A deep orange fire—imbued with his Fire Release chakra—blazed from Haseo, rapidly expanding outward in the form of a chakra cloak. Within an instant, the flames had surged upward to match the towering height of the Watery Colossus.
As long as he didn't hold back the Nine-Tails' chakra, scaling techniques to that level wasn't difficult at all. And Haseo never really felt the need to conserve it on the Nine-Tails' behalf.
What benefit was there in worrying so much about a Tailed Beast?
The water beneath Haseo's feet, normally fluid, began curving downward like a bowl under the immense heat radiating from his Fire Release mode. Then, the depression continuously expanded outward. In no time at all, Haseo's feet had touched solid ground.
The area that had submerged Uzumaki village seemed vast, but its actual depth was only about five meters.
A circular patch of land fifty meters wide appeared beneath his feet. Steam spread only along the outer edges where the water met the blazing chakra cloak. Inside the fiery zone itself, Haseo's vision remained crystal clear.
Judging by how quickly surrounding water evaporated, the temperature he generated should've been enough to melt any flesh and blood into nothingness. Yet Haseo himself remained completely unscathed, seemingly immune to the intense heat...
Though Haseo had yet to complete Sage Mode and still couldn't fully eliminate the physical toll of his Kinjutsu, this didn't mean he hadn't attempted improvements—in fact, he was constantly refining it.
For example, his current Fire Release mode clearly followed "hardcore" physical laws—outer flame hottest, inner flame cooler—and the spot where Haseo stood, right within the flame core, was barely affected at all.
So it wasn't that he resisted heat—it was just not hot where he was.
However, only by using the Nine-Tails' chakra could he expand this technique to such an extreme scale. For one thing, using the Nine-Tails' chakra to activate Kinjutsu put far less strain on his body. For another, if he used his own chakra instead, he could never reach such extremes.
The entire water area had evaporated extensively, and along with it, the Watery Colossus had also shrunk dramatically. Eventually, Mizukage inside could no longer maintain his Hydrification Technique. Seizing the brief moment when the giant still provided cover against Haseo's blazing flames, he quickly retreated and then emerged from the watery body.
Once he'd forced Mizukage out of his liquid form, Haseo immediately deactivated the "special effects" of his Kinjutsu… If he'd stayed too long, the shrinking wouldn't have applied just to enemies—he himself would've suffered consequences too.
Maintaining this Kinjutsu for too long involved far more than just burning calories. And even though he could regenerate his limbs endlessly, Haseo certainly had no intention of repeating that whole "body-rebuilding" ordeal again.
After ending his Kinjutsu, Uzumaki village—originally built on flat land rather than a true inland lake—was partially refilled by the returning water due to rubble blocking flow. Still, in the end, the water only reached up to his calves.
If Mizukage wanted to hide underwater again, he'd better brace himself for a mouthful of mud.
Alternatively, he could unleash another massive Water Release—if his chakra held out. The vast water mass created earlier must have been the combined effort of all the Mist ninja present.
The Third Mizukage wasn't a jinchuriki, nor were any of the elite Mist ninja accompanying him—during the final stages of the last war, Haseo's defeat of two Kumo jinchuriki had been officially recorded in intelligence reports across all villages. But knowing *that* fact was one thing; understanding *how* it happened was another matter entirely.
Until they figured out how Haseo handled tailed beasts, no one would risk sending a jinchuriki after him—and Haseo himself was very much aware of this. By now, he had already assumed that Mist had received prior intelligence confirming he was indeed Fire Country's Eastern Front commander.
Spies within the Ninjutsu World seemed to be everywhere, and when Haseo had led his team out from Konoha, he hadn't even tried to hide anything deliberately.
"Using such an exaggerated technique and wasting so much chakra just to force me to reveal myself temporarily... what's the point? My jutsu can activate anytime again," the Third Mizukage said while standing on a partially collapsed brick wall, looking down at Haseo.
This question left Haseo silent for a moment. Okay, maybe he *had* gone a little overboard just now, but after thinking it through, he decided to speak plainly:
"To be honest, my main purpose has nothing to do with you—it was just to flex a bit, really."
Third Mizukage: "..."
In reality, the sudden burst of intense chakra Haseo emitted served as a signal. At the very least, it let the Camp behind him know that everything was fine on his end, that he was still fully spirited in battle. This further reassured Uzumaki Shikou that, whatever difficulties the Camp might currently be facing, she should focus primarily on handling her own affairs for now.
But there was no need to explain all that to the Mizukage.
"Also, you're mistaken about one thing. Now it's my turn to launch a direct assault, and during this process, your techniques won't come so easily or take effect anymore."
Putting the nonsense aside, Haseo made that point clear.
It was also a psychological jab—one that successfully brought back the Third Mizukage's memory of his water clone being sliced clean off in an instant. Honestly, against attacks that fast, he barely had time to react at all… In that regard, the Mizukage probably had quite a bit to talk about with Hanzo—he'd experienced Haseo's lightning-fast attacks firsthand too.
The difference was that Hanzo had been stabbed from behind, whereas the Mizukage had only lost a clone. Clones weren't quite the same as the real thing, after all.
"You sustained injuries that should have seriously impaired both your mobility and combat effectiveness. Yet judging by your current reaction, those wounds seem completely gone. However, ordinary ninja certainly wouldn't possess regeneration abilities like that. As far as I know… in short, you cannot possibly replicate that person's capabilities."
Unshaken by Haseo's threat, the Third Mizukage brought up something else he'd noticed in the fight.
The person known to the Mizukage who could instantly heal from any injury was undoubtedly the First Hokage, but Haseo could not possibly be the First… Even though Haseo's wound had recovered in a short time, there was still a huge gap between his regeneration ability and the First's.
At the very least, Haseo was still pale — clearly from losing too much blood.
Haseo could also guess who the Mizukage was referring to — it must have been the First Hokage. Considering the Third Mizukage's age, it was quite possible he had personally met the First before.
Haseo thought to himself that of course his healing wasn't like the First's — this was his granddaughter's medical technique, treatment rather than self-regeneration.
But since revealing this might sound like showing off, Haseo remained silent.
"Add that to the chakra you just displayed, and I can basically confirm one fact."
"What fact?" Now Haseo was somewhat curious.
"You've become the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki after Mito Uzumaki…"
Haseo: "…"
Well, it was a shame — the Third Mizukage's mind seemed pretty sharp, but in the end, he hadn't guessed anything right.
It wasn't that the Mizukage was mistaken in judgment. After all, due to their tailed beasts, jinchuriki generally possessed extraordinary vitality, often exhibiting stronger recovery or even self-healing abilities than ordinary ninja. Plus, Haseo's chakra traits were clearly consistent with the Nine-Tails'… It was just that Konoha's approach to splitting tailed beasts was something no other ninja village could even dream of.
"If you really are the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," finally concluded the Mizukage, "then you must die here."
Haseo forced a neutral expression before replying with equal seriousness — and seething malice — "Since you already know something like that, then the one who must die here is more likely to be you, Mizukage-dono."
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>