The Fourth Mizukage's Victory

Narong quickly dealt with the scene. First, he had Black Zetsu take away the unconscious, controlled Utakata and seal him under tight guard. Then he walked over to Yagura Karatachi, who had been controlled by genjutsu and lay unconscious nearby.

He used the Mangekyo Sharingan again, making the final adjustments and reinforcements to Yagura's mental world, implanting memories consistent with the earlier fierce battle and his repulsion of Utakata. Next, he disguised his identity as "Crow," creating wounds that looked severe but avoided his vitals, using Lightning Release to stimulate his muscles and produce the effect of trembling weakness, and suppressing most of his aura, making himself look gravely injured and on the verge of death.

He moved Yagura to a relatively safe place, then leaned weakly nearby himself, disguising himself as having collapsed unconscious from exhaustion after protecting the Mizukage.

"Cleanup complete! Lord Narong!" White Zetsu reported.

"Everyone withdraw," Narong ordered.

The White Zetsu swiftly sank underground and vanished. It was as if they had never appeared on the deserted island, leaving behind only the genuine wreckage of a fierce battle and traces that had been carefully handled.

About half an hour later, under the effect of the Hashirama cells, Narong had recovered some of his stamina and chakra. Relying on precise chakra control, he simulated gradually weakening vital signs.

Almost at the same time, under his precise genjutsu manipulation, Yagura Karatachi's eyelashes trembled a few times, and he slowly opened his eyes. At first, a trace of confusion appeared on his face, but his gaze quickly cleared, carrying exhaustion and sharpness, completely the state one ought to have after experiencing a brutal battle. He struggled to sit up and immediately felt the weakness of his body and a few superficial wounds, but more important was the violent consumption of the Three-Tails' chakra inside him and the exhaustion that came after "defeating a powerful enemy"—all of which were real sensations that Narong had carefully simulated and given him through genjutsu.

He looked around and saw utter devastation, a battlefield as if a natural disaster had just passed through, and the memory of that savage battle rose in his mind. Then he saw the ANBU "Crow" lying nearby, covered in blood, his aura faint.

"Crow!" Under the influence of the genjutsu, a flicker of emotion and gratitude flashed through Yagura's eyes. In his memories, Crow had blocked a fatal blow for him. He forced down his weakness, staggered to Crow's side, and crouched to check on him.

"He's still breathing... but he's badly hurt." Yagura breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze firming. "I have to take him back to the village for treatment immediately!"

He tried to carry Crow on his back, but he himself was already spent and nearly fell with one stumble. Gritting his teeth, he draped one of Crow's arms over his shoulder, used his own body to support most of the other man's weight, and struggled to stand. Every step was extremely difficult as he staggered through the mud and ruins toward the edge of the island, toward the shore in the direction they had come from. The image of "the Mizukage, gravely wounded, still refusing to abandon his loyal subordinate" was filled with tragic grandeur.

Just as Yagura Karatachi was supporting the "unconscious" Crow and was about to reach the shore—

"Lord Mizukage! There are people over there!" a Hidden Mist ninja cried out.

On the nearby sea, several Hidden Mist speedboats were racing over! On the leading boat were none other than chief adviser Genji, Ao, who possessed the Byakugan, and the young genius Mei Terumi, among others! After receiving the earlier massive energy fluctuation and distress signal, they had rushed over at once as the support team!

Ao's Byakugan had long since been activated, and from afar he saw the two supporting each other in a wretched state, as well as the terrifying battlefield behind them that looked as if it had been struck by a meteor! His white eye was filled with shock!

"It's Lord Mizukage and... it's Crow! They're still alive!" Ao reported loudly, but his voice carried disbelief. "But... Lord Mizukage has exhausted an enormous amount of chakra and has light injuries! Crow... is seriously injured! His life force is faint!"

"Quick! Bring us in!" Genji immediately ordered, his expression grave but tinged with relief.

The boats quickly came ashore, and Genji, Ao, Mei Terumi, and several medical ninja swiftly jumped onto land and rushed toward Yagura and Crow.

"Lord Mizukage! Are you all right?!" Genji hurriedly supported the swaying Yagura, while the medical ninja carefully took the unconscious Crow from his shoulder and immediately began emergency treatment.

"Teacher Genji... I'm... fine." Yagura panted heavily, leaning against Genji, his face filled with exhaustion and lingering fear, but his eyes still firm. "Utakata... fully transformed into a tailed beast... I... barely forced him back... he escaped badly wounded... thanks to Crow..." He haltingly repeated the implanted memories.

"Fully transformed into a tailed beast?!" Ao cried out in shock, sweeping his Byakugan across the battlefield again, his face turning pale. "No wonder... the chakra left on the battlefield... is so terrifying! It's filled with an aura of destruction and brutality! And there's also... a chakra residue that's full of vitality but just as vast and powerful... this... this is simply..." He could not find the right words to describe the strength of the residual chakra, but it was definitely a clash far beyond an ordinary Kage level!

Mei Terumi looked at the seriously injured and unconscious Crow, then at Yagura, who was also weak but insisted on standing, her emerald eyes filled with shock and admiration. To survive a battle of that level and force the enemy back—the strength of the Fourth Mizukage was unfathomable!

"Quick! Escort Lord Mizukage and Crow back to the village for treatment first! We'll discuss the details on the way!" Genji made the decision at once, though stormy waves had already surged in his heart. Yagura had actually been able to independently repel a fully transformed Utakata? This strength... was far beyond his expectations! Was this a blessing or a curse for the village?

Yagura and Crow were carefully settled on the boat, and it quickly returned. Genji, meanwhile, instructed another elite squad to remain behind and carefully investigate the battlefield, searching for any possible clues.

However, when this investigation squad landed on the deserted island, all they saw was a ruined scene that had been thoroughly plowed through by terrifying power. The ground was split apart, rocks were shattered, and traces of explosions and impacts were everywhere. White Zetsu's cleanup work was extremely thorough. All obvious traces of Wood Release had been removed or cleverly disguised as the mixed effects of large-scale Earth Release collapses, Water Release impacts, and explosive ninjutsu.

They could clearly sense the residual, heart-palpitatingly vast chakra fluctuations in the air—two of them filled with the unique brutality and destruction of tailed beasts, while the other carried an indescribable, unfamiliar chakra that seemed to contain life force yet was also full of pressure. The remaining traces from the collision of these three powers were enough to prove that a Kage-level deathmatch far beyond their imagination had taken place here. But the specific details of the battle and the exact techniques used by both sides were already difficult to reconstruct accurately.

"Unbelievable... is this the power of a complete tailed beast?"

"What was that other chakra? I've never felt it before... but it's definitely not weaker than a tailed beast!"

"Lord Mizukage... actually repelled that kind of monster head-on..."

The investigation results were sent back to the village, further corroborating Yagura Karatachi's strength. Although they had failed to bring back Utakata, the achievement of "the Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi independently repelling the complete Six-Tails" spread through the Hidden Mist like a whirlwind, greatly boosting morale, and Yagura's prestige reached an unprecedented height.

And the true contributor and mastermind behind the scenes—Uchiha Narong—was sent back to the village for the highest level of treatment under the identity of the gravely injured and unconscious ANBU hero "Crow." His loyal and brave performance paved the way for his subsequent actions deep within the Hidden Mist.