Chapter 111: Oh No, I've Become the Villain
The bow of the merchant ship suddenly dipped, sending the stern high into the air. On the deck, sailors and merchants screamed, desperately grabbing onto anything they could reach.
An orange-red figure shot out from the deck at astonishing speed, leaving only an afterimage in the air.
Yugito Nii's body flashed in midair. The air beneath her feet erupted with a sonic boom as she kicked off, accelerating once more as if shoved from behind. She transformed into a streak of orange-red lightning, darting straight toward Yagura Karatachi, who stood at the bow.
Yagura Karatachi moved.
He traced a circle in front of him with his coral club. The tip of the weapon sliced through the air, churning up ripples of water.
The ripples gathered and condensed before him, forming a surface as smooth as a mirror.
Yugito's figure was reflected in the mirror, and then, that very reflection lunged out from the surface.
It was an identical figure, clad in the exact same orange-red Tailed Beast Cloak and sporting the same tails. The mirrored Yugito shot out from the Water Mirror Jutsu, matching the original's speed, and pounced directly at her.
Boom!
The two partially transformed figures collided in midair. Orange-red chakra splattered in all directions, exploding in the sky like fireworks.
A shockwave expanded outward from the epicenter of their clash, blowing the seawater apart and forming massive, rolling ripples. The gale forced the people on deck to squeeze their eyes shut; some flattened themselves against the floorboards, while others clung tightly to the masts.
Yugito furrowed her brow as she stared at the identical mirror image before her.
The reflection's techniques, speed, and strength were exactly the same as hers. Even its fighting style was a perfect replica.
She aimed a kick at the mirror image's head, and the reflection retaliated with the exact same kick. Their legs clashed with a heavy thud.
She swiped her claws at the reflection's chest, and it mirrored the motion. Their claws crossed in the air, striking a shower of sparks.
'What kind of jutsu is this?'
She was slightly surprised but quickly regained her composure.
Although the reflection matched her moves perfectly, it was ultimately just a mirror image. It lacked its own consciousness; it could only imitate her actions, not anticipate her thoughts.
After the initial adjustment period, she began to gain the upper hand. She intentionally left an opening, and the reflection predictably fell for the bait, swiping at her shoulder. She dodged sideways and simultaneously slammed her elbow into the reflection's back. The mirror image staggered forward, nearly tripping.
Leaning against the ship's rail, Uchiha Taiga watched the scene unfold without a hint of surprise.
Yagura's Water Mirror Jutsu was quite famous. It could replicate an identical mirror image of the opponent, copying their techniques, abilities, and even their chakra.
However, this jutsu had a fatal flaw: the reflection could only imitate, not create.
Against weaker opponents, the Water Mirror Jutsu was invincible. Against equals, it could hold its own. But against a superior foe, it fell short.
His Byakugan remained active. His gaze pierced through Yagura, penetrating his skull to observe the flow of chakra within his brain.
Inside Yagura's brain, a cluster of foreign chakra pulsed actively. Its color differed from his own chakra—it was colder, more sinister, and viscous.
It was the genjutsu chakra of a Sharingan. Someone was controlling Yagura's every move.
Based on his understanding of Sharingan genjutsu, this type of control didn't require the caster to be nearby. Instead, behavioral patterns had been implanted into the victim from the very beginning.
That explained everything.
It explained why the Kirigakure ANBU dared to attack even after recognizing him, and why Yagura, as the Mizukage, remained indifferent to the casualties among his subordinates. None of them were making their own decisions; they were merely controlled pawns.
The person controlling Yagura issued orders through him, and the ANBU simply executed them. They might not even realize what they were doing.
He retracted his gaze and looked at Yugito, who was still tangled in combat with her reflection.
"Finish this quickly. Stop playing around."
Yugito curled her lip, feeling a bit reluctant, but obediently nodded.
Her hand movements shifted.
Deep blue flames surged from her body, layering over her Tailed Beast Cloak. The fire danced, crackling sharply.
Her speed skyrocketed. With a sonic boom beneath her feet, she vanished from her spot and reappeared behind the mirror image.
The reflection turned, attempting to accelerate as well, but its speed simply couldn't keep up.
Yugito's body carved an arc through the air, brushing past the reflection.
The mirror image split down the middle, torn cleanly in two, before dissolving into pure chakra fragments that scattered into the wind.
Those deep blue flames were a jutsu Taiga had developed specifically for her.
Built upon the foundation of Two-Tails Matatabi's chakra and combined with Matatabi's unique Fire Style nature transformation, it was the Fire Style Chakra Mode.
In this mode, her speed and reaction time were drastically enhanced, granting her terrifying explosive power.
The drawback was its massive chakra consumption, meaning it couldn't be maintained for long.
But for a Tailed Beast, that was hardly an issue.
Without losing momentum, Yugito flipped midair and lunged at Yagura. Her speed was blinding. In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of him, her right hand forming a claw as she swiped at his chest.
