"Damn it!"
"Is that the Kaguya clan's living weapon?!"
"How could the Shikotsumyaku get to this level?"
Looking at the white monster exuding a terrifying aura in the bone forest, the surviving Kirigakure ninja instantly backed away, their faces a mix of post-disaster fear and utter shock.
But having survived the 'Bloody Mist Village' era, the Kirigakure ninja were arguably the most disciplined in the entire ninja world, putting their mission above their companions and even their own lives. What Hatake Sakumo did to save his comrades by abandoning a mission would never happen in Kirigakure, because they knew the only consequence of doing so was death.
So, even when faced with such a bloody and brutal scene, the Kirigakure ninja didn't fall apart. They quickly reorganized and charged at the white monster again.
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
Several Kirigakure ninja instantly performed hand signs with flawless, synchronized movements. The mist in the air thickened, and the Kirigakure forces disappeared into the dense fog. This jutsu reduced visibility to just a few meters, and the chakra in the mist could conceal their presence and interfere with most sensory jutsu. With this special technique, the Hidden Mist Village developed a complete assassination process, the so-called "Silent Killing Technique." The most skilled user of this technique was Momochi Zabuza, who was once known as the "Demon of the Hidden Mist" and had recently defected.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several Kirigakure ninja shot out of the mist like ghosts. They were incredibly fast and silent, their short swords slashing at the white monster in the center of the bone forest!
The white monster's bone-covered arms lifted suddenly, and the external bones twisted and deformed as they rose!
Snap! Crack!
Its two arms turned into two giant hammers covered in grotesque bone spikes, which it swung down with immense force at the Kirigakure ninja!
Boom! !
A muffled, earth-shaking bang erupted. The ground heaved and trembled violently, and a terrifying shockwave spread out. The few ninja who were hit directly by the hammers didn't even have time to scream before they were instantly smashed into a bloody pulp. The others were sent flying by the powerful impact!
Only two Kirigakure ninja, with their incredible reflexes, barely managed to leap and dodge the hammer strike, sticking close to the white monster's blind spots under its ribs like maggots on a bone!
Clang!
Their short swords struck its body squarely, but the expected penetration didn't happen. There was only a jarring clatter of metal, and the blades even sparked fiercely!
"What kind of bone density is this?!"
Seeing the two shallow white marks left on the monster's body, the faces of the two Kirigakure ninja immediately changed. Just then, the bony armor under the white monster's ribs suddenly writhed and bulged, and two sharp bone spears shot out!
Squelch! Squelch!
The bodies of the two Kirigakure ninja were instantly pierced, and they were lifted and hung on the pale bone spears!
The white monster didn't even look at the corpses hanging on the spears. Its eyes turned to the ninja hiding in the surrounding mist. It couldn't see their exact locations, so the two giant bone hammers in its hands transformed again.
Snap! Crackle!
Its arms crazily extended, turning into terrifying weapons resembling thick, barbed whips of white bone. They swept out around its body with an air-splitting shriek!
Squelch! Squelch!
Several Kirigakure ninja hiding in the mist didn't have time to react. Their bodies were instantly torn apart by the sweeping bone whips, shattering like paper and sending a spray of blood and flesh flying through the air.
"Ugh!"
"Scatter!"
Grunts, screams, and shocked shouts instantly erupted in the dense mist, but they quickly turned into a unified roar as they used their jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Formation Pillar!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!"
High-speed spinning water pillars, compressed water dragons, giant falling water spheres... The streams of water they spat out converged into a monstrous wave, which they aimed at the white monster in the center of the bone forest!
"Roar!"
Facing the overwhelming attack, the white monster let out a low roar and raised its arms before bringing them down. A layer of even thicker and more grotesque pale bones sprouted and grew wildly in front of it, forming a hard, heavy bone barrier!
Boom! !
The torrent of water jutsu slammed into the bone barrier, unleashing a deafening roar that engulfed it!
However, when the water receded, the bone barrier was completely unharmed, except for a few minor cracks on its surface. The white monster's massive body hadn't moved an inch! But it was at this very moment, in the instant it lost its vision, that two figures appeared next to it. Ignoring the damage from the bone spikes on its body, they slapped its body and tried to pull away.
But two arms reached out, their five muscular fingers spreading wide and pressing down on the faces of the two Kirigakure ninja.
Bang! Bang!
Crimson blood mixed with white exploded. Two headless corpses knelt on the ground, blood gushing out and pooling on the gray, messy ground.
Hiss!
Accompanied by a subtle sound like a match being lit, two blinding flashes of light ignited at the white monster's waist.
