Chapter 72: “Great! It’s a Tailed Beast! We’ll Definitely Win!”

Logan swung the first blade.

Golden ripples and arcs of thunder danced around the sword, illuminating the night—and the faces of everyone caught in its glow. For a moment, the chaos was still.

Everyone could see clearly now.

See clearly...

Who the real enemy was.

"Kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Diehard loyalists and Reformist shinobi—once comrades, trained in the same village—clashed like colliding tsunamis.

Blood sprayed into the mist. The fog, once thick and featureless, now looked like delicate rice paper soaked in ink. The red spread outward in blooming clusters, like crabapple flowers blooming across a canvas of war.

No one flinched.

No one hesitated.

They had seen this too many times. Anyone who stood here today had already committed their life to a cause. There was no going back.

Mayuri extended her arms, a wave of icy chakra sweeping through the battlefield.

The bloodline she'd hidden for years—Ice Release—erupted with vengeful force. From the air, thousands of jagged ice blades formed and hovered above the battlefield.

"Ice Style: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"

The needles descended in a glittering cascade, piercing through enemy ranks with surgical precision. Screams filled the air as bodies dropped to the ground, blood mixing with shards of ice.

The diehard loyalists weren't weak, though. A ninja quickly formed hand signs and countered with fire-style jutsu. The flames rushed toward Mayuri—only to pass harmlessly through strips of purple paper.

She had vanished—just an illusion.

Dozens of Lion Majesty paper creatures burst from the shadows, locking onto their targets. They pounced with brutal force, biting into throats with poisoned fangs.

"Ahh! It's Orochimaru's jutsu!"

One ninja screamed before the venom in his blood crystallized his veins. He hit the ground with a lifeless thud.

Elsewhere, Sasuke and Momo moved like lightning through enemy ranks. Their twin blades flashed, slicing down opponents with precision. Every few seconds, Sasuke would unleash a fire or lightning jutsu—and Momo would amplify it with chakra ripples, boosting both power and radius. Enemy formations burned or crumbled before they even understood what hit them.

Zabuza, after slicing through a diehard ninja's throat, froze for a moment. His eyes lingered on the trio: Mayuri, Sasuke, Momo.

He had always assumed they were just Logan's pampered followers—there to bathe him, dress him, entertain him.

But now?

They were monsters in combat.

"Don't lose focus."

Ao's voice rang out behind him as he parried an attack aimed at Zabuza's back.

Zabuza chuckled darkly. He pulled open his shirt, revealing a line of explosive tags strapped to his chest.

"This one's just my water clone. Bait for the idiots."

He looked toward the center of the battlefield.

"The ones who will decide this war… are them."

Logan.

Terumi Mei.

And Yagura.

Their battle wasn't just powerful—it was on another level entirely. Even Zabuza, for all his skill, knew he couldn't interfere. He'd only get in the way.

On the rooftop of the Mizukage Tower, bathed in moonlight, stood Yagura.

He glanced down at his shattered coral staff—destroyed earlier when he'd carelessly stepped into Logan's range and taken a direct hit from Star Platinum.

He sneered and tossed the broken weapon aside.

"Just as the rumors say… terrifying suppression power inside your range. But that's only against ordinary shinobi."

He leapt gracefully to the top of the building. Moonlight cast a halo around him as he raised an arm—and red chakra, like blood-colored water, swirled up his limbs.

"Logan, do you know what it means to be a Jinchūriki?"

Crimson chakra surged around his other arm, now flowing faster, deeper—thicker.

"Endless power."

Three jagged tails burst from his back, and his body was covered in glowing scarlet chakra. He looked like a beast—but his eyes were calm, focused. His voice was cold:

"Absolute defense."

Yagura's transformation was complete.

The oppressive pressure of the tailed beast chakra descended like a mountain, suffocating everyone in Kirigakure.

The diehards' eyes lit up with manic joy.

"Ha! It's the Tailed Beast Cloak!"

"We'll definitely win now!"

They had been worried—under Genjutsu, Yagura shouldn't be able to transform. Everyone knew a perfect Jinchūriki couldn't be controlled by illusions.

