Chapter 184: Capturing the Mizukage
"Quick, get inside!"
At the entrance of an underground bunker, Terumī Mei stood guard outside, protecting civilians as they poured in.
Whoosh whoosh...
Dozens of clay birds came flying in from multiple directions, aiming straight for the entrance, targeting the gathering crowd.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Earth Style..."
The Kirigakure shinobi defending alongside Mei launched their jutsu one after another to intercept the incoming clay birds.
Mei also unleashed her Lava Style technique in advance to stop the clay birds mid-air.
BOOM BOOM BOOM...
Deafening explosions echoed around the entrance. The villagers were terrified but moved in an orderly manner, quickly entering the underground shelter one by one.
"Damn it... how strong is the enemy's sensory ability?!"
Mei was doing all she could, but she could only protect this one entrance—she had no way to guard the others.
In the face of Li Yao's soul-sensing ability, the positions of everyone in Kirigakure were as clear as day.
Kirigakure had many powerful ninja, and many of Li Yao's clay birds were intercepted.
But as always, when your chakra pool was overwhelming—you could do whatever you pleased.
Li Yao had more clay birds, and he could precisely locate areas with the most people, attacking from various angles. They were impossible to defend against.
In no time, the casualties in Kirigakure became severe.
Compared to Kumogakure, Kirigakure had too few Lightning-style shinobi. Against the dense and constant aerial bombardment, too few could withstand the assault.
Of course, part of it came down to the difference in ability between the Mizukage and the Raikage.
The Mizukage's sensory abilities weren't sharp enough, and he wasn't fast enough. He could only cast Black Lotus in the direction with the most clay birds, but his reaction speed was too slow.
Li Yao could steer his birds around the lotus. The Mizukage couldn't move the lotus to track them.
Meanwhile, the Third Raikage—with his blistering speed and wide-range Black Lightning—could easily pierce through the Wind-style armor covering Li Yao's clay birds.
The Third Mizukage used Water, Earth, and Wind chakra, and had no affinity for Lightning, so all he could do was pump more chakra into his Black Lotus to increase its range.
And that… was exactly what Li Yao wanted.
Without exposing his Wood Style, Particle Style, or sealing techniques like the black iron chains, taking down the Mizukage in close combat—especially with his defensive Water Style—would be tricky.
But if he could drain the Mizukage's chakra, then with his unmatched speed in taijutsu, Li Yao would have a clear shot at landing a killing blow.
High above, Li Yao monitored the Mizukage's chakra levels. As soon as it dropped to a critical threshold, he would strike.
And just as he was preparing to act, he sensed White Zetsu appear just outside Kirigakure.
White Zetsu had expected that Li Yao would notice him immediately.
"What's this?"
"Trying to stop me from killing the Mizukage?"
"Or bringing a mission?"
White Zetsu showing up now—of all times—right when Li Yao was about to strike, made him wary.
Still, the arrow was already notched.
Li Yao wasn't about to give up the chance to acquire the Mizukage's unique Water Style and Hydrification Technique.
He pretended not to notice White Zetsu's arrival, altered his facial features, then formed a white clay mask and placed it over his face. In the next instant, he jumped down from the sky.
White Zetsu's face darkened as he sensed this.
"Li Yao… I'll remember this."
Suppressing the urge to activate the curse mark and kill Li Yao, White Zetsu vowed to make this disobedient brat suffer—after they resurrected their mother.
On top of the Mizukage Tower, the Third Mizukage focused all his energy on controlling the Black Water to intercept Li Yao's clay birds. Behind him, six ANBU guards remained vigilant, scanning all around and above.
But as Li Yao landed silently behind the Mizukage, the six ANBU didn't move.
They were already under Li Yao's genjutsu.
The Third Mizukage, entirely focused on his jutsu, didn't notice Li Yao's presence at all—he was giving off no chakra or aura whatsoever.
