Indeed, even with someone on his back, Shimizu was still faster than any of his pursuers.
But the enemy clearly wasn't limited to a single unit.
Within his sensory range, more chakra signatures appeared—this time directly ahead of him.
And in even greater numbers.
He had already abandoned the hope that they were just passing by.
They had definitely been discovered.
Most likely, they had triggered some barrier set up by Iwagakure while passing through the area.
Impossible to guard against.
At this rate… he'd have to start learning barrier techniques himself.
If he knew them, he could set up his own detection perimeter—or dismantle enemy barriers.
And sealing techniques too…
Right now, he knew almost nothing about either.
Once I get back safely…
Shimizu abruptly changed direction, sprinting deeper into the interior of the Land of Grass.
"Are there enemies ahead too?" Satomi's voice was nearly drowned out by the roaring wind.
"What was that?"
"I said—were there enemies in front just now?" Her lips were almost brushing against his ear.
It tickled slightly.
"Yeah—and more of them!" Shimizu shouted back. "There'll probably be more coming. We'll have to take a wide detour."
Only by circling far enough could they hope to break out of the encirclement.
His efforts paid off.
Until evening, no new enemies appeared within his sensory range.
Finally, he stopped beside a large tree to rest.
But the moment he sat down, the muscles in his legs began trembling uncontrollably.
Six straight hours of high-speed movement…
Even his body was starting to hit its limit.
He took a few steady breaths, still maintaining his vigilance.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Satomi sat quietly beside him. The fading light reflected in her pale Byakugan eyes, casting a strange, almost ethereal glow.
For a brief moment, Shimizu found himself thinking—
Those white, amber-like eyes…
…weren't so bad to look at.
"…Satomi."
"Mm?"
"The human body has 361 chakra points, right?"
"Mm."
"Do the fingertips have them too?"
"They do. Every finger has them."
There's a chance.
A flicker of excitement stirred in Shimizu's chest.
"You see, I've been carrying you this whole time—I can't free both hands. At most, I can spare one… but one hand isn't enough to form hand seals."
"Don't you feel frustrated, just running like this the whole time?"
"That's just how things are. You've already done your best, Senpai."
"…No, that's not what I mean. What if we're forced into a fight?"
He wasn't exaggerating.
If the Land of Earth truly planned to move against the Land of Fire, there could be thousands—
even tens of thousands—
of enemy shinobi waiting along their path.
His sensory range was only 410 meters.
Not 4,000.
If they blundered straight into the enemy's main force…
…they'd be completely surrounded.
And then what?
Satomi froze, unsure how to respond.
"I'm not saying you're a burden," Shimizu added quickly, realizing she might've misunderstood. "What I mean is—if I can still use ninjutsu while carrying you, then even if something happens, we won't be stuck with no options."
"…Senpai, are you talking about one-handed seals?"
"No. No seals."
"…Is that even possible?"
Ninjutsu required hand seals.
That was basic knowledge.
"Minato's Rasengan doesn't need seals. My Lightning Blade doesn't either."
As he spoke, Shimizu activated his technique.
In an instant, the sharp chirping of a thousand birds filled the air, accompanied by crackling arcs of lightning.
So this is the technique he used to instantly kill that enemy… Satomi realized.
"The problem is, it's only effective in close combat. What I need… is a long-range technique."
"I do have one—called Chidori Sharp Spear—but its range is still limited, and it requires seals."
He demonstrated it immediately.
A streak of blue light shot forward, piercing straight through a tree several meters away with terrifying force.
Satomi stared, stunned by the unfamiliar Lightning Release technique.
"…Did you create that one too, Senpai?"
"Yeah. I want to improve this technique," Shimizu said. "So my idea is to first gather a large amount of Lightning Release chakra at my fingertips, then release it directly through the chakra point there. That way… I won't need hand seals."
"And didn't you say that by stimulating chakra points, you can either block or enhance chakra flow?"
"That's right…"
"Then I'll stimulate the chakra points along my entire arm—the ones that can increase flow speed. That should boost the range of the technique. What do you think?"
"In theory… it could work," Satomi said hesitantly. "But Senpai, you don't have the Byakugan."
"But you do."
No one had ever thought to use a Hyuga's Byakugan like this—to assist someone else's training at such a precise level.
Without this chance encounter… without this sudden idea…
Even Shimizu himself would never have considered asking for something like this.
And just so happened—
Satomi still had a small reserve of chakra left from the night a few days ago, carefully conserved until now.
It should be enough to help him complete this experiment.
"…Alright. Let's try it." She made up her mind.
Immediately, she began explaining the fundamentals of chakra points and the meridian system.
You couldn't train without understanding the basics—this wasn't something you could just figure out through guesswork.
And to learn about the chakra pathway system directly from a Hyuga…
That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
After several hours of intensive, almost force-fed instruction—
With the precise guidance of Satomi's Byakugan—
By late night, Shimizu finally succeeded.
From the tip of his index finger, a streak of lightning shot out—stretching nearly four meters—
and pierced straight through a tree.
Its power was no weaker than Chidori Sharp Spear.
"Senpai… you really are a genius," Satomi said sincerely.
In such a short time…a brand-new, no-seal ninjutsu had been born before her eyes.
And not just any technique—
A no-seal ninjutsu.
"You're the one who taught me well."
Shimizu wasn't surprised at all.
His natural affinity for Lightning Release was already exceptional, and with the Byakugan's assistance…
There was no way he wouldn't figure it out.
"The problem is… four meters isn't enough."
That range was still too short.
Even worse than Chidori Sharp Spear.
"That's because you've only used two chakra points to accelerate the flow," Satomi explained. "If you can utilize all twenty-five chakra points along your arm, the range should increase significantly."
"Yeah… makes sense. I'll keep at it."
Shimizu scratched his head, then asked a little awkwardly,
"Um… Satomi, do you still have chakra left?"
"…Just a little."
"Then could you help me map out the other arm too? All fifty chakra points, including the hand."
Satomi smiled softly.
"Of course, Senpai."
…
...
......
By dawn the next day, as the sky began to brighten, Shimizu looked over his results with satisfaction.
From his right index finger, he could now release a Chidori Sharp Spear with a range of eight meters.
And from his dominant left hand—
sixteen meters.
Sixteen meters.
More than three times the range of his original hand-seal version.
The only drawback…was the massive increase in chakra consumption.
At this rate, he'd collapse after just a few uses.
"Senpai… did you not rest at all last night?" Satomi looked around.
Dozens of craters littered the ground.
He'd trained all night?
"Haha, it's nothing," Shimizu said casually. "I'll get you something to eat, then we'll head out."
"Thank you, Senpai."
"You're being polite again."
"…Sorry."
"..."