Ordinary close-range attacks would likely be blocked again by that white barrier. And powerful ninjutsu required time—time they simply didn't have.
As he struggled against the boy's relentless barrage of techniques, Shimizu felt a deep sense of helplessness.
They were only C-rank ninjutsu—common, ordinary techniques.
Yet under the boy's seamless chaining, they had turned into an overwhelming offensive storm.
"Pull back! Create distance!" Shimizu ordered.
He was too fast. It almost felt as if Shimizu were fighting against his own triple-cast no-seal ninjutsu.
How was this possible?!
"Watch your footing!" Sawei shouted again. Against such continuous aggression, only his Sharingan could perceive the boy's true intent.
The boy had already completed another set of hand seals.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!
Sharp stone spikes erupted instantly from the ground beneath them.
Shimizu and Sawei used Body Flicker to escape again. But Rockwood and Windveil—
The sharp earthen spears pierced straight through their thighs.
The earlier lightning paralysis had only temporarily robbed them of mobility.
This time, the piercing wounds completely eliminated it.
"Save them!" Shimizu shouted to Sawei.
The opponent's casting speed was too fast. Conventional ninjutsu simply couldn't compete—they didn't even have the chance to form seals.
Suddenly, a brilliant display of lethal sparks erupted from the boy's mouth—Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
Dozens of seed-like fireballs sprayed outward in all directions, arcing toward Rockwood and Windveil.
He was aiming to finish them first.
Not on my watch!
Sawei's three-tomoe Sharingan spun at high speed. He formed seals rapidly and unleashed his specialty—
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of fireballs collided midair, erupting into violent explosions. The heat scorched the air itself, making it hard to breathe.
This technique's trajectories could be manipulated through chakra control. With the Sharingan's predictive vision, Sawei intercepted every single one of the boy's fireballs.
His chakra control was exquisite.
Crisis averted—again.
But now Shimizu could no longer worry about exposing new techniques and having them recorded by Konoha. If he didn't act, his two immobilized teammates would die.
In a flash of Body Flicker, he appeared behind the boy.
He was as swift as a gale.
The seal-less Lightning Release reappeared: Lightning Release: Lightning Blade Slash! The roaring lightning seemed ready to devour everything in its path.
Yet, with a simple flick of the boy's finger, that transparent white barrier manifested once more!
The lightning blade screeched in protest, halted at the surface of the barrier, unable to advance an inch.
An instant A-rank technique—neutralized as if it were nothing.
It can even block A-rank attacks?!
The boy glanced sideways at Shimizu and continued forming seals at high speed.
Shimizu knew that A-rank power wasn't enough to break that barrier.
And S-rank techniques required too much preparation time for such an urgent situation.
"Genjutsu!" Shimizu called out, placing his hopes on Sawei's Sharingan illusion.
From the first exchange until now, only a few breaths had passed.
Yet their four-man squad had been nearly overwhelmed by this seemingly frail boy's continuous combos.
They had almost forgotten—
They possessed the Sharingan.
"I'm already on it!"
The two had fought together for years; their coordination flowed like water. In truth, Sawei had intended to use his Sharingan from the very beginning.
His three tomoe spun wildly.
Massive chakra gathered in his eyes as he pushed his ocular power to the limit.
He intended to end this boy with a single decisive illusion.
In past battles, it wasn't as if no genjutsu specialists had tried to contend with his Sharingan.
But their fate had always been the same—
Death.
No one had ever withstood the full power of his Sharingan genjutsu.
The boy before him might be astonishingly proficient in ninjutsu—so skilled it bordered on perfection.
But genjutsu wasn't something that could be mastered through hard training alone.
How profound could the illusion arts of a mere teenager possibly be?
"Ahhh!!"
A sharp pain tore through Sawei's eyes. The backlash from overexerting his Sharingan caused blood-red tears to stream down his face.
He staggered back two steps, shock flooding his heart.
He had lost?
In a genjutsu duel?
His three-tomoe Sharingan had been defeated by an unknown nobody?!
"Shimizu, be careful—his genjutsu is strong!!"
In his urgency, Sawei shouted Shimizu's name outright, his bloodied eyes clenched shut.
At that moment, the dark red–haired boy's breathing had grown slightly uneven. His next ninjutsu had just been interrupted by the Sharingan user. Having a nearly completed technique forcibly canceled—followed by a high-level genjutsu clash—caused chakra backlash and heavy consumption. Even he felt the strain.
"Take them and get out!" Shimizu ordered.
Two of them had completely lost mobility. One couldn't even open his eyes.
If this continued, they would only become burdens.
Although Sawei's Sharingan had failed to defeat the boy, he had bought Shimizu enough time.
Finally—
Shimizu completed the A-rank Water Release technique he had been desperately preparing.
These few short seconds had felt like crossing a river of history.
Seals complete.
Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
From Shimizu's mouth erupted a torrential surge of water like crashing ocean waves. The sheer volume formed a raging tsunami—an unprecedented flood.
As far as the eye could see, an area several kilometers in diameter was transformed into a vast ocean.
And that wasn't all.
The surging waters instantly formed a massive elliptical water prison, tightly enclosing the boy within.
Got you!
Seeing the boy immobilized inside the water prison, Shimizu gripped his kunai and appeared before him in a blink, ready to end the battle.
This boy—whose chakra reserves felt no more than that of a mere genin—
How could he wield multiple elemental releases with such mastery?
In Shimizu's understanding, practical multi-element combat required years of experience. It wasn't something achievable at such a young age.
And that hand seal speed…
It was breathtaking.
Compared to Itachi—who would be faster?
At only fourteen or fifteen, possessing such terrifying strength…
At that age, Shimizu had still been struggling at the level of a chunin.
Such talent—
Even Kakashi would pale in comparison.
And combined with the ability to defeat Sawei's three-tomoe Sharingan in genjutsu…
Wait.
Someone capable of defeating a three-tomoe Sharingan with genjutsu?
A thread of realization flickered through Shimizu's mind.
The boy slowly opened his left eye.
A gray-white iris.
Black concentric ripples.
An accursed gaze heralding death.
This was—
The Rinnegan.