Haseo dropped both arms to his sides and drew two blades in a flash—one Lightning Release · Kurigara, the other Wind Release: Tengaippa. With wind and thunder in hand, there was practically nothing he couldn't cut through.
But this trait of his—using multiple chakra natures simultaneously—no longer startled or threw enemies into chaos.
When a particular trait belongs exclusively to a single ninja, especially one who's already well-known—and widely disliked—it can no longer be considered a secret.
One step. Two steps. Haseo dashed forward across shallow puddles toward the Third Mizukage. The tips of the blades at his sides skimmed lightly over the water's surface. As his pace quickened, two razor-straight, thin lines were etched onto the rippling water.
Across from him, the Mizukage barely had time to let out an unusual whistle before Haseo closed the distance and reached him.
Haseo suddenly halted mid-step. Using the inertia from his full speed, he twisted his body violently. His two blades leveled horizontally and slashed together in wide crescent arcs aimed directly at the Mizukage.
The lightning blade was silent as light itself, while the wind blade carried the high-frequency buzz typical of its nature—this one truly moved like electricity.
Ninja bodies are inherently fragile. Even someone on Haseo's level wouldn't survive a direct hit from the Third Mizukage's Water Blade technique without relying purely on flesh and blood. Likewise, even as powerful as the Mizukage was, his physical form stood no chance against Haseo's dual blades.
The Third Mizukage quickly formed hand seals. Taking a deep breath, he conjured up a ring-shaped curtain of water just in time to surround himself before Haseo's attack arrived.
[Water Release: Water Formation Wall]
Haseo's strike slammed instantly into the Mizukage's defense. The [Lightning Release · Kurigara] dispersed slightly due to the conductivity of the water, but the [Wind Release: Tengaippa] sliced straight through the hollow cylindrical wall like a flywheel crushing against solid wood, cleanly splitting it into two halves.
And because of how sharp and fast the cut was, even after slicing through the Water Formation Wall, the severed halves of the jutsu still held their shape instead of collapsing immediately.
Through the tiny gap carved open by Tengaippa, Haseo caught sight of the exaggeratedly low crouch taken by the Third Mizukage.
Beside him stood a short, plump Water Clone that looked nothing like the real one.
The moment the clone was left behind, the real Mizukage shot Haseo a glance before darting backward in retreat.
At the same time, however, the clone surged forward with far more speed than its original, charging straight at Haseo.
Haseo could clearly make out the slick, oily sheen on the clone's skin.
Then, sure enough, it began to glow.
Not good.
Haseo suddenly realized. Although the Third Mizukage wasn't particularly well-known, he was a disciple of the Second Mizukage. It made sense now—he might have inherited some rare Water Release techniques. Like... an explosive combination of water and oil, for instance—one known as the Steam-Fueled Detonation (Zhengwei Baowei), or something along those lines?
At this moment, the ninjutsu in Haseo's hands instantly dispersed. Just as that water clone closed in within inches—its white glow intensifying into a blinding brilliance—his hands snapped together once again.
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart!]
Compared to the basic Earth Flow Wall, this was an upgraded, thickened defensive technique only a chakra "tycoon" could pull off!
A curved city wall—seven or eight meters wide and over twenty meters tall—shot up from the ground. As it lifted Haseo, the caster, into midair, it also trapped the self-destructing water clone inside a semi-enclosed barrier.
Haseo twisted around and sprang off the rampart in one fluid motion. Right after, a violent explosion erupted with tremors strong enough to shake the entire defensive structure.
As he fell, Haseo glanced back. Scalding steam surged straight into the sky, looking exactly like a volcanic eruption.
See? Ninjas always follow through on their words. When the Third Mizukage said he wanted to kill Haseo, he definitely wasn't kidding.
"Saying you want to kill me is fine—I can understand that—but then still ruining my face? That's way too far, isn't it?" Haseo clenched his teeth, his emotions growing somewhat agitated.
Truth be told? He was shaking in his sandals.
As a shining hero type, he had no intention of getting blown to bits or ending up swaddled in bandages like some roasted chicken… The Second Tsuchikage, who'd been hit directly by Steam-Fueled Detonation, was a perfect example.
Getting boiled alive might just be the most miserable way to go—like being cooked alive and still conscious enough to regret it.
The steam behind him started rapidly retracting, followed quickly by a second explosion.
At this rate, within just a few more blasts, Haseo's Earth-Style Rampart might get completely destroyed. Any ninja developing and using [Infinity Detonation] must have either a twisted mind or a bloodthirsty temper—one seriously disturbed individual.
You've gotta be kidding me!
Haseo didn't stop moving his hands. He formed the same hand seal again, this time nearly unleashing all of the remaining Nine-Tails' chakra within him:
[Earth Release: Earth Flow...]
