But Yagura didn't have time to dwell on these thoughts.
The enemy had already stormed into the village, mercilessly killing its ninja. As Mizukage, it was his duty to stop them—no matter what.
And he had to take them down.
Otherwise, his reputation as Mizukage would take a serious hit.
"Yagura's here, time to retreat."
Sasori wasn't foolish enough to stay inside Kirigakure and fight Yagura head-on.
If reinforcements arrived, they could easily end up buried here.
"Got it."
Kakuzu responded begrudgingly, fighting as he retreated.
He always thought he only cared about money. But today, he realized there was something else he cared about.
His image.
He could accept being called a monster, but he couldn't tolerate Sasori describing him as a monkey.
Just imagining the people of Kirigakure looking at him like he was some kind of circus animal made Kakuzu shake with anger.
Was looking a little different really enough to be looked down on?
When will people who look different finally be respected?
As he prepared to retreat, Kakuzu controlled his lightning and fire masks.
Flames and lightning spears burst out, sweeping through the surrounding enemies.
Kirigakure's ninja hadn't expected this sudden attack, and many were caught off guard.
Most didn't even have time to defend before they were engulfed in flames or pierced by lightning spears.
Even those who managed to use ninjutsu to block were few and far between.
"Retreat!!!"
After delivering a heavy blow to Kirigakure, Kakuzu and Sasori immediately followed their planned escape route.
Obito had already cleared out any potential threats ahead of time, allowing them to escape smoothly.
The more ninja they took down, the fewer Yagura could bring with him in pursuit.
"Damn it!!!"
Yagura arrived from the Mizukage's office only to see the devastation before him.
His teeth clenched so hard they nearly cracked.
"The Akatsuki… and Uchiha Obito!!!"
"The rest of you stay behind to rescue the wounded and stabilize the situation! Mizukage's guards and Anbu squad—come with me to chase them down!!"
Against enemies like Kakuzu and Sasori, ordinary ninja would only be throwing their lives away.
So Yagura left them behind.
Since the attack happened so suddenly, the village's ninja hadn't had time to gather.
There was no way to use sheer numbers to surround the enemy.
That meant Yagura could only take his personal guards and the Anbu squad that protected him.
This could be just a simple raid—or it could be an ambush.
Either way, Yagura had to give chase.
He needed to give the people an answer.
If the enemy escaped so easily, those who already opposed him being Mizukage would have plenty to say.
Talking rudely was one thing—Yagura could tolerate that.
What he couldn't allow was for certain families, who had been keeping quiet, to start making moves the moment his authority weakened.
That absolutely couldn't happen.
People say the Uchiha clan is a family of lunatics, but in reality, many ninja clans in Kirigakure Village are just as crazy.
Some are even willing to do things the Uchiha wouldn't dare—like attacking other clans' territories.
Some of them don't even bother hiding it. They openly stand against Yagura.
Compared to the Uchiha, who at least know how to hold back, the ninja clans of Kirigakure Village are the real madmen.
The Uchiha's madness comes from their Sharingan, which makes their emotions unstable.
But these Kirigakure clans? They're just crazy for real.
"Mizukage-sama, all the enemy ninjas along the way have been eliminated."
Kakuzu and Sasori retreated quickly and smoothly, thanks to Obito and Black Zetsu clearing out the Kirigakure ninjas in advance.
This meant they faced no resistance during their escape.
For Yagura, this was bad news. The enemy had planned everything carefully—this wasn't just some random attack.
"Looks like Uchiha Obito finally ran out of patience after all these years."
Right now, the best course of action would be to return to the village, stabilize Kirigakure, and then contact the other villages.
After that, they could come up with a way to deal with the Akatsuki.
Unfortunately, the internal conflicts within Kirigakure made this impossible.
Even if there was an ambush, Yagura had to make a stand for the village's honor.
Besides, he was confident in his strength. Even if he walked into a trap, he believed he could escape and make it back safely.
Yagura refused to believe that Uchiha Obito could drag the entire Akatsuki into this just to take revenge on him.
But what Yagura didn't know was that the Akatsuki's ambitions were far bigger than he imagined.
This wasn't just about setting a trap for him.
They had their eyes on all of Kirigakure—and even the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"Move in!!"
Suddenly, Yagura's body was enveloped in Tailed Beast chakra. A single tail from the Three-Tails emerged behind him. With the chakra boost, his speed skyrocketed as he charged forward.
"Mizukage-sama, be careful!"
His guards and Anbu members panicked and pushed themselves to the limit to keep up, afraid he'd run straight into an ambush.
"I've caught up to you."
With a furious glow in his eyes, Yagura finally closed the distance on Kakuzu and Sasori.
Wielding a weapon much taller than himself, he charged at them head-on.
"Go!!"
Neither Kakuzu nor Sasori had any intention of stopping to fight. They knew exactly how terrifying Yagura's strength was.
Without reinforcements, the two of them alone would stand no chance.
At best, they could slow him down.
As a perfect Jinchuriki, Yagura was one of the most powerful Kage in the Five Great Nations.
Being a perfect Jinchuriki gave him a huge advantage—too huge.
Among the current Five Kage, if they were ranked by strength…
Yagura would definitely be above Rasa and Tsunade.
"He's too fast."
There was still some distance before they reached the ambush point, but Yagura was moving even faster than Kakuzu and Sasori had expected.
— ¶ —————————————————————
They wouldn't make it to the ambush point in time. Yagura would catch up.
What now?
The two exchanged a glance. Gritting his teeth, Sasori controlled a swarm of puppets and sent them charging at Yagura.
He wanted to use the puppets to slow Yagura down.
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