Crack!
Yagura's attack struck Saitama's back first, producing a heavy, dull sound.
This palm strike landed solidly on Saitama's back, instantly spreading a greenish hue across his body.
Although Saitama had a layer of Chidori Current shielding him,
Yagura was a Jinchuriki, and at this moment he had already entered the Half-Tailed Beast Transformation state—he barely cared about the minor counter-damage from the Chidori.
Saitama's expression changed. He hadn't expected Yagura to be unexpectedly fast, managing to attack him before he could strike.
His motion of thrusting forward with the Chidori also slightly deviated due to being hit on the back.
"Haa!"
Yagura let out a low grunt.
His voice matched his youthful looks—high-pitched and boyish.
So this "haa" sounded sharp, like an elementary school student shouting out a hero's signature technique!
Puchi!
Saitama's hand had nearly reached just a few centimeters in front of Yagura's chest when a sudden change at his back made him spit out a mouthful of blood immediately.
He yanked back the attack, sidestepped swiftly, and scanned his body for injuries.
Tsk-tsk-tsk!
As the sensation spread across his back, Saitama scowled deeply, his brows furrowing like tangled branches.
The damage caused by Yagura's contact had mostly been neutralized by the thin layer of Chidori surrounding his body, so he wasn't too concerned about it.
However, shortly afterward, patches of coral began growing rapidly from the point of contact, soon covering his entire back and continuing to spread outward.
The coral latched onto his flesh like a parasite, catching Saitama off guard and causing internal injuries, which kept worsening as the coral continued expanding.
Leaping to another location, Saitama stabilized himself, surging chakra all over his body.
The gathered chakra quickly transformed into electric shocks, wrapping around the coral already grown on his back, constantly compressing its expansion and corroding it away, gradually purging them from his body.
"Don't think you can escape! Saitama Uchiha!"
As an experienced Kage-level expert, Yagura naturally knew this was the best time for continuous pursuit.
While Saitama was careless enough to take his Coral Palm hit and needed time to eliminate the coral, Yagura could keep attacking and expand his advantage.
[Coral Palm] was a technique he developed by fusing Three-Tails' chakra into his palm strikes.
When enemies were struck, coral would begin continuously growing over their body surfaces.
Since this coral contained certain characteristics of tailed beast chakra, it was extremely difficult to remove—practically poison for regular ninja. Once hit, there was no surviving.
The coral continuously absorbed the strength of a ninja's physical form to sustain its growth, eventually killing the ninja.
Of course, this only applied to ordinary ninja.
Yagura knew very well that Saitama was no ordinary ninja.
Though temporarily restrained by his coral growth, Saitama would definitely manage to get rid of the restriction sooner or later—it was simply a matter of time.
And during that period... it would be his turn!
So, right after Saitama sidestepped, Yagura pressed forward relentlessly, not giving him a chance to shake off the Sakura Infusion clinging to his back.
Whoosh!
The staff in Yagura's hands wove a storm of strikes, trapping Saitama in a relentless barrage with no space to even catch his breath.
Seeing Yagura charging forward again, Saitama's eyes turned serious, soon refocused with determination.
He'd been too hasty at first—rushing to end this battle, he'd underestimated Yagura. Unlike those weaklings before him, this man was the real deal.
Yagura, the current Mizukage and a perfect jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, whose surname is Karatachi!
Crackle crackle crackle!
While constantly discharging [Chidori Current] to dispel the Sakura Infusion clinging to his back, Saitama kept shifting positions to evade Yagura's attacks.
Bang!
Yagura's assault intensified. The staff in his hand grew heavier—jinchuriki strength was generally outrageous.
Yagura was naturally no exception.
With a crushing downward strike near Saitama's feet, Yagura sent shockwaves rippling through the ground, forming an instant crater several meters wide—and forcing Saitama to stumble mid-retreat.
"This is it!"
Yagura narrowed his eyes.
Saitama's performance exceeded his expectations—he could handle the negative effects from the coral while fending off Yagura's attacks and still flawlessly dodge every move thrown at him.
Thus, Yagura had no choice but to constantly anticipate Saitama's movements, calculating many steps ahead.
And now, Saitama's positioning was exactly as Yagura predicted.
One strike set up the next, sealing Saitama's escape the very instant he faltered.
Boom!
As Yagura struck the ground with his staff, he immediately followed up with a palm strike—an eruption of red Tailed Beast chakra surged forth, manifesting the Coral Palm technique in tangible form.
A faint green chakra shimmered—a hue that seemed to bloom with the essence of life.
Whoosh!
Saitama's foot slipped mid-step, his body momentarily unbalanced, giving Yagura just that fraction of a second.
And so, Yagura timed his palm strike precisely at that instant.
Smack!
Saitama clasped his hands together, trapping Yagura's arm tightly between them, rendering it immobile.
Meanwhile, both his feet firmly pressed down onto Yagura's staff, pinning the weapon solidly beneath him, temporarily nullifying its effectiveness.
Using the staff as support, Saitama stabilized himself once more.
"What?!"
Yagura hadn't expected Saitama to react in time or counter him so swiftly, surprise flickering across his face.
"Your every move… I see it all!"
Saitama softly uttered those words, then lifted his knee toward Yagura's throat.
Due to the height difference and their current postures, Yagura's throat became an easy target for Saitama at that moment.
Swish!
Lightning crackled above his knee, a nearly white electric surge compressed upon it, brimming with deadly danger.
From Yagura's attack to Saitama's counterattack, all of this occurred within about a single second.
Therefore, Yagura had neither opportunity nor ability left to defend.
One of his arms was restrained by Saitama, while the other remained occupied holding his weapon.
The soft thuds continued as the crimson Chakra around Yagura's throat thickened slightly.
But before he could react further, Saitama's knee had already smashed upward.
Due to the protection of the Tailed Beasts' Cloak, Saitama's attack veered slightly off course and missed his intended target—the throat.
Moreover, since Yagura had sharply tilted his head backward and leaned his body away, the knee strike only hit him on the chin.
Bang!
A solid, powerful blow.
Immediately after landing the hit, Saitama quickly retreated while intensifying the Chakra suppression on the coral growth at his back. The coral was seriously affecting his combat performance, so removing it promptly would benefit the upcoming fight.
Hit on the chin by Saitama's knee strike, Yagura flipped backward through the air, sliding and skidding across the ground.
As Saitama stepped back, Yagura also swiftly retracted his weapon and palm.
A trickle of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, only to be instantly vaporized and disappear into the air by the Tailed Beasts' Chakra.
Squatting halfway on the ground, Yagura gripped his weapon with his right hand while pressing his left hand against the earth.
Yagura had reacted quickly to Saitama's earlier strike—he activated the Tailed Beasts' Cloak to extend a protective membrane, then bent his head back impossibly far to avoid the blow. Even so, the impact was still devastating. His head felt like it had been rammed by a wild bull, leaving him somewhat dizzy.
[Lightning Release - Thunderclap!]
After stepping several paces back, Saitama launched another attack.
Though he needed to continue suppressing the coral growing on his back, the recently struck Yagura appeared to be in a similarly weakened state.
Timing was everything in a ninja's battle, just as Yagura had proven with his own relentless attacks moments ago. This was the perfect time to keep up the pressure.
Crouching low, Saitama assumed a stance reminiscent of the starting posture of Chidori.
Then, a Lightning Sphere formed in his palm.
Zap! Zap!
The crackling electricity made even Saitama's bangs rise involuntarily, dancing along with the surging current.
Swish!
Stretching his arm straight forward toward Yagura, Saitama aimed directly at him, and the ball of lightning changed shape.
Crackling loudly afterward, the lightning shot forth like a projectile, targeting the half-crouched Yagura.
Bolting wildly through the air, the lightning moved incredibly fast, its bright hue dazzlingly intense.
[Tailed Beasts' Strike!]
Yagura immediately thrust his right hand forward, pointing his weapon directly ahead while channeling massive amounts of Tailed Beasts' Chakra onto it.
The chakra churned violently, rapidly swelling multiple times over. It stretched outward almost like living matter, forming into an enormous arm.
The entire limb was a vivid red, entirely composed of Three-Tails' Chakra—visually terrifying.
As soon as it materialized, the massive arm lunged forward, intercepting Saitama's ninjutsu.
Hiss!
Lightning crackled in the arm's grip, then came to a halt. The Tailed Beasts' chakra continuously corroded and wore it down until finally it dissipated into the air.
Whoosh!
The arm lunged toward Saitama again, reaching him in the blink of an eye. It was about to crush him in its palm, tearing him apart directly.
Yagura slowly stood up, his arm still connected to his weapon, which essentially meant being linked to his entire body.
Meanwhile, the chakra of the Three-Tails continued flowing from his body into the weapon, and onward into that chakra arm.
He narrowed his eyes and silently boosted the chakra flow.
Just as the arm neared Saitama, its speed surged once more, becoming even denser and more focused.
Boom!
The arm slammed into the ground, leaving behind a massive crater where Saitama had stood moments ago. He had seemingly vanished into thin air.
"Oh no!"
At the moment Saitama disappeared, Yagura sensed something terribly wrong. Although Yagura couldn't recognize the jutsu Saitama had used, a wave of danger crashed over him, making every hair on his body stand on end.
