In the courtyard, translucent bubbles floated out from Utakate's flute, drifting around him.
The ANBU guarding him were the first to act the moment the bubbles appeared, they unleashed Wind Release techniques.
A powerful gust of wind suddenly rose in the courtyard, and the force accelerated the slow-moving bubbles in an instant. They stretched like rubber balls, changing from spherical to arched shapes, but showed no sign of bursting under pressure. The bubbles surged as a group toward Kakuzu and the others.
Utakate specialized in a unique Water Release technique centered around bubble ninjutsu. The bubbles blown from his flute had two distinct properties, each capable of causing different types of explosions:
One was the Exploding Bubble Technique, similar in effect to explosive tags. Brutal and direct, these bubbles would detonate with great force. Once a person was surrounded by them, they were almost guaranteed to be blown to pieces.
The other was Corrosive Acid Bubbles, when they burst, they released highly corrosive liquid that inflicted ongoing damage to anything it touched.
Utakate's strength lay in maximizing damage output with minimal chakra. The obvious weakness, however, was the bubbles' slow speed, making them relatively easy to dodge.
That's where the Wind Release–specialized ANBU came in, their role was to amplify the bubbles' speed.
Over the past year, White Zetsu had been thoroughly gathering intel for the Jinchūriki capture missions, so Kakuzu and his team were well aware of Utakate's abilities.
The moment Utakate began releasing bubbles, Kakuzu was already preparing to use his Wind-style mask heart to blow them back. But to his surprise, the ANBU were a step faster.
After all, the ANBU positioned to protect Utakate had trained alongside him and were highly coordinated. Without needing any verbal commands, they seamlessly synchronized with his bubble jutsu.
Kakuzu was only slightly slower in response, but still quick. At first, two masks, fire and wind, emerged from his back. Then three more rapidly appeared. One of the newly revealed masks opened its mouth and spewed a torrent of mud and rock, instantly forming a tall wall in front of the incoming bubble swarm.
As Utakate unleashed his bubbles, the ANBU fighting Kisame and Shin pulled back after sacrificing a few of their comrades' corpses.
Kisame and Jin didn't pursue. They flanked Kakuzu, one on each side.
Just as the bubble swarm was about to crash uselessly into the earth wall, Utakate coldly blew out another wave of bubbles.
At that moment, several Kirigakure shinobi suddenly appeared on both sides of the wall.
"Hm?" Kakuzu's face tensed. His vast combat experience kicked in as he spotted the shinobi, prompting him to act preemptively. His Earth-style mask quickly swung into action, redirecting the mudstream to curve into a semi-circle, forming a sideways "D"-shaped wall with the previous structure—encircling all three of them.
The shinobi flanking the walls used Wind Release in sequence, as if playing ping pong with the bubbles. First, one side blasted the bubble swarm sideways, bypassing the front wall. Then the other side blew them again, sending them directly into the enclosure where Kakuzu's team stood.
But Kakuzu had already anticipated this. The moment the bubbles struck the wall, a massive explosion erupted.
Each bubble had the explosive power of two paper bombs. Dozens of them igniting simultaneously was equivalent to nearly a hundred explosive tags going off at once—all with minimal chakra expenditure.
In large-scale battles, if Utakate had teammates who could boost his bubbles' speed, this technique could be devastatingly effective for mass slaughter.
With a thunderous boom, flames erupted violently, and the resulting shockwave and intense heat cleared the mist from the courtyard entirely.
Thanks to the earth walls, the trio avoided damage from the Exploding Bubbles.
But Utakate had clearly expected the first wave to fail, he had already prepared a second wave.
This time, they were Corrosive Acid Bubbles, and once again, ANBU Wind Release users accelerated their flight.
When the fiery aftermath faded, the second bubble swarm slammed into the walls.
Pop!
A chain of bubble bursts rang out. Dozens of bubbles simultaneously exploded into acid, splashing across the defensive earthen enclosure. The corrosive liquid began to eat away at the walls at a visibly alarming rate.
The acid seeped into the earth walls, turning them into a slurry of corrosive sludge that dripped like melting ice cream, flowing inward toward Kakuzu's group.
In a critical moment, the three of them were wrapped in a thin layer of water. They burst out of the dissolving acidic sludge and landed on the ground. Then, using that water film, they redirected the acid-laced mud away from themselves.
All three, Kakuzu, Kisame, and Shin—were proficient in Water Release. At the crucial moment, they used it to create a protective water membrane that shielded them from the acid.
"You two handle the Mizukage. I'll take care of these ANBU flies," Kakuzu said decisively after just a few brief exchanges. He was already set on holding off the nearly one hundred ANBU while Kisame and Jin went for the Mizukage.
"Alright, I'll take the lead. Shin, find the right moment to trap the target," Kisame said, twirling his massive blade with a cold grin. His tone was full of confidence.
Shin remained silent. His Water Release and kenjutsu couldn't compare to Kisame's, so frontal assault wasn't his strength. However, with his Sharingan, he could attempt to cast genjutsu to restrict the Mizukage, and he also had Wood Release.
Though not as powerful as Ye Zi-sama's, it was still sufficient for basic restraint.
If the opponent were the Three-Tails or Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, genjutsu would be nearly useless, as the Tailed Beast could instantly disrupt it. But Utakate couldn't perfectly control his Tailed Beast, so there was no synchronized resistance, the beast wouldn't be eager to break the genjutsu for him.
"First of all…"
Kisame sneered coldly, his hands forming afterimages as he began weaving hand seals. The jutsu took shape in an instant.
Kisame opened his mouth and unleashed a stream of water toward the ground in front of him. Though the initial stream wasn't large, the moment it struck the ground, it instantly surged into a towering wave several dozen meters high. Kisame stood atop the crest of the massive wave as it surged toward Utakate.
"Hm?" Utakate was slightly surprised. At this moment, all the Kirigakure ANBU assigned to protect him were nearby, well within the area affected by the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
The overwhelming wave rushed in. Utakate and his men couldn't withstand such a large-scale Water Release technique, and there was no need to waste chakra trying to block it. Instead, they quickly retreated using their body flicker techniques, trying to escape the reach of the incoming flood.
Utakate's large and luxurious residence was instantly flattened, reduced to rubble and swept up by the wave. Every building along the path of the wave was destroyed in its wake.
Despite the buildings acting as buffers, the speed of the massive wave didn't diminish at all. It crashed down from above, rapidly catching up to the fleeing Kirigakure shinobi.
Several of the shinobi at the rear were swept up by the wave. Even though they quickly activated their jutsu to protect themselves, more and more were caught in the surge as it pressed forward.
Kisame, still standing on the crest of the wave, continued forming hand signs. From within the surging flood, water-formed sharks suddenly leapt out, lunging toward the scattered Kirigakure shinobi now struggling within the water.
"Tch. That guy Kisame… I told him I'd take care of those small fry," Kakuzu grunted with annoyance.
Even before he finished speaking, one of the Kirigakure shinobi was torn apart in the water, staining it with a sudden bloom of blood.
"Was that Kisame's Water Release?"
Konan, Sasori, and Jūzō, who were holding off the reinforcements from three direction, immediately recognized the giant wave. With a single glance, they knew it had to be Kisame's handiwork.
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