"...Tailed Beast Ball."
The Fourth Mizukage was surprised that he had lost the contest of strength.
But he immediately seized Uchiha Ye's fist, taking advantage of the opening, and began gathering a Tailed Beast Ball in his mouth.
At such close range, with such a perfect opportunity, how could he let it slip away?
"Dog-Biting Crimson Lotus!"
As luck would have it, Uchiha Ye had the same idea.
His body rapidly turned to lava, and a millstone-sized Lava Hound Head burst from his shoulder, wrapped in Armament Haki.
It instantly became as fearsome as a black hellhound and charged straight at the Fourth Mizukage, who was right in front of him.
Scorching hot and incredibly hard!
The Fourth Mizukage felt a chill in his heart, but could only retreat at once.
At the same time, he unleashed the unfinished Tailed Beast Bomb in his mouth.
Boom!
Molten rock collided with the energy blast, illuminating the entire battlefield.
Uchiha Itachi and the others briefly lost their sight.
But when their vision returned, another shocking sight met their eyes.
Uchiha Ye's fists were scorching hot, yet pitch-black.
He charged at the Fourth Mizukage like a war god, launching straight into an ultra-high-speed Taijutsu battle.
Boom!
Bang!
Boom!
All anyone could see on the battlefield were two blurring figures, one red and one black, clashing again and again and blasting apart the earth. It was impossible to tell who had the upper hand.
Uchiha Itachi immediately activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. Only then could he make out what was happening, and even so, he couldn't help exclaiming, "He's actually fighting a Jinchuriki without falling behind!"
"Has he grown this terrifyingly strong? Even a fighter on the level of the Five Kage can't suppress him."
Itachi reckoned that only by expending a great deal of ocular power to use Amaterasu could he defeat the Fourth Mizukage quickly.
Otherwise—
In a conventional battle, he could never achieve a feat like this.
Suddenly!
The two fighters drew apart. A terrifying, frenzied force erupted from the Fourth Mizukage, as black, blue, and red particles rapidly gathered around him.
Uchiha Ye seemed to boil over, lava roaring as he gave off an equally devastating aura.
At the sight of this, Sasori of the Red Sands seemed to realize what was happening. He hurriedly shouted, "Everyone, scatter!"
At the same time, he shot out two puppet strings and grabbed Uchiha Itachi and Biwa Juzo. Using the damaged Human Puppet of the Third Kazekage, he carried all three of them into the sky.
The next instant!
"Lava Style: Scorch Flow Explosion!"
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
Uchiha Ye unleashed a terrifying punch, sending a fan-shaped wave of crimson heat tearing through the ground.
The Fourth Mizukage braced himself against the earth and spat out a huge mass of condensed energy, as heavy and scorching as a meteorite.
It tore through the ground as well, even distorting the air.
Boom!
Like planets colliding, the two forces erupted at once.
All of Kirigakure shook violently, and enormous waves surged along the nearby coast.
The earth collapsed rapidly with a groan, then ripped apart and spread in every direction.
Hurricane-force winds swept across the area, forcing Sasori of the Red Sands to climb higher into the sky.
Otherwise, he could have been caught in the blast and torn apart or burned.
The force of that clash was staggering!
In an instant, the waves swallowed most of the coastal area, and the Fourth Mizukage's residence was reduced to underwater ruins.
Their battle had created a vast lake near the coast.
Of course!
The water was scorching hot—hot enough to boil meat.
"Who... won?"
That was what Sasori of the Red Sands and the others wanted to ask from the sky.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Several more collisions sent up enormous splashes.
Then the surface of the water suddenly exploded, and one figure appeared, carrying another.
"Cough, cough..."
The figure coughed and revealed his face. It was Uchiha Ye.
Half the clothes on his body had been burned away.
His entire left shoulder was badly burned, and his chest had caved in, yet it quickly healed under everyone's watchful eyes.
As for his right arm, a layer of hard coral slowly crumbled away, revealing countless lacerations.
Beside him was the Fourth Mizukage, burned all over and unconscious.
There was no doubt!
Uchiha Ye had won.
But even with Sasori of the Red Sands assisting him, he had still needed to fight that hard.
That showed just how powerful the Fourth Mizukage was.
He was no match for Orochimaru before his prime, nor for Yugito.
It was only because the Mangekyō Sharingan countered the Tailed Beast that Uchiha Obito had been able to control him so easily.
But before the group could celebrate, a succession of Kirigakure Anbu suddenly appeared and surrounded Uchiha Ye.
Then!
A bewitching woman with reddish-brown hair arrived, leading a group of Mist Ninja.
Behind her, a handsome man dressed in very revealing clothes walked forward at an unhurried pace, radiating the oppressive aura unique to a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
There was also a tall, heavyset man with green stripes painted on his cheeks, sharp teeth, and an enormous Ninja Blade strapped to his back.
"You certainly caused quite a commotion!"
The bewitching woman spoke, smiling brightly at Uchiha Ye. "That was truly astonishing. I never expected you to be so powerful, young Uchiha Ye. You even defeated Lord Fourth Mizukage!"
"So, could you give the Fourth Mizukage back to us?"
"After all, he's an important fighting force for our village, as well as its leader. It would look terrible if word got out that he'd been taken away!"
Hearing this, Uchiha Ye put on an expression of feigned reluctance. "That's a real shame, but I'm afraid I can't agree, beautiful lady!"
"The organization needs the Fourth Mizukage. I can't just hand him over to you."
"Ah, if only he belonged to me. Maybe then I really could give him to you."
His contrived look of regret, as though he wanted to hand him over but didn't dare, was quite theatrical.
"Then I suppose... we'll have to fight. You really aren't a very cute little boy!"
The bewitching woman shook her head at his words, looking just as regretful. "It really would be a shame to melt you down like this!"
As she spoke, her lazy nonchalance vanished in an instant, replaced by cold ruthlessness. "Everyone, reclaim the Fourth Mizukage and kill the intruders!"
With that, she charged at Uchiha Ye, who had exhausted a great deal of his strength and was looking somewhat pale.
She clearly intended to take the Fourth Mizukage back by force.
"Genjutsu: Body Freeze Technique!"
They were standing on the water, and he really had used up too much strength. Uchiha Ye naturally didn't want to fight a Water Release expert on the water.
He wasn't particularly skilled at genjutsu, but cast with his Three Tomoe, it still packed a punch.
The bewitching woman's expression changed at once. She hurriedly turned her gaze away, and her forward momentum faltered.
She rapidly formed Hand Seals. "Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
By blocking their line of sight, she could avoid meeting Uchiha Ye's eyes and thus avoid falling under his genjutsu.
Within a second or two, a thick mist shrouded the entire lake.
Nothing could be seen five meters away!
But faced with the mist, Uchiha Ye suddenly smiled. His slightly low voice rang out through the fog. "Used somewhere else, this might be a very good method..."
"But it's a shame you're facing me. In that case, using this technique was a mistake."
He activated Observation Haki. The thick mist was completely useless against him; instead, it became an obstacle for the bewitching woman.
Even if she had a special sensory technique that worked in conjunction with the Hidden Mist Technique, could it really compare to Observation Haki, with its sheer range and directness?
Before you continue