Impossible. Absolutely impossible that it was Madara.
If it were Madara—someone who once fought the First Hokage until the world darkened—then Minato would never have escaped alive. And Shimizu had seen Minato recently; he hadn't looked injured at all. That meant the ambusher was strong—but not strong enough to pose an overwhelming, fatal threat to the current Minato Namikaze.
Besides, the Sharingan was far too easy to identify. That alone made it unlikely to be Madara.
And Wood Release…
Did Madara even use Wood Release?
Without enough information, Shimizu couldn't deduce any further.
"Will the Land of Wind declare war on the Land of Fire?" he suddenly asked.
"No one can say for certain. When the tides of history surge toward us, all we can do is hold tightly to Konoha, this small boat we stand on." Jiraiya stared directly into Shimizu's eyes as he answered.
Is he hinting at something?
Kosuke-sensei had said Konoha would always be his home.
Now Jiraiya was saying to hold tightly to Konoha's boat.
Were they suspicious of him? Was this a test?
"Konoha is my home. I'm part of Konoha. Naturally, I'm on this boat," Shimizu replied calmly, not with exaggerated loyalty but as if stating something obvious.
"I knew you were a good kid!" Jiraiya slapped Shimizu hard on the left shoulder.
That hurts... This strength was even more terrifying than Sawei's...
The thought of Sawei brought his mind back to a painful reality. Sigh... power...
"Senior Jiraiya, I'd like to ask you something."
He genuinely wanted to improve. And standing before him was one of the Legendary Sannin—a nearly perfect mentor.
"Go ahead. If I don't know, I don't know. But if I do, I'll tell you—depending on the situation."
"…I've hit a bottleneck. I've realized that my reflexes and dynamic vision can't quite keep up with my speed."
"Oh? I didn't expect you to run into that problem. Looks like your Body Flicker is pretty good," Jiraiya praised lightly.
But inwardly, he was far more shaken than he let on.
In all these years, only two people had asked him that question.
One was Minato, about a year ago.
The other was Shimizu—now.
For Shimizu to encounter this bottleneck meant his speed had already reached that threshold.
Which implied his maximum speed surpassed what Jiraiya had just shown.
Just how fast is he?
Perhaps only the "Yellow Flash" truly knew…
Jiraiya recalled what he had heard from ANBU that morning—"Instant Shunshin Shimizu."
That nickname probably wasn't just decorative.
It represented absolute speed no one could surpass.
The younger generation was indeed formidable.
Jiraiya couldn't help comparing Shimizu with Minato.
Who was faster now?
Probably Minato.
No—definitely Minato.
Minato was his prized student.
"Senior Jiraiya?" Shimizu prompted, seeing him lost in thought.
"Ah—yes, right. Good question." Jiraiya seemed to gather himself. "I don't have an answer."
"…."
Then what exactly were you thinking about?
"I don't rely on speed that much. You should ask Minato. I believe he's already found a solution. He asked me the same question more than a year ago."
"…I see." Shimizu felt a faint disappointment.
Jiraiya noticed it. Then he thought—both were Konoha's children. Why be so distant? Besides, the old man had emphasized unity just last night.
"In my opinion, if you've reached that bottleneck, there are only two solutions. First: enhance your reflexes and dynamic vision. That can be achieved by strengthening your body with Lightning Release."
This was a method Jiraiya knew from his vast experience—one that enhanced the body's own capabilities. It was said that the Third Raikage could achieve this:
By concentrating Lightning Release chakra throughout the entire body, one could cloak oneself in chakra and lightning, activating the body's cells. This allowed the use of a Lightning Body Flicker, greatly enhanced defense, and the electrical current surging through the body would accelerate neural transmission speed.
The more Lightning chakra used, the greater the boost to speed and defense.
"Of course, it's extremely dangerous," Jiraiya warned. "Without exceptional Lightning chakra control and natural affinity, it could easily backfire."
Again with chakra control.
Again with talent.
Please, all of you—go away and stop blocking my path!
"…And the second method?"
"Shimizu, do you know? If a single drop of water falls on a rock, it won't damage it. But if countless drops fall over years and years, they can pierce straight through the stone."
"Please guide me, Senior!" Shimizu lowered his head sincerely.
"Through constant practice. Massive practice. Endless repetition. Train every attack and defense at that extreme speed until they become subconscious reactions."
"When that time comes, your body will naturally know what to do."
Shimizu paused, considering the feasibility of this approach.
"…Have you experienced that yourself, Senior Jiraiya?"
"I'm not a speed-based shinobi. How would I know what that feels like?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Or do you think I'm holding back on you?"
"It's just that… that approach is a bit…" Shimizu hesitated to say the word.
At that kind of extreme speed, if everything were left to instinct—and that instinct happened to be wrong—
The consequences would be unimaginable.
A fight without conscious thought?
He didn't dare attempt that lightly.
You only have one life.
"I'm just offering suggestions. That's why I said I don't have an answer," Jiraiya shrugged, distancing himself from responsibility.
Then why make it sound so profound…
But since the conversation was already flowing, asking one more question wouldn't hurt.
"By the way, Senior Jiraiya—Minato mentioned you went to the Land of Hot Water to search for the Three-Tails. What happened?"
"Oh, that old turtle?" Jiraiya said casually. "It ran off to Kirigakure, caused quite a commotion, and then got captured."
"The Hidden Mist didn't suffer heavy losses?"
"From what I heard, the Three-Tails wasn't particularly strong… For some reason, none of the Samehada that usually stayed by its side were around. Maybe without its primary chakra source, it was weaker."
Wait.
Samehada?
Wasn't Samehada Kisame's weapon? One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist? Wasn't it a sword?
How did it become something accompanying the Three-Tails?
"What is Samehada?"
"Oh, Samehada?" Jiraiya rested his chin on his hand as he recalled. "They're a group of small fish that follow the Three-Tails. They usually cling to its belly, helping refine chakra and channeling it back into its body. I've heard they have quite an appetite—they'll eat just about anything."
Those strange fish? Those fish were Samehada? And I wiped them out? Is that why the Three-Tails was so enraged?
Light dawned on Shimizu instantly. The "strange fish" that had become part of his body was actually a Samehada!
He clearly remembered slicing that fish in half with Lightning Blade Slash.
Its vitality was terrifying.
To think that even half a Samehada could attach itself to him, completely fuse with him, and now even refine chakra for him…
...
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