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Despite having an escape route, Kagaya couldn't help but curse himself as an idiot.
In the past, he had always fought ordinary ninja, which led him to overlook the weakness of his attack power. He had never specifically trained to improve it. When preparing to face the Fourth Mizukage, Kagaya had subconsciously ignored this flaw, resulting in the need to retreat now.
"Are you okay?"
On the other side, Itachi had just finished dealing with the Mist ninja. He turned to Kagaya, asking with concern.
"I'm fine. You guys go!" Kagaya replied firmly. With his Instant Clone Technique, there was no way the Fourth Mizukage could hit him.
Even if the Mizukage used a Tailed Beast Ball, in his current partial tailed beast transformation, its range wouldn't be large enough to catch Kagaya. Unless the Fourth Mizukage fully transformed into the Three-Tails and unleashed a Tailed Beast Ball, harming Kagaya was nothing but a pipe dream.
Of course, in their current situation, Kagaya harming the Fourth Mizukage was equally impossible.
"You… unforgivable!"
At that moment, the Fourth Mizukage saw the gruesome sight of all his Mist ninja lying dead. He spoke with fury.
Though Obito was the one controlling him, it genuinely appeared as if the Mizukage was acting on his own will.
In the next instant, the Fourth Mizukage appeared in front of Kagaya, swinging a palm toward his head.
But it missed.
In his partial tailed beast transformation, the Mizukage's speed was impressive—though not as fast as Kagaya's, it was not to be underestimated.
"What is this?"
The Mizukage stared at Kagaya, momentarily stunned. He was certain he had hit Kagaya, but the sensation in his hand felt as if he hadn't connected at all.
No, he hadn't connected. If he had, even if Kagaya was unharmed, the Coral Palm Technique would have restricted his movements.
"What is this?" the Mizukage exclaimed in surprise. Then, something clicked in his mind.
"Could it be… the Shisui's Instantaneous Body Flicker Technique? Tch."
Looking at the intangible Kagaya before him, the Mizukage realized he couldn't do anything to him. Even in his tailed beast form, he couldn't catch up to Kagaya—especially with the Instant Clone Technique in play.
But if that was the case, the Mizukage decided to ignore Kagaya and focus on the other three. If he could kill even one of them, it would be enough!
He couldn't harm Kagaya, but Kagaya couldn't harm him either. The Mizukage could fight freely, ignoring Kagaya and targeting the others.
Clang!
The Mizukage charged at Juzo, only to be blocked by Juzo's Kubikiribōchō.
The two clashed fiercely.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew. The Mizukage's defense in his tailed beast form was formidable. Even the Kubikiribōchō couldn't break through.
Kagaya watched from the sidelines, unsure of what to do. Even if he joined the fight, his attacks couldn't damage the Mizukage in this state. And the Mizukage's attacks were too powerful for Kagaya to block on Juzo's behalf.
All this time, Kagaya had relied on his speed to dodge enemy attacks. In terms of raw defense, he was no better than a genin. If the Mizukage landed a single hit, Kagaya would be crippled, if not dead.
'Damn it!' Kagaya was growing anxious. They couldn't afford to drag this out any longer!
It might look like Juzo was holding his own against the Mizukage, but Kagaya knew the truth. The Mizukage was only in a relatively low-level tailed beast transformation and hadn't even used a Tailed Beast Ball yet.
Kagaya suspected that Obito, controlling the Mizukage, didn't want to escalate things too much. Even if Obito failed to kill any of them, he wouldn't lose much, so there was no need to make a big scene.
But if this dragged on and Obito changed his mind, deciding to kill them all by fully transforming the Mizukage into the Three-Tails, things would get really bad.
They needed to end this quickly—either escape or defeat the Mizukage. Fast!
"Oh no!"
Suddenly, Juzo let out a cry. He had been careless and got touched by the Mizukage!
Against an ordinary ninja, getting grazed wouldn't matter much. But the Fourth Mizukage was different.
The consequence of being touched was immediate: pink coral sprouted from Juzo's right hand, where he'd been hit, and rapidly spread across his entire body, immobilizing him completely.
The Mizukage tilted his head slightly upward. A small black orb began forming above his mouth.
A Tailed Beast Ball!
Obito was determined to kill Juzo. If he had used any other technique, Kagaya might have found a way to save Juzo. But a Tailed Beast Ball? Kagaya didn't dare approach. One wrong move, and he'd be dead. If they both went in, they'd both die.
Kagaya vaguely recalled from the original story that Juzo had managed to block a Tailed Beast Ball with the Kubikiribōchō, but the knife shattered, and the recoil sliced Juzo's waist in half, killing him.
If Juzo, with the Kubikiribōchō, had met such a fate, what chance did Kagaya have with nothing? Going in would be suicide, utterly pointless.
Moreover, Kagaya's attacks were ineffective against the Mizukage. Interrupting the Tailed Beast Ball was impossible.
"Damn it, Juzo! Can you move?"
Juzo glared at Kagaya, furious.
"You idiot, what are you standing there for? Run! Don't try to save me—get out of here! Do you want my death to be meaningless? Go!"
"I…"
For some reason, Kagaya's heart felt heavy. Hadn't he seen this scene before?
"Go!"
Itachi tugged at Kagaya's sleeve, urging him to retreat.
To Itachi, Kagaya was a lifelong friend, while Juzo was just someone they'd recently met. In a critical moment, Itachi's priority was clear.
"Yeah."
Kagaya didn't hesitate. He turned and fled with Itachi.
So far, too many important people in Kagaya's life had died. They had taught him one thing: in the face of life and death, hesitation was pointless.
Kagaya and Juzo weren't particularly close—just friends, at most.
But still, Kagaya had wanted to protect Juzo's life if he could.
A massive explosion roared behind them. Kagaya knew the Tailed Beast Ball had detonated. Juzo had no chance of surviving.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!'
Kagaya screamed in his mind. He wasn't grieving Juzo's death itself.
He was furious—furious at his own powerlessness, at his own idiotic mindset.
Genji, Daisuke, Father, Mother, Shisui.
So many deaths had given him these cursed eyes, the Mangekyo Sharingan, a terrifying bloodline limit. And yet, he still couldn't protect anyone?
Was he really that weak? Was he still just someone who couldn't change anything?
No! Absolutely not! How could he face Shisui? How could he face his parents?
Kagaya's eyes hardened with resolve. He stopped running. This wasn't about avenging Juzo.
He wanted to show everyone that he was strong—incredibly strong!
In the past, when facing Obito, he chose to run, and Suzuki and Daisuke died.
When facing the Third Hokage's elite ninja, he was too weak and chose to endure, and his parents died.
When facing Shisui's resolve and Danzo's ruthlessness, he failed to stop them, and Shisui died.
Now, was he being told to run again?
Never!
Kagaya looked at the Fourth Mizukage rapidly approaching from the distance.
He closed his eyes. Blood streamed from his right eye.
He was done running. He had enough power now—he could protect those he cared about!
His eyes snapped open, the eerie Mangekyo pattern gleaming in his irises.
Blood continued to pour from his eyes. His body and ocular power weren't fully capable of sustaining the Mangekyo Sharingan.
But…
"I'll use you as a test. Let your body experience the power of these Mangekyo eyes."
No matter how painful it was, he would stop and use these eyes!
The Mangekyo Sharingan wasn't awakened for him to run away. It was awakened so he could protect others!
Fueled by Kagaya's blood and determination, the Mangekyo was finally ready to reveal its unique edge!