza with all the force of the Great Waterfall Technique he had just absorbed. A cold, powerful storm swept out from the fan, stripping the very earth beneath it and crashing forward with the weight of a tidal wave. It wasn't merely wind; it felt like liquid in motion, combining the agility of wind with the density of water, resulting in devastating destructive power.
Zabuza, the target, had not expected this.
Sougen's counterattack was too fast.
The injury to Zabuza's right arm slowed his hand signs, leaving him no time to use the Body Flicker to escape. He could only watch as the terrifying storm approached. Surprisingly, he didn't feel much fear—just a deep regret that he wouldn't live to see his dream of reforming the Mist Village come true.
"Water Style: Water Wall."
Kisame quickly formed hand seals, extracting a large amount of chakra to raise a sturdy water barrier in front of them. However, the barrier crumbled in an instant under the force of the storm.
Suigetsu, using his clan's secret Water Formation technique, transformed into a massive water creature to shield Zabuza and Kisame, but even he felt the terrifying power of Sougen's fan firsthand. Though his liquid body didn't feel pain, the way the storm ripped his form apart was a chilling reminder of how dangerous the attack was.
As his form was blasted into pieces, Suigetsu understood why this technique had been created to counter tailed beasts. Even though his ancestor who created it failed to defeat the Nine-Tails, forcing it to use its Tailed Beast Bomb was an achievement in itself.
Sougen had destroyed his defense with a single swing of the fan. The storm threw Suigetsu, Zabuza, and Kisame into the air, rolling them into a heap before they finally stopped far away.
"I don't want to see this happen again," Sougen warned, closing the fan. "This was just a warning. Next time, people will die."
Yagura let out a breath of relief. It was fortunate Sougen had spared them; Kisame, Suigetsu, and Zabuza were the future of the Mist Village. If they had died, it would have broken his heart.
"Thank you, Clan Leader Uchiha, for your mercy."
"Spare me the formalities, Mizukage-dono. You should hurry and reclaim your power, or I'll doubt your ability to fulfill our agreement. And if you can't uphold your end, I might have to visit the Mist Village as an unwelcome guest."
With that, Sougen took out a radio from his pouch, ignoring Yagura's grim expression. He tuned it to a prearranged frequency and transmitted the order to stop fighting to the Yamanaka clan's Jonin. Using their Mind Transfer technique, the Yamanaka clan spread the command to every Konoha ninja still alive on the island.
Yagura quickly called his sensing ninjas to verify the presence of the Three-Tails sealed within him, ensuring that he truly was the Fourth Mizukage. Once the confirmation was made, Terumi Mei led the Mist ninjas in kneeling before Yagura, signifying that the fighting had finally stopped.
Konoha ninjas began gathering at the center of the island, while the Mist Village's lower-ranking ninjas retreated south as per Mei's earlier orders. Only the Jonin followed them to the center, where two groups, wearing different headbands, stood across from each other—tensions high.
But as they watched Uchiha Sougen and Yagura shake hands, they all knew— Newest update provided by n0velfire.net