Chapter 136 (Patreon)

Mihawk had no way of knowing what Kabuto was thinking.

After confirming that the Third Raikage’s severed body truly could not regenerate, he turned toward the Fourth Division behind him.

His calm voice carried across the battlefield.

“Sealing Corps, move in.”

“Yes!”

The battle between Mihawk and the Third Raikage had been witnessed by nearly ten thousand Allied shinobi.

Once they realized that the Third Raikage was no longer regenerating, the members of the Sealing Corps rushed forward with enormous scrolls in their arms.

Fwoosh!

Long sealing bandages flew through the air.

Moving as though controlled by invisible threads, they wrapped around the Third Raikage’s severed body and gathered every piece into a tightly bound bundle.

A sealing tag bearing the character for “seal” was placed on the outside.

With that, the Third Raikage was successfully sealed.

“Summoning Jutsu: Edo Tensei!”

A voice suddenly echoed across the entire battlefield.

Everyone immediately turned toward its source.

Mū, who had been fighting Ōnoki, had secretly divided himself using the Fission Technique. His second body had appeared some distance away without anyone noticing.

He crouched with both hands pressed against the ground.

Rumble! Rumble!

Twenty-three coffins burst from beneath the desert one after another.

Their lids crashed onto the sand, revealing numerous unfamiliar reanimated shinobi.

Together, they formed a small Edo Tensei army.

Whoosh!

The moment they emerged from their coffins, every one of them leapt toward Mihawk.

Their eyes were empty and their expressions completely lifeless.

Kabuto had erased their consciousness, reducing them to puppets that obeyed his every command.

Their reckless charge made his purpose obvious.

Mihawk immediately understood what Kabuto was attempting.

“How tedious.”

Kabuto must have noticed that the Third Raikage had failed to regenerate.

However, someone as cautious and suspicious as Kabuto would never accept a conclusion after observing only one example.

He had deliberately sent these expendable Edo Tensei shinobi to determine whether the Third Raikage’s condition was unique or caused by Mihawk’s eyes.

Mihawk decided to give him his answer.

Bang!

A ring of compressed air burst beneath Mihawk’s foot as he used Geppo and shot downward.

There was not the slightest trace of Armament Haki coating Nemesis.

Mihawk merely swung the Black Blade normally, its dark edge reflecting a silver-white gleam beneath the morning sun.

Riiip!

The sound of tearing paper continued to echo across the battlefield.

The reanimated shinobi rushing toward him were effortlessly sliced into halves—or cut into several pieces at once.

Their bodies fell onto the desert without spilling a single drop of blood.

Every severed surface was perfectly smooth.

Yet not a speck of the familiar white dust appeared around their wounds.

An Edo Tensei army would have been an extremely troublesome opponent for ordinary shinobi.

In Mihawk’s eyes, however, they were hardly any different from White Zetsu.

Once their immortal bodies had been rendered useless, they became nothing more than airborne targets waiting to be cut down.

All Mihawk needed to do was sever their lines of death.

It reminded him of his childhood, shortly after he had first mastered the Breath of All Things.

Countless targets flew toward him, and he cut through them one after another with clean, effortless swings.

It was like revisiting an old training exercise.

Before long, the desert below was covered in severed limbs and divided bodies.

Not a single reanimated shinobi cut by Nemesis showed any sign of regeneration.

Every wound inflicted through the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception functioned even more decisively than an ordinary sealing technique.

Two minutes later, Mihawk returned to the sky.

He looked down at the scattered bodies and spoke calmly.

“Sealing Corps, move.”

“Yes!”

The stunned members of the Sealing Corps hurriedly recovered and answered at once.

Carrying their scrolls, they rushed across the battlefield and began sealing the immobilized Edo Tensei shinobi one after another.

Their eyes burned with near-fanatical admiration.

Gaara’s speech had united the Allied Shinobi Forces and earned their respect.

Mihawk’s overwhelming strength inspired a different feeling.

His mere presence made them feel as though no enemy could break through him.

They did not need to hear a speech or receive an explanation.

When Mihawk gave an order, they instinctively followed it.

“Just as I thought. It isn’t a sealing ability…”

Observing through the eyes of his reanimated shinobi, Kabuto stared solemnly at Mihawk.

“Those eyes can kill the jutsu itself.”

Kabuto lowered his gaze toward a lone piece positioned outside the main formation on his board.

“Nerona Mihawk is troublesome in an entirely different way from Uchiha Itachi. One is a pawn that escaped my control, while the other is an enemy who cannot be ignored.”

His long, snake-like tongue slid across the corner of his mouth.

“Should I bring out my trump card and see how they deal with it?”

After considering the possibility, Kabuto shook his head.

“No… it’s still too early.”

“That man has already set out with the jinchūriki force. I’ll allow these expendable pieces to wear down the Allied forces first.”

————

After eliminating the Edo Tensei army, Mihawk deactivated the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

The icy blue faded from his eyes, returning them to their usual ruby-red color.

He could maintain the Mystic Eyes without burden, but there was no reason to leave them active now that Kabuto’s test was over.

Mihawk had already confirmed that the Mystic Eyes could kill the Edo Tensei itself and permanently prevent its reanimated bodies from regenerating.

The remaining enemies could be defeated normally and left to the Sealing Corps.

Mihawk returned Nemesis to its sheath and looked toward Hinata.

“The Third Raikage has been dealt with. The Second Mizukage is yours, Hinata.”

“All right.”

Hinata nodded confidently.

“Leave him to me, Mihawk-kun. You can watch from here.”

Mihawk gave a slight nod.

Hinata manipulated gravity around his body and gently lowered him onto a nearby rocky hill.

The self-cleaning function of Mihawk’s kimono had already removed every trace of dust and dirt, allowing him to sit down without concern.

From his position atop the hill, he quietly observed the battlefields below.

Ōnoki was still engaged in a fierce battle with the Second Tsuchikage, Mū.

Gaara, meanwhile, had successfully defeated and sealed his father, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.

Of the four former Kage summoned by Kabuto, only Mū and the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, remained.

Matchups played an important role in any battle.

This was true in both the shinobi world and the seas.

A powerful technique could be rendered almost useless when facing an opponent who possessed the perfect counter.

The Third Raikage’s extraordinary speed would have overwhelmed most swordsmen, but Mihawk’s Observation Haki could follow his movements without difficulty. Hinata’s gravity had then deprived him of that speed entirely.

Edo Tensei allowed reanimated shinobi to regenerate endlessly and repeatedly use techniques that would normally result in mutual death.

However, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception could kill the jutsu sustaining their immortal bodies.

The Second Mizukage was a battle-loving shinobi proficient in Water Release and genjutsu.

Unfortunately for him, Hinata was an extremely unfavorable opponent.

Ordinary visual genjutsu could not deceive the Tenseigan.

Hinata’s repulsion could deflect incoming ninjutsu, while her gravity could drag an enemy out of hiding and restrain them from a distance.

Combined with her greatly strengthened Gentle Fist, she possessed everything necessary to counter Gengetsu’s abilities.

Mihawk allowed his left leg to hang over the edge of the rocky hill while keeping his right knee raised.

He rested both hands loosely atop his knee and watched Hinata fly toward the Second Mizukage.

“Hinata…”

“Show me what your training has accomplished.”