Ambush by the River

Unlike Shadow Clones, Water Clones could not transmit memories back in real time. Thus, in battle, they could generally only be used for probing and deception, lacking the intelligence-gathering ability of Shadow Clones.

This meant that the original body and a Water Clone could not be too far apart. Otherwise, even if the clone learned something, it could not simply disperse and return its memories to the original body. If the clone automatically broke apart while searching for the original body, the ninja who had cast the technique would be utterly screwed.

Because of these flaws in Water Clones, Suikazan Fuguki was indeed not far from the Cave Entrance. After seeing purple light shine from within it, he left without looking back.

But Orochimaru had actually made preparations long ago. Less than ten minutes after Suikazan Fuguki left, Orochimaru's ninja Subordinates latched onto his trail.

Following Zoan modifications, ninjas gained more than enhanced physiques. The various abilities of animals also provided tremendous boosts, such as keen smell, vision, hearing, echolocation, thermal vision, and the ability to sense ground vibrations...

Ninjas with such abilities could practically be considered half Sensor Ninjas. Since Suikazan Fuguki had already come here, there was naturally no chance of escape.

"This feeling... Is there something wrong with that bird in the sky?"

Suikazan Fuguki, fleeing along the river, raised his head with a grim expression. A bird glowing with Golden Light was soaring directly above him, more than a thousand meters in the sky. It was an exceptionally majestic-looking Golden Eagle.

That Golden Eagle had been following him for a long time. In a world filled with all manner of strange ninjutsu and Summoning Beasts, Suikazan Fuguki naturally could not ignore its movements.

However, flight was an exceedingly rare ability among ninjas, and Suikazan Fuguki certainly did not possess it. As for using ninjutsu to shoot that Golden Eagle down, that was nothing more than wishful thinking.

Ordinary ninjutsu had an attack range of only twenty or thirty meters. An attack range exceeding a hundred meters already required the strength of a top-tier ninja. Shooting upward over a thousand meters and hitting a tiny Golden Eagle—if Suikazan Fuguki had that kind of strength, he would not have fled at the sight of Orochimaru.

"But thinking this is enough to catch me is far too naive!"

A cold smile appeared on Suikazan Fuguki's face. Surveillance from the sky was indeed troublesome, especially since that Golden Eagle seemed to possess intelligence no less than a human's. Suikazan Fuguki had used the Clone Technique several times without managing to shake it off.

But this was Sea Country, and Suikazan Fuguki was a Kirigakure ninja. As long as he reached the water or the coast, he had absolute confidence that he could escape.

"Orochimaru appeared here. Could the Sea Country Alliance and the Sea Ninja Village both be his doing? I need to report this to the village immediately. Perhaps I can also give Konoha some intelligence on Orochimaru!"

"Wait. Could Orochimaru really accomplish something like this on his own? This involves several countries and at least a thousand ninjas... Could Orochimaru's defection be fake? Is Konoha trying to establish an overseas base?"

Suikazan Fuguki's mind was filled with wild thoughts, but his feet did not slow in the slightest. Before long, he arrived near a river.

Yet when he reached this point, Suikazan Fuguki's steps faltered slightly, and his expression turned extremely ugly.

A river over ten meters wide flowed quietly along. The faint sound of wind and rushing water made the already silent forest seem even more desolate. Yet Suikazan Fuguki had no mood to appreciate it.

Pressing his hands together, Suikazan Fuguki completed his Hand Seals within seconds. "Water Release! Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The calm river instantly erupted into towering waves. Amid the waters stirred by Chakra, a terrifying shadow slowly emerged. A massive Great White Shark smashed through the Water Dragon Bullet and leaped from the river!

The instant the Great White Shark leaped from the water, it rapidly grew limbs. Its powerful body and enormous shark head made for a terrifying sight, looking rather like the Shark Person from Suicide Squad.

"Die!!" With an enraged roar, Suikazan Fuguki stopped maintaining the Water Dragon Bullet and instead drew the great sword Samehada from his back, slashing without hesitation.

A Great White Shark leaping from a river was certainly surprising, but the well-traveled Suikazan Fuguki did not find anything particularly strange about it. After all, there were too many bizarre and varied ninjutsu. Transforming into a Great White Shark was nothing remarkable.

A real ocean-dwelling Great White Shark could not possibly have appeared in a river, so it had to be a ninja's method. When facing a ninja, Suikazan Fuguki had only one thought now: kill his opponent immediately!

Judging by his opponent's ability to transform into a Great White Shark, he clearly had an extremely strong affinity for Water Release. Under such circumstances, using a weapon might be more effective.

The Great White Shark transformed into a Shark Person and likewise refused to retreat even a step. He lunged forward and, facing Samehada crashing down at him, actually opened his mouth and bit down on it.

With a crunch, teeth and spikes flew everywhere. A Great White Shark's bite force was astonishing, and the ninja who had received Great White Shark gene modifications had inherited that trait. Shark teeth were also among the sharpest and most pointed in the animal kingdom.

Thus, amid the crunching sound, Samehada suddenly contracted before beginning to struggle from side to side. With a violent twist, it flung the Great White Shark ninja away.

Suikazan Fuguki looked at Samehada in his hand with some distress. Several white teeth were embedded in the blade, and pale gray fluid seeped from it.

But the ninja opposite him had not fared well either. Every tooth in his mouth had been knocked out by Samehada, while Samehada's spikes had torn his mouth to shreds. His mouth had already been a bloody maw, but soaked in copious blood, it now looked even more horrifying.

"Damn salted fish! You actually injured my Samehada. I'll use your Chakra to restore it!"

Suikazan Fuguki injected the Chakra in his hand into Samehada. The entire blade swelled like a pufferfish, becoming even more dangerous-looking.

Samehada's power gradually grew stronger as it absorbed Chakra, though most of the time Suikazan Fuguki used it to absorb his enemies' Chakra.

He had not expected the Great White Shark opposite him to forgo Chakra entirely and simply bite down. Against pure physical attacks, Samehada was not much stronger than an ordinary weapon.

Under these circumstances, Suikazan Fuguki could no longer afford to conserve the Chakra in his body. He directly strengthened Samehada to its limit.