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The small black sphere instantly swallowed the Great Shark Missile technique before finally landing outside the village.
In an instant, the ground shook as if it might tear apart at any moment. Trees and earthen mounds were leveled in the blink of an eye.
"Mei Terumī!"
Akimoto Ruri's face turned pale. She screamed, but Yagura suddenly appeared before her and sent her flying with a strike. Then Yagura let out an ear-splitting roar.
"It's not over yet!"
A voice suddenly rang out. A figure appeared behind Yagura.
A Water Dragon Missile, fired at point-blank range, struck Yagura's body.
The Water Dragon Missile erupted in a massive spray of water. Mei Terumī burst through the torrent, appearing right before Yagura. She injected her chakra into his body.
Yagura let out a agonized wail. Simultaneously, his tail swept towards Mei Terumī.
Though Mei Terumī noticed Yagura might lose control and tried to dodge, the tail still caught her in the abdomen. She was sent flying over twenty meters, then coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Gritting her teeth, she touched her ribs. That blow from Yagura's tail had broken them.
Akimoto Ruri lay not far from her. Mei Terumī called her name twice but received no response. She knew Akimoto Ruri's situation was also dire.
Either unconscious, or critically injured, or even...
Mei Terumī dared not think further. She looked up at Yagura. His entire body was now deep red, like a monster crouching on the ground. No trace of human form remained. Three tails had "grown" from his back. He opened his mouth and spat out several small black spheres in all directions.
Wherever these black spheres landed, explosions thundered. Buildings instantly collapsed. Kirigakure ninja caught in the blast vanished without even time to dodge.
This... what is happening!?
Mei Terumī's mouth hung open as she looked around. Large swaths of buildings were being destroyed by Yagura.
His target no longer seemed to be Mei Terumī, Akimoto Ruri, or Mangetsu. It was the entire village of Kirigakure.
Yagura writhed in agony, pained cries continuously escaping his throat.
He opened his mouth, trying to spit out more black spheres, but swallowed them back down. Then he pressed his head against the ground, slamming it into the earth repeatedly.
Both Kirigakure ninja and rebels ceased their attacks. They stared dumbfounded at Yagura, trying to put distance between themselves and him.
"Tailed Beast transformation?" Ringo Ameyuri wondered.
Zabuza shook his head. He didn't know much about Tailed Beasts either. "But why is this happening? It looks like he wants to attack wildly, yet seems to be restraining himself somehow."
'Could it be... Yagura is regaining consciousness?' The thought crossed Mei Terumī's mind.
Perhaps Yagura was struggling with the Three-Tails. Whether he could reclaim his sanity was unknown.
After repeatedly slamming his head into the ground, Yagura seemed to exhaust himself. He lost consciousness and gradually reverted to human form.
Seeing this, Mei Terumī bit her lip, fighting back tears.
This was all too much...
Ignoring the pain of her broken ribs, she looked around.
A large area near the village entrance had collapsed. Fortunately, most of these were defensive structures—watchtowers, rest stations for Kirigakure ninja, and the like. The actual residential buildings were deeper within the village.
Even so, Kirigakure had suffered immense damage.
As for the survivors, both Kirigakure ninja and rebels alike wore bewildered expressions. No one knew whether to continue fighting.
Even Zabuza and Ringo Ameyuri, when they looked at each other, felt awkward.
Both wanted to keep fighting, but this hardly seemed like the right moment.
The only ones still engaged in battle were the Third Mizukage and the Hōzuki brothers.
In fact, given the Third Mizukage's loss of sanity, whether he was controlled or not was no longer the main issue.
Mei Terumī took a deep breath. "Everyone, stop fighting! This battle is meaningless now! The Fourth Mizukage has lost consciousness. He was being controlled! We..."
Victory?
But what kind of victory was this?
They had lost so terribly.
Mei Terumī sniffled and went to Akimoto Ruri's side.
She was unconscious, with broken bones like Mei Terumī. Whether her life was in danger would depend on the judgment of the medical ninja.
Mei Terumī then looked towards Yagura, intending to check his condition. She had only taken two steps forward when a figure in a black robe and mask suddenly appeared, blocking her path to Yagura.
"Who are you?" Mei Terumī grew alert, immediately averting her eyes from the robed figure. "Are you the one controlling the two Mizukage?"
"Ask me that, how should I answer?" Obito countered. "If I say 'yes,' wouldn't you all turn your attack on me? So, my answer is 'no.'"
"You think I'd believe that?" Mei Terumī clenched her fists.
"That's beyond my control. But thank you for letting me witness such a wonderful battle. As a reward, I've decided to give you all a big gift!" Obito raised his hands high, his expression one of excitement.
Mei Terumī frowned, her expression severe.
She didn't believe for a second that this sneaky figure, afraid to show his real face, had any good intentions.
"Listen. Do you hear something?" Obito cupped his hand to his ear, making an exaggerated show of listening.
Despite her distrust of this robed figure, Mei Terumī held her breath and listened. From deep within the village came faint, agonized screams.
The screams grew closer, clearer, and more desperate.
Then, villagers, fleeing for their lives, emerged from the village. They hid behind the Kirigakure ninja, pointing back and weeping. "Help... monster..."
Mei Terumī looked in the direction the villagers pointed. Darkness. But within moments, a massive silhouette came into view. It was destroying buildings and indiscriminately slaughtering villagers.
"The... Six-Tails?"
Mei Terumī stared at the huge silhouette, her mind blank.
Unlike Yagura's earlier Tailed Beast transformation, this Six-Tails was the real thing.
Obito said nothing. He hoisted Yagura onto his shoulder and waved at Mei Terumī.
"Who are you? What have you done? Put the Fourth Mizukage down!" Mei Terumī stepped forward to stop him, but blood suddenly surged from her throat.
By the time she spat it out and looked up again, Obito and the Fourth Mizukage had vanished.
Obito carried Yagura across the rooftops in a series of leaps. He reached the highest rooftop and set Yagura down. "Kisame, take the Three-Tails and leave immediately."
"What about you?" Kisame asked.
"Me?" Obito looked at the massive silhouette before them. "I still need to retrieve the Six-Tails. And while I'm at it, I'll kill all these Kirigakure ninja."