Several kilometers away, Shimizu struggled out of the water and collapsed beside a rock on the shore.
Nagato's explosive final strike had overturned everything.
Several of his ribs were broken. Even his internal organs had been shattered—he could feel his vitality slipping away.
This was death's summons.
Sometimes, life and death were separated by only an instant.
If the Reaper favored you, it was simply because you were too weak.
Who could have imagined that what should have been a guaranteed killing blow would reverse so completely?
Shinra Tensei…
Wasn't that ability supposed to belong only to the Deva Path of Pain?
"Monster!!" Shimizu let out a roar of frustration. The effort triggered a violent, unstoppable fit of coughing. "Cough... cough, cough..."
"I suppose... I should expect no less from the 'Child of Prophecy,'" he muttered bitterly.
Until the destined fate of the "Child of Prophecy" was fulfilled, perhaps no external force could truly stop him.
In that final moment, Nagato had been like a true protagonist—bursting forth with a terrifying power at the brink of defeat.
A last-second awakening, turning the tide of death.
Wasn't that exactly what a main character did?
Shimizu had already forced down every scrap of food he carried.
On this battlefield filled with Root operatives and Rain ninja, he could trust no one.
All he could do now was wait—placing his final hope on that strange fish he had once fused with.
Soaked through, leaning against the damp blue stone of the shore, Shimizu stared blankly at the sky.
The crushing exhaustion after chakra depletion.
The profound helplessness of approaching death.
He had carefully constructed that killing setup—for a final, absolute strike.
To lower Nagato's guard against the ranged Lightning Blade, he had deliberately chosen the moment when Nagato was underwater to throw it, hoping the rippling lake would distort his vision. After all, a blue-glowing, chakra-infused kunai appearing at such a moment would alert anyone.
Nagato's speed in casting Water Clones had been terrifyingly fast—no slower than Shimizu's own no-seal techniques.
To create that opening, he had needed to deceive Nagato.
But he had only that one Lightning chakra weapon.
And attaching explosive tags to kunai? In such high-speed combat, that tactic had no chance of success. Nagato would easily detect the tags and avoid them calmly.
All that effort—
Wasted.
Gradually, drowsiness began to set in...
But he couldn't sleep. in a place like this, once he closed his eyes, he might never wake up again...
"Captain!" A familiar voice sounded by his ear.
"Captain!!"
The repeated calls pulled Shimizu back to reality.
"Rockwood?" For a moment, Shimizu thought he was hallucinating. Why would Rockwood be here?
"Captain, hurry and save Skyflame! Windveil is—ugh!" A kunai pierced through Rockwood's throat, cutting off his voice forever.
Shimizu's heart plunged into an abyss. He saw the killer clearly: it was Windveil, standing a short distance away.
At this moment, she showed none of the mobility issues she had displayed earlier.
One wave after another. But in this latest surge, what trump cards did he have left?
"You're one of Danzo's people?"
Windveil did not answer. She walked step by step toward Rockwood's body, drew out a second kunai, and in the blink of an eye ended his life completely.
Rockwood died with his eyes open.
Unwilling.
Shimizu, too, was unwilling to die here in obscurity.
He had barely escaped the fate of the Rinnegan—why must he fall instead to a pawn of Danzo?
"Looks like I asked a stupid question," Shimizu sighed deeply. The pain made his voice come in broken fragments. "Can you tell me… why?"
Even through the ANBU animal mask, he could feel Windveil's icy gaze.
"I have no chakra left," he continued weakly. "I'm mortally wounded. Even if you hadn't come… I would've died here."
"Blame Rockwood," Windveil finally spoke after confirming he was beyond saving. "He led me to you."
Then she added with faint regret,
"You didn't have to die… but there are no 'ifs.'"
It was too late to say any of this now. Shimizu didn't care whether Rockwood had led Windveil to him. What he cared about at this moment was whether the companion he had known for over a decade was safe.
