Land of Water.
Beside a vast, tranquil lake, Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Hiroomi, both clad in their black Akatsuki robes adorned with red clouds, slowly approached the shore.
"Is the Three-Tails here?" Kisame asked, his shark-like eyes scanning the calm surface of the lake as he turned to Uchiha Hiroomi. At this moment, Uchiha Hiroomi had already activated his three-tomoe Sharingan, his crimson eyes silently observing the depths of the lake.
"Mm. It's down there," Uchiha Hiroomi confirmed with a nod after a moment.
"Haha, as long as the intel is correct. I'll get it to come up," Kisame said, a stiff, almost predatory grin spreading across his blue-skinned face. With that, Kisame's hands began to rapidly form a series of hand seals, finally clasping them together.
In an instant, the calm surface of the lake began to tremble violently. A massive pillar of water, forty to fifty meters in diameter, erupted from the lakebed, surging upwards. As the continuous torrent of water gushed forth from the depths, a colossal, turtle-like creature was forcefully pushed up to the lake's surface.
ROOOOAR!
The giant turtle, propelled from the lake, let out an enraged roar towards Kisame and Uchiha Hiroomi. This monstrous creature was none other than Isobu, the Three-Tails.
After a low, guttural growl, the Three-Tails Isobu quickly arched its massive body, tucking its limbs and head beneath its enormous, thick shell, then began to roll forward with incredible speed, like a gigantic, unstoppable wheel. This was one of the Three-Tails Isobu's taijutsu attacks, the "Shadow Stroke." Its massive form rolled across the lake surface, carrying an overwhelming, crushing force as it bore down on Kisame and Uchiha Hiroomi.
Seeing this, both Akatsuki members quickly leaped back, agilely evading the direct assault. As he dodged, Kisame's hands were already blurring through another rapid sequence of hand seals.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A vast torrent of water erupted from Kisame's mouth, forming a massive, surging flood across the lake that rushed towards the rolling Three-Tails Isobu.
BOOM!
The swift, powerful current of water violently collided with the rapidly rolling body of the Three-Tails Isobu, sending geysers of water shooting high into the air. At the point of impact, a semicircular curtain of water formed, momentarily obscuring the view.
Before this semicircular water curtain could even fall, a purplish-black Tailed Beast Bomb shot out from behind it, hurtling straight towards Kisame.
Seeing this, Kisame's expression changed drastically, and his hands quickly formed another seal. "Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" The massive torrent of water he had previously unleashed rapidly converged around him, forming an enormous, ovoid prison of water with a radius of over a hundred meters.
As Kisame performed this ninjutsu, Samehada, the great sword strapped to his back, quickly began to fuse with his body, transforming Kisame into a grotesque, half-man, half-shark creature. Immediately after, Kisame's figure vanished within the ovoid water prison with a swift movement.
The incoming purplish-black Tailed Beast Bomb narrowly grazed the edge of where Kisame had been and continued onward, slamming into the distant shore.
RUMBLE!
With a tremendous roar, the Tailed Beast Bomb exploded, sending a massive mushroom cloud billowing high into the air.
After fusing with Samehada, Kisame began to rapidly swim and maneuver around the Three-Tails Isobu within the massive water prison, periodically launching Water Style ninjutsu attacks against it. However, because they were in a lake environment, Kisame, who excelled in Water Style, didn't gain much of an advantage against the Three-Tails Isobu, which was equally adept at controlling water. His relatively weaker Water Style attacks, for the time being, couldn't inflict significant damage on the Tailed Beast.
Not far from the lakeshore, Uchiha Hiroomi, who had dodged to the other side, watched the fierce battle between the Three-Tails Isobu and Kisame, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. Within his crimson irises, the three black tomoe spun rapidly, and his Mangekyo Sharingan quickly activated. As his Mangekyo Sharingan awakened, a crimson, skeletal Susanoo slowly began to form around Uchiha Hiroomi's body.
After manifesting his Susanoo up to its second stage, Uchiha Hiroomi began to control it, joining Kisame in a coordinated assault against the Three-Tails Isobu.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The giant crimson longsword of the Susanoo slashed down repeatedly, sending colossal waves surging across the lake's surface. With Uchiha Hiroomi joining the fray, the tide of battle immediately shifted dramatically. Faced with the combined attacks of Kisame and Uchiha Hiroomi, the Three-Tails Isobu quickly found itself in a passive, defensive position, taking a severe beating. Kisame also began to actively use Samehada's ability to absorb large amounts of the Three-Tails' chakra.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~
In a forest ten kilometers away from the lake, several figures were rapidly moving through the trees. At the head of this fast-moving group was Kirigakure's Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei. Following closely behind Terumi Mei were Chojuro, the third wielder of the twin swords Hiramekarei, and Ao, who possessed a Byakugan, along with several Kirigakure ANBU Black Ops ninja.
Their objective for this mission was precisely the Three-Tails Isobu.
Ever since the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, had died, the Three-Tails Isobu, which had been sealed within him, had also "died" for a period. It took two to three years for the Three-Tails Isobu to finally revive at the bottom of this nameless lake. After its revival, the Three-Tails Isobu had completely broken free from Kirigakure's control and had been living in an untamed, wild state for these past few years, with no one to watch over it.
After Terumi Mei ascended to the position of Fifth Mizukage, one of her first priorities had been to dispatch personnel to search for the whereabouts of the Three-Tails Isobu. However, due to the prolonged period of bloody, tyrannical rule under Yagura, and the successive coups and internal strife that had plagued the village, Kirigakure's overall strength had been greatly diminished, and its intelligence-gathering capabilities were also far inferior to what they once were. After years of searching, Kirigakure had only recently managed to confirm that the Three-Tails Isobu was residing at the bottom of this particular lake.
This time, Terumi Mei was personally leading the team, intending to recapture the Three-Tails.
As they ran, Ao suddenly stopped on the branch of a large tree. "Byakugan, activate!" After stopping, Ao immediately activated his Byakugan, his gaze focused intently ahead.
"Ao, what is it?" Seeing Ao's actions, Terumi Mei also stopped, her voice low and serious.
After scouting for several seconds, Ao's face turned somewhat grim. "Lady Mizukage, there are intense chakra fluctuations ahead. It seems someone is fighting. Their strength is extremely terrifying; two of them have chakra levels comparable to that of a Tailed Beast."
"Tailed Beast level? Not good! Someone is trying to capture the Three-Tails! Let's go, quickly!" After hearing Ao's report, Terumi Mei murmured to herself, then her expression changed drastically. Without any hesitation, she immediately increased her speed, dashing towards the lake.
"Lady Mizukage!" Behind her, Chojuro, Ao, and the others quickly followed. As Ao pursued, he added gravely, "Lady Mizukage, the two individuals besieging the Three-Tails are very strong. One of them has an extremely evil chakra signature. We must be extremely careful."
Hearing Ao's warning, Terumi Mei's speed didn't decrease in the slightest; she continued to lead the way towards the lake with unwavering determination. However, they were still too far from the lake.
Before Terumi Mei and her group could even reach the scene, the battle between Kisame Hoshigaki, Uchiha Hiroomi, and the Three-Tails Isobu had already concluded.
On the surface of the lake, a massive, ovoid water prison blocked Terumi Mei and her team's path. There was no longer any sign of the Three-Tails Isobu or Kisame Hoshigaki at the scene.
"Damn it!" Looking at the giant water prison before them and the devastated, chaotic aftermath of the battle, Terumi Mei cursed under her breath, her face dark and grim.
Their plan to recapture the Three-Tails… had completely failed.