Why do the tailed beasts haunt the nightmares of so many shinobi? It's not just because of their seemingly infinite reserves of chakra but also due to their colossal, oppressive forms. For a tailed beast, crushing a human is as effortless as a human stepping on an ant.
This overwhelming despair—facing a force so vast and unstoppable—is the source of countless shinobi's unease. What damage could a shuriken or an explosive tag possibly do to such a creature? Likely nothing more than a slight itch. Of course, such actions are often meant more as provocations to divert attention than serious attempts at harm.
The Three-Tails locked its single open left eye onto Kakuzu. Perhaps due to its peculiar personality, or for some other reason, the Three-Tails kept only one eye open as it raised a massive hand, slamming it down like a hurricane-driven gale.
Boom!
The lake's surface erupted in towering waves, crashing relentlessly against the trees and rocks onshore. Amid the surging torrents, Kakuzu didn't retreat. Instead, he maneuvered sideways, advancing toward the Three-Tails while forming hand seals with practiced speed.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow River!"
A torrent of mud surged up from Kakuzu's position, hurtling toward the Three-Tails' massive face. Earth Style was naturally advantageous against Water Style, and for the aquatic Three-Tails, this attack should have posed a significant threat.
Yet this time, whether due to Kakuzu's dwindling chakra or some other reason, the attack seemed lackluster.
Splat!
The mud attack landed on the Three-Tails' face like a glob of sticky yellow phlegm.
"Ha ha ha! Has this guy lost his mind?"
The Mizukage laughed openly, finding Kakuzu's actions equal parts foolish and comical. To use such a feeble jutsu against a tailed beast—how absurd! While the attack lacked power, its insult was undeniable.
Finally, the Three-Tails snapped.
The massive beast rose, causing the waters around it to tremble. Its enormous frame pulsed with chakra, gathering into its mouth in swirling streams of red and blue—destructive energy in its purest form. Even from a distance, one could feel the sheer annihilative force contained within the forming Tailed Beast Ball. If unleashed, even towering mountain ranges would crumble in its wake.
Kakuzu lowered his hands and abandoned his earlier taunting demeanor. The oppressive energy of the Tailed Beast Ball was fully formed—it was a death sentence he could not afford to face head-on.
Spinning around, Kakuzu dashed across the water, chakra streaming from his feet in splashes as he fled.
"Oh, so his brain isn't completely broken. At least he knows to run."
The Mizukage sneered, his earlier respect for Kakuzu's strength eroding in the face of his apparent madness. However, this was no time to dwell on such thoughts. The sheer amount of chakra within the Tailed Beast Ball was overwhelming. The Mizukage knew better than to stay in its path and prepared to retreat.
Just as he was about to perform a Body Flicker Technique, he noticed Kakuzu charging directly toward him.
"What are you doing?!"
The Mizukage's voice was sharp with hostility, loud enough for Kakuzu to hear. Yet Kakuzu didn't respond, merely barreling forward like a silent storm.
Something clicked in the Mizukage's instincts, a chilling sense of impending doom.
"This bastard…"
Before the Mizukage could complete his thought, black tendrils from Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear technique erupted from the water, wrapping tightly around his legs.
"Damn it!"
The Mizukage cursed, bending down and channeling chakra into his hands to sever the threads. But Kakuzu wouldn't let him succeed so easily. In a flash, Kakuzu appeared behind him, his tendrils retracting as he resumed his normal form.
Kakuzu grabbed the Mizukage by the shoulders, holding him firmly in place.
"Mizukage-sama, look ahead!" Kakuzu's voice was calm, almost detached.
The Mizukage glanced forward, his peripheral vision catching the Three-Tails' enraged, bloodshot gaze locked on their position. Or rather, locked on Kakuzu—who had ensured the Mizukage was tethered to him.
"You lunatic! Let me go!"
The Mizukage's white hair stood on end, his fury and terror mingling in equal measure. Kakuzu's actions were beyond reckless—they were pure madness.
As the Tailed Beast Ball barreled toward them like a crashing meteor, the Mizukage struggled in vain to break free. The threads binding him only tightened further.
Kakuzu, ever composed, spoke again. "Mizukage-sama, if you're a real man, don't run. Use your Dark Release to absorb it."
"You bastard!"
The Mizukage's roar was filled with rage and desperation, his eyes bloodshot and his breath ragged. He wanted nothing more than to escape from this lunatic.
But there was no time.
Boom!
The Tailed Beast Ball detonated with a blinding flash, its explosive force swallowing everything in its path. The sky turned dark, and the lake surface rippled with the shockwave's aftermath.
At the last moment, the Mizukage followed Kakuzu's suggestion, raising his hands and unleashing his Dark Release to absorb the incoming energy.
When the explosion subsided, only devastation remained—a scene of chaos and destruction.
If anyone had witnessed this moment, they would surely have recorded it in the annals of history.
The Mizukage, the founder of Kirigakure and a legendary shinobi who had ended the Warring States Period, had just crushed a Tailed Beast Ball with his bare hands.
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