"How is Skyflame?"
"Dead," Windveil replied casually.
"You killed him?" Shimizu couldn't imagine a jōnin with a three-tomoe Sharingan being assassinated so easily.
"You'll be seeing each other soon enough."
"Why? They were innocent…" Shimizu still believed that Danzo wanted him dead, and that Skyflame and Rockwood had died because they were dragged into it.
"Innocent?" Windveil paused, wiped the blood from her kunai, and said coldly, "No one is innocent. When you become a ninja, aren't you prepared to face death at any time?"
She stepped closer, raising the blade once more, her voice icy. "Or is it that you, Shimizu Uzuki, a jōnin, still can't understand something so simple?"
"I just… want to die knowing the truth…" Shimizu's breathing grew weaker. He could feel the chill of this world stripping away the last warmth in his body.
Anyone could see that his life was nearing its end.
After a moment of silence, Windveil looked toward the distant battlefield and said slowly, "Shimizu Uzuki, to Lord Danzo, you were never worth mentioning. A mere ninja without any bloodline limit—did you really think he would scheme so carefully just to deal with you?"
Bloodline limit (kekkei genkai)?
Like a bolt of lightning striking his mind—
Sharingan!
"Sawei…?" Shimizu struggled to open his eyes, to see the final truth.
"Heh. Go in peace."
Shimizu had never considered himself a fool. But neither had he arrogantly thought himself especially clever.
This time, though, he realized how terribly wrong he had been.
Danzo's true target had always been the bloodline limit.
What he wanted was Uchiha Sawei's three-tomoe Sharingan.
The invitation to join Root, the praise, the apology, the talk of potential—
All smoke and mirrors.
"Where are his eyes?" Shimizu's voice was raspy.
Windveil gnored his final question. She lunged forward, plunging her kunai into Shimizu's chest—it was over!
This was the end...
To hell with that!
Poof! The Shimizu leaning against the rock suddenly vanished in a cloud of gray smoke.
It was a Shadow Clone!
Before Windveil could react, she heard the sharp cry of birds behind her.
Before she could move, she looked down—
Her heart was clenched in a powerful hand.
Death was terrifyingly real.
"Where are his eyes?" Shimizu asked softly.
"Impossible! You were clearly dying! And your chakra—" Windveil couldn't accept what was happening. Just moments ago, Shimizu had been on the brink of death. Why was she the one dying instead?
"Because I'm the protagonist," Shimizu replied calmly. Then he added, "Since you won't tell me, I'll look myself."
His left hand tightened.
Windveil's body collapsed like soft mud, her life extinguished.
Shimizu fell silent.
He looked at Rockwood's corpse, then searched Windveil carefully. But after thoroughly checking every inch, he found no sign of the eyes.
What had gone wrong?
He had assumed she would be carrying Sawei's Sharingan with her.
But now…
Where were the eyes?
Did that mean Sawei wasn't dead at all?
Shimizu stood up.
He decided to hide the two bodies first and return later to retrieve Rockwood's remains. As for Windveil's body, he hadn't yet decided whether to confess everything to the Third Hokage or confront Danzo directly.
And then—he had to find Sawei.
…No. He couldn't do that.
If he exposed Danzo's attempt to seize the Sharingan, he would face ruthless retaliation. If Danzo truly sought his death, with his power and influence—
Shimizu would have no choice but to become a rogue ninja.
How could a mere jōnin escape the heavily guarded Konoha?
But if he concealed the truth…
Which of Konoha's higher-ups were fools?
Whether it was the corpses—or himself—they would not escape investigation by the ANBU's Second Corps, First Interrogation Division. And if even the slightest suspicion touched the nerves of the higher-ups, they could forcefully probe his memories.
Either path—
Was a consequence Shimizu could not afford.
"I'm sorry," he said softly to Rockwood's corpse.
He would have to destroy the bodies.
Erase them completely.
As though they had never existed in this world at all.