The smoke cleared.
"Hisashi-san!!"
Kenichi lunged forward with lightning‑coated kunai in hand and slashed at the Mizukage standing arrogantly before him.
"EU—k." Gengetsu fell as his body split cleanly in half.
But Kenichi blinked in confusion and stared at his lightning coated kunai and hand. He felt no resistance in that strike. He made sure use lighting release to counter Hozuki clan's hydrification technique but...
"...?"
He spun, delivering a roundhouse kick— But his foot passed straight through Gengetsu's torso.
Puchi
Kunai and shuriken tore into Kenichi's right arm from behind.
"Hehehe… I told you," Gengetsu's voice echoed from the mist, "you're aiming at the wrong target."
Kenichi staggered back, clutching his bleeding arm.
Behind him, Senju Hisashi collapsed to one knee, coughing blood.
"Eugh…. Kenichi… cough … you have to target his summoned beast…. The Ohmaguri(giant clam)…"
Hisashi spoke with great difficulty. His bloodied body was riddled with puncture wounds from Gengetsu's Water Gun. He was only alive thanks to his vitality and vast yang chakra.
"Hisashi-san…"
Gengetsu wasn't even trying. He stood leisurely with his hands behind his back and eyes half‑lidded as he surveyed the battlefield.
He glanced toward the right flank.
There, Yuki Shuto, Kaguya Morikawa, and twelve quasi‑Kage jonin were locked in a brutal stalemate against Uchiha Sosuke and the Uchiha elites.
Gengetsu smirked.
"It seems the Uchiha are doing better than you guys. I thought Senju was the strongest… but you all.... disappoint me. Tsk tsk tsk. I suppose only Hashirama and Tobirama were worth remembering."
Kenichi gritted his teeth.
Then Black calligraphic markings spread across the ground.
Kyosei Kuchiyose Geashi! 強制 口寄せ 返し(Forced summoning return)
The Gengetsu in front of Kenichi disappeared. The real Gengetsu appeared several meters to Kenichi's left, momentarily surprised.
"?!! Summoning return—?! Sealing jutsu!! Uzumaki Kyoto!"
Kyoto stepped forward, chains retracting into his back.
"Sorry it took me a while to find the giant clam."
Kenichi didn't hesitate.
"NOW!"
He slashed at Gengetsu's exposed flank—
"Tsk. How bothersome."
Gengetsu's body liquefied instantly, letting Kenichi's lightning‑coated kunai pass harmlessly through him.
"Really... you Senjus are like cockroaches. It takes too much effort to kill."
"YOU'RE JUST TOYING WITH US!" Kenichi roared.
"Hoh?"
Gengetsu's smile vanished. His face darkened as shadow swallowed his features.
"So, you would rather die then?"
A crushing wave of chakra soaked with killing intent slammed into Kenichi and Kyoto.
Gulp!
Cold sweat drenched their backs.
"Hehehe. Don't worry. We Kiri don't want to wage full out war with you Konoha. Consider this a ... border skirmish."
Gengetsu withdrew his chakra as a playful smirk returned. Kenichi and Kyoto were not his match, but he couldn't fathom the exact consequence of ending their feeble lives here. Would Tobirama drop all fronts and let Iwa and Kumo take in the Tailed Beasts and avenge their death against Kiri? Or will he just let it pass?
But Gengetsu was no fan of high stake gamble.
Kyoto's eyes burned with fury. An outburst of his own chakra recovered his spirit.
"What is your purpose, Mizukage?!"
"Tsk! The Uzumaki are just as bothersome too."Gengetsu shrugged. "Don't worry, Kiri has no intention of destroying Uzushio. We are just here for a friendly spar~."
"YOU BASTARD!!!" Kyoto roared. The Adamantine Chains exploded from his back as he charged.
Gengetsu's grin widened.
"Now THAT'S the spirit, Uzukage! Hahaha! Come then — let's continue!"
He was in a good mood.
Kiri had taken losses, yes. But Konoha and Uzushio had bled heavily too. And more importantly: Kiri's young ninjas gained enough experience and stimulation and returned to the main fleet, which now positioned so that they can return to Land of Water at any moment.
