Destroy another one of Kakuzu's hearts? Was that mere fantasy?
In Kakuzu's view, the first heart had been lost due to carelessness: Shimizu's incredible speed, his sudden hand seals, and that unheard-of Lightning Release technique had caught him completely off guard...
Now that he knew about the long-range attack capabilities of this technique, as long as he maintained careful vigilance, he certainly wouldn't repeat that mistake.
However, Shimizu genuinely intended to destroy a second heart.
He wasn't boasting.
He didn't even feel like he was saying something outrageous.
From his perspective, now that he had already shattered one heart, Kakuzu—armed with only two active masks—couldn't pose a lethal threat to him anymore.
Especially when those two masks just happened to be Lightning and Water types… the very attributes Shimizu excelled at.
Furthermore, while the attack speed of Kakuzu's black tendrils was incredibly swift... when it came to raw speed, who did the current Shimizu have to fear?
After all, his current strength was a quantum leap beyond what it had been before. Specifically, his surged chakra reserves had largely solved the stamina issues that had plagued him for so long.
Shimizu's signature moves were all high-consumption techniques. Without a massive chakra pool to draw from, he was often forced to fight tentatively, his hands tied. Who would want to be like the Kakashi of the original story, running out of chakra halfway through a fight? Who wouldn't want to be like Naruto Uzumaki, living a life without ever knowing what it feels like to be "empty"?
Thus, Shimizu possessed absolute confidence. He needed to force Kakuzu to unleash all his masks and fight with everything he had. He had to make Kakuzu realize—clearly and soberly—that he, Shimizu Uzuki, this nameless young junior, possessed the strength to stand on equal footing with him for negotiations and trade.
...
Within the thick, white mist, visibility was reduced to near zero... No one could see anyone else.
But in Shimizu's perception, Kakuzu's massive chakra burned like a beacon.
He continued forming hand seals at high speed—Water Release: Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave!
Shimizu expelled a tremendous surge of water from his mouth like a crashing wave, and within moments, the entire battlefield transformed into a vast, flooded plain.
At the same time, a huge, oval water sphere formed around one of Kakuzu's masks—
a crushing Water Prison that devoured its target whole.
Shimizu didn't stop.
Water Release: Water Clone Technique!
Three "Shimizus" immediately charged in three different directions, while the original remained stationary, closely observing the battle's developments.
Suddenly, two water clones were dispersed in an instant by an unexpected Wind Release and Fire Release...
The third water clone submerged beneath the surface, approaching the trapped masked creature within the water prison, only to be obliterated by the powerful blue electrical current released by that masked creature...
These water clones, possessing only about ten percent of the original's power, couldn't last a single exchange against Kakuzu's masked creatures.
"I thought you'd hold out a bit longer, honestly," Shimizu said, sounding genuinely surprised.
He had expected Kakuzu to stubbornly cling to pride, to drag things out a little.
He hadn't expected him to release the last two masks so cleanly.
Kakuzu didn't respond.
He couldn't take the risk—couldn't gamble that those approaching "Shimizus" were merely clones without the original among them.
Unable to distinguish the real body, whenever a "Shimizu" drew near, he had to remain on high alert and counter with full force.
...
As the mist slowly faded away, all four masks finally came into view:
The familiar Water-Release mask,
The crackling Lightning-Release mask,
A new Wind-Release mask, crouched on four limbs like a beast with thin wings and blue markings,
And a rotund Fire-Release mask with red lips and a bulbous form.
All four masks.
All four hearts.
The real fight was finally about to begin.
All four masks, each wielding a different chakra nature, had completely surrounded him.
The lake's surface churned violently, thick with killing intent.
Kakuzu had finally begun to treat Shimizu as a true opponent.
And Shimizu—facing an enemy capable of wielding four elemental releases at once—could hardly afford to relax either.
Suddenly, a green gale roared across the lake.
But Shimizu vanished from the water's surface.
He didn't even form hand seals… how did he do that? Kakuzu thought, watching carefully this time.
The next moment—
Shimizu appeared behind the Water Release mask.
His Lightning Blade Slash was already screaming to life, a brilliant blue arc of lightning blazing through the air.
But Kakuzu had clearly prepared for this.
Several ferocious fire dragons surged forward, roaring across the battlefield.
For the first time, Shimizu's usually flawless strike was interrupted. He had no choice but to activate Instant Water again and retreat from the sea of flames.
Only after putting some distance between himself and the blazing inferno did Shimizu realize something.
Kakuzu hadn't predicted which mask he would target.
Instead—
He had simply ordered the Fire Release mask to unleash fire dragons around every mask, creating a defensive perimeter.
A brute-force method.
But it worked.
Of course, this kind of tactic required a ridiculous amount of chakra.
Simple… yet effective.
Still—
Even someone with enormous chakra can't keep that up forever.
Shimizu moved again.
In an instant, he flashed behind the Fire Release mask this time. The deafening cry of a thousand birds accompanied the lethal flash of lightning as he struck.
But—
Once again—
A violent hurricane erupted out of nowhere.
The moment the storm formed, Shimizu immediately tried to activate Instant Water.
And then—
He froze.
His vision hadn't changed.
He hadn't moved.
He was still standing right where he was.
This is...
He hadn't transferred to his intended safety zone. He was still in the same spot!
Warning bells screamed in his mind.
Shimizu immediately poured all his strength into another technique.
Water Release: Water Wall!
At the same time—
Several waist-thick bolts of blue-white lightning, dozens of pale-blue water cannons, and multiple raging fire dragons came crashing toward him.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Violent explosions churned the lake into chaos.
A thick, spherical wall of water held firm, encasing Shimizu within. Under the protection of the layered Water Release chakra, he remained unscathed.
"Impressive… you actually blocked that," Kakuzu's voice echoed from afar, tinged with genuine surprise. "And with that level of defense… just how much chakra did you pour into that Water Release?"
In that single moment, Shimizu had burned through an enormous amount of chakra.
His face had gone slightly pale, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
But compared to the chakra consumption—
The shock in his heart was far greater.
Because just now…
He had taken a walk through the gates of hell.
If he had tried to form seals and escape using the Body Flicker Technique instead—
He would already be dead.
Only then did he understand Kakuzu's true intention.
That massive hurricane wasn't meant to kill him.
Its range was wide enough to lift Shimizu's feet off the water's surface.
Just one centimeter of separation—
That was all it took to prevent him from activating Instant Water.
Because this technique required the user to maintain contact with water.
Shimizu hadn't expected Kakuzu to uncover that fatal weakness so quickly.
In such a short time, Kakuzu had already analyzed the flaw in his technique—and set a trap accordingly.
Once Shimizu closed in again, the Wind Release attack lifted him just enough to cut off his connection to the lake beneath his feet.