City.
Layer upon layer of earthen walls sprouted upward, transforming the landscape entirely. In an instant, a "city" made purely of crude earth structures had literally materialized.
It looked damn impressive—a spectacle you'd only see with a chakra tsunami unleashed. Aside from someone like Mū, maybe only full-fledged jinchuriki could accomplish such a feat… though special cases like Haseo barely scraped into that category.
The endless barrage of Steam-Fueled Detonations could only be stalled for now. The only regret was that, after all this, there probably wouldn't be any trace left indicating this place had ever belonged to Uzumaki Village.
Haseo had no idea how many times that so-called [Infinity Detonation] could keep going—the name was obviously exaggerated. But he had to take down the caster before this technique truly caused irreversible damage. Directly nullifying the jutsu itself would be pretty much impossible, naturally. So Haseo focused instead on eliminating the Third Mizukage himself.
"I found you."
Haseo stood atop the high ground he'd created, eyes locking onto the Third Mizukage on the opposite side of the "city." Since the Mizukage needed to maintain control over his jutsu, he wouldn't have strayed far.
Instead of drawing upon the Nine-Tails' chakra again, Haseo let the seal on his shoulder slowly crack open, revealing the spiral-shaped marking of the Four Symbols Seal.
His own chakra surged inside him once more. Haseo immediately felt that familiar invasive pain—but oddly, it gave him a strange thrill.
Leaning sideways against the tall pillar, Haseo fixed his piercing gaze directly on the Mizukage. Then, violently erupting chakra burst beneath his feet, launching his entire body forward like a projectile.
"He's coming—fast!"
Instantly spotting Haseo's figure, the Mizukage issued this warning to the subordinates around him. To prevent his own techniques from harming his allies, he had already instructed them to gather near him beforehand.
Two thunderous booms rang out in the air. Even amidst the continuous explosions of Steam-Fueled Detonation, such sounds were hard to ignore. Haseo's body, wrapped in lightning, shot downward at an incredible speed like a Lightning Bolt, tilting sharply as it descended.
His trajectory was straightforward; even if fast, it was still predictable. Therefore, before he even touched the ground, a barrage of wide-range attacks crashed down toward him.
However, another Shadow Clone appeared beside Haseo. He swung his arm and immediately hurled the clone straight downward, swapping positions with it just as the "clone" was engulfed by the incoming attacks.
Meanwhile, his true body crashed into the enemy ranks.
An impressive evasion indeed—but if the Second Hokage ever found out how his Flying Thunder God had been degraded into this kind of trick, even he would probably start weeping.
Flying Thunder God—picked the wrong man.
"You've all done wonderfully. Now, help me out… with a little test."
Haseo extended two fingers like blades and slashed his arm directly toward the Third Mizukage standing before him.
Visually speaking, there was nothing particularly special about his arm or the technique he used—it seemed at most no more than a mere Lightning Release: Mikage. Yet for some unknown reason, every enemy present instinctively sensed an unprecedented danger. Perhaps it was because the chakra radiating from Haseo now felt inherently wrong.
This chakra was extremely dangerous—not necessarily stronger or more immense in quantity. Objectively speaking, both those indicators were still surpassed by the Nine-Tails' chakra earlier. But somehow, the chakra Haseo emitted now felt even more terrifying than the Nine-Tails'.
"Mizukage-sama!"
A quick-reacting Mist ninja shouted loudly while stepping in front of the Third Mizukage to block the attack. Meanwhile, the Mizukage himself was also retreating, attempting to create distance.
But Haseo was, and always would be, the fastest one.
His arm shot through the chest of the Mist ninja in an instant, then kept moving forward and smashed into the shoulder of the Third Mizukage, who hadn't managed to retreat far enough.
"I missed my mark."
Thanks to the earlier ninja getting in the way, Haseo couldn't land a clean hit on the Third Mizukage. This strike wasn't fatal.
As soon as he realized his attack had missed, Haseo didn't greedily go for another one. Instead, he immediately pulled back—because even Haseo himself wasn't entirely sure what effects his new jutsu would truly cause.
The moment he pulled back, the Mist ninja whose chest had been pierced felt his chakra spiral into chaos—then his entire body exploded.
At the same time, the Mizukage lost one of his arms, torn completely off.
"This doesn't seem right… Well, I guess success wasn't going to come that easily. Looks like this technique still needs some adjustments," Haseo silently conducted a technical review.
Killing wasn't the main goal—he could've easily killed that ninja right then. The problem was that the effect when the enemy died was way off from what Haseo had planned.
P.S.: It's that time of the month again—if you've got a vote to spare, I'd really appreciate your support!
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