Under the sudden, violent onslaught of the surging waves, the sturdy embankment crumbled as easily as a biscuit, instantly beginning to disintegrate.
The massive stones that formed the dam beneath Habara's feet shifted like ice floes in the torrent. He struggled to maintain his balance, but the force of the water swept him, along with his foothold, downwards.
A forty to fifty-meter drop lay below, into the ceaselessly rushing river.
An enormous volume of water poured down, as if the sea itself had been inverted. The river's water level rose immediately, creating a new reservoir almost in the blink of an eye.
Seriously, ninjas are such an incomprehensible species. They'll unhesitatingly destroy national-level infrastructure for the sake of a single battle, and yet these same people constantly preach about peace.
The lake water instantly swallowed Habara. Normally, even a Jonin couldn't withstand this kind of impact. Anyone hit directly would be dead or, at the very least, completely incapacitated. This kind of simple, physical force was often the most inescapable.
The giant eagle circled several dozen meters above, carrying Kakashi and Tenzo. They searched for any sign of Habara while keeping a close watch on the two enemies.
Once the "flood peak" had rushed downstream and the reservoir's water level had slowly receded, the massive rock reappeared. On top of it was a hemispherical black shield... Seeing this, Kakashi and Tenzo finally breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, Habara's defenses were always reassuring.
Although the water level was falling, Habara was already soaked to the bone. The roaring sound of rushing water was still deafening... Because of the recent deluge, the dam had been transformed into a man-made waterfall.
Habara stood on the boulder, his feet planted firmly. Once the water level had receded to his ankles, he finally dispelled the shield surrounding his body.
He raised a hand to shield his forehead and craned his neck, looking upwards. But before he could make out anything, the sound of clashing blades reached his ears.
A light splashing sound reached Habara, like a stone dropping into water. But Habara saw a figure leaping down from the top of the "waterfall." This person moved across the cascading water, seemingly even faster than freefall. Habara's gaze rapidly tracked downwards until he was looking straight ahead, and the enemy landed right in front of him.
It was the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Yagura Karatachi. Konoha still couldn't confirm the exact time he became the Fourth Mizukage, but he had been a prominent figure of Kirigakure since the Five Kage Summit.
Thinking about it, it was during the period between the Five Kage Summit and now that Obito Uchiha had completely taken control of the Fourth Mizukage with his genjutsu.
"Fighting a Kirigakure ninja who specializes in Water Release in this environment, especially the Mizukage, seems incredibly disadvantageous," Habara thought to himself.
The Fourth Mizukage was different from the Fourth Kazekage. The specific difference was that one was perfectly countered by Habara, using "inferior ninjutsu" compared to Habara's own, while the other was a Kage-level powerhouse using conventional ninjutsu. For Habara, the latter was a true strong opponent.
"Boom!"
With a loud crash, Kakashi, Tenzo, and Fuguki Suikazan, who had been fighting above, also fell into the reservoir below. Kakashi and Tenzo, combined, should have been stronger than Fuguki, but anyone encountering Samehada for the first time would be momentarily flustered and restricted. Furthermore, the Wood Release user Tenzo wasn't a fully mature ninja at this point, so the two of them were temporarily at a disadvantage.
As if signaled by the trio's fall, the Fourth Mizukage swiftly charged across the water towards Habara. Once he was within range, the Mizukage struck out with a seemingly unremarkable palm strike.
Habara remembered that the Fourth Mizukage had a very powerful control skill. To avoid the so-called "Coral Palm," he naturally wouldn't let the Mizukage's hand touch his body. But just as he dodged the palm strike, a long staff rapidly expanded in his vision. The next instant, he was struck squarely in the chest and sent flying backwards.
Habara tumbled across the water for over twