Yagura Karatachi's shock came not only from the failure of his Hiding in Mist Technique, but even more from Ryūjin's overwhelming strength.
With a single hand, Ryūjin gripped the hook weapon tightly. Yagura felt as if it had been caught in iron pincers, completely immovable. No matter how hard he pulled, it would not budge.
His expression shifted slightly, but he did not hesitate. A thick coral tail suddenly burst from his back and lashed toward Ryūjin with violent force.
"Rasengan!"
With a thought, a Sage Art Rasengan formed instantly in Ryūjin's left hand. He drove it forward without pause.
Crack!
The coral tail shattered on impact, breaking apart as if it were fragile stone. The force of the collision sent Yagura flying backward, his body tumbling across the ground several times before he managed to stabilize himself.
In just one exchange, he had been completely suppressed.
Ryūjin did not speak. Using the Body Flicker Technique, he closed the distance again in an instant.
"Water Mirror Technique!"
The dense mist ahead suddenly parted, forming a hollow space as a mirror of water appeared directly in Ryūjin's path.
In the next moment, another Ryūjin stepped out from the mirror and charged toward him.
Ryūjin remained calm. He already knew the nature of this technique. The mirror clone could replicate any ninjutsu he used, matching both power and execution perfectly. It was an extremely troublesome ability.
But it had its limits.
Ninjutsu could be copied. A bloodline ability could not.
"Kamui."
With a subtle shift in his gaze, space itself distorted.
Crack!
The mirrored Ryūjin's head twisted violently before separating from its body. The corpse collapsed instantly, lifeless before it even hit the ground.
Another distortion followed, and the water mirror itself shattered into fragments, unable to withstand the same attack.
Yagura's technique was dismantled the moment it appeared.
His pupils contracted sharply, his caution rising to its peak.
He had seen this power before, when Ryūjin used it against the man claiming to be Uchiha Madara. That single move had exposed the truth and even stripped away Wood Release. Experiencing it firsthand now made its danger undeniable.
Without wasting time, Yagura manipulated the mist once more, filling the cleared space. Thick white fog swallowed everything again, reducing visibility to almost nothing.
Having once been controlled by Uchiha Obito, Yagura understood how to deal with the Sharingan. The Hiding in Mist Technique was a natural counter, limiting vision and disrupting genjutsu.
Even if it did not completely hinder Ryūjin, it should at least reduce his effectiveness.
Soft footsteps echoed through the mist as Ryūjin advanced again.
Yagura sensed him clearly. He had already realized that conventional methods would not work.
With a shift in his chakra, he entered his Version 1 Tailed Beast State.
A deep red cloak of Three-Tails chakra enveloped his body, forming a violent aura. Three tails swayed behind him while he maintained a humanoid shape.
His strength surged dramatically.
When Ryūjin approached, Yagura threw a punch straight at him, filled with overwhelming force. The pressure alone was suffocating.
Ryūjin had no intention of meeting it head-on. He knew that even a single hit could cause coral to grow across his body.
His form shifted instantly, becoming intangible.
Yagura's fist passed straight through him.
The lack of resistance caught him completely off guard. Before he could react, Ryūjin had already passed through his body and appeared behind him.
Yagura's heart tightened. His back was exposed, a dangerous blind spot. Any attack now would be difficult to defend against.
Still, the Tailed Beast Cloak gave him confidence.
But Ryūjin did not attack.
He understood that ordinary attacks would be useless against the cloak. Even Amaterasu would be difficult to use effectively in such dense mist, where distance and positioning were distorted.
Visibility was so poor that even a person directly ahead appeared blurred, like a broken image.
Yet this limitation created an opportunity.
"Deva Path."
Ryūjin's eyes shifted. The crimson Sharingan transformed into the Rinnegan as he placed both hands firmly against Yagura's back.
In this mist, no one could clearly see what he was doing. Not the Hidden Mist ninja, not even Mei Terumī.
Ryūjin had already locked onto her position using Sage Mode. By aligning himself behind Yagura, he ensured his actions remained hidden.
Everything was perfectly calculated.
"Absorb."
A powerful suction force erupted.
The Tailed Beast Chakra surrounding Yagura began to drain rapidly, flowing into Ryūjin like a torrent. The red cloak shrank at a visible speed, disappearing layer by layer until nothing remained.
The process was effortless.
Yagura's expression twisted in shock.
"How is this possible… My chakra is being drained… What kind of technique is this?"
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