"How is this possible?"
Isobu's mouth hung wide open. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Is the gap between us really that big?
"There's nothing impossible about it."
"Your vision is too narrow—limited perspective."
As soon as the words left his lips, Nagato suddenly vanished from his spot.
His movements were impossible to track; in the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of Isobu.
A powerful roundhouse kick shot straight toward Isobu's massive head.
The speed and strength behind it were immense, causing violent friction with the air and igniting roaring flames.
"He actually dares to engage the Mizukage-sama in hand-to-hand combat in that state?"
"He's gotten too confident."
"You can't argue with that."
"Landed a few minor hits and already lost his sense of place."
Several Mist ninja couldn't help but mock out loud, which only intensified the Akatsuki's attacks in response.
But you couldn't really blame them. Judging purely by their size difference, very few would believe Nagato had any advantage in close-range physical combat.
*Bang!*
Isobu's huge head snapped sideways from the blow, leaving a visible indentation on his cheek.
Though the strike caused little actual damage, it was humiliating beyond measure.
"Roaaar~"
Letting out a furious roar, Isobu stretched his neck forward and lunged viciously at Nagato.
"Are you seriously acting like a child now? Even biting when threatened?"
Nagato added verbal insult to injury—especially since height and appearance had long been sore spots for Yagura Karatachi.
Skillfully pushing off from the tip of Isobu's nose, Nagato soared into the air.
The snapping jaws missed entirely, the force of the snap nearly shattering his own teeth, instantly dazing Isobu.
It turned out the sheer power he'd used in that bite threw off his balance.
But Nagato didn't care. At this point, he was already high above Isobu.
Without hesitation, he slammed down hard onto Isobu's turtle shell with a thunderous impact.
To his surprise, however, this seemingly devastating stomp did no real harm.
Not a single crack formed on that rugged, uneven shell.
"That all the strength you've got?"
Feeling the vibration on his shell, Isobu finally regained some composure.
Do you really think your puny taijutsu can break through my defense?
"Haha~"
Rather than anger, Nagato responded with laughter. Seems like he'd been underestimated.
"Your shell's definitely tough. But what if I make it disappear?"
Standing atop Isobu's iron-hard shell, Nagato already had his plan.
"What are you trying to do?"
Furious, Isobu roared, his thunderous voice echoing through the air.
Suddenly, without warning, a chill ran through his entire body—a wave of intense unease surged into his heart.
He thrashed wildly, desperately trying to throw Nagato off his back.
[Chakra Absorption]
Unfazed, Nagato muttered. With both hands pressed firmly against Isobu's rock-solid shell, he activated his ability.
In an instant, a powerful suction surged from Nagato's palms, rapidly spreading across Isobu's shell—and deeper, into his very body.
As the suction spread outward, massive Tailed Beast chakra was drawn in by an invisible gravitational force, continuously pouring into Nagato's body.
"Ahhh—"
A pained roar erupted from Isobu, echoing across the battlefield.
To its horror, it realized its chakra was draining away at an alarming rate.
Trying to draw upon its chakra brought only a sense of helplessness.
That once-surging power now receded like a retreating tide, quickly draining from its body.
Panic and confusion surged through Isobu. It couldn't grasp what technique Nagato had unleashed that could steal its chakra so quickly.
As the chakra continued to drain away, Isobu's body began undergoing drastic changes.
Its once massive and imposing form, as if its core strength had been ripped away, started gradually shrinking.
The fully transformed Tailed Beast state, which had once obscured the heavens and earth, started to disintegrate amidst the loss of chakra.
Its body felt as though gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, crushed and distorted without mercy.
Soon, Isobu regressed from its full Tailed Beast form back into a half-Tailed Beast transformation state.
Three limp tails dragged behind it, while the Tailed Beast cloak draped over its body was now fading.
The fearsome aura it once exuded was now dramatically weakened, replaced by a visible frailty radiating from within.
Still, Nagato had no intention of sparing Yagura Karatachi.
His hands shifted from pressing against Yagura's back to clamping down on his shoulders.
Tailed Beast chakra continued to pour ceaselessly from Yagura's body into his own.
Yagura realized all too clearly what fate awaited him if this continued.
Once that happened, there would be no chance for recovery.
Battling through the rising weakness, he swung his three tails toward Nagato.
Nagato didn't even glance. With nimble movements, he flipped over Yagura's head, his hands never loosening their grip on the other's shoulders.
His motions were fluid and natural, without the slightest sign of panic.
Even while evading attacks, Nagato accelerated his absorption of chakra.
Within just several breaths, under Nagato's overwhelming [Chakra Absorption], Yagura could no longer maintain even his half-Tailed Beast state.
When the Tailed Beast cloak vanished entirely, what emerged in its place was his original host form, completely exposed.
At this moment, Yagura's face was pale, utterly drained of color.
He gasped for air weakly, his trembling body shaking uncontrollably, as though a mere gentle breeze could topple him over.
Oh no…!
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"How could this happen?"
"Has the Mizukage truly fallen?"
The Mist ninja refused to believe the sight before them, unable to fathom how Yagura Karatachi had ended up in such a pitiful state.
Once the Mizukage fell, they understood all too well what awaited them.
Their voices betrayed not only concern for Yagura, but also fear for their own uncertain fate.
Without a doubt, they were doomed!
"I guess I should pick up the pace too."
Kakuzu saw that Nagato had already concluded his battle, yet he still hadn't finished off a Jinchūriki in half-Tailed Beast form.
Thinking of this, he accelerated his assault.
The four Earth Grudge Fear puppets under his control now radiated even greater power.
Ao Shin, already struggling to keep pace in the battle, now found himself in an even graver predicament.
Seeing Karatachi Yagura's defeat sent him into turmoil. Under Kakuzu's unrelenting assault, he was barely clinging on.
Assailed from multiple directions, the Tailed Beast Chakra within him grew harder to control, and his mind started to cloud.
A surge of violent emotion gnawed relentlessly at his sanity.
"It looks like I need to finish this quickly."
Kakuzu sensed Ao Shin's condition deteriorating. He knew if this dragged on, he would need to resort to even more drastic tactics.
At the same time, Nagato seized Karatachi Yagura by the neck with one hand, lifting him as effortlessly as a chicken.
"Any last words?"
To Yagura, that smile looked no different from the Shinigami's own grim grin.
"Winners become kings, losers become bandits."
"I admit my defeat for today."
Karatachi Yagura's voice was weak but still carried some dignity.
As the Mizukage, he refused to plead or show any sign of weakness.
"Don't worry. I will protect the Land of Water from now on."
With those words, Nagato tightened his grip with brutal force.
With a loud 'crack,' Karatachi Yagura's head immediately slumped downward.
The Fourth Mizukage—and San inside his body—were gone forever.
"It's time to end this."
After tossing Yagura aside, Nagato strode toward the battlefield, cutting through enemies that couldn't withstand even a single blow.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu and Ao Shin's fight was reaching its climax.
Before the Six-Tails could fully lose control, Kakuzu unleashed [Final Appraisal], blowing Ao Shin's head clean off.
As the headless body crumpled to the ground, the Mist ninja lost all will to fight.
Soon enough, those who surrendered were taken prisoner, while those who refused to drop their weapons were slaughtered mercilessly.
And so, the great battle came to an end with a decisive victory for the Akatsuki.
On this day, news of the death of both Jinchūriki of the Mist spread across the entire Ninja World.
The infamy of the Akatsuki rose yet another level.
All knew the Land of Water would be the Akatsuki's next target.
...
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