After leaving the desert of the Land of Wind, the battle shifted through more than a dozen different environments.
Not once did any of them favor Tōru.
Now, they had arrived somewhere both sides knew extremely well—the middle of a Konoha street, directly in front of the Military Police Force headquarters.
After nearly half an hour of continuous combat, both Tōru’s physical strength and chakra had reached their limits.
His body was covered in countless wounds.
Judging solely by his appearance, he could have played the lead in the most terrifying children’s horror movie without needing any makeup.
“Uchiha Style: Solar Halo Dance!” Shisui’s true body and three Shadow Clones simultaneously unleashed a fierce wave of rising flames.
Tōru’s leg had been injured by an explosion earlier in the battle.
Because he hadn’t deactivated his Sharingan, the intense white light surrounding the flames, resembling a solar halo, severely disrupted his vision.
He had no time to dodge.
His only option was to press his back against one of the clones, taking the damage from only a single attack at the cost of being launched into the sky like a rocket.
But the tremendous heat of the flames surged into his body.
A series of coughs burst from his mouth like a herd of wild horses, accompanied by blackened blood.
At this point, Tōru’s injuries had become so severe that even the Transparent World could no longer precisely control his lungs, which had been scorched by the extreme heat.
Ever since Uchiha Shisui had decided to fight seriously, Tōru had been unable to gain the slightest advantage.
Shisui understood the importance of playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses far too well.
He simply refused to engage Tōru in close combat.
Tōru possessed extraordinarily powerful swordsmanship, but there was a problem—he couldn’t hit his opponent.
Even if he managed to close the distance, Shisui would immediately use the Body Flicker Technique to retreat, followed by Shadow Clones, shurikenjutsu, Fire Release, and Wind Release techniques.
Even Tōru’s extraordinary dynamic vision couldn’t allow him to completely evade large-scale ninjutsu attacks.
As time passed, minor injuries accumulated and gradually reduced the efficiency of his body’s movements.
Eventually, those minor injuries became serious ones.
Just like now.
But the battle hadn’t been completely fruitless.
After experiencing this fight, Tōru had decided that he needed to learn some long-range offensive methods and ninjutsu for emergencies.
Most importantly, he needed to master several methods of rapidly closing the distance to an opponent.
Otherwise, there was no way for him to make full use of his greatest advantage.
From this perspective, one of Shisui’s goals in fighting him—awakening Tōru’s interest in ninjutsu—had already been accomplished.
“This should be the end, Tōru.” Shisui wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking somewhat exhausted.
The determination of Itachi’s little brother was truly unbelievable.
Even the ruthless, battle-hardened shinobi of Kirigakure rarely fought to this extent.
Shisui could tell that although Tōru was using some method to control his injuries, the amount of blood he had lost was already enough to make an ordinary person faint twice over.
Yet Tōru had endured it.
He had endured all the way to this point.
If they continued fighting, however, Shisui would have to cheat and replenish his own chakra.
As for his Mangekyō Sharingan abilities, they couldn’t be used inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi-like genjutsu space created by his Kotoamatsukami.
And even if they could, he had no intention of using them.
The gap in combat power would become far too great, and Tōru wouldn’t learn anything from the battle.
Shisui’s eyes narrowed as he watched Tōru reach the peak of his trajectory, pause briefly, and then begin descending.
He formed the twenty-ninth Tiger Seal of the day.
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!” His three clones formed another set of hand seals.
“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” A tremendous current of air instantly filled the street.
The violent wind pressure propelled the blazing fireball upward at incredible speed, like a burning sun crashing into the moon.
Tōru stopped coughing.
His eyes remained fixed on the approaching flames as he calmly calculated the distance between them.
When the fireball was less than three meters away, Tōru twisted his body.
The ring-shaped Water Blade spun around him like a high-speed propeller.
Its serrated edge sliced directly through the incoming Great Fireball.
Then the Water Blade detached from Tōru’s body and rolled downward!
Shisui’s three clones had no time to evade.
