Naruto: Kage of Kages

‘Dragon Gate Sealing Style: Coiling Dragon Seal’

Sealing Script in a massive coiled dragon pattern spread across the ground instantly as Shiki had primed the area ahead of time.

All Kiri shinobi caught within felt their chakra stagnate and grow unresponsive while their bodies became sluggish, as they were moving through a swamp.

But even this was just a set up, and the enemy realized it too.

“CLEAR OUT!” Shouts immediately rang.

The front and back of the Kiri army formation, having not been caught within the sealing trap, immediately began to fish out their companions using tools like shinobi wire, ropes and other such methods.

No matter how slow, even pulling a single high value sensor or medical shinobi from the trap would be worth it.

However, their mentality had been read.

‘The real trap is not how the seal restrains a couple of you, it’s how it lulls those around it into a false sense of security.’ Shiki internally mocked.

Those not caught in the seal’s area of effect believed themselves safe from whatever was coming.

They were wrong.

“BACK AWAY NOW!” The Third Mizukage shouted with urgency.

‘Too little too late old man.’ Shiki thought.

All this time, he was stealthily deploying his jutsu. Even letting a few of the Kiri shinobi be rescued from the Coiling Dragon Seal’s boundary.

Meanwhile, traceless, invisible mist had seeped from the ground and filled up the area, waiting to be triggered.

‘Fire Release: Immolation’

Without warning . . .

A Kiri shinobi burst into blue flame out of nowhere.

And then another . . .

And another . . .

Like spontaneous combustion, inside and outside of the Coiling Dragon Seal’s area of effect, screams of pain rang as shinobi cooked from fire they could not dodge or block since its burst from within their very own bodies.

The eerie blue fire cast a pale ghostly light across the area, chilling the souls of those watching and leaving them in terror, as they ran, hoping they would not be next.

Safely outside the range of Shiki’s jutsu however, the Mizukage was not so easily cowed.

‘Water Release: Great Waterfall’

The jutsu did not carry much force.

It was just a large volume of water meant to drown the blue flame consuming his forces and prevent the damage from spreading further.

However . . .

‘Naive. I’m using Fire Release against Kiri shinobi, do you really think I’d miss the obvious issue?’ Shiki, still in hiding, internally mocked the Mizukage’s attempt to stop the spread of the flame.

Nothing.

Even the dead bodies fully submerged in the water, already burned to death, seemed to blaze ever on.

Only when reduced to ash did the blue fire fade.

“Like that liquid flame from before . . . Fire Release that does not fear water . . . Ryumon Shiki.” The Mizukage muttered to himself, realizing the identity of the ambusher, not that he was the slightest bit surprised by it.

The only shocking thing was this new brand of fire jutsu he had never even heard of but then again, considering the boy’s growing reputation, perhaps he should not even have been that shocked in the first place.

‘Regardless, at least the spontaneous combustions stopped.’ Kiri’s Kage observed.

‘It seems there is a stage of the jutsu when Water Release can stop it. Even fully submerged targets can spontaneously combust though so I’m not sure how exactly this blockage works.’ He evaluated.

If he could hear the man’s thoughts, Shiki would have noted that the Mizukage was on the right track.

Fire Release: Immolation released traceless mist that seeped into living targets and could then be triggered to make them spontaneously combust.

Once the mist seeped in, it was game over in most scenarios, even wind cannot disperse the mist but a high volume of water could push it away which is why the majority of the Kiri forces remained uncooked.

All of it was owed to the quick reactions of their Mizukage who unknowingly made the right choice, even if he did not know why it worked.

Still about a third of the Kiri troops were dead or seriously injured while the offensive stalled.

“Advance! The enemy will pay for this ambush with their blood!” The Mizukage commanded, exchanging a conspiratorial glance of communication of Hozuki Shingetsu.

For all their issues with one another, the two men were remarkably good at catching each others’ intentions through very minor, near imperceptible signals.

Kiri shinobi were not really known for caring about their fellows so the lure of bloodshed quickly got them moving again.

‘How ruthless. But do you really think I can be ignored?’ Shiki thought to himself, already transitioning into his next move.

‘Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave’

‘Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide’

‘Earth Release: Earth Flow River’

‘Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall’

‘Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears’

The boy unleashed a barrage of B rank earth jutsu cast at a large scale, backed with the power of Nirvana Art: Elemental to boost their power to match an A or even S rank jutsu by a lesser shinobi while significantly decreasing the chakra cost.

Ripples ran through the ground, shaking the balance of the rushing Kiri shinobi, denying them the stability needed to jump to safety when the earth split beneath their feet.

As the ground opened into multiple ravines, the earth softened into rivers of dirt falling into the depths, dragging along shinobi who attempted to cling onto any previously solid surface.

Walls of hardened earth then closed the ravines at the top, trapping those who fell before rock spears jutted out from the walls to skewer them.

A brutal sequence that left no root for retaliation.

Only those quick enough to dodge the initial, destabilizing Earth Flow Wave or strong enough to push through it and escape the following Earth Flow Divide, managed to get away clean.

Still, the current forces of the three village coalition were all elites so while far from ineffective, against shinobi who had just escaped one of his traps, Shiki’s second assault, despite consuming significantly more chakra, created less casualties and no delay at all.

Kiri’s forces merely ignored the compatriots swallowed by the earth and kept up their charge.

‘Hmph! Sure, just keep on ignoring me. Let’s see how many of you catch up to the Uzumaki still alive.’ Shiki mentally sneered.

Not for long though.

‘Water Release: Great Exploding Water Shockwave’

Molding a massive amount of chakra, more than Shiki had ever seen the man doing, the Mizukage generated a truly mind boggling flood of water.

Even if only about half as large as the one Kisame produced in his fight versus Killer Bee, it was still rather impressive.

And it was not over.

‘Water Release: Tate Eboshi’

Hozuki Shingetsu used his Hydrification Jutsu to merge with the mass of water and shape it into a colossal demon-like fish shape, similar to what Suigetsu used in his own fight versus the future Eight Tailed Jinchuriki.

‘I fucked up!’ Shiki immediately realized in his hidey hole underground.

He did not even attempt to escape, he could not use his spacetime shadow ninjutsu while melded into the ground with Kukyoshin.

‘Earth Release: Earth Spear’

The boy’s body turned dark, earthy brown as it hardened.

And then, Hozuki Shingetsu forced his massive, watery monster body into the ground . . .

+++++

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