Very quickly, hundreds of shinobi from both sides clashed head-on, engaging in brutal combat. At the first sign of escalation, Danzo Shimura called for the three Root brigades originally stationed outside Amegakure to move in for reinforcement.
What had been a simple ambush turned into a full-scale frontal battle, as both sides harbored their own agendas.
All kinds of elemental techniques fell into the crowd like bombs, constantly harvesting lives…
The once-quiet Amegakure had now become a living hell. Buildings were shattered, streets destroyed, and dozens of broken corpses testified to the cruelty of the fighting.
In one corner of the battlefield, after clearing out a temporary safe zone, Shimizu asked:
"Rockwood, can you track the three of them?"
The situation was chaotic. The best Shimizu could do was maintain his squad's formation and wait for an opportunity. Rockwood was their team's dedicated sensory and reconnaissance specialist.
"It's difficult… but I'll try. There's something strange about this rain—it's interfering with my perception."
Rockwood pressed both palms to the ground, activating a detection technique.
"Strange rain?" Shimizu looked up at the gloomy sky. At some point, a light drizzle had begun to fall.
The rain felt ominous. It left Shimizu with an oppressive unease he couldn't shake.
"There's chakra in the rain,"Sawei said, activating his three-tomoe Sharingan.
His blood-red eyes spun slowly, three black tomoe rotating within each iris.
This wasn't Shimizu's first time seeing the infamous cursed eyes—but it was the first time he had witnessed someone with Sawei's level of ocular power.
The three-tomoe Sharingan was the peak of the standard Sharingan. After staring at it for just a few seconds, Shimizu felt dizzy—his own chakra flow even faltered slightly.
Truly monstrous.
Had Sawei's ocular power already reached this level? It even carried a passive genjutsu effect.
In a fight against an opponent of equal caliber, having eyes like those would be a decisive edge. The Sharingan was truly an enviable gift.
"Those eyes are incredibly convenient," Windveil remarked, her tone equally tinged with envy.
"One of them is heading south!" Rockwood finally located a target.
"Move!" Shimizu ordered decisively.
"Yes!" ×3
The four formed up and advanced at full speed, avoiding ongoing skirmishes as they followed Rockwood's sensory guidance.
"He's stopped!" Mokugan said suddenly.
They quickly closed in on the target. Shimizu focused his eyes and saw the person he had previously perceived as the weakest: the boy with the long, dark red hair.
Is he brainless, or just supremely confident?
By chakra perception alone, the boy seemed no more than a genin…
"Be careful," Sawei said gravely. "All the chakra in the rain—it's converging on him."
Meaning—
The one controlling the rain in the sky was this boy?
What kind of Water Release technique was this?
"You're Konoha shinobi, aren't you?" the dark red-haired boy spoke calmly. "You brought 148 people."
Though surprised that the boy had accurately stated their numbers, Shimizu answered steadily:
"You're merely an armed mercenary group, attempting to overthrow the existing regime. The Land of Rain's government requested Konoha's assistance to suppress a rebellion. Who exactly is in the wrong?"
"But you're helping the brutal and incompetent Hanzo—helping him continue to oppress the people of the Land of Rain… Konoha making such a choice…"
The boy's tone carried unmistakable disappointment, as though Konoha had fallen into corruption and chosen to side with tyranny.
"The so-called brutal and incompetent ruler you speak of preserved the entire Land of Rain during the Second Great Ninja War," Shimizu replied coldly. "Without him, the forehead protector on your forehead might bear the same symbol as ours."
At the end of the Second Great Ninja War, if Hanzo had not shown mercy and extended goodwill toward Konoha instead of wiping them out completely, that group of young elite shinobi—including the Sannin—would have been buried in the Land of Rain.
It could be said that Hanzo alone preserved the Land of Rain. Calling him a hero of this nation would not be an exaggeration.
"But because of Hanzo, even today the Land of Rain remains divided and unstable…"
"That's because of you," Shimizu replied coldly. "What ruler could possibly ignore rebels and allow them to grow unchecked?"
He felt the conversation was utterly meaningless. In the past, he would have already taken the initiative to attack. But now—even Sawei's Sharingan sensed something strange about this boy. A reckless assault might place them in a dangerously passive position.
If only we could create an opening…
"You've been defending Hanzo from start to finish. It seems you and Hanzo are on the same side," the boy concluded in a low voice. "Konoha is nothing special after all…"
"Konoha naturally can't compare to your 'love and justice,'" Shimizu said dryly. "Let me give you a piece of advice."
"What?" the boy asked, puzzled.
"Why don't you go home and find your mother?"
Shimizu said it with utter seriousness.
The boy froze, clearly not expecting such absurd advice.
Home… mother…
For an instant, memories of his mother surfaced in his mind.
Heh. A brat is a brat after all, dazing out in the middle of a life-or-death battle. In a shinobi fight, any lapse is fatal.
Shimizu and the others seized the opportunity and launched a sudden attack, four kunai flying forward.
But in the blink of an eye, a pale white barrier abruptly appeared, effortlessly blocking every strike.
At the same time, a violent gust of wind burst from the boy's mouth.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
The wind chakra within it sliced forward like blades.
What kind of defensive technique was that?!
How were his hand seals so fast?!
A surge of disbelief rose in all four of them.
Their attempted ambush was repelled instantly. The kunai were useless, and they were forced to evade the incoming wind assault.
As Shimizu used Body Flicker to vacate his position, he caught sight of the boy bringing his hands together again—already forming the next technique.
Wind Release: Gale Palm!
The compressed wind erupted into a violent storm, dozens of invisible wind blades sweeping outward.
Again—hand seals so fast they were almost impossible to see!
The four were forced to dodge once more. The quicker Shimizu and Sawei barely escaped the attack range, but Rockwood and Windveil were slashed several times by the wind blades.
Shimizu raised his hands, preparing to counterattack.
"Watch out!" Sawei shouted.
The boy spat out a torrent of water.
Water Release: Wild Water Wave!
The high-pressure stream forced the four back yet again.
But it wasn't over. His hand seals continued without pause.
Lightning Release: Earth Flow!
This technique channeled electricity through the ground or water. Combined with the previous Water Release, the synergy was devastating.
There was nowhere to hide. All four sustained varying degrees of electrical damage. Rockwood and Windveil, being naturally slower, were hit hardest, the current leaving them temporarily paralyzed and unable to move.
The boy before them was a nightmare to deal with.