Facing Karatachi Yagura's water-style technique, Gekko Chizan bared his teeth in a grin.
His hands suddenly came together, without forming any hand seals, and the sea beneath his feet began to churn like boiling water.
"Water Release: Raging Wave Technique."
Once again, surging waves collided head-on. The two techniques slammed into each other, sending countless sprays of water skyward.
Meanwhile, the battle between the clones and the Kirigakure shinobi had entered a white-hot stage.
With the sea as their battlefield, both sides clashed directly—ninjutsu, taijutsu, and ninja tools turning this stretch of ocean into a full-fledged warzone.
"Heh heh, Fourth Mizukage-sama."
"It looks like pushing forward is unrealistic for you."
"Maybe my comrades have already finished their looting."
"Hahahaha!"
As he fought, Gekko Chizan kept taunting. After using the Transformation Technique, even his voice sounded utterly punchable.
Those words instantly ignited the fury in the Fourth Mizukage's heart.
"Bastard!"
"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Karatachi Yagura's eyes turned bloodshot—he was furious to the extreme. Fueled by rage, his hand seals grew even faster.
In Gekko Chizan's eyes, it was just a blur of gestures, and then the technique was complete.
A mirror surface far larger than before appeared in front of him, followed by a soaring water dragon.
But then, something strange happened.
From Gekko Chizan's understanding, the Water Mirror Technique created a mirror made of water. Inside it would appear an identical copy of the enemy, capable of using the same ninjutsu with equal power.
So he had always been on guard against that technique. He used water vapor to create a faint wall in front of himself—though it wouldn't actually block anything, it could obscure his figure.
Yet Karatachi Yagura used the Water Mirror Technique to directly replicate the Water Dragon Bullet.
In an instant, the number of Water Dragon Bullets increased dramatically.
"What a batch-produced Water Dragon Bullet—combination ninjutsu, huh? Hehehehe."
"Too bad, I can do it too!"
"Water Release!"
Karatachi Yagura's Water Dragon Bullets were mass-produced through the Water Mirror Technique. Gekko Chizan's, however, were the genuine article.
This had once been the Third Mizukage's technique. Now, it belonged to him.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
"You Kumogakure bastards!"
"I'll slaughter you all!"
In just this short clash, the Kirigakure forces had already begun suffering casualties.
Even the ANBU he was so proud of had not been spared.
The smell of blood was already spreading across the sea, pushing Karatachi Yagura to the brink of losing his sanity.
Crimson chakra began surging from his body. Seeing this, Gekko Chizan was overjoyed.
"Chōmei, see? Isn't this perfect?"
"I even forced out the Tailed Beast Cloak. Just look at this Jinchūriki's mental fortitude—ah, ah, it can't compare to mine."
Chōmei had just been about to speak when that line choked him silent.
What did he mean it couldn't compare to him?
Wait… looking at it this way, maybe it really couldn't.
It was mainly about mentality. Gekko Chizan was a seasoned schemer; for all these years, his mindset had remained steady. Sure, he had moments of rampage, but they were fleeting.
Most of the time, he lived by shameless tricks, which kept the common Jinchūriki weaknesses from manifesting in him.
Of course, the main reason was that he was a perfect Jinchūriki, able to synchronize flawlessly with Chōmei.
The Fourth Mizukage before him, however, had clearly become a Jinchūriki only recently. The typical flaws were obvious—once his emotions surged too violently, the Tailed Beast chakra would leak out.
Look at him now. The Tailed Beast Cloak was already on, and even his eyes had turned red.
"I'll kill you!"
Wrapped in the Tailed Beast Cloak, Karatachi Yagura abandoned using techniques entirely and shot forward like a rocket.
Behind him, the Kirigakure shinobi saw their Fourth Mizukage starting to rampage.
They immediately made the correct decision.
"Disengage! Retreat!"
"Move!"
"Do not enter Mizukage-sama's attack range!!!"
Led by the ANBU, everyone fled frantically toward the open sea behind them.
They were terrified of being caught in the crossfire. After all, that was a Tailed Beast.
Even though the Fourth Mizukage had always suppressed the Three-Tails well after becoming a Jinchūriki, they had experienced Tailed Beast rampages before.
So they chose to retreat at once. Surely their Mizukage wouldn't blame them.
"Wow, your subordinates abandoned you."
"A Jinchūriki, huh? Heh, it's not like I haven't seen one before."
"Come on—let me test what you're made of!"
Gekko Chizan readied himself for battle. He knew clearly that the Fourth Mizukage had potential as a Jinchūriki.
In the original story, he was one of only two perfect Jinchūriki—excluding the Yellow Prince, who was just abnormal.
But right now, it was obvious the Fourth Mizukage had only recently become a Jinchūriki and couldn't fully control the Tailed Beast's power yet.
"I'll kill you!"
The crimson figure moved so fast that in an instant, he was right in front of Gekko Chizan.
"Down you go."
"Water Release: Whirlpool Technique!"
Before the charge could reach him, Gekko Chizan had already reacted. He crouched sharply, slamming one hand onto the sea's surface.
The next second, the water in front of him shifted, forming a massive whirlpool.
Karatachi Yagura charged straight into it.
"Hmph!"
"Don't underestimate me, bastard!"
Tailed Beast chakra was terrifying. Even just the Tailed Beast Cloak couldn't be drowned by mere seawater.
But as a Jinchūriki himself, how could Gekko Chizan not know that?
So the moment Karatachi Yagura began falling, he moved. With seawater, he formed a massive hammer in his hand.
A huge hammer! An oversized hammer! A hammer as large as a giant whale.
"Take this hammer!"
Gekko Chizan swung the gigantic hammer and smashed Karatachi Yagura straight down.
Splash!
Water exploded skyward. Grinning, Gekko Chizan looked at Karatachi Yagura, who had been hammered into the seabed.
"Tsk tsk tsk, keep rampaging."
"Best if you turn into a giant turtle."
"If Kumogakure finds their opponent has turned into the Three-Tails, I wonder if they'll still be happy."
The whirlpool kept spinning. That last hammer strike had clearly left Karatachi Yagura dazed.
For a moment, he couldn't even react.
By the time he came to his senses, the massive whirlpool had already spun him dizzy.
That only made the fury in his heart burn even hotter.
"Bastard!"
"I'll definitely kill you!"
"Stop for me!"
The Tailed Beast Cloak shifted again— a second tail emerged, making Karatachi Yagura's strength even more terrifying.
With just the sheer force of Tailed Beast chakra alone, he forcibly brought the whirlpool to a halt.