The power gap between tailed beasts and regular shinobi is immense—they're not even on the same scale.
Yagura and Isobu didn't just launch a surprise attack on Kumogakure's forces.
Against overwhelming power, the Kumo shinobi couldn't muster a single effective or threatening counterattack.
A big part of this was due to Isobu and Yagura now fighting in perfect sync, with Yagura maintaining rational control over the battle as the Jinchūriki.
During several desperate counteroffensives, the Kumo shinobi slowly realized something terrifying.
Some of them had experience battling their own village's Jinchūriki—specifically, the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails.
But this Mist shinobi's tailed beast... was nothing like the ones they had fought before.
Any long-range jutsu or explosive tag attack was immediately copied and turned back at them.
Once their attacks were nullified, their positions were exposed, and the beast would immediately strike that location.
Even feints and misdirection tactics were completely seen through—then turned against them. The beast would ignore the decoy and strike the true source of the attack with uncanny precision.
And even on the rare occasion that an attack actually landed, the massive turtle's sturdy shell made it hard to say whether the tailed beast had taken any real damage.
This Kumo squad had only been sent here to disrupt Kirigakure's operations. They didn't have the necessary tools to deal with a tailed beast—most crucially, no sealing techniques.
"Captain, we should retreat..."
Continuing this fight would only lead to more needless sacrifice.
The original commander of this thousand-man strike force had already been killed in the initial blast from Isobu's water cannon. The current squad leader had only stepped up temporarily—he had experience in sealing operations against Kumo's own Jinchūriki.
From afar, he glared at the beast that had already slaughtered so many of their comrades, eyes bloodshot with hatred.
This tailed beast... behaved like a human.
A terrifying thought clawed into his mind.
He didn't want to believe it. It was something unheard of in all of the shinobi world.
Even Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki acknowledged by the Third Raikage himself, couldn't manage this level of control.
Unable to regroup for a proper counterattack, the Kumo forces had failed in their mission to strike at the Mist.
Beside him, the sensory ninja reported mounting casualties. Continuing this battle served no purpose anymore.
"Retreat! Everyone, fall back!"
Boom!
Three massive tails came crashing down from above—smashing directly into the temporary Kumo command center!
Everyone inside was obliterated in an instant.
Through Isobu's eyes, Yagura had been monitoring the battlefield closely.
After a prolonged period of observation, he had pinpointed the area with the highest density of Kumo movement.
A precise strike had destroyed the brain of their operation.
Surrounded Kumo shinobi stared back at the tailed beast in horror.
Isobu glanced at them coldly, then opened its maw—releasing a high-pressure stream of water!
After nearly an hour of brutal fighting, the thousand Kumo shinobi stationed here to strike at the Mist were nearly all dead or severely wounded.
Thanks to Yagura's precision targeting, all jonin-level forces had been eliminated in the last wave.
Once their central command was annihilated, the Kumo shinobi completely lost the will to fight.
"Run, run for your lives!"
"There's no way we can win this!"
"We have to fall back and call for reinforcements!"
The massive water cannons swept through the dense crowd like a natural disaster.
Under the sheer force of the blasts, human bodies couldn't withstand even a moment—their vision faded to black as they were knocked unconscious or killed on the spot.
If you're going to strike, strike without mercy—eliminate as much enemy force as possible.
Isobu's tails whipped sharply through the air, sweeping out in all directions—
A massive figure leapt into the battlefield!
A hand blade cloaked in furious lightning clashed directly with Isobu's armored tail—parrying and sending it flying!
Finally. He was here.
Yagura had been holding position all this time, waiting for this very man.
Seeing the newcomer clearly, he snapped out of his battle trance and called out with gravity,
"Isobu! How's your chakra holding up?"
Isobu had sensed the power in that last attack too—this was no ordinary human.
The beast's tail swished through the air.
"Don't worry! I haven't used much yet. I've still got at least ten minutes in me!"
"Ha, ten minutes..."
Against the Third Raikage, even ten minutes would be a miracle.
Feeling Isobu's determination, Yagura clenched his fists, eager for battle.
"Good! Then let's get ready for a serious fight!"
The Kumo shinobi, saved from certain death by the newcomer, cried out in joy:
"Raikage-sama!"
The Third Raikage's frame was even more massive than his son, the future Fourth Raikage.
With a barrel-like waist and shoulders just as wide, his powerful muscles bulged beneath the lightning armor covering his bare torso and limbs—every inch of him radiated strength.
His eyes swept across the ruined coastal outpost, taking in the fallen Kumo shinobi strewn throughout the rubble.
Pain flashed through his eyes as he fixed his gaze on the massive, three-tailed beast before him.
