Any Jinchuriki capable of fully transforming into their Tailed Beast was a genuine Kage-level powerhouse. The exceptionally strong ones could even suppress a standard Kage. Historically, excluding the Leaf's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who had never actively participated in wars, when any Jinchuriki from the major villages unleashed their full power, very few individual Kage could fight them alone.
This was especially true for the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki during the Hidden Cloud's past rampages. It took the monstrous Third Raikage of that era to suppress it; if the current Fourth Raikage tried, he would be obliterated in minutes.
The Eight-Tails was just that strong.
And the remaining seven Tailed Beasts below it...
Were all entities that required at least a quasi-Kage level of strength just to survive an encounter. From Shibuki's perspective, no matter how strong Mei Terumi was, she was, at best, an elite Jonin, right? He never expected her to actually force Utakata into his semi-Tailed Beast state.
The most terrifying part was...
Even after entering the Version 2 state...
Utakata was still being suppressed by Mei.
"This!?"
How could Shibuki not feel a surge of shock and anxiety?
But no matter how worried he was, Shibuki was currently powerless to reinforce Utakata. Watching the Mist shinobi continuously tighten their encirclement around his forces...
Shibuki grit his teeth.
Gulp!
Taking half a step back, he swallowed another mouthful of the Hero Water.
BOOM!!!
His waning chakra instantly violently surged once more.
Since he couldn't rely on Utakata for a breakthrough right now...
He would have to carve one out himself.
A look of absolute resolve filled Shibuki's eyes.
Without a shred of hesitation, he charged directly into the encroaching ring of Mist shinobi. As the leader of the Hidden Waterfall, this was his duty. Even if it cost him his life, he wouldn't hesitate. This was Shibuki's resolve.
However, the situation was undeniably grim.
The Waterfall forces were being comprehensively suppressed.
They were being steadily whittled down and consumed. The battle had only been raging for a few dozen minutes, yet over a hundred Waterfall shinobi were already dead or critically wounded. With Mei Terumi applying immense pressure from the front and Ao coordinating the Mist forces flawlessly from the rear, the combined strength of the Mist was not something the local Waterfall shinobi could withstand.
This was especially true seeing Utakata—their absolute strongest pillar of support—being actively suppressed.
The morale of the Waterfall shinobi began to waver slightly.
The only reason they hadn't completely broken yet was the lingering momentum from their massive victory over the Hidden Cloud under Menma's leadership. However, if casualties continued to mount and they still couldn't see a glimmer of hope for a counterattack, a full rout was inevitable.
After using another combination of Water and Lava Release to forcefully push Utakata back, Mei looked at his semi-Tailed Beast form with the triumphant air of a victor. "Give it up, Utakata. Stop this pointless resistance. Surrender now, and I can still plead with Elder Genji on your behalf. The Mist Village is your home. You grew up there. The village undeniably wronged you, but the past is the past. We have to look toward the future! Because if you don't... today will be your last day."
Her face was cold as ice, her words saturated with lethal intent.
Yet, they failed to shake Utakata's resolve in the slightest.
Feeling no need to offer a verbal response, Utakata quickly scanned his surroundings out of the corner of his eye.
Seeing that he had successfully drawn the fight to the absolute periphery of the battlefield, with no other Waterfall shinobi in the immediate vicinity...
"!? "
He finalized his decision to fully transform into the Six-Tails right there and then.
Even if it meant pushing his body to the absolute limit and risking severe internal damage, he was going to crush Mei Terumi.
Seeing Utakata's silent, unyielding stance, the killing intent in Mei's beautiful eyes deepened considerably.
A Jinchuriki who refused to stand with the village was a traitor who deserved death. The Six-Tails was a core asset the Hidden Mist absolutely had to recover!
"If that's how it is, then..."
Mei raised her gaze sharply, preparing to launch her next attack.
"Big words. But somehow, I have a feeling today is going to be your last day, Lady Mei!"
Suddenly...
A clear, cold voice echoed from the sky to the west.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The next second.
As Menma's fiery-red silhouette blurred into view...
His hand seals were already complete.
The jutsu was instantly unleashed.
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!
High in the air.
A single shuriken instantly multiplied into a massive, sky-blotting rain of steel, hurtling toward Mei Terumi in a dense, inescapable net.
The abrupt, vicious ambush...
Caused Mei's heart to jolt.
"Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!"
Relying purely on instinct, she slammed her hands together.