This war was not about conquest. It was a forging ground for the future generation. And Gengetsu was enjoying every second of it.
The battlefield trembled as Kyoto's Adamantine Chains clashed against Gengetsu's water‑hardened blade. Kenichi darted in from the side with kunais coated in lightning in his hands.
Clang! Clang! KUWANG!!
Shifting between solid and liquid as he pleased, Gengetsu danced between them with infuriating ease.
"Come now," he chuckled, "is this truly the best Konoha and Uzushio can offer?"
Kyoto snarled, chains whipping toward him like serpents.
Kenichi launched a barrage of lightning kunais. Then followed it with earth spikes to restrict Gengetsu's movement.
But Gengetsu simply stood his ground and raised his arms into finger guns.
Mizudeppō no Jutsu 水鉄砲の術 (Water gun technique)
Though small in size, each water bullet cracked through every kunais, jutsus, and Adamantine chains, forcing Kenichi and Kyoto to dodge instead.
"You two are entertaining," he said lightly, "but far too... weak."
Kyoto's chains burst out of the ground tangling around his legs.
"Kenichi!"
Kenichi's lightning‑coated kunai sliced through Gengetsu, but his body burst into water, engulfing Kenichi.
The real Gengetsu emerged from the puddle next to Kenichi with his hands in his sleeves. His body split into two, forming a water clone as he locked Kenichi in a water prison.
"Honestly… Hashirama and Tobirama would be ashamed."
But then, a thunderous roar shook the battlefield.
KUAAAAAAAAA!!
A massive yellow skeletal figure erupted in the distance. It was Fukashi's Susanoo.
Gengetsu's eyes widened.
"…Susanoo?"
For the first time, his composure cracked and Kyoto and Kenichi saw it.
A single heartbeat of distraction.
"NOW!"
Kyoto's chains shot forward, dispelling Gengetsu's clone and locking down on his real body. Gengetsu reacted immediately as he noticed chakra drain from the Adamantine chains. But his hydrification technique failed on him.
Kenichi lunged out of the water prison and brandished his arms with sharp wind chakra.
SHING!
Gengetsu twisted his body in the nick of time, but a thin red line appeared across his cheek. Gengetsu bloated his body into water bubble and slipped out of the chain and quickly distanced himself from the two.
Gengetsu slowly touched his cheek and stared at the blood on his fingertips.
"…You two."
His voice dropped. His playful tone vanished and his chakra surged with a cold, and suffocating killing intent.
"You actually made me bleed."
Before Kyoto or Kenichi could react Gengetsu vanished.
Puchi.
Kyoto's right arm flew into the air, severed cleanly at the shoulder. Followed by multiple water gun puncturing through his joints.
"GAAAHHH!!"
Blood sprayed across the sand.
Kenichi spun with widened eyes.
SHUNK.
Both his legs were sliced off at the thigh in a single fluid motion.
He collapsed instantly, but he did not get a chance to scream as firm grip collapsed around his neck. His face reddened as he clutched his throat. But he couldn't tell whether his face was reddening from lack of air or because of his body fluids heating up from the inside.
"KENICHI!!" Kyoto roared while clutching his stump.
Gengetsu stood between them with a flat expression.
"That was rude of me," he said calmly as he released Kenichi. "I shouldn't have lost my temper."
He flicked the blood from his fingers.
"But you two should know your place."
Kyoto's chains lashed out in desperation, but Gengetsu stepped aside casually.
"You're done."
He kicked Kyoto in the chest, sending him crashing into the sand.
Kenichi tried to form hand seals, but Gengetsu stepped on his wrist, crushing it.
"Don't embarrass yourselves further."
Kyoto writhed in agony as blood pooled beneath him, while Kenichi lay unconscious with legs severed and arms reddened with first degree burns.
Gengetsu sighed.
"Tsk. What a waste of time."
He turned away from the two, dismissing them from his mind as his gaze shifted toward the battlefield where Susanoo emerged. He then dusted off his shoulder and began walking with his hands behind his back.
"Honestly… losing my temper over a scratch. How unbecoming."
He clicked his tongue as the wound started to heal.
Then he vanished, heading straight toward Morikawa and Shuto.
The real battle was about to begin.