A gust of wind blew between them, lifting leaves from the ground.
Right then, everyone sprang into motion.
Several Anbu ninjas rushed toward Saitama Uchiha while others surrounded Konan.
The rest gathered near Yagura, staying alert.
Dadadada!
Saitama Uchiha watched the four ninja charging at him. In an instant, he judged their strength—they were no weaklings, all skilled Jonin.
But would Saitama Uchiha fear mere Jonin?
Certainly not. In fact, seeing his enemies recklessly attacking head-on like this made him want to laugh inwardly.
Yet Saitama Uchiha understood that the Hidden Mist's Anbu had motives for acting this way.
Their goal was to test his and Konan's strength—trying to find flaws in their fighting styles through coordinated attacks.
Zzzt! Crackling with arcs of electricity, Saitama Uchiha drew his hand from his pocket.
Pop!
Leaning forward, he took his first step, meeting the four Anbu head-on.
On the other side, the Anbu advanced with two upfront and two behind, continuously switching positions mid-movement to confuse Saitama Uchiha's line of sight.
[Sharingan!]
Saitama Uchiha narrowed his eyes. His previously clear pupils were instantly overtaken by crimson red, and three tomoe began slowly rotating within his irises.
"Beware their speed!"
One Anbu quietly warned his comrades, but before he could continue, Saitama Uchiha—who had been positioned ahead—disappeared from view.
His burst of speed occurred instantaneously, so fast it was beyond imagination, too quick even for the Jonin to track.
Watching from behind, Yagura narrowed his eyes as he saw Saitama Uchiha's blurry figure appear to the right of the Anbu ninja.
He didn't act—it was already too late.
"So fast!"
Underneath his mask, the face of one Anbu showed shock. Immediately, his body tensed up, tightly gripping the kunai in his hand while scanning around to locate the enemy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the ground beneath the four Anbu exploded. Thick tree roots burst from the ground like monstrous tendrils, wrapping around them.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Without time to think, they sprang sideways in unison.
Meanwhile, having already reached the side, Saitama Uchiha had been waiting precisely for this moment.
Although these Jonin Anbu posed no threat to him, even he needed a perfect opportunity to eliminate them instantly.
Now, with all four forced mid-air, he had that perfect opening.
Crackle! Snap!
A flash of blue lightning zipped past them—then everything stopped.
Thud!
Moving almost synchronously, the four Anbu clutched at their throats, gasping laboriously for breath before collapsing onto the ground.
"This is..."
Beside Yagura, the [Personal Guard] widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at Saitama Uchiha standing behind the fallen four.
Four Jonin, eliminated just like that?
And he hadn't even seen the specific movement yet—before he knew it, four Anbu had charged toward the enemy, then the ground cracked open. Root-like things surfaced, and immediately afterward, Saitama appeared behind the Anbu. The four Anbu collapsed to the ground.
"Hiss!"
Next to Yagura, the remaining three Anbu inhaled sharply through their teeth, shock covering their masked faces.
As comrades—ninja who served as personal guards close enough to accompany the Mizukage—they certainly weren't weaklings. Yet the enemy's strength was just too overwhelming. Not even seeing the movement, they were instantly killed?
This can't be real... Could even Lord Yagura struggle against such overwhelming power?
The Mist ninja nervously gulped, trying to suppress their growing fear and force themselves not to show weakness.
Meanwhile, on the other side, surrounded by four Anbu ninjas, Konan fought while gradually retreating, soaring into the air with her flight ability.
Although Konan could draw upon techniques powerful enough to rival or surpass a Kage when using her special methods,
at the moment, she was only using ordinary techniques against those enemies.
It seemed she had no intention of revealing her trump card just yet.
Four jonin working in unison could indeed temporarily hold back someone like Konan, who was clearly holding back her true strength.
"Are you certain you still want to keep sending these ninja to die? As both the Mizukage and a Jinchuriki, do you really lack the courage to face your opponent directly?"
Saitama didn't bother turning to look at the four fallen ninjas because he already knew the enemy was dead.
Their throats had been sliced open, nearly beheaded—there was no way they survived.
Not everyone is invulnerable like Hidan, a disciple of the god Jashin.
"Lord Yagura! Watch out!"
The personal guard leaped forward, standing protectively before Yagura, staring seriously at Saitama with evident caution in his eyes.
"Step aside. Let me handle this!"
Yagura also understood that he personally needed to step in at this moment. Judging from the speed the enemy displayed earlier, even all the Anbu here combined probably couldn't injure Saitama.
