Inside the Hidden Mist Village, amidst the raging inferno, Hozuki Kaigetsu finally unleashed his overwhelming dominance. The Guhe Sage Seal, a massive composite Sage Art, was not merely a defensive bulwark—it was a lethal weapon.
Endless strands of water, manipulated by Kaigetsu, radiated outward in every direction, creating a breathtaking spectacle.
The water droplets transformed into countless phantom butterflies, swirling around him like a shifting, iridescent storm.
Biwa Juzo lunged forward, his chakra manifesting as a gargantuan water dragon. The attack was swift and ferocious, showcasing the rock-solid foundation of a veteran Jonin.
Kaigetsu didn't flinch; he dropped his right hand, flicked his wrist, and sent out a twin water dragon that slithered along the ground.
The two beasts collided in mid-air, creating a violent shockwave of spray and mist.
As the dragons clashed, the Three-Tails (Isobu) within Karatachi Yagura surged with swelling chakra. Yagura knew his time was running out; the strain on his body was reaching its limit.
He had to end this now. He forced his Tailed Beast transformation to its absolute peak.
This chakra fluctuation... it was the prelude to the Mizukage's ultimate technique: Rough Sea Spume!
In an instant, the heart of the Mist Village was submerged. A colossal tidal wave, driven by the Three-Tails' fury, roared toward Kaigetsu. Even the Guhe Sage Seal, for all its defensive brilliance, struggled against the relentless, crushing weight of the ocean.
While Kaigetsu focused on the tsunami, Juzo saw his opening. He leaped into the air, the Executioner's Blade glowing with concentrated chakra.
He swung the massive sword with savage intent. Kaigetsu bent his back to evade, but Juzo was like a coiled spring, closing the distance and delivering a sharp lateral kick.
The kick seemed effortless, almost natural, yet it carried a burst of chakra that forced Kaigetsu to break his stance and block.
His taijutsu is even more comprehensive than Zabuza's... Kaigetsu noted internally. Suddenly, Kaigetsu's form shattered into a thousand butterflies, scattering across the water's surface.
"The Second Mizukage's Genjutsu?!"
Unable to distinguish reality from illusion, Juzo sprang backward. Before he could find his footing, the blue butterflies reformed behind him. Kaigetsu's right fist, empowered by the density of the Sage Seal, slammed into Juzo's back.
"I didn't think the Seal could be used offensively like that," Juzo gasped.
"Inverting the flow allows it to bind and crush the enemy just as easily as it protects," Kaigetsu replied coldly.
Atop the water, Yagura's eyes glowed a sickly green. A Tailed Beast Bomb condensed rapidly, aimed directly at Kaigetsu's head.
"Lord Kaigetsu, watch out!" his subordinates shouted from the perimeter.
Sensing the lethal danger, Kaigetsu collapsed his shoulder and threw his body forward in a controlled fall. The dark sphere of energy streaked past, detonating against the sea and sending a mountain of water into the sky.
In the chaos, Juzo's "captured" body dissolved—it was a Water Clone. The real Juzo appeared in front of Kaigetsu, swinging the Executioner's Blade in a final, desperate execution strike.
BOOM!
The Guhe Sage Seal flared to life, its silver light grinding against the iron of the sword. Kaigetsu's palms glowed as he gathered water needles to retaliate, but another Tailed Beast Bomb shrieked toward him.
BANG!
The explosion sent Kaigetsu skidding back across the water. Facing both a Kage-level swordsman and a Perfect Jinchuriki simultaneously was proving to be a taxing ordeal even for him.
"Dammit, we can't even get close to a fight of this level!" The surrounding ANBU watched with anxious eyes. Of the legendary Seven Swordsmen, only Kaigetsu and Juzo remained on the field, locked in a fratricidal struggle with their Kage.
At the critical juncture, Kaigetsu's hands blurred into a series of seals. The White Crane mark on his chest erupted in a brilliant cyan light. A needle-thin beam of high-pressure Sage water shot out, slicing cleanly through one of the Three-Tails' massive tails.
The wind howled as Juzo continued his assault, while a heavily wounded Yagura, ignoring his internal hemorrhaging, exhaled a continuous beam of energy.
Both sides had "seen red"—there was no longer any room for restraint.
Kaigetsu, pushed to the brink, braced himself in a total defensive posture. The Guhe Sage Seal absorbed the brunt of the Tailed Beast energy while his hands converted the excess pressure into a localized atmospheric explosion.
As Juzo lunged forward again, a shimmering rainbow-like membrane of water formed, reinforcing the Sage Seal into an invisible, immovable wall. Juzo was pinned in place, unable to move, while the Executioner's Blade was caught in Kaigetsu's iron grip.
With a roar of effort, Kaigetsu's water-infused grip tightened. The high-frequency vibrations of his water-style chakra acted like a saw, snapping the Executioner's Blade in half. Kaigetsu snatched the broken half of the sword and lunged.
"Water Style: Giant Decapitation!"
As Juzo tried to retreat, the phantom butterflies swarmed him again, dropping the temperature until the air felt heavy with frost.
At that moment, the silver mask on Kaigetsu's face seemed to shimmer. His pupils shifted into the pink, circular pattern of the Dragon Sigil—Shiraishi's consciousness had taken full control of the network.
The butterflies detonated into a fine mist that bypassed Juzo's skin and entered his lungs. The "Black Mist" technique, infused with Sage chakra, paralyzed Juzo from the inside out.
Before he could speak, the broken blade in Kaigetsu's hand flashed through the mist, severing Juzo's head in a single, clean stroke.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
From the distance, the Three-Tails, unable to see through the fog, began firing Tailed Beast Bombs blindly. The shockwaves blurred the world, but as the mist cleared, Juzo's headless body was revealed, slumped in the water.
Suddenly, Zabuza Momochi appeared from the shadows. He drove a long needle—the Nuibari (Sewing Needle)—deep into Yagura's flank. The needle, modified with Shiraishi's Magnet Release and a special disruptive current, paralyzed the Tailed Beast's chakra flow.
The Sewing Needle had been recovered by Shiraishi after the fall of Yamamichi Soharu and gifted to Kaigetsu. Now, its suppressed power acted as a "poison" to the Three-Tails. Yagura, already frail, plummeted out of his Tailed Beast form and reverted to a bloody, human shape.
Kaigetsu (Shiraishi) seized the moment. The Sewing Needle, under his remote control, wove a web of razor-sharp water threads around the falling Mizukage. With a single tug, the net tightened.
Karatachi Yagura was reduced to fragments. The Fourth Mizukage, with a look of lingering regret in his eyes, exited the stage of history.
Kaigetsu picked up the heads of Yagura and Juzo, removed his mask, and held them high toward the blood-red sky. His roar echoed over the ruins of the village:
"From this day forward, the era of the Bloody Mist is over!"
Across the village, the remaining skirmishes ceased. Those loyal to Yagura saw their leader's head and surrendered in despair.
The civil war had claimed over a thousand lives, but through the fire and ash, a new ruler had emerged. The Hidden Mist had entered the era of the Fifth Mizukage.
Back in the Hidden Sand, the Fifth Kazekage, Shiraishi, opened his eyes. The light in his pupils returned to their normal state as he exhaled.
"The Mist is secured. The Sand's maritime strategy is ready for the next phase."
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