Yugito froze completely in place.
Despite her excellent upbringing, a wave of profound displeasure welled up within her. It wasn't out of shock, nor was it because this Water Style jutsu possessed any sort of special properties. Rather, it was an unspeakable fury.
How dare Shimizu humiliate her close friend like this?
Rage. With new grudges compounding old hatreds, even Matatabi, the Two-Tails sealed within her, could feel Yugito's immense wrath. The massive Tailed Beast chakra of the Two-Tails erupted from every pore of Yugito's body, countless bubbles boiling up and churning within the shroud.
"This isn't the first time we've met. Why must we jump straight to a life-or-death struggle? Can't we sit down and talk things out properly?" Shimizu said as he set Samui down.
However, the only response Shimizu received was the astonishingly long, spectral claws of Yugito's phantom cat form.
Screech!
A sharp, piercing sound rang out, resembling the grating noise of a key scraping across a pane of glass. Shimizu blocked Yugito's onslaught squarely with his forearm.
Tiny fragments of crystal slowly flaked off and fell away. In that split second, Shimizu had coated his arm in crystal to clash head-on with Yugito.
"It seems a cat's claws aren't quite as sharp as I imagined," Shimizu remarked nonchalantly.
Yugito furrowed her brows tightly. She refused to meet Shimizu's gaze, keeping her eyes strictly fixed on the ground. Yet, the unyielding rigidity transmitted through her hands told her everything she needed to know—she hadn't managed to break through Shimizu Uchiha's defense.
To think this Shimizu Uchiha's Crystal Style is actually this durable.
The faint red Tailed Beast chakra enveloping her body shifted into a blazing blue chakra adorned with the black markings of the phantom cat. Her tied-up brown hair fell loose, whipping wildly around her. Dropping onto all fours, two tails sprouted from her lower back. She looked exactly like a feral wild beast.
Yugito opened her mouth and spat, unleashing a barrage of blue chakra fireballs that surged toward Shimizu.
Nezumi Kamidama!
"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!"
Shimizu's cheeks puffed out slightly as he exhaled a massive, dragon-headed stream of fire, completely incinerating the incoming blue chakra fireballs. This was a B-rank Fire Style jutsu, but at his current level, Shimizu could perform it effortlessly.
The orange-red flames intertwined with the blue fire, erupting into thick, billowing layers of smoke that filled the air.
Swish!
A specially-made kunai was hurled through the mist. Yugito tilted her head slightly, easily dodging the weapon. She sneered inwardly. Is Shimizu Uchiha already running out of tricks? To resort to such a clumsy attack...
"Yugito, do you really think you can defeat me just by avoiding eye contact?"
A Rasengan manifested in Shimizu's hand, its swirling motion vacuuming up the surrounding smoke. In the next instant, Shimizu's figure vanished completely.
Yugito's pupils dilated as she heard the sudden rushing of wind behind her head. Instinctively, she tried to spin around, but the Rasengan in Shimizu's hand was faster, slamming heavily into her lower back.
Bang!
Yugito was sent flying through the air. A large tear ripped through her Tailed Beast cloak, leaving the flesh beneath mangled and bloody. White steam continuously drifted from the wound as it slowly began to heal.
Is he truly the disciple of the Yellow Flash? Yugito wondered, guessing whether the jutsu Shimizu had just used was the Hiraishin no Jutsu.
Yet, the specially-made kunai that had just flown past was still embedded in the earthen wall behind her. Kumogakure had fought the Yellow Flash numerous times; in fact, even the creator of the Hiraishin no Jutsu, Tobirama Senju, had met his end at the hands of Kumogakure. The Hiraishin only allowed teleportation to a pre-marked location or a specific medium. No matter how one teleported, the destination must be where the formula lay. If Shimizu had used the Hiraishin, he should have appeared right behind that kunai.
Yugito was utterly baffled.
Seeing Yugito's confusion, a smirk played on the corner of Shimizu's lips. Information warfare between shinobi was of paramount importance. Jiraiya had infiltrated the Land of Rain alone and paid with his life just to uncover a shred of Pain's secrets. Shimizu was merely putting up a deception right now.
The Hiraishin no Jutsu required summoning oneself to a medium, and Shimizu hadn't bypassed this rule. The kunai from before was a ruse to mislead others. After all, he couldn't openly display his use of the Hiraishin no Jutsu yet; word of it must not spread.
The true marker was a needle in his hand. This needle had been thrown alongside the kunai. Shimizu had only teleported to the needle, allowing the kunai behind it to fly onward naturally.
"I think it would be best if you surrendered," Shimizu said.
He unleashed another Fire Style jutsu while simultaneously throwing another needle. The blazing afterglow of the flames masked the needle's trajectory. Just as Yugito raised her guard, Shimizu teleported behind her once again, throwing a powerful punch.
Flustered, Yugito rushed to respond, forced into a purely defensive position. Shimizu's appearances were entirely erratic. Her only option was to buy time and figure out exactly what kind of jutsu he was employing.
Lying on the ground, Samui watched their clash. She desperately wanted to step in and help, but her severely dehydrated body left her without an ounce of strength. She could only pray that Yugito wouldn't suffer an unexpected defeat here. Otherwise, knowing Shimizu's temperament, he would undoubtedly do terrible things to Yugito.
"Lady Yugito, you must win...!"
Having been subjected to repeated Water Style extractions, Samui's eyes were growing unfocused. Still, she forced her eyes to concentrate, trying her best to see the battle clearly.
