While Lin Ze was operating on three fronts.
Outside Kirigakure, beside the vast lake that had once witnessed the Third Mizukage's fall.
"Cough, cough..."
Genji knelt on one knee, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
A burn wound on his chest ran deep enough to expose bone. Strange bubbles foamed along its edges, sizzling as they steadily corroded the surrounding flesh.
Lava Release!
Beside him, two elite guards who had followed him for years lay in pools of blood. One had a hole through his chest from a scalding jet of water; half the other's body had been eaten away by Lava Release. Both had died horrific deaths.
"Utakata... you... why on earth..."
Genji raised his head, his aged eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.
Just fifteen minutes earlier, he had received a secret letter from Utakata, saying that suspicious traces had been discovered near the lake where the Third Mizukage had fallen, suggesting that outsiders might have infiltrated the area.
Concerned for the village's safety, Genji had hurried over with only two guards.
Who could have known that Utakata's sudden attack would be waiting for him!
Those merciless killing moves had clearly been intended to take his life!
Utakata did not answer. He held a long blue staff formed from chakra. The Six-Tails' chakra coiling around it dripped onto the ground, eating small pits into the soil.
His expression was cold, and a hint of scarlet slowly surfaced in the depths of his eyes.
Genji's pupils abruptly contracted!
Sharingan!
And... the Mangekyō Sharingan?!
"Genjutsu control... so that's it... so that's it!"
Genji understood everything in an instant.
Over the past year, Utakata's temperament had changed drastically. He had gone from indifference toward government affairs to actively participating in Kirigakure's reconstruction, even offering many constructive suggestions.
In secret,