The teasing voice echoed in Torifu's ears, making his mind a little hazy. This guy was definitely not easy to deal with. Rain easily dodged Torifu's attack, and the two of them pulled away from each other.
"Since you're so serious, I'll be serious too. I hope you're tough enough."
He lightly waved his right hand, and a gentle wave of seawater floated toward Torifu, surrounding him. Torifu slashed it with his sword, but the seawater quickly came back together. It continuously tightened around him, and Torifu could feel his chakra flow becoming a little restricted. It had to be the work of this seawater. He then made his chakra burst forth! An ice ring spread out from Torifu's feet, freezing half of the beach. The seawater surrounding him was no exception; it was frozen into ice and shattered into pieces on the ice.
Torifu used a few Body Flickers to get close to Rain! He then channeled his chakra into his sword and unleashed a slash! A clear crane cry echoed on the beach! An extremely sharp blade of sword chakra shot toward Rain! The blade was incredibly fast and contained Ice Release chakra. All of Rain's Water Release jutsus were broken through, which only added to the power of the blade.
At this point, it was too late to dodge, so Rain could only use his hands to block it! The moment his hands touched the sword chakra, fish scales immediately grew on them. The scales seemed even harder than steel and were able to resist the sword chakra. Torifu took the opportunity to send out several more blades of sword chakra in a row!
Rain, who was struggling to counter the sword chakra, suddenly saw Torifu's movements and his pupils instantly constricted. After using all his strength to neutralize the sword chakra, he immediately dodged to the left. Even so, the blade of sword chakra still cut his arm. The blood that flowed from the wound had already frozen and was giving off a continuous chill. His hands were also trembling slightly, indicating that neutralizing that attack was not as easy as it looked.
Rain's smile had now vanished. When facing Kumotsuru Torifu, he had to be serious, or he might end up dying here. He had to complete the mission that the master had given him. Rain touched the wound on his arm, and it vanished like foam. If it weren't for the bloodstains and tear on his sleeve, it would have been impossible to tell that he had just been injured there.
Torifu wasn't going to give Rain a chance to catch his breath. He once again charged forward with his sword! He used a Body Flicker to appear in front of Rain! He then turned himself into a wisp of mist, surrounding Rain and attacking him from all angles.
"You're certainly a nuisance." Rain complained. A whirlpool appeared beneath his feet, and countless seawater surged out of it, forming a water tornado that enveloped him. For a moment, Torifu's Tsurumi Blade couldn't pierce the tornado; it acted as a shield, protecting Rain.
"Cloud Release: Reverse Crane's Cry Scatter Jutsu!"
Torifu slammed his hand down! The towering tornado instantly scattered into several cloud cranes, which let out a series of cries. In Rain's disbelieving eyes, Torifu's sword went straight through his chest! Blood gushed out, but a hint of a smile appeared on Rain's face.
"This is enough power to be a vessel for the master! I must take you back with me!"
Rain suddenly retreated, pulling the Blade out of his chest. Blood splattered on the beach, blooming like red flowers. But Rain didn't even flinch. The expression on his face was one of surprise and joy. He crossed his arms over his chest, and his wounds quickly healed as the bleeding stopped. Then he suddenly spread them open! A pale-blue wave swept across the entire beach, affecting everyone!
Torifu's ears were immediately filled with endless whispers, as if something was calling to him. The voice was full of desire and temptation. Even Torifu's mind was a little dazed, but he clung to his principles and fought the voice with all his might. But even though his mental strength had increased a lot in the past few days, he could still feel the pain of his mind being torn apart! It was even more violent than the last time!
"Damn it, he wasn't using his full power before." Torifu closed his eyes tightly, clutching his head in agony. The iron-masked guard and Uzumaki Ashina were doing the same, clutching their heads and struggling in pain!
At that moment, the entire beach was a sea of blue, as if they were all at the bottom of the ocean. But even though there wasn't a single drop of seawater, Rain swam around Torifu like a fish. He placed his hands on Torifu's head, a slightly crazed smile on his face. "In the end, you'll still submit to temptation."
Just as he was about to use his jutsu, he suddenly felt his body become immobile. He looked down and saw that several crystals had pierced his limbs, holding him firmly in place. Torifu instantly put distance between them and waved his hand! Extremely sharp crystals grew from the ground in front of him, instantly piercing Rain's chest! Then, crystal toxins were injected into Rain's body, and his entire body began to rapidly crystallize. Even the large mouthfuls of blood he spat out turned into clusters of red crystals as they hit the ground.
The pain in Torifu's head still hadn't subsided. He was just holding on. "You seem very confident in your jutsu, but I'm not that easy to deal with!"
Rain's eyes were fixed on Torifu. Some of his internal organs had already turned into crystals, and he was incredibly weak. "I underestimated you. I didn't think you would get even stronger in these past few days." He used his last bit of strength to release a large swarm of fish made of seawater around him. They swam toward Torifu, blocking his view. When Torifu froze the swarm of fish, he saw that Rain had already broken free from the crystal's restraints and was walking toward the ocean, dragging his half-crystallized legs.
"This is bad!"
Torifu had a feeling he knew what Rain was trying to do! He didn't expect him to have this kind of ability! He stomped his foot! The ice ring quickly spread toward Rain! But the pain in his head prevented him from concentrating on his jutsu! The ice ring moved forward, but it was crooked. However, Rain's legs had already fully crystallized, and he was moving very slowly. The ice ring quickly caught up to him and froze his legs to the beach.
"Just a little further!" Rain looked at the ocean in the distance and gritted his teeth. He then formed a fish-scale-like armor on his hands and slammed them down on his legs! His legs, which had already turned into crystals, couldn't withstand the force and shattered.
Rain, now without legs, looked back at Kumotsuru Torifu. The look in his eyes held an emotion that was hard to place. Anger? Hatred? It seemed to be neither, but there was a hint of envy. Then, as soon as he touched the seawater, Rain turned into a small fish and swam into the ocean.