The suddenly expanding Water Wheel sliced all three of them in half.
But Shisui’s true body was nowhere to be seen.
After that single attack, Tōru’s condition visibly deteriorated.
His vision suddenly went black.
He nearly lost his sight entirely.
When his vision returned, everything was spinning.
The Water Blade at his fingertips had also begun to deform.
A Water Wheel of equivalent scale consumed more than three times as much chakra when used on Konoha’s streets as it had in the ocean.
This demonstrated just how important the environment was to a Water Release shinobi.
And in the instant Tōru’s consciousness wavered, dozens of kunai attached to fine steel wires flew precisely past his armpits, neck, ankles, wrists, and the backs of his knees.
The wires suddenly tightened.
Tōru was bound tightly, stretched into a flat starfish-like position.
After a sharp pain spread across his skin, Tōru realized that a web of steel wire had suspended him directly above Konoha’s main street.
Blood dripped steadily from his torn skin.
There was nothing he could do.
Given his current condition, even if he could see the attacks coming, he was no longer capable of dodging them.
“Tōru.
It’s over.” Shisui stood on one of the thin wires stretched across the street, balanced as lightly as a bird.
“Sometimes surrendering or begging for mercy is also a strategy.
There’s nothing shameful about it.” The purpose of this spar had been to teach Tōru how to deal with shinobi.
That naturally included how to survive after being captured.
But after glancing at the countless punctures, cuts, and burns covering Tōru’s body, Shisui suspected convincing him would be difficult.
Most geniuses in the world died young because of precisely this kind of pride.
And Uchiha pride usually had to be multiplied by three.
“If you’re willing to admit defeat, just give me a signal.
Then we can wrap things up and go have lunch.” Shisui stroked his chin.
“But if you refuse, you’ll have to bear the consequences.
“If this were a real enemy, continuing to stubbornly resist would only anger them.
Being killed would already be the best possible outcome.
“On the other hand, surrendering can often give you a chance to counterattack or be rescued.” Perhaps if he experiences the fear of death once, he won’t fight so desperately when he encounters other shinobi…
Even now, Shisui was thinking about how to make Tōru learn the lesson.
But Tōru, covered in wounds, didn’t surrender as Shisui expected.
Instead, without saying a word, he began pulling at the wires binding his body.
His face, stained with blood yet cold as ice, carried an unnerving determination.
It was difficult to imagine that, before today, his only combat experience consisted of fighting a few half-grown children.
Why can he endure this kind of pain?
Or does he know with absolute certainty that this is merely a genjutsu, allowing him to overcome his fear of pain?
“In that case…” Shisui understood that regardless of which possibility was true, Tōru’s psychological issues would have to be handled slowly by Itachi and Sasuke.
Especially this complete disregard for his own body in battle.
That urgently needs to be corrected.
“Then I’ll have to force this battle to an end.
“Experiencing what it feels like to die ahead of time can also be a unique experience for you.” Above them, Itachi nervously pressed his lips together.
He was worried about the possible impact this could have on Tōru.
At the same time, he desperately wanted the battle to end.
Even though it was only an illusion, every time Tōru expressionlessly endured another injury, it felt like an invisible blade was cutting into Itachi’s own heart.
But since Tōru had decided to leave home and train on his own, this trial was unavoidable.
Otherwise, Itachi would never be able to feel at ease.
Why had Shisui continued fighting Tōru using Uchiha methods after telling him how to protect himself from ANBU?
Itachi knew exactly who Shisui was teaching Tōru to guard against.
He didn’t stand on either side.
Neither side could be completely trusted.
Shisui finished speaking.
He immediately leapt high backward.
As he completed his hand seals, his chest and mouth expanded simultaneously.
“Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!” A huge orange-yellow dragon head, resembling an ornate piece of carved furniture, emerged from the flames.
The distorted air around it twisted violently as the fire dragon lunged toward the tightly bound Tōru.