When they launched this operation against the Mist—or more accurately, against the supply line supporting Konohagakure—he had expected some resistance.
The war had been raging for some time, and Kirigakure's position was becoming increasingly clear.
They didn't have the will—or the ability—to sustain a full-scale war.
...
Based on what he knew of Mist's combat strength, the Third Raikage hadn't taken the possibility of a serious counterattack too seriously.
Rationally, his goal was to cut off Mist's support for Konoha, since that had stalled the allied forces' ability to gain an edge.
Emotionally, he looked down on the Mist, who had remained hidden and hesitant for so long.
But this time... they responded. And that response had delivered a rather unexpected "surprise."
The Third Raikage had to admit—it was his misjudgment that led to the deaths of so many Kumo shinobi here.
A tailed beast.
The so-called weak Mist had actually deployed a tailed beast to the front lines.
Kumogakure wasn't far from the coast of the Land of Lightning.
The moment a sensory ninja detected the chakra signature of a tailed beast, the Third Raikage had rushed to the battlefield personally.
On his way, countless thoughts had raced through his mind.
Tailed beasts were the hidden trump cards of every great village. Despite the fierce conflict with Konoha, not a single village had dared deploy their beast.
They were powerful, yes—but uncontrollable.
No Jinchūriki could ever truly claim to control one without risk.
Yet due to a gap in intelligence, the Third Raikage had paid the price with a thousand lives.
His face darkened as he barked an order: "All Kumo shinobi—fall back immediately! Leave this to me!"
"Yes, sir!"
With a man who could trade blows with the Eight-Tails standing here, the remaining Kumo shinobi retreated. Yagura didn't pursue them.
Stripping away all other possibilities, there was only one explanation for Mist's bold decision to deploy a tailed beast:
The Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails had mastered control—and their Mizukage trusted him completely.
The Third Raikage shrugged off his lightning cloak and roared, fury in his eyes.
"Mist's Jinchūriki—you've got guts!"
Yagura raised a brow. That phrasing was interesting.
By rank, the Third Raikage should've called him "Mizukage," not "Jinchūriki."
So he didn't know yet?
That the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure was also the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki?
Sometimes, good intel was too good.
"Oh well," Yagura muttered, stepping forward. "Let's introduce ourselves properly."
His figure appeared atop Isobu's head.
The fact that a Jinchūriki could emerge while the tailed beast was in full form shocked the Third Raikage—it confirmed his suspicions.
But then he saw Yagura's face—and felt something stir within him.
Of course.
Yagura tilted his head with a grin.
"So the Third Tsuchikage didn't share my intel with you, huh? Raikage-senpai"
The Third Raikage pieced it all together.
"So that's it... Mizukage. You became Mizukage by using the power of the tailed beast!"
All the speculation about Mist trusting its Jinchūriki was rendered moot. There was no "trust" if the Mizukage himself was the Jinchūriki.
"Only figuring that out now? Bit late."
Yagura spread his hands with a mocking smirk.
"Strange, though. Aren't you allies with Iwagakure? Yet it's your Kumo forces out here, not them."
So Tsuchikage had known and withheld the intel—sending Kumo to take the fall.
The Raikage scowled. "A cheap provocation."
"Provocation? I'm just stating facts. Honestly, partnering with a schemer like the Tsuchikage—who knows when he'll stab you in the back? Why not consider us instead?"
Yagura paused, suddenly remembering what he'd just done.
"Ah... never mind. Probably not a good time to talk alliances."
His eyes fell briefly on the lightning-shaped scar across the Third Raikage's chest. His smile faded, voice cold: "I've heard of your reputation. Rumor has it the Third Raikage can fight your own village's Eight-Tails one-on-one."
He began to sink back into Isobu.
"Well, if you're tired of the Eight-Tails... how about giving our Three-Tails a try today?"
The Third Raikage growled in anger. "Arrogant brat!"
...
Returning to Isobu's body, Yagura steadied himself. This was it—time to face off against one of the strongest Kage alive.
He asked, "Isobu, you're not weaker than your Eight-Tails brother, right?"
Isobu replied honestly, "Probably a little weaker."
Yagura was about to throw in a quip, but before he could—
The Third Raikage vanished from sight in a blur of lightning.
"He's coming!"
So fast, Yagura couldn't even track his afterimage.
If he hadn't already fused with Isobu, he would've been taken out in one strike—just like when he'd faced the Third Kazekage.
That's how wide the power gap was.
"Isobu, roll out!"
"Could you ask a little nicer?!"
