The Route Suikazan Fuguki Took to Escape

Like a mountain torrent bursting its banks, a vast wave of water poured down Shigushan Mountain, smashing through layer after layer of trees. At the foot of the mountain, Suikazan Fuguki's Raging Water Waves had created a muddy lake choked with sand and silt.

On the gentle slope below the summit,

the waters receded.

But only then did Suikazan Fuguki prepare to unleash his full strength. He stirred the vast reserves of Chakra within him, clearly ready to launch another high-level ninjutsu attack.

[Water Release: Raging Torrent]

[Water Release: Water Fang Bullet]

[Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique]

Suikazan Fuguki's assault was relentless. He didn't care in the least about the Chakra he was expending, unleashing ninjutsu nonstop like an artillery platform and pouring out firepower.

But—

the results were negligible.

No matter how large an attack he unleashed or what novel techniques he brought out, Hyuga Ritsu weathered them all. With nothing but Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven, he had Suikazan Fuguki utterly stumped.

Suikazan Fuguki's mood had plummeted from confidence at the start to a face as dark as water. Honestly, it felt like even falling off a cliff wouldn't be this sudden.

Just then, he heard a shout that made things even worse.

"Shisui, let's team up!"

Hyuga Ritsu shouted.

Whether to play the lone hero depended on the circumstances.

When he'd boasted that he'd take care of everything, he'd only meant the ordinary Mist ninja. He certainly hadn't included renowned fighters like Suikazan Fuguki.

Besides, this series of fierce battles had given him a fairly clear understanding of just how capable he was. That had been the point of his earlier boast in the first place.

He was indeed among the top fighters in a village now, but he was a "cripple"—a top-tier fighter when it came to defense.

The Byakugan's perceptiveness and the absolute defense of Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven let him deal with nearly any physical attack. And combining the Byakugan with Shikotsumyaku had greatly improved his ability to adapt on the fly, letting him easily handle ambushes from any direction.

But—

if defense was his strong leg, then offense was his "bad leg."

Whether it was Gentle Fist or Shikotsumyaku, both were sufficiently aggressive and lethal in close combat. And at medium and long range, the former was only good at single-target attacks, leaving him completely lacking in wide-area attacks.

In his memories, Shikotsumyaku's Dance of the Early Wither was a wide-area attack ninjutsu. But this technique was clearly a secret art like Gentle Fist's Rotation. Mastering it required both talent and hard work. He didn't think he lacked talent, but he hadn't had time to put in the hard work, so he hadn't even gotten a feel for the technique yet.

Against nobodies who didn't even deserve to give their names, Gentle Fist and Shikotsumyaku let him take their lives with ease.

But against a master like Suikazan Fuguki, whose Chakra seemed bottomless and who excelled at all manner of Water Release techniques, with no obvious weakness in either offense or defense, he keenly felt the shortcomings of his limited offensive options and inadequate attack power.

As Hyuga Ritsu saw it, there were three best ways to deal with a master who had no obvious weaknesses. The first was to win with an unexpected technique beyond their ability to counter. The second was to break through by force with a killing move of overwhelming power.

At present, Hyuga Ritsu had neither option.

So—

only the third way remained: getting help from someone who could solve the problem—in other words, calling in backup!

In short,

there was no need to keep playing the lone hero. His solo performance was over. It was time for teamwork, coordination, and the power of "bonds"!

"Shisui, stop playing with Hozuki's Prodigy. Let's team up and take down Suikazan Fuguki first!" Hyuga Ritsu called out.

At the sound of his voice,

Uchiha Shisui decisively abandoned Hozuki Suigetsu, who was as hard to kill as a lump of sticky candy. He used the Body Flicker Technique he was famous for, but instead of moving toward Hyuga Ritsu, he instantly attacked Suikazan Fuguki.

In the next moment,

the Great Sword: Samehada in Suikazan Fuguki's hands seemed to come alive. Its spiny body twisted around behind him, forcing the approaching Uchiha Shisui back.

But in an instant, Uchiha Shisui appeared at Suikazan Fuguki's left side again. His hands completed the Hand Seals, and he fired a burst of Phoenix Flower Jutsu straight at Suikazan Fuguki. Suikazan Fuguki reacted quickly, too: the blade of the Great Sword: Samehada unfurled, spreading out like a flat shield and blocking the clusters of flames.

[Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm]

Hyuga Ritsu rushed in, seizing the opening Uchiha Shisui had created. With Suikazan Fuguki's body turned to the side, he fired an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm directly at him, striking him squarely.

With a "pop," Suikazan Fuguki turned into a cloud of milky-white Chakra smoke and vanished.

It was a Shadow Clone.

At this,

Uchiha Shisui raised his eyebrows slightly.

Hyuga Ritsu's gaze swept around.

When had Suikazan Fuguki used a Shadow Clone? And where was his real body hiding? Hyuga Ritsu pushed the Byakugan's power to its limits, looking five meters underground, but still couldn't find him.

"Ritsu, can't you find him?"

Uchiha Shisui asked.

"I can't find a thing."

Hyuga Ritsu replied.

Looking around, the only Chakra signature nearby belonged to the Great Sword: Samehada lying on the ground. Wait—the Great Sword: Samehada?

"Shisui, that sword..."

But before Hyuga Ritsu could say anything more, the Great Sword: Samehada turned into smoke and disappeared. But it wasn't the kind of disturbance caused by a clone vanishing. It was all the signs of a Summoning Technique taking effect.

Hyuga Ritsu instantly pulled his vision farther and wider. About a kilometer away, he saw Hozuki Mangetsu unfurling a scroll. On it was the Great Sword: Samehada, wrapped in Chakra that seemed to repel everything around it.

Then,

Hozuki Mangetsu swiftly rolled up the scroll, hoisted the Great Sword: Samehada onto his shoulder, and sprinted toward the spot where the Mist ninja had gathered at the foot of the mountain.

"Ritsu, what's going on?"

Uchiha Shisui came over, holding his short sword.

"He's already gotten away."

"Gotten away? How?"

"Suikazan Fuguki was most likely hiding inside the Great Sword: Samehada. Hozuki Mangetsu just used a Summoning Technique to call the sword over. He's heading down the mountain now. We won't catch up."

"Hiding inside the sword? You can do that?"

Uchiha Shisui was taken aback.

This was new information the village had never uncovered.

"The Great Sword: Samehada... there's definitely something special about that sword. What a shame. I thought we could team up and take down Suikazan Fuguki today. I guess top-tier fighters really are hard to kill."

Hyuga Ritsu watched Hozuki Mangetsu flee, his thoughts already drifting elsewhere as he struggled to recall the move the surviving boy of the Kaguya Clan had used just before his death—the move that had nearly killed the future Fifth Kazekage.