The Third Hokage then understood why he had been so easily overwhelmed by Mizuki; it was because a mark had already been engraved on his body.
Swish~
Swish~
Mizuki's body moved across the battlefield, reaping the lives of Anbu Ninja.
In just a few minutes of fighting, dozens of Anbu Ninja, nearly half of the total, were killed.
"It's done!"
On the battlefield, black patterns had covered most of the area, restricting Mizuki's movement range.
The Third Hokage wasn't concerned with these people's lives, but rather with whether or not he could seal Mizuki.
He must have a big secret.
Black chains appeared on Mizuki's body, suppressing the power within him.
"Old man, hiding behind the scenes, this is all the tricks you have left!" Mizuki's eyes turned red as he looked at the Third Hokage in the distance.
"Mizuki, whatever your secret is, you're mine now." The Third Hokage's eyes were filled with greed.
It must be incredible that a Chunin could grow to such great power.
"Do you dare to take it? How could your master allow it!" Mizuki laughed wildly, the Third Hokage's thoughts already written on his face.
"What?" The Third Hokage suddenly fell silent.
He was pondering the meaning of "master" in the Mizuki dialect.
For a moment, a terrifying thought crossed the Third Hokage's mind.
"Was I also being controlled?" The Third Hokage recalled his actions but found nothing amiss. "Mizuki, you've held out long enough. You can go in peace!"
He took it as Mizuki's words as a way to buy time.
"Five Elements Seal!"
The Third Hokage Hand Seals and slammed them onto the ground, sealing Mizuki and delivering the final blow.
The black lines have almost completely enveloped Mizuki.
"You all deserve to die!" A powerful energy erupted from Mizuki's body, and a red light flashed in his eyes.
The entire battlefield came to a standstill.
On the other side of Konoha, Uchiha Feng sensed a familiar power.
"Mizuki, now that you've used your time manipulation abilities, then go ahead and cause a ruckus!"
Mizuki is currently using the time-manipulation ability that Uchiha Feng has transferred into his blood. When activated, it evaporates the energy and blood in his body. Once he runs out of Uchiha Feng's blood, he can no longer use it.
This is a profound application of energy by the Namekian Piccolo. It's an application of time and space that Piccolo developed after becoming Kami.
Click-clack~
The chains that had bound Mizuki were shattered by the powerful force that erupted from his body.
"What powerful strength, but it's not my strength." Mizuki felt the power draining from his body, the very source of his power.
A brief period of despair, followed by madness.
"You all deserve to die!" Mizuki transformed into a killing machine, wiping out the Anbu Ninja surrounding him who were using Sealing Jutsu within seconds.
Wrinkles began to appear on his body, and the strength within him was no longer sufficient to support his continued use of his abilities.
Swish~
They wanted to defeat the Third Hokage, but at the crucial moment, the Third Hokage retreated.
Whew~~
The Third Hokage and Mizuki were both panting heavily as they looked at each other.
The Third Hokage, now recovered, stared in disbelief at everything around him.
Nearly a hundred Anbu Ninja were killed in such a short time, and he was the only one who escaped.
"You..." The Third Hokage, who had thought victory was assured, now began to doubt himself.
Mizuki calmed his breathing, feeling a warm energy within his body repairing him, and his expression was somewhat strange.
After a moment of thought, he realized that this aura was the result of him absorbing Naruto Uzumaki's blood and the Nine-Tails Chakra' chakra, which had now become his power.
He secretly calculated that even if he lost that power, he could accept it.
"Old man, it's time to end this!" Mizuki stared intently at the Third Hokage like he was eyeing prey, then moved swiftly to launch an attack.
"Summoning Technique ~"
A cloud of smoke and a staff appeared in front of the Third Hokage, blocking Mizuki's attack.
However, the stick was also knocked away.
The Third Hokage's body flew backward.
Mizuki pursued, his hands transforming into claws that gleamed with a cold light.
Swish~
The Third Hokage had a huge gash torn in his chest and fell to the ground, unable to resist.
"Am I going to die?" The Third Hokage's face turned ashen, a sense of resentment rising within him.
How ridiculous that he himself was killed by the tool in his hand!
"Old man, prepare to die!" Mizuki laughed wildly, trying to crush the Third Hokage's head.
Swish~
The claws slashed through the air.
Clang!
His claws were stopped by a black stick.
"Who?" Mizuki looked in the direction of the stick, wanting to know who was stopping him.
"Naruto Uzumaki?" Mizuki's eyes widened. The person in front of him was Naruto Uzumaki, whom he had drained dry!
Unlike his previous attire, Naruto Uzumaki was now emanating a black aura, somewhat similar to the aura of the Sealing Jutsu that had bound him earlier.
The person floated on their body, their clothes transformed into an energy form, and their eyes emitted a golden light.
"I can't let you kill him now!" Naruto Uzumaki's voice changed, gaining a deep, resonant quality.
"You're the one hiding behind them, aren't you!" Mizuki's eyes gleamed, his sense of worth growing even stronger.
Now that the person behind the other side has been forced to reveal themselves, what about the person behind us?
"Am I really being controlled?" The Third Hokage was no longer concerned about his own safety. As a person in a superior position, his biggest concern now was whether he, too, had become someone else's puppet.
"Your appearance has disrupted the order of this world!" Naruto Uzumaki's voice turned cold and authoritative. "Let's restore everything to normal!"
A black energy enveloped the Third Hokage and Iruka in his hand.
Their injuries began to heal, and the Third Hokage's torn arm also regrew under this energy.
"This~" Mizuki stared at the unbelievable scene before him; this power had surpassed his comprehension.
"And you! Be a reliable source of resources for his growth." After doing all this, Naruto Uzumaki turned to look at Mizuki.
A black beam of light shot from his hand onto Mizuki.
Ah~
Mizuki let out a scream as the energy he had absorbed from Naruto Uzumaki was being stripped away.
"Bang!"
A burst of green energy erupted from Mizuki's body, deflecting Naruto Uzumaki's attack.
"Hahaha~" Mizuki was overjoyed; the person behind him had indeed appeared.
Ta-da~
Behind him emerged a figure, a green-clad figure—the aged King Piccolo [First Generation]. This time, he descended in his full glory, unlike the rootless drifter he had been when he first exploded his cards.
"You've done a great job. I hereby appoint you as my first general!" The aged King Piccolo [First Generation] looked at Mizuki with admiration. It had been many years since he had seen such a clear-headed and greedy human.
The two tentacles on its head, which had been drooping, emitted a green light that shone on Mizuki.
Mizuki, whose many mutated features had disappeared after using his ability, has now completely transformed into a green monster under the green light.
Behind him, a pair of green Western dragon wings also grew.
"Thank you for your reward, sir." Mizuki regained control of his body and transformed back into human form, his muscles becoming more defined and angular.
He knelt down, expressing his loyalty to King Piccolo Daimaō.