"Shimizu, tell me exactly what you're thinking. Give me the details," Minato asked after suppressing his initial shock.
Shimizu quickly laid out his entire plan. After hearing it, Minato fell into deep thought. Such a bold and all-or-nothing strategy required careful consideration.
In fact, Shimizu's plan was quite simple.
Konoha would dispatch a detachment of troops—but not just any unit. It had to be a powerful main-force unit with strong offensive capability. Only then would the Sand Village believe that Konoha's goal was to capture the bridge in one decisive push, allowing their main army to break out and relocate.
Once the Sand Village believed in Konoha's determination, they would naturally deploy as many forces as possible to defend the bridge.
And then Shimizu would close the trap, using his technique "Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade" to wipe out the Sand ninja gathered there in one stroke.
"Shimizu, that 'Hard Whirlpool Water Blade' you mentioned… does it really have such a large attack range and destructive power?" Yoshimaru, who was far more straightforward, asked bluntly.
In truth, this question was on everyone's mind.
Sending bait required courage and determination.
Luring a large number of Sand ninja to the bridge was also possible.
But the core of the plan was this:
Did a super jutsu with that level of range and destructive power even exist?
In the minds of ordinary Konoha ninja, only some high-level Fire Release techniques could produce similar effects—and even then, they only covered a few hundred meters at most.
But the premise here was that the technique needed to cover at least a one-kilometer radius.
How much chakra would that require?
Such a jutsu would likely be considered a forbidden technique.
"Yes. I'm certain," Shimizu replied firmly.
"Kosuke-sensei once taught me about this technique. He said it was a Water Release jutsu created by the Second Hokage. However, because it's extremely difficult to perform and nearly impossible to master, even he never managed to learn it… But he did teach me all the theory and hand seals."
"And now… I can perform it."
Shimizu spoke with absolute conviction.
After all, since merging with Samehada, his Water Release talent had skyrocketed.
He even wondered how close his natural affinity might be to that of the Second Hokage himself.
"Alright. Then we'll do it your way," Minato decided.
"I'll go persuade Commander Fukada. As for the bait… I'll lead that unit myself."
After surviving life-and-death situations together, the friendship and trust between the two had grown extremely deep.
Soon, the three prepared to head toward the battlefield to find Yuto Fukada.
Minato patted Shimizu on the shoulder.
"I believe in you. Go all out."
Before leaving, Yoshimaru even joked: "Shimizu, make sure that jutsu of yours lands in the right spot."
Satomi, still wearing her usual cold poker face, said nothing. She simply nodded slightly before leaving with Minato and Yoshimaru.
A nod? What was that supposed to mean?
Shimizu didn't know.
And he didn't have the mind to think about it.
Right now, the lives of every Konoha ninja on this battlefield rested on his shoulders, and they would probably only have one chance.
If he failed…
The consequences would be catastrophic.
Shimizu couldn't imagine it—nor did he dare to.
He had to succeed. There was no other option.
Every passing second felt like torture.
He began taking deep breaths, trying to ease the immense pressure while waiting patiently atop the cliff, carefully observing the changes on the battlefield below.
After an unknown amount of time, the distant Konoha army finally dispatched a large force to fiercely attack the Sand Village positions near the bridge.
It seemed Minato had succeeded in persuading them to carry out that bold and crazy plan.
Before long, Konoha's forces advanced like a splitting axe, breaking through several Sand Village defensive lines and pushing straight toward the bridge.
The Sand shinobi, feeling immense pressure, quickly responded by mobilizing a large number of ninja to hold their ground at all costs.
At the same time, the Sand ninja legion that had previously been advancing toward the Rakuyō City defensive line also arrived here...
It should be about time...
There was no longer any need to think about the reasons why. Empty his mind... At this moment, the only thing he needed to do was focus on performing this jutsu.
Shimizu raised his hands to form seals and mobilized the abundant chakra within his body.
As the hand seals accelerated, visible azure chakra surged out of his body, swirling around him and gradually gathering together...
After a long sequence of 102 hand seals, it was finally completed, and the chakra within his body was completely drained.
The massive amount of chakra that had been surrounding Shimizu suddenly gathered in his left hand, forming a whirlpool of water.
In just a single breath, the water vortex condensed into a rapidly spinning water javelin about 50 cm long.
So this inconspicuous little thing is the Hard Whirlpool Water Blade?
Then Shimizu hurled it forcefully toward the distant battlefield...
The rapidly spinning water javelin traced a perfect arc through the air and silently landed in the very center of the Sand shinobi formation...
The next moment, a massive water tornado shot up from the ground, piercing straight into the sky.
This sudden eruption caught the Sand shinobi completely off guard. They stared in shock at the water tornado that had suddenly erupted within their formation, unable to react...
Meanwhile, at the exact moment the water tornado formed, the Konoha side began a full-scale retreat.
And it was a desperate, life-or-death escape by the entire army!
Just moments ago they had been fighting to the death, yet now they were fleeing frantically. The stark contrast left even the Sand commander stunned.
However, within just a few seconds, the sky-piercing water tornado—originally only a few meters in diameter—began expanding rapidly.
Within a short time it grew to dozens of meters, then hundreds of meters...
Finally becoming a giant tornado nearly 3 kilometers wide.
The world darkened.
Dark clouds churned.
Wherever the water tornado passed, it was like a monstrous beast devouring heaven and earth. The Sand ninja closest to it were swallowed before they could even react.
Gradually, even the Sand and Konoha ninja on the outer edges were affected.
As far as Shimizu could see, at least a thousand people had been swept into this catastrophe...
The range of this technique had already exceeded the expected 1-kilometer radius. Not only that, it caused the originally rushing river to surge violently, its water level rising and smashing through the entire Sand defensive line.
That could be considered an unexpected bonus.
It truly deserved the Second Hokage's description of it as a "world-destroying technique." Its effects were terrifying.
In his memory, only a Tailed Beast Bomb could compare with it.
It should be enough...
Once Shimizu's tense mind relaxed, he suddenly staggered and fell into a muddy puddle.
He stared blankly at the sky, letting the light rain strike his face as blood from the corner of his mouth mixed with the rainwater and seeped into the soil...
"So… it's raining."
He hadn't expected that this technique could even affect the weather.
During the casting process, although Shimizu had mobilized all the chakra in his body, it ultimately still wasn't enough. Because he stubbornly insisted on completing the technique, he had pushed his body to the absolute limit, continuously extracting more life energy...
Fortunately, the jutsu had finally been completed.
But now, his once-black hair had turned ashen white.
And with his body completely exhausted, he couldn't move at all. He could only lie helplessly on the muddy cliffside...
The rain grew heavier.
Lightning flashed across the sky again and again...