Just as the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was growing anxious and furious, someone among the Kirigakure shinobi he had brought thought of a solution.
Most of these shinobi came from Kirigakure's civilian shinobi. They were Yagura Karatachi's core foundation. The others were elite shinobi specially selected by clans large and small to express their loyalty to the Mizukage.
They were the essence of Kirigakure's ten thousand shinobi.
There were indeed quite a few intelligent people among them, especially the young Hozuki clan shinobi, Hozuki Oborozuki.
His mind was quick, and he was the first to shout loudly, "Go underwater! Everyone approach from below the water!"
After saying this, he dove into the sea, demonstrating it to everyone else through action.
The Fourth Mizukage immediately noticed Hozuki Oborozuki entering the water. Without hesitation, he followed and slipped beneath the sea surface as well.
Under the lead of the Fourth Mizukage and Hozuki Oborozuki, large groups of Kirigakure shinobi entered the water, attacking the Konoha shinobi from beneath the sea.
Seeing that more than half of the shinobi had gone underwater, Kaguya Yoshi began shouting, "Don't all go underwater! Don't all go down! The remaining shinobi stay on the surface and hold the Konoha shinobi in place so they can't stop attacking!"
"When the Konoha shinobi stop using Fire Release, everyone charge together, attack from above and below, and eliminate them!"
Kaguya Yoshi's words were very reasonable. With help from his clansmen spreading them, he quickly convinced several hundred Kirigakure shinobi.
They remained where they were, continuing to maintain defensive ninjutsu such as Water Formation Wall, drawing the Konoha shinobi's attacks and providing cover for the Kirigakure shinobi underwater.
But this kind of improvised tactic could not contend against the Tiger Unit's systematic tactics.
From the very beginning of the battle, without even needing Uchiha Yoru to issue orders, the members assigned to the two company commanders had already entered the water and taken responsibility for underwater vigilance.
These six Uchiha shinobi all possessed two-tomoe Sharingan. Even underwater, they possessed vision far beyond ordinary people and could directly see the scenery a thousand meters away.
Hozuki Oborozuki's position when entering the water was far beyond a thousand meters, but the bubbles he brought down were extremely conspicuous and were immediately noticed by the Uchiha.
The Kirigakure shinobi thought that an underwater surprise attack could catch the Uchiha off guard, but in reality, the Uchiha had already confirmed it again and again. The sentries had all returned to the surface.
The Kirigakure shinobi beneath the sea were extremely fast, but in the end, they still could not compare to running on the surface.
The Hoshigaki clan shinobi and Suikazan clan shinobi could swim faster, but they did not dare rush over first. If they were discovered by the Uchiha, they would be dead for certain.
One had to know that up ahead was Konoha's Tiger Unit.
Their battle records over the past few months were far too terrifying.
A hundred men annihilating three hundred elites.
Killing three thousand Kirigakure shinobi in a single defensive battle.
Listen to that.
Was that something shinobi could do?
When creating those exaggerated battle records, the Tiger Unit had fewer than a hundred members. Now, the Konoha Tiger Unit ahead had nearly two hundred people. What brainless Kirigakure shinobi would dare rush up alone?
Would that not be seeking death?
Without enough companions gathered together for courage, and without Lord Fourth Mizukage advancing at the very front, who knew how many Kirigakure shinobi would secretly turn around and quietly flee?
Fleeing before battle was an old tradition among Kirigakure shinobi. When they encountered missions certain to mean death, they would choose defection without hesitation.
The policies of the Bloody Mist had indeed erased the emotions of Kirigakure shinobi and created a large number of vicious shinobi, but naturally, the loyalty of these shinobi was also a major problem.
Kirigakure's higher-ups had long had a headache over this and had long wanted to change the policy. Otherwise, let alone killing all his classmates, even if Zabuza killed several hundred prospective shinobi, it would have been impossible for him to change the Bloody Mist policy.
How could a large hidden village's fundamental policy change so easily just because a hundred children died?
During the twenty years the Bloody Mist policy had been enforced, thousands of shinobi had died because of it. The deaths of more than a hundred people at once were not rare at all. When had that ever caused a change?
The appearance of the Demon Zabuza was merely the final straw.
Fortunately, this policy had already been abolished, and the Fourth Mizukage was personally leading from the front. Following in his footsteps, the Kirigakure shinobi attacked their terrifying enemy, and not a single person thought of running away.
The Kirigakure shinobi's performance was enough to make Elder Genji feel gratified.
