Sunagakure…
The Gold Dust Great Burial…
Kikyo Castle was gone.
There were no corpses, no blood—only an endless desert stretching in every direction, as though the city had never existed at all.
Shimizu stood alone in that vast golden sea, the silence around him so absolute it sent a chill down his spine.
"…Is everyone dead…?" His voice came out hoarse.
At the final moment, he had stood at the very front line against the crushing force of the sandstorm, bearing the brunt of its pressure almost entirely on his own.
But his chakra had already been running low—far too little to sustain such overwhelming expenditure—and the strength of his Water Release had its limits.
Against a force as immense and unyielding as a mountain…
In the end—
The blue water barrier shattered.
All he remembered after that… was sand.
Endless sand.
There had been no time to form a second wall. Instead, he had used the collapsing water itself, riding the shattered currents with his technique to escape the deadly sea of sand in a single instant.
Orochimaru's Earth Release is powerful… he should have been able to protect them…
If that's the case… then why…
Why hasn't anyone appeared?!
"Is anyone still alive?!" Shimizu shouted into the пуст emptiness, his lone voice echoing across the barren expanse.
He began to walk aimlessly, searching… hoping.
Hoping to find someone—anyone—who could answer him.
If everyone really is dead…
Kousuke-sensei. Orochimaru. Shisui.
Asuma. Burial. Guy.
"And… all of you. My comrades of Konoha…"
Ah… and Megumi…
A wave of sorrow rose suddenly from the depths of his heart.
Closing his eyes, he murmured softly, "I'm sorry… Sawei."
"I broke my promise."
"I wasn't strong enough… I couldn't save you…" Shimizu sank down onto the sand.
"Ah—ow, ow, ow!"
—Someone?!
In an instant, Shimizu vanished and reappeared nearby, his left hand already gripping the hilt of his sword as his gaze sharpened with vigilance.
A head slowly emerged from beneath the sand.
Covered in dirt and grime, Shisui Uchiha gave an awkward smile. "Shimizu-sensei… you just stepped on my hand."
Then, his expression softened into something warm.
"And… thank you, sensei. You saved me."
…
......
.........
Before long, more and more Konoha shinobi began crawling out from beneath the sand.
They were the lucky ones—those who had remained within the protection of Orochimaru's Earth Release.
As expected, Orochimaru had not failed them. His defense had held until the very end.
Shimizu roughly counted—there were around a hundred survivors.
Against a technique of that magnitude, saving even a quarter of their forces was nothing short of extraordinary.
Orochimaru's strength was truly worthy of admiration.
And more than that…
He had preserved the "essence" of Konoha.
Not only Shisui, but also Asuma Sarutobi, Kazumo, Might Guy—and even Megumi were among the survivors.
Megumi… is alive!
The lifeless stillness in Shimizu's heart stirred once more.
Only now, after surviving such a catastrophe, did a faint sense of relief begin to take root.
"Shimizu…" Megumi's voice trembled as she fought back tears.
"It's alright… it's over now. We made it through," he said gently, reaching out to stroke her black hair.
"Shimizu… when I saw you fighting that monster… my heart nearly stopped," she whispered, throwing herself into his arms. "But you were amazing… you even defeated something like that."
Shimizu remembered—when he had sent that group of kids away earlier, she had kept glancing back at him again and again.
He let out a quiet chuckle.
She didn't say she was worried… but her actions gave her away.
"I've always been this strong."
"Then you have to teach me your strongest techniques!"
"No problem."
"Wait—that's not enough. I want to learn all of your techniques!"
"…That works too."
"Shimizu… I miss my brother."
"…Yeah. I miss him too."
Off to the side, Orochimaru gazed out over the endless sea of sand and murmured quietly,
"This… is Kikyo Castle?"
He looked utterly disheveled—his hair loose, his clothes torn and worn.
When was the last time one of the legendary Sannin had appeared so battered?
"…Heh. Sunagakure really went all out this time."
Retaliation against Konoha…?
And so, they had destroyed an entire Kikyo Castle.
"The Fourth Kazekage… and Chiyo…" Orochimaru spoke in a cold, almost chilling tone.
There was hatred in it.
And killing intent.
"Uzuki-kun… at that final moment, were you unable to hold on any longer?"
Was it just his imagination, or did it sound like an accusation?
Was it because his Water Release had collapsed… and all the pressure had fallen onto Orochimaru?
"My chakra ran out," Shimizu answered honestly.
"I see…" Orochimaru lowered his voice, that familiar smile creeping across his lips as he said slowly, "Then why didn't you use 'Time Reversal' this time?"
"The backlash is too severe," Shimizu replied, then added after a moment, "Even if I had the chakra, my Water Release wouldn't have been enough to withstand that kind of pressure."
"I understand…" Orochimaru said with a half-smile, his tone unreadable. "It seems there are still many secrets about you that I do not know, Uzuki-kun."
What exactly is he suspecting now…?
"Orochimaru, you're overthinking it," Shimizu said calmly. "I'm just an ordinary civilian ninja. I don't even have a bloodline limit."
"There's really nothing that worth your attention… you might want to tone down your curiosity a bit."
It was true that Shimizu had stumbled upon certain advantages—fortunate encounters, even.
But the path that brought him here had been built, step by step, through relentless effort.
After all, success was often the accumulation of countless small efforts… while failure could come from a single mistake, wiping everything away.
"Besides," Shimizu added with a faint smile, "if I hadn't held the line back there, you might not have lasted either."
It wasn't something he expected repayment for.
"By the way," he continued, "why did you suddenly take on a student?"
"Simply an appreciation for talent," Orochimaru replied.
"I see…" Shimizu returned the same ambiguous smile.
"Just as I encouraged you to accept that Uchiha boy as your disciple," Orochimaru went on, "I, too, have learned something from my own students recently."
Beside them, Megumi looked utterly bewildered.
Orochimaru… learning from her?
What exactly could he learn?
"Heh…" Shimizu chuckled softly.
"…You may have some misunderstandings about me," Orochimaru said suddenly.
"Perhaps," Shimizu replied noncommittally. "But time will prove many things."
"Yes… only time is eternal…" Orochimaru murmured, almost to himself.
Eternal…
Of course.
He had already begun pursuing immortality long ago.
In truth, Orochimaru had always been Orochimaru.
It was just that Shimizu had never touched upon his core interests—so for now, their interactions remained… relatively pleasant.
As for conflicts of interest…
I probably won't run into those anytime soon… right?
After all, they had cooperated more than once—traded, helped each other… even fought side by side through life and death.
Still, Shimizu found it hard to believe that someone of Orochimaru's caliber could truly learn anything from two kids.
Unless… it's about their eyes?
He couldn't help but ask again, just to be sure.
"You can really learn something?"
"Geniuses often possess extreme traits and unique insights," Orochimaru replied calmly. "When you cannot see the path ahead, observing those blessed with extraordinary talent—how they move forward—may offer you inspiration."
"…Is that so?" Shimizu murmured, finding unexpected sense in those words.
Perhaps… he could learn something from Shisui Uchiha.
Or even from Megumi.
After all, with the path to Sage Arts effectively closed off to him, his route to further growth had become uncertain.
If he could no longer forcefully increase his "quantity," then he would have to refine his "quality."
That meant shoring up his weaknesses—genjutsu, for example—while further honing his strengths.
As long as he persisted, his power could still continue to grow, even if only gradually.
"My teacher has arrived," Orochimaru said suddenly.
Shimizu followed his gaze.
In the distance, a middle-aged man was leading a large group of Konoha shinobi toward them.
At the forefront—
was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.