Rapidly shifting her jutsu...
A massive, incredibly thick wall of surging water erupted from the ground directly in front of her.
Plop!
Plop!
Plop!
The towering wall of water spread outward...
Successfully catching and neutralizing nearly the entire barrage of incoming shuriken.
Immediately following that...
Menma's red hair and cold eyes snapped into Mei's field of vision.
"Menma Uzumaki!?"
A look of profound shock flashed through Mei's beautiful eyes, as if she physically couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Menma? Is the battle over there already finished?"
Off to the side, Utakata—who had been a fraction of a second away from fully transforming—froze instinctively upon seeing Menma.
According to Utakata's projections...
The battle at the main stronghold should be at its absolute, white-hot peak right now, right?
They were facing four to five thousand Leaf shinobi, commanded by the legendary Jiraiya!
Even though Utakata fully believed Menma could suppress Jiraiya, actually securing a definitive victory wasn't something that could be done easily, right?
But looking at the situation now...
It had been less than an hour!
And a victor had already emerged?
"Yeah, it's over for now. Leave this to me, Utakata. Go reinforce Shibuki."
Menma nodded, his expression perfectly calm.
While Utakata didn't know exactly what had transpired on the main battlefield, Menma's arrival was the most powerful proof possible.
Without hesitation, Utakata nodded.
BOOM!
With a powerful leap, he launched himself toward the main cluster of Mist shinobi. Against standard ninja, he didn't need a full Tailed Beast Transformation. In his Version 2 state, he could absolutely butcher ordinary Mist shinobi.
Seeing Utakata move...
Mei felt a surge of panic and immediately tried to intercept him.
But Menma had already firmly locked onto her chakra signature. The freezing, suffocating aura radiating from him...
Caused Mei's expression to turn incredibly ugly.
The sheer, oppressive density and razor-sharp edge of the chakra crashing into her...
Made Mei acutely realize exactly how terrifying the teenager standing before her truly was.
Distract herself to chase Utakata?
She wasn't even sure she had a high chance of winning if she fought Menma with absolutely everything she had!
Yet, despite this realization...
Mei refused to flee without a fight. It wasn't just about her pride; if she simply abandoned the battlefield, what would happen to the remaining Mist shinobi? If they were going to retreat, she had to ensure her troops got out first.
Furthermore.
No matter how low the odds, there was always a chance of victory.
Throughout the entire history of the ninja world...
Excluding those two absolute, god-tier anomalies, it was an established law that the strong did not always definitively crush the weak in every encounter.
Therefore...
"Ao!!"
After shouting the warning at the top of her lungs...
BOOM!
Mei's chakra flared to an absolute peak.
Kicking off the ground...
She aggressively launched the first strike.
Watching Mei charge at him with fierce determination, Menma raised an eyebrow slightly, followed by a look of understanding.
Making the exact same choice, huh? Then let's see exactly what you're capable of, Mei Terumi!!
A sharp, lethal light glinted in Menma's eyes.
BOOM!
He instantly detonated the Nine-Tails' chakra.
A lion uses all its strength even when hunting a rabbit.
Not to mention that while Mei wasn't the absolute ceiling of the Kage tier like the Fourth Raikage, she was still significantly stronger than a standard Kage. Ordinary tactics weren't going to take down the future Fifth Mizukage.
The roaring, chaotic chakra enveloped him...
As he directly entered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
This was both a sign of "respect" for Mei and driven by Menma's need to seize every possible combat opportunity to refine his skills.
He needed to thoroughly master and integrate this power, pushing himself to become even stronger.
It's not enough! It's still not nearly enough!
The distinct, slitted fox pupils manifested in Menma's eyes.
BANG!
Kicking off the ground with equal force...
He blurred forward at terrifying speed.
So fast!
Closing the distance in a fraction of a second...
CLANG!
He drew the Sword of the Thunder God.
Bzzzzzzzt!
Simultaneously infusing it with Lightning Release...
As the blinding electrical light flared...
Swish!
Menma viciously swung the blade directly at Mei's neck, the strike insanely fast and overwhelmingly powerful.
Whoosh!
Unable to completely dodge the incoming strike...
Mei's eyes narrowed sharply.
Her lips moved slightly, and she instantly spewed a torrent of scorching acidic mud directly at him.
Splash!
Aiming point-blank...
Attempting to completely engulf him.
"Hmph!"
Menma sneered coldly.
Twisting his body mid-air, he perfectly dodged the incoming acid.
