The Three-Tails was a one-eyed sea turtle.
The moment it appeared, it saw the wooden dragons—and its single eye filled with terror.
Its other eye had been blinded long ago by Hashirama Senju's Wood Release. Seeing Wood Release again now, it hurriedly searched for Hashirama Senju.
Then the tension in the Three-Tails' eye eased.
Standing atop the wooden dragon was not Hashirama Senju, but a ninja wearing a fox mask.
And that Wood Golem was different from Hashirama Senju's as well. Three heads, six arms—it looked flashy and overdone, unlike Hashirama's Wood Golem, which had been simple and profound.
The Three-Tails had been scared half to death. It thought Hashirama Senju had lived this long.
If it was not Hashirama Senju, then it was Hashirama Senju's descendant.
Kill him.
Take revenge on Hashirama Senju.
Avenge its blinded eye.
The Three-Tails immediately used Water Release, intending to test the strength of Hashirama Senju's descendant.
Yako might have to move from battlefield to battlefield after this, so he did not use Thousand-Hand Wrathful King.
Facing the surging Water Release, Yako formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Body Flicker!"
His strength was already high enough that some trump cards no longer needed to remain hidden.
He had carried out so many missions in the Land of Rain and had seen Hanzō fight several times. Secretly copying one of Hanzō's trump cards wasn't too unreasonable, was it?
The Threefold Wood Golem and Yako vanished together.
In the next instant, they were already in front of the Three-Tails.
The Three-Tails suddenly felt that something was wrong.
This descendant of Hashirama Senju seemed stronger than expected.
Its three tails hurriedly swung forward from behind.
However, the three-headed, six-armed Threefold Wood Golem extended three arms and caught the Three-Tails' tails.
More and more memories surfaced in the Three-Tails' mind.
Back then, Hashirama Senju's Wood Golem had been extremely durable. Its tails had not been able to smash the Wood Golem's body apart.
"You can't move now, can you, little sea turtle?"
Yako formed a seal.
"Forbidden Technique: Gold Dust Severing Wave!"
A violent stream of water shot out, mixed with Gold Dust, slicing toward the roots of the Three-Tails' tails.
The Three-Tails' scream echoed across the sea and Ryojō Port.
One armor-covered tail flew into the air.
The Three-Tails had become the Two-Tails.
The Three-Tails was horrified to discover that Konoha's fox possessed top-tier Water Release ninjutsu—and had even fused something like Shukaku's sand into it.
That damned Shukaku.
Had it betrayed the tailed beasts?
Two wooden dragons surged forward, biting into the Three-Tails' head and dragging it out from inside its shell, exposing its vulnerable neck.
"Three-Tails, have you ever seen fishermen kill a sea turtle? They always pull the turtle's head out first…"
Another Gold Dust Severing Wave shot out, slicing toward the Three-Tails' neck.
The Three-Tails still tried to struggle, but the Threefold Wood Golem had already pressed down on its body. More wooden dragons coiled around it.
Ten seconds later, the Gold Dust Severing Wave cut through the Three-Tails' neck.
"As expected of the Three-Tails' turtle head. Thick and tough."
The Three-Tails' body began to collapse, turning into chakra and dispersing into the seawater.
In the distance, the Six-Tails was fighting Kushina. After seeing the Three-Tails killed, the Six-Tails forced Kushina back and looked at Fox with a grave expression.
"Even someone as powerful as Hashirama Senju mainly captured us tailed beasts. Are you not afraid that we tailed beasts will take revenge on Konoha ninja in the future? You will die. We tailed beasts are eternal."
The Six-Tails' voice was extremely strange. Its mouthparts were several hollow openings arranged side by side, making its speech sound as though it came with its own echo.
"Capture you?" Yako said.
"I'm not Lord Hashirama. I have no interest in capturing you.
If you're lucky in the future, you may encounter people who want to capture you and seal you inside the husk of the Ten-Tails.
As for me, I have no interest in such things."
The Six-Tails froze.
A Konoha ninja actually knew about the Ten-Tails?
And even knew about the Ten-Tails' husk?
Yako continued, "As for you tailed beasts taking revenge on Konoha in the future… that does remind me of something.
You tailed beasts have lived from the era of the Sage of Six Paths until now. You should not have existed in the first place.
Six-Tails, wait patiently. Let's see whether you are captured by certain people first… or completely killed by me."
Hearing the killing intent in the Konoha ninja's words, the Six-Tails reacted instinctively and condensed a massive Tailed Beast Ball.
The Tailed Beast Ball shot toward the Wood Golem.
However, the Wood Golem caught it with one hand.
The strength of the Threefold Wood Golem had already surpassed the tailed beasts by a level.
This was a power beyond the Kage level.
The Threefold Wood Golem's arm suddenly extended, pressing the Tailed Beast Ball down toward the sea where the Six-Tails had disappeared.
After the terrifying explosion, a tsunami rose across the sea.
Yako waved his hand and created a row of Wood Release flood barriers, preventing the tsunami from destroying Ryojō Port.
Princess Kushina was just about to deal with the Six-Tails when she realized it had actually fled, merging into the seawater.
"Kushina! Don't chase the Six-Tails! Come with me!"
Hearing Lord Fox call her, Kushina quickly arrived beneath the Wood Golem's knee.
Yako released the Wood Release, allowing the Wood Golem to sink back beneath the sea.
Then he took Kushina and walked toward the temple.
The seawater washed a corpse over.
Yako glanced at it and discovered it was Yagura's body, exposed after the Two-Tails chakra dispersed.
Yako thought to himself that with Yagura dying early, perhaps Kirigakure would not experience the terrifying era of the Bloody Mist.
The Three-Tails was dead. The Six-Tails had fled.
After seeing the Mist suffer a crushing defeat in the Kage-level battle on the sea, the Mist ninja no longer cared about anything else. Avoiding the front of the sea, they fled toward both sides.
Yako, however, had no intention of stopping them and continued walking toward the temple.
When he was a little over a hundred meters from the temple, someone suddenly leapt out from inside.
It was Yamanaka Kari.
Yamanaka Kari shouted, "Lord Fox! Ōnoki and the Third Raikage have appeared outside Konoha Village! Lord Hokage is fighting both of them!"
Just hearing those two names was enough to know that the Third Hokage was at a disadvantage.
Yako said, "Don't panic. We finished at just the right time. Now we can return and reinforce the village."
On the roof of a tall building in Ryojō Port, Nara Shikakaku watched as Fox, Princess Kushina, and Yamanaka Kari disappeared into the temple courtyard.
He said to Nara Shikaku beside him, "Shikaku, carry out Commander Fox's strategy. Shift from defense to offense. Capture the Land of Waves, at least one-third of the Land of Water's cities, and perhaps even the capital of the Land of Water."
Nara Shikaku said, "Although we defeated the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, relying only on our two thousand ninja may be a bit difficult."
"There is no difficulty," Nara Shikakaku said.
"As we seize territory, Deputy Commander Yuka will build shrines or temples at the same time.
As we keep fighting, more and more Konoha reinforcements will arrive.
The nature of war has changed. It is no longer a matter of both sides sending several thousand frontline troops to fight to the death.
We have stronger deployment capability. The Mist is no match for us.
Shikaku, I have a mission for you."
"What mission?"
"Form a pursuit unit. Don't let the Seven Ninja Swordsmen escape."
Nara Shikakaku thought for a moment, then said:
"During the pre-war meeting, Commander Fox said Might Duy is the perfect weapon against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Classify Might Duy as an unexpected factor and recruit him."