The Fourth Hokage, who mastered the Rasengan at an early stage, never managed to incorporate nature transformation into it before his death. Kakashi Hatake followed the same path. He set aside the Rasengan and created his own technique, the Chidori, which earned him great renown—though he too fell short at the decisive moment.
Looking at Sasuke Uchiha's condition below, it was evident how unstable Nagare's hastily assembled Chidori Current was at this stage. Its defenses and power had moved beyond Mizuki's initial limits, but the intense electric surges scorched him badly. Burn marks streaked his face, mingled with traces of dried blood. Beneath his torn clothing, no one could tell just how severe his injuries were. Claiming this technique could work in real combat was pure fantasy. Still, reaching even this point in such a short time was truly impressive.
"The Chidori leans more toward lightning-nature transformation; advancing further in shape transformation is far more difficult. Kakashi, you have to admit, your student has done well."
Thanks to Sakura Haruno's protective medical ninjutsu, Sasuke Uchiha's near self-torturous training method had barely achieved decent progress.
Mizuki stood up, brushed off his pants, then stretched his limbs.
"If it's not over yet, I'll head down myself and test him—let's see how far he can really push himself!"
"Given the state Sasuke's in now, wouldn't your personal appearance utterly destroy his morale?"
Kakashi Hatake replied with a bitter smile.
Mizuki shook his head. "I disagree. If Sasuke knew I defeated him so thoroughly without even stepping in myself, wouldn't that be an even greater blow? Wasn't it your idea for him to experience different fighting styles?"
With that, he vanished instantly using the Body Flicker Technique.
In the brief respite, Sasuke gasped for breath through the pain, forcing himself to stretch and stay ready for Mizuki's next strike.
Suddenly, the ground around Sasuke blurred momentarily, and more than ten figures slowly emerged from it, forming another encirclement. Then, raising their hands, they launched a flurry of kunai at him once again.
"Is this Genjutsu? No, some of them are real..."
While constantly deflecting attacks with his own kunai, Sasuke realized most projectiles dissolved into illusions as they passed through him. Occasionally, however, a sharp metallic clang rang out when he deflected a real kunai among the flurry, the solid weight in his hand confirming its reality—it was indeed the most annoying kind of illusion technique: half-phantom, half-real.
Rushing forward recklessly wasn't an option anymore; he'd paid dearly for it earlier. But simply waiting to be defeated wasn't acceptable either. Desperately, Sasuke focused chakra into his eyes. The tomoe within his Sharingan spun rapidly, trying to break free from the genjutsu's grip.
"You still can't escape even after detecting it? That truly is a shame," Mizuki's unpleasant voice reached Sasuke again.
"You might spot a genjutsu, but breaking free? That's another skill altogether—you've got a lot to learn there. The Sharingan is an extraordinary Kekkei Genkai, but it isn't omnipotent. Even a divine blade becomes no more than a butcher knife in the hands of a common man—it takes a true swordsman to unleash its full potential. You seem to have relied too much on your talent, neglecting balanced development of your fundamentals."
"Too many useless words, Teacher Mizuki." Sasuke Uchiha wiped the sweat mixed with blood from his brow to keep it from obscuring his vision. "Is this kind of demoralizing talk part of your attack strategy?"
While speaking, Sasuke rapidly formed hand seals and then opened his mouth wide. Flames burst outward in all directions, quickly covering the surrounding land. Amidst the intense heat, the shadow clones hidden within the genjutsu were completely eradicated.
[Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!]
Watching the raging flames engulfing the area, Mizuki furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Why act so recklessly? Wasting so much chakra just to eliminate physical attacks conjured by illusion techniques?"
At that moment, numerous shuriken suddenly emerged from the flying sparks!
"This is the Manipulated Shuriken Technique? Such a simple move, but I'll admit—you got lucky this time."
The flying trajectory of the spinning shuriken was extremely unpredictable, each one connected and controlled by a transparent thread—an approach quite similar to what Mizuki once used against Deidara.
Indeed, as Mizuki momentarily hesitated, the nearest invisible thread touched his body. Instantly, the shuriken and their attached threads spun around him, binding him tightly at the center. Then came a crisp, chirping sound like a flock of birds. A figure darted out from behind the wall of flames—Sasuke, holding Chidori, his clothes still smoldering slightly at the hem.
"Not bad," Sasuke said. "You won't even lay a finger on me unless you go all out..."
In a flash, the figure closed in. Chidori swiftly descended upon Mizuki, dazzling electric sparks erupted—and then all fell silent.
Sasuke stared in disbelief at Mizuki, who stood completely unharmed.
"You're surprised?" Mizuki smiled. "[Kekkei Genkai] alone isn't enough; one or two high-level jutsu can't change much either. Even the finest weapon requires sufficient foundational ability to wield effectively."
Chidori's piercing power was strong. Against a standard chakra shield, Mizuki probably couldn't guarantee complete defense. If he had tried to withstand it head-on, he might have been injured. But avoiding an attack doesn't mean he had to endure it directly. The speed of Chidori's thrust made it difficult to react in time. Yet at such high velocity, even minor disturbances could alter its direction. By slightly adjusting the angle and position of his chakra shield, Mizuki made Chidori lose its force upon impact, ultimately deflecting entirely. For Mizuki, this wasn't particularly difficult—he could easily modify the shape of his chakra shield.
Suddenly tightening his body, Mizuki executed a substitution jutsu, transforming into a wooden log bound by transparent threads. He reappeared behind Sasuke's side, grabbing the still-sparking arm.
"You're already paralyzed, aren't you? Your movements are definitely lagging now."
He'd pushed past his physical limits using Chidori Current, then came a large-scale fire release, and now another Chidori—this was already starting to break him down. Continuing this fight would lead to injuries requiring more than just a day or two to recover from.
Mizuki pressed his hand against Sasuke's abdomen, channeling a bit of Chakra. The Chakra within Sasuke's body, which was about to circulate again, immediately stalled.
"That's enough for now," Mizuki said. "Are you really determined to fight me until one of us is dead?"
He supported Sasuke by the shoulder so he wouldn't collapse after exhausting most of his strength. Then he activated the Mystical Palm Technique, spreading [healing fluctuations] over Sasuke to ease his external injuries.
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