The rampaging Three Tails smashed through the roof of the Mizukage building in an instant.
Due to the earlier commotion in the center of their village, many Mist Shinobi ninjas had already become aware of the disturbance. By now, anyone who wasn't deaf could sense the attack on the village.
"Th-that's… the Three-Tails?!" gasped Juro eyes widened in disbelief.
"Did Mizukage-sama… lose control of the Three-Tails?" murmured Shiori, a young ANBU with a sharp gaze, barely able to comprehend the situation.
"But how?" said Kaede, gripping her weapon tightly. "The Fourth Mizukage is known as the perfect Jinchūriki! How could it have gone berserk?"
Yagura's control over the Three-Tails was regarded as almost perfect; as soon as he became Mizukage, he was chosen as its Jinchūriki, immediately demonstrating mastery over the tailed beast's power. For years, he had kept the beast perfectly in check. How could something like this happen?
However, the truth remained unknown to them all. This wasn't an accidental rampage; Obito had intentionally broken the seal, unleashing the full power of the Three Tails.
Amid the ruins of the Mizukage building, Kakashi, Rin, Shisui, and Itachi leaped out from a wide crack in the walls.
"Damn it!" Shisui cursed, watching wood fragments scatter as he fell. "This is the power of an unrestrained-tailed beast. It shattered my Wood Style prison instantly!"
He clenched his teeth, comparing his efforts to the legends. The First Hokage could subdue even the Nine-Tails with his Wood Style with ease—but Shisui felt painfully aware of how far he was from such mastery.
"Just as I thought—he controlled the Nine Tails before, and now he's using the Three Tails!" Itachi growled, his voice filled with frustration. He suddenly noticed a swarm of dark figures approaching quickly from the distance.
"Shisui, look! More Mist Shinobi are coming here!" Itachi exclaimed. "Obito must be trying to use the Three-Tails to create chaos and cover his escape!"
Shisui paused, thinking quickly, then turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi-san, Itachi, and I will go after Obito. Can you hold off the Mist Shinobi?"
Kakashi's face grew tense. "I don't know if just the two of you will be enough."
"Only the Sharingan can counter another Sharingan. You and Rin aren't suited for this fight," Shisui insisted.
Though Kakashi wanted to pursue Obito, he finally nodded, turning to Rin. "Rin, let's hold off the Mist Shinobi—and be cautious of the Three Tails' attacks."
"Understood!" Rin shouted back. Then, looking at Shisui and Itachi, she added, "Bring Obito back safely please."
"Understood!" the two replied in unison before sprinting off into the distance.
As Kakashi and Rin landed, they found themselves surrounded by a large number of Mist Shinobi.
"You're... Konoha ninjas? What are Konoha ninja doing here?!" the leader of Mist shinobi demanded, echoing a scene reminiscent of the place where once there was Mizukage's office.
The leader had short, gray hair that fell to his shoulders. He looked about the same age as Uchiha Shisui and wielded a flounder sword, one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist—a clear sign of his identity. This was none other than Hozuki Mangetsu, Hozuki Suigetsu's older brother.
Before Kakashi and the others could respond, the Three-Tails, now in a state of wild rage, began attacking indiscriminately, forcing everyone to retreat repeatedly. Terumi Mei immediately rushed to the ruins and pulled Yagura's body out from the rubble. Yet, it wasn't truly a "rescue"; it was simply to remove his lifeless dead body from the battlefield.
Unlike Kushina, who had survived the unsealing of the Nine-Tails thanks to the Uzumaki clan's nearly indestructible physique, Yagura, lacking that powerful lineage, had died the instant the Three-Tails was removed from his body.
Another Mizukage had fallen under the manipulative power of the Sharingan, just like the Third before him. Terumi Mei's anger was a tempest, her teal eyes flashing as she took in the wreckage around her. With a voice that cut through the chaos like a blade, she hissed, "To the one who dares treat Kirigakure like a plaything, mocking the honor of the Mizukage—I swear, I will hunt you down myself, and you will beg for mercy long before I grant it."
Her fists clenched, and even the surrounding shinobi couldn't help but feel the weight of her fury, each word a promise of vengeance.
...
...
"Uchiha Obito! Don't think you can get away!"
About half a mile outside Kirigakure in the rainforest, Shisui and Itachi, armed with their blades, intercepted Obito. Itachi called out, "We've figured out the weakness in your space-time ability! You need to materialize when you attack or absorb an attack, and your intangibility duration isn't unlimited."
"Exactly," Shisui added. "Your limit is around four or five minutes, or you wouldn't have dodged our continuous attacks just now when you tried to escape."
Obito kept a calm expression, but inside he noted their keen perception and mastery over the Sharingan. Smirking, he replied, "So what? Do you think that's enough to defeat me?"
Whoosh!
As his words faded, an eerie blue flame surged around him.
"No! Itachi, move!" Shisui shouted, sensing the danger as he quickly retreated.
Boom!
But Itachi, younger and slightly less experienced, couldn't evade in time. The explosion hurled him back, smashing him through the trunk of a large tree before he hit the ground, unconscious and unmoving.
Shisui stared in shock at the massive, ghostly blue figure now towering before him. What… what is this? The chakra emanating from Obito was freezing and twisted, a dark presence unlike any he had felt before.
Obito's chilling words echoed around Shisui. "I didn't think dealing with you two would require this. Allow me to show you the third ability of the Mangekyō Sharingan… Susanoo!"
"Mangekyō Sharingan… Susanoo…" Shisui muttered, barely audible.
Boom!
The colossal azure Susanoo materialized and struck the ground, forcing Shisui to retreat again. Where he'd been standing moments before was now crushed to rubble beneath Susanoo's blade.
"That speed… I barely escaped just now," Shisui thought, his heart racing.
"Ah, the so-called 'Shunshin no Shisui' lives up to his name," Obito remarked coldly, forming seals. Suddenly, flames spiraled around Susanoo's blade.
"Fire Style: Scorching Rend! This time, there's no avoiding it!" Obito's murderous intent was palpable.
Shisui gritted his teeth, feeling the scorching heat approach. "At this rate, he'll kill me! I have no choice… It's risky, but my next move will decide this fight—even if I haven't fully mastered it yet."
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