Using the towering wall of water and the storm of golden sand as a double veil, Shimizu slipped through the battlefield once more with the Body Flicker Technique, reappearing behind the spot where Rasa had stood just moments ago.
At that instant, Rasa seemed completely unaware of the danger closing in.
"Watch out!" one of the Sand shinobi with sharp senses shouted, having caught sight of Shimizu's movement.
But everything unfolded in the blink of an eye.
Brilliant lightning erupted from Shimizu's hands once more, two streaks of blue crossing in a deadly X before slicing cleanly across Rasa's neck—
With a crisp shhk, Rasa's head slowly slid from his body.
"Lord Rasa!!" someone cried out in horror.
"…!"
Yet the instinct Shimizu had honed through countless brushes with death screamed at him—this seemingly perfect kill was too easy. Too clean. A trap.
"Sensei, fall back!" he shouted without hesitation.
Hearing this, Maruboshi Kosuke immediately hoisted Tsunade onto his back and retreated toward the Konoha camp.
At the same moment, a surge of golden sand burst from beneath Shimizu's feet, rising in an instant to engulf him entirely.
"So I've finally caught you," Rasa's cold voice echoed.
"Did you really think the same trick would work on me twice, brat?"
The "Rasa" whose head had just been severed dissolved into a pile of sand.
A sand clone.
"Die!"
Magnet Release: Lapis Glaze Shatter!
The sand, infused with magnetic chakra, exploded with crushing force, compressing inward as if to grind Shimizu into nothing.
Heh… I've been waiting for this. The moment he sensed something was off, Shimizu had already activated a silent Water Wall, pouring a substantial amount of chakra into it.
Chiyo's been standing there so calmly, just watching… she's probably been waiting for the moment I try to escape into the air to strike from behind.
Golden sand and surging water collided violently once more. The domineering magnetic chakra pressed relentlessly against the water release, which stood firm like an impregnable fortress.
Both sides continued to burn through chakra in a tense stalemate.
"Stop him!" Chiyo ordered sharply.
Hearing that she intended to send people after Kosuke, Shimizu decisively expanded his sensory range.
Now, within dozens of meters, not a single shift in the battlefield could escape his perception.
In the next instant, two bolts of White Lightning pierced through both water and sand, arriving in a flash. Two Sand shinobi who had just begun to move were struck straight through the chest, their bodies dropping from midair.
Thud. Thud.
They hit the ground in pools of blood, their fates uncertain.
"He's a sensor-type ninja!" one of the Sand shinobi exclaimed, immediately recognizing another of Shimizu's abilities.
Sensor-type shinobi were rare to begin with—and in most people's eyes, they weren't suited for combat, serving only as scouts.
But now the worst possibility had become reality.
Shimizu was a sensor ninja… who could also unleash deadly long-range attacks.
The remaining two Sand shinobi retreated rapidly, but the twin streaks of lightning chased after them with despair-inducing speed—
Boom! Boom!
This time, it was two puppets that fell from the sky.
At the cost of destroying two of her own puppets, Chiyo had blocked Shimizu's lethal lightning.
"Spread out! His technique has a range limit!" she commanded.
She then glanced toward where Maruboshi Kosuke had already disappeared, letting out a quiet sigh. "Don't pursue…"
At last, the four remaining enemies managed to escape the effective range of Shimizu's White Lightning.
Chiyo's voice turned grave as she asked, "Rasa… can you finish him?"
"He's… tenacious."
Rasa left the rest unsaid—that continuing this meaningless stalemate would likely drain his chakra first.
After all, they had just fought Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, along with Maruboshi Kosuke, an elite jonin-level fighter.
In his effort to end things quickly, he had already expended a tremendous amount of chakra.
A heavy weight settled in Rasa's chest.
"Pakura-senpai has arrived!" one of the Sand shinobi called out in relief.
"…We've failed our mission," Chiyo said quietly, her voice tinged with frustration. "Tsunade and Maruboshi Kosuke have escaped."
She didn't bother asking Pakura about the outcome of her mission. The fierce battle intent blazing across Pakura's face already said enough.
It must have been a complete success.
At the very least… not everything was bad news.
