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The moment Kagaya stopped, Itachi and Izumi halted as well.
"Kagaya…"
Itachi looked at Kagaya's resolute expression and seemed to understand.
He turned to Izumi.
"Izumi, you go first."
Izumi responded with confusion.
"Huh? But… what about you, Itachi? And Kagaya, what about you two?"
Itachi gave a faint smile.
"I have to stay and look after him."
Meanwhile, after killing Juzo, the Fourth Mizukage pursued Kagaya and the others. But he hadn't chased far before he noticed Kagaya had stopped of his own accord.
What is he doing?
The Fourth Mizukage was puzzled.
However, the Mizukage—or rather, Obito controlling him—soon understood Kagaya's intentions.
Seeing the eerie pattern in Kagaya's eyes, Obito, behind the scenes, raised an eyebrow.
"Mangekyo Sharingan, huh? Perfect. Let me see what unique ability your Mangekyo holds."
Under Obito's control, the Fourth Mizukage stopped, raised his head, opened his mouth, and began forming a Tailed Beast Ball.
Knowing Kagaya was about to use his Mangekyo abilities, Obito was cautious. He decided to test Kagaya with a Tailed Beast Ball first.
Obito knew well how powerful Mangekyo abilities could be. Charging directly at Kagaya, who had activated his Mangekyo, would be unwise. But attacking from a distance with a Tailed Beast Ball was safer. In Obito's view, it would only cost him a single Tailed Beast Ball—nothing significant.
"Hmph, let's see how you handle this Tailed Beast Ball," Obito sneered darkly.
"If your Mangekyo ability is exceptional, I'll kill you at all costs."
But before Obito could finish his thought, in the Fourth Mizukage's vision, Kagaya vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
He's gone?!
Where is he?!
Clang!
Kagaya appeared beside the Fourth Mizukage, slashing at his body with a kunai. The kunai snapped on impact.
Obito scoffed dismissively.
Useless, kid!
To injure the Fourth Mizukage in his tailed beast form with just a kunai was impossible!
Yet Kagaya's expression remained calm throughout.
Suddenly, blood gushed from his right eye. In the next moment, something terrifying happened. A massive wound appeared on the Fourth Mizukage's body, as if cleaved by a giant blade. Blood sprayed everywhere.
The Tailed Beast Ball he was preparing was instantly interrupted by this sudden, devastating injury!
"Argh!!!"
A piercing scream erupted from the Fourth Mizukage's mouth as his tailed beast transformation began to fade.
'What? What is this?!'
Obito, behind the scenes, shot to his feet in shock. He couldn't comprehend it. How had this happened? How had it happened?!
Logically, it was impossible! The kunai that struck the Mizukage had broken—how could it cause such a massive wound?!
But where did this injury come from?! What was his Mangekyo ability?
Itachi stared at Kagaya in disbelief. He hadn't expected Kagaya to incapacitate the Fourth Mizukage with a single move.
Izumi, who had been about to flee, covered her mouth, her face full of shock.
What had just happened?
No one knew except Kagaya.
At that moment, Kagaya closed his eyes, clutching them with both hands. He collapsed to his knees, his face covered in blood, wracked with pain.
Forcing the use of his Mangekyo was too much for his current ocular power and body!
The pain was so intense that Kagaya felt like he was about to pass out. And soon enough, he did.
Itachi rushed to Kagaya's side, gently lifting him. He scanned the surroundings warily, ensuring no Mist ninja were nearby. Then, carrying Kagaya, he and Izumi retreated.
In the darkness, Obito's expression had calmed.
The Fourth Mizukage was just a disposable pawn—unimportant. What mattered was…
"I underestimated you, Uchiha Kagaya."
---
One day later, in a dense forest, Kagaya awoke from his coma.
His eyes still ached faintly, making it hard to open them, but he forced himself to endure the pain and looked around.
He was leaning against a large tree, surrounded by thick woods.
"Oh, Kagaya, you're awake!"
Izumi appeared before him, greeting him happily.
"Where's Itachi?" Kagaya asked weakly.
"Oh, he went to gather food."
"I see." Kagaya nodded, understanding.
But Izumi looked like she wanted to say something yet hesitated, as if it were improper to ask.
Seeing her expression, Kagaya found it amusing and spoke up.
"You want to know how I defeated the Fourth Mizukage, don't you?"
Izumi replied shyly, "Um…"
To the young girl, asking about someone's abilities felt rude, but the scene from that day was so shocking that she couldn't help but want to know.
Kagaya smiled faintly and began to explain.
The ability he had displayed was from his right Mangekyo eye. It seemed to amplify the damage he inflicted significantly.
When he had struck the Fourth Mizukage with his kunai, the attack's damage was negligible—barely even qualifying as damage. But it had fulfilled the condition of "causing harm." This allowed Kagaya to use his right Mangekyo eye's ability to amplify that damage several times over!
The result was a wound so severe it nearly bisected the Mizukage.
Of course, Kagaya knew without thinking that this damage amplification had limitations. No ability was perfect; every one had flaws.
However, having used it only once, he wasn't yet sure what those limitations were.
As for his left Mangekyo eye's ability, Kagaya still didn't know.
After hearing his explanation, Izumi exclaimed in surprise.
"So, anyone you touch from now on is in serious trouble?"
Kagaya thought for a moment. As long as he attacked someone with harmful intent, it seemed he could use this Mangekyo ability to kill or severely injure them. But…
"It's not that simple. You saw it—I can barely handle the strain of these eyes. Plus, I don't know if this ability has an upper limit."
"That's already incredible! But you're right; this ability takes too much of a toll on you. Try not to use it too often," Izumi said, praising him.
Kagaya smiled faintly and didn't respond.
At that moment, Itachi returned.
"Kagaya, you're awake?"
"Itachi."
"What's your plan now? We're only working together temporarily, so we'll probably part ways soon."
Kagaya shook his head, indicating he was fine.
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself."
Itachi and Izumi were partners, and in the Akatsuki, teams didn't typically work together. This mission was an exception.
It wouldn't be long before they parted ways.
And indeed, that's what happened.
A few days later, Itachi and Izumi left to carry out missions in another region, while Kagaya remained near the Land of Water to continue his tasks.
Kagaya wasn't sure if Obito had kept him near the Land of Water to make another move against him or if it was genuinely just part of the mission.