Whoosh!
Ao crossed the mountains and arrived at Training Ground Seven, nestled in a distant valley. The Byakugan beneath his right eye patch remained activated the entire time, fixed on the increasingly nearer Fourth Mizukage.
The Fourth Mizukage remained standing where he was, as though he had sensed Ao's approach. Suddenly, his chakra stirred. Streams of blood-red chakra began crawling over the Fourth Mizukage's body, clumping around and covering his legs and arms.
"Is that—the Three-Tails' chakra?!"
Ao's heart jolted. Such heavy, intimidating chakra... with his Byakugan, he could practically hear the blood-red chakra, like a crimson outer cloak, flowing over the Fourth Mizukage's body with a sound heavier than mercury.
The blood-red Tailed Beast chakra took shape behind the Fourth Mizukage as a long crimson tail. With only a casual flick in the direction Ao was racing from, it nearly tore visible wind blades through the air and slashed toward him.
Ao gathered chakra beneath his feet and hastily dodged. The wind blades grazed past him, carving marks into the mountainous terrain behind him.
This was not Wind Release Ninjutsu. It was merely the slight movement of air caused by a high-quality chakra tail being casually swung—
"Lord Mizukage." Ao stepped forward and dropped to one knee.
"You came looking for me?" Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura's voice was utterly calm.
Ao looked at the other man's feet, wrapped in blood-red Tailed Beast chakra. "Yes, your subordinate has a—"
"What could be more important than my training to control the Three-Tails?" The Fourth Mizukage cut him off coldly. "Kirigakure's system is one of freedom. The elders handle the village's mundane affairs, while the Mizukage only needs to be responsible for military strength. Am I wrong?"
"This—"
"My training is not to be disturbed." A trace of killing intent surfaced in