Everyone was stunned.
Even Aoiha, standing behind Naruto, was wide-eyed, her scalp tingling from sheer disbelief.
She had fought many of these Mist shinobi before on the battlefield. Each one was powerful—formidable opponents that even her Scorch Style couldn't guarantee victory against.
But now, these same elites were being tossed aside like toys.
In Naruto's hands, they were as fragile as paper dolls. The power gap between him and them was like that between a Jōnin and an untrained civilian—unbridgeable, absolute.
Terumi Mei also felt the sting of that realization.
She hesitated, unsure if continuing was even worth it.
As the wielder of two Kekkei Genkai—Lava Style and Boil Style—her strength was among the highest in Kirigakure. She had always carried quiet pride in that fact.
But Naruto shattered that pride effortlessly—with a single punch.
"Fall back," ordered Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage.
Terumi Mei exhaled in relief and quickly dragged the unconscious Puffer Ghost to safety.
The remaining Mist shinobi carried the fainted Ghost Lantern Full Moon, Momochi Zabuza, and Hoshigaki Kisame away, retreating and leaving the battlefield eerily silent.
Their Mizukage was stepping forward.
As the perfect Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails, Yagura was a force unlike any other in Kirigakure—his power surpassed the village itself.
"Now that Lord Mizukage is fighting, he'll crush that bastard for sure," one whispered.
Another hesitated. "But the others couldn't even touch him. Can Mizukage-sama really win?"
"Watch your mouth! Don't bring down morale," another snapped. "Mizukage-sama is invincible! He'll beat that man thirty times over!"
"Yeah—Mizukage-sama is unbeatable!" others echoed weakly, though the tremor in their voices betrayed their doubt.
Naruto had simply been too terrifying.
Yagura glared at him coldly, his eyes glowing red.
He pulled out a black staff with strange green markings, the air around him distorting.
In an instant, he vanished—and reappeared beside Naruto, his weapon whistling through the air toward Naruto's back.
Clang!
Naruto raised a single finger and stopped the strike cold.
Yagura attacked again and again, faster than sound, his blows a blur. Sparks lit up the battlefield—but Naruto didn't move an inch.
Then Yagura leapt back, slammed his staff into the ground, and wove signs.
"Water Style: Water Mirror Technique!"
A massive mirror of water appeared before him, reflecting Naruto's image.
From the mirror stepped another Naruto—identical in appearance, aura, and stance.
"This is it! Mizukage-sama's Water Mirror Technique! It creates a perfect copy of the opponent with equal strength!"
"Now he's done for!" the Mist shinobi shouted, their spirits reigniting.
But one man in the crowd—a shinobi with an eyepatch named Ao—looked grim.
"Something's wrong," he muttered.
Terumi Mei turned to him. "What is it?"
"That man—Kira—I can't see his chakra. The mirror can't copy what it can't reflect. That clone is empty."
Terumi Mei's heart sank.
A split second later, Naruto flicked his finger.
Boom!
The mirrored clone exploded into mist—completely obliterated.
The cheers of the Mist shinobi died in their throats.
Yagura's face twisted with rage.
He roared, and from his back burst a spiked, gray tail. His speed doubled, his attacks now a blur of light and motion.
Each strike cracked the air like thunder, but Naruto simply watched, almost amused, deflecting effortlessly.
He was studying Yagura's partial transformation—analyzing how a tailed beast's chakra manifested through a Jinchūriki.
Inside Naruto's mindscape, the Nine-Tails, Kurama, chuckled darkly.
"This idiot Three-Tails. Even I wouldn't bare my fangs at this kid anymore," Kurama said, smirking. "He's way beyond what we can mess with now."
Kurama leaned back, watching like someone enjoying a good show. "Let's see how this goes. It's getting interesting."
Having spent years inside Naruto, Kurama knew the truth better than anyone—Naruto's chakra dwarfed his own, and his body was an unbreakable fortress.
Even a Tailed Beast Bomb from the Nine-Tails wouldn't scratch him now.
So Kurama had long since stopped struggling.
Instead, it waited patiently for old age to do what power could not.
Now, watching the Three-Tails recklessly attack, Kurama couldn't help laughing even harder.
Meanwhile, Yagura was losing control.
His rage spiked, and red chakra burst out of his body—three tails unfurling behind him as his human shape warped into something monstrous.
"Mizukage-sama… he's turning into a half-tailed beast form!"
"I've never seen him like this before!"
"That chakra—he's charging a Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Yagura crouched low, a spinning ball of dark purple chakra forming in his mouth.
Boom!
He fired it at blinding speed.
Naruto casually reached out—and caught the Tailed Beast Bomb in his palm.
"Is that it?" he said, smiling faintly. "A Tailed Beast Bomb?"
He squeezed.
BOOM.
The explosion of wind and pressure blew across the entire battlefield.
The Mist shinobi stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief.
Did he just catch a Tailed Beast Bomb with his bare hand?
That was something only the Sage of Six Paths could do—at least, that's what the legends said.
"Damn you!" Yagura screamed.
He lunged again, slamming his palm forward.
"Coral Palm!"
Coral instantly grew across Naruto's body, spreading fast to trap him completely.
The Mist shinobi gasped—until Naruto gave a small shrug.
Crack.
The coral shattered into dust and fell away.
Naruto sighed. "Go on. Show me your full tailed-beast form. I want to see it properly."
He was genuinely curious. If not, this fight would've ended long ago.
Yagura's eyes glowed crimson, all reason gone.
With a monstrous roar, his body expanded—transforming completely into the Three-Tails, Isobu.
A massive spiked turtle loomed over the battlefield, its three barbed tails thrashing violently, eyes blazing red with fury.
The chakra in its mouth began spinning again—forming an even larger, deadlier Tailed Beast Bomb.
"The real thing! That one could wipe out the entire village!" someone screamed.
"Run! Don't stand in its path!"
Panic spread like wildfire.
Naruto only shook his head. "You're not very cute, are you?"
In an instant, he appeared in front of Isobu—and kicked upward, slamming into the beast's chin.
BOOM!
Isobu was launched skyward, its Tailed Beast Bomb misfiring straight into the clouds.
A moment later, a deafening explosion lit up the heavens like a second sun, sending shockwaves across the land.
When the light faded, Isobu came crashing down, rolling across the battlefield like a giant spiked boulder.
"Forget it," Naruto sighed, cracking his knuckles. "I'm done playing with you."
He clenched his fist—and punched.
BOOM!
The Three-Tails froze mid-charge. The earth split open beneath it.
When the dust settled, the colossal beast lay motionless—its head caved in, body slumped like a broken mountain.
Silence fell.
The Mist shinobi stood frozen in place, unable to speak.
What they had just witnessed was beyond comprehension.
Their strongest Jinchūriki, their Mizukage—defeated with a single punch.
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