Boom! Boom! !
Several explosions went off in quick succession at close range. Its feet, which had been rooted to the ground this whole time, were finally pushed back a few steps. Pieces of shattered bone from its waist fell to the ground with a rustling sound after being hit by the explosions.
The next moment, several figures charged out of the mist. Bone spears shot out from the white monster's body, piercing those figures, but no blood flowed. Instead, they turned into puddles of water.
Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu.
Just as it was unable to form bone spears, a Kirigakure ANBU elite jōnin appeared in its blind spot from behind, and a sharp water blade formed in his hand.
Water Style: Water Fang Blade!
By changing the nature and shape of water chakra, he transformed the almost harmless water flow into several incredibly sharp, high-pressure water blades.
Crack!
The Kirigakure jōnin thrust his blade into the area where the bones at its waist had shattered. The bones, which were as hard as steel, were cut open inch by inch, and sparks flew out like fireworks. But the next moment, a hand pressed down on the blade. The palm and flesh sank into the blade, but a massive force erupted, stopping the water blade's advance.
"Hah!"
A heavy, oppressive breath landed on his face. The Kirigakure jōnin instinctively looked up, meeting a pair of crimson eyes filled with killing intent. Without hesitation, he raised his other hand and threw an explosive tag kunai. He aimed at the white monster's head, or more specifically, its eyes. Its body, covered in hard bones, was impossible to penetrate, so this was likely its only weak point.
And so, the long-prepared kunai sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, shooting toward its eyes. He could almost see the bloody scene of the kunai penetrating its brain, exploding, and sending blood spraying everywhere. But what happened next made his face freeze.
The white monster raised its hand and caught the kunai. It crushed the kunai in its hand, and then the explosive tag detonated at close range.
Boom!
When the smoke cleared, those tyrannical crimson eyes appeared. Its hand turned into a bone blade, which it raised and plunged into the Kirigakure jōnin's chest. In an instant, the jōnin was completely impaled. A large amount of blood mixed with bits of his internal organs gushed out and splattered on the white monster's face. He fell silent.
There was no doubt that this monster was strong. But, as Black Zetsu said, it had yet to fully grasp its power. It was merely driven by the Kaguya clan's will to fight and kill, relying entirely on its instincts.
Then, a short figure silently appeared in front of it, holding a stick-like weapon with a hook at the end and a tail growing from its back, just a few meters away.
"Roar!"
Seemingly sensing the tailed beast's chakra within Yagura Karatachi, the white monster let out a low roar, and its arm, which had turned into a giant hammer, swung down with a tearing shriek!
However, facing this terrifying strike that could crush the ground, Yagura simply raised his seemingly slender right hand.
Water Style: Water Mirror Jutsu!
A water mirror as smooth as glass condensed out of thin air in front of him. The giant bone hammer was reflected in the shimmering mirror! The hammer slammed into the water mirror, but the expected shattering didn't happen. Instead, a powerful counter-force, like a spring compressed to its limit, was unleashed.
It rebounded violently along the hammer!
Bang! !
The white monster was repelled by its own power. It staggered backward a few steps before stopping, but Yagura, like a maggot on a bone, clung to its body, chasing after it and extending his palm.
Coral Palm!
The pale bone armor on the part of the white monster's body that Yagura had touched instantly softened and dissolved as if it had been corroded by a strong acid! Following that, a large patch of grotesque, ugly hardened matter, like deep-sea coral reefs, sprouted and spread wildly across the white monster's bony surface! The coralized area not only brought pain but also caused its body to stiffen suddenly, and its movements became twisted and sluggish.
"Roar!"
The intense pain caused the white monster to let out an even angrier roar. Its giant mouth under its mask opened, and a highly compressed, dark red energy began to gather.
Facing this powerful chakra fluctuation, Yagura finally stopped. The next moment, a massive, suffocatingly wild chakra, like a waking volcano, erupted from his small body!
"Retreat!"
Seeing this, the faces of the Kirigakure ninja who had been waiting for their chance changed. After a jōnin's scream, they unhesitatingly moved away from the area. At the same time, a dense, red chakra, like boiling magma, gushed out from Yagura's body, instantly enveloping him. The chakra rapidly condensed and transformed! In the blink of an eye, a gigantic beast with a massive body covered in gray-blue armor and three huge swaying tails—the Three-Tails Isobu—descended!
Full Tailed Beast Transformation!
"ROAR!!"
A roar even more violent than the white monster's rang out, shaking the very air! The Three-Tails Isobu's head slowly lowered. A Sharingan appeared in its single eye, staring intently at the white monster below.
