On the battlefield, the Hidden Mist Village was being beaten back step by step. Despite their retreat, at least three thousand Mist ninja remained. If the power of a Tailed Beast were truly unleashed here, their own people would be the first to suffer. Tsunade couldn't believe the Third Mizukage was such a madman.
"A madman?"
The Third Mizukage paused, then let out a manic laugh.
"From the moment victory and defeat began to diverge, I was already mad!! Do you have any idea how I would be treated if I returned to the village in defeat? My clan would be disgraced! I would become the village's eternal shame!!!"
People with persecutory delusions often find it difficult to accept failure. The Third Mizukage was exactly that kind of person. Intensely confident, he had truly believed the Hidden Mist would win this war.
He had colluded with the Hidden Stone Village to push for this war. Now that it was failing, returning with a defeated army would lead to rejection and condemnation from the great clans and all the villagers.
At best, he'd be ousted; at worst, he'd become a sinner of the village, bringing shame upon his family.
Certain clans valued prestige more than life itself. If things reached that point, the Third Mizukage was certain he would be turned into a sacrifice a scapegoat for his clan to appease the village!!!
The clan heads might seem obedient now, but once it was all over and they returned to the village, they would surely unite to demand an explanation. Someone had to take responsibility for the war, and the Third Mizukage was the perfect candidate.
One only needed to look at the Third Hokage from the original history to see how it worked. When the village suffered heavy losses and exhaustion from war, he was immediately criticized by the villagers and the Daimyo. Combined with his age, he was forced to abdicate early to elect the Fourth Hokage. And that was with the Hidden Leaf not even losing.
In a defeat, retirement wouldn't be the end of it; his entire clan might be dragged down with him.
"But your actions will only lead you and your clan into an abyss!!!" Tsunade said coldly.
"An abyss? My clan? Hahaha..."
The Third Mizukage's expression grew more and more crazed. Tsunade sighed inwardly. Once this battle ended, this man would likely find himself on the path to death.
"Everyone, hear my orders!!"
Suddenly, Tsunade made a daring decision of her own. "Continue the battle! Ronglin Uchiha, that guy is your responsibility! I don't want to see a single wave crashing into this forest."
"Why me?"
Ronglin was speechless. He had just told everyone to retreat; wasn't she just pulling the rug out from under him?
This wasn't how things were supposed to go. If the Third Mizukage wanted to go crazy, let him. After all, more Mist ninja would drown than anyone else.
"Because the Sharingan can control Tailed Beasts."
Tsunade's answer left Ronglin without a retort.
As the supreme commander of the battlefield, Tsunade's orders were quickly relayed. The Hidden Leaf ninja fighting in various sectors accelerated their offensive. Only the high-ranking officials knew about the Mizukage's "final measure"; the lower-ranking ninja couldn't begin to comprehend it.
That was why so many stared at Ronglin in shock. They didn't know what the Mizukage was planning; they only saw the imminent victory before their eyes.
"This is an order!!!"
At this moment, Tsunade radiated the aura of an absolute queen, telling Ronglin in a low voice that this was a command, not a negotiation.
"Fine, you win. I'll settle the score with you after the war."
Ronglin rolled his eyes and deactivated his Susanoo. He ran quickly toward the sea. "Heilin, you go back on your own!!!"
"Kill them!!!"
Ronglin's departure allowed countless Mist ninja to breathe a sigh of relief, but the war was far from over. Sometimes, you couldn't just leave a battlefield simply because you wanted to; skirmishes continued to erupt everywhere.
Kunai filled the sky, many with explosive tags attached. Those with poor luck were blown to pieces instantly.
Various ninjutsu bombarded the enemy. Comparatively, the Hidden Mist ninja used a unified style, mostly Water Release. The Hidden Leaf used a wide variety, though the Uchiha were more organized, utilizing mostly Fire Release.
No one stopped Ronglin as he left.
The distance of over ten kilometers was something Ronglin could cover in minutes at his speed.
A massive seal flickered on the surface of the sea. Ronglin stopped at the shore, staring at the enormous seal. He couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. The Third Mizukage was truly ruthless. When had the Three-Tails, Isobu, been sealed here?
Why hadn't he noticed it when he raided the camp earlier?
Ronglin's understanding of sealing techniques wasn't deep. In the Hidden Leaf, Kushina Uzumaki was the true expert. Minato Namikaze had learned a lot from her, mastering several unique sealing techniques.
Lacking deep knowledge of the art, Ronglin couldn't tell what kind of seal this was.
At this moment, the massive seal on the sea was unstable. Sealed within, the Three-Tails Isobu was constantly slamming against the barrier, desperate to break free.
At this time, Isobu was a Tailed Beast without a Jinchuriki to control it. It only needed to break the seal to run wild.
In truth, while every ninja village had their own Tailed Beasts, there was only one Jinchuriki who could control their beast at will: Killer B from the Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning!
He could control the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, perfectly. None of the other Jinchuriki had reached that level yet.
In the future, the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, Yagura, would gain complete control over Isobu. Unfortunately, he was a tragic figure, controlled like a puppet by Obito Uchiha, which led the Hidden Mist into the Bloody Mist Era after the Third War.
Later on, many Jinchuriki would learn to perfectly fuse with their beasts and use their power.
But for now, there was only the Eight-Tails.
Although the Hidden Leaf controlled the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails, it was basically just a mascot kept under lock and key. The Uzumaki clan's seals were incredibly strong; without external interference, it was nearly impossible for the Nine-Tails to break free.
Even so, in the original history, Obito Uchiha only managed to interfere when Kushina Uzumaki was at her weakest giving birth to Naruto. Otherwise, the Nine-Tails had zero hope of escape and would have remained obediently sealed away.
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