Armament Haki Shows Its Might

"Coral Palm!"

As he struck out with his palm, a thick layer of coral instantly erupted across his lava-coated fist.

It spread toward Uchiha Ye at high speed, forcing him to dissipate his fist to avoid being encased.

However, Uchiha Ye still manipulated the remaining lava, transforming it into a rain of fire that bombarded the Fourth Mizukage, denying him any chance to counterattack.

"Tch, what a troublesome guy!"

The Fourth Mizukage retreated in a hurry.

But something even more alarming and headache-inducing occurred.

It was one thing for Uchiha Ye's condensed lava bullets—each the size of a fist—to possess such heavy momentum and astonishing destructive power.

It was another that they seemed to predict his every move in advance, sealing off every possible path of retreat.

He was forced to momentarily erupt with the Tailed Beast's power, manifesting a long arm to propel himself into the air and dodge the strike.

Yet, just as he leaped into the air, a rapid clack-clack-clack sound approached his ears, accompanied by an equally heavy aura: "Iron Sand Drizzle!"

A torrential downpour of iron sand projectiles rushed toward him, causing the Fourth Mizukage's expression to change as the hair on his body stood on end: "Water Clone!"

Puff, puff, puff!

The Water Clone was instantly shredded to pieces.

This sight, however, made the Mizukage's guards gasp in involuntary shock: "How is this possible? Lord Mizukage is actually being pushed onto the back foot?"

Even Biwa Juzo and Uchiha Itachi were deeply astonished.

That was the Fourth Mizukage, a perfect Jinchuriki!

To force him into such a disadvantage just like that?

This was power far beyond what an S-rank rogue ninja should possess.

Has he grown to such a level already?

Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but feel even more wary of Uchiha Ye.

"Wind Release: Empty Wall!"

But the Fourth Mizukage was, after all, a Kage-level powerhouse and a perfect Jinchuriki.

The Tailed Beast granted him a powerful ability to sense danger!

Therefore, the moment he reappeared, he set up a defense to avoid being ambushed.

Based on how Uchiha Ye had directly anticipated all his retreat paths earlier, the Fourth Mizukage was certain that his reappearance point would also be predicted, leading to a surprise attack.

His intuition was correct; a scorching fist and a cold, black iron sand spike struck his transparent wind-formed barrier simultaneously.

"Get... lost!"

Even though he had been controlled by someone for reasons unknown, causing harm to Kirigakure for so long, now that he had broken free from that control, he naturally had to shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing the village.

And that would begin with crushing the enemy before him.

He would use this invasion to establish his prestige and stance, making the villagers trust in him once more.

"Water Release: Vortex Break!"

With him at the center, a rigid vortex containing tearing force expanded in all directions, possessing a cutting power like blades that repelled everything in front of him.

Facing this rigid water flow, both Uchiha Ye and the Third Kazekage Human Puppet retreated simultaneously.

But not giving the Fourth Mizukage a chance to chain his ninjutsu, Uchiha Ye launched another fierce, sky-piercing strike: "Lava Scorch Shot!"

Facing this strike coming from below, the Fourth Mizukage's expression shifted as he hurriedly dodged to the side.

But the attack was too fast!

Even though he immediately manipulated the surrounding water waves to block it, his right side was still severely burned.

Yet, under the healing power of the Tailed Beast, the wounds recovered rapidly.

Compared to Yugito, who was also a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, the Fourth Mizukage had only been burned, rather than having his chakra form pierced through, which would have endangered the overall situation.

The contrast in their strength was immediately apparent.

Seeing Uchiha Ye effectively wound the Fourth Mizukage, Sasori of the Red Sand naturally did not waste the opportunity.

He immediately manipulated the Third Kazekage to condense dozens of iron sand spears and fired them out.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

The Fourth Mizukage felt his scalp tingle; the scent of poison radiating from that iron sand was something even he dared not touch.

With him at the center, water vapor rapidly converged, forming a high-speed rotating semi-circular water shield to protect him.

But it wasn't over!

The Fourth Mizukage rapidly formed hand seals: "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

A towering dragon coalesced, appearing as if it possessed a soul of its own, and charged straight toward Uchiha Ye amidst a resonant roar.

This forced him to abandon his assault on the Fourth Mizukage.

Pop, pop, pop!

Even with the force to shatter walls, the iron sand spears could not fully breach the defense of the water shroud.

They penetrated only halfway before coming to a complete halt.

Seeing this, Sasori of the Red Sand immediately maneuvered the Third Kazekage into a defensive stance.

However, the Fourth Mizukage, who had taken this opportunity to enter a partial Tailed Beast state, moved even faster than he had anticipated.

"Tailed Beast Bomb!!"

The Fourth Mizukage opened his mouth and unleashed a blast that soared into the sky, its speed so great that even Sasori of the Red Sand was taken aback.

The Third Kazekage immediately manifested a pair of thick, expansive wings to shield himself.

But even so!

In the face of such a scorching strike, the iron sand wings were pierced through in less than three seconds.

Even though Sasori of the Red Sand immediately controlled the Third Kazekage to dodge using a Sand Clone, his entire right arm had been destroyed by the time he reappeared.

"Tch, his reaction is that fast too?"

Seeing that his attack had not met expectations, the Fourth Mizukage felt somewhat displeased.

But immediately, he seized a new opportunity.

"Roar!"

The Fourth Mizukage stomped heavily onto the earth, crashing through the water shroud like a meteor.

Amidst a violent sonic boom, he closed the distance to Sasori of the Red Sand's actual body.

That's right!

Since he could not effectively damage the Third Kazekage puppet, he would attack the puppeteer, Sasori of the Red Sand, directly.

It was common knowledge in the Ninja World that a puppeteer's own strength was not high.

He was confident he could leave Sasori of the Red Sand severely wounded.

"Oh no!"

Sasori of the Red Sand could not help but cry out in alarm.

However, because most of his attention had been occupied by maneuvering the Third Kazekage to dodge the fatal blow just moments ago, he was already too late to defend against the Fourth Mizukage's sudden assault.

He could only attempt to use a Sand Clone to resolve the crisis.

But!

"Armament! Hardening!"

"Hellhound!"

A sharp shout from Uchiha Ye stopped that thought in its tracks.

As the voice arrived, so did the man!

Everyone present saw only a fist, shining with a dark, polished luster, explode through the air and collide heavily with the ferocious, partially transformed Fourth Mizukage.

BOOM!

The earth erupted and disintegrated.

The terrifying shockwave uprooted the surrounding forest, forcing even Sasori of the Red Sand to command the Third Kazekage to create an iron sand barrier to protect himself.

Yet, the next moment, the partially transformed Fourth Mizukage was actually forced back several steps.

This sight left Biwa Juzo, who had just finished off the four bodyguards with Uchiha Itachi using genjutsu, in a state of shock.

"Hey, hey, hey, no way. That's the power of a Tailed Beast—enough to level mountains and destroy forests!"

Biwa Juzo stared in disbelief at Uchiha Ye, who continued to push the Fourth Mizukage back: "Isn't his strength a bit too terrifying? Even the power of a Tailed Beast can't compare to it?"

Although this was only a partial Tailed Beast transformation and the full power had not been unleashed, it was still astonishing enough!

Aside from the Raikage lineage, who else could accomplish such a shocking feat?