Swish!
Striking from the lower left blind spot...
"Solidify!"
As a slight opening appeared...
Mei's expression remained calm. With a single thought, she controlled the falling acidic mud, instantly drawing it together and solidifying it into a massive, hardened wall of volcanic rock.
CLANG!
The blade struck the wall perfectly.
A violent shockwave rippled outward.
Seeing his Sword of the Thunder God embed itself roughly halfway through the hardened wall, Menma raised an eyebrow, a flicker of mild surprise crossing his face.
The sheer structural density of this specialized wall slightly exceeded his expectations. Even though he hadn't committed his full weight behind the swing to maintain maneuverability, the strike wasn't something a standard defensive jutsu could have blocked.
Kekkei Genkai are truly unique, aren't they?
A distinct gleam flashed in Menma's eyes.
The thought processed in less than a second.
The very next moment.
Swish!
Menma violently yanked his arm back.
Pulling the Sword of the Thunder God free, he used the momentum to swing his body, perfectly evading a secondary Boil Release ambush from Mei.
She transitions between her two Kekkei Genkai flawlessly. A normal ninja really wouldn't stand a chance against this!
Menma thought, his expression growing slightly more serious.
In the original timeline...
Mei's Boil Release was potent enough to melt through Sasuke's—and even Madara's—Susanoo. While it was only the ribcage state, even the first stage of Susanoo wasn't something ordinary jutsu could even scratch.
Not everyone had Danzo's "genius" intellect to try and pierce a Susanoo with a standard kunai. That was just absurdly stupid.
In other words...
Even with the Nine-Tails Chakra cloak protecting him, if that mist actually settled on him, it would still cause a significant amount of trouble.
Therefore...
After creating a slight distance between them...
CLANG!
With a single thought, Menma manifested four thick, golden chains, shooting them violently from his torso.
A massive, uniquely suppressive aura instantly filled the air.
"What is that!?"
Seeing them for the first time...
Even with her vast combat experience, Mei had absolutely no idea what the golden chains erupting from Menma's body were.
The only thing she knew for certain was that they were highly dangerous.
She absolutely could not let them touch her.
A cold, deadly light flashed in her beautiful eyes.
Clap!
Slamming her hands together...
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Rapidly refining a massive amount of chakra... the moment the jutsu completed, countless droplets of water instantly converged from the surrounding moisture, manifesting into a colossal, spiraling water dragon mid-air.
"ROAAAR!!"
As it unleashed a deafening roar...
The ground beneath it trembled slightly.
The exact same jutsu yielded vastly different destructive power depending on the caliber of the ninja casting it.
For an ordinary Water Release user, this would be their absolute ultimate move. Yet, Mei cast it effortlessly, launching a blatant, overwhelming counter-suppression strike.
RUMBLE!!
The massive water dragon surged upward, viciously lunging directly at the four incoming golden chains.
BANG!
Violent ripples tore through the air.
The water dragon slammed into the chains with brutal force.
CLANG!!
SPLASH!
However, the initial impact was the only resistance it offered.
The massive dragon seemed to be instantly overpowered.
BANG!
The golden chains violently punched straight through the center of the jutsu in less than three seconds.
They effortlessly pierced the dragon's core.
The next second.
Amidst a violent eruption of spray...
SPLASH!
The colossal water dragon was violently detonated from the inside out, shattering into countless droplets that rained down harmlessly.
Witnessing this, the dread in Mei's eyes deepened exponentially. Just as the golden chains closed into point-blank range...
Swish!
Mei ducked sharply, pre-emptively dodging the initial strike.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique."
Scorching acidic mud erupted from her lips, instantly coating the two closest golden chains.
"Solidify!"
Under the immense pressure of Mei's chakra...
The mud hardened instantly.
As a massive, dense block of volcanic rock formed around them...
The two coated golden chains abruptly ground to a halt.
Just as Mei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a flicker of triumph brushing the corner of her eyes as she prepared to repeat the process and lock down the remaining two chains...
RUMBLE!
A violent tremor shuddered through the rock.
BANG!
With a sharp CRACK, a massive, glaring fissure spider-webbed across the surface of the hardened volcanic rock, rapidly expanding in every direction.
As Mei's expression froze in absolute horror...
CRASH!!
The volcanic rock violently exploded outward.
The momentarily restrained golden chains burst free, continuing their lethal trajectory directly toward Mei Terumi.