Chapter 138 (Patreon)

Hinata continued her bombardment for another thirty or forty seconds before the blue-white glow of compressed repulsion finally faded from her palm.

When the dense cloud of dust dispersed, only the Second Mizukage’s head remained. Every other part of his body had been obliterated.

The moment Hinata stopped attacking, countless particles of white dust began gathering beneath Gengetsu’s neck.

“Hahaha! Amazing! Absolutely amazing!”

Despite losing his entire body, Gengetsu laughed cheerfully.

“To possess power worthy of a Kage at such a young age… I don’t remember ever seeing anyone quite like you!”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

Hinata smiled modestly before turning toward the Allied shinobi waiting behind her.

“Excuse me, is the Sealing Corps ready? Please seal him before his body finishes regenerating.”

“Y-Yes!”

Hinata’s voice snapped the stunned members of the Sealing Corps back to their senses.

The shinobi holding the sealing scroll answered loudly, and several members immediately rushed toward Gengetsu.

Fwoosh!

Long sealing bandages flew forward and wrapped around the Second Mizukage’s head.

Once he had been completely bound, they attached a sealing tag to the bandages and successfully sealed him.

Hinata then flew back toward Mihawk.

“When did you develop that application of your gravity?” Mihawk asked.

Hinata thought for a moment before answering.

“Yesterday evening… No, I first sensed that I could do it during yesterday’s battle. I only managed to understand it properly while training last night.”

Mihawk nodded.

“It’s an impressive technique. You really have grown much stronger, Hinata.”

“Hehe…”

Hinata could not suppress the delighted laugh that escaped her.

She had trained so hard because she wanted to stand beside Mihawk on the battlefield, rather than always watching him from behind.

Fighting alongside him had been her dream for years.

Hearing Mihawk acknowledge her growth filled her chest with warmth. It felt as though all her effort had finally been rewarded.

Hinata then seemed to remember something.

“Mihawk-kun, should we go and help Tsuchikage-sama?”

She was referring to Ōnoki.

Of the four former Kage summoned through Edo Tensei, Rasa, the Third Raikage, and Gengetsu Hōzuki had already been sealed.

Only the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, remained.

Ōnoki and Mū both possessed Dust Release, but Ōnoki was facing an opponent with a regenerating body and constantly replenishing chakra.

His advanced age placed him at an even greater disadvantage in a prolonged battle.

Gaara had already gone to support him after sealing his father.

However, against Dust Release, greater numbers meant very little.

One careless attack could disintegrate everyone caught within its range.

The battle between Gaara, Ōnoki, and Mū had already moved far away from the main force.

Mihawk shook his head.

“There’s no need. Reinforcements have already arrived.”

Hinata paused before focusing her Tenseigan on the distant battlefield.

Her blue-and-white eyes immediately brightened with surprise.

“That chakra… Is that Naruto? He’s changed so much!”

“Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!”

A familiar shout came from the distance.

A moment later, the howl of countless wind blades tore across the desert.

BOOM!

A figure enveloped in brilliant golden-orange chakra entered the battle between the two Tsuchikage.

A massive Rasenshuriken struck Mū at the perfect moment and exploded against his body.

“Naruto!” Gaara exclaimed.

“The Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki?”

Ōnoki breathed heavily as he looked toward the golden figure.

“So he finally learned to control that power.”

The newcomer was indeed Naruto Uzumaki.

Strictly speaking, however, it was only one of his shadow clones.

After gaining control over the Nine-Tails’ chakra and entering Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto’s strength had risen to an entirely different level.

The transformation was comparable to Sasuke awakening the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Naruto had effectively become a one-man army.

He could create an enormous number of shadow clones, and every one of them was powerful enough to serve as valuable reinforcement on a battlefield.

His judgment and instincts in battle had also improved dramatically.

Naruto’s shadow clone had observed the fight and waited for the perfect opening.

Then, with a single Rasenshuriken, he shattered Mū’s reanimated body.

When the hurricane of microscopic wind blades finally dispersed, the Second Tsuchikage’s broken body appeared within the crater.

Gaara immediately brought his hands together.

“Desert Layered Imperial Funeral Seal!”

Before Mū could regenerate, an enormous mass of sand surged across the battlefield and buried his shattered body.

The sand rapidly compressed into a small pyramid.

A sealing tag was then attached to its surface.

“All right! We got him!”

Naruto raised both hands and shouted triumphantly.

Gaara and Ōnoki finally allowed themselves to relax.

Only Mihawk and Hinata reacted differently.

Hinata’s eyebrows drew together as her Tenseigan remained focused on the sealed pyramid.

“Mihawk-kun… Mū divided himself earlier, didn’t he? If Gaara only sealed one half, will the other half disappear?”

Mihawk slowly rose to his feet.

“If it were an ordinary Shadow Clone, it would vanish once the original body was sealed.”

His gaze shifted toward the distant desert.

“But Mū didn’t use the Shadow Clone Jutsu. His Fission Technique divides his actual body into two independent halves.”

“Sealing one half won’t affect the other.”

A trace of anticipation entered Mihawk’s otherwise calm voice.

“Recover as much chakra as you can, Hinata. A far more dangerous enemy is about to appear.”

“What comes next won’t be as easy as dealing with these former Kage.”

“Yes.”

Hinata understood that Mihawk had also sensed the other half of Mū.

She obediently sat down and began restoring the chakra she had consumed.

Mihawk settled beside her and waited, his attention fixed on the distant presence detected by his Observation Haki.

At the same time, Kabuto remained hidden within his dark cavern.

“Dust Release, the former One-Tail jinchūriki Gaara, and the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki Naruto Uzumaki…”

His snake-like tongue slid across his lips.

“Then there are those eyes capable of killing the jutsu sustaining Edo Tensei, and another dōjutsu capable of controlling gravity and repulsion—even gathering ninjutsu and sending it back.”

Kabuto smiled strangely.

“Although four powerful pieces have been neutralized, they provided me with all the information I wanted.”

“In that case, it’s time to bring out my trump card.”

……

Farther into the desert, well beyond the Fourth Division’s position, another figure stood beneath a towering rock formation.

It was Mū.

More precisely, it was the other half created through his Fission Technique.

The Second Tsuchikage formed several hand seals before striking the ground with both palms.

“Summoning Jutsu: Edo Tensei!”

Rumble!

The desert shook as a coffin rose from beneath the ground.

Crack!

A fracture appeared across the coffin lid.

In the next instant, the entire lid was blasted away by an overwhelming force.

Dense dust spread through the air.

Within it, the outline of a lone figure slowly emerged.