Yagura watched that crazed smile and couldn't help thinking how utterly abnormal the Kaguya clan was. Still, he didn't dwell on it. He steadied himself, prepared for Guy's next assault—when suddenly the Kaguya Clan Head coughed a splatter of blood. His body trembled and he dropped to his knees on the surface of the water.
Even maintaining his footing on the sea became difficult; using chakra to stand required focus and a stable condition, and clearly the Kaguya Clan Head's condition had deteriorated drastically.
Yagura immediately asked, "What happened? Are you okay?"
But the moment he spoke, the Kaguya Clan Head—who had been barely managing to kneel on the water using his chakra—began to sink. His control faltered completely. He couldn't speak. His breaths came in harsh, desperate gasps, but no air seemed to reach him.
Yagura's eyes widened as realization struck. This wasn't a normal injury. This was poisoning—severe poisoning. The symptoms were too sudden, too overwhelming.
And he was right.
Guy had used his Calamity Claw technique through his sword, injecting the deadly virus directly into the Kaguya Clan Head's body. Now that particle was rampaging inside him, silently and relentlessly destroying him from within.
After seeing the condition of the Kaguya Clan Head, even Guy was genuinely surprised. He had used Calamity Claw—a technique that injects a virus into the opponent's body. That virus corrodes the target's mind, driving them into heightened violence. Those with weaker mental resistance suffer far more severe effects… and may even die.
Guy hadn't expected this outcome at all. For the clan head of the Kaguya—one of the fiercest battle-loving clans—he had assumed a strong, unshakable mental fortitude. But the way the man collapsed, unable to breathe properly or even control his chakra, showed just how devastating the virus had been.
Then Guy recalled what he knew of the Kaguya clan: battle-driven, reckless, thrill-seeking maniacs who constantly chased death on the battlefield. So their minds are wired more for violence than stability, Guy realized. And suddenly, the clan head's violent reaction to the virus made perfect sense.
Yagura immediately caught the collapsing Kaguya Clan Head, steadying him for a moment—but Guy wasn't about to let him intervene. Guy launched an attack straight at Yagura. Realizing the danger, Yagura understood he couldn't risk his own life trying to save someone he wasn't obligated to protect. With a sharp exhale, he released the Kaguya Clan Head, letting the man's body slip beneath the water, and turned to face Guy once more.
Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, Gildarts unleashed his Crush Magic. The blast struck Jinin square in the stomach. For a single frozen moment, Jinin's expression twisted into pure horror—he knew instantly that he was dead. His body shattered into multiple pieces, raining down into the sea and turning the water around Gildarts a deep shade of red.
Elsewhere, Angel clashed with Kushimaru. With a calm, chilling voice, Angel whispered, "One Hundred Years Sacrifice." A double-edged sword with a cross on its hilt materialized in his hand an instant later, and he swung it with lethal precision.
Kushimaru raised his needle-like sword to block, but Angel's weapon sliced through it effortlessly—then cut through Kushimaru himself. His body split cleanly in half. Both of Kushimaru's arms dropped into the water first, followed by the upper half of his torso. The lower half slowly slid beneath the surface, sinking into the darkening sea.
And like this, three enemies fell one after another—cut down by the Uzumaki siblings with overwhelming force.
But while these fierce clashes unfolded and the siblings dominated their individual battles, something else was happening as well. The ordinary Kirigakure forces were steadily marching toward the Uzumaki village. Step by step, formation by formation, they drew closer and closer. Yet the Uzumaki siblings showed no visible worry. Their focus remained fully on the high-level enemies before them.
…
Half an hour passed in the intense battle between Shanks and the Mizukage. Eventually, both stood facing each other across the churning water. The Mizukage looked visibly exhausted—shoulders rising and falling, breath ragged.
Shanks, on the other hand, though breathing heavier than before, wasn't exhausted at all. His stance remained solid, his aura steady, and his eyes sharp, ready for many more rounds if needed.
This entire prolonged fight had only consumed about thirty percent of his chakra reserves. Over the years, his chakra capacity had grown so dramatically that he no longer had a proper way to measure it. But one thing was clear: Shanks still had plenty of chakra left—more than enough to continue the battle without hesitation.
On the other hand, the situation for the Mizukage was the complete opposite. His chakra felt dangerously low… or so it appeared.
Just then, Shanks' expression shifted sharply. Without hesitation, he leapt high into the air. A split second later, a massive mouth burst up from beneath the water where he had been standing, snapping shut on empty space. Shanks hovered above the sea, having narrowly avoided the attack.
And from that colossal mouth emerged Isobu—the Three-Tails.
Shanks froze for a moment, genuinely petrified. It wasn't the appearance of the Three-Tails itself that shook him. He had anticipated the possibility of summons or hidden forces. What chilled his blood was the sight of Isobu's eyes—its massive, spinning Sharingan.
A cold shiver ran down Shanks' spine. This can't be… Because as far as he knew, in the entire world, only one person possessed the power to control a Tailed Beast with a Sharingan, and that person was none other than Uchiha Madara.
Shanks tore his gaze from Isobu and looked toward the Mizukage, who was smiling as he watched Shanks' reaction. Before Shanks could demand an explanation, Isobu opened its mouth wider—chakra swirling violently as it began forming a massive Tailed Beast Ball.
This moment of shock—those few frozen seconds—allowed the Tailed Beast Ball to fully form. Had Shanks reacted instantly, he might have disrupted it, but now it was too late. Even if he tried, he would not be able to stop its completion.
Isobu released the Tailed Beast Ball straight toward him. Shanks could have dodged—his speed was more than enough—but he couldn't. If he moved aside, the attack would continue on its path… directly toward the Uzumaki Village. It lay perfectly in the trajectory of the massive sphere. So Shanks had only one choice: meet it head-on.
He tightened his grip on his sword. "So be it."
In the next heartbeat, he poured every ounce of his will into the blade—his Conqueror's Haki surging violently, Armament Haki: External emission coating the steel. Black lightning erupted, dancing across the surface of the sword.
"Divine Departure!"
He slashed vertically, unleashing a colossal red flying sword slash. Black lightning spilled from it, because of his Conqueror's Haki as the attack tore forward to meet the incoming Tailed Beast Ball.
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