Malphegor
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Ch. 170: The Shark: Mizukage
🕑 Added 2024-12-04 22:23:05 +0000 UTC"Mizukage-sama, the port of the Land of Water is under attack by unidentified creatures. The daimyō has ordered us to act immediately and minimize the damage."
"Understood. Organize a ninja squad and deploy immediately."
Within Kiri, a group of ten-plus ninjas led by the Fourth Mizukage set out swiftly, leaping over the walls of the village.
At this hour, most of the village was still deep in slumber. However, a few watchful eyes observed their departure.
"The Mizukage has left the village."
By the window, Ao, one of the elite jonin of the Kiri, had the veins around his right eye bulging as he removed his usual black eyepatch. Underneath lay a single, pure-white eye.
If the Hyūga clan were to see this eye, they would undoubtedly stop at nothing to reclaim it.
It was none other than the Byakugan.
This was a trophy Ao had obtained in his early years during a battle with a Hyūga clan member. Though he had only acquired one Byakugan, its scouting capabilities made him one of the top reconnaissance ninjas in Kiri, enabling him to monitor the movements of Yagura even on this foggy night.
Of course, he alone would not dare act so audaciously.
Behind him stood Mei, along with another high-ranking authority figure—the village elder, Genji.
"Why would the Mizukage leave the village at this hour?"
Mei pondered over the Mizukage's abrupt midnight departure.
"Could it be some urgent mission?"
As Yagura moved out of the Byakugan's detection range, Ao retracted his vision and began discussing with Mei.
"But no matter how urgent the mission, he should have informed Genji-sama first."
"Genji-sama, what do you think?"
When Mei turned to look at Genji, she found that the elder, seated in his chair, had fallen asleep at some point.
"Uh..."
"Well, he is getting on in years and can't stay up this late."
Ao looked awkward. Initially, he and Mei had intended to highlight the Mizukage's unusual behavior to Genji, but it turned out that the elder had dozed off.
"I'll escort him back to rest first."
"Ao, keep monitoring to see when the Mizukage returns. Then, immediately find out why he left the village."
"Understood." Ao, the ever-reliable scout, nodded in agreement.
"The Mizukage's actions have been increasingly strange lately—working exclusively during the dead of night when Genji-sama is asleep, and frequently sending ninjas to spy on neighboring countries with whom the Land of Water has formed friendly alliances."
"Now that Genji-sama has grown old and can no longer match the Mizukage in any aspect, he can only yield to him. If that person were still here, they might be able to counterbalance the Mizukage's authority."
"That person, huh..." Ao, of course, knew exactly who Mei was referring to.
The only person in Kiri who once rivaled Yagura in power and influence was the man who had almost claimed the title of Mizukage himself.
This individual surpassed both Mei and Ao in both skill and seniority, and he had even refused an invitation to join the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
If he were still in the village, he could undoubtedly bolster Genji's faction's voice.
But unfortunately, he had already defected.
---
"Hey!"
"Yagura!"
"Yagura!"
In an endless void of darkness, a three-tailed turtle covered in spikes shouted the Mizukage's name repeatedly, but there was no response.
Ever since Yagura encountered that masked man, the mindscape had been shrouded in a layer of darkness. From that day on, Isobu, had been unable to communicate with its jinchuriki, Yagura.
Or rather, it wasn't that it hadn't tried—it simply couldn't.
Isobu felt as though its voice was being blocked by a powerful force. This force was so overwhelming that even as a tailed beast, it couldn't break through it.
However, apart from this, the other functions of being a tailed beast to its jinchūriki remained unaffected.
Isobu could observe everything happening to Yagura, including the monthly visits from the masked man, who seemed to strengthen the force blocking its voice every time.
It could also sense that during Yagura's partial tailed-beast transformations, its chakra was gradually being depleted.
At that moment, Isobu was watching the events unfolding around Yagura.
