With a heavy thud, Sora's body slammed into the ground, motionless—his fate unclear for the moment.
In just a handful of exchanges, Shimizu had taken down an elite jōnin of Iwagakure.
That alone was enough to shake everyone present.
Shunshin Shimizu… the title was no exaggeration.
"That technique just now… was it Crescent Moon Dance?" Ōnoki murmured, recalling something from the past. "If I remember correctly, that was a signature technique of the Second Hokage. It should produce three intangible clones…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"But Sora's secret technique was blocked… which means those weren't mere illusions. All three had physical substance—shadow clones."
He fixed his gaze on Shimizu.
"Did you create this technique yourself, young man of Konoha?"
"Yes," Shimizu replied calmly as he sheathed his sword, though a trace of regret lingered in his heart.
So close…
If not for the Tsuchikage's subtle interference, he might have finished Sora off completely.
That final White Lightning strike had just barely missed the heart.
Even so, Sora had only survived thanks to the instincts and combat awareness of an elite jōnin—barely clinging to life, now gravely injured.
"And that Lightning Release… requiring no hand seals…" Ōnoki continued thoughtfully.
"Sora did not lose unjustly."
Still, the Tsuchikage's eyes remained half-lidded.
Sora had fallen too quickly—far too quickly to truly gauge Shimizu's limits.
Soon, Han and Rōshi carried Sora back into their formation to begin treatment.
"I'll go next."
The speaker was a towering shinobi with a red headscarf, a massive, rock-like physique, and blue markings beneath his eyes.
"Kitsuchi," Rōshi said, frowning slightly. "Your Earth Release is countered by Lightning Release. You'd be at a disadvantage."
Han nodded in agreement. "And his speed is too fast. You won't be able to land a hit."
Kitsuchi was the son of the Third Tsuchikage, an elite jōnin of Iwagakure and a formidable Earth Release specialist. His body alone carried immense, almost monstrous strength.
"Then I'll go."
Another voice cut in.
"Kuroishi?" Kitsuchi looked slightly surprised. The usually composed man had stepped forward on his own initiative.
But thinking it over…
With Kuroishi's elusive stealth and near-invisible movement techniques, he might actually be able to counter Shimizu's speed. Combined with his exceptional Earth Release—and his rare proficiency in Fire Release among Iwagakure shinobi—he was a dangerous opponent.
"Tsuchikage-sama," Kuroishi said, locking eyes with Ōnoki.
"Kuroishi, you…"
"My younger brother, Dōto… died without explanation," Kuroishi said, his voice laced with restrained fury. "Later, I learned that his death was connected to Shunshin Shimizu."
He took a step forward.
"So please… grant me this."
"…Very well." Ōnoki gave a slight nod.
Kuroishi stepped out from the formation and spoke loudly, his gaze fixed on Shimizu.
"Shunshin Shimizu! This time, I will be your opponent!"
He paused, then added,
"But before that… I want to ask you something."
"Do you remember an Iwagakure shinobi named Dōto?"
Dōto?
Shimizu searched his memory, a faint frown forming.
He himself had never directly participated in large-scale battles against Iwagakure… so where had this name come from?
Could it have been during some earlier mission?
"My brother," Kuroishi continued, his voice tightening, "died during a reconnaissance mission—not long after the war between Konoha and Sunagakure began."
"…The twenty-million ryō bounty?"
At that, realization finally dawned on Shimizu.
On his way back to Konoha after escaping from Madara's cave, he had indeed encountered a squad of Iwagakure shinobi infiltrating the Land of Fire to gather intelligence.
He had intended to wipe them out completely.
But unexpectedly, he had nearly fallen into their trap—and one of them had even managed to escape.
One of the very few "rats" to slip through his pursuit.
Of course… that same "rat" had ultimately been killed by Kakuzu.
The hatred in Kuroishi's eyes deepened.
"So it really was you who killed him."
"First of all, that rat wasn't killed by me. And second—" Shimizu's voice turned icy cold, his gaze sharpening like a drawn blade, "—you were the ones invading the Land of Fire."
He didn't bother hiding the killing intent in his tone.
Whether it was Sunagakure or Iwagakure, this kind of blatant aggression—invading another nation and then turning around to accuse the victim—was something he found utterly intolerable.
One day… you'll regret it. Completely.
"You…" Kuroishi's grip tightened around his kunai as he slowly raised it. "Don't think you can deny it. I'll avenge him."
Shimizu let out a faint, mocking chuckle. He had no intention of explaining Kakuzu's involvement.
"If you want to try, then come."
Kuroishi's figure gradually sank into the earth, his gaze fixed on Shimizu as if already looking at a corpse.
"To me, you're no different from your brother—just another rat, scurrying around in the shadows."
"Let's see if you can keep talking like that in a moment," Kuroishi's voice echoed from all directions at once.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
Without warning, dozens of sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground beneath Shimizu, shooting upward in an instant and impaling his unmoving figure clean through.
"Whoa! The fight's already started—and it's over just like that?!" Killer B exclaimed in disbelief.
"No way," A replied calmly, his eyes locked on the battlefield. "He must have used the moment Kuroishi cast his jutsu to hide his real body."
As if to confirm his words, "Shimizu" shattered in the next instant—nothing more than a water clone.
But where was the real Shimizu?
No one had seen when he formed the clone.
No one had tracked his movement.
"He's underground," said the small Kumogakure girl quietly.
She was the youngest person present, no more than ten years old.
"Yugito, how do you know?" Killer B asked curiously.
"The Two-Tails smelled him. It told me."
"Huh… that cat really gets along with you, huh? Telling you stuff like that."
"You're a perfect jinchūriki too. Is it really that hard to use your tailed beast's abilities properly?"
Yugito Nii had become the Two-Tails' jinchūriki at the age of two. Like all jinchūriki, her childhood had been filled with fear and rejection from others. But she had endured, training relentlessly until she could control her transformation at will—becoming a true perfect jinchūriki, a strategic weapon of Kumogakure.
"It is hard," Killer B said seriously. "Usually it ignores me. It only talks to me when I'm rapping."
"…That's probably because it can't stand your rapping and has no choice but to respond."
"He's coming out," A suddenly warned.
BOOM!!
With a deafening explosion, Kuroishi burst out of the ground like a fish leaping from water. However, the blast had clearly caught him—his body was scorched black, his appearance disheveled and battered.
"Kuroishi's Earth Release… lost?" Han muttered in shock.
"No… the opponent must have used another element as well," Kitsuchi analyzed calmly.
Kuroishi swallowed the blood rising in his throat, gritted his teeth, and formed hand seals again.
Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!
"This time… I've got you!" he snarled.
In an instant, thick earthen walls rose up, forming a sealed prison around Shimizu. Kuroishi himself pressed against one side, continuously channeling chakra into it to maintain the technique.
It resembled the Water Prison Technique in function—inescapable once fully formed.
At the same time, another "Kuroishi" leapt out from the ground, hands already weaving seals.
Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!
A straight line of blazing fire burst from his mouth, surging directly toward the earthen prison. The intense heat rapidly turned the once-yellow rock walls a glowing red.
"Did he actually capture Shunshin Shimizu?" Killer B asked, intrigued.
A shook his head slightly. "Kuroishi must have paid a price to trap him like that… but a method like this—"
He glanced at Jiraiya, who stood completely at ease, without a trace of concern.
"—won't be enough to deal with him."