The Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, had also been small in size and looked like a kid.
But that was just his face—his behavior and speech were clearly those of an adult.
The one in front of them now, though, whose body looked like melting ice cream, was without a doubt an actual child.
Anyone who had seen enough people could tell just by looking into their eyes.
Hozuki Mangetsu was a real twelve or thirteen-year-old, with a height that matched his age.
"What’s going on with this kid?!"
Biwa Juzo couldn’t wrap his head around it. The leader of a pursuit squad was a child?!
Itachi looked around with a frown. A kid this age could maybe be a jonin or part of the Anbu, but...
Why would he be sent to hunt down an S-rank rogue ninja?
Biwa Juzo let out a cold snort, then pulled out the large blade on his back and slammed it into the ground with a heavy "thunk."
"Don’t tell me the Fifth Mizukage ran out of people, so they sent a little kid like you to go after missing-nin."
"Let me just say this now—I’m not going to go easy on you just because you’re a kid."
The moment he finished talking, Biwa Juzo grabbed his giant blade and swung it straight at Hozuki Mangetsu’s waist.
A thick tree beside Mangetsu was instantly cut in half, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.
And Mangetsu’s body seemed like it would be sliced in two as well.
"Splosh." With the sound of splashing water, drops of liquid flew from the place where his body was cut.
What a pain of a secret technique. Biwa Juzo frowned.
"I’m the Fifth Mizukage."
Even though he’d just been cut in half, the white-haired boy didn’t panic at all. He even looked totally calm as he answered Biwa Juzo.
As he spoke, Hozuki Mangetsu quickly formed hand signs, then looked up and shot a thin stream of water straight at Biwa Juzo.
That was clearly the hand sign for the basic Water Wave technique, but what came out was something completely different.
Biwa Juzo didn’t have time to think about it. He quickly raised his blade to block it.
A sharp screeching sound rang out—the water thread actually drilled a small hole right through the blade and pierced Juzo’s chest in an instant.
"Guh?! What the hell is that?!"
Biwa Juzo stumbled back two steps, staring at Mangetsu in disbelief.
With a splash, Mangetsu’s whole body melted into a puddle and rolled over to the lower half that had been cut off.
The white liquid stuck together like wet clay, and in seconds, Mangetsu was standing under the tree again—looking completely unharmed.
A clean pierce-through?
Even the giant blade had been punched through. Biwa Juzo clenched his teeth and held his wound.
Some of the blood that had sprayed out had landed on the blade, and just that little bit was enough to seal up the hole in it.
"It’s like a high-pressure water cannon... If you’re the Mizukage, I guess you really are—?!"
As he looked up and down, holding his injury, Mangetsu’s figure suddenly disappeared from view.
A cold drop of dew fell from the tree behind Itachi, and Itachi spun around instantly to see Mangetsu dropping silently from above.
To avoid looking into Itachi’s eyes, the guy just turned his whole head into liquid and charged down with a kunai.
As long as there was water nearby, he could move in unexpected ways.
They didn’t know much about the land here—or about the new Mizukage.
Itachi took a small step back, his Sharingan spinning fast. The three tomoe were about to take shape.
Hatake Satoru landed on a branch and calmly spoke the command.
His voice sounded completely different—lower and firmer, more like an order than speech.
A wave of pressure instantly spread out with the force of his words, pushing through the area!
Even the thick trees nearby started rustling loudly.
Everyone there couldn’t avoid the pressure. The two words dug straight into their minds.
All sound disappeared, time seemed to freeze, and the only thing their brains could process was that command.
Everyone shut their eyes without being able to resist. Even the Mangekyou Sharingan in Itachi’s eyes, about to fully form, was forced to stop.
Two dull sounds, one near and one farther away—and the pressure vanished completely.
Hozuki Mangetsu had turned to water and faceplanted into the ground, like a blob of jelly hitting the floor.
He leaned against a tree and sat up, rubbing his head and grumbling.
"What just happened?"
Biwa Juzo slowly opened his eyes, still dazed. He vaguely remembered someone shouting "close your eyes," and then his eyes just shut on their own.
Whether it was a bloodline limit or some unknown secret technique, this power could *force* people to act?!
If there’s no limit to that, it’s way too scary.
Itachi reached up and covered his right eye.
There’s no way someone would just yell that for no reason. That person must’ve realized he was about to activate the Mangekyou Sharingan.
That shout was clearly aimed at him.
They stopped him—cut him off right before he could use Amaterasu?!
"They can do that just by talking?"
"Kirigakure really does have all kinds of secret jutsu these days..."
Itachi’s expression darkened, and he turned to look behind him at the one who cast the spell.
But then a familiar smile appeared, and Itachi froze in disbelief, staring up and down at the person in front of him.
Hatake Satoru casually waved at him, smiling just as cheerfully as ever.
"Yo! One-vs-seven champ~"
Before Itachi could say anything, the bushes behind Hatake Satoru started rustling, and a voice came from inside, clearly annoyed.
"What weird jutsu did you just use? Why did I suddenly shut my eyes and fall? That really hurt, you know..."
Shisui scratched his head in frustration as he peeked out from the collapsed bushes—obviously hit by the chaos earlier.
There were still a few leaves stuck to his head, but then his eyes landed on Itachi standing across from them.
"Eh? Itachi? What are *you* doing here?"
Biwa Juzo and Hozuki Mangetsu looked at how the mood suddenly shifted, both clearly confused.
Why did these two look like they were best friends with an S-class rogue ninja?!
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