"How is that possible?"
Isobu's mouth hung open in shock, unable to believe what was happening before its eyes.
Was the gap between them truly this vast?
"Nothing is impossible."
"You're just too short-sighted."
The moment Nagato finished speaking, he suddenly vanished from sight.
His movements were too fast to track, and in the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of Isobu.
A vicious whip kick shot toward Isobu's massive head.
The sheer speed and overwhelming force of the strike caused intense friction with the air, igniting flames around his leg.
"He really thinks he can take on Lord Mizukage in close combat?"
"He's getting way too full of himself."
"No kidding."
"Wins a few exchanges and suddenly thinks he's unstoppable."
A few Kiri ninja sneered, their taunts only adding fuel to their Akatsuki opponents' rage.
But they couldn't be blamed—just looking at the difference in size, hardly anyone would believe Nagato could hold his own in a melee fight.
Bang!
Nagato's kick slammed into Isobu's head, snapping it to the side. A small but distinct dent appeared in the flesh of its cheek.
Though the strike didn't do much physical damage, the insult it carried was immense.
"Raaagh!"
Isobu roared furiously, stretching its neck forward in an attempt to sink its teeth into Nagato.
"What are you, a child? Biting when you get desperate?"
Nagato's words cut deep, striking another nerve. After all, height and appearance had always been a sore spot for Yagura.
Using Isobu's snout as leverage, Nagato flipped into the air, soaring gracefully.
Isobu's jaws snapped shut on empty air, its fangs clashing together with enough force to rattle its own skull. It reeled for a moment, momentarily dazed.
The sheer power of its bite had backfired, throwing off its balance.
Nagato, however, wasted no time. He had already positioned himself above Isobu.
Without hesitation, he brought his foot down hard, stomping onto Isobu's shell with a deep, resonant thud.
Yet, to his surprise, the seemingly powerful blow didn't leave so much as a crack on the rugged surface of Isobu's shell.
"That's all you've got?"
Feeling the slight tremor in its shell, Isobu regained some confidence.
Did this tiny human really think he could break through its defenses with taijutsu alone?
"Hah."
Instead of getting angry, Nagato chuckled.
It seemed he was being underestimated.
"Your shell is tough, I'll give you that… but what if I make it disappear?"
Standing atop Isobu's iron-hard shell, Nagato had already devised a plan.
"What are you trying to do?"
Isobu roared furiously, its voice booming like thunder.
A sudden, bone-chilling fear crept over it. A deep sense of unease surged through its entire body.
It shook itself violently, trying to throw Nagato off.
"Chakra Devouring."
Nagato remained unfazed. With a steady voice, he pressed both hands firmly against Isobu's shell.
In an instant, a powerful suction force erupted from his palms, spreading across Isobu's shell and into its very core.
A vast amount of Tailed Beast chakra, as if drawn by an invisible gravitational pull, surged from Isobu's body into Nagato's.
"AAARGH!"
A pained howl tore through the battlefield.
Isobu's eye widened in horror as it realized its chakra was vanishing at an alarming rate.
It tried to gather its remaining chakra, only to be met with an overwhelming sense of weakness.
That once-surging power, as unstoppable as the tide, was now draining away like water receding from the shore.
Panic and confusion filled Isobu's mind.
What kind of technique was this?
How was Nagato stripping its chakra away so effortlessly?
As the chakra continued to be siphoned, Isobu's body underwent a shocking transformation.
The once-massive, towering figure began to shrink, as if its very essence was being drained away.
The imposing full-form Tailed Beast that had once blotted out the sky was now rapidly collapsing.
It was as if an invisible hand was gripping it, compressing and distorting its form.
In mere moments, Isobu had regressed from its complete Tailed Beast state to Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
Its three tails drooped lifelessly, and its chakra cloak had noticeably dimmed.
The once-terrifying aura had all but vanished, replaced by sheer exhaustion and helplessness.
Yet Nagato still showed no intention of letting Yagura go.
His grip shifted from Isobu's shell to Yagura's shoulders, continuing to siphon the last remnants of the Tailed Beast chakra.
Yagura understood exactly what would happen if this continued.
If he didn't stop this now, he would lose everything.
Summoning what little strength remained, he swung his three tails toward Nagato in a desperate attempt to break free.
Nagato didn't even glance at the attack.
With effortless agility, he flipped over Yagura's head, his grip on the Mizukage's shoulders remaining firm.
His movements were fluid, controlled—completely devoid of panic.
And as he evaded, he absorbed chakra even faster.
In just a few breaths, Yagura could no longer maintain even his Partial Tailed Beast Transformation under Nagato's relentless "Chakra Devouring."
The Tailed Beast chakra cloak faded away completely, leaving only his original body exposed.
Now, Karatachi Yagura stood there—pale as a corpse, completely drained of strength.
He gasped for breath, his body trembling as if a single gust of wind could topple him over.
"How could this happen?"
"Lord Mizukage lost?"
The Kiri ninja couldn't believe their eyes. They couldn't understand how Yagura had ended up like this.
With the Mizukage defeated, they knew exactly what awaited them.
Their words carried not just concern for Yagura but also deep fear for the future.
But the truth was undeniable—there was no future for them.
...
"Looks like I need to step up my game."
Kakuzu saw that Nagato had already decided the battle on his end, yet he was still struggling with a Jinchūriki who hadn't even fully transformed.
Thinking this, he intensified his attacks. Under his control, the four Earth Grudge Fear puppets unleashed even greater power.
Shin Aoki, who was already struggling, now found himself in even worse shape. The sight of Karatachi Yagura's defeat shook him to his core, and under Kakuzu's increasingly relentless assault, he was reaching his limit.
The Tailed Beast chakra within him was growing harder to control, and his mind was beginning to blur. A violent, uncontrollable rage was steadily consuming his thoughts.
...
"Looks like I need to finish this quickly."
Kakuzu could tell something was off with Shin Aoki. If this dragged on any longer, he might have to put in more effort than necessary.
...
Meanwhile, Nagato gripped Yagura's throat with one hand, lifting him effortlessly like a helpless chick.
"Any last words?"
To Karatachi Yagura, Nagato's smile was nothing short of death's grin.
"The winner becomes king, the loser a rogue."
"Meeting you today... I accept my fate."
Yagura's voice was weak, but his spirit remained unbroken. As the Mizukage, he neither wished to plead for mercy nor would he allow himself to do so.
"Rest easy. From now on, I'll protect the Land of Water."
Nagato spoke as he suddenly tightened his grip.
With a sharp 'snap,' Yagura's head drooped lifelessly.
The Fourth Mizukage, along with the Three-Tails inside him, was dead.
...
"It's over."
Nagato tossed Yagura's body aside and strode toward the battlefield, cutting through the enemy ranks like a force of nature.
By now, Kakuzu and Shin Aoki's battle was also reaching its conclusion.
Before the Six-Tails could fully rampage, Kakuzu's final strike obliterated Shin Aoki's head.
As his headless corpse collapsed, the remaining Kiri ninja completely lost the will to fight.
...
Before long, those who surrendered were taken captive, while those who refused to lay down their weapons were slaughtered.
And so, the battle ended in a decisive victory for the Akatsuki.
That day, the news of the Twin Jinchūriki of Kirigakure falling in battle spread across the entire Shinobi World.
The Akatsuki's infamy reached new heights once again.
Everyone knew—the Land of Water was their next target.