A genjutsu created by the Second Hokage was undoubtedly something valuable. Unfortunately, Shimizu's current level of chakra control simply wasn't refined enough to make proper use of it.
More importantly, he didn't have the time to devote to mastering a support-type genjutsu like this.
He hadn't forgotten what he lacked the most right now.
After carefully storing the page of notes, Shimizu headed straight back to Training Ground 43.
As time passed, his appetite no longer grew at that absurd, uncontrolled rate. Instead, it gradually returned to normal. The change gave him a faint but persistent feeling—as if the "Samehada" within his body was on the verge of "hatching."
The thought stirred a flicker of anticipation in him.
This unique existence inside him… it was the next step in his strength.
And the pressure wasn't just from the ongoing war. There was also the matter of accompanying Orochimaru to Takigakure to seize the Seven-Tails…
That was practically like plucking the whiskers of Madara himself.
Facing someone who had once stood toe-to-toe with the God of Shinobi—even if that person was now aged and diminished—Shimizu didn't dare let his guard down. He pushed himself relentlessly, doing everything he could to grow stronger.
Then, one day in September of Konoha's 45th year—
"Samehada" came alive.
After running a series of tests, Shimizu confirmed that the energy within him—this so-called "Samehada"—could only be released outward in the form of Water Release: Water Trumpet.
Its destructive power and overall volume of water were roughly equivalent to the version he could already perform. The only real advantage was that from now on, he could cast the technique instantly.
That alone was already quite formidable. After all, the massive torrents produced by Water Trumpet could generate devastating impact force.
Still…
Shimizu couldn't help but feel a trace of disappointment.
After nurturing this "Samehada" for so long… was this really all it could do?
But as he continued experimenting, a realization slowly dawned on him.
The Water Trumpet released by "Samehada" required no effort at all—just a single thought.
And in that same instant, he could still form hand seals and perform another ninjutsu.
Which meant…
He could use two techniques at the same time?
Wait.
If he could simultaneously manipulate two different chakra natures…
Wouldn't that lead to—
A Kekkei Genkai?
In the world of shinobi, chakra nature transformation was divided into seven types: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang. When two different chakra natures were fused together, they could give birth to an entirely new release—a Kekkei Genkai.
Normally, only a handful of exceptionally gifted shinobi could develop such abilities on their own. And once successfully created, the technique would be etched into their genes and passed down through bloodlines, forming a hereditary power.
Unfortunately, someone like Shimizu—just a civilian-born shinobi—had no realistic hope of walking that path.
But there was another possibility.
When a ninja possessed a unique or abnormal organ, the abilities derived from it could also be considered a Kekkei Genkai.
Classic examples included the Sharingan of the Uchiha, the Byakugan of the Hyūga, and the Shikotsumyaku of the Kaguya clan.
These abilities could even be obtained through transplantation, though due to rejection, perfect integration was rare. Take Kakashi, for instance—bearing Obito's Sharingan limited his chakra reserves and placed an immense strain on his body with prolonged use.
And now, inside Shimizu…
There existed a peculiar "Samehada."
A Samehada that could release water.
If he could mobilize another chakra nature from his own body and merge it with the Water Release chakra produced by this "Samehada"—
His heart began to race.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the Forest of Death.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again—
Failure after failure.
Yet the sensation grew clearer with each attempt—the feeling that those two completely different chakra natures could, somehow, be fused together…
Night had deepened.
All of Konoha lay asleep beneath the quiet veil of darkness, yet Shimizu remained alone in the Forest of Death, tirelessly repeating the same experiment over and over—trying to fuse the two chakra natures he was most proficient in: Lightning Release and Water Release.
Again and again, he failed.
But he didn't stop.
And then—
At last.
A thin strand of lightning, soft and fluid in appearance, sprang from the tip of his index finger.
It looked almost harmless.
He gave a light flick of his hand.
In the next instant, a massive tree—thick as a man's waist—was cleanly severed in half.
It worked.
A brand-new ninjutsu, formed without hand seals, born from the simultaneous fusion of lightning-nature and water-nature chakra.
Success.
The destructive power of his White Lightning remained intact, but the addition of water transformed it entirely—granting it a fluidity and flexibility like flowing currents. What had once been rigid and difficult to control had now become something supple, responsive… a whip of lightning that could bend and move at will.
A "soft lightning," with White Lightning as its core.
Shimizu's eyes gleamed.
Then… what about the reverse?
Water infused with lightning.
This time, he took Water Release: Water Trumpet as the foundation, and layered into it the spreading electrical current of Lightning Release: Earth Flow.
In an instant, a vast surge of dazzling lightning cascaded forward like a torrent, rushing across the ground in a blinding flood.
Everything in its path—rocks, trees, even the earth itself—was shattered into fragments under the relentless assault.
The sheer destructive force made even Shimizu pause.
But more importantly—
He noticed something.
The lightning within the flowing water… changed direction mid-course.
Lightning techniques had always been straightforward—fast, linear, and difficult to control.
Never in his life had Shimizu seen lightning that could turn.
If it could turn…
Could it be controlled?
From that moment on, he shifted the focus of his experiments entirely toward controlling the trajectory of this new technique.
The results came faster than expected.
At present, he could roughly control the direction of nine separate streams of lightning. Any more than that, and the rest would simply follow the natural flow of the Water Trumpet, beyond his precise command.
So he began adjusting.
By carefully limiting the amount of water-nature chakra released by the "Samehada" within him, he gradually stabilized it to produce exactly nine flowing streams. Then, through repeated practice, he familiarized himself with their behavior—learning, little by little, how to guide and direct them.
On one particular attempt—
All nine arcs of flexible lightning curved through the air, bending freely as they surged forward, and struck a massive boulder dozens of meters away.
The impact lasted less than a blink.
The rock was instantly shredded into countless fragments.
Shimizu stood there, staring at the aftermath, his heart pounding.
This new technique—born from the fusion of lightning and water—was fast, devastating, and, most importantly, controllable. It overcame the rigidity of lightning and the relatively weaker offensive power of water, combining the strengths of both into something entirely new.
Calling it lightning hardly seemed fitting anymore.
It was closer to… a laser.
And this—
This was only the beginning.
His current limitation lay in his chakra control. If he could refine it further, then controlling fifteen streams, twenty streams—or even more—would become possible. Not only that, but he would be able to redirect them freely, striking from impossible angles.
With enough mastery, he could unleash a storm of lightning, hitting dozens of targets simultaneously in an instant—
Or concentrate them into a single point, obliterating a target under a barrage of converging beams.
In that moment, Shimizu saw it clearly.
A path leading to a higher realm.
A way to artificially recreate—and even surpass—Kekkei Genkai.
Though Kekkei Genkai were often seen as rare and powerful abilities, they were, in truth, only the most basic threshold.
Because as long as the "Samehada" within him existed, he could continuously replicate similar effects.
Today, he had fused water and lightning.
Tomorrow, he could attempt water and earth.
In the future—water and wind.
Perhaps even water and fire.
As long as he mastered all five elemental transformations, combining them in new ways would no longer be an insurmountable challenge.
And when that day came—
He would be a man who wielded multiple Kekkei Genkai at once.
What remained after that… was simple.
To accumulate more chakra.
Endlessly.
...
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