…
Kirigakure attacked from beneath the water, while the enemy jinchuriki charged straight from the front. The Tiger Unit had long rehearsed tactics to respond to this situation.
And not just one tactic.
The two company commanders communicated with Uchiha Yoru through copper whistles and quickly received a response. Uchiha Yoru ordered the two companies to execute the Number Three Clone Trap and Genjutsu Ambush tactic.
After issuing the order, Uchiha Yoru charged toward Kirigakure's jinchuriki.
He was the enemy who posed the greatest threat to the Tiger Unit, and he was also a powerful individual only Uchiha Yoru could handle.
Amid the frequent sound of copper whistles, the Uchiha of the Tiger Unit began moving one after another. They cast the Clone Jutsu to create clones, then attached explosive tags to the clones.
Very quickly, everyone left behind their own clone. Among them, the team leaders, squad leaders, and company commanders even created shadow clones.
Shadow clones were the key to the entire tactic, because ordinary clones were only illusions. Only shadow clones could maintain the Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu and create the most realistic illusion.
Because Uchiha Yoru had successfully promoted the Shadow Clone Technique throughout the Tiger Unit, the Number Three tactic could become an official full-unit tactic. Before that, it had only been a team-level tactic.
Once the clone illusions were complete, the Uchiha quickly withdrew.
They did not go far. Instead, they used genjutsu to hide two hundred meters away, preparing to ambush the enemy.
The core idea of Uchiha Yoru's Number Three tactic was still attack.
Or rather, every tactic he formulated had attack as its purpose.
Because Uchiha Yoru firmly believed that only offense could obtain victory. A tactic that did not pursue victory was nothing more than the product of passive defeatist thinking.
…
On the other side, as Uchiha Yoru and the jinchuriki Onishi Kyohei approached each other, Onishi Kyohei's eyes suddenly turned blood-red, and he opened his mouth to release a meaningless roar.
Then he extravagantly treated chakra as fuel and sprayed it behind him. His speed suddenly increased several times, and he charged toward Uchiha Yoru with ferocious momentum.
The sudden change startled Uchiha Yoru.
After sensing the other party's arrogant aura, he clenched his teeth and charged forward without dodging, meeting him head-on. The two sides collided violently, unleashing a deafening roar.
What horrified Onishi Kyohei was that as a jinchuriki, he had actually fallen into the disadvantage during the collision.
The enemy's physical qualities were even more monster-like than his own.
Uchiha Yoru's feeling was the complete opposite.
This jinchuriki, who looked so aggressive and arrogant, was actually soft.
Kirigakure had probably created a jinchuriki for the first time and had somehow turned the seal into a sealed jar, completely locking away the Three-Tails' consciousness while only allowing chakra to flow out for the shinobi to use.
This method of treating a Tailed Beast as a chakra battery that only supplied chakra for the jinchuriki to use was the strongest jinchuriki plan.
At the same time, it was also the most foolish plan.
No matter how thoroughly a Tailed Beast was sealed, Tailed Beasts were aggregate lifeforms of chakra. A Tailed Beast's chakra was the Tailed Beast itself.
As long as a shinobi accepted Tailed Beast chakra, they would inevitably be eroded by the Tailed Beast's instincts. As the amount increased, they would lose their human rational thinking and become a chakra monster acting entirely according to instinct.
Only Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki could become jinchuriki according to this plan. With the Uzumaki physique, they could ignore the erosion of Tailed Beast chakra and use it freely.
But not every shinobi had the surname Uzumaki.
A normal jinchuriki could only avoid being eroded by chakra with the help of the Tailed Beast.
Naruto Uzumaki possessed half Uzumaki blood, yet he would still be eroded by the Nine-Tails' chakra and become a monster without will, relying purely on instinct.
Thus, what jinchuriki pursued was mutual understanding and mutual recognition with the Tailed Beast. The Tailed Beast controlled the chakra, while the jinchuriki made judgments and decisions. Through perfect cooperation, the two became the so-called "perfect jinchuriki."
Kirigakure's jinchuriki had clearly taken the wrong path.
He could indeed extract a massive amount of Tailed Beast chakra, but he only specialized in Water Release and had not yet adapted to the Three-Tails' Ice Release chakra. He could only use chakra in the crudest way, completely wasting it.
The more serious problem was that Onishi Kyohei had already been heavily eroded by Tailed Beast instincts and had completely lost the keen judgment of a shinobi.
