Hatake Kakashi, standing nearby, was dumbfounded. What was this turn of events?
Provoking Genji in Kirigakure was just like provoking Lord Hokage in Konoha!
"Kagami! We don't have the strength to get out of here unscathed."
Hyuga Kagami remained calm, the corners of his mouth lifting as he glanced at Koto Kenichi. "Kakashi, I'm not trying to start trouble. I'm just demanding justice for myself. That old man Genji is using us."
Hatake Kakashi froze. Unable to help himself, he followed Hyuga Kagami's gaze and saw Koto Kenichi, battered and disheveled.
He suddenly understood.
Right!
Without a message from Genji, how could Koto Kenichi have found out about Mei Terumi and Kagami so quickly?
In other words, they'd been used as pawns to... stir up trouble and draw out the Mizukage!
Uchiha Itachi understood, too. He and Kakashi stared at Hyuga Kagami in shock.
If not for Hyuga Kagami,
they'd still be in the dark!
Just how clever was Hyuga Kagami?
He'd seen through their scheme at a glance!
"What are you, to speak so disrespectfully to Genji?!"
Just then, an angry shout rang out. A Kirigakure Ninja glared at him furiously.
"Apologize to Lord Genji at once! Otherwise, even as a Konoha shinobi, you won't be leaving here!"
He was furious!
The people of Kirigakure were scattered and disheartened, but some still remained loyal.
"Wretched ants!"
Hyuga Kagami scoffed. Thunder crackled in his Byakugan as he glanced over calmly, then unleashed a furious burst of lightning!
His opponent was sent flying hard!
He hit the ground gravely wounded, coughing up blood!
It happened so fast—not only had Hyuga Kagami struck in an instant, but the lightning itself had moved at a speed that left everyone stunned!
"He... He actually attacked! And he just used a jutsu without forming Hand Seals!"
"A jutsu without Hand Seals? That speed is terrifying!"
"You dare attack in Kirigakure? Are you looking to die?!"
Genji's gaze was cold and grim, his cloudy eyes icy.
He made no move to stop them.
"Kill him!"
Countless Kirigakure shinobi roared, Kunai in hand as they charged toward Hyuga Kagami!
Hatake Kakashi's expression changed dramatically. "Itachi! Get into a defensive stance!"
"Protect yourself first!"
But before he could finish, Hyuga Kagami slowly began to float into the air!
Lightning raged around him. Dark clouds suddenly gathered and rolled in layers, as if the sky itself were answering Hyuga Kagami's call!
"Frail ants, how dare you try to outshine the moon?"
Hyuga Kagami looked down at the masses charging toward him from every direction. He slowly raised a hand and pointed at the sky with a sneer. "Wrath of Thunder!"
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Countless bolts of lightning crashed down!
It was as if a god were punishing the ignorant. Thunder boomed in their ears, and in an instant, the area around Hyuga Kagami and the others was cleared!
Only a crowd of unconscious Kirigakure shinobi remained, lying on the ground with rolling eyes and foaming mouths like dead dogs!
Hatake Kakashi was dumbfounded. "That's it...? It's over?"
In a single instant,
he'd taken out thirty percent of their enemies!
Boom!
Just then, a Fish-Man-looking shinobi slowly stepped forward, holding a massive Ninja Sword. It looked like... a round ball covered in countless spikes!
The ball shuddered slightly, as if it were alive and breathing!
He grinned, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth that sent a chill down everyone's spine!
He hardly looked human.
He looked more like a shark that had become a monster!
"What a bunch of idiots. You saw him about to use a jutsu and didn't even think to dodge? Let me teach you a lesson!"
Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, his savage teeth looking ready to tear Hyuga Kagami apart!
He rapidly formed Hand Seals. "Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
Pfft!
A massive shark made of water appeared in midair. Its fearsome jaws sent a chill through everyone as it shot toward Hyuga Kagami!
"I'm not one of those pieces of trash you can toy with however you like!"
Kisame Hoshigaki's grin was savage.
Once the shark hit Hyuga Kagami, it would start absorbing his chakra, growing bigger and bigger until it swallowed him whole!
This technique... grew stronger against stronger opponents!
"Wretched ant."
Hyuga Kagami remained calm, swinging the Great Hammer in his hand!
Boom!
A terrifying gust of wind erupted, and a sonic boom seemed to burst in front of them!
The terrifying shark was instantly blasted into pieces and vanished into thin air.
"So this is all the wielder of Samehada can do?"
Hyuga Kagami sneered, looking Kisame Hoshigaki up and down. He hadn't expected Kisame to have killed Suikazan Fuguki so early and already acquired Samehada.
Kisame Hoshigaki looked cautious, yet his eyes burned with a crazed fighting spirit!
He was a battle maniac.
Yet he could remain calm on the battlefield!
It was a contradiction, but both qualities truly existed within Kisame Hoshigaki.
"What terrifying strength. But defeating me still won't be possible. This place... is a Water Release user's home turf!"
Kisame Hoshigaki shouted and swiftly formed Hand Seals. "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
"Water Release: Rain Four Sharks!"
Boom!
He spewed a torrent of water from his mouth. In an instant, it formed a massive sphere of water hundreds of meters across!
It flooded half of Kirigakure!
Turning the whole place into an ocean!
Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, and the other Kirigakure shinobi hurriedly retreated in panic. They couldn't breathe underwater—if they stayed, all they could do was wait to die!
"How terrifying! Kisame Hoshigaki... He has such an enormous amount of chakra. Is he even human?!"
"He's known as the Tailed Beast Without Tail!"
"Hahaha! Hyuga Kagami is finished. He'll die at Kisame Hoshigaki's hands!"
The crowd cheered excitedly.
They were furious, their eyes bloodshot!
They could already picture Hyuga Kagami's gruesome death!
But in the next instant, terrifying thunder rang out, and the gloomy sky lit up in a flash!
Hyuga Kagami hovered in midair, glowing!
Lightning swirled around him like subjects submitting to their king. In the next moment, the entire sphere of water, hundreds of meters across, crackled with lightning!
"Kisame Hoshigaki, you're not the only one with a massive amount of chakra. Besides... water conducts lightning best!"
Hyuga Kagami remained calm.
The sphere of water had increased the power of his Lightning Release by more than ten percent!
Rather than providing him with more stamina and greater combat power, Kisame Hoshigaki's water sphere had only trapped him in his own scheme!
"Damn you!"
Kisame Hoshigaki was charred all over. He trembled, looking utterly battered.
One of his most powerful attacks had been effortlessly countered by Hyuga Kagami!
"I absolutely won't lose to you!"
He roared and charged at Hyuga Kagami with the Ninja Sword Samehada in hand!
Aside from his Water Release Ninjutsu, his strongest ability was Taijutsu!
But in the next instant, his vision blurred. A huge foot came crashing down onto his face, pinning him beneath it!
He was stunned, staring in disbelief at Hyuga Kagami standing on him. "H-how can you be that fast?"
Hyuga Kagami had moved so fast that he couldn't react!
"Enough talk."
Hyuga Kagami looked down at him with calm disdain, as if he were looking at trash. "Ever heard of 'if you can settle it with your fists, don't run your mouth'?"
He looked over the breathing, twitching Samehada.
The weapon's shape... looked a lot like a spiked club!
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