Meanwhile, on another battlefield, Minato Namikaze had already sustained quite a few injuries.
Fighting the Deva Path Pain proved to be an incredibly daunting task. Whenever Minato tried to throw a kunai marked with the Hiraishin formula, it would be deflected away before it could get close. Even if he managed to carve a formula onto a nearby tree or the ground, the Deva Path would immediately reduce it to scorched earth, shattering whatever object held the marker.
"Minato!" Kushina cried out anxiously.
She was currently in her Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, having already manifested seven tails. Harnessing such an immense amount of chakra for the first time left her feeling unaccustomed and overwhelmed.
"My power... isn't something you can just take whenever you please," Kurama's seductive, rumbling voice echoed from within Kushina once more. "Come, undo the Four Symbols Seal, and I will help you slaughter those enemies..."
Kushina had long grown accustomed to the Nine-Tails' enticing whispers. Habitually ignoring the beast's voice, she stepped in front of Minato Namikaze.
"Pain, we should retreat for now," Konan said, taking in the gruesome aftermath of the chaotic battle. Even though she had witnessed countless battlefields, seeing so many dead never failed to weigh heavily on her heart.
"It is not yet time," the Deva Path Pain replied, glancing at Konan, who had only just arrived, and instructing her to watch over the other Paths.
Bending his knees slightly, the Deva Path leaped into the air. His Akatsuki cloak was torn to shreds on one side, exposing his chest and arm. Simultaneously, the other Paths of Pain below leaped out of the fray, gathering beside Konan and standing completely motionless.
Watching the deep purple Rinnegan in the eyes of these puppets grow dim, Konan looked up at the figure in the sky in shock. Nagato had channeled the vast majority of his chakra into the Deva Path. Does he intend to unleash a jutsu powerful enough to destroy everything here?
"Shinobi of Konohagakure, what we pursue is nothing but peace," Pain's voice resonated in everyone's ears. "Kumogakure, pull your forces back immediately."
Killer B looked thoroughly confused. "Yo~ Lady, what are you spouting? We're right in the middle of a fight, no way we're just dropping out of sight!"
"B, fall back immediately!" Gyūki, the Eight-Tails, warned from within, sharing Killer B's field of vision.
The Tailed Beast had spotted the Rinnegan in the Deva Path's eyes. Those eyes were identical to the Sage of Six Paths', featuring concentric ripples of a deep purple hue. In his youth, Gyūki had witnessed the unfathomable, terrifying power of the Rinnegan. Chibaku Tensei, Shinra Tensei... The scale of the large-area jutsu those eyes could unleash was staggering. They couldn't afford to gamble!
Hearing the solemn gravity in the Eight-Tails' voice, Killer B dropped his playful demeanor and immediately ordered the Kumogakure forces to pull back.
"Peace?" Orochimaru muttered, watching the retreating Kumogakure shinobi.
During his time in the Land of Rain, Danzō Shimura had personally gone to ally with Hanzō of the Salamander to eliminate the Akatsuki. To think the Akatsuki had not only survived but, judging by the battle just now, Orochimaru was entirely certain that these individuals were monstrously powerful.
"If peace is what you seek, I believe we can talk. Let us declare a ceasefire for now," Minato Namikaze said, letting out a sigh of relief.
If they were pursuing peace, it aligned perfectly with Konohagakure's goals. The only hidden village that hadn't signed a peace treaty with Konohagakure was Kumogakure. Once Kumogakure signed it, an era of peace would finally arrive, and the flames of war would be completely extinguished.
Kushina also stared up at the Deva Path Pain in the sky. She couldn't sense any malicious intent radiating from him, leaving her unable to discern whether this Pain was good or evil.
"A ceasefire? Those who do not understand true pain can never understand true peace," the Deva Path Pain declared, uttering words that left everyone utterly perplexed.
Konan sighed inwardly. Nagato was going through with it after all, intending to slaughter all the Konohagakure shinobi. She cast her gaze toward the Konoha forces, scanning for any sign of Shimizu Uchiha. She remembered that Shimizu was supposed to participate in this operation. Yet, she couldn't locate him anywhere. She wondered if it was because she had been delayed on the road and arrived too late.
"Pain?" Minato Namikaze gripped his Hiraishin kunai tightly. His battle-hardened instincts screamed that something was terribly wrong.
"Now, the world shall know pain." The Deva Path Pain spread his arms wide.
"Chō-Shinra Tensei!"
An invisible, cataclysmic repulsive force rapidly expanded outward. Everyone else could only see a vast, blinding white light engulfing the entire area.
Must you resort to this no matter what, Nagato? This will shorten your lifespan, Konan murmured to herself.
Nagato had drifted further and further away from Yahiko. From the moment Nagato decided to carry out a massive slaughter of shinobi today, Konan knew that the two of them could never truly reconcile; an unbridgeable ideological chasm had opened up between them.
Boom!
The colossal explosion resonated all the way to Shimizu's location.
The power of Shinra Tensei truly is staggering, Shimizu thought, a fervent heat flashing deep within his eyes.
Not only that, but the Rinnegan could also create Chibaku Tensei—the very jutsu used to create the moon. Of course, a display of such transcendent power required at least a Six Paths-level caliber.
Looking down at the battered and bruised Yugito, Shimizu felt the timing was just right.
"You have already been caught in my genjutsu. Unless your life is in immediate peril, the Tailed Beast inside you won't be able to break through it," Shimizu said, a sinister smirk creeping onto his face.
Now, it was time to pass judgment on Yugito's crimes.
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