But now… there he stood.

Fully transformed.

The Three-Tails Isobu's barbed tails swayed behind him. His body pulsed with inhuman energy.

He wasn't bluffing.

This was the terrifying, overwhelming power of a tailed beast.

Even Ao's voice faltered. "C-Can he really transform under Genjutsu? How can Isobu allow this?"

Everyone on the Reformist side felt a chill sink into their hearts.

Yagura crouched low. The Chakra on his back swelled, forming the spiked shell of Isobu. His entire body became a weapon—armor, claws, tails, raw chakra.

This wasn't human anymore.

This was war incarnate.

"There's no such thing as invincibility in this world!" Yagura roared, and launched himself from the roof.

He vanished from sight—then reappeared mid-air, moving faster than the human eye could track. A streak of red light, full of malice and force, cut through the air as he dove straight toward Logan.

"Logan, look out!"

Terumi Mei had already been forming hand seals. The moment Yagura transformed, she began preparing her most powerful jutsu.

But the transformation had been too fast. Before she could complete her technique, Yagura had closed the distance.

Across the battlefield—diehards, reformists, samurai, hidden spies—everyone stopped breathing.

All eyes locked onto Logan and Yagura.

First, Yagura's claws aimed at Logan's chest.

Then, his tail whipped from behind, targeting the back of Logan's skull.

And finally—he began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb in his mouth.

That was his plan.

If Logan blocked the claws or tail, the Tailed Beast Bomb would detonate in his face at point-blank range.

A triple threat—unstoppable.

"We've won!" someone whispered.

But… had they?

Why didn't it feel like victory?

Why did this attack—this overwhelming power—suddenly seem like a desperate move?

Everyone turned their eyes to Logan.

He hadn't moved.

He raised his head.

And pointed a finger at Yagura.

"Star Platinum."

The world fell silent in Logan's mind.

Star Platinum, his Stand, floated into view, fists clenched and glowing. It took a deep breath—

"Ora!"

The first punch smashed Yagura's incoming claw. The flesh was protected by chakra, but the sheer force twisted the bones at the joints. A crack echoed across the rooftops.

The freezing sensation of time slowing passed.

But the punches kept coming.

"Ora ora ora ora ora!"

Fist after fist struck with comet speed. Yagura's tail was shattered mid-swing. His armor cracked. The crimson glow dimmed.

Under the starry sky, Logan stood tall, cloaked in golden ripples.

Around him, fists flew like falling stars.

People were stunned.

Yes, Logan had always been strong.

Yes, his close combat was unmatched.

But this—this was beyond expectation.

He wasn't just holding his own.

He was winning against a tailed beast.

Terumi Mei whispered in awe:

"This is… the strongest."

Yagura screamed, blood spewing from his mouth as he gathered the last of his strength into a final, fully-charged Tailed Beast Bomb.

He fired it at point-blank range.

Too close to dodge.

Logan didn't flinch.

Star Platinum fused with Logan's body, its form wrapping around him like an ethereal armor. Purple arm guards shimmered on Logan's arms. Ripples of natural energy pulsed through his palm.

He raised his right hand—

And caught the Tailed Beast Bomb.

One-handed.

The raw energy tore at his skin, but it was absorbed, nullified by ripple energy, nature energy, and the stabilizing force of Star Platinum.

Zabuza's jaw dropped. "He caught it?!"

Logan stepped forward.

Yagura's smile faltered.

"What… what are you trying to do?"

Logan didn't answer.

He just reeled back his arm, then punched.

The blow crushed Yagura's mouth and jaw, sending teeth and blood flying.

And then—

Logan stuffed the Tailed Beast Bomb right back into his throat.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion erupted from Yagura's face.

Victory.

The Reformist forces erupted in cheers.

But just as hope surged—

Space twisted violently behind Logan.

Two new figures emerged from a spiral vortex, black cloaks adorned with red clouds.

One wore a mask.

The other—

Was Pain.

And they struck together.

Øóffer going on for diamond tier

pàtreøn (Gk31)