Recognizing the threat, Isobu dropped its usual laziness and sprang into motion—tucking into a wheel-like shape and rolling away at high speed.
The Third Raikage descended from above, fingers clenched, jabbing into the sand with thunderous force.
Muscle and lightning combined in a devastating strike—
The ground beneath him exploded, sending sand and stone flying in every direction!
The Third Raikage's Signature Technique—Hell Stab: Four-Finger Spear Thrust!
Isobu rolled swiftly back toward the ocean, his preferred terrain, transforming mid-motion and unleashing a powerful Water Cannon straight into the heart of the swirling sand!
But this time, the water jet didn't tear through Kumogakure shinobi as effortlessly as before.
The Hell Stab: Four-Finger Spear Thrust was famed as the strongest spear, while the Third Raikage himself, honed and reinforced by lightning chakra, was said to possess the strongest shield.
The water blast struck the Raikage squarely in the chest—but it was like slamming into a steel mountain. It didn't move him an inch.
He hadn't dodged. He deliberately took the hit head-on. His feet, like pillars of a fortress, were anchored to the ground.
Though the sandy coast beneath him was blown back by the pressure, his body didn't shift at all.
"The Tailed Beast of Water... your Water Style is impressive!"
The Third Raikage quickly adapted to the impact, standing tall and roaring defiantly.
His four-fingered spear raised high—then dropped down to cut through the stream. In that instant, he leapt away, dodging the rest of the blast radius.
A thunderous crash followed as his feet struck the ground again. Then, the Raikage launched himself toward the sea at lightning speed.
He ignored the inherent disadvantage of fighting in water.
Instead, he relied entirely on his overwhelming power to push through this difficult terrain!
Isobu, unable to evade mid-air, aimed again and fired off another volley of water blasts—each one backed by massive orbs of water detonating around them for support.
But the Raikage had already gotten a feel for Isobu's strength in their first exchange. His responses grew faster, more precise.
He curled one finger inward.
Four fingers became three.
Three-Finger Spear Thrust—his strongest piercing technique. He used it to break through the water attacks, each strike closing the distance.
The descending water orbs exploded on contact with his lightning armor, but they didn't so much as slow him down.
Boom!
The Third Raikage burst through the curtain of water, slamming straight into Isobu's massive form.
The impact shook his shell and sent a shockwave of pain deep into his flesh.
"RRAAAHHHH—!!"
Isobu roared in pain, using the force to sink back into the sea.
...
Inside the shared mental space, Yagura's voice rang out urgently.
"You okay?"
Isobu gave a small shake of his head.
"I'm fine."
Among his fellow tailed beasts, Isobu's offensive power was near the bottom.
But he had one thing the others lacked—a shell that could endure.
He dove deep, trying to buy time and think. That last attack couldn't be ignored.
Just as Yagura's intel had said, this Raikage's power and defense surpassed even his son—the future Fourth Raikage.
"Tch... Of course it wouldn't be easy."
Isobu's water attacks, the same ones that had slaughtered Kumogakure's forces, did nothing against the Third Raikage.
He let out a heavy breath.
This was a calculated counterattack against the Hidden Cloud. Facing the Raikage had been part of the plan.
Yagura had many tricks up his sleeve—but when it came to fighting Kage-level opponents, few cards were truly effective.
"You've been studying my jutsu from inside my body all this time, Isobu. Don't tell me that's all you've learned?"
"Mm."
There weren't many techniques that would work—but even so, Yagura had made up his mind.
His expression turned serious. Forming the Water Style sign, he called out,
"Let's go, Isobu!"
The scale of the technique, unleashed by Isobu himself, was dozens—no, hundreds—of times larger than anything Yagura could produce alone.
After striking Isobu into the sea, the Raikage didn't pursue. He simply waited by the shore for that dark shadow to resurface.
Then came a ripple of chakra from beneath.
The ocean exploded upward, towering waves surging toward the Third Raikage from all sides!
"Bring it on!"
The Raikage used his three-fingered spear to carve through the oncoming waves, shattering them before they could trap him.
Isobu's technique lacked the finesse of Yagura's, but made up for it in sheer size and reach.
The relentless flood overwhelmed the Raikage's defenses. He couldn't escape in time.
"Phantom Water Domain!"
A water prison took form!
Isobu roared as he leapt from the ocean, massive chakra gathering before him—
Boom!
The three-fingered spear pierced through the prison! The water shattered!
His physical strength was unreal.
Any ordinary chunin caught in this would've died instantly. Even a jōnin, if they managed to escape, would suffer severe decompression and oxygen loss.
Yagura had once used this very jutsu to wipe out an entire Kumogakure unit.
