An Adult's Wisdom

Taking on two opponents at once wasn't an impulse on Mizuki's part. The truth was, any one of the three Konoha shinobi was stronger than the enemy. Even he, the weakest of them, was no match inferior to Hozuki Suigetsu. Suigetsu might become very powerful in the future, but at fifteen at most, no matter how skilled he was with a sword, his young body limited how much strength he could bring to bear.

As long as Mizuki used his potions to fight Suigetsu head-on and wear him down, he was confident he could defeat him, even if it cost him something. Suigetsu had beaten Gekko Hayate because of a serious intelligence failure. The Hydrification Technique was too hard to imagine and defend against. The timing and terrain had already been against them, so it could hardly be called a fair fight. And Aoba Yamashiro had really gone and botched things at the last moment, getting himself killed. He'd gotten so used to being a Hokage's guard that he seemed to have forgotten how to clean up after a battle.

It was hard to say how much strength Suigetsu had left after his fierce battle with Hayate. The red-haired man was weak, and his injuries kept him from fighting at full strength. As long as Mizuki's side held out, the odds would steadily improve with time.

"Now all that's left is to see how the green potion works and what side effects it has. It needs to keep me going through this fight, but it can't be so potent that it causes my body to mutate. And the fight can't drag on so long that the effects overtax my body. This is delicate work. I'm really going all out for my first human experiment. The plan certainly hasn't kept up with events."

Mizuki got ready, then created a Shadow Clone to protect Hayate and Aoba. His original body charged straight at Suigetsu. He didn't bother with fancy moves. Mizuki knew better than to try anything clever against a sword master; that would only be showing off in front of an expert and asking for trouble. He went for sheer force, crushing his opponent with blunt, overwhelming attacks.

Suigetsu's swordsmanship was practical, too. He did whatever it took to injure his opponent and get the job done, without a trace of the elegance Mizuki had imagined in a sword master. Mizuki was even more direct: he swung his shuriken as hard as he could. If he could force Suigetsu to block with all his strength, that was good enough. Often, the two blades clashed only once for every two or three cuts Mizuki took.

"Big brother, you seem even worse than that sickly swordsman," Suigetsu taunted. "Just let me cut you down. It'll hurt less."

"Didn't your parents teach you any manners, brat? Don't underestimate an adult. Let your big brother teach you how to respect your elders."

Mizuki bit his finger, planted one hand on the ground, and shouted, "Summoning Technique!"

Black markings rapidly spread out in every direction.

"Captain, watch out underwater!" the redhead shouted, having already suffered at Mizuki's hands once.

Unfortunately, before Suigetsu could react, several transparent tentacles pierced through the green tide and wound their way up his legs. A burst of pain followed wherever they touched, making Suigetsu shudder. Mizuki seized the chance to rush in and stab a shuriken into Suigetsu's heart.

"You're not as strong as you are loud, you arrogant brat," Mizuki said smugly.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Suigetsu gave no reaction at all. He simply thrust the steel sword in his right hand into Mizuki's chest.

There was no time to dodge. A figure appeared behind Mizuki: the redhead had taken the opportunity to block his escape.

"What were you thinking, senior? You knew that wouldn't work, and you still walked right into it?"

At the last moment, Mizuki could only protect his vital organs. The sword pierced his left shoulder blade, while the shuriken slashed into his right shoulder. He was badly wounded in an instant.

The redhead behind him was overjoyed. "We finally won." But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw that Mizuki hadn't retreated. Instead, he was coming straight at him.

"What? You're after me?" The redhead was so shocked he didn't have time to react before Mizuki's kunai pierced his throat.

"Extras should know their place. Once you've served your purpose, get off the stage."

The redhead's throat made a gurgling sound, but he couldn't utter a word. He collapsed in disbelief, sank beneath the surface, and was swallowed by the sea.

As he killed the redhead, Mizuki put all his strength into his right hand and swept his shuriken across. It nearly cut Suigetsu in half, severing his sword-wielding right hand. Mizuki snatched the steel sword from the severed hand and hacked wildly with both hands, chopping Suigetsu into several pieces before leaping back. But he was still a moment too late: a jet of water pierced his right chest.

Suigetsu's body reformed from the Hydrification Technique. Then he flickered forward, and Mizuki felt a crushing weight against his chest before a kick sent him flying.

Damn it. Skipping stones used to be fun when I was a kid, but it's miserable when I'm the stone, Mizuki thought ruefully. A few ribs are broken, and my organs are injured too.

Before Mizuki could catch his breath, Suigetsu appeared again, carrying another sword he'd gotten from somewhere.

"Honestly, senior," Suigetsu said. He still hadn't come over to finish Mizuki off, proving that the saying about villains dying because they talked too much was true. "Even if you take one of us down, what can you do? Struggling will only make it hurt more. You can't change the fact that you're going to die today."

"Fate? A shinobi using a word like that? That's hilarious." Mizuki panted as he spoke. "It's not clear who's going to die yet."

"Oh? Is that so? What can you do now? I'm eager to find out."

