"What?!"
The shinobis from other villages glance at Gengetsu's figure with horrified gazes.
Gulp…
A few shinobis gulp their saliva as they recall the legend of Gengetsu Hozuki.
"His mastery of the Water Release was on par with the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju." A few shinobis open their mouth.
"Quick, we mustn't give him any chance to weave any hand signs."
Swish… swish…
All of their attacks pass through Gengetsu's body.
"Don't you understand it? This body of mine isn't real. It's a genjutsu!"
Gengetsu steps towards them. The rest of the shinobis retreats in fear.
"If you want to stop me, destroy the clamshell I summoned. That clamshell is the source of this genjutsu."
Gengetsu makes a few more hand signs.
"Water Release: Drowning Murder Flood,"
He takes a deep breath and expels a large amount of water from his mouth. The huge water wave floods the entire area and drowns the shinobis within them.
Glub… Glub…
Several shinobis struggle to hold their breath as water enters their body.
"Ice Release: Snow Blizzard,"
With a cold innocent voice, the entire water flood freezes into ice.
Haah…
Haku claps his hands and melts the ice around the shinobis and pulls them out of the ice.
"Oh, a Yuki clan member." Gengetsu turns to Haku in surprise.
"I didn't expect to see such skills in a young fellow." He compliments Haku's ice-release skills.
"Perhaps you can stop this body of mine!" He mutters.
Swoosh…
Zabuza flickers beside Haku with the giant executioner's blade on his shoulders.
Hmm…
"The Executioner's blade? So, the legacy of the Seven Mist Swordsman is still alive." He nods his head.
"Unfortunately, I am the only living member of my generation." Zabuza shakes his head.
"The rest of them either betrayed the village or died in combat." He shrugs his shoulder.
"How unfortunate!" Gengetsu sighs and shakes his head.
"However, your current Mizukage is something else." He glances deeper into the mist.
Inside the Mist,
Mei confronts another Gengetsu Hozuki.
She uses her 'Boil Release' to clear the surrounding mist. However, the density of the mist makes it harder for her to clear everything.
"Little girl, with the village in your hands, I am assured of the future of Kirigakure."
Swish… swish…
Mei responds to him with some hand signs.
"Lava Release: Volcanic Burst Bullet,"
She spews out a massive lava orb that explodes in contact with Gengetsu's body.
Chunks of lava fly everywhere and explode into multiple lava pools. Mist rises from the surroundings as the lava evaporates the surrounding water. The surrounding temperature increases, raising the efficiency of her boil-release jutsu.
"Little girl, I am afraid you will run out of juice before you could destroy my summon." He shakes his head.
Gengetsu makes a series of hand signs.
"Water Release: Water Pistol technique,"
He points the index finger of both his hands toward Mei.
Pew… Pew…
Gengetsu shoots multiple water bullets toward Mei in succession. The water appears from behind him and targets Mei.
Rumble…
Mei slams her palm on the ground and creates an earth wall to block the bullets.
"Lava Release: Volcanic Burst Bullet,"
She shoots another lava bullet toward the water bullets. The lava orb passes through Gengetsu's body and explodes into the mist behind him. It evaporates another chunk of mist around Gengetsu's illusion. Gengetsu's illusion fades in intensity and disappears.
It reappears at some distance away within the border of the mist.
"Sigh… it's useless. This mist is sort of an extension of my body. Unless you destroy the clamshell or evaporate the mist into a single attack, the mist will keep regenerating."
He shakes his head.
"I know!" Mei opens her mouth.
Meanwhile, she communicates with Izumi using the communication network of the Yamanaka clan.
'Izumi, did you find the clamshell?'
'I am still looking for it?'
Shiing…
Izumi activates her Mangekyo Sharingan to hasten her search. Previously, she was only using her normal Sharingan to preserve her chakra. However, the urgency in Mei's voice prompted her to give it her all.
Hmm…
However, despite the improved vision, the thick mist still hindered her senses.
"I am not sure if it will work or not. It's worth a try."
Izumi crouches down. She infuses the chakra into her fingertips and places her finger on the surface of the seawater.