But it didn't affect the Raikage at all.
His body endured the immense pressure like it was nothing.
Breaking free, he caught sight of Isobu's next move.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
A dense orb of chakra launched toward the coast.
The Third Raikage vanished in a flash of lightning.
Behind him, the Tailed Beast Bomb detonated—shaking the shoreline with a massive explosion.
The Raikage looked back at Yagura and Isobu with casual disdain.
"The strongest attack a tailed beast can use. Powerful... but if it can't hit, what's the point?"
Lowering his stance, he surged forward again like a bolt of thunder.
"So this is the extent of your power, Mizukage?"
If Yagura thought he could challenge Kumogakure with a tailed beast alone, the Raikage would show him what overwhelming strength really looked like.
But everything up to now had been a feint.
...
"Coral Water Cannon!"
Targeting the Raikage's charge path, Isobu let loose a hyper-compressed water beam, stronger than anything Yagura could create!
It shot forward like a blade of pure cold light!
The sharp sound of air being sliced rang out a beat after the beam had already fired.
But the Raikage's instincts were sharper—he raised his spear hand in time.
Three fingers met the beam directly.
The most powerful Lightning Style thrust in the shinobi world, clashing with a high-pressure Water Style technique head-on!
A heartbeat passed.
The Raikage grunted, body pushed slightly back. For the first time, his massive frame bent under pressure.
This jutsu—was on par with, maybe even slightly stronger than, his three-fingered spear.
Lightning Style had always been the symbol of piercing and destruction. And no one in the shinobi world surpassed the Third Raikage in that.
And yet, this water jutsu... was pressing him back.
But only just.
He curled in another finger.
Two-Finger Spear Thrust.
He steadied his stance, pushed harder—and overwhelmed the water beam.
With that, he advanced toward Isobu step by step, gaining momentum.
Yagura narrowed his eyes. "Still one finger left."
In a flash, the Third Raikage used his strongest spear to break through the blast, appearing before the Tailed Beast—fist raised, thunder roaring!
Too fast.
Neither Isobu nor Yagura had time to defend.
To move that fast under that kind of pressure—was that even possible?!
Lightning exploded. Water burst high into the air.
Isobu's massive body was sent flying across the sea, crashing back nearly a hundred meters!
"Savage, isn't he...!"
Yagura barely had time to catch his breath before thunder rumbled again. Through the mist, that monstrous lightning-cloaked figure charged once more. "Isobu!"
Isobu's water jutsu couldn't break through the Raikage's absurd physical defense.
Even the sharpest technique Yagura had couldn't compare to the Raikage's spear.
Before he could strike again, Isobu rolled away, shell spinning fast to avoid the incoming attack.
...
Close combat it is, then!
Isobu doubled back across the water, gaining speed with his rotation, and charged directly at the Raikage!
But the Third Raikage stood firm, feet planted wide, two-finger spear thrust aimed forward.
Boom!
Shell met muscle—the strongest defense against the strongest offense! The surrounding sea exploded from the shockwave.
Isobu gritted his teeth, tanking the spear's piercing power—
His spinning shell dug into the Raikage's lightning armor with each pass, scraping and striking!
But much of his momentum was lost to the spear, and the Raikage's unparalleled physique tanked the rest.
Gradually, Isobu's force wore down.
Suddenly, he stopped spinning.
Before the Raikage could react, Isobu retreated just out of reach, then swept in again with renewed speed, carving a quarter circle across the water and launching himself once more!
The Raikage had just overextended—unable to stop in time, he was hit full force and sent flying into the air.
He blocked just in time, minimizing the damage, but his mind raced.
Tailed Beasts didn't fight like this. They had power but no strategy. Everyone who had fought them knew this.
Which meant—
The Mizukage was guiding this fight from inside.
For the first time, the Raikage felt the true danger of a perfectly synchronized jinchūriki.
...
He slashed through another massive water bomb, only to be met immediately with another spinning charge.
But he was ready.
Two fingers up.
He held firm even before landing. Still, he was forced back a few steps before stabilizing and absorbing the brunt of the hit.
Yagura and Isobu pulled the same trick again—retreating the instant their initial charge failed.
The back-and-forth, Yagura's precise control of the battle tempo—it was starting to piss the Raikage off.
And now they were doing it again?
"Think the same trick'll work twice?!"
Yagura growled under his breath. Damn it. Still just two fingers.
We have to force out his strongest spear—One-Finger Spear Thrust!
He channeled Wind Style chakra into Isobu's shell.
"This isn't the same as before! Go—Isobu!!"
The armored beast roared, now cloaked in cutting wind, charging at full speed straight into the thunder!
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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