Chapter 123: The Shock of the Explosive Flame Mage
"Lady Mizukage."
Haku bowed respectfully, showing proper deference to the Mizukage as a loyal Kirigakure ninja.
If this woman was willing to rescue Zabuza, then as a mere tool, it was only right that he uphold his end of the promise and rejoin Kirigakure.
Mei Terumi gave a slight nod, clearly pleased with Haku's attitude. Just as she was about to leave the cabin, Haku stepped in front of her.
"Lady Mizukage," Haku said with a troubled look, "Gato has ruled the Land of Waves for years. He has immense wealth and used the Samsara Game to gain terrifying strength. He's even hired powerful ninja from two dark organizations."
"Dark organizations?" Mei asked.
"Yes. They wear black cloaks with red clouds. Some of our rebel fighters are as strong as Jōnin-level players, but they couldn't last even a moment before being killed by strange and terrifying techniques."
Haku shuddered slightly at the memory.
Those two ninja had been hired by Gato with enormous sums for the sole purpose of wiping out the remaining resistance in the Land of Waves.
Some players had clashed with them by accident. No matter what skills they used, they couldn't harm them.
Zabuza had also been captured by them, gravely injured, and imprisoned—used as bait to lure out the rest of the rebels.
"Your name is Haku, right?"
Mei Terumi exited the cabin, her eyes scanning the thick, damp sea mist. She wasn't upset at being doubted—her demeanor remained calm.
There was a trace of a smile at the corners of her lips, graceful and composed.
Haku didn't understand why the Mizukage was suddenly asking for his name, but he nodded anyway.
"Kirigakure may once have been shackled by its past… but not anymore. Even the entire shinobi world can't stop us now."
"Starting today, you will remember my name well."
"I am the Fifth Mizukage—Mei Terumi."
...
Eastern Land of Waves.
A watchtower built to observe approaching intruders.
Four hired rogue ninja sat near a fire. As wanderers from other nations, what they hated most about the Land of Waves was the constant, suffocating mist.
But they had no choice—Gato paid too well.
Clack, clack, clack.
The sharp sound of shoes striking stone echoed nearby.
Through the mist, Mei Terumi walked down the road with a smile on her face, graceful as if she were a noblewoman on a leisure tour of the Land of Waves.
A leisure trip?
Impossible. Gato's shipping company had cut off all routes into and out of the country. No outsider should have appeared out of nowhere.
"Sorry, my stomach hurts. I'll be back."
One rogue ninja clutched his belly and quickly vanished into the treetops before his companions could stop him.
Far from the tower, he finally let out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.
He pulled a small, transparent glass orb from his pocket. Injecting chakra, a glowing screen appeared.
"What's going on?"
Rasa's face appeared on the screen, seated in his office surrounded by paperwork.
The orb was a long-range communication tool. He wasn't used to it, having never used one before.
"Lord Kazekage, I have intel."
The rogue ninja shed his disguise, revealing himself as a Sunagakure ninja. "I just saw someone from Kirigakure in the Land of Waves."
"Kirigakure?" Rasa frowned. "Who? The Seven Ninja Swordsmen? Or maybe elite units from Elder Genshō?"
He wasn't surprised.
With the shinobi world in turmoil, every village had entered wartime mode, dispatching spies and agents to gather intelligence.
The fool of a shipping tycoon who had seized control of the Land of Waves and openly hired rogue ninja while flaunting his power in-game—of course he'd drawn attention.
The Land of Waves had already been infiltrated like a sieve.
"Neither…"
Before the Sunagakure ninja could finish,
an explosion of fire shattered the rocky terrain behind him. Sea mist vaporized. Heat waves swept forward, mixed with shards of rock and forceful shockwaves, launching the ninja into the air.
He crashed through several massive tree trunks before finally coming to a stop.
Turning around, the Sunagakure ninja froze, slack-jawed in place.
"This… can't be real…"
His voice trembled.
The clouds above had been ripped apart, revealing the blue sky over the Land of Waves for the first time in ages.
Centered on the watchtower, half the forest had been reduced to ash. The ground was scorched black.
Closer to the ocean, the edges of the island had fractured into countless floating land masses, hardened into obsidian-like crystals from the intense heat.
It was apocalyptic.
Like divine punishment.
The Sunagakure ninja trembled violently.
If he'd hesitated a second longer, or failed to recognize Mei Terumi as the Mizukage, he'd be dead.
He was completely shaken.
"Mei Terumi… how can she be this strong?!"
Rasa held his breath, bloodshot eyes staring at the shattered coastline as if struck by a meteor.
He even forgot to breathe.
Not even the previous Kazekage—nor himself—could conjure such overwhelming destructive force.
This was Kirigakure? This was the power of the Samsara Game?
If Kankuro, barely Chūnin-level, could defeat a Jōnin in short order,
then what level had Mei Terumi, already a Kage, reached now?
"Don't approach. Keep observing the Mizukage's movements!"
That explosive entrance had shaken the Land of Waves from its slumber.
Countless rogue ninja and hired mercenaries rushed to the eastern shore.
When they arrived and saw the devastation wrought on the coast, they all froze.
"Did a meteor fall here?"
"Was it a tsunami? A volcanic eruption?"
They crouched by the shattered island, pinching black crystal fragments between their fingers.
The damage could only be described as a natural disaster.
Confused spies in hiding began pulling out communication tools, reporting back to their respective villages.
"Firestorm in the Land of Waves?"
"The whole island's been shattered. Investigate those factories. Were they hit?"
The high command of each village cared little about the nation's ruin. They only wanted to know whether the factories that produced wealth had been destroyed.
On the broken shoreline,
two men in black cloaks with red clouds stood frozen.
"Kakuzu, am I hallucinating?"
Hidan shook his head violently, trying to expand his chakra senses.
The shattered island, the broken ground—everywhere was flooded with violent energy, mixed with chakra, but even more wild and chaotic.
"This has to be a natural disaster, right?"
"No way a human could've done this."
Even Hidan, who feared nothing—not even death—was breathing heavily.
His "Curse of the Death God" required chakra to activate. It made him functionally immortal.
But ultimately, it was still a jutsu.
Members of the Akatsuki were some of the strongest ninja in the world.
Whether Kisame's destructive water techniques or the fearsome skills of the bounty ninja they hunted, everything had always remained within the realm of comprehension.
But this? This chaotic explosion of raw energy? The annihilation of an entire island?
It shattered Hidan's worldview.
Could a ninja really cause this?
Beside him,
Kakuzu remained silent.
He felt hollow inside. Slowly, he pulled up his mask to cover half his face.
That sensation…
It unlocked long-buried memories.
He had lived since the Warring States Era. He had encountered countless powerful beings and memorized countless chakra signatures.
The last time he felt this way…
it had been before all others fell before him.
Before all the myths had faded.
The only shinobi ever revered by all—feared, respected, and never surpassed.
The God of Shinobi—
Hashirama Senju.
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