Even under the control of a genjutsu, Yagura's physical reflexes remained razor-sharp.
At some point, a long, pale red chakra tail had materialized behind him, whipping through the air with sharp cracks. His body was now coated in a pale red Tailed Beast Cloak, having also entered a Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
He raised his right hand. As he thrust it forward, pale red chakra surged out, morphing his hand into a beastly claw that swatted at Yugito with a heavy, oppressive force.
Boom!
The two claws clashed in midair.
A shockwave erupted from the point of impact, ripping several wooden planks right off the deck and pressing a massive crater into the ocean surface. The merchant ship rocked violently. The sailors and merchants shrieked, huddling together, while the nearby ships were tossed wildly by the surging waves.
Yugito and Yagura separated in midair, only to crash into each other again at an even greater speed.
The two fought like savage beasts tearing at one another. Claws, palms, legs, and tails—every part of their bodies became a weapon. Orange-red and pale red chakra fragments scattered through the air, and every collision was accompanied by a deafening boom and a fierce gust of wind.
The sea churned violently. Massive waves swelled one after another, pushing the surrounding ships further and further away. Even the large merchant vessel was swept adrift by the turbulent waters.
The injured ANBU lay flat on the deck. Some were battered by the waves, slamming into the ship's rails with dull thuds.
The sailors fought with all their might to steer and stabilize the ship, but in the face of the shockwaves generated by two partially transformed Jinchuriki, their efforts were utterly insignificant.
Taiga stood at the bow, his feet firmly planted on the deck, completely unmoving.
His clothes flapped wildly in the gale, and his hair whipped in the wind, yet his body didn't sway an inch. He simply watched the two figures brawling in the sky, his gaze as calm as if he were enjoying a spectacular performance.
At a certain moment, Yugito's figure blurred, vanishing right before Yagura's eyes.
It wasn't a high-speed movement; it was a true disappearance.
No afterimages, no trajectory. It was as if she had been erased from the air itself.
Yagura's movements paused. His eyes darted rapidly, scanning the surrounding space, but he found nothing.
A dangerous aura permeated the air. His body instinctively tried to retreat, but it was already too late.
An arm abruptly thrust out from right behind his neck.
The arm emerged from a cluster of pale blue flames. The fire was so faint it was almost transparent; without looking closely, it was entirely imperceptible.
The arm was coated in orange-red Tailed Beast chakra, its nails long and sharp like five steel needles.
In the next instant, the five nails pierced into the back of Yagura's neck. The chakra on the nails invaded his body at breakneck speed, spreading through his meridian system as if intent on incinerating his own chakra along with it.
Yagura's body stiffened.
More chakra surged from the arm, forming a net that enveloped Yagura's entire body.
His Partial Tailed Beast Transformation began to recede. The tail behind him retracted, and the beastly claws on his hands reverted to normal fingers, returning him to his original state.
This was a new ability Yugito had developed over the past few months under Taiga's guidance.
Using Matatabi's chakra as a foundation and combining principles from the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Shadow Possession Jutsu, they had created the ultimate assassination jutsu!
As long as an opponent was tainted with the Two-Tails' chakra, she could use that chakra as a coordinate to teleport her body directly to its location.
It ignored distance and bypassed obstacles, making it impossible to defend against.
Taiga was the one who conceptualized the jutsu, and to reduce the difficulty of learning it, he had made several simplifications.
It couldn't truly ignore all distances and obstacles just yet, so it was technically still a work in progress. But it was more than enough to catch Yagura off guard.
Yagura's body swayed, nearly dropping his coral club. His vacant eyes turned clear for a fleeting second before reverting to their hollow state.
But in that brief moment, Yugito saw his eyes.
Within those eyes lay anger, humiliation, and profound sorrow.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Then, an earth-shattering roar erupted from Yagura's mouth.
It wasn't a human cry, but the bellow of a colossal beast.
The roar carried a massive amount of chakra. Wherever the soundwaves passed, the air trembled, the seawater surged upward, and all the glass windows on the merchant ship shattered.
Yagura's body began to expand. Pale red chakra poured frantically from his body like a burst dam, completely unstoppable.
The chakra condensed and restructured around him, forming flesh, bone, and shell. His body morphed from a human form into a giant beast clad in heavy armor.
Three-Tails Isobu!
It materialized on the ocean surface, its body as massive as a mountain, occupying a vast stretch of the sea. Its back was covered in a thick shell studded with countless sharp spikes. Three tails swayed slowly behind it, each tens of meters long and tipped with giant bone spurs.
Its eyes were orange with slit pupils. Reflected in those pupils was the merchant ship tossing in the waves, and the young man standing at its bow.
Taiga stared at the colossal Three-Tails Isobu, his expression incredibly bizarre as his eyes widened.
"Eh! I've become the villain?"