The flaw of "Instant Water" was not unknown; others had discovered it before.
But someone like Kakuzu, who could grasp the very nature of the technique with just a single glance—that was truly unheard of.
Then again, what else would you expect from a relic who had survived since the Warring States era? The man had seen more than most people could even imagine.
Although Shimizu had managed to get through this crisis, the price he paid in chakra was enormous.
If this were his old reserves, he'd already be flat on the ground by now…
"Running low on chakra, aren't you?" Kakuzu's tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.
At first, he had been genuinely surprised by Shimizu's incredible reaction speed and his mastery of Water Release. But with his wealth of experience, Kakuzu quickly concluded that activating that defensive Water Release technique must have come at a significant cost.
There was no way Shimizu's chakra reserves were in good shape right now.
That pale face wasn't something you could fake. It was the unmistakable exhaustion that came from overexertion.
All he had to do now… was press the attack harder.
The Fire Release mask creature immediately spewed a barrage of fireballs at Shimizu's blue water wall. At the same time, the Lightning Release mask unleashed wave after wave of terrifying lightning.
Fireballs and lightning intertwined into a relentless chain of attacks, crashing against the water wall like a torrential downpour.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The intense heat instantly vaporized huge amounts of lake water, and before long the battlefield was once again shrouded in thick white mist.
Moments later, Kakuzu's sustained bombardment finally paid off.
The wall of life collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"Out of chakra already?"
Kakuzu tried to peer through the fog to assess Shimizu's condition, but quickly dismissed the thought.
"No sound at all… which means he's already escaped."
"Hidden underwater, huh… Let's see how long you can keep that up."
The Lightning Release mask immediately discharged massive bolts of electricity into the lake, attempting to force Shimizu out with sheer electrical power.
The lake was huge—on the surface, it seemed like there were countless places to hide.
But with lightning constantly surging through the water, the numbing paralysis spread everywhere. Anyone hiding beneath the surface would be in for a miserable time. If the electrical damage built up long enough, it could even leave lasting injuries.
Yet minutes passed…
And Shimizu still didn't surface.
Underwater, countless tiny bubbles continuously rose to the surface.
"He's still down there. I know he's in the water…" Kakuzu muttered, his brow furrowing. "But how the hell is he holding his breath for this long?!"
Ever since this fight began, this Konoha ninja had been pulling off one inexplicable stunt after another.
"But you're still human—not a fish. You can't hold your breath forever!"
The other three mask creatures stood ready.
The moment Shimizu surfaced, Kakuzu planned to counter any sneak attack with Water Release, restrain him with Wind Release, and finish the job with a killing blow from Fire Release.
Kakuzu had arranged things this way because he knew one simple fact:
In an environment like this, with water everywhere, no one could escape—or ignore—the paralyzing effects of lightning.
He was absolutely confident in that.
After all, in his long life, he had never once seen a ninja capable of maintaining a three-dimensional, no-blind-spot defensive technique underwater to block his lightning.
Such a ninja had never existed before.
And never would.
Then suddenly—
Something stirred at the bottom of the lake.
"Finally reached your limit, have you…"
The mask creatures braced themselves, ready.
In the next instant, a battered figure burst out of the water, crackling with blue lightning. His left hand blazed with a dazzling electric glow.
The Water Release mask had been waiting for exactly this moment. In the blink of an eye, several pillars of water surged upward in Shimizu's path, instantly slowing his fierce charge.
"Got you!"
The Wind Release mask unleashed a violent gale that easily trapped Shimizu in place.
At the same time, the Fire Release mask's blazing fire dragon had already reached him.
And then—
BOOM!!!
An explosion unlike anything before erupted.
The deafening blast roared across the battlefield. The shockwave flattened every tree in the surrounding area in an instant, while the lake's raging waters were hurled upward into a terrifying tsunami.
A few seconds later, the aftermath of the devastating explosion surged skyward—
forming a towering mushroom cloud.
The destructive power of this blast was far beyond what even thousands of explosive tags could produce.
"…That was probably the worst death any of my clones has ever had."
Shimizu suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield, scanning the area for Kakuzu.
The figure that had just burst out of the lake had been nothing more than a clone.
The act of "running out of air," the disturbances underwater, and even the aggressive-looking Chidori attack that seemed like a desperate attempt to take Kakuzu down with him—
All of it had been a performance.
A performance meant for Kakuzu alone.
The goal was simple: force him to use Fire Release.
After all, thanks to nine years of solid compulsory education in his previous life, Shimizu knew something very important—when electricity passes through water, it splits the water into oxygen and hydrogen. And hydrogen, when mixed in the right concentration and exposed to an open flame…
Explodes violently.
That was the hydrogen explosion limit.
Worried that the hydrogen concentration might not be high enough to reach that threshold, Shimizu had deliberately stayed underwater longer, letting Kakuzu's lightning break down more water and generate additional hydrogen.
Of course, Shimizu himself had also been helping the process along—using his own Lightning Release underwater to accelerate the electrolysis and produce even more hydrogen.
"Why is it that you could endure my Lightning Release underwater without harm?"
Kakuzu's hoarse voice drifted through the smoke.
But it carried a deep exhaustion.
"Because my Lightning Release is stronger than yours."
At the beginning of the fight, Shimizu really hadn't been able to withstand Kakuzu's lightning attacks. Water conducted electricity—once submerged, lightning could invade the body from every direction, causing severe paralysis.
But Shimizu had already mastered Chidori.
And now his Lightning Release talent had reached an absurd level.
More importantly, he knew about Chidori Current.
In the original story, Chidori Current was an A-rank technique created by Sasuke. Building on Kakashi's Chidori—which could only be used through the hand—Sasuke developed a way to release it through his entire body, allowing lightning to envelop him completely.
It was an extremely practical Lightning Release technique that combined both offense and defense.
"Senior Kakuzu… do you really think we still need to keep fighting?"
Despite Kakuzu looking battered and clearly nursing serious injuries... even after that explosion, he still had three masks floating beside him.
In that split second of the blast, he had sacrificed only one mask to preserve the other three? How on earth had he managed that?
Furthermore, the fact that Kakuzu dared to reappear before him meant he still didn't fear Shimizu's threat. Where did that confidence come from?
Under the circumstances, it was only fitting for Shimizu to show a willingness to cease hostilities. Giving the man a graceful way to step down cost him nothing.
After all…
His original objective had already been accomplished.
...
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