Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 453 The Seven Fallen Heroes

Yukimaru stared intently into Itachi Uchiha's eyes and said, "Mangekyou Sharingan? I've heard of you, Itachi Uchiha, the rogue ninja of Konoha."

"But no matter how powerful you are..."

He raised his hand, and the swarm of insects formed a huge vortex behind him. "The Three-Tailed One is our friend. I will not let you take it away."

The battle erupted in the next second.

"Ninja Technique, Insect Flowing Rain!"

Yukimaru made the first move, and the swarm of insects transformed into countless sharp arrows that shot towards Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi dodged the rain of arrows with a flash, and at the same time, his shuriken flew out of his hand, aiming straight for Yukimaru's throat.

Unfortunately, Yukimaru isn't the kind of glass cannon with high attack and low defense. The ultimate skill of Uchiha Itachi, combined with excellent mechanics, makes him a joke in the face of powerful stats.

"Still using kunai? You look pretty young, but I didn't expect you to be such an old-fashioned person."

Yukimaru's body instantly dispersed, transforming into a swarm of insects to evade the attack, and then reformed not far away.

Itachi didn't speak, but formed hand seals, unleashing "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball crashed down on the swarm of insects, scorching countless creatures and sending them plummeting to the ground. But even more insects rose from the sea, replenishing the swarm.

Taking advantage of the situation, Biwa Juzo rushed forward, his broken sword sweeping across the swarm of insects.

Yukimaru couldn't dodge in time and was hit by the wind from the blade, leaving a cut on his shoulder. However, the wound didn't even bleed and healed in the blink of an eye.

He raised his foot and kicked the man and his sword away into the distance, then manipulated the swarm of insects to surround Biwa Juzo from all sides.

Just then, a thick fog suddenly rose from the sea. Yukimaru immediately realized something was wrong; this wasn't naturally formed fog, but rather…

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"

A woman's voice came from the mist, and then three figures rushed out from different directions, attacking Yukimaru.

Yukimaru narrowly avoided the attack and saw who it was. The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, accompanied by two elite guards, was coldly watching him.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

Mei Terumi smiled and said, "The Three-Tails originally belonged to our Land of Water. It's impolite of you to secretly take it away like this."

Yukimaru remained calm, though his fists clenched slightly. Itachi Uchiha was already difficult enough to deal with, and now the Fifth Mizukage and her subordinates had arrived. The Three-Tails, controlled by Itachi, was not only unable to help but had become a weapon in the enemy's hands.

But he didn't want to back out.

"The Three-Tails is my friend." Yukimaru's voice was soft, but firm. "I will not abandon my friend."

Mei Terumi sighed, "Well, there's nothing we can do about that then."

The battle resumed, with Itachi controlling the Three-Tails to join the fray, its massive tail sweeping towards Yukimaru.

Mei Terumi unleashed Lava Release and Boil Release, causing widespread destruction to the insect swarm. Two guards provided support from the sidelines, sealing off all of Yukimaru's escape routes, with Juzo Biwa occasionally joining in the coordination.

Even with the help of the insect swarm, Yukimaru was completely at a disadvantage against six opponents.

The insect swarm was corroded by Lava Release and evaporated by Boiling Release, and new wounds kept appearing on Yukimaru's body. However, his body had the ability to heal quickly, but he had consumed too much blood, which made his face pale and bluish.

He didn't want to hurt the Three-Tails, but the Three-Tails, under Itachi's control, was attacking him relentlessly.

A sense of powerlessness welled up in Yukimaru's heart, just then a bolt of lightning flashed from beneath the sea.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Fang!"

Black Plow Thunder Fang burst out from the shadows; he had been hiding all along, waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

However, Itachi Uchiha was not so easy to deal with. His body instantly dispersed into crows. He could not damage numerical monsters, but he could easily defeat traditional ninjas like this.

Little did he expect that the lightning bolt's true target was not him, but the Three-Tails.

Ow—

The Three-Tails let out a painful roar, and the control over its Sharingan began to falter.

It looked around in a daze and saw Yukimaru covered in wounds, his huge eyes filled with anger and sorrow. It understood. These people wanted to harm Yukimaru, to use it to harm Yukimaru.

The Three-Tails was enraged. It broke free from Itachi's control, its massive body churning on the sea surface, a Tailed Beast Ball forming in its mouth.

Biwa Juzo's expression changed drastically: "This is bad!"

Without hesitation, he charged forward, carrying the broken sword. "Itachi, run!"

The Tailed Beast Ball shot out with a roar, and Biwa Juzo raised his broken sword to withstand the attack!

Boom! A deafening explosion blasted a huge crater in the sea, and Biwa Juzo's broken sword shattered, with fragments flying everywhere, cutting his body in two.

Blood stained the sea red, and Biwa Juzo's upper body was stuck on the rocks, still holding the hilt of his broken sword.

"Take my sword back to Akatsuki..." He didn't finish his sentence before his eyes closed forever.

Itachi Uchiha stood not far away, silently watching Juzo Biwa's corpse. He simply picked up the broken sword fragments and put them away, then looked at the Three-Tails again.

His Mangekyou Sharingan spun, and he tried to regain control of the tailed beast, but Yukimaru had already blocked the Three-Tails' path.

The boy was physically weak, but his eyes were unusually bright. He resisted Itachi's genjutsu with powerful willpower, saying, "I won't let you touch the Three-Tails."

Even with the kaleidoscope eye technique, it bypassed him and landed on the Three-Tails. The Three-Tails struggled, not wanting to be controlled, and even less wanting to hurt Yukimaru because of itself.

If he dies, Yukimaru won't have to fight so hard anymore.

The Three-Tails looked at Yukimaru, "Kill..."

Although he only said one word, Yukimaru understood: "Three-Tails, hold on a little longer, the master will be here soon!"

But Raiga Kurohiri couldn't hold on any longer. Without a weapon, he was no match for Mei Terumi.

The molten acid corroded his left arm, leaving only bone. He gritted his teeth and held on, shielding Yukimaru. "Yukimaru, run!"

On the other side, Susanoo also appeared, flames burning the swarm of insects.

For the first time, the usually calm and indifferent Yukimaru felt incredibly weak and had to use all his strength to resist.

Mei Terumi attacked again, her Boil Release mist enveloping the area, and Raiga Kurohira knew he couldn't stop her.

In the end, he could only make the decision for Yukimaru: "Lightning Release: Exploding Lightning!"

A massive amount of chakra gathered within his body into a ball of lightning, which, with the help of the Three-Tails, was inserted into his mouth.

A massive bolt of lightning exploded, engulfing everything within a radius of a hundred meters.

The Three-Tails let out a mournful roar, its massive body slowly dissipating on the sea surface, turning into pure chakra.

The Three-Tails committed suicide. At the critical moment, it placed a lightning ball near its heart, disabling all its defenses.

As the lightning dissipated, only a scorched black remained on the sea. Black Plow Raiya's figure had vanished completely.

Itachi looked at the spot where the Three-Tails had disappeared, knowing that continuing the fight was pointless. His body transformed into a flock of crows and scattered away.

Mei Terumi sighed regretfully, turned and left with her last remaining subordinate, "Retreat!"