Though sometimes quantity can produce surprising results, it simply cannot bridge the gap between individual strengths.
"But..."
The bodyguard still felt uneasy.
Their duty, as elite guards assigned to protect the Mizukage, was to kill any threat upon encountering them.
If killing proved impossible, they were to use their lives to test the enemy's true strength and gather crucial battlefield intelligence for the Mizukage.
"There's no need. You all retreat."
Yagura narrowed his eyes. One hand passed the Kage hat to the guard, while the other pulled out his weapon from his back.
It was a staff-like weapon, with a strangely beautiful flower blooming at one end—an oddly dissonant sight.
"A wise decision!"
Saitama looked at Yagura choosing to fight himself and muttered approval, then began getting serious.
The playful smirk on his face gradually vanished, returning to his ruthless killer nature—the kind who kills without batting an eye.
[Lightning] began to roar above, while [Arcs of Electricity] danced furiously around him, and dust and leaves beneath his feet swirled violently under the surge of chakra.
"Grrr!!"
Yagura kept his cool until the very last moment before launching his attack.
Still as a statue, fast as a flash!
That was exactly what happened in that split second.
In just an instant, Yagura had already transformed completely.
A layer of red tailed beast chakra condensed around his body, and a swinging tail emerged from his lower back.
Swoosh!
Yagura crossed a distance of over ten meters in an instant, arriving directly in front of Saitama.
He swung the staff high into the air and then brought it crashing down on Saitama.
"Interesting!"
Arcs of electricity surged across Saitama's body as he watched Yagura's transformation with evident admiration.
Saitama had fought Jinchuriki before.
Yet whether it was Roshi or Ephemeral, none of them wielded their tailed beast abilities as fluidly and firmly as Yagura did.
At least Saitama could sense that Yagura, at this moment, seemed like a true humanoid tailed beast.
Even surrounded by raging chakra, Yagura stayed completely in control, not even showing signs of slipping.
"No wonder he's known as the Jinchuriki who perfectly controls tailed beast powers!"
Saitama knew enough about Yagura to never treat him lightly from the beginning. On the contrary, he had always been very serious.
Even with Yagura's sudden burst of speed, Saitama still had full control of the situation.
His Sharingan had already seen through everything.
Stepping slightly backward, Saitama retreated swiftly.
Yagura's weapon, coated with a thin layer of red chakra, was incredibly powerful. It crashed onto the exact spot where Saitama had been standing moments ago.
Boom! The ground shattered like soft tofu, leaving behind a massive crater.
Clack!
Buzz!
After retreating one step—just enough to dodge Yagura's attack—the move had already completed.
It was finally Saitama's turn to counterattack.
Retreating back, staff slamming down, then advancing forward again.
All these steps occurred within a single second.
The very instant Yagura's staff hit the ground, Saitama sprang forward. Arcs of electricity crackled around his right hand as he thrust it straight toward Yagura's throat.
Yagura being short in stature meant Saitama had to slightly bend his waist to align his attacking posture precisely with Yagura.
Whoosh!
Before Yagura's shocked eyes, that lightning-filled fist plunged directly into his body.
Yet Yagura made no movement, a faint smile lingering on his lips.
Splatter!
The moment Saitama pierced through Yagura, the figure instantly exploded into countless water droplets, scattering outward in a unique arc trajectory, wrapping around Saitama and sealing off his escape path.
"A Water Shadow Clone?!"
Instantly recognizing the situation, Saitama quickly retracted his hand—but it was already too late. His body was immediately engulfed entirely by the water exploding from Yagura.
[Water Release – Water Prison Technique!]
A voice called out from below. At the same time, to Saitama's surprised expression, the real Yagura pressed one hand onto the surface of the water curtain.
The water curtain swiftly sealed shut, completely enclosing Saitama inside and locking his entire form.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Inside the water prison, Saitama didn't panic. He simply furrowed his brows, watching the real Yagura emerge from underground while thinking deeply about everything that had just happened.
He hadn't expected that the previous one was just a Water Shadow Clone.
That chakra cloak was too deceptive. Even with his Sharingan, he couldn't distinguish it earlier.
However, if the enemy thought this would be enough to defeat him, they were indeed being naive.
[Wood Release: Corridor Piercing Spear!]
Right when Yagura placed his hand on the water curtain and activated the Water Prison Technique, Saitama also launched his ninja technique.
Still trapped inside the water prison, he pointed a single finger at the ground.