Li Yao's absolute chakra control had once fooled even Konoha's ANBU, who mistook him for a corpse puppet—drawing the suspicion of the Third Hokage. Aside from Madara and White Zetsu, no one in the shinobi world could suppress their presence like Li Yao could.
And with the Mizukage's attention focused on his Black Water, and trusting the guards behind him, it made sense that he failed to notice a high-speed threat like Li Yao.
But such failure could be fatal.
Li Yao didn't hesitate.
BOOM!
He crouched slightly, then exploded forward with all his strength—rushing the Mizukage from behind.
"Not good!!!"
To his credit, the Mizukage was indeed worthy of his title. There were no weaklings among the Five Kage.
His reaction speed was extraordinary. In the instant he sensed danger behind him, without even turning around, he immediately formed a Black Water wall behind him.
If it were anyone else, the attack would've failed.
Black Water had enough defense to blunt the piercing strike of the Raikage's One-Finger Thrust.
Just a second's delay would've allowed the Mizukage to recover and counterattack.
But this was Li Yao.
Smack!
The hastily summoned Black Water wall didn't slow Li Yao's punch at all. It burst like a balloon under the force of a bullet.
BOOM!
Li Yao's fist struck the Mizukage's back. In an instant, terrifying impact exploded outward, generating a massive fan-shaped shockwave that blasted through the front of the Mizukage Tower, carving a hundred-meter swath of destruction.
CRACK!
The Third Mizukage was hurled through the air, but before he could hit the ground, Li Yao caught him by the neck. A black iron chain burst from Li Yao's palm, invading the Mizukage's body and sealing his chakra—preventing him from using the Hydrification Technique.
Li Yao followed with the Sensory Deprivation Technique, completely neutralizing him.
Despite taking Li Yao's terrifying punch, the Mizukage wasn't dead. He remained barely conscious.
As the black iron chains entered his body, realization dawned in his eyes.
"It's you!!!"
A flicker of fear and anger crossed his face before he lost consciousness and blacked out.
Li Yao grabbed the Mizukage by the throat and leapt skyward, landing on a clay bird and flying toward White Zetsu's location.
"Release Mizukage-sama!"
"You bastard!!"
From behind, Terumī Mei had just arrived and saw the Mizukage being taken. She immediately gathered her remaining chakra and launched a massive Lava Style attack from hundreds of meters away.
A blazing torrent of lava surged toward Li Yao like a wall of molten doom.
Li Yao, still low in altitude with Yuzu nearby, was directly in its path.
Unfazed, he turned, holding the Mizukage in one hand while raising the other. He extended his index finger and sliced downward.
Zing!
A razor-thin, highly compressed white Wind Blade shot forth and cut through the lava like tofu—splitting it instantly and sending it falling to the sides.
BOOM!
The Wind Blade didn't stop. Instead, it grew even larger as it shot toward Mei.
Everything had happened in a split second. Mei realized too late that her attack had been cleaved—and the Wind Blade was now hurtling toward her.
She had no chakra left to defend.
Taijutsu wasn't her strength.
Just as she was about to be struck, a figure appeared and pushed her out of the way—saving her life.
When she came to, she saw a hundred-meter-long trench gouged into the ground before her, and the person who saved her had been reduced to scattered flesh.
Mei stared dumbly in the direction Li Yao had flown. In her peripheral vision, she could still see his tall silhouette, his flowing black hair, and the Third Mizukage hanging limply in his grasp.
For a moment, fear gripped her heart. She didn't give chase.
She had been stunned by the sheer power of Li Yao's casually thrown Wind Technique.
How could she hope to rescue the Mizukage from such an enemy?
"Quick, don't let him escape!"
"Rescue the Mizukage!"
"It's our turn to protect Mizukage-sama!"
The voices of her comrades snapped her out of it. Mei hardened her resolve and regained her focus.
That's right.
Had Mizukage-sama not been defending the village and exhausting his chakra, he never would have been taken.
Despicable coward.
I'm not afraid of you.
Mei steadied herself and took off again, chasing in the direction Li Yao had fled.
(END CHAPTER)
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