While the Genin of Team 7 were chatting, Suien continued his engagement with Kakashi. The moment Kakashi lazily dodged his initial slash, Suien snorted, then immediately followed up with another strike. Gripping his Water-cutting Sword tightly, he arched through the air with a powerful, heavy, and crushing downward chop aimed at Kakashi.
Clang!
Kakashi met the blade with his Tantō, not head-on but at a sharp angle. The short blade deflected the force of the strike, redirecting it away from his body with a wet, grinding hiss. He was using Suien's own momentum against him.
"Tch." Suien grunted, annoyed by how easily his strike was nullified. Without pausing, he attacked again, launching a flurry of sweeping and stabbing motions. His water blade became a constant, shimmering blur.
Swish!
Slash!
Kakashi, however, easily tracked the trajectory of each strike with his Sharingan. He used his tantō to continuously parry, redirect, and deflect Suien's flurry of attacks with a precise and defensive economy of motion. Suien grunted again, pausing before thrusting his Water-cutting Sword at Kakashi's chest. Once more, Kakashi neutralized the momentum of the strike with a slight shift of his body. He wasn't trying to overpower Suien's over-reliance on brute-force Kenjutsu strikes.
With each simple deflection, Suien grew more frustrated with the stalemate. His frustration intensified as he realized he was the only one attacking, while Kakashi casually moved with practiced ease, never making a single strike of his own.
A small smirk played on Kakashi's face under his mask as he saw the frustration etched on Suien's face. In a fit of rage, Suien delivered another heavy overhead swing— a move that left him temporarily overextended. Kakashi still didn't attack. Instead, he simply parried the blow, his movements mocking Suien's aggression.
"ENOUGH!!" Suien barked, manipulating the water chakra in his sword. The blade transformed into a whip-like stream of water that snapped out at Kakashi's midsection.
Kakashi easily noticed the change. He frowned and sighed with a small shake of his head. "Looks like fun's over." In a blur of motion, he used the Body Flicker Technique, disappearing from his position just as the water whip lashed out. Suien's attack sliced through empty air, momentarily stunning him before a deep frown settled on his face.
Crackle!
Kakashi reappeared behind Suien, his tantō held low. Pale-blue lightning sparked along the blade's edge as it was infused with his Lightning Release Chakra, forming a miniature Raikiri. Before Suien could react, Kakashi delivered a quick, precise thrust, aiming directly at Suien's heart. He stopped after the blade went in a few inches, but he didn't run it through completely.
Even so, the strike had an immediate impact on Suien, who spat out a mouthful of blood as the water whip in his hand vanished. He stood there, stunned, his right arm now empty. He gritted his teeth, but he knew any small movement would cause Kakashi to thrust the tantō completely through his heart, killing him instantly.
"If you hadn't bothered with Ninjutsu in between, maybe our fun fight could have gone a little longer, but whatever," Kakashi sighed, though he didn't seem to care much either way. "Now that you understand your situation, I'll ask you simple question. If you answer me properly, I might let you off the hook. Otherwise... you understand, right?"
Suien grunted but nodded sheepishly. His arrogant demeanor was gone the moment he felt the blood seep from the wound on his back, where Kakashi's tantō glowed with crackling lightning.
Kakashi nodded and asked, "Why did you attack Takigakure? What was your exact reason? I understand that you're a missing-nin from this village, but what's your purpose? Revenge of some kind, or just to get your hands on the infamous Hero Water of Takigakure?"
"The latter. The Hero Water; my purpose was the Hero Water." Suien replied immediately, without a moment of pause.
Kakashi nodded. "I see..." he said, and then asked, "But why the Hero Water? Isn't it just an exaggerated thing? I'm inclined to believe it's just a rumor; otherwise, other great nations would have attacked Takigakure long ago."
Suien let out a dry laugh. "You can't understand. Not even many in Takigakure know the exact power of the Hero Water. Only the village leader and those close to them know the full truth. Hero Water is a Chakra amplifier that increases it tenfold per use."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow before asking, "And currently only Shibuki knows the location of the Hero Water, so you were using Takigakure's villagers as hostages for this purpose. But about the Hero Water, does it do anything other than amplifying Chakra?"
Suien laughed again. "So, are you also getting interested? Well, to answer you, not exactly, but it can also amplify the overall strength of the user from their normal, base state to some degree."
As Suien mentioned this, Kakashi was momentarily interested in the Hero Water. But that interest vanished after the last part of Suien's answer. He sighed, 'So, it's just a Chakra amplifier, and per use probably means temporary. That's not worth it for me. My Chakra is already getting amplified permanently each day, thanks to my system. I don't need Hero Water.'
"W-well we... I mean, we aren't enemies, right? S-so, can—" Suien was trying to say something to Kakashi, who was lost in his own thoughts. When Kakashi noticed this, he instantly thrust his tantō completely through Suien's heart, killing him instantly. Suien's eyes widened as the blade emerged from his chest. Kakashi pulled his tantō out, cleaned it with a dry cloth from his Inventory Seal, and put both items away in Seal. Suien's lifeless body lay on the ground. Seeing the battle was over, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke walked forward to Kakashi.
"Sensei, shall we move towards Shibuki now?" Sakura asked as the three of them approached Kakashi, who stood a little dazed at Suien's lifeless body.
He thought, 'I actually never killed anyone in my last life, yet here I make a paste of two people, electrocute many, and now even this man, yet I don't feel anything much. And all this is because my and Kakashi's memories and experience merged, and he has killed many enemies. Otherwise, killing anyone isn't something I am cut out for.' He sighed, shaking his head, before looking at Sakura, who had asked about moving.
Hearing Sakura, Naruto instantly shouted, "Oh man! We forgot! Shibuki and the villagers might still be in danger!"
Sasuke scoffed, crossing his arms. "Where were you when God was distributing brains? Eating ramen?"
Naruto glared at Sasuke. "What'd you say?"
Sakura sighed. "Kakashi-sensei already sent a Shadow Clone with them, so everything is obviously going to be okay there."
Naruto slapped his hand on his forehead, stuck his tongue out, and said with a slightly embarass smile, "Oh, I actually forgot!"
Sasuke muttered, still with his arms crossed, "Idiot!"
Kakashi smiled at their antics and then said, "Alright, let's move toward Shibuki's and the villagers side. My Shadow Clone has just dispersed last minute, and everything is alright there, too."