Time continued to slip by, and before long, winter had arrived in Konoha's 45th year. After several more months of training, Shimizu had finally unraveled the principles behind his new technique. Not only had he grasped it in theory, but he could now wield it with a fair degree of mastery.
At present, he was capable of controlling nine streams of pliable water-infused lightning at once, directing them from nine different angles toward a single target.
It was a truly lethal attack—one that left no blind spots, striking from every direction in a full 360-degree assault.
There was, however, one lingering flaw. To activate this technique, he still needed to form hand seals and first cast the original Lightning Release jutsu before transitioning into the new form. Achieving a seal-less execution remained out of reach for now.
That meant his next step was clear: further refine his chakra control and attempt to guide each of the nine lightning streams toward separate targets.
If he succeeded, this kekkei genkai technique would evolve into a wide-area attack as well. In fact, it already bore a striking resemblance to the rare "Storm Release" seen in the original canon—its execution accompanied by a blinding, piercing radiance. With that in mind, he decided to name it: Storm Release: Aurora.
Storm Release itself had only appeared a handful of times. One example was Darui of the Hidden Cloud's technique, Storm Release: Laser Circus, which fused lightning and water to emit multiple powerful laser-like beams from clasped hands, capable of tracking and piercing enemies.
But Darui was only seven years old at this point, so that technique had yet to make its appearance in the shinobi world.
The other was Sage Art: Storm Release Light Fang, an overwhelmingly destructive technique. It was used by Madara Uchiha after absorbing the Ten-Tails' Divine Tree, in his Six Paths state—a chakra beam similar to a high-speed Water Release jet, capable of approaching light speed and slicing through anything in its path.
Naturally, Shimizu's current Storm Release was nowhere near that level.
But he had time. Plenty of it to keep improving.
Now that his new technique had reached a modest level of completion, Shimizu found himself in an unusually good mood. Deciding he deserved a reward, he headed out to treat himself to a proper meal.
As it happened, while walking through Konoha's busiest commercial street, he unexpectedly ran into Obito. Standing beside him was Nohara Rin.
The two children looked close—though they weren't holding hands yet, it was obvious their feelings for each other had been warming quickly.
"Ah… Shimizu-senpai," Rin greeted him with a gentle smile.
Obito scratched the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed. It wasn't because he'd been caught "on a date" with Rin, but rather because he hadn't come by to check in with Shimizu for quite some time.
Back when Team Minato was still intact, he used to visit often.
So he quickly explained, "After the battle at Kannabi Bridge, I was pulled out of Team Minato right away… and then Clan Head Fugaku dragged me into special training…"
"I've been really busy. Only recently did things calm down a bit."
"That's why I haven't had the chance to visit you, senpai…"
Shimizu waved it off, unconcerned. "It's fine. I've been focused on training myself—I wouldn't have had much time to host you anyway."
"You seem even stronger now, senpai," Obito said with a grin.
But this time, there was a subtle difference. The admiration in his voice was no longer that of simple, innocent longing. Instead, it carried a quiet confidence—one that likely stemmed from unlocking his three-tomoe Sharingan and the leap in strength that came with it.
"You've grown a lot lately too, Obito."
"I'm going to become Hokage, you know! I can't fall too far behind you, senpai…" he declared, puffing up with pride.
"Quite confident, aren't you?"
"Hehe, the special training really paid off," Obito said, clenching his fist with conviction. "Of course, I've put in a lot of effort for it—and I'm going to keep working even harder!"
"That kind of confidence and determination is a good thing."
"Ahh~ I'll always remember your encouragement, senpai!"
Shimizu smiled faintly. "What you've achieved so far—that's your own doing."
"You can't put it that way… If it weren't for the help and guidance you gave me back then, senpai, I probably would've died that day."
Obito nodded firmly as he spoke, his voice carrying a rare seriousness. "Without you, I don't think I could've saved Rin… and I wouldn't have found that kind of resolve or determination either."
"In a way, you're the one who saved both of us."
Beside him, Rin nodded in quiet agreement, her expression just as sincere.
Shimizu smiled faintly. "You make it sound like I was the one who killed those enemy shinobi." Then his tone shifted slightly as he added, "Are you still on bad terms with Kakashi?"
Obito hesitated for a moment before answering in a low voice. "Yeah…"
"There are things I want to say, but… if I say them, Kakashi probably won't listen. It might even push him further away from me."
He paused, as if weighing his thoughts, then continued more softly, "So in the end, I decided to let it go. But… there are some things I do want to say to you, senpai."
"Go on."
"Senpai… I've thought about it carefully. What happened that day… I was being selfish." Obito lowered his head, glancing briefly at Rin before continuing. "I only cared about my own feelings and ignored the village's interests."
"Because of that, the mission failed… and you were dragged into it too."
He bowed deeply, his voice resolute. "I'm sorry, senpai. I caused you trouble."
"It's not just me who feels this way—Rin thinks the same."
"Yes!" Rin quickly added from the side. "Senpai, I'm really sorry. I held everyone back."
"…Did Fugaku put you up to this?"
The thought surfaced in Shimizu's mind almost instinctively—was Fugaku trying to use this to win him over to the Uchiha's side?
So eager to pull him onto their ship…
"Huh?" Obito blinked, clearly caught off guard by the question. "Yes… Fugaku-senpai pointed out my shortcomings."
"I accepted it."
"Don't overthink it. That battle was doomed no matter how it was fought." A faint, unreadable smile curved at the corner of Shimizu's lips. "Things were bound to turn out this way sooner or later. I would've ended up in the same situation regardless."
Obito frowned, unwilling to accept that. "How can that be? If we had just focused all our strength on taking that bridge—"
"Enough. What's done is done." Shimizu cut him off before he could continue. "Besides, I'm doing just fine now."
"Or do I look like I've fallen into despair to you?"
Even if Konoha had achieved a true victory at Kannabi Bridge, there would still have been trap after trap waiting down the line, each one designed to pull him in.
After all, that battle had severely weakened the Third Hokage's authority and influence—something far too deliberate to be mere coincidence.
Whoever was working behind the scenes had been planning for a long time. There was no way they would stop before reaching their goal.
Before Obito could respond, Shimizu let out a small laugh. "Alright, stop burdening yourself with these pointless worries."
"The person involved doesn't even care, so don't go overthinking it."
"…Oh." Obito's earlier enthusiasm seemed to deflate, his reply coming out soft and subdued.
"People should look forward, not back. What's past should stay in the past." Shimizu's voice grew calmer, more genuine, as he spoke his true thoughts. "If you really mean it… you should go have a proper talk with Kakashi."