Forget complex tactical awareness—he no longer even had the consciousness to dodge or defend.
In his mind, he was Isobu the Three-Tails, covered in heavy armor and a thick shell, possessing infinite strength. There was no need to dodge or defend. He only needed to attack straight ahead to obtain victory.
But Onishi Kyohei was only an ordinary shinobi.
Even after instinctively covering himself in icicle armor, his defense still amounted to little.
Although he had the amplification of powerful Tailed Beast chakra, Onishi Kyohei's body was weak. His taijutsu attacks simply could not pose any threat to Uchiha Yoru.
Uchiha Yoru was tempted.
The Eight-Tails jinchuriki was absurdly strong, and there was no way to directly take action against him on the battlefield. But this Three-Tails jinchuriki was completely a paper tiger.
Why not seize the chance and take him down?
Let's try it. It's not like I'll lose anything.
Uchiha Yoru activated his three-tomoe Sharingan and quickly grasped Onishi Kyohei's movement pattern. He dodged the straight punch by the slightest margin, and his entire body slipped straight between the jinchuriki's chest and abdomen.
Their eyes met.
Uchiha Yoru activated genjutsu without the slightest hesitation.
And it was the strongest genjutsu he had mastered.
Sharingan: Genjutsu: Will Erosion.
The ocular power of the Sharingan poured out, transforming into a sharp battle axe that hacked viciously into the opponent's spirit, opening a crack in the mental world at a massive cost.
Powerful spiritual energy was compressed into suggestion seeds, and before the crack in the mental world healed, they were stuffed into the opponent's mental world in one breath.
Uchiha Yoru succeeded.
He successfully sent in more than three hundred suggestion seeds. As long as he activated these suggestion seeds, he could erase Onishi Kyohei's will, turn him into his puppet, and end this battle.
It was said that jinchuriki were unaffected by genjutsu, but that was because Tailed Beasts would clear chaotic chakra and awaken the jinchuriki for the sake of their own safety.
But Onishi Kyohei's seal was a complete seal, fully locking away the Three-Tails' will. He could only borrow the Tailed Beast's chakra and could not receive the Tailed Beast's help, so it was impossible for him to be immune to genjutsu.
When Uchiha Yoru snapped his fingers, all the suggestion seeds erupted, and Onishi Kyohei instantly lost consciousness.
He stood blankly on the sea like a puppet.
"It actually worked."
Hypnotizing the jinchuriki had gone so smoothly that even Uchiha Yoru himself let out an incredulous cry.
Although he was extremely shocked, his movements did not delay in the slightest. He immediately began undoing the Tailed Beast seal.
He only needed to tear open a tiny crack. Then he could take advantage of the opening to hypnotize the Three-Tails.
If that also succeeded, then this strategic weapon would be in his hands.
The sudden turn in battle caught everyone off guard.
By the time the Fourth Mizukage realized something was wrong, Uchiha Yoru had already successfully torn open the seal. He widened his three-tomoe Sharingan and poured ocular power over without the slightest stinginess.
He intended to complete the hypnosis of the Three-Tails before the Fourth Mizukage arrived.
But at the critical moment when victory was about to be obtained, Uchiha Yoru saw a pair of Sharingan in the Three-Tails' eyes.
That cold gaze made even his heart turn cold.
What shocked Uchiha Yoru most was that the three tomoe within that pair of Sharingan suddenly spun. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a complex pattern.
It was actually a transcription seal genjutsu left behind by the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The moment he saw the Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Yoru knew things were bad.
But the opponent's surging ocular power had already launched a counterattack. Strange and terrifying ocular power surged back like a flood.
Uchiha Yoru's eyes immediately erupted with agonizing pain.
It felt as though someone had taken a pair of red-hot pokers and pierced straight through his eyes into his brain, stabbing through the back of his head. His entire skull seemed to boil.
"Fuck!!"
Uchiha Yoru covered his eyes with both hands and screamed in pain.
In that flash of lightning, Uchiha Yoru recalled the plot related to the Three-Tails and instantly knew who those eyes belonged to.
It's Uchiha Madara!!
You damned bastard, I'll remember this!
Son of a bitch, Uchiha Madara! Because of you, my ninety-five percent victory rate is ruined! Ruined!
You're dead. Even if you're this great lord's elder, you're dead!
No, Uchiha Madara. Don't even think about dying peacefully, and don't even dream of being revived!!!
Under the interference of blindness, intense brain pain, and wild thoughts, Uchiha Yoru still sensed the enemy's approach. He desperately rolled backward, narrowly avoiding a heavy strike from a thick coral staff.
