Faced with Kakashi's clone, Seiki showed no intention of holding back. The moment the clone moved, he punched straight through its head, blowing it to bits!
Witnessing this, Kakashi felt a cold chill down his spine and instinctively touched his head.
"Tsk, Kakashi really is a loser!" Yagura muttered darkly to himself, then gathered all his chakra, shouting, "[Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!]"
With his strength, even on flat plains he could create a small lake using Water Release. Here, above the ocean itself, he easily conjured towering waves—nearly as massive as the great storm Mizuki had previously created with Sage Art.
And these monstrous waves were heading straight toward Mizuki and the others.
However, faced with this terrifying sight, the group remained calm and composed, not even considering dodging by jumping into the sea.
As long as Seiki was around, not even a falling meteorite could threaten them!
"Really now, I originally planned to use only taijutsu!" Seiki lightly sighed, forming hand seals and pressing his palm against the water surface.
Kacha~
The entire sea area instantly froze, transforming the once mighty wave into a magnificent ice sculpture.
Yagura himself was also frozen upon the ocean surface. Already exhausted from multiple battles, he no longer had enough chakra left to break free.
"Absolutely god-like strength!" Mei Terumi couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. An enemy considered unbeatable by their rebel forces had been defeated so easily—it was like catching a fly with chopsticks!
Everyone behind her nodded in agreement. Their leader's decision had been perfect. They only had to put in a little effort at the start and finish, yet reaped permanent results with ease.
Seiki glanced toward their direction, "He's all yours now. Preferably bring your best genjutsu expert from Mist to remove this illusion from him."
"W-we'll try our best!" They exchanged uneasy glances, forcing out smiles.
Truly skilled genjutsu users were rare throughout the shinobi world. Most belonged to Dojutsu Clans. Even Konoha's strongest genjutsu user barely reached Shinku Yuhi's level—Mist certainly couldn't compare. Their top genjutsu user barely reached Jonin level.
"Sigh, where can we even find a decent genjutsu master?"
While the Mist shinobi were struggling with this issue, Seiki directly walked toward Kakuzu and Ruiga.
Right now, both were humiliatingly bound by a wooden dragon in awkward positions—having secretly reserved some strength hoping to escape during Seiki's fight with Yagura, they were caught trying to escape when Seiki noticed the movement. A wooden dragon shot their way, landing them in this predicament.
"I really wasn't cautious enough!" Ruiga inwardly sighed regretfully. After escaping successfully twice before, he'd promised himself never to get involved in anything related to Shimaseki Seiki again. But now he realized—he should have extended that avoidance to include even Shimaseki's friends!
Unlike Ruiga's self-blame, Kakuzu only had one thought circling his mind: "Who's going to take all the money I have stored inside the organization?"
Just as the two closed their eyes, preparing for judgment, a calm voice suddenly interrupted, "Could I request a moment? I'd like to redeem them, just like last time!"
Upon hearing this voice, hope reignited within both Kakuzu and Ruiga.
Although they knew Aizen existed within Mist, they never expected him to risk his life coming out specifically to save them!
They both had the same thought at the same time: "Senior Aizen really is a good guy!"
They turned their gaze toward the direction the voice came from, and the Mist shinobi were stunned in disbelief.
"Ao, what exactly are you saying?"
"You, with your thick brows and sharp eyes, when did you decide to betray the Hidden Mist too?"
Seiki Shimaseki narrowed his eyes. "Don't blame him. He's being controlled remotely through genjutsu!"
"Oh, that explains it..." The Mist shinobi suddenly understood, only to become even more shocked.
"Are you serious? Ao has the Byakugan!"
"If even Ao, who possesses a dojutsu, can be controlled, just how powerful must the controlling person's genjutsu be?"
"Could it be this guy who controlled our Mizukage?"
Seeing their angry expressions, Ao shrugged. "Don't get the wrong idea—I never controlled your Mizukage!"
Shimaseki asked solemnly, "So you're the masked individual who rescued Red-Sand Sasori from the Grail Ruin three years ago? What's your plan this time? Sacrificing other people's lives to save theirs again?"
"Our lives?" Everyone felt fear stir in their hearts. When had their lives fallen into the hands of this enemy?
"If even Seiki Shimaseki fears him so much, he must be a terrifying foe indeed!" Mei Terumi's joy at saving the Hidden Mist vanished. Compared to the hidden dangers of the outside world, the threats within Mist itself were insignificant.
"Of course not. How could the same reasoning work twice? Besides..." Ao smiled gently. "I can't control them without my body being here!"
Playing along, Shimaseki asked, "Then what do you want?"
Ao smiled and said, "These two are practically expendable to you. Releasing them would pose no real threat. How about exchanging them for some actual benefits... say, a thousand Grail Stones!"
Shimaseki exclaimed in surprise, "A thousand! So you were the one who looted the ruins three years ago!"
Ao offered no explanation. "What do you think? This is a great deal. Grail Stones can heal hidden injuries and repair the body. Take Kakashi Hatake for example—you know, the guy who abuses his Mangekyou. Without enough powerful life energy to nourish his eyes, he won't have much time left before going blind!"
Hearing himself mentioned, Kakashi instinctively touched his left eye, that still hurt like hell.
"Blind?"
This eye had been Obito's gift to him. If not for Rin, he wouldn't have abused it like this.
Shimaseki appeared deep in thought. After a while, he replied, "I can agree to the exchange, but only one thousand per person!"
Kakuzu and Ruiga stared wide-eyed. Ever since the ruins incident three years ago, tales of the Grail Stone's miraculous properties had spread, and their value had soared. Though prices had dropped somewhat now, a thousand Grail Stones would be impossible for them to repay even if they sold everything they owned!
"That can't be right. If I dig out my savings, I should still be able to pay it off!" Kakuzu thought miserably.
Ruiga, meanwhile, felt pure despair. With his weakness and lack of wealth, he was undoubtedly expendable.
Aizen sighed helplessly, "Your method of raising prices is certainly unique. But I don't have much talent for bargaining either. Let's go with it then!"
Ruiga felt as if the voice were a celestial melody to his ears as he gazed at Aizen, deeply moved. Boss Aizen, what a magnanimous move! From now on, I pledge my loyalty to you!
The surrounding crowd held their breath in shock. This was truly an astronomical price!
Thinking about those one thousand Greer Stones, many eyed Ruiga and his comrade with greedy looks, as if they weren't staring at two vicious rogue ninjas, but rather at golden statues with dollar signs floating above their heads.
Mei Terumi couldn't help but lick her lips. With years of constant warfare, her village's finances had long been in ruins. If she could capture and release them repeatedly, wouldn't that bring in a continuous flow of funds?
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