Chapter 394: Playing a Double Act

Chapter 394: Chapter 394: Playing a Double Act

Before the captain of the Sealing Team could even finish speaking—

BOOM!

Another deafening explosion erupted beside the ears of the Kirigakure shinobi, shaking their eardrums.

A Tailed Beast Ball shot straight toward the entrance of the valley.

It plowed a deep trench through the ground along its path, leaving utter devastation in its wake before finally slamming into the broken cliff wall on one side of the valley entrance, completely collapsing that entire side.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Countless shattered rocks were blasted into the air, whistling in every direction like a torrential downpour!

Every fragment was sharp and jagged, and the force propelling them was tremendous. They were no less dangerous than shuriken and other ninja weapons as they exploded outward in every direction, immediately putting the group of Kirigakure shinobi stationed at the valley entrance in danger.

Mei Terumi, Ao, and the other jōnin were relatively fine. With their wealth of combat experience, they instinctively evaded the vast majority of the flying debris. Although a few fragments grazed them, none of the injuries were life-threatening.

But the Sealing Team, who rarely participated in fierce frontline battles, wasn’t so fortunate.

One member of the Sealing Team was struck directly between the eyebrows by a flying stone. He dropped dead on the spot, his breathing ceasing instantly.

Ao shouted, "Fall back! It’s not safe here either!"

A trace of hesitation flashed across Mei Terumi’s face.

Although the Fourth Mizukage had ordered them to retreat far away, this battle concerned the very survival of Kirigakure. If the Fourth Mizukage were to die in battle, then Kirigakure’s prestige as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages would truly be dragged through the mud.

Seeing Mei Terumi hesitate, Ao grabbed her and said, "If the Fourth falls, you’ll be Kirigakure’s last hope!"

Mei stared toward the distant valley, where flames flashed incessantly and clouds of smoke and dust billowed into the sky, making the entire place resemble a living hell.

Gradually, the hesitation on her face disappeared, replaced by resolve and determination.

Taking a deep breath, she said to Ao, "You all retreat. I’m staying here!"

Ao replied solemnly, "In a battle like this, there’s nothing we can do anymore. Staying here is meaningless. If the Fourth loses to Kamigami’s ’Homura,’ you won’t even have a final chance to escape."

Mei slowly said, "If the Fourth loses today, Kirigakure is finished. There’s no one left in the village capable of standing against Kamigami and Akatsuki!"

Ao let out a long sigh. "Fine. Then I’ll stay with you."

The Kirigakure ANBU also began declaring their willingness to stay.

They had barely consumed any chakra so far. Aside from the few who had been injured, the rest had suffered almost no loss in combat strength. Earlier, it was simply that the overwhelming might of the Complete Body Susanoo had been so terrifying that it had shattered their will to fight in an instant.

But now, the Mizukage himself was risking his life in battle inside the valley, and the situation appeared to be locked in a stalemate. He did not seem to be at any obvious disadvantage.

As a result, their fighting spirit gradually began to rise once more.

Seeing this, Mei nodded with satisfaction and ordered, "The wounded and the Sealing Team will withdraw. Everyone else, be ready to enter the valley with me at any moment and reinforce Lord Mizukage!"

......

Inside the valley.

Hyuga Kagami and Yagura Karatachi were practically standing back-to-back, continuously unleashing chakra in every direction.

When it came purely to destroying the terrain and recklessly pouring out chakra, a jinchūriki feared no one!

And both men inside the valley were jinchūriki!

Having entered his Tailed Beast Transformation, Yagura fired Tailed Beast Balls as though they cost him nothing, blasting them one after another toward every corner of the valley and reducing the rocky cliffs on both sides to a shattered mess.

Hyuga Kagami, meanwhile, did something equally rare—he released the seal on the gourd artifact at his waist and unleashed the Dragon Vein.

The Dragon Vein could actually fire an attack similar to a Tailed Beast Ball. However, it was not a true Tailed Beast Ball, but rather a Dragon Vein Chakra Sphere compressed to the absolute limit.

In theory, the destructive power of a Dragon Vein Chakra Sphere should have been far inferior to that of a Tailed Beast Ball. However, because the Dragon Vein’s chakra contained an extremely high proportion of natural energy, if the two attacks were actually fired directly against each other, the Dragon Vein Chakra Sphere probably wouldn’t lose by much.

While firing another Tailed Beast Ball, Yagura asked Hyuga Kagami beside him, "Ao won’t notice anything suspicious, will he? He does have a Byakugan!"

Hyuga Kagami smiled faintly. "Don’t worry."

As a member of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Kagami understood the characteristics of the Byakugan extremely well.

If a chakra source contained an overwhelmingly vast amount of chakra and was actively erupting, then in the Byakugan’s field of vision, that chakra source would resemble a raging inferno. The chakra flowing through the source’s chakra pathway system would become like individual tongues of flame merging into that blazing fire, making it impossible to distinguish the finer details.

Therefore, with the Three-Tails’ chakra and the Dragon Vein’s chakra erupting so violently, Hyuga Kagami and Yagura’s own chakra signatures would simply blend into them.

With his vision obstructed and the distance so great, even though Ao outside the valley possessed a Byakugan, it would still be extremely difficult for him to use its penetrating vision to clearly see what was actually happening inside the valley.

As for the Byakugan in Ao’s possession, Hyuga Kagami had indeed considered reclaiming it before infiltrating Kirigakure.

But now that he had gained control over the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, through Kotoamatsukami, it had actually become inconvenient for him to reclaim that Byakugan.

If he attacked Ao and took the Byakugan back, Kirigakure would inevitably analyze his motive for doing so. From there, they might begin wondering whether the Fourth Mizukage had once again fallen under someone’s genjutsu, which could ultimately lead their suspicions straight to Yagura.

After unleashing their chakra for a while longer, Hyuga Kagami said, "That should be enough."

Yagura also took a breath. "Yeah."

By now, the entire valley had been completely reduced to ruins.

They had taken this little double act far enough.

Besides, Hyuga Kagami couldn’t keep the Dragon Vein released for too long, as doing so would increase the risk of it going berserk. After all, the Dragon Vein’s outer shell was made of Purple Clay Gel and could only withstand so much. If the Dragon Vein’s chakra remained in such a violent state of eruption for too long, the Purple Clay Gel shell might collapse under the immense strain.

Hyuga Kagami continued, "This is as much as the organization can do for you. From here on out, it’s up to you!"

Yagura nodded lightly. "After this battle, those elders in the village should finally settle down for a while."

Hyuga Kagami added another reminder, "Capture the Six-Tails’ jinchūriki as soon as possible. He’s out there alone as a missing-nin, which makes him a likely target for Akatsuki. And if you personally bring him back, it’ll also help you secure your position as Mizukage!"

At the mention of ’Akatsuki,’ Yagura’s expression immediately darkened.

"I’ll capture him as soon as possible. But what should I do with him afterward?"

Hyuga Kagami pondered for a moment, recalling the previous battle between Utakata and the Fourth Kazekage.

According to the Intelligence Division’s post-battle analysis, the Fourth Kazekage losing an arm had little to do with Fuguki Suikazan. It had been entirely because Utakata suddenly entered his Tailed Beast Transformation and used the Six-Tails’ unique secret technique, Leech Gap, covering himself in corrosive chakra to break through the Fourth Kazekage’s Gold Dust defense and tear off one of his arms in an instant.

Although there had been an element of surprise involved in that attack, if Utakata had gone for the Fourth Kazekage’s head instead of his arm, the Fourth Kazekage would most likely have died on the spot.

So although Utakata was not a perfect jinchūriki, his combat strength was still extraordinarily high.

If he were fighting with his life on the line, even a Kage-level powerhouse could be instantly killed by him with a single moment of carelessness!

After thinking it over for a moment, Hyuga Kagami said,

"Keep him alive. He might come in handy someday!"