Chapter 247: A Kage's Wrath
With Chojuro dealt with, Suigetsu turned his back without a second thought. Whether the boy fled or stayed to die a fool's death was no longer his concern. The debt for their shared history in Kirigakure was paid; his mercy was an anomaly, not a precedent.
On the other side of the clearing, Jūgo stood heaving over the lifeless form of Ao. The violence of the Curse Mark still coursed through him, a toxic fuel that had burned away his reason. The killing intent had not subsided with the death of his prey; it sought a new outlet. His bestial eyes, glowing with feral hunger, scanned the surroundings until they locked onto the approaching figure of Suigetsu.
In Jūgo's mind, stripped of higher thought, any moving target was a threat, a toy, or both. With a guttural roar that was more animal than man, he launched himself forward, his transformed, monstrous fist swinging in a devastating, whistling arc aimed to pulverize Suigetsu's skull.
*SPLASH!*
The impact was not one of shattered bone, but of exploding water. Suigetsu's head burst apart like a liquid balloon, droplets scattering through the air. For a member of the Hōzuki clan, a purely physical strike was the most useless form of attack.
The scattered water droplets quivered in mid-air, defying gravity, and then flowed back together as if drawn by a magnet. In seconds, Suigetsu's head was fully reformed, a scowl etched onto his newly condensed features.
"Damn it, you mindless oaf!" he snarled.
Simultaneously, a sphere of water materialized from the moisture in the air, enveloping Jūgo's head like a transparent, suffocating hood. Jūgo's claws, still enlarged and sharp, tore frantically at the water prison, but his physical strength was useless against its fluid form. The sphere merely deformed under his grasp, refusing to break. He thrashed, his roars muffled into desperate, airless bubbles as his lungs screamed for oxygen.
Gradually, his struggles weakened. The corrupting energy of the Curse Mark, deprived of air, receded like a tide. The monstrous appendages retracted, the dark markings faded, and the simple-minded man returned. The water sphere dissipated, and Jūgo collapsed to his knees, gasping and coughing violently onto the forest floor.
Suigetsu stared down at him, his anger warring with a thread of weary familiarity. "I swear, you're the most dangerous person on this team to be around! I'm always one wrong step from being pulverized by my own ally!"
"I'm... I'm sorry," Jūgo wheezed, his voice rough with genuine remorse. "I... can't control it."
Suigetsu let out a long, exasperated sigh, his irritation deflating. He was used to this. "Forget it. Just... get ahold of yourself. The fight's over. Let's go find the boss."
Nodding weakly, Jūgo pushed himself to his feet, his body aching but his mind clear. Together, the two unlikely partners moved to rejoin the main event.
***
Across the battlefield, the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumī, was locked in a desperate dance with Uchiha Ren. Though rattled and injured from her earlier encounter with his Susano'o, she was a Kage, and a Kage does not fall so easily. She had regained her footing, her stance defensive, her mind racing for an advantage she knew was slim.
It was then that a distant, agonized scream cut through the air—a voice she knew all too well.
*Ao.*
Her heart seized. Her head snapped towards the sound just in time to see the hulking form of Jūgo, a monster of flesh and rage, hoisting her loyal, long-serving guard into the air before ending him with brutal finality. She saw the triumphant, savage posture of the killer, a stark contrast to the stillness of the man who had stood by her side through coups and reforms.
"YOU BASTARD!"
The word tore from her throat, raw and guttural. A wave of pure, incandescent rage erupted from her, so potent it was a physical pressure in the air. Her vision tinged with red, her nails digging into her palms hard enough to draw blood. She wanted nothing more than to cross the distance and unleash her most destructive jutsu upon the murderer.
But a Kage's rage, however justified, is a luxury. The hot, metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as she choked back her fury, the emotional shock aggravating her existing injuries. She swallowed it, along with her scream of vengeance. Because standing before her was the true architect of this nightmare, Uchiha Ren. To lose focus now, even for a righteous kill, would be to sign her own death warrant.
"Heh. Jūgo still hasn't learned to clean up after himself," Ren commented idly, shaking his head with a mock sigh. "So messy."
Mei's gaze slowly returned to him, the tempest of her emotions freezing into a core of absolute, glacial hatred. The air around her grew cold.
"Uchiha... Ren," she said, her voice dropping to a deadly, measured whisper, each syllable dripping with venom.
"Don't look at me like that," Ren sneered, utterly unmoved. "I didn't lay a hand on your man. My subordinates simply have... initiative."
Talk was pointless. They were well past words. Yet, Mei held her position, her mind a whirlwind of tactical calculations against a backdrop of grief. She knew the gap in their power. A direct assault was suicide. She had to be a predator waiting to strike, to find a single, fleeting opening. It was her only hope.
But Ren was done waiting. "It seems my team has finished their chores," he stated, his playful tone vanishing, replaced by a flat, executioner's calm. "It would be poor form for the master to lag behind. Let's end this."
Mei's body tensed, every sense screaming in alarm. She expected a monstrous Susano'o fist or a cataclysmic fire style jutsu.
Instead, he simply vanished.
*The Flying Thunder God!* Her mind screamed the warning. Her eyes, which had never left him, caught the minute spatial distortion. Her body reacted on instinct, years of battle-honed reflexes taking over. The moment he materialized directly in front of her, she was already exhaling.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition!"
A torrent of viscous, superheated mud and acid erupted from her lips at point-blank range. It was a technique that could melt a fortress wall, and at this range, evasion was supposed to be impossible. A grim satisfaction flashed in her eyes—she had anticipated his move. She would melt the space-ninja where he stood.
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