Chapter 154: Went Too Far

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Went Too Far

Pulling back his wandering thoughts, Hyuga Kagami’s gaze sharpened as his hands slowly formed a series of hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Bullet Technique!"

Splash—!

As Kagami activated the jutsu, a massive amount of lake water gathered in midair, forming several water bullets nearly two meters in diameter before shooting into the distance with a roaring whistle.

Haku, standing off to the side, was instantly dumbfounded.

His own Water Bullet Technique could only condense a few water bullets about the size of washbasins. Yet when Kagami casually performed the same technique, he could create enormous water bullets more than two meters across.

And he wasn’t finished.

Kagami immediately began forming another set of hand seals.

"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"

"Water Style: Water Barrage Technique!"

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Water Style: Water Wall Technique!"

Without even pausing to catch his breath, Hyuga Kagami followed the exact order in which Haku had performed the Water Style techniques earlier and cast all five techniques one after another.

Only after the effects of the Water Style techniques gradually subsided did Haku stare at the still-churning lake and the dense moisture hanging in the air, so thick it was nearly turning into mist. His mouth remained hanging open for a long while.

Kagami, meanwhile, merely shook his head after finishing the techniques and muttered to himself,

"The chakra circulation in this body is still a little sluggish, and my hand seals aren’t smooth enough either."

Coming back to his senses, Haku looked at Kagami with outright admiration.

"Lord Kagami, I never knew your Water Release was this powerful!"

Kagami chuckled lightly.

"Powerful? Weren’t you the one who just taught me?"

"I taught you!?"

Haku froze for a moment before staring at him in disbelief.

"Was that... your first time using these Water Style techniques?"

Kagami nodded.

"Mm. This really was my first time using Water Release ninjutsu."

Hearing that, Haku was completely dumbfounded.

Although Haku was still young, as the possessor of the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, he had an exceptionally keen perception of water-natured chakra.

He could clearly sense that Kagami possessed an enormous amount of water-natured chakra—so vast that it was almost frightening.

Logically speaking, a ninja who possessed such an immense amount of water-natured chakra, even if Water Release wasn’t his strongest specialty, should at the very least be extremely familiar with Water Release ninjutsu.

Kagami understood Haku’s confusion, but he didn’t bother explaining.

Instead, he simply instructed,

"Follow me."

With that, Hyuga Kagami stepped onto the surface of the water and began walking toward the center of the lake.

Haku took a deep breath, then carefully stepped onto the water and followed behind him.

Water walking wasn’t particularly difficult for Haku, who possessed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. It was just that he was still young and naturally rather meek, so no matter what he did, he always seemed to lack a little confidence.

......

Upstream of the Naka River.

Itachi was hiking alone along the riverbank with a backpack slung over his shoulders.

As he grew older, he had come to understand more and more about the conflict between the clan and the village.

Especially after Uchiha Shinichi’s defection, it seemed there was no longer any room left for reconciliation between the Uchiha Clan and the village.

The only person still tirelessly running between the two sides, trying to hold everything together, was Uchiha Shisui.

Perhaps because both sides were wary of Shisui, a wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan, both the Uchiha Clan and the village had somewhat restrained their hostility.

But everyone understood one thing clearly—

Shisui couldn’t hold together this ever-widening rift forever!

As Itachi hiked, he thought.

He was thinking about the future of the Uchiha Clan.

Because through his Sharingan, it seemed to him that between the Uchiha and the village...

one side was inevitably destined for destruction.

BOOM—!

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion echoed from the distance.

Itachi turned toward the sound and saw a hazy mist rising along the distant horizon. Under the sunlight, the mist reflected a brilliant, multicolored rainbow.

"So beautiful..."

Itachi stared blankly at the rainbow in the sky. For once, a faint smile appeared on his usually gloomy face.

"Is someone fighting by the lake?"

But he quickly realized that someone in the distance must be using ninjutsu.

Curious, he quickened his pace, intending to get closer and take a look.

However, before he had even gone more than a few steps—

BOOM—!

Another tremendous explosion rang out from the distance.

Immediately afterward, flocks of birds burst out of the forest in alarm!

Itachi instantly realized something was wrong and hurriedly leaped onto the top of a large tree.

RUMBLE—!

Not long after, a massive wave came surging through the forest, practically flooding the entire area in its path.

Itachi stared at the scene in shock.

"This...!?"

Itachi found it difficult to imagine anyone possessing such an enormous amount of chakra—enough to unleash Water Release ninjutsu of such terrifying magnitude.

Based on everything he knew at the moment, there seemed to be only one person capable of something like this—

the late Second Hokage.

......

At the center of the lake.

Hyuga Kagami let out a soft breath and thought,

"As expected, after incorporating Haku’s cellular tissue, this clone’s affinity for water-natured chakra is absolutely terrifying!"

Unlike Kagami, who stood calmly atop the violently surging waves, lost in thought, Haku beside him was having an absolutely miserable time.

At this moment, nothing but sheer terror remained on Haku’s face.

He could barely keep himself standing atop the violently rising and falling waves, and his mind had practically gone completely blank.

Never in his wildest imagination had he expected that Hyuga Kagami, once he went all out, could be this terrifying.

Pitter-patter...

Just then, a torrential downpour began falling from the sky.

Haku raised his head and looked upward.

The sun that had originally hung high in the sky had been reduced to nothing more than a blurry halo. Layer upon layer of water vapor filled the air, causing the entire sky to turn dark and gloomy.

Kagami glanced around at the scene and thought awkwardly,

"Uh... looks like I went a little too far."

This Water Release clone of his possessed an unparalleled affinity for water-natured chakra.

On top of that, he had the Dragon Vein supplying him with chakra, and he was standing right in the middle of a lake, surrounded by an enormous amount of readily available water.

With all those advantages stacked together, the sheer power of the Water Release ninjutsu he unleashed at full strength had reached a level that even Kagami himself hadn’t expected.

Noticing that the water level of the entire lake had dropped considerably, Kagami realized that he really had gone overboard this time.

A disturbance this massive might even have alerted the village.

Without any further hesitation, he immediately scooped up the still-dazed Haku in his arms. With a flicker of his figure, he disappeared from the lake.

Not long afterward, Itachi arrived at the lakeside.

The moment he saw that the lake’s water level had fallen significantly, that the entire shoreline was soaking wet, and that rain was somehow drizzling from a sky where the sun was still shining brightly, his expression immediately turned grave.

Just then, four more figures landed beside the lake.

They were ANBU who had rushed over after receiving word of the disturbance.

After sizing Itachi up, the ANBU squad captain asked,

"You’re from the Uchiha Clan?"

Itachi replied politely,

"I’m Uchiha Itachi."

Before the ANBU captain could question him any further, Itachi recounted everything he knew.

After listening to Itachi’s account, the ANBU captain’s expression grew somewhat tense.

Judging from the state of the area, it seemed that an intense battle had just taken place here.

And both sides involved were most likely extraordinarily powerful ninja.

At the very least, ordinary jonin could never have caused destruction on this scale.

Konoha was already going through a turbulent period as it was. For something like this to suddenly happen now only made the situation even more unsettling.

Letting out a soft sigh, the ANBU squad captain said to Itachi,

"They may not have gone far yet. It’s dangerous here. Hurry back to the village."