Bzzt… Crackle…
Izumi releases several small bursts of lightning through the seawater. The lightning bolt travels through the sea surface and spreads in multiple directions. She closes her eyes to monitor her chakra within the lightning bolt.
Wherever the lightning meets resistance, she would immediately investigate the area.
"Another rock!"
She sighs as her lightning chakra disperses after hitting another boulder. She looks around and notices several boulders in the vicinity.
Sigh…
'It's going to be tough!'
Even the CPS system at headquarters is unable to track the location of Second Mizukage since there are no chakra detection rods in the water, and after becoming aware of those rods, the Zetsu army destroyed most of them in the vicinity.
-------
On the other side of the battlefield,
Fugaku confronts several elders of the Uchiha clan. The Edo Uchiha elders coldly stare at Fugaku.
"All of us paid the price for your indecisiveness."
One of the elders opens his mouth and blames Fugaku for their death.
Hmph…
Fugaku frowns as he glares at the elder.
"Your death has nothing to do with me. It was your misfortune that you fell to Danzo's scheme."
"Your son was a part of the Anbu Corps. he must have acquired some intel on this matter." Another elder speaks.
"So what? That still doesn't change the fact that we didn't stand a chance even if the Coup fell through." Fugaku shakes his head.
"No… that brat Shisui had the chance to control the Nine-tails. With nine-tails under our control, we could easily corner the village." Another elder remark.
"He could even control the elders of the village if he wanted." He adds.
"Don't think that we didn't know about his Mangekyo Sharingan." Another elder activates his Sharingan and stares into Fugaku's eyes.
"Even if you didn't participate, the Coup would still be a success." The leader of the elder opens his eyes.
Shiing…
The three tomoes in his eyes rotate and merge together in a rhombus pattern.
"Those eyes…" Fugaku's body shakes violently in anger.
"Why do you possess my uncle's eyes?" The chill in Fugaku's voice freezes the hearts of other elders.
Hmph…
However, they snort and quickly regain their expression. All of them activate their Sharingan and glare at Fugaku.
"Your Uncle's death was an unfortunate incident. He fought bravely till the end and managed to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan. However, in the end, he ran out of chakra and died protecting me, his friend." The elder, with the Mangekyo Sharingan, recounts the incident from the Second Shinobi War.
"Before his death, he asked me to destroy his eyes before they fell into the enemy's hand. However, I took them for myself since it will be a waste to destroy such great power."
"YOU!!"
Fugaku also activates his Sharingan. His eyes glow with a deep red glow. The tomoes in his eyes rotate rapidly and merge together to take the form of three counter-clockwise spiraling curves around his pupil.
"That's…"
The eyes of the rest of the elders narrow at the sight of Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Since when…"
One of the elders mutters in shock.
"Since the third shinobi war!" Fugaku's figure disappears. He appears in front of an elder and attacks the latter with a kunai, aimed at his throat.
The elder also quickly reacts to Fugaku's attack and deflects his kunai with one of his own.
Bang…
However, Fugaku's other hand suddenly accelerates, and he lands a punch on the chest of the elder. The elder is sent flying from the momentum of the punch.
"Amaterasu!"
Blood leaks from Fugaku's eye as he casts Amaterasu on the fallen elder. Despite the elder's effort to dodge, his body gets engulfed in black flames.
Swoosh… Whoosh…
Fugaku swiftly jumps in the air and avoids a barrage of kunais from his surroundings.
Swish… Splash…
Blood splatters from Fugaku's soldier. The kunai in his hand gets out of his control and stabs through his left shoulder.
Momentarily, a white glow shrouds the kunai.
Gah…
Fugaku clutches his shoulder with his other hand and retreats. He glances towards the elder with the Mangekyo Sharingan and notices the faint glow of chakra in his right eye.
'So, that's the ability of his right eye.'
Fugaku murmurs as he uses lightning chakra to cauterize his wound.
Whoosh… whoosh…
The group of elders surrounds Fugaku from each direction.
'This is going to be a tough battle!'
He murmurs as he glances at the figure of Akira and Yagami fighting against another group of Uchihas.