"ROAR!"
Hearing the Three-Tails' muffled roar from underwater, the Third Mizukage's expression changed drastically.
He could clearly sense that the Three-Tails' massive chakra was receding like a low tide, fading rapidly!
"Not good, the Three-Tails..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the bone clone—who had been silently grappling with him—seemed to curl its lip beneath the bone mask, sneering as if its scheme had succeeded.
It completely abandoned all defense and evasion. Like a moth to a flame, it charged recklessly at the Third Mizukage, its intent painfully obvious.
"Get lost!" The Mizukage shouted furiously, anxiety burning in his chest.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were also startled by the clone's suicidal tactics, but their attacks didn't falter.
"Explosive Blade Art: Blast Limit Heavy Death!"
Jinpachi Munashi's Shibuki detonated with countless explosive tags. The violent blast sent the bone clone flying, shattering parts of its bone armor.
However, the trajectory of the blown-away clone was suspicious—it was hurtling straight toward the Mizukage, who was trying to bypass it to reach the lake.
"Dead Bone Pulse: Dance of the Seedling Fern — Modified."
Unlike Naoto Kaguya's indiscriminate attack, the mid-air bone clone seemed to burn every last bit of its remaining energy as fuel. Countless sharp bone spikes erupted from its body!
These spikes didn't scatter randomly. Instead, they condensed into a rapidly extending path of death, like a living forest of bone spears, thrusting madly toward the Third Mizukage!
The speed was incredible, covering the Mizukage's immediate vicinity in an instant. Unable to dodge in time, in that hair's breadth of a moment, his body instantly liquefied.
BOOM—!!
The bone path exploded violently upon touching the liquefied Mizukage, turning into countless razor-sharp bone shrapnel that shot out indiscriminately in all directions!
When the aftershocks of the jutsu faded, the bone spikes crumbled into dust. Forced to use his Hydrification Technique, the Third Mizukage reformed his body on the spot, seemingly unharmed.
However, because of this delay, it was already too late.
In the lake, Night had completely subdued the Three-Tails. With a murmured incantation, the beast's aura vanished entirely.
Due to the sudden vacuum in the space below, the lake surface formed a rapidly spinning vortex as water rushed to fill the void.
Night's figure broke the surface of the water, panting slightly. Forcibly controlling a Three-Tails in its prime underwater had taken some effort.
He looked from afar at the Third Mizukage, whose face was livid, and spoke calmly:
"I'll graciously accept this great gift from the Mist."
Behind him, the golden bone chains slowly retracted into his body. His demeanor was unhurried, almost casual.
The Third Mizukage stared daggers at him, as if trying to burn his image into his brain. He asked viciously:
"Who are you?"
Night didn't answer. He didn't even spare the Mizukage another glance before his figure vanished abruptly.
Only when he confirmed the enemy was truly gone did the Mizukage's tightly wound nerves relax slightly. Blood trickled unbidden from the corner of his mouth.
He clutched his chest tightly, his face pale. It was hard to tell if it was from the pain of the Mist's catastrophic losses or the backlash from forcibly using the Hozuki clan's secret technique.
---
After leaving the battlefield, Night didn't stop for a second.
Disregarding chakra consumption, he pushed his speed to the limit. His figure flickered continuously between the forests and marshes, moving so fast he left only a blur.
In less than half a day, he had completely cleared the core territory of the Mist. Without pausing, he crossed the border of the Land of Water and entered the lands of the former Land of Whirlpools.
When he stepped onto this once-prosperous land—now reduced to ruins and waist-high wild grass—his pace unconsciously slowed.
The power of time was irresistible. The Uzushiogakure of the past had been erased by time and war. Only the remaining foundations and rotting wood and stone seemed to whisper of its former glory.
Walking through the ruins, a rare sense of melancholy rose in his heart.
Not long ago, he was just a Konoha Genin fresh to the battlefield—cannon fodder struggling to survive on the edge of life and death, his future bleak.
If he hadn't awakened the System in a desperate situation, he probably would have ended up like these ruins: silent, forgotten, and buried here.
Now, he possessed multiple bloodlines. unleashing his full power, his strength firmly placed him in the ranks of Kage-level powerhouses.
This earth-shattering change had happened in such a short time.
While walking, he discovered a hot spring vent half-hidden by weeds, surrounded by dilapidated pillars. This might have been a popular hot spring inn once.
Night stripped off his battle-worn clothes and submerged himself in the lukewarm water. The warmth washed away his fatigue and the scent of blood.
Changing into clean clothes, he reverted to his normal appearance. The water reflected his face and figure, and he noticed that his clothes felt a bit tight.
Perhaps due to the physical changes brought by multiple bloodlines, his height had quietly shot up again recently. At a glance, he looked no different from an adult man.
He gathered his thoughts and sank into the System interface to check the biggest harvest from his trip to the Mist.
> [Ding! Chakra High-Density Aggregate (Three-Tails Isobu) Soul Escaped. Valuation: 2000]
As expected, the Three-Tails' soul had escaped, but the key item still appeared in the interface.
> [Multiverse Rare Pawn Shop System]
> [Host: Night Namikaze (Platinum Card)]
> [Multiverse Credit (Upgraded): Current Overdraft Limit: 2000]
> [Redeem (Upgraded): Pawns can be redeemed. Fee: 0 Points/Transaction]
> [Targeted Tracing (New): When samples are insufficient, points can be spent to perform targeted tracing.]
> [Redeemable Items:] (Previous items collapsed)
> [Water Release Affinity — Cost: 600 Points]
> [Six Paths Power - Isobu (1/9) — Cost: 1000 Points]
Night had originally intended only to redeem the Six Paths Power, but the "Water Release Affinity" that appeared after pawning the Three-Tails caught his eye.
"Redeem: Water Release Affinity, Six Paths Power."
> [Current Pawn Points: 7555]
Just like the boost he got from the Five-Tails, a majestic power—far deeper than Tailed Beast chakra and closer to the origin of power itself—slowly merged into his body.
It felt like his very life level had been elevated again. His perception and control of chakra entered a whole new realm.
As for the Water Release Affinity, while not as instantly visible as a Kekkei Genkai, he could clearly feel his control over water element significantly enhanced. Not only was the power greater, but he could now cast most Water Release jutsu without complex hand seals.
Looking at the hot spring in front of him, he simply waved his hand, and a stream of water naturally leaped into his palm.
After doing all this, his gaze fell on the five Uzumaki Clan Members (Living) on the redemption list.
After a moment of thought—since the redemption time limit hadn't passed yet—he made his move. With a flash of light, five unconscious red-haired figures appeared in the clearing by the hot spring.
Although they were still in a coma and near death, at least they were out of that dark laboratory.
Touched by the scene and remembering that he too had benefited from the Uzumaki legacy, Night decided to bring them back. It would be his way of preserving the last sparks for this withered clan.