With a single thought, Ryūjin instantly entered Sage Mode.
In that moment, his perception expanded dramatically, increasing dozens, even hundreds of times. His senses reached a truly terrifying level.
Everything within the surrounding Bone Forest became clear to him.
The Kaguya Patriarch, hiding beneath the ground among the forest of bones, could not escape Ryūjin's perception. Every movement the man made underground was laid bare before him.
Of course, the Kaguya Patriarch had no idea.
Moving silently beneath the Bone Forest, he carefully navigated through the underground passages. Slowly, he approached Ryūjin from behind before emerging quietly from the ground.
In an instant, a massive bone spear condensed in his right hand.
Without hesitation, he thrust forward with explosive speed, aiming directly for Ryūjin's back.
A cold and cruel smile spread across the Kaguya Patriarch's face. With this strike, he believed he would pierce straight through his opponent's body.
However, in the next moment, the smile froze on his face.
"Shukaku."
Ryūjin sent a thought to Shukaku, with whom he had already established communication.
In an instant, he entered Tailed Beast Chakra Mode.
A massive arm formed from Shukaku's chakra burst from Ryūjin's body and shot backward. Before the Kaguya Patriarch could react, the chakra hand seized him by the neck.
Like grabbing a helpless chicken, the enormous hand lifted the Kaguya Patriarch off the ground and held him suspended in midair.
"H-how can this be!"
Shock and disbelief filled the Kaguya Patriarch's face.
At this moment, he finally realized that his movements inside the Bone Forest had been completely seen through by Ryūjin.
And that sudden surge of chakra from Ryūjin's body...
Could this man be a Jinchūriki?
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The Shukaku chakra surrounding Ryūjin surged violently, forming two massive chakra legs that carried him out of the Bone Forest.
Once they reached open ground, Ryūjin raised the Kaguya Patriarch in front of him with the Tailed Beast chakra hand.
His voice was cold and impatient.
"I don't have much patience. Take me to Kimimaro, or die."
"I'll take you. No problem!"
The Kaguya Patriarch agreed immediately, a twisted and slightly manic smile appearing on his face.
Even with all his abilities, he had clearly realized that he was no match for Ryūjin. Even if Ryūjin had not threatened him, he would have brought Kimimaro anyway.
After all, Kimimaro was the Kaguya Clan's secret weapon.
"Lead the way."
Ryūjin released him with a cold command.
At the same time, he withdrew his Tailed Beast Chakra Mode.
Shua. Shua.
Both of them used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from the area.
Shua. Shua. Shua.
Not long after they disappeared, several shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village arrived at the scene.
Leading them was a woman with long brownish purple hair that flowed like a waterfall. Her long bangs covered her right eye, giving her an elegant yet mysterious appearance.
She wore a long blue dress that exposed her shoulders, her figure radiating a mature and captivating charm.
She was Mei Terumī.
At this time, she was at the height of her strength within the Hidden Mist Village.
Although Mei Terumī had not yet become Mizukage, her reputation within the village was extremely high. Her influence rivaled that of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, and she had many supporters.
Especially now.
Yagura Karatachi, who had once been controlled by Obito Uchiha, had pushed the Bloody Mist policies to a terrifying level. The brutal graduation rituals, the suppression of bloodline clans, and countless cruel actions had deeply disappointed the shinobi of the Hidden Mist.
Although it was later revealed that Yagura had been manipulated, his prestige within the village had already been severely damaged.
In contrast, Mei Terumī had become a symbol of hope.
She was the most talented shinobi in the history of the Hidden Mist.
Not only did she possess four chakra natures, Water Release, Earth Release, Lightning Release, and Fire Release, but she also possessed two powerful Kekkei Genkai.
Lava Release.
Boil Release.
Because of this, many people in the Hidden Mist believed she should become the next Mizukage.
"What happened here?"
Mei Terumī looked at the scene before her, her brows tightening.
"All these Kaguya Clan members are dead. And this Bone Forest..."
Her expression became more serious.
"This is the Dance of the Seedling Fern."
The Dance of the Seedling Fern was an ultimate technique that only the Kaguya Patriarch could perform. Its destructive power was terrifying, and very few shinobi in the Hidden Mist were capable of resisting it.
The fact that the Kaguya Patriarch had used such a powerful technique meant he had encountered a truly formidable enemy.
At the very least, someone at the Kage level.
But within the Hidden Mist Village, how many shinobi could reach that level?
More importantly, Mei Terumī noticed something else.
Aside from the corpses of the Kaguya Clan members, there were no other bodies in the Bone Forest.
In other words, even after using his ultimate technique, the Kaguya Patriarch had still failed to kill his opponent.
Instead, the entire Kaguya Clan force had been wiped out.
And all of this had happened in an incredibly short amount of time.
Not long ago, Mei Terumī had received a distress signal from an ANBU squad. They had encountered a large group of Kaguya Clan members and urgently requested support.
She had rushed here immediately with her team without any delay.
Yet when she arrived, this was the scene that greeted her.
Every single Kaguya Clan member was dead.
"Lady Mei Terumī."
A scarred and exhausted ANBU shinobi quickly approached her.
"I've checked the surrounding area. The Kaguya Clan members who surrounded us earlier are all dead."
"Only the Kaguya Patriarch is missing."
This shinobi was Asada, the ANBU member who had escaped earlier to request reinforcements.
"Lady Mei Terumī."
Soon, another ANBU shinobi arrived and began reporting his findings.
"From the traces left at the scene, it appears that the Kaguya Clan members experienced two separate battles."
"The first battle was clearly against Asada's squad. During that fight, everyone except Asada was killed."
"Afterward, the Kaguya Clan members encountered a second opponent."
He pointed toward several bodies lying nearby.
"Please look here. These dozen Kaguya Clan members still have extremely strong Lightning Release chakra residue on their bodies."
"If I'm not mistaken, they were instantly incapacitated by a large scale Lightning Release ninjutsu."
"Immediately afterward, the Kaguya Patriarch used the Dance of the Seedling Fern."
"These clan members didn't have time to escape. About half of them were killed by that technique."
"The other half had already died from the Lightning Release attack before the bone spikes pierced them."
Mei Terumī's expression became extremely serious.
In truth, she had already come to the same conclusion after examining the battlefield herself.
To defeat more than a dozen Kaguya Clan members in an instant...
Just who could possess such terrifying strength?
Her brows slowly tightened as she thought about the Lightning Release chakra.
The only person who came to mind was Raiga Kurosuki, the former wielder of the Lightning Blades of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
But Raiga Kurosuki had died in Konoha a year ago.
Even his swords had been lost there.
More importantly, Raiga Kurosuki could never defeat the Kaguya Patriarch.
So who was this mysterious expert who had intervened?
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