Meeting the torrent of crimson light, it also spat out a Tailed Beast Ball.
Rumble! !
A crimson and a dark red beam of light collided with a deafening crash. The terrifying impact instantly swept through the entire Hidden Mist Village. The ground trembled and groaned, cracking and collapsing inch by inch! The white monster was violently thrown off by the impact. It smashed into a wall of the Mizukage's office building and was embedded in the rubble!
Dust filled the air, and shattered stones rained down. From the ruins, the white monster's pained and angry low growl could be heard, along with the grating sound of bones rubbing against each other as it tried to break free.
But the Three-Tails Isobu slammed its pillar-like tail down, firmly pinning the struggling monster in the rubble. Countless corals grew from the white monster's body.
The 'Great Hollow,' which had only just been born and hadn't even grasped its own abilities, was no match for a fully transformed Tailed Beast like Yagura, who didn't care about the casualties of his own ninja.
"Sealing Squad, get over here and seal this monster."
From within the dense mist, Yagura's voice came from the Three-Tails' mouth, making the terrified Kirigakure ninja in the distance sigh with relief. Immediately after, their hearts were filled with excitement. As expected of the Fourth Mizukage, a perfect jinchūriki. How could those fools who tried to rebel possibly succeed against such a powerful Mizukage?
At the same time, the figures of Uchiha Obito and Zetsu appeared on a distant building, watching everything unfold with indifference.
"I don't know why that 'Great Hollow' appeared in the Hidden Mist Village, but if we can control it and figure out a way to deal with it..." Black Zetsu said in a hoarse voice. Without a doubt, it would be of great help when they faced the 'Kage' and the 'Espada' in the future.
But just as Obito's gloomy mood brightened a bit, Black and White Zetsu seemed to sense something. They suddenly looked up at the sky, their faces changing drastically. A not-so-large figure was plummeting straight down toward the Three-Tails Isobu. It wasn't a simple descent; it was like a meteor strike.
The air was extremely compressed and torn apart, and a visible sonic boom cloud trailed behind it. A terrifying shriek followed soon after!
"What is that?"
Some of the Kirigakure ninja below also felt a powerful aura and instinctively looked up. The next moment, they felt an incredibly strong wind pressure pouring down on them.
"Something's not right!" a Kirigakure ninja shouted. "Quickly..."
His voice was drowned out before he could finish. The figure had already landed, carrying an incredibly terrifying force.
BOOM! !
A terrifying explosion erupted. The earth groaned and trembled. Centered on the point of impact, the entire ground cracked and collapsed inch by inch. A huge crater instantly formed, and a terrifying shockwave spread out in a ring! Wherever it passed, hard stone slabs were lifted up and pulverized like paper.
The Kirigakure ninja who couldn't escape didn't even have time to scream. Their bodies were instantly torn apart by this destructive force, and their flesh and blood exploded into a crimson mist that filled the sky! Then, a violent, raging blast of air swept away the surrounding dense mist, and all the glass in the buildings shattered!
And at the very center, the Three-Tails Isobu, with its massive, mountain-like body, was slammed by an invisible giant hammer and was embedded into the ground!
Crack! Crackle!
A bone-chilling sound of cracking echoed. The heavy, armored back of the Three-Tails was shattered by the figure's foot.
"ROAR!!"
The Three-Tails Isobu let out a roar filled with pain and fury. The entire area in front of the Mizukage's office building, with it at the center, had been completely turned into a deep crater with a spiderweb of cracks!
And on its shattered back, a slender figure stood towering. Her figure wasn't large, but she radiated a suffocating aura. A head of fiery red hair danced wildly in the turbulent air.
"A 'Medium Great Hollow'?"
'Whirlpool' looked at the 'Great Hollow' in the distant ruins and muttered to herself, "It seems a bit weak, but it's enough for now." With that, she lowered her head. Her indifferent crimson eyes looked at the struggling Three-Tails beneath her feet.
"You..." Yagura's voice came from the Three-Tails Isobu's mouth.
He seemed to want to say something, but before he could finish,
Clang!
Several black chains flowing with runes wrapped around her arms as if they were alive. An indescribable, terrifying power was gathering! 'Whirlpool's' chains, in addition to the "Adamantine Sealing Chains," could also store most of her own power, like a raging torrent confined within a dam. In battle, she could instantly release all the stored power, unleashing destructive force far beyond her normal state. The longer the power was stored, the more terrifying the burst of power.