Although it was nearly ten meters away, Tōru could already feel as though a layer of wax had been spread across his relatively insensitive face.
His skin was dry and numb.
His eyes burned fiercely.
Even his nostrils were filled with the distinctive smell of curling, scorched hair.
The Dragon Flame Jutsu was relatively small in scale, but unlike the Great Fireball, which was primarily used for explosions and visual interference, this technique was no mere showpiece.
Its flames burned at an extremely high temperature.
If Tōru took the attack head-on, he would die instantly without suffering too much pain.
So it seemed that Shisui was still being merciful.
Is this the strength of an ordinary Jōnin?
What a dangerous world…
But if I can endure this much, Tokito and Rengoku should only be stronger than me.
Tōru knew this was merely a training exercise.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words “I surrender.” Aside from the discipline and pride he possessed as the Water Hashira, there was another reason.
Tōru’s hypothetical enemy wasn’t the hostile shinobi seen by Shisui and Itachi.
Nor was it the village leadership seen as an enemy by some members of the Uchiha Clan.
His hypothetical enemy was that gigantic monster that had nearly buried the three brothers beneath the ruins six years ago.
He didn’t believe that a shinobi world this vast could contain only one such monster.
Perhaps creatures like that were like the Twelve Kizuki.
Perhaps they would appear again someday.
But would creatures taller than a village, possessing eyes similar to Muzan Kibutsuji’s, rampaging without restraint and incapable of communication, listen to his pleas for mercy?
Probably not.
Therefore, without absolute confidence in victory, he had to be prepared to die.
Only by facing death the same way I face injury can I fight any opponent without hesitation.
Tōru watched the approaching fire dragon.
He slowly closed his eyes.
The final ripple on the surface of his heart disappeared completely.
A heart as still as water.
That was what Tōru was like now.
It wasn’t despair, nor was he giving up resistance and waiting for death.
He was simply facing the threat of death as though it were an ordinary matter.
Only by doing so could he prevent unnecessary emotions such as fear and anger from causing mistakes when facing a truly dangerous enemy.
This was the unshakable resolve of the Water Hashira.
“Tōru, imagine the surface of the water…
Imagine water without a single ripple…
Water Breathing is an unyielding shield capable of withstanding any attack…” Master Urokodaki’s words echoed in his ears.
“Water Breathing…” The fire dragon was less than a meter away.
The heat ignited Tōru’s clothes.
The skin on his face cracked and warped.
“Eleventh Form…” Suddenly, a huge ice-blue droplet fell from his ankle.
It floated in midair.
Then it spread outward like a wave, dyeing the surrounding space the same shade of blue.
It was as though Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa had become reality.
The space around Tōru had already become dreamlike, half-real and half-illusory.
“Dead Calm.” The roaring fire dragon disappeared into thin air just as it was about to engulf Tōru.
It was as though it had entered an invisible alternate dimension.
The flames on Tōru’s body disappeared as well.
The ice-blue liquid beneath his feet continued spreading, as though it had suddenly received an additional source of energy.
It expanded into an exquisite lake of translucent liquid mercury reflecting the sky.
When it reached a radius of roughly ten meters, it finally reached its limit.
Then, as though time itself had reversed, it flowed backward and shrank.
Like a living thing, it returned to the sole of Tōru’s foot.
Tōru opened his eyes.
His charred face somehow looked more energetic than before.
My physical strength and chakra…
have both been restored?
And my injuries have recovered considerably…
He reached out and pulled hard.
The wire wrapped around his right hand snapped instantly.
This was the ninjutsu-like ability of his Eleventh Form.
Within the range of Dead Calm, all non-Water Release and non-Kekkei Genkai techniques were nullified.
They were broken down into chakra and physical energy, which then replenished and repaired Tōru’s body.
Most importantly, the technique required very little chakra.
The key was entering a state of absolute calm.
To attack Tōru within the range of Dead Calm, an opponent could only use close-quarters combat, Water Release, or a Kekkei Genkai.
In other words, they had to defeat Tōru in his own strongest domain.
