The moment Ōnoki identified his opponent's fatal weakness, a thought surfaced in his mind—
Eliminate him. Now.
If he used his Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique to subtly interfere with Shunshin Shimizu, even a sudden shift in body weight would disrupt his movement for an instant.
And in a battle at this level…
An instant was enough.
If Shimizu lost his footing—if he slipped off the water's surface for even a fraction of a second—
Then Han, in his current state, would definitely land a hit.
And once that happened…
Shunshin Shimizu would fall.
Yes.
Just a slight intervention.
All of this would be for Iwagakure's future.
Eliminating such a troublesome enemy now would only reduce their losses in future wars.
As the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of the Two Scales—
He was even willing to bear the infamy for a lifetime.
Then so be it.
He slowly raised his hands.
At that exact moment—
A sharp, hawk-like gaze locked onto him.
The Third Raikage.
You intend to stop me? Ōnoki thought, his eyes narrowing.
Would you really risk everything… for a Konoha shinobi?
But in that brief hesitation—
By the time Ōnoki's gaze returned to the battlefield, he saw Jiraiya already stepping forward.
That bastard… he was warning him.
Jiraiya brought his hands together, his expression turning grave.
"As the Kage of a hidden village, if you choose to break an agreement and strike from the shadows…" His voice was low, but carried unmistakable weight. "Then Iwagakure will not leave here today."
Ōnoki's eyes narrowed further, a dangerous glint flashing within them as he weighed the consequences.
Should I just eliminate Jiraiya as well?
But he knew Jiraiya's strength all too well.
Hands clasped together like that—he was ready to enter Sage Mode at any moment.
A state that drew upon natural energy, amplifying every aspect of the user's abilities.
Jiraiya had once defeated Rōshi on the battlefield using it.
A hard opponent.
The real question was—
What would Kumogakure do?
Would they step in to support Konoha?
Or sit back and watch, waiting to reap the benefits?
And above all…
The Third Raikage's power was the one thing Ōnoki truly feared here.
While these thoughts clashed in his mind, the battle below came to an abrupt halt.
Han stood there, breathing heavily.
His vision had begun to blur, making it increasingly difficult to track his opponent. Realizing this, he stopped attacking altogether.
He was not a perfect jinchūriki.
He couldn't fully control complete transformation at will—four tails was already his limit.
And even that state couldn't be sustained for long. The violent chakra of the tailed beast was steadily eroding his consciousness.
Still…
Even under those conditions, he hadn't managed to touch so much as a corner of Shimizu's clothing.
And in the midst of constant evasions, Shimizu had even launched multiple counterattacks with Lightning Release.
His speed… truly lives up to the name "Shunshin."
But—
This was an enemy he had to defeat.
Even if it cost him his life.
"Are you… only capable… of running away?!" Han roared hoarsely, his voice barely holding together.
"So you're finally out of stamina," Shimizu replied.
During that brief lull, one of his water clones had already retrieved the sword that had fallen earlier.
Now, he took it back, giving it a few casual swings before letting out a faint scoff.
"All bark, no bite."
"You… don't… dare… take my punch…" Han muttered unwillingly, shaking his swelling head.
"If it can't hit, it can't hit. Why all the whining?" Shimizu raised his sword slowly.
Despite relying mostly on evasion and occasional counters, three consecutive battles had already drained a significant portion of his chakra—even at his near-peak jōnin level.
From here on, he had to conserve it.
Ninjutsu would only be used at critical moments.
Swordsmanship and taijutsu—
Those were the most efficient ways to fight.
Under his breath, barely audible, he murmured:
"You've had your fun…"
"…now it's my turn."
Instant Water.
His figure vanished—
—and a blade descended.
Han hurriedly raised his guard.
A flash of blue light split the air.
He let out a muffled grunt.
Though the razor-sharp Wind Release chakra coating the blade failed to break through the tailed beast cloak's defense…
The pain was very real.
Snarling, Han swung his fist in retaliation—
A violent gust roared outward, sending waves crashing across the water.
There was no sign of Shimizu behind him.
"Not bad," came a calm voice from dozens of meters away, lightly praising him.
Shimizu stood at a distance, his gaze steady.
The so-called chakra cloak was, at its core, nothing more than a dense layer of condensed chakra. To break through it, there were only two options—either exhaust that chakra entirely, or possess overwhelming piercing power to punch straight through it.
And with that last strike, he had already tested its limits.
Han's chakra reserves were no longer what they had been at the start.
Those intermittent Lightning Release: White Lightning attacks hadn't been random—they were deliberate probes, meant to gauge the cloak's defensive strength.
At first, the cloak had been completely unmoved.
Then, it began to ripple.
And just now, it had visibly trembled under impact.
Unless Han could draw out even more chakra…
That defense would only continue to weaken.
But could his body still handle borrowing more power from the tailed beast?
With his body already pushed so close to its limits—
How much longer could he last?
Shimizu moved again.
Instant Water.
This time, he appeared behind Han once more.
A streak of blue cut down through the air.
The chakra cloak blocked the blow again.
Han reacted a beat too slow, turning with a heavy punch—but by then, Shimizu had already shifted to his right side.
Another flash of blue.
Then another.
And another.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of blue slashes rained down upon Han in relentless succession.
He struggled to keep up, trying to respond to the Shimizu who flickered around him like a phantom—but gradually, it became too much.
At first, every strike was met with a counterpunch.
Then, he could only respond once for every two attacks.
Then one for every three.
It wasn't that Han had slowed down—
It was that Shimizu had become faster.
So fast that he had surpassed the limits of human perception. At this level of speed, no nervous system could keep up; no conscious reaction could match it.
Shimizu had stopped thinking entirely.
He simply let his body move on instinct—flickering, striking, repeating.
Bit by bit, the dark red aura surrounding Han was overwhelmed by an ever-denser storm of blue light.
"What kind of swordsmanship is that?!" Killer B exclaimed in shock.
Even as a master swordsman himself, he couldn't discern any pattern in Shimizu's strikes.
And he wasn't the only one.
To everyone watching, Shimizu's movements had long since vanished—leaving behind only streaks of blue light slicing through the battlefield.
No one could see him anymore.
At last—
The blue overwhelmed the red.
With a sharp, crystalline crack, Han's chakra cloak shattered.
An opening.
Kill him.
Shimizu vanished once more.
But in that instant—
An immense force suddenly pressed down on him.
What—?!
At such extreme speed, even the slightest shift in balance was catastrophic. His center of gravity faltered, and he nearly fell—but with a quick palm to the surface, he flipped midair and landed back onto the water.
Floating before him—
Was the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of the Two Scales.
"Konoha… you will regret this," Ōnoki said, his eyes narrowing, his tone utterly serious.
The pressure he exuded felt almost tangible.
He intended to kill him.
Of course he did.
A man who stood at the very peak of the shinobi world had both the confidence and the strength to back it up.
Yet Shimizu met his gaze without flinching, his voice calm.
"I've heard that one before."
"Hmph. Still talking tough," Ōnoki snorted, raising his hands slightly, as though weighing whether to act.
And in that fleeting moment of hesitation—
Shimizu lifted his own left hand openly, pointing a single finger straight at him.
"You actually dared to interfere and ambush me just now…"
His eyes sharpened.
"You really think I'm afraid of you?"