"ROOOAAAAAHHH!"
Hero's Water overstimulated the body's cells.
It could let the user explode with dozens of times their normal chakra for a short time, but the physical toll was just as insane.
A-Da was already exhausted. Once the shadow hand cut off his breathing, his brain started shutting down from lack of oxygen.
On top of that, Kasaka's Venom Fang kept stacking the Bleed debuff, draining his stamina even faster.
The massive chakra surge stripped away any rational thought. To escape the discomfort, he started swinging wildly at the air like a madman.
Every punch and kick carried Takigakure-style ninjutsu, turning him into a living wrecking machine.
Anything near him was shredded to pieces.
Shikage kept hopping backward, calmly watching the blood-soaked A-Da throw his insane tantrum from a safe distance.
Every few seconds he'd flick out a Shadow Sewing strike, pushing A-Da deeper into the grave.
In the end, the man who should've lasted thirty seconds collapsed after just over ten.
The moment A-Da's life signs flatlined, Shikage stepped forward. A shadow stretched from his feet and slipped silently under the corpse.
Like a bottomless black pool, it swallowed the dead man's final soul.
[Shadow Extraction in progress…]
[…]
[Extraction successful]
Eyes half-lidded, Shikage didn't summon the new shadow.
The instant extraction succeeded, he swapped it in to replace his weakest soldier and sent it straight into the legion space.
A quick glance at the new soldier's stats made his eyes flicker with pleasant surprise.
—Didn't expect it to keep the stats from after using Hero's Water.
—Excluding No.2, this new guy is easily top three in the legion now.
Nice surprise, but he knew there was no time to rest.
He immediately shifted his attention to the other battlefield, watching the shadow soldiers swarm the remaining Taki ninjas.
His gaze locked onto the heavily wounded but still stubborn burly man.
The next instant, Shikage stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the ground, he vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already in the middle of the fight.
...
The shadow soldiers, following their lord's order, deliberately slowed their attacks.
A water blade forced the enemy back. A-Er seized the tiny opening.
He yanked out a small gourd from his pouch—the glass container holding the Hero's Water!
But before he could drink it, his body froze in place.
A slender, well-defined hand reached out and easily plucked the gourd from his grip.
A-Er's eyes widened in shock—he still hadn't processed what just happened.
A split second later, searing pain exploded across his body, followed by a dizzying spin of the world.
Shikage didn't bother looking back at the headless corpse now turned into a porcupine by shadow blades.
Instead he turned to the Takigakure ninja who had collapsed in terror, hugging his head.
He pinched the small gourd between his index finger and thumb, staring down at the sobbing Shibuki.
"You got any of this?"
Shibuki was completely overwhelmed by fear. His mind was filled with the brutal image of A-Da being slaughtered—he couldn't even hear Shikage's question.
A shadow soldier grabbed him by the hair from behind and forced his head up to face Shikage.
Staring at the snot-and-tear-streaked, twisted face, Shikage repeated,
"You got any of this?"
"N-no… none…"
Shibuki's teeth chattered, tears pouring down.
"D-don't… don't kill me!"
"Please… I'm begging you!"
Shikage obviously wasn't going to kill Shibuki—not out of kindness.
Before the mission, Itachi had specifically told him not to touch the son of Takigakure's leader.
It probably tied into some plan of the Third's. Shikage didn't care enough to ask.
He wouldn't kill Shibuki, but he had to make sure the kid wasn't carrying any Hero's Water.
So he gave a small nod.
Before Shibuki could feel any relief, the cold, faceless "monsters" closed in around him.
He screamed and crawled away on all fours, covered in filth.
The shadow soldiers didn't care. Working together, they roughly stripped him completely naked.
After checking him several times, they confirmed he was telling the truth.
"Alright, you can go."
Shikage clapped his hands once and gave Shibuki an extremely friendly smile.
To Shibuki, that smile looked like the face of a demon.
He passed out on the spot from pure terror.
Shikage blinked, surprised.
He knew Shibuki was timid, but fainting from a smile? That was a bit much.
"Whatever… you two stay here."
He pointed at two shadow soldiers and ordered them to hide inside Shibuki's shadow, then idly played with the gourd in his hand.
—Mission complete.
—Now what?
...
Root Headquarters.
Inside a luxurious private room, Danzo stared silently at the crystal ball in front of him.
The image showed the three Takigakure ninjas.
Beside him, Takigakure's leader Zerin leaned forward slightly, voice dripping with humility and flattery.
"Lord Danzo, our village's Hero's Water will not disappoint you."
"To show my utmost sincerity this time, I specially sent our two strongest chunin."
"…"
Danzo impatiently cut off Zerin's rambling. He rested his chin on his left hand, staring at the three Konoha shinobi who had suddenly appeared in the crystal ball.
"I hope so."
Zerin swallowed hard, nervously watching the crystal ball. His gaze on Shibuki was extremely complicated.
A few minutes later, Danzo's eyes narrowed. He watched the Konoha shinobi being completely suppressed, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Not bad."
Just two simple words made Zerin so excited he nearly jumped out of his seat.
If this deal went through, he could finally change Takigakure's fate!
Stealing the village's ancestral treasure to buy protection from outsiders wasn't honorable, but for the next generation's future, Zerin no longer cared.
Besides, after losing the Earth Grudge Fear, the Hero's Water could no longer reach its full potential.
Better to trade a dangerous, side-effect-heavy drug for something truly valuable.
But before Zerin could celebrate too long, an unexpected guest appeared in the crystal ball.
Danzo's gaze shifted to Nara Shikage, his expression unreadable, clearly deep in thought.
Inside the crystal ball, Nara Shikage seemed to sense the stare. He looked straight through the technique—directly into Danzo's eyes.
Watching Nara Shikage casually wipe out the entire Takigakure team, Zerin panicked and started stammering.
"This… that…"
"Lord Danzo… please believe me…"
"Enough. Be quiet."
Danzo waved his hand, frowning at the unexpected Nara Shikage, thoughts complicated.
—The Nara clan's younger generation is this outstanding?
—Hiruzen, exactly how many pawns do you plan to raise?
—Hiruzen, how much longer do you intend to control Konoha?
Danzo suppressed the rage boiling in his chest and slammed his hand down on the armrest.
SLAM—!
Gritting his teeth, he spat out every word like a curse:
"Hiruzen Sarutobi!"