Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"You… you can use Boil Release?!"

Terumi Mei's voice cracked in disbelief, her jade-green eyes wide.

That was her kekkei genkai.

Boil Release was her signature—her pride.

And yet, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha… had just performed it better than she ever had.

Not just some simple acidic spit or steam burst.

No.

Naraku had unleashed an immense version of the Skilled Mist Technique, blanketing the entire battlefield in corrosive vapor.

A technique so wide-ranging… even she couldn't pull it off.

Boil Release was no ordinary jutsu. It fused Water and Fire Chakra, an unstable and volatile mix.

Wielding it required precise chakra control—and enormous reserves.

While Terumi could deploy the Skilled Mist over a radius of a few dozen meters at best…

Naraku's version blanketed a whole forest.

And worse: the acid concentration hadn't diluted at all.

Bone spears over ten meters tall—once impervious to blades—were now crumbling like wet clay in the mist.

"Is Boil Release… this powerful?" Orochimaru muttered, watching the battlefield in stunned awe.

He had seen the Dead Bone Pulse's full might firsthand.The patriarch of the Kaguya clan had generated spears too tough for even the Kusanagi Sword to pierce.

Only Naraku's strange chakra-enhanced punches had managed to shatter them.

But now?

The acid mist was dissolving them like sugar in hot tea.

And Naraku—calm, unfazed—simply observed.

The power of Boil Release far exceeded that of Lava Release.

Even Susano'o would corrode under its influence.

So Dead Bone Pulse?

Nothing.

"No… impossible…"

The Kaguya patriarch stood trembling, his face pale, watching his Dance of the Early Fern—his ultimate technique—fade into a pile of sludge.

This was meant to be their victory.

His life's final offering to the glory of the Kaguya bloodline.

And it melted like paper in rain.

[Defeated: Kaguya Patriarch – Chakra +400 points]

Naraku's gaze swept across the battlefield to the dying Kaguya elder.

The man had poured all of his strength into that jutsu, burning himself from the inside just to unleash it.

But it backfired.

He barely had enough strength left to stand—much less fight.

No need for Naraku to lift a finger.

He would die on his own.

The stronger the Dead Bone Pulse grew—the closer it came to Ash-Killing Bones.

And the closer its wielder walked toward death.

In the distance, the sound of rushing footsteps echoed.

A dozen figures appeared at the edge of the battlefield.

Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, had finally arrived—backed by the masked agents of Kirigakure's Anbu.

Every shinobi bore bloodstains across their flak jackets.

They had clearly fought through heavy resistance to get here.

Yagura's eyes scanned the scene.

Dissolving white bone forests.

A thick, acidic mist cloaking the air.

And at the center—Naraku.

"Dance of the Early Fern…?" he murmured, narrowing his eyes.

Someone from the Kaguya clan had actually completed that forbidden technique?

Yagura was familiar with the legends: a towering forest of bone, summoned by sacrificing one's own life force.

But he'd never seen it performed successfully.

"Lord Mizukage! The Kaguya clan has rebelled!"

Terumi Mei appeared beside him, explaining quickly.

Yagura listened silently, then turned to Naraku.

"So… this Boil Release was from the Fifth Hokage?"

He nodded, unsurprised.

To him, after what he'd already seen from Naraku—even Boil Release mastery was believable.

He had once battled Naraku in his Three Tails form… and was thrown like a doll by the man's wooden golem.

From that moment on, Yagura's fear of Naraku bordered on reverence.

Behind him, the Anbu weren't so composed.

Even through their masks, their shock radiated.

Boil Release—one of Terumi Mei's two signature bloodlines—was something that took years of refinement to control.

How could someone master it like this?

Wasn't Mei considered the most eligible candidate for the next Mizukage… because of her kekkei genkai?

If bloodline mastery could be replicated… then why not Naraku as the next leader?

"Anbu," Yagura ordered coldly, "eliminate all Kaguya shinobi involved in this rebellion."

"Yes, Lord Mizukage!"

They moved immediately.

Yagura himself, however, remained still.

His eyes were tired, his voice weaker than before.

"Terumi Mei," he said, turning to her, "you will take over as Mizukage… starting today."

Terumi's breath caught.

He had mentioned being unwell before—but this?

He looked… resigned.

His voice, though steady, sounded like a man reciting his final will.

Yagura rubbed his temple, sighing softly.

"There were too many uprisings tonight. Anbu alone can't suppress them all."

His spiritual energy was already fragile—a consequence of being under a genjutsu for years.

He had burned through what little strength he had left, trying to hold Kirigakure together just one last time.

"Those who sided with the masked man," he continued, "or those he secretly controlled… have all moved tonight."

"This purge will finally clean out the rot in the Mist."

He looked skyward.

"If so… I have no regrets."

His hands had once committed unspeakable atrocities while under the masked man's control.

But he was still the Mizukage.

He bore the guilt.

He owed a debt to the village.

"If I have one regret…" he muttered, "it's that I never found out who that masked bastard truly was."

His voice cracked—not with sorrow.

But rage.

It was that man who had manipulated him.

Who had broken Kirigakure.

"If you want revenge on him," Naraku said suddenly, stepping forward, "give me a sample of your blood."

Yagura blinked, surprised.

Then, without hesitation, he unsheathed a kunai, slicing his arm cleanly and holding it out.

"I trust you," he said.

"I don't know what you plan to do, but… I believe you."

Naraku nodded, collecting a small vial of blood.

If he ever chose to summon Yagura via Edo Tensei, it would serve a crucial purpose:

To steal the Three Tails from Obito.

Let the masked man try to extract chakra from a reanimated Jinchūriki.

Good luck with that.

Obito wouldn't stand a chance.

Naraku smirked slightly.

He already had plans.

"Then… I'll fulfill my promise," Yagura said, stepping back.

Naraku had told him earlier that he would extract the Three Tails before Yagura died.

At the time, Yagura had been hesitant—reluctant.

But now?

He wanted revenge.

Even if it meant becoming an empty husk.

He clapped his hands together, forming a seal.

A red glyph glowed across his stomach.

With a breath, he shouted—releasing the beast inside.

WHOOSH!

A torrent of chakra surged from his abdomen, spiraling into the sky like a vortex.

The very air trembled.

ROAR!!!

With a deafening scream, a titanic shape emerged from the light.

Three spiked tails lashed the earth—

The Three Tails, Isobu, had awakened.