"So you noticed Samehada's power and decided you wanted it for yourself?" Suikazan Fuguki rolled his shoulders and flexed his body, clearly feeling the return of his fully restored condition. A cold sneer spread across his face. "Keep dreaming. Samehada only acknowledges me as its master. It's useless in anyone else's hands."
"I was just curious where you obtained it."
Fuguki narrowed his eyes, carefully watching every movement Shimizu made.
The man genuinely seemed interested in the origin of Samehada.
The serious expression on Shimizu's face was completely different from the merciless killer he had been moments earlier.
"A few years ago, I wiped out every Samehada surrounding the Three-Tails because of an accident," Shimizu said slowly as his guard lowered slightly, his thoughts drifting back into memory. "None of them should've escaped."
The moment those words were spoken, realization struck Fuguki instantly.
So this Konoha shinobi in front of him was the true culprit behind the Three-Tails incident that had devastated Kirigakure years ago.
Back then, after Kirigakure had finally succeeded in sealing the Three-Tails again, they discovered that the swarm of Samehada surrounding it had vanished completely.
Only half of a dying Samehada had remained behind.
Perhaps because he sensed Shimizu's intention to temporarily stop fighting, or perhaps because he wanted to stall for time himself, Fuguki slowly began recounting what had happened afterward.
And finally, Shimizu understood.
The half of Samehada inside his own body and the Samehada in Fuguki's hands had originally been one and the same.
One half had survived by feeding on Shimizu's flesh and chakra, eventually merging with him through a series of accidents.
The other half had somehow been revived by Kirigakure and eventually grew into one of the weapons wielded by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
What the hell was this supposed to be?
Cell division?
Fate truly worked in strange ways.
"Well, I've answered your question," Fuguki said as his gaze sharpened. "But at the same time, you've also given us another reason why you absolutely must die."
The damage Kirigakure suffered during the Three-Tails disaster had been enormous.
And now, at long last, they had found someone to settle that debt with.
Fuguki stepped to the very front of the formation and pointed Samehada directly at Shimizu.
"Even now… are you still planning to stall for time?"
"Likewise."
Shimizu had deliberately adopted a posture suggesting a ceasefire and started this conversation to buy time.
But Kirigakure had been doing exactly the same thing.
Otherwise, why would Fuguki have bothered chatting with him for so long?
After witnessing how terrifyingly close Shimizu had come to killing both him and Raiga almost instantly, Fuguki already understood something clearly.
Even at full strength, he and the newly arrived Mist squad probably still wouldn't be enough to defeat Shunshin Shimizu.
They needed more time.
More reinforcements.
...
Far away from the battlefield on the lake, a figure suddenly burst out from beneath the water near the shore.
It was none other than Shimizu Uzuki.
"There's no pursuit… Looks like I managed to fool everyone. Especially that chakra-sensing Samehada."
The moment the Kirigakure reinforcements had arrived earlier, Shimizu realized he no longer had complete confidence in killing Fuguki.
The fact that Fuguki's hardened orange hair could withstand the piercing power of White Lightning already proved how absurd its defensive capabilities were.
If he couldn't guarantee a kill and instead became trapped by the newly arrived Mist squad, the battle would only drag on longer and waste valuable time.
Shimizu naturally had no interest in such a pointless outcome.
More importantly, he had never forgotten the true purpose of this mission—
to infiltrate the Mizukage Building and obtain intelligence.
So the instant the Kirigakure ANBU appeared, Shimizu created a Water Clone. His original body quietly escaped beneath the lake while the clone remained behind on the battlefield to continue fighting in his place.
That brief moment had also been his only chance to avoid Samehada's chakra perception.
Although he still didn't know the exact situation on the clone's side, the lack of feedback meant everything was still under control.
The only flaw in this plan was the pressure on Satomi.
A Water Clone's strength was limited. It likely couldn't help her shoulder much of the burden against so many enemies.
Of course, without Satomi there to hold the line, this plan wouldn't have been possible in the first place; his Water Clone certainly couldn't withstand a focused bombardment from so many enemies alone.
I just hope the clone can stall for a bit longer...
Now, he had to take advantage of the fact that no other Konoha forces had reached the Mizukage Building and infiltrate it as quickly as possible.
Body Flicker Technique!
...
The entire Mizukage Building was eerily quiet.
As Shimizu moved through the corridors, he encountered only a handful of scattered guards along the way.
It made sense. Konoha's forces had already reached Kirigakure's doorstep, so most of the village's combat strength had undoubtedly been deployed to the front lines.
Still, something about the building felt strange.
Whether it was because of some barrier technique or the material used in the structure itself, Shimizu's normally powerful sensory perception was being heavily suppressed.
"At most… less than fifty meters."
The last time his senses had been restricted this badly was when he had been trapped inside the range of the Hidden Mist Technique.
Even so, he continued searching quickly for the information he needed.
But he found nothing.
Eventually, he arrived at the highest floor of the Mizukage Building.
The Mizukage's office should also be located here.
And naturally, this floor was the place most likely to contain valuable intelligence.
At the same time, it was also the place where he was most likely to encounter the Third Mizukage himself.
Still, Shimizu wasn't particularly worried.
He had no intention of fighting to the death. All he needed to do was create chaos, seize the documents he wanted, and escape amid the confusion.
Besides, based on the intelligence he had obtained from the Third Hokage, the Third Mizukage's strength was not especially remarkable.
One could even call it mediocre.
Of course, no village leader could truly be mediocre.
What Shimizu meant was simply that the Third Mizukage lacked any especially distinct abilities or overwhelmingly powerful specialties.
Now that Shimizu's chakra reserves had nearly reached the level of the Sannin, his greatest weakness was gradually disappearing. Once that shortcoming was fully resolved, he would officially step into the realm of Kage-level shinobi himself.
Because of that, Kage-level opponents no longer felt like untouchable monsters the way they once had.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the opposite end of the corridor.
Damn... someone's coming head-on!
Under normal circumstances, Shimizu would have detected any Mist shinobi approaching long before they came into sight.
But now—
if he could already see the other person, then the other person had definitely seen him as well.
Fortunately, Shimizu had prepared for this beforehand. Before entering the building, he had already used the Transformation Technique.
Keeping his expression calm, he continued walking forward.
As the two drew closer, Shimizu finally got a clear look at the man approaching him.
He was tall, with a bizarre hairstyle, but the most eye-catching feature was the pair of red cinnabar markings decorating both sides of his forehead.
That appearance…
A member of the Kaguya clan from Kirigakure?
"Raiga, you're here to see Lord Mizukage too?"
The person Shimizu had transformed into was none other than Kurosuki Raiga, the Mist shinobi he had killed earlier.
"Mm."
Shimizu merely gave a slight nod, maintaining a cold and indifferent demeanor.
Facing someone who personally recognized Raiga, he knew that speaking too much would only expose flaws.
The two passed each other.
But suddenly, the man stopped.
"Lord Mizukage isn't in his office," he said. "There's no point going."
At those words, Shimizu was forced to stop as well.
For a brief instant, the thought of silencing him crossed his mind.
"What about the matter we discussed earlier? Have you made your decision yet?"
"What matter?"
"What else could it be?" The tall Kaguya shinobi showed no suspicion whatsoever as he spoke bluntly. "Naturally, I mean the alliance between your Seven Ninja Swordsmen and our Kaguya clan to overthrow the Third Mizukage…"