Just as Omoi's blade was about to slash Kurotsuchi from the side—
Her chakra surged, and the massive stone fist she had thrown forward suddenly slammed straight down into the ground instead!
A thunderous crash shook the earth. If Gaia herself were watching, she might've called Kurotsuchi a true child of the earth!
Her chakra pulsed violently through the stone gauntlet, channeling directly into the terrain. Spikes of jagged stone, each several meters long, erupted in a circle around her, aiming to impale Omoi from below.
Omoi felt an icy jolt of dread in his gut.
He instantly pushed off one of the stone spikes, flipping backwards in a clean arc and widening the distance between them. Cold sweat dripped down his brow.
That was close... One second slower and I'd be dead meat.
Elsewhere, Hozuki Suigetsu, standing beside Utakata and Yukimaru, could barely contain his excitement. His body liquefied into water and surged forward toward Omoi.
"The guys from Kumogakure are having all the fun! Why are they leaving me out?"
He reappeared behind Omoi, his upper body reforming mid-air. His right arm swelled grotesquely with chakra-infused water.
"Water Style – Great Water Arm!"
He drove his fist straight at Omoi's back.
Still midair, Omoi had no leverage to dodge. His thoughts raced.
No time. Gotta take it head-on!
He reached behind with one hand, gripping the hilt of his ninja sword, while his other hand braced the flat of the blade. He held it horizontally across his back, hoping to absorb the blow.
But Suigetsu had been counting on this.
Despite his laid-back nature, Suigetsu Hozuki was no less a prodigy than his late brother, Mangetsu Hozuki. While Mangetsu had mastered all seven of the Hidden Mist's swords, Suigetsu possessed monstrous strength and unmatched water transformation abilities.
Back in the original timeline, he had briefly clashed with the fully transformed Killer Bee using only his water-form jutsu—and back then, he was just sixteen.
Utakata winced from the sidelines and shut his eyes, not wanting to witness the brutal impact.
He sighed softly beside him.
Nothing we can do… That's just Suigetsu's personality. But now that his teammates are in the fray, as captain, I can't just stand here either.
Omoi crashed violently into a tree trunk with a sickening crunch. He tasted iron in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and felt a sharp shift in his core—like his organs had been rearranged.
"Damn monster… He's stronger than Lord Killer Bee in his base state…"
Gritting his teeth, Omoi sprinted back toward Karui's location. He had to regroup—take out one enemy at a time.
At that moment, Utakata silently pulled a small tube from his sleeve and began channeling chakra through it, his mouth glowing faintly.
"Water Style – Bubble Bomb Jutsu."
Tiny bubbles streamed from the other end of the short tube, rapidly expanding and scattering into the surroundings.
Each bubble shimmered with rainbow light—but hidden within some of them was deadly intent.
Not all the bubbles were dangerous. Only a select few contained compressed chakra laced with a fraction of the Six-Tails' power. Upon detonation, they would release an acid mist capable of corroding steel.
And because real and fake bubbles floated together, enemies couldn't tell which ones to dodge.
Yukimaru stood nearby, watching his captain take action. He sighed, his gentle face hardening.
"…I don't want to fight, but… this is for the village."
In an instant, his expression transformed. His hands blurred into seals, and he thrust one palm into the air.
"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
A thick fog erupted around him and rapidly consumed the battlefield, spreading almost a full kilometer.
Yukimaru had inherited a rare bloodline—born of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and bearing a fragment of the Three-Tails' chakra. Although he couldn't withstand full transformation into a jinchūriki, he had forged a cooperative bond with Isobu. A true rarity.
On the other side of the field, near Gaara, Temari narrowed her eyes at the spreading darkness.
She reached behind her and began to unfold her signature three-star fan—but Gaara stopped her.
He laid his hand gently on hers and shook his head.
"Temari, don't."
"Those bubbles from before… They're not what they seem. Don't act rashly."
He pressed his palms together, then stomped one foot into the ground.
Chakra surged from his body into the soil, causing the terrain to shudder.
The area beneath them fractured, and gravel rose at his command. Gaara lifted his hands and then swept them forward in a wide arc.
A miniature sandstorm burst from beneath the forest canopy, kicking up gravel and dust that stung the exposed skin of every shinobi present.
It wasn't lethal—but it served a purpose.
Utakata frowned.
Even though Youkimaru's mist cloaked everyone's vision, the sound of bubbles popping and hissing surrounded them. Acid mist, likely. Explosive traps. And now, Gaara's sand was swirling through it all.
Temari realized the trap.
If she had cast a strong Wind Jutsu, she might've detonated the entire field by accident.
Now it was her turn to strike.
Gripping her fan with both hands, she spun her upper body backward, then twisted forward like a cyclone.
"Wind Style – Sickle Weasel Net!"
With every rotation, she swung the fan, summoning slicing gales that grew sharper and stronger with momentum. The wind howled like a living beast, scattering the fog and disrupting the traps within.
At the same time, Kankuro dropped to one knee and placed his puppet onto the ground. With a flick of his fingers, the wrappings unraveled, revealing his weapon.
"Go, Crow!"
A grotesque puppet with four arms, three eyes, and a warped smile rocketed forward, spinning madly toward Yukimaru.
Kankuro's focus sharpened.
That one needs to go first. If Temari keeps blowing away the mist, he'll just keep bringing it back. We need to break the cycle.
But before the puppet could close the distance—
A soft voice cut through the chaos.
Fu, the jinchūriki of the Seven-Tails, had been silently observing from the treetops, still and patient. She turned to her two teammates and whispered a few words.
Then, without a sound, they vanished into the trees.
From Fu's back, translucent wings slowly unfurled—shimmering like those of a butterfly or dragonfly. They buzzed softly, sending a gentle pulse through the air as she began to rise, her eyes narrowing as she entered the battlefield at last.
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