Itachi stared wide-eyed, completely unable to understand what had happened.
He instantly used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared beside Shisui.
“What happened?” “That wasn’t me.” Shisui shook his head in disbelief.
“I don’t completely understand it either.
He wasn’t even holding a sword…” Then he waved toward Tōru, who had already broken free of the wires.
“That’s enough.
That’s enough.
I’m done.” If I don’t cheat, I’ve only got enough chakra left for three more Dragon Flame Jutsu…
After he said that, a blinding white light flashed simultaneously in Itachi’s and Tōru’s eyes.
When they recovered, they were back in the mountain ravine beside the Naka River.
The roaring waterfall proved it.
For the first time, Itachi found the sound incredibly soothing.
After checking himself and confirming that leaving the genjutsu had caused no abnormalities, Itachi immediately turned to Tōru.
He carefully confirmed that Tōru had no injuries and showed no signs of psychological collapse.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
“Tōru, this time, I’ll consider it your victory.
As promised…” Shisui paused.
He stretched lazily before leaning forward and resting his arms on the table.
He folded his hands and rested his chin on them.
His slightly tired eyes stared at Tōru as though he were looking at a priceless treasure.
“I’m not going to say I’m merely lending this place to you anymore.
“I don’t use it anyway.
“From now on, everything here belongs to you.
“Besides, technically speaking, this is clan property to begin with.” Tōru blinked.
It was impossible to tell whether he was surprised or troubled.
“Is that really okay?” “I’ll be leaving ANBU soon anyway and heading toward the Land of Water for patrol duty.” Shisui smiled brightly.
“You’re so good at taking care of things, so just look after this place for me.” “Besides, other than this valley, I can’t think of anywhere better to conceal your strength.
“That last move really scared me.” “I’ll repay you.” Tōru desperately needed a secluded and secure place to practice Flame Breathing, so he didn’t refuse.
Besides, strictly speaking, Moon Breathing wasn’t a technique belonging to the Demon Slayer Corps.
Once he learned it, he could simply teach it to Shisui as repayment.
From Tōru’s observations, years of practicing Water Breathing had given him an exceptionally high affinity for Water Nature chakra.
So if Shisui practiced Moon Breathing, perhaps it would likewise increase his mastery over Yin Release chakra.
Given how much he loved genjutsu, he would surely find that useful.
The only problem was that Shisui would probably have to wait several more years.
“Since you put it that way, I’ll look forward to it, Tōru.” Shisui raised a brilliant smile.
Then he picked up the bamboo tube resting nearby and lightly nudged it.
It rolled across the table toward Itachi.
Inside was the ninjutsu scroll Tōru had previously used to learn Water Release: Water Blade Slash, containing the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju’s lifetime experience and research into Water Release.
“While I’m away from the village, I’ll leave this in your care.” He looked almost like someone asking a favor.
Itachi had originally been unwilling to accept something so precious.
He knew that once he accepted it, even if he later tried to return it, Shisui would never take it back.
He would probably come up with some clumsy excuse like, “I’m still busy.
You can keep looking after it for me a little longer.” Furthermore, Shisui’s real intention was probably to have Itachi learn the techniques recorded inside before teaching them to Tōru.
Shisui hadn’t given the scroll directly to Tōru because he probably worried that giving Tōru two gifts at once would make him uncomfortable.
He really does love taking care of other people…
In the end, Itachi couldn’t resist the warmth and sincerity in Shisui’s brother-like gaze.
He silently accepted the bamboo tube.
The object itself wasn’t heavy.
Yet in his hands, it felt like a weighty burden of trust and expectation.
And so…
Tōru finally had a place where he could secretly practice Flame Breathing.
He gazed at the waterfall in the distance, its mist rising into the air.
Before the Ninja Academy opened, he was determined to accomplish his goal.
There was just one problem.
Finding a way for the resurrected Kyojuro Rengoku to remain in Konoha legally and legitimately seemed like it would be troublesome as well.
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