Then Yagura's expression changed instantly. He immediately abandoned control over the water prison, rolled backward, flipped his body midair once, and swung his weapon around himself several times, blocking those thin branches shooting up from underground.
Crash!
The Water Prison Technique shattered. Saitama landed.
He fell into silence for a moment. This Yagura's combat experience was countless times stronger than that of Fog before, and his usage of Tailed Beast power was also multiple times more proficient.
Even among Kage-level fighters, such an opponent still belonged to the strongest tier.
Saitama had made some estimations about his own combat capability. At full capacity, he should now be able to reach the top level in the current Shinobi World.
Of course, there was still a significant gap compared to Six Paths Madara in the future.
According to Saitama's guess, currently in the entire Shinobi World, those capable of reaching this peak combat level probably numbered no more than two.
And these two, sorry to say, both belonged to Akatsuki Organization.
One was himself, and the other was Nagato at full strength.
People like Minato, Jiraiya, Raikage, or Onoki—individually none of them could yet reach that level.
Yagura, as a perfect Jinchuriki, ranked among the most powerful individuals throughout the Shinobi World.
Top ten fighters among the Five Great Nations—that was common knowledge in the shinobi world.
And Yagura was within these top ten.
If today Akatsuki Organization had sent someone else against Yagura, even Kakuzu and Hidan together, or Sasori alone, they definitely wouldn't have gained any advantage.
Their power still had noticeable gaps compared to Yagura's.
Tsch-Tsch-Tsch!
Thin wooden branches continuously sprouted from the ground, chasing Yagura's figure until extending about ten meters away before stopping.
"Wood Release? That ability from Hashirama Senju back then… It was said to suppress the Tailed Beasts!"
During Saitama's earlier fight against an Anbu ninja, Yagura had already felt familiar with this technique. Now it turned out to indeed be the legendary Wood Release!
The Three-Tails within him echoed the feeling.
As a Tailed Beast captured by Hashirama during the Warring States Period and treated as a commodity, naturally it wouldn't forget the sensation of Wood Release.
"You've got good eyesight, but it's useless."
Without further words, Saitama raised his right hand near his chest close to his shoulder area. A ball of lightning started forming in his palm, gradually compressing into a long spear shape.
[Lightning Release: Chidori Light Sword!]
This was an enhanced version of Chidori Light Sword, containing much more compressed lightning energy, thus carrying greater power.
Whoosh!
Thrown with one hand, the spear cut through the air along a long trajectory, leaving behind white streaks, directly aiming for Yagura.
Crack!
"Water Release: Water Mirror Jutsu!"
Yagura remained calm and composed. The instant he landed, he slammed both palms onto the ground.
Chakra rippled outward as a mirror-like object emerged before him, its surface impossibly smooth. With a blinding flash of white light, a humanoid figure mirroring Saitama stepped out from the mirror. Then, in one fluid motion, it hurled a technique identical to Saitama's with a single hand.
The two techniques collided fractions of a second later, erupting into a massive explosion as they neutralized each other. In the end, they scattered into countless chakra particles, dissipating into the air.
"This..."
Saitama felt slightly surprised. He wasn't unfamiliar with mirror-based replication techniques, but one that could duplicate a technique with nearly equal power to the original was extremely rare.
This technique was equivalent to a Sharingan capable of copying techniques.
He didn't yet know whether its difficulty and chakra cost were similar to those of the Sharingan, or if it demanded such massive reserves that only a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki could wield it.
Splash!
The water mirror shattered into droplets that fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, Yagura had already moved an instant earlier, dashing toward Saitama.
As a Jinchuriki, his reflexes and stamina were no worse than Saitama's—in fact, perhaps even on par.
But if Saitama activated Sage Art and entered Sage Mode, everything would change.
Swish!
Yagura closed in beside Saitama and swung his staff downward once more.
Saitama watched everything unfold, his Sharingan piercing through it all.
This time, he was certain Yagura hadn't used any Clone techniques. What stood before him was undeniably Yagura's real body.
Sidestepping at the last second, he slid his right hand along the descending staff as lightning crackled around it.
At the same time, his other hand shot straight toward Yagura's chest, radiating intense energy.
Crack!
[Coral Palm!!!]
Yagura narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had anticipated Saitama's counterattack all along.
The tailed beast cloak surrounding his body swelled outward instantly. A red chakra with a hint of green surged into his palm, crashing down like thunder toward Saitama's back.
He completely ignored the hand aimed at his own chest, instead solidifying the chakra over that area to brace for impact.
Zzzzt!
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