"Lady Chiyo, is the enemy that troublesome?" Pakura asked, her sharp eyes catching the faint beads of sweat forming on the Kazekage's forehead.
Whoever was trapped within that golden sphere of sand not far away… had to be incredibly strong.
"It's 'Shunshin Shimizu.'"
Pakura's pupils shrank abruptly.
"So… it's him."
Meanwhile, Shimizu was far from comfortable. Crushed within an extremely confined space and with his opponent already outside the effective range of his White Lightning, the situation was steadily turning against him.
If this dragged on, he would be the one at a disadvantage.
After all, he stood alone—and the enemy had just gained another powerful ally.
Through his senses, he could feel it clearly: that newcomer possessed a surging, overwhelming reserve of chakra.
I have to break this deadlock while I still can.
His hands moved swiftly.
Water Release: Water Surge Wave!
A second torrent of violently spinning water erupted upward from the ground, forcefully joining the clash between gold and blue, tipping the fragile balance.
"His chakra…" Rasa felt his own reserves draining rapidly, like water slipping through his fingers, as if that raging torrent might burst through his golden sand at any moment.
But before he could finish speaking—
Boom!
A column of azure water shot straight into the sky, and within it, a figure surged upward, breaking free from the sand's restraint in one explosive motion.
His Magnet Release… had actually lost to the opponent's Water Release.
How could something as common—so seemingly soft and yielding as water—contain such terrifying power?
From the perspective of the five Sand shinobi, beneath a night sky bathed in pale moonlight, a white-haired Konoha ninja hovered in midair. Water surged and spiraled violently around him, scattering in every direction, carrying with it fragments of collapsing sand.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the figure vanished from the sky.
Body Flicker Technique.
"Come. Let's continue."
Shimizu had already landed. With his left hand gripping the dark-blue hilt, he slowly drew the silver longsword from his back.
"'Shunshin Shimizu'…" one of the Sand shinobi muttered hoarsely, his throat suddenly dry.
"Even the Kazekage's Magnet Release…" another said, disbelief written all over his face. No matter how strong the opponent was, he was still only a jonin—while the one wielding Magnet Release was their Fourth Kazekage.
A ridiculous thought surfaced uncontrollably in his mind: Could it be… that even the Kazekage's Magnet Release is no match for his Water Release?
At that moment, it wasn't just him. Even Pakura and Chiyo were shaken to the core.
"Rasa?" Chiyo prompted quietly.
"My chakra… couldn't keep up just now," Rasa said, offering an explanation.
Even as he spoke, he struggled to accept it himself—that his kekkei genkai, Magnet Release, had been overpowered by something as ordinary as Water Release.
He had to say it.
He could only say it.
If the truth of this clash were to spread, it would deal a devastating blow to the morale of the Hidden Sand.
He was the Fourth Kazekage—the symbol of Sunagakure's ultimate military strength. How could he have lost in a direct contest of power to a mere Konoha jonin?
Fortunately… the other side didn't know who he really was.
"You're called Rasa?" Shimizu said, studying the man's short brown hair and the distinct dark circles under his eyes.
A memory stirred faintly in his mind.
There was another Sand shinobi who fought using sand…
He, too, had heavy dark circles. His name was Gaara.
And his father's name was—
"You're the Kazekage?"
The Third Kazekage had been killed by Sasori and Obito. That meant the man before him could only be the Fourth Kazekage—Rasa, Gaara's father.
No one answered. But the expressions on their faces told Shimizu everything he needed to know.
"This is the strength of a Kazekage?" Shimizu let out a faint, mocking laugh.
Rasa's fists clenched instantly. If the Third Kazekage hadn't disappeared so suddenly, he would never have been forced to take the position in such haste.
It was true—his current strength didn't yet live up to the title of "Kage."
But still…
A mere civilian-born jonin dared to question him?!
If not for the battle they had just fought…
"'Shunshin Shimizu'… also known as the elite ANBU of Konoha, 'Kūryū,' isn't that right?" Chiyo asked in a tone of certainty.
Shimizu offered no reply.
His thoughts were already elsewhere—on Kosuke-sensei, on Tsunade's safety, and on the current state of Kikyo Castle.
He couldn't afford to linger here any longer.
He needed to end this—quickly.
..
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