The Third Mizukage Makes His Move!

"He's injured! We can kill him!"

Someone cheered, and the sight greatly boosted their morale.

Once the health bar appeared, a god was no longer a god.

While they celebrated, Uchiha Makoto was also counting his blessings. Fortunately, his ocular technique was "Ōmuchi Tenjin: Control," which made him immune to these ninjutsu attacks. Otherwise, this fish would not have been so easy to hook.

Now came the final stage of reeling in the catch.

"To think you forced me to this point. You have every reason to be proud. Susanoo! Activate!"

Uchiha Makoto wore a crazed expression, as though he had been driven into a corner.

As soon as he spoke, immense power surged from Uchiha Makoto's eyes, and the terrifying Susanoo rose from the ground once more.

Seeing this, the Mist ninja hurriedly used the Body Flicker Technique to scatter, lest they be caught in its attack.

"Yasaka Magatama, hah!"

With Uchiha Makoto's furious shout, thousands of blue-violet magatama swept across the battlefield again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One magatama after another turned into bombs, completely flattening this mountainous region.

Once everything settled, Mangetsu Hōzuki released his Hydrification Technique and emerged from the water, gasping for breath.

It was too terrifying. If he had not used his secret technique to merge with the lake, he would have died long ago.

Looking around, the battlefield was a complete mess. Fewer than one in ten of the ninja were still alive.

Yet the culprit behind all of this still stood where he was, vigilantly scanning his surroundings. He looked as though he still had strength to spare.

"So this is... an Uchiha?"

Mangetsu Hōzuki swallowed with difficulty, utterly despairing.

"To wipe out eight thousand ninja in a single battle... perhaps dying by his hand wouldn't be such a loss."

Mangetsu Hōzuki tried to find comfort in misery.

What he could never have imagined was that the Uchiha before him had no intention of killing them now. Uchiha Makoto was completely consumed by confusion.

When Uchiha Makoto had unleashed "Yasaka Magatama" just now, he had pushed his genjutsu, perception, and Fearful Reverence to their limits, yet he still could not find the slightest trace of the Third Mizukage.

Moreover, "Yasaka Magatama" had practically turned over the entire surface of this place. Where exactly was the Third Mizukage hiding?

Could it be... he hasn't arrived yet?

Uchiha Makoto's face instantly darkened. If that were true, would he have to do this all over again later?

But to the Mist ninja, his dog-shit expression meant something entirely different.

"Hahaha! I knew it! Why else wouldn't you press your advantage? You used a forbidden technique and suffered backlash, didn't you?"

The Cloud ninja commander laughed wildly, completely ignoring his blood-soaked chest.

"Hehehe, no wonder Lord Tsuchikage ordered us to come and encircle you. Lord Tsuchikage truly had foresight!"

"If you don't die, we won't be able to sleep peacefully!"

The Iwa ninja commander, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. A rare sinister expression appeared on his honest-looking face.

"To bury thousands of ninja in a single battle—even the legendary God of Shinobi was probably no more than this!"

"You have every reason to be proud of yourself."

The Mist ninja commander also spoke at the right moment.

"Everyone, attack together! Finish him off once and for all!"

"I refuse to believe he can use such a terrifying technique a third time!"

The Cloud ninja commander waved his arm, intending to recreate the scene of everyone ganging up on Uchiha Makoto.

Unfortunately, not a single person moved, including himself.

Those still alive were elite chunin with special skills, or at the very least, sharp-minded people who knew how to assess the situation.

For a time, the situation seemed deadlocked, with neither side making any rash moves.

Uchiha Makoto watched them coldly. Right now, all he wanted was to find the Third Mizukage.

Just then, several spheres of varying sizes flew through the sky.

Uchiha Makoto's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly looked around.

"These are... bubbles?"

Uchiha Makoto's eyes widened. Then his expression abruptly changed as he realized something was wrong.

These are Six-Tails Saiken's acidic bubbles!

No wonder I couldn't find him. He was using bubbles to float in midair!

Uchiha Makoto's face was full of confusion, but secretly, he was prepared to use Susanoo to defend himself at any moment.

Following Uchiha Makoto's gaze, the surviving Mist ninja also noticed more and more bubbles, growing larger and larger.

Several high-ranking Mist ninja secretly sighed in relief at the sight.

Their mission was complete!

Soon, everyone on the battlefield turned their attention toward the direction from which the bubbles were coming.

Under their eager gazes, a bubble as tall as a person floated through the air and gradually approached the battlefield.

Inside was a tall, thin man wearing a blue kimono with a deep V-neck that reached his navel. He had brown bangs, with his left eye hidden beneath his hair.

Holding a bubble-blowing tool that looked much like a straw, he continuously blew bubbles.

The Six-Tails jinchūriki—Utakata!

With his appearance, several high-ranking Mist ninja commanders were already prepared to use the Body Flicker Technique and flee the battlefield at any moment.

If nothing unexpected happened, this man was about to clear the field!

"Water Release: Bubble Technique!"

Utakata was a man of action, and the moment he appeared, he unleashed his ninjutsu.

The bubbles scattered across the battlefield instantly exploded. Under the potent acid unique to the tailed beast, even stones showed signs of being corroded.

Uchiha Makoto activated Susanoo, using only its half-body form to barely hold out against the assault.

From the Sharingan's perspective, Utakata's chakra permeated the entire battlefield, severely obstructing his vision and preventing him from seeing the positions of the others.

However, under the influence of Fearful Reverence, he noticed that one bubble in the distance seemed different—it had life.

So, you finally decided to show yourself, Third Mizukage!

The next moment, a small bubble in front of him exploded, and the red-eyed Third Mizukage leaped out.

"Water Release: Thousand Killing Water Needles!"

Under the Third Mizukage's control, streams of water needles shot at the barely holding half-body Susanoo with incredible speed.

There was no doubt that the severely corroded Susanoo would be pierced through by those water needles if they struck it!

However—

"Finally took the bait!"

Uchiha Makoto's face lit up with delight. He swung the sword in his hand, sending out a flying slash several meters long that rapidly swept over the Third Mizukage, blasting him dozens of meters away!

"You thought a few thousand ninja would be enough to take me down?"

"You were my target. This is my true strength!"

Uchiha Makoto laughed loudly, making the Third Mizukage, whose abdomen was bleeding without stop, grit his teeth in fury.

The Third Mizukage's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze dark. "I clearly saw it! You had a wound on your body, a wound!"

"Why is it gone?!"

He had hidden for so long. Just now, he had clearly seen the instant Uchiha Makoto's Susanoo was burned open by the bubbles. Uchiha Makoto had clearly suffered a slight injury, and with his Blood Secret Technique, he could have used that wound to kill him!

"Who gave you the impression that I wasn't using genjutsu?"

Uchiha Makoto spoke the most infuriating words in the calmest tone.