"Chidori!"
Saitama appeared at Yagura's left side, as if flashing out of space itself.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
The words instantly flashed through Yagura's mind.
As someone who had been leading a Hidden Village locked in conflict with Konoha for so long, he was quite familiar with this technique.
The current Fourth Hokage had become one of the toughest figures in the entire Shinobi World due to mastering a form of Space-Time Ninjutsu.
And now, this rogue ninja from Konoha, Saitama Uchiha, seemed to have mastered a Space-Time Ninjutsu as well?
There was no time to think further. Yagura immediately abandoned control over the chakra arm and dove aside desperately.
But Saitama had appeared far too suddenly, giving him little time to evade.
Slash!
One arm flew high into the air, blood spilling immediately from the fresh wound like freely splashing red ink.
"Lord Mizukage!!"
"Dammit!"
The nearby Anbu and Personal Guards stared wide-eyed, letting out shocked cries.
They couldn't figure out how Saitama had approached Lord Yagura so quickly, disbelief plastered across their faces while tightening their grips on their weapons.
Just moments ago, Yagura had seemed completely dominant—how could the situation reverse so suddenly?
They rushed forward, ready to assist Yagura, but he signaled them to stop.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Yagura hastily put distance between himself and Saitama. Losing an arm caused his condition to plummet drastically, his energy visibly weakened.
His weapon lay discarded beside his feet; his right hand covered the stump of his left forearm, cleanly severed by Saitama's strike.
Thanks to his incredible vitality and regenerative abilities, chakra already surrounded the wound, stopping the bleeding.
Since Yagura's entire body was already enveloped in red chakra, Saitama couldn't make out his expression.
But judging from the violently surging chakra, Yagura was certainly not calm inside—it was clear he was teetering on the edge of fury.
Jinchuriki were always ninjas with two opposing sides within them.
One kind, one wicked—the evil half usually remained suppressed deep within due to various reasons.
Only when emotions fluctuate drastically or feelings become difficult to control would that beastly nature possibly reveal itself.
Right now, Yagura, whose forearm was sliced off by Saitama's strike, had already reached such an extreme state of unleashing the beast within.
"You must die, Saitama Uchiha!"
After signaling his restless subordinates to stand down, Yagura's tone turned grim. Chakra surged across his body surface, and behind him, the number of tails symbolizing his transformation instantly multiplied to three.
His body rapidly expanded, and the original form of the Three-Tails immediately emerged—a gigantic turtle abruptly appeared.
At this moment, Yagura no longer intended to test Saitama further; he decided to directly activate his ultimate transformation to kill him.
So Yagura immediately activated the Full Tailed Beast Transformation, taking on the form of the Three-Tails.
In this state, both his offensive and defensive capabilities were at their peak!
ROARRR!
Yagura in beast form roared furiously at the tiny figure of Saitama. The shockwave shook the heavens, and the surrounding trees were blown violently askew.
A scorched blast mark stretched across the ground, from Yagura's mouth straight toward where Saitama stood.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The Akatsuki cloak, which had been nearly destroyed earlier by the Coral Palm attack, finally disintegrated completely in the wind, revealing the tight battle suit underneath.
"This is the Three-Tails? Unbelievable!"
Yagura's personal guard saw the fully transformed tailed beast for the very first time and opened his mouth slightly in awe.
Meanwhile, Konan pierced through an Anbu ninja's chest with her paper blades and shifted her gaze toward this direction.
She briefly frowned at Yagura's full transformation before resuming her aerial maneuvering to fight her enemies.
It wasn't time for her to step in yet; Saitama still had more power left to show.
"Fall back! The attack range of Yagura's current state is too wide. Let's head over there and finish off that enemy first!"
One of the Anbu members said.
He noticed his comrades struggling slightly against the kunoichi, and they couldn't assist Yagura regardless.
Staying here might even risk getting caught in collateral damage from Yagura's tailed beast transformation.
"Agreed!"
Nodding to each other, they rushed straight toward Konan.
This female ninja didn't seem overly powerful. Although her flying ability posed some trouble, if they outnumbered her enough, they'd surely have a chance to kill her.
As for Saitama here—wasn't he surely no match for Yagura now?
Even though earlier he somehow managed to injure Yagura using a certain ninjutsu, the tailed-beast-transformed Yagura and his human form were entirely different beings!
Everyone knew only a tailed beast could fight another tailed beast—that was basic logic to them.
Though it was rumored that Akatsuki had targeted jinchuriki before, those were clearly imperfect ones unable to fully command their tailed beasts.
Lord Yagura, however, should be the only perfect jinchuriki capable of completely mastering tailed beast power throughout the entire shinobi world!
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