The following two days in the wilderness passed without incident.
After two days of rest and recovery, Shimizu's external wounds had completely stopped bleeding.
But internal injuries—organ damage, internal bleeding, fractured ribs—were beyond his ability to treat. That direct hit from the Water Continuous Bullets had undoubtedly injured his internal organs.
If he wanted a full recovery, he would have to return to Konoha as soon as possible and seek treatment from medical-nin.
His chakra had also recovered to more than half.
Being able to restore that much chakra while injured was, in truth, thanks to the strange fish that had fully fused into his body.
He had noticed that every time he ate, there was a brief period of accelerated chakra regeneration.
There was no doubt that the changes within him were all due to that creature.
Fortunately, thanks to it, his chakra reserves were sufficient for ordinary combat.
But because of his internal injuries—
He should avoid unnecessary battles as much as possible.
He was not one of the "Konoha Twelve."
He was not some bug-like existence.
Nor did he possess a data-structured body.
If internal injuries accumulated or worsened, they would seriously impair a ninja's performance and strength.
An iron body.
Peerless talent.
Permanent peak condition.
Those existed only in beautiful fantasies and video games.
And at such a sensitive time, if he were unlucky enough to encounter bounty hunters who recognized the price on his head—
That would truly be a disaster.
Hush... I can't keep raising flags like this.
Over the past two days, Shimizu had been traveling west. Although he didn't know his exact coordinates, heading west was the only logical choice.
Eventually... Shimizu found himself back at the edge of the ocean.
"So, this was just an island..."
Shimizu retreated into the forest, letting out a breath of relief.
That meant he was unlikely to encounter other ninja.
Small southern islands like this were sparsely populated; even encountering ordinary people was rare.
The fact that he hadn't seen a single person in two days was proof enough.
However, it also meant he couldn't return to Konoha immediately.
And his internal injuries couldn't wait.
He had to find the island's inhabitants and ask for help.
Soon enough, following a river upstream, he finally found a village.
It appeared to be a fishing village.
The houses were built along the riverbank.
Every household had wooden boats, and several medium-sized sailboats were docked in the village harbor.
Shimizu formed hand seals and used the Transformation Technique.
He became a down-and-out traveler.
Given his current state—wounded, unarmed, clothes in tatters—he actually only needed to remove Konoha's forehead protector to look like a wandering ronin.
So his transformation altered only his facial features, nothing else.
He never forgot—
His head was worth thirty million ryō.
In an unknown environment, and far from full strength, caution was always wise.
Speaking of the Transformation Technique—
It was truly a bug-level ninjutsu when used cleverly.
If applied well, it could produce astonishing results.
He recalled when he first watched Naruto:
During Team Kakashi's mission to the Land of Waves, they were ambushed by Zabuza Momochi.
At the most critical moment, Kakashi was trapped inside Zabuza's Water Prison Technique and unable to move.
The three protagonists were only genin at the time.
Under the immense pressure of Zabuza's Water Clone, Naruto and Sasuke cooperated brilliantly.
Naruto transformed into a giant Fūma shuriken using the Transformation Technique.
Sasuke then threw him using the Shadow Windmill method.
They successfully deceived Zabuza, forcing him to release the Water Prison and rescuing Kakashi.
It was a classic example of perfect coordination using the Transformation Technique.
However, to achieve such miraculous results with Transformation, two conditions were generally required:
The enemy's sensory abilities had to be weak enough that they couldn't distinguish between real bodies, substitutes, or transformed objects.
The enemy had to be easily distracted—particularly those fond of "talk-no-jutsu." As long as they were talking, their attention would waver, making it easier to conceal the casting process and effects of techniques like Transformation or Substitution.
So in summary—
Zabuza talked too much and underestimated the three Konoha genin. A reckless existence who clearly didn't understand what "protagonist aura" meant.
If you recklessly used the Substitution Technique against a sensory-type ninja who never underestimated their opponent, hoping to trick them, you'd simply be courting death.
At the very moment you believed you had fooled them, the opponent might already have turned the tables and laid a fatal trap, waiting for you to walk right into it.
Shimizu never believed he possessed a protagonist's halo or immortality plot armor.
So he never considered relying on the Transformation Technique to achieve miraculous results in battle.
Only the weak would try to use such methods to bridge the gap between themselves and the strong.
The so-called "Konoha brats" might have countless chances to start over—
But Shimizu Shiyue had only one life.
What he should do was strengthen himself as much as possible, avoid clashes with top-tier powerhouses whenever possible, and lie low until his wings were fully grown.
On the muddy road at the village entrance, Shimizu encountered a boy who looked to be around ten years old.
"Are you a ninja?" the boy asked, wide-eyed and seemingly innocent.
"…Yes."
Shimizu did not believe a ten-year-old child was necessarily harmless. After all, Kakashi Hatake had already carried multiple lives on his conscience by the time he became a chūnin at six.
"How did you know I'm a ninja?"
"I heard the adults say there was a huge tsunami in the north. Lately, a lot of ninja have appeared on the island…"
The boy turned and began running toward the village.
"My name is Mizu. Follow me."
Shimizu hesitated briefly before following him inside.
As they passed one villager's house, he noticed a middle-aged man who was clearly a ninja.
The man's condition was miserable—
He was missing his right arm.
Their gazes met.
The middle-aged ninja clicked his tongue in annoyance and stepped inside.
A downtrodden ninja from the Hidden Mist, judging by his appearance.
Soon, they arrived at Mizu's home.
A middle-aged man was chopping firewood outside.
"You've come to our village. What kind of help do you need?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm injured. Do you have a doctor?" Shimizu replied, then added to ease suspicion, "I was caught in the tsunami and washed ashore here."
"Follow Mizu. He'll take you."
The man continued chopping wood, then casually added, "A lot of ninja have come to the village recently. Like you—most of them injured."
"Has something happened recently?" Shimizu asked, wanting more information.
The man paused and looked at him.
"Like you, they're survivors of the tsunami. Several ships were caught in it. The ordinary people all died. Only ninja like you could survive a disaster like that…"
Based on Shimizu's estimation, the tsunami had surged southeast—toward the Land of Water.
That meant the ships struck were either departing from or heading to the Land of Water.
So those injured ninja—
Were they from the Hidden Mist Village?
A complicated emotion stirred within him for the ordinary civilians who had perished in the disaster.
He knew well that he had no ability to stop Isobu's final outburst.
Even he himself had nearly died in that catastrophe.
And the cruelty of this world far exceeded a single natural disaster.
War.
In his previous life—
And in this one—
War was the greatest destroyer of humanity.
The chaotic Warring States Period.
The First Great Ninja War.
The Second Great Ninja War.
And the brutally inevitable Third Great Ninja War that was approaching.
The overwhelming power of the Three-Tails had once again made him keenly aware of his own smallness.
He had to recover his body as quickly as possible—
And then devote himself to training without delay.