Chapter 130: , The Death of the Third Mizukage

Mizunuki Taki gazed at the hideous giant beast before him; there was neither fear nor sorrow in his eyes.

All that remained was a trace of inner peace.

He could no longer remember how long it had been since he felt this calm.

A year? Five years? Or perhaps ten, twenty years?

At this moment, Mizunuki Taki even recalled the earnest teachings left to him by his predecessor—his father-in-law—when he succeeded as the head of the Mizunuki clan.

Many years had passed in a flash, and under his leadership, the Mizunuki clan could be considered to have reached new heights.

He first became a bodyguard for the First Mizukage, then fully supported the Second Mizukage's reforms within Kirigakure during the Second's era.

Finally, after enduring hardships and obstacles, he eventually became the Third Mizukage.

In all honesty, as Mizukage, he had not done well enough.

Under his hand, the village not only failed to achieve significant development but even reached the brink of division at one point.

Even today, the ending he faced was, in a sense, a result of his own making.

But looking back on all of this, Mizunuki Taki did not regret it.

Because even if he had to do it all over again, he would still become Mizukage.

Because his clansmen, his wife, and his children needed him to become the "Kage."

Perhaps he, Mizunuki Taki, was not a qualified Mizukage.

But he was absolutely a qualified clan head, a qualified husband, and a qualified father.

Today, let him take responsibility for this title as the "Kage."

At this moment, there was not a shred, not even a tiny bit, of chakra left in Mizunuki Taki's body.

Yet, he still had no intention of retreating.

With trembling hands, he pulled a red pill from his bosom.

The apothecary who made this secret medicine had repeatedly warned him never to take this pill unless it was the final moment.

Now, was this not the so-called "final moment"?

Even if he could survive and return, given Mizunuki Taki's current physical state, he probably wouldn't live for two more days.

Previously, it was precisely by using a secret technique that he had gained enough physical strength to fight Karatachi Yagura.

Now, the backlash of the secret technique had appeared; blood spilled from the corners of Mizunuki Taki's eyes, nostrils, and mouth.

Without the slightest hesitation, Mizunuki Taki swallowed the brownish-red pill.

Instantly, a large amount of blood seeped from Mizunuki Taki's pores, and a tragic aura erupted from the body of this Third Mizukage.

"Come!"

"Three-Tails!!!!"

For a time, Mizunuki Taki, bleeding from his seven orifices, looked like a god of war facing his end.

He stared directly into the Three-Tails' massive beastly pupils, his eyes showing no retreat, only an indomitable determination.

"Kill!"

In Mizunuki Taki's hand, an ice blade dozens of meters long condensed once more.

Only this time, the color of the ice blade was no longer a single pure white, but a hue like bloody crimson.

Mizunuki Taki raised the blood-colored ice blade and slashed toward the Three-Tails on the opposite side.

The Three-Tails, already plunged into madness, did not retreat either, spitting out a water cannon of immense power.

In the end, the water cannon, carrying intense water pressure, was actually split in two by the blood-colored ice blade.

The blood-colored ice blade, stretching for dozens of meters, landed solidly on the Three-Tails' head.

The blood-colored ice shattered violently, and endless blood-frost, along with the exploding scarlet ice crystals, pierced into the vulnerable parts of the Three-Tails not covered by its turtle shell.

"Roar!!!"

The pain caused the Three-Tails to roar at the sky.

The successive battles had left the Three-Tails somewhat exhausted.

What Uchiha Madara had restored for the Three-Tails was only chakra, but in reality, the Three-Tails' body still carried the unremoved seal from the Great Kubo.

Such a seal constantly placed a great burden on the Three-Tails.

This also caused the Three-Tails to grow more tired as it fought; after suffering a heavy blow, it was now even somewhat unable to continue fighting.

Biological instinct made the Three-Tails want to escape to the bottom of the lake.

Without hesitation, the Three-Tails crashed through the water surface and swam toward the bottom of the lake.

But how could Mizunuki Taki give it a chance to escape?

Few people knew that ever since succeeding as Mizukage, Mizunuki Taki had been painstakingly researching sealing techniques.

Years of research had given Mizunuki Taki a certain level of attainment in sealing arts.

Now was the best time to use this sealing technique.

A dagger condensed from blood-colored ice appeared in Mizunuki Taki's hand; without the slightest hesitation, he used this ice dagger to slash the artery in his arm.

A large amount of blood gushed out from Mizunuki Taki's arm.

While bleeding himself, Mizunuki Taki was not idle; his hands moved rapidly, forming dozens of hand seals in a short time.

As Mizunuki Taki completed the hand seals, the blood that had fallen into the lake water seemed to come alive instantly.

A large amount of lake water, dyed red by the blood, condensed into crimson ice chains.

On these blood-colored ice chains, strange runes of various sizes were covered.

As the blood in Mizunuki Taki's body continued to drip, the number of scarlet chains grew ever greater.

Until reaching a peak, countless ice chains condensed from blood shot toward the Three-Tails, which was fleeing to the bottom of the lake, like arrows released from a bowstring.

Almost in an instant, countless scarlet ice chains firmly trapped the Three-Tails and dragged it toward the surface.

No matter how the Three-Tails struggled, it could not break free from these blood-red ice chains condensed with life.

Before long, the Three-Tails' massive body was dragged back to the water surface by the scarlet ice chains.

Then, as the scarlet ice chains wound tighter and tighter, a large amount of blood-colored frost covered the Three-Tails' body.

Soon, the Three-Tails' huge body was frozen into a blood-red ice sculpture.

After finishing all this, Mizunuki Taki completely exhausted his last bit of chakra, his last bit of physical strength, and his last bit of life force.

As his body fell heavily onto the water surface, he knew that as a Mizukage, he had perfectly fulfilled his duties as Mizukage in the final moment of his life.

"Down there, having met the two previous Mizukage, I can consider my duty fulfilled." ===== CHAPTER 132 =====