Unlike Shadow Clones, Water Clones do not have the function of synchronous memory transmission. Therefore, in battle, they can generally only be used for testing and distraction, lacking the intelligence-gathering capabilities of Shadow Clones.
This destined that the original body and the Water Clone could not be too far apart. Otherwise, even if the clone learned something, it could not directly dispel itself to return the memories to the main body. If the clone were to automatically dissipate on its way to find the original body, the Ninjutsu caster would be truly stuck.
Due to these flaws of the Water Clone, Suikazan Fuguki was indeed not far from that cave entrance. After seeing the purple glow emanating from the cave, he left without looking back.
But Orochimaru had actually prepared long ago. Less than ten minutes after Suikazan Fuguki left, he was already being tailed by the Ninja under Orochimaru's command.
After undergoing Zoan-type modification, besides physical enhancement, various animal abilities also provided a massive boost to the Ninja. For example, some animals' unique sense of smell, vision, hearing, echolocation, thermal imaging, ground vibration sensing... Ninja possessing these abilities could almost be considered half-sensory Ninja. Since Suikazan Fuguki had already come, there was naturally no possibility of escape.
"This feeling... is there something wrong with that bird in the sky?"
Suikazan Fuguki, fleeing along the river, looked up with a solemn gaze. Over a thousand meters up in the sky, a bird shimmering with golden light was soaring over his head; it was an exceptionally majestic Golden Eagle.
This Golden Eagle in the sky had been following him for a long time. In a world with all sorts of strange Ninjutsu and summoned beasts, Suikazan Fuguki naturally wouldn't ignore the movements of this Golden Eagle.
However, among Ninja, the ability to fly was a very rare thing. Suikazan Fuguki certainly didn't have it. As for using Ninjutsu to shoot down that Golden Eagle, it was even more of a pipe dream.
One should know that the attack range of general Ninjutsu is only twenty or thirty meters. If the attack range can exceed a hundred meters, that's already the strength of a top-tier Ninja. To shoot upwards a thousand meters at a tiny Golden Eagle in the sky—if he had that kind of strength, Suikazan Fuguki wouldn't have fled upon seeing Orochimaru.
"But thinking you can catch me like this is a bit too naive!"
A cold sneer appeared on Suikazan Fuguki's face. This kind of aerial surveillance was indeed very troublesome, especially since that Golden Eagle seemed to possess intelligence no less than a human's. Suikazan Fuguki had tried using Clone Techniques several times but couldn't shake it off.
However, this was the Land of Sea, and Suikazan Fuguki was a Mist Ninja. As long as he reached the water's edge or the seaside, Suikazan Fuguki had absolute confidence in his ability to escape.
"Orochimaru appearing here... could it be that the Land of Sea Alliance and the Sea Ninja Village are both his handiwork? This matter must be reported to the Village immediately. Perhaps I can also give Konoha a piece of intelligence on Orochimaru!"
"Wait, can Orochimaru really do something like this by himself? This is a major event affecting several countries and at least a thousand Ninja... Could it be that Orochimaru's defection is fake, and Konoha is trying to open a branch base?"
While Suikazan Fuguki's mind was racing with wild thoughts, his pace didn't slow down at all, and he soon arrived near a river.
However, at this moment, Suikazan Fuguki's footsteps paused slightly, and his expression turned extremely ugly.
The ten-meter-wide river was flowing quietly. The slight sound of the wind and the babbling water gave the already silent forest a more desolate feel. However, Suikazan Fuguki had no intention of appreciating it.
Folding his hands together, Suikazan Fuguki completed his hand seals within a few short seconds: "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The calm river instantly surged with stormy waves. Amidst the currents whipped up by Chakra, a terrifying shadow slowly emerged. A massive Great White Shark crashed through the Water Dragon Bullet and leapt out of the river!
Just as the Great White Shark leapt from the water, it rapidly grew limbs. Its powerful body and massive shark head made it look quite terrifying, bearing a resemblance to the Shark-man from the Suicide Squad.
"Die!!" With a roar, Suikazan Fuguki stopped maintaining the Water Dragon Bullet attack. Instead, he drew the great sword Samehada from his back and slashed without hesitation.
Although a Great White Shark jumping out of a river was quite surprising, the well-traveled Suikazan Fuguki didn't think there was anything wrong. After all, there were too many weird and varied Ninjutsu; turning into a Great White Shark wasn't that special.
In any case, a real marine Great White Shark could never end up in a river, so it was naturally a Ninja's technique. Facing a Ninja, his only thought now was to kill the opponent directly!
Judging from the opponent's ability to transform into a Great White Shark, they clearly had an extremely strong adaptability to Water Release. In this situation, using a weapon might be a bit easier.
The Great White Shark, now a Shark-man, didn't retreat a single step either. He lunged forward, and facing the downward-swinging Samehada, he actually opened his mouth and bit down on it.
With a crack, teeth and spikes flew. The bite force of a Great White Shark was incredibly astonishing, and the Ninja who had undergone Great White Shark genetic modification had inherited this. At the same time, shark teeth were considered the sharpest and most pointed among all animals.
Thus, amidst the cracking sound, the entire Samehada shrank violently, then began to struggle from side to side, flinging the Great White Shark Ninja away with a whip of its body.
Suikazan Fuguki looked at the Samehada in his hand with some heartache. He saw several white teeth embedded in the sword, and a faint gray liquid was flowing out.
However, the Ninja on the other side didn't fare well either. All the teeth in his mouth were knocked out by Samehada, and his mouth was shredded by Samehada's spikes. His already cavernous mouth, now soaked in a large amount of blood, looked even more terrifying.
"Damn smelly salted fish, you actually hurt my Samehada! I'll use your Chakra to let Samehada recover!"
Suikazan Fuguki infused Chakra into Samehada, and the entire sword puffed out like a pufferfish, looking even more dangerous.
Samehada's power would gradually increase as it absorbed Chakra. However, most of the time, Suikazan Fuguki used Samehada to absorb the enemy's Chakra.
He hadn't expected that the Great White Shark opposite him wouldn't use Chakra but would bite directly. When facing pure physical attacks, Samehada's effect was no better than that of an ordinary weapon.
Under these circumstances, Suikazan Fuguki couldn't afford to save the Chakra in his body and directly strengthened Samehada to its limit.