It was the Fourth Mizukage who had rushed over to rescue the jinchuriki Onishi Kyohei. He was the one who had attacked Uchiha Yoru with that thick, dark, hooked coral staff.
Temporarily losing his vision, and unable to activate All-Knowing Mind's Eye because of the agony in his brain, Uchiha Yoru's fight with the Fourth Mizukage was extremely difficult.
After barely holding on for only a few seconds, he failed to dodge in time and was struck hard on the back by Yagura Karatachi's coral staff. The blow made his chest tighten, and he could not help letting out a muffled groan.
Uchiha Yoru also seized this opportunity, following the force of the coral staff's heavy strike to dodge with all his strength, finally widening the distance between himself and the Fourth Mizukage.
Then he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and jumped to an even farther and safer distance, finally escaping the enemy's close combat and gaining a precious chance to breathe.
Yagura Karatachi did not pursue.
He had been frightened by Uchiha Yoru.
As the Fourth Mizukage, he was one of the strongest shinobi in the current shinobi world. Taking advantage of the enemy's inability to see, he had used his weapon and struck the enemy's vital back with all his strength.
He had originally thought that this blow would kill the enemy, perhaps even directly smash him into two severed pieces.
In the end, the enemy took the attack head-on, yet only let out a muffled groan. He did not even spit blood.
Yagura Karatachi was stunned by Uchiha Yoru's abnormal defense. If even a full-power attack could not injure the enemy, then chasing after him to finish him off was meaningless.
Moreover, there was no need to continue attacking.
At the spot on the enemy's back where the coral staff had struck, clusters of coral had already grown.
Yagura Karatachi breathed a sigh of relief and finally had the spare attention to check on the jinchuriki.
He fished Onishi Kyohei, who was half-floating and half-sinking in the seawater, out of the water. Then he used chakra vibrations to awaken him and asked, "Onishi Kyohei, how are you? Can you still hold on?"
Onishi Kyohei held his head with both hands and groaned in pain. He barely managed to say, "Lord Fourth, my seal was damaged by the enemy. I can barely hold on."
"What?"
Yagura Karatachi was greatly shocked. He pulled open Onishi Kyohei's shirt and immediately saw that the seal on his abdomen was clearly missing a corner.
Furthermore, bulges rose and fell across the jinchuriki's belly, as though dozens of fist-sized golden beetles were hidden inside, trying to tear open his stomach.
This was truly terrible.
The jinchuriki Onishi Kyohei's battle had lasted only a few short seconds, and he had only been controlled for an instant, yet the enemy had damaged the Tailed Beast seal.
Yagura Karatachi could not help sighing inwardly.
What a terrifying Uchiha shinobi.
Fortunately, he had already killed him.
The current situation was extremely bad.
The Three-Tails' will had already awakened and was trying to break through the seal. Once it escaped, it would definitely take revenge against the Kirigakure shinobi, perhaps even against Kirigakure itself.
They had to immediately reinforce the seal and bring Onishi Kyohei back to the village for proper treatment.
Yagura Karatachi shouted loudly, "Sealing team! Sealing team, hurry over!"
Suddenly, a stiff voice sounded.
"Fourth Mizukage, why are you calling the sealing team over? To send them to their deaths?"
Every word spoken was accompanied by the grinding creak of teeth. No one knew just how much strength had been used to force out each word one by one.
Each word contained monstrous killing intent and fury.
Even Yagura Karatachi could not control the hairs standing upright across his body. He shifted half a step sideways, placing Kirigakure's jinchuriki behind him, then slowly turned around.
When Yagura Karatachi saw Uchiha Yoru, he understood why Yoru had used so much force to speak.
Uchiha Yoru had already stood up.
Both hands were gripping the coral that had grown out from the wound on his back, and he was pulling upward with force.
His strength was so great that he was actually slowly pulling out the coral roots that had taken hold inside his cells, even entangling themselves with his bones.
"Ahhhhhh—!"
Amid a roar filled with pain, Uchiha Yoru suddenly exerted force and viciously tore the coral out of his body.
At the instant the coral left his body, who knew how many organs and blood vessels it dragged with it. Blood sprayed from Uchiha Yoru's back, and the seawater beneath his feet was quickly dyed red across a large area.
The coral he had torn off rapidly weathered. In just a dozen seconds, it seemed to have endured several hundred years, crumbling into fragments in his hand.
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