At this moment, her hand slowly clenched into a fist. It created a bang in the air as she squeezed, then slammed down with a terrifying wail. The fist landed squarely on the center of the Three-Tails Isobu's heavily armored back. Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The next moment, a visible ripple erupted from the center of the fist mark, instantly spreading across the Three-Tails Isobu's entire body!
Crack! Crackle! !
A chilling, dense cracking sound echoed. The Three-Tails Isobu's incredibly hard armor cracked, and large cracks spread across the entire shell in an instant.
"Ughhhhh!!"
Tailed Beast chakra gushed out from countless cracks. Yagura let out an unprecedented shriek of agony. His voice shook the entire Hidden Mist Village! Under the horrified gazes of the surviving Kirigakure ninja, the Three-Tails Isobu's massive body melted and disintegrated like snow in the sun. The wild Tailed Beast chakra lost its form, turning into a chaotic torrent that raged in all directions!
In the dispersing Tailed Beast chakra, Yagura's figure fell to the ground. His eyes were tightly closed, his face was ashen, and he was spitting blood. His life force was extremely weak. Tailed Beasts don't die. They can heal even if injured. But if the fully transformed jinchūriki is injured, it is the same as the jinchūriki being injured. Although they won't die, the pain won't be spared.
The others, of course, didn't know that 'Whirlpool' had used her long-accumulated power. So in the eyes of the other surviving Kirigakure ninja, this was the same as their powerful Fourth Mizukage and the Three-Tails Isobu being completely obliterated by that human-like monster with just one punch.
One punch! Just one punch!
What kind of monster was this?!
'Whirlpool' looked at the unconscious Yagura under her feet. The black chains wrapped around her arms dissipated silently. She slowly raised her foot and stepped on his head...
Crack! Crack!
Under the constant pressure, his skull made a crisp sound. 'Whirlpool' didn't look at Yagura under her foot. Instead, she looked at the surrounding Kirigakure ninja and farther away, as if waiting for something. But after a long wait, no one made a move. Let alone the aura that had disappeared into the shadows, even the Kirigakure ninja were standing rigidly in place.
"What a rat."
'Whirlpool' sighed softly. She didn't press down further. Instead, she lifted her foot and released Yagura. As the only 'Espada' who was created by points, her soul was not as murky as the other 'Great Hollows,' so she was more human. If that person had told her to kill Yagura, she would have unhesitatingly done so, but since he didn't, she wasn't particularly fond of killing.
Among the four 'Espada' members now, 'Fierce Eye' had the strongest desire to kill, followed by 'Puppeteer,' who liked to play with puppets. She and 'White Fang' were the least bloodthirsty.
Of course, if the person in front of her was an enemy...
BOOM! !
A deafening bang echoed. 'Whirlpool's' figure instantly vanished. She suddenly appeared in another location, and her fist slammed into the ground without any warning!
Dust flew into the sky, and shattered rocks shot out! A crater several meters in diameter instantly formed, and the already precarious Mizukage's office building in the distance finally collapsed under the impact!
However, the dust settled, and the air calmed. 'Whirlpool' stood still, slowly withdrawing her fist. Her gaze swept over the crater she had created. It was empty. There was no expected explosion of blood and flesh, and there was certainly no corpse of an enemy. She could clearly sense that just a split second before she threw her punch, that malevolent, prying presence had instantly disappeared without a trace.
"Hmph, you're a fast runner."
'Whirlpool' snorted and ignored it. Her gaze returned to the unconscious Yagura and the 'Great Hollow' that Kimimaro had turned into in the distance. She raised her hand and swung out a black chain. Two chains wrapped around Yagura's body, dragging him out of the rubble, while a few others shot toward the 'Great Hollow' in the distance, wrapping around its body and binding it tightly!
Yagura and the 'Great Hollow' were pulled in front of her. 'Whirlpool's' gaze fell on Yagura. She extended a hand and pointed a finger at the center of his forehead.
Hum!
A powerful spiritual energy spread out. Yagura's tightly closed eyelids trembled violently, and the dōjutsu of the Sharingan was forcibly stripped away.
'Whirlpool' casually tossed Yagura aside and pointed her finger at the empty space in front of her.
Tear!
With a sharp sound like cloth being ripped, space tore open, forming a huge black rift. A Garganta, a passage to the Hollow Realm, had opened.
'Whirlpool' didn't hesitate. She tugged on the chains that bound the 'Great Hollow' and, like she was dragging a dead dog, took a step into the deep, silent Garganta. Her figure, along with the 'Great Hollow' bound by the chains, was swallowed by the darkness. The rift in the Garganta shrank and healed, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Only the stunned Kirigakure ninja and the awakened Yagura, free from the genjutsu, remained.