Chapter 137

"Blue steam?"

The Mizukage, hidden within the cold mist, looked toward the sky.

The once seemingly doomed Might Duy was now radiating with blue steam, his chakra surging like a powerful force, melting away the frost that had once encased him.

That enormous chakra was palpable, as if it had taken a physical form.

"Such astonishing chakra," the Mizukage muttered.

Could this man truly not be a Jinchūriki?

"Boom!"

Might Duy landed on the ground with a deafening crash, sending shockwaves that scattered much of the cold mist. His body, now blood-red, radiated intense heat.

"But what good will it do?"

The Mizukage scoffed. He had come close to killing Duy before, and he could certainly do it again.

Just as the Mizukage dismissed the thought of Duy having a chance, his eyes widened in shock.

"Tatsumaki!" (Youthful Tornado!)

Might Duy stomped one foot into the ground, standing in a crane stance, and began spinning rapidly on the spot.

His speed increased with every second, and soon a whirlwind formed around him, pulling in the surrounding cold mist.

A white tornado formed as the cold mist was entirely absorbed.

The very ground beneath the tornado was peeled away.

The Mizukage's robes fluttered violently in the wind, and he felt his body being pulled toward the whirlwind.

Could this really be something a taijutsu user could do?

As the last of the cold mist was absorbed into the tornado, Might Duy stopped spinning and knelt, pressing his hands into the ground.

But the tornado did not stop. It continued swirling around him, with Duy at its center.

"To fight a Kage, I have no choice but to open the Eight Gates," Might Duy thought to himself.

Participating in a battle and winning one were two different things.

He was well aware of his current strength but uncertain if it was enough to unleash his full power.

"But Orochimaru-sama gave me a strict order—no opening the Eight Gates."

Before the battle, Orochimaru had tasked him with protecting the rear and the Konoha forces, issuing a severe warning that opening the Eight Gates would result in him being stripped of his ninja rank.

No matter how much Duy had cried and begged, Orochimaru's decision remained firm, leaving Duy in tears, clinging to his robes.

In the end, Orochimaru didn't change his mind.

Although Duy didn't know why Orochimaru had forbidden him from opening the Eight Gates, he had no choice but to suppress his youthful fervor.

"Opening just the Seventh Gate probably won't be enough to defeat the Mizukage... but I'll give it my all."

"What are you mumbling about!?"

The Mizukage, still resisting the winds, noticed Duy murmuring to himself.

But it no longer mattered.

"Die here!"

The Mizukage completed his hand seals.

This was his most powerful ninjutsu.

"Suiton!" (Water Release!)

The jutsu formed from supercooled water. He didn't believe anyone could survive it. Even a slight graze from this technique would be fatal.

A white halo of light appeared above his head.

A pillar of white energy surged toward Might Duy.

This was the power that had earned him the title of Mizukage.

The power that made even the strongest shinobi in Kirigakure tremble.

Just as the white pillar descended, Duy moved.

He leapt into the air, and the tornado followed him, carrying him upward.

The tornado redirected itself toward the Mizukage.

"Kiri Ryū!" (Mist Dragon!)

"Kyokudo Hyōketsu!" (Extreme Cold!)

A massive mist dragon roared as it tore through the white energy.

"What!? Impossible!"

The Third Mizukage's face twisted in disbelief.

The enormous mist dragon was upon him, its gaping maw ready to devour him.

At that moment, it was too late for him to form more hand seals or flee.

The Mizukage, a figurehead of power in the shinobi world, was now caught in a deadly situation!

Just as the Mizukage felt the grip of despair tighten...

A flash of crimson flickered in his pupils.

"Boom!!!"

The mist dragon slammed into the ground, creating a massive, bottomless crater.

Might Duy stumbled and collapsed to the ground, his body wracked with pain.

"This is too much for me..."

Even using the Seventh Gate, Duy had pushed his body beyond its limits.

He closed his eyes and lost consciousness.

Amidst the lingering dust and mist, the figure of the Mizukage emerged.

He coldly observed the unconscious Might Duy lying on the ground.

"An impressive shinobi indeed. Blue steam, was it?"

Within the Mizukage's eyes, three tomoe Sharingan rotated.

Suddenly, he spotted figures moving in the distance.

"Might Duy... we shall meet again."

With those words, the Mizukage's figure turned into mist and vanished.

Ran appeared beside the fallen Might Duy.

He knelt and checked Duy's breathing, then breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's still alive."

Ran turned his gaze toward the distant battlefield, where the sound of fierce combat echoed.

...

A little earlier, on the main battlefield...

The tense standoff between five shinobi had become a standoff between six.

At this point, no one dared to make the first move.

The battlefield was eerily silent.

Orochimaru licked his lips.

"Are the two Kage not worried that we might keep you here?" Orochimaru asked, his tone mocking but with a hint of seriousness.

Despite the ridiculousness of the statement, even words were a form of attack in this moment.

"Keep us here?" Ōnoki snorted. "Are you joking? How many soldiers do you even have?"

Not a single Iwagakure shinobi had been dispatched from the front lines.

Glancing at the silent Kazekage, he realized that their front lines were similarly empty.

The two Kage, along with Hanzo the Demi-God, formed a powerful force on their own.

The shinobi on the Amegakure battlefield were not enough to contain them.

"Jiraiya, aren't you worried that while you're here, Iwagakure will break through Konoha's defenses?" Ōnoki asked, eyeing Jiraiya. The man had been the one standing in their way on the battlefield.

"With or without me, you won't break through," Jiraiya replied confidently. Iwagakure's strength lay in its numbers, but without a decisive force, they wouldn't succeed.

"Stop with the chatter. Kill them, and Konoha will surely fall."

The Kazekage's cold voice cut through the conversation.

Sunagakure had suffered immensely at the hands of Sakumo, and now on this battlefield, Tsunade was giving them even more trouble.

Among the five major villages, Sunagakure had taken the heaviest losses.

Their puppet brigade had been decimated.

It would take years to rebuild, and their participation in this battle was more about exacting revenge on Konoha.

"Then why don't you go ahead and start?"

Ōnoki was not one to indulge the Kazekage's arrogance.

The Kazekage fell silent. He didn't want to make the first move, fearing that Ōnoki might stab him in the back.

Ōnoki shared the same sentiment.

Even Hanzo was cautious.

The three of them were not only wary of Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya but also of each other.

This battle was becoming impossible to fight.

"Boom!!!"

A violent explosion echoed from the distance.

A fierce gust of wind followed.

At that moment, the six shinobi sprang into action.

They split into one-on-one battles, scattering across the battlefield.

Orochimaru faced off against the Kazekage, licking his lips with anticipation.

Jiraiya grinned as he stared up at the airborne Tsuchikage.

Tsunade's expression remained stoic as she confronted Hanzo the Demi-God.

At that moment, the war erupted in full force.

(End of Chapter)

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