The Mizukage Is Strong But Overly Cautious

Mizuki Taki looked at the ferocious beast in front of him, with no fear or sadness in his eyes.

Only a deep sense of inner peace remained.

He couldn't recall the last time he had felt this calm.

A year? Five years? Or ten, twenty?

In this moment, Mizuki Taki even remembered the day he became the Mizuki Clan's patriarch, when his father-in-law—the previous patriarch—gave him words of wisdom.

Years had passed in the blink of an eye. Under his leadership, the Mizuki Clan had reached new heights. He had first served as the bodyguard of the First Mizukage, then dedicated himself to supporting the Second Mizukage's internal reforms in Kirigakure.

Through countless trials, he had finally become the Third Mizukage.

By all accounts, he had not been an exceptional Mizukage.

The village had neither flourished nor grown stronger under his rule. Instead, it teetered on the brink of civil war.

And now, as he faced his end, he accepted this as the consequence of his own choices.

Yet, looking back, he had no regrets. Even if given another chance, he would still have taken this path.

Because his family, his wife, and his child needed him to become a shadow.

Perhaps he had been a flawed Mizukage.

But he had been a good patriarch. A loyal husband. A devoted father.

Now, as a shadow, it was his duty to take responsibility.

At this moment, Mizuki Taki had exhausted all his chakra.

But he refused to retreat.

With trembling hands, he retrieved a crimson pill from his robes.

The apothecary who had prepared it had warned him—this pill was only for the final moment.

Now, wasn't this the true final moment?

Even if he could escape, with his body in its current state, he wouldn't survive another two days.

He had relied on forbidden techniques to maintain his strength in his battle against Yagura. But now, the backlash had begun.

Blood trickled from his eyes, nostrils, and mouth.

Without hesitation, Mizuki Taki swallowed the dark red pill.

Instantly, blood erupted from his pores as an overwhelming, almost otherworldly aura surged from his body.

"Come then…

Three Tails!!!"

His voice thundered across the battlefield.

Bleeding from every orifice, he stood like a war god on the verge of death.

He met Three Tails' massive, gleaming eye without fear. There was no hesitation—only unwavering determination.

"Kill!"

In his hands, an enormous ice blade formed once more—this time, not pure white, but a deep, bloodstained crimson.

Mizuki Taki gripped the crimson blade and lunged toward Three Tails.

The berserk beast retaliated by releasing a high-pressure water blast.

But in an instant, the deadly torrent was split cleanly in two.

The towering crimson ice blade cleaved down onto Three Tails' forehead.

A shattering explosion followed. Scarlet ice shards burrowed into the beast's flesh, slipping into the soft tissue unprotected by its armored shell.

"ROOOOAAARRR!!!"

Three Tails bellowed in agony.

The relentless battle had taken its toll on the beast.

Uchiha Madara had forcibly restored Three Tails' chakra, but the old sealing restraints—left behind by Ōkubo—still clung to its body.

The strain of these seals weakened it further.

Now, battered and wounded, Three Tails instinctively tried to flee.

It turned and dove toward the depths of the Misty Lake.

But Mizuki Taki was prepared. He would not let the beast escape.

Few knew that, since taking the title of Mizukage, he had been secretly researching sealing jutsu.

After years of study, he had mastered the art.

Now was the moment to use it.

A blood-forged ice dagger appeared in his hand.

Without hesitation, he slashed his own arm, severing an artery.

Crimson droplets splattered onto the lake.

The moment his blood touched the water, it surged with unnatural force.

The water darkened and thickened—transforming into chains of blood-red ice.

Strange, ancient runes etched themselves into the ice.

With each passing second, as Mizuki Taki bled, more chains emerged.

Finally, at their peak, the blood-ice chains shot forward like piercing lances, streaking toward the submerged Three Tails.

Within moments, the monstrous beast was ensnared.

The chains wrapped around its limbs, its shell, and its tails, dragging it back toward the surface.

No matter how it thrashed, Three Tails could not break free from the sealing chains forged from Mizuki Taki's very life force.

Its desperate struggle was in vain.

The chains tightened. Blood-frost crystallized over its massive body.

Soon, Three Tails was encased within a towering, blood-red ice sculpture.

The battle was over.

Mizuki Taki had used every last drop of his chakra, every ounce of his strength—

And every moment of his remaining life.

As his body collapsed onto the water's surface, he knew—

As Mizukage, he had fulfilled his duty in the very last moments of his life.

"When I reach the afterlife…

I'll finally be able to meet the two predecessors of Mizukage,"

he murmured with a faint smile.

In the haze of his fading consciousness, two young figures rushed toward him.

They were strong. Determined. They carried the will of the village.

He saw the future of Kirigakure in them.

"Third Mizukage!"

"Patriarch!"

Two voices called to him—one full of urgency, the other of anguish.

Mizuki Ryosuke and Hozuki Magnetsu had arrived.

Immediately, Mizuki Ryosuke placed his hands over Mizuki Taki's wounds, casting Healing Jutsu.

But the moment his chakra touched Mizuki Taki's body, he realized—

It was too late.

Not a single organ, not a single vein, remained intact.

"Ah…"

"I still… prefer you to call me Uncle Taki…"

Mizuki Taki spoke weakly, his voice barely audible.

Hearing this, Mizuki Ryosuke clenched his fists. He had no words.

"Lian… and Rikka…"

"I leave them… to you."

"You must… protect… them…"

Mizuki Taki's grip tightened around Ryosuke's wrist, his life hanging by a thread.

"Yes, Uncle Taki," Mizuki Ryosuke swore.

"I swear—anyone who dares to harm Sister Lian and Aunt Rikka… will have to step over my dead body!"

Hearing this, Mizuki Taki's eyes softened.

"Remember… today…"

"No matter what… when you take the village in the future…"

"Never… allow… this day… to happen again…"

Both Mizuki Ryosuke and Hozuki magnetsu understood.

Kirigakure could not survive another civil war.

This was his final warning.

His final will.

His breaths grew weaker.

At that moment, a new presence arrived.

A stern, broad-shouldered shinobi with an air of authority strode toward them.

Behind him, medical-nin rushed forward.

Kirigakure's Jōnin commander—Maeda Genshi.

Throughout the coup, Maeda had remained behind to defend the village, preventing internal chaos.

Yagura had spread false news, hoping to secure power upon his return.

But Maeda had crushed those lies.

Now, he had finally arrived at the battlefield.

Seeing him, Mizuki Taki summoned his last breath—

There was still something he needed to say.

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