"Just you wait."

Mizuki boasted while secretly calculating. The potion was working powerfully; in this short time, it had nearly repaired his fatal wounds. But he'd lost too much blood, and his body was badly depleted. Even so, his opponent looked close to his limit, too.

"Then show me what you've got, senior." Before he'd even finished speaking, Suigetsu had already charged in.

"Too fast." Mizuki looked too badly injured to react, watching helplessly as the blade came down on him. Suddenly, Suigetsu's body went rigid.

"I can't move. What's going on?" Suigetsu was shocked. "Binding Formation! When did you make the Hand Seals, damn it? What is this green stuff? It's in the way, and I can't see underwater at all."

"Caught you off guard, idiot? Now I'll show you an adult's wisdom." Without waiting for Suigetsu to answer, Mizuki took out a scroll and unrolled it, preparing to perform the technique.

"What are you going to do?" Suigetsu grew uneasy.

A lightning-fast figure burst out of the thick fog.

"Who—" Suigetsu exclaimed in shock. "How do you have another helper?" When he saw the newcomer's face, he suddenly understood. "Shadow Clone Technique! When did you—?"

It was none other than Mizuki's Shadow Clone. "Idiot. The redhead is dead, so I don't need to protect our two teammates anymore." Before he'd even finished speaking, he cleanly chopped Suigetsu into pieces.

Suigetsu's body turned into splashes of water once again.

Just then, Mizuki's original body gathered chakra and shouted, "Seal!" The bloodstained scroll released chains made of lines of symbols. They swept up a mass of water and sealed it away in the blink of an eye.

"Seal." Mizuki put the scroll away, then dodged a jet of water that shot toward him.

"Do you think that trick will work again? How could a surprise attack work on someone who's already prepared for it?"

Suigetsu appeared once more amid the splashes, but his face had gone pale.

"What did you do to me?"

"That's what I'd like to ask you. How would I know?"

Only heaven knew what damage sealing away part of his Hydrified body would cause.

"You've made me angry. I'm going to kill you today."

"Try it, if you can." Mizuki taunted him contemptuously. The other guy doesn't have much of a chance now, yet he's still refusing to back down. He's just an impulsive kid with a little skill. But the longer this drags on, the better. It's a good chance to teach you how to behave.

The two of them continued their brutal, mutually destructive battle. The Shadow Clone had long since disappeared. Mizuki endured the agony of repeated sword wounds and the itching numbness as they rapidly healed, while Suigetsu repeatedly reformed from water.

In a way, neither of them could be harmed by physical attacks in the short term. Suigetsu was probably burning through a great deal of chakra, while Mizuki was using up his life force to make up the difference. It seemed they were nearing the end, and all that mattered was who could hold out longer.

As they continued their numb, graceless exchange of blows, a phantom figure suddenly flashed past and cut Suigetsu into four pieces.

"Dance of the Crescent Moon! Was that Gekko Hayate?"

Just as Suigetsu recovered through Hydrification, a shuriken flew past and smashed his head apart again.

Mizuki took the opportunity to land a few more blows, then retreated to stay on guard.

"You two took long enough! My buddy and I were getting tired of playing with this kid. That white-haired brat has no manners at all. He messed up my elegant hairstyle."

"Sorry, Mizuki," Aoba Yamashiro said as he appeared. "I'll buy you breakfast for a month when we get back. But you really look awful."

Mizuki was covered in blood from head to toe. Most of his wounds had healed, but the blood that had flowed out had dried on his body, making him look terrifying.

"He's a rude little brat, but he's got plenty of spirit."

Hayate glared at Suigetsu, looking displeased. "What a spirited young man. Then we'll have to give him a warm welcome." He seemed to still be brooding over his own carelessness.

With the three of them surrounding their opponent, Mizuki no longer held back. This battle had dragged on far too long, and it had been brutal.

"Then let's show you an adult's hospitality."

"Binding Formation, activate." He set the remaining Turritopsis dohrnii in motion. This technique is pretty good. I don't have much offensive power, so I can restrain the enemy and let my teammates attack. Much safer. I won't be so reckless next time. It'll take ages to make up for all the blood I've lost.

With Mizuki's help, Aoba and Hayate attacked without restraint. Suigetsu couldn't even recover his body through Hydrification before they scattered him again and again.

"You look awfully pale. Want to come back to Konoha with us so we can take good care of you?" Seeing victory within reach, Mizuki couldn't resist teasing him.

Suigetsu didn't even get a chance to respond. Seeing that all was lost, he gave up struggling and turned into a puddle, slowly sinking away.

"Trying to run?" Aoba refused to let him go. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A scream rang out, but it still couldn't stop their opponent from escaping.

"Fire Style won't hold him in this environment," Hayate said in frustration.

"Heh. You're just leaving without even saying goodbye? Let me see you off." Mizuki took out a vial of Fission Potion and tossed it underwater.

"Explode!"

The potion burst and scattered.

After a brief silence, a sudden, bloodcurdling scream rang out: "Ah! What is this? What did you do to me? Aah!"