Chapter 75: Intense Stand-off, The Giant Emerges!

Chapter 75: Intense Stand-off, The Giant Emerges!

As Uchiha Ci's voice fell, the battlefield suddenly cleared. All five Mist Ninjas who had been pursuing them were downed, leaving Hozuki Mangetsu as the only one continuing the pursuit of Yagura and blocking Mei Terumi's escape.

The downpour ceased abruptly. The ominous clouds over the castle dispersed, and the turbulent waves calmed for the moment. A single ray of sunlight broke through the dome, refracting off the vibrant stained glass above and illuminating the entire hall.

Uchiha Madara, who had been silently observing the battle, shook his head.

"Jumping around... at best, it's a barely passable performance."

His scarlet eyes fixated on Uchiha Ci with intrigue.

"But now, with that brat from the Hozuki clan in front of you, what are you going to do?"

Behind Uchiha Madara, the Third Mizukage, still under a genjutsu, spoke in a detached tone:

"With only a mere two-tomoe Sharingan, I doubt he could even force Mangetsu to draw his blade. He's bound to fail."

"Hozuki Mangetsu is my chosen successor as the next Mizukage; he's far beyond what some mere upstart can handle."

With these words, down in the hall:

[The Third Mizukage looks at you with disdain.]

The sudden on-screen text stunned Uchiha Ci. He glanced around quickly, relieved to find no one present, and after a moment of speechlessness, assumed it was a bug in the text display.

Otherwise, that would've been beyond absurd.

In just two days, he'd already run into four or five Kage-level powerhouses.

If yet another appeared now, especially at such a critical moment where he needed to save Mei Terumi and get the storyline back on track to continue the battle, it would be far too much to handle.

He turned, taking a deep breath to clear his mind and focused intently on Hozuki Mangetsu in front of him.

While he may mock his opponent on a strategic level, he was fully aware of the importance of treating him with tactical seriousness.

Hozuki Mangetsu glanced at his broken blade, his gaze narrowing slightly.

The strength of this hardening jutsu was unheard of—surpassing any Earth Release Hardening Technique he'd encountered by leagues.

Even when he used the powerful force behind Water Release: Water Arm Technique, this kid remained completely unscathed, while his own blade shattered instead.

Understanding this, he leapt backward, raising his hands in a pistol-like gesture, and aimed at the vital points of the young Uchiha.

Executing Water Release: Water Gun Technique—a secret jutsu passed down through generations of the Hozuki clan—he mimicked a gun gesture, launching bullet-like water projectiles from his fingertips, with no hand seals needed, firing instantly, and with incredible piercing power. This technique had once almost killed the Third Tsuchikage Onoki in the hands of the Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four water bullets shot out in rapid succession.

Uchiha Ci's Sharingan darted left and right, trying to track the trajectory of the projectiles. But the Water Gun's speed was too swift. At close range, his eyes simply couldn't keep up.

He could only react instinctively, using Earth Release: Earth Spear, hardening the areas he sensed were in danger.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound echoed as if bullets were hitting an impenetrable wall.

As the hardening ended, Uchiha Ci quickly formed hand seals, drawing out a fiercely spinning Water Fang Blade with a reverse grip, slashing it at the nearby Hozuki Mangetsu, interrupting his attempt to fire again.

At the same time, he widened his eyes and roared,

"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"

Hearing this, Mangetsu's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly averted his gaze, performing a backflip while liquefying parts of his body where he was about to be slashed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Uchiha Ci whipped out four shuriken, throwing them forward. He then spun his sword backward, swinging and hurling it as well.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The blades cut through the air, hurtling towards Mangetsu.

Uchiha Ci followed up with a swift kick, using Water Severing Wave around his foot to create a water blade aimed at Mangetsu's throat.

A rapid series of attacks forced Mangetsu to retreat hastily. Although he managed to liquefy and avoid most of the damage, several of the shuriken still grazed his arm, leaving shallow cuts.

In this brief exchange, Uchiha Ci managed to gain a slight upper hand.

However, his face showed no hint of satisfaction; instead, he appeared even more tense.

The damage he dealt to Hozuki Mangetsu was only due to his extraordinary reflexes, compensating for his own shortcomings. On the other hand, after the forced retreat, Mangetsu's face broke into a cold smile.

Through this skirmish, he had completely read this young Uchiha. His opponent had inhuman reflexes, impressive shurikenjutsu, decent taijutsu skills, and an absurdly durable Earth Release jutsu.

He favored misdirection tactics and was quite an annoyance.

But, all of these strengths couldn't hide his lack of a decisive finishing move!

Moreover, Mangetsu had spotted a critical flaw—this kid's supposedly formidable hardening jutsu was not invincible and left him vulnerable to stiffness afterward.

When he used that jutsu, his remarkable reflexes were hindered instead.

With this in mind, Mangetsu's posture lowered slightly, his eyes growing cold as he slowly pulled out a scroll from his back.

Seeing this, Uchiha Ci tensed, his hand reaching down toward his leg, where he kept a scroll containing the Zero-Tail's Dark Chakra—a scroll that would allow him to activate Dark Chakra Mode and unleash a super-powered Earth Spear punch.

However, just then, Mei Terumi suddenly stepped in front of Uchiha Ci, blocking his movement to retrieve the scroll and pressing her hand down on his wrist.

Turning slightly, she met Uchiha Ci's gaze with her clear green eyes, speaking gravely,

"Now isn't the time!"

"You were right in your assessment. Let me handle this."

Her voice firm, she asked,

"Uchiha Ci, do you trust me?"

Uchiha Ci hesitated, furrowing his brow. After a moment's silence, he nodded.

Without another word, Mei Terumi turned to face Hozuki Mangetsu, her expression serious, and declared loudly,

"That's enough, Hozuki Mangetsu!"

"There's no point in continuing this battle."

Hearing this, Mangetsu raised an eyebrow, looking at her with cold eyes.

"Point? And what defines 'point' to you?"

"My purpose here is to kill you—and Yagura, whom you serve!"

His face remained expressionless as he swung open the Seven Ninja Swords Summoning Scroll.

Symbols of [Dual], [Long], [Thunder], [Break], [Explosive], [Blunt], and [Large] appeared as seven circular seals.

Holding the scroll, Mangetsu's feet were encircled by surging waves, lifting him higher.

Standing atop a water platform, he looked down on the two of them and asked coldly,

"So, do you think just because you eliminated five burdens, you've won?"

As he spoke, the water below began to churn, forming an ever-rising platform that gradually drained all the water from the floor.

Then—

Boom!

The water platform suddenly collapsed, and a towering, monstrous figure over ten meters tall emerged from it, its sharp fangs and terrifying appearance making every step reverberate through the hall, sending dust falling from the dome above.

Water Release: Shield of Eboshi!

This water creature, born from Hozuki clan's secret techniques, loomed before the two.

High atop its head, Mangetsu held his scroll, a single violet eye coldly watching them from above, and spoke indifferently,

"The game has only just begun."