Chapter 125: Jack-o'-Boom: Enhanced
Mei Terumi smiled gracefully, completely unfazed by the hostile eyes locked on her. She asked, "Would you mind telling me—where is Zabuza being held?"
"Zabuza?"
Gato spat on the ground in disgust. The black sunglasses covering his eyes made him look especially sleazy. "That trash dared betray me. I already had him killed!"
He hadn't arrived sooner because he had captured two rebel soldiers and, after brutal interrogation, forced them to reveal their hideout.
Zabuza, once he'd lost his value as bait, no longer needed to be kept alive.
"Zabuza… is dead?"
Haku's mind went blank. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest.
First came disbelief. Then her face twisted with grief.
She had vowed in her heart to remain Zabuza's tool forever. Even if she died, she would take a blow for him.
She had never imagined he would die before her.
"I'll kill you!"
Tears streamed down her face as Haku raised her senbon. For the first time, a murderous look marred her otherwise pure and gentle features.
But before she could get close, she was blocked by heavily armed ronin and hired ninja.
Secret Technique: Demonic Ice Mirrors.
Crystalline sheets of solid ice rose up, enclosing a section of the battlefield and trapping several of the mercenaries within.
Gato stood boldly where he was, laughing wildly. "Well then, let me show you what real power looks like!"
After monopolizing the Land of Waves, he had raked in vast wealth.
Now, he wore a Level 15 purple-grade armor set (physical attack), a Level 15 green accessory set (mental attribute boost).
But his true pride… was his custom-made weapon.
Laughing maniacally, he crouched and pressed his hand to the ground.
"Now, Hidan—go!"
Kakuzu flung aside his Akatsuki cloak.
Having survived since the Warring States era, Kakuzu knew when to seize the perfect opportunity.
Even Hashirama hadn't managed to kill him.
Whether the destruction was caused by Mei or not, now was the best time to strike.
The cloak hit the ground.
Beneath it was his grotesque body—black tendrils like living stitches bound together several monstrous, mask-faced beasts.
"Got it!"
Hidan also tore off his shirt, swinging his triple-bladed scythe overhead, trying to wound Mei and collect her blood.
Once he had it, he could begin his deadly ritual.
A black magic array flared with violent power, casting eerie light across the battlefield.
With Gato's crazed laughter, the ground cracked open. A massive puppet arm emerged and slammed toward Mei.
BOOM!
A fusion of Kakuzu's masked-beast techniques, Gato's puppet arm, and Hidan's cursed scythe—all simultaneously targeted Mei Terumi.
The impact blasted the ground beneath her apart. Shards of earth and smoke exploded upward like a volcanic eruption, reaching dozens of meters high.
"Summoning Technique?"
"That puppet arm doesn't look like anything from the ninja world."
Rasa stared at the screen, stunned by the puppet's destructive power.
That kind of force could cripple—or even kill—a Kage-level ninja.
It didn't resemble traditional ninjutsu at all. It was more like an unstoppable force of destruction.
"Gato?"
Nagato also watched the crater, his eyes narrowing. "He's already among the stronger Kage-levels. Perhaps we should recruit him into Akatsuki."
He said it conservatively,
but the truth was, not even Pain—with his Deva Path—could take a direct hit from that arm.
Even Shinra Tensei had its limits.
Gato's puppet technique was different from normal ninjutsu. It resembled Suna's puppetry, but it was more powerful and terrifying.
And it came from the Samsara Game.
For the first time, Nagato felt unease.
It was like a self-proclaimed king of the forest suddenly sensing another apex predator—one that might be stronger.
"Did she die?"
Ōnoki muttered, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.
If Gato could kill the overconfident Mizukage, he would immediately send Iwagakure's forces to seize the Land of Water.
But as the dust settled...
Mei Terumi stood unharmed in the center of the massive crater.
A flaming arm hovered above her, having caught the puppet's strike midair.
"What?! Impossible!"
Gato's laughter died instantly. His eyes widened in disbelief. "How can anyone block my Ironclad Puppet!?"
He was a Puppeteer class.
Able to control all sorts of machines and contraptions. This puppet arm was part of a fully-assembled, multi-hundred-meter tall Ironclad Puppet.
Just one arm had cost him 50,000 reward points.
"Puppeteer, huh?"
Mei looked up calmly at the massive fist that blocked out her view of the sky.
Its surface was covered in intricate lines—energy channels built from costly materials exchanged in-game.
If it broke, that would be a serious waste.
A sly smile crept across Mei's lips.
Rather than using her signature Kekkei Genkai, she summoned the power of her Explosive Flame Mage, fusing it with her chakra to unleash a fire-type skill designed for close-range combat.
In an instant—
A swirling vortex of fire smashed against the puppet arm.
The force of the blast pulled at the base of the limb, creating ear-splitting cracks as if the entire thing might tear apart.
"Stop!" Gato shouted, quickly rechanneling his control to counter the blast. He watched in agony as his puppet's massive fist melted into a lump of slag.
Sunagakure.
In the war room, Rasa displayed the live feed to the village leaders.
"Kankuro, you're a puppeteer too, aren't you?"
He turned to his son. "How do you compare to Gato?"
Even just the puppet arm had been daunting. Rasa doubted his own Gold Dust techniques could stop it.
"Well, we're both puppeteers, but we specialize in different things," Kankuro said after a pause. "He uses energy-based mechanical puppets. I focus more on controlling puppet armies."
He wiggled his fingers.
Several humanoid puppets emerged. A dark energy enveloped them, and you could clearly see writhing flesh exposed along their limbs.
Crowmen Puppets.
Biological puppets made from beast corpses and puppet parts. Not as destructive as the Ironclad Puppet, but capable of casting magic.
Rasa asked, eyes full of hope, "Could you beat Mei Terumi?"
He was uneasy. Her performance had already surpassed typical Kage standards.
Kankuro shook his head slightly. "Highly unlikely."
At that moment—
A glowing orange fireball appeared in the sky above the Land of Waves, slowly descending like a falling meteor.
Everyone—mercenaries, rogue samurai, even veterans like Kakuzu and Hidan—froze.
Some cowardly ninja collapsed on the spot.
It truly blotted out the sun.
The fireball—shaped like a giant pumpkin—was so massive it resembled the sun falling to earth. It stretched beyond the horizon, engulfing half the sky.
The heat was unbearable even at a distance.
The sea boiled.
The nearby forests ignited.
Even the air wavered from the temperature.
"This little act has gone on long enough."
"Now it's time for the Explosive Flame Mage to shine. Live or die—it's your choice."
Mei's smile never changed.
She hadn't come to the Land of Waves just for Zabuza.
After establishing the Kirigakure Clan, their funds were tight.
Even absorbing Fire Nation properties wasn't enough.
She had to keep expanding.
Iwa and Suna weren't the only ones eyeing the Land of Waves—so was she.
And she knew every village had spies secretly watching this event unfold.
So let them watch.
While other Kage-level stats hovered around 40 points—
her Spirit stat had already reached 60, allowing her to unleash this purple-tier skill:
Jack-o'-Boom: Enhanced.
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