Leading several ninja squads, Yagura had left Kiri and was heading toward the attacked port. However, as they approached the port, they were stopped by a stranger.
This individual was peculiar. Even though it was clear that Yagura and his group were Kiri ninjas, the stranger intentionally stepped out of the shadows and brandished the Executioner's Blade on their back, as if to say, "Look, I have the blade. Come and get me!"
According to the rules of Kiri, encountering one of the Seven Ninja Swords in the wild during a mission was not something to overlook.
To be cautious, Yagura ordered the ninja squads to pursue the individual wielding the Executioner's Blade while he proceeded alone to support the port.
Although he was alone, he was a perfect jinchūriki. His individual combat strength was more than sufficient.
But after advancing a short distance, he encountered yet another figure blocking his path.
"Yagura, do you still recognize me?"
From the shadows of the forest, a tall, imposing figure stepped forward. His heavy voice carried a sense of familiarity for Yagura, though he couldn't immediately place it.
"You are..."
"Hmph, you really do have a poor memory."
"Then perhaps this technique will refresh it."
The figure quickly raised a hand and performed a jutsu without forming hand seals.
"Water Style: Whale-Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
A torrent of water burst forth like a waterfall, splitting into two streams mid-air. One stream transformed into a massive shark-shaped water bullet, while the other morphed into an even larger whale-shaped water bullet.
"This is—!"
Yagura's eyes widened in shock. He recognized this technique immediately.
It was a combination jutsu from the Hoshigaki clan. Known for its S-rank difficulty and immense chakra requirements, it was an exceedingly rare technique that few had ever mastered.
During the final round of his fight for the Mizukage position years ago, a Hoshigaki clansman had used this very jutsu against him.
Even now, Yagura vividly remembered this technique.
Realizing he couldn't confront it in his regular state, he immediately leaped back, dodging the attack while transforming mid-air into his partial tailed-beast form.
A fiery red chakra cloaked his body, and three tails emerged in quick succession, reflecting his serious attitude toward this jutsu.
The shark and whale bullets collided with his tailed-beast cloak.
Ice-blue and fiery-red energies clashed violently, and the three fiery-red tails danced amidst the chaos of opposing forces.
When the atack dissipated, one-third of his tailed-beast cloak was destroyed, revealing parts of his blackened form beneath.
The sheer destructive power of this jutsu brought back the memory of the only person capable of using it.
"Kojiro!"
Yagura finally recognized the person before him.
Back then, he had triumphed over Kojiro's Whale-Shark Bomb by mastering partial-tailed beast transformation after subduing Isobu. But now, years later, even the same partial transformation couldn't fully withstand the attack.
One-third of his tailed beast cloak was shattered by the waves from the attack. Moreover, the resulting shockwave destroyed a massive swath of forest behind him, leaving a colossal, hundred-meter-long conical crater in its wake.
Have I grown weaker, or has he grown stronger?
Fortunately, the tailed beast cloak not only had formidable defensive capabilities but also had the ability to regenerate. Since it was formed from the chakra of the tailed beast, as long as Isobu continued to provide chakra, the cloak would reform itself.
Scarlet chakra bubbled out from his blackened form, surging and reshaping into a new cloak.
Watching this unfold, Kojiro remained unperturbed, calmly remarking, "The power of a tailed beast is convenient."
Half-transformed, Yagura swung his massive three tails, letting out an animalistic growl. "You're coming back to the village with me!"
"I doubt you have the ability."
With those words, Kojiro flung off his black cloak, revealing a body that began to transform.
The once-muscular man underwent grotesque changes as his flesh swelled and shifted, transforming him into a monstrous, hulking blue figure. His head turned into that of a whale, his arms morphed into fins lined with razor-sharp scales, and his back bristled with spines like a jagged mountain range.
It was almost impossible to imagine how a human could become such a creature, stripped entirely of human traits.
Although it seemed as though Yagura was the only one witnessing Kojiro's terrifying transformation, within him, the ancient Isobu could also see it.
Typically, changes in human physiology occurred due to three factors: chakra expansion, such as in tailed beast transformations; an excess of natural energy, which caused side effects like Sage Mode mutations; or genetic modification through biotechnology.
However, Isobu sensed that Kojiro's transformation didn't belong to any of these categories.
Instead, his body harbored a deeper, more ancient force—one that surpassed the natural energy and chakra the Three-Tails had once sensed in the Sage of Six Paths.
The turtle desperately wanted to warn Yagura about this strange power, but the black barrier imposed by the masked man prevented its voice from reaching him.
The two monstrous figures faced each other—one a crimson, turtle-like humanoid, the other a deep-blue, green whale-like beast.
The two giants charged at each other, colliding in a thunderous battle midway.
To counter the disadvantage in size, Yagura forced his partially tailed-beast-transformed body to stand upright. His front legs morphed into arms, allowing him to grapple with the taller Kojiro on equal footing.
The two were locked in a fierce struggle, resembling sumo wrestlers whose palms pressed together as they pushed with unrelenting force. Although neither moved significantly, the immense power in their arms rippled visibly.
Even though Yagura's fiery red turtle-like body didn't display visible muscles, his continuous roars testified to his exertion. Meanwhile, Kojiro's whale-like fins expanded slightly, signaling a growing surge of strength.
Initially, Yagura believed his strength could hold its ground. But as the battle continued, he began to feel overwhelmed.
Before his eyes, Kojiro's massive whale fins began to force their way through the fiery tailed beast cloak, inching toward his blackened core.
Kojiro's raw physical strength had penetrated the tailed beast cloak. The ground beneath Yagura cracked as his thick turtle limbs were pressed deeper into the earth.
Standing at six meters tall, he towered over Yagura's two-meter frame, his massive hands bearing down from above like a hammer driving a nail into wood.
Within moments, his legs were pushed into the earth up to his knees.
Realizing the futility of competing in raw strength, he decided to retreat and shift tactics. He had two trump cards left in his tailed-beast arsenal.
The first was the Coral Palm. This technique would cause coral to sprout on anything struck by his tailed beast-enhanced hands, a highly effective counter against physically dominant opponents like Kojiro.
However, Kojiro appeared to have anticipated this. From the very beginning, he had engaged Yagura in a grappling contest, holding Yagura's hands in a tight grip. Without the freedom to pull away, Yagura couldn't prepare the chakra needed to activate the Coral Palm.
The second trump card was the Tailed Beast Bomb. With Kojiro locked in a close-range contest, he'd have no way to avoid such an attack.
This was Yagura's perfect opportunity.
He began forming the Tailed Beast Bomb. The condensed sphere of energy rapidly took shape, aimed at Kojiro's head.
Seizing the opportunity, he tightened his grip on Kojiro's hands, using his three tails to coil around Kojiro's massive body, anchoring him in place and ensuring he couldn't escape.
But Kojiro showed no intention of dodging. Instead, he opened his massive whale-like maw and lunged downward, biting down on both Yagura's turtle-like head and the forming Tailed Beast Bomb.
Unbeknownst to Yagura, Kojiro wielded a force beyond chakra—magic.
This power, rooted in the mythos of Cthulhu, was a pervasive and ancient energy. Kojiro, alongside entities like the Black Pharaoh and other eldritch deities, was a user of magic.
Magic, the second energy to infiltrate the shinobi world after chakra, could only be perceived by beings closely tied to the essence of chakra—such as the tailed beasts, Black Zetsu, or the Sage of Six Paths.
Unlike chakra, magic didn't adhere to numerical values or direct comparisons of strength. It was an expression of ability, operating on principles distinct from those of chakra. The debate of which was superior, chakra or magic, was irrelevant—they were fundamentally incomparable.
As one wise elder once said: "Only magic can defeat magic."
