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"Mizukage, huh?" Itachi spoke first. If it was the Fourth Mizukage, this would indeed be a tough opponent.
Kagaya turned to Itachi.
"Itachi, do you remember what I told you?"
Itachi paused, recalling Kagaya's earlier words:
"In short, be extremely careful! Especially, keep an eye on Izumi!"
Itachi's gaze shifted to Izumi, then back to Kagaya and Juzo.
"Won't it be too much for just the two of you?"
If Itachi focused on protecting Izumi, he wouldn't be able to join the fight against the Fourth Mizukage. Otherwise, if the Mizukage suddenly targeted Izumi, Itachi might not be able to stop him in time.
If it were the normal Fourth Mizukage, Kagaya had reason to believe he wouldn't stoop to attacking a young girl during battle. But the Fourth Mizukage standing before them was being controlled by a darkened Obito!
"Just guard her" Kagaya simply said.
Juzo, however, made no effort to hide his disdain for Izumi.
"Tch, so this is the intern you brought along? Useless most of the time, and now a liability at the critical moment."
Kagaya look at Juzo and said, "Juzo, enough talk.."
"Fine, fine, I got it," Juzo muttered, turning his attention back to the Mizukage.
"Kagaya," Juzo continued, "remember my advice? Don't underestimate him just because of appearances. This guy is the real Fourth Mizukage, and he's the Three-Tails Jinchuriki to boot. One more thing—he can control the power of the tailed beast. Plus, we've got dozens of pursuing ninja around us. This won't be easy."
The Fourth Mizukage removed the weapon strapped to his back. It was a peculiar staff, one end thin, the other thick, with both ends curving into hook-like shapes, resembling fishing hooks.
He raised the staff, pointing it at Juzo.
"I never thought you'd show your face in this village again, Juzo."
Juzo responded casually, "I didn't want to come, but I had no choice."
The Fourth Mizukage gave a noncommittal hum.
"I have an ocean's worth of things to say to you," he said. "At the very least, you'll return the Kubikiribōchō to the village. Even if your partner is the Uchiha Itachi, there's no room for negotiation."
Itachi's reputation preceded him, thanks to his time in the Anbu and the widespread belief that he single-handedly wiped out the Uchiha clan. His name carried weight.
As for Kagaya and Izumi, while Kagaya had some renown in the Leaf Village, he was virtually unknown outside it. Izumi, meanwhile, was completely overlooked.
Thus, the Fourth Mizukage only acknowledged Juzo and Itachi, dismissing Kagaya and Izumi entirely.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile curled at the corner of Kagaya's lips.
In the next instant—before anyone could react—Kagaya's hand was already a mere centimeter from the Fourth Mizukage's face.
"Please pay for your arrogance with your life."
Crack!
Like smashing a watermelon, Kagaya's chakra-infused hand obliterated the Fourth Mizukage's head.
It was too fast!
But as Kagaya looked at the water dripping from his hand, he spoke with a hint of disappointment.
"A water clone, huh? As expected of the Fourth Mizukage—not so easy to kill."
In his mind, however, Kagaya thought,
'After all, it's Obito controlling him. He wouldn't underestimate me so easily. I thought my speed might catch him off guard, even if he knew about it.'
Yes, Kagaya's speed was his trump card. Even if you knew about it, even if you were cautious, if you couldn't keep up, it was all meaningless.
Somewhere in the shadows, a pair of Sharingan eyes glared intensely from behind a mask, bloodshot with strain.
"I've seen it before, but facing it in person… I almost couldn't react. Tch, no matter. His speed can't threaten me."
With his Kamui, Obito was confident that no matter how fast Kagaya was, he couldn't touch him.
Back in the forest, the Fourth Mizukage reappeared on another tree, staring at Kagaya in shock.
"Who are you?"
Though Obito was the one pulling the strings, he had to maintain the facade of ignorance, just as he'd deliberately downplayed Kagaya earlier. The act had to be convincing.
Kagaya didn't bother answering the Mizukage. Instead, he turned to Juzo.
"Juzo, I'll handle the Fourth Mizukage. You take care of the Mist ninja."
Juzo replied with concern, "Can you handle him?"
"I'll give it a shot."
"Alright. If you can't hold out, call me."
"I will."
With that, Kagaya turned back to face the Fourth Mizukage.
"Let's begin."
In an instant, Kagaya vanished from his spot. He had no intention of wasting words with the Mizukage. He knew exactly who was controlling him, and there was no need for conversation.
A surge of red chakra erupted, enveloping the Fourth Mizukage's entire body.
Moments later, a red, four-legged creature emerged, its body covered in a hard shell, with three tails swaying behind it.
Tailed beast transformation!
Though it wasn't a full transformation into the Three-Tails, the Mizukage no longer resembled a human. He was now a red, miniature tailed beast.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as Kagaya's attacks landed on the Mizukage, but they did no damage whatsoever.
"Hmm." Kagaya paused. While his speed was overwhelming, and the Mizukage couldn't land a hit on him, the Fourth Mizukage's defense in this minor tailed beast form was absurdly high, leaving Kagaya in a tough spot.
In the world of Naruto, most ninja were glass cannons—high offense, low defense. In the past, Kagaya's incredible speed allowed him to overpower many opponents, even if his attacks weren't particularly powerful. As long as his speed was unmatched, nothing else mattered.
But against a tailed beast, Kagaya's weakness was laid bare: his attack power was too low!
Even if he used his speed to amplify his strikes, the result was the same.
Kagaya glanced at the broken kunai in his hand.
"The kunai—and my body—can't withstand the recoil of those high-speed collisions."
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball materialized and hurtled toward the Mizukage.
It hit its mark...
Yet, the tailed beast-transformed Mizukage shrugged off the fireball, charging straight through it toward Kagaya.
Buzz!
Kagaya used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge the Mizukage's attack.
"This is troublesome."
"Hah!"
Juzo suddenly rushed in, raising the Kubikiribōchō and swinging it down at the Mizukage.
Clang!
The sound was like metal clashing. Juzo's strike did no damage to the Mizukage, only managing to push him back a short distance.
"You're strong," the Mizukage said, "but today, none of you are leaving!"
As a perfect Jinchuriki, the Mizukage could still speak in his tailed beast form.
Kagaya's brow furrowed. He wasn't an omnipotent god; he made mistakes too. This time, he had clearly underestimated the Mizukage's defensive capabilities in his tailed beast form.
After all, this was Kagaya's first time facing a tailed beast head-on.
But Kagaya was a rational person. Though he'd miscalculated the tailed beast's power, he hadn't come unprepared to face the Fourth Mizukage.
Speed! That was Kagaya's absolute advantage.
Tiger—Dog—Rat.
Instant Clone Technique!
Four instant clones appeared around Kagaya.
"You guys retreat first. I'll hold him off."
If he couldn't win, he'd retreat. With his speed, no one could stop Kagaya from escaping.
This was Kagaya's greatest confidence, even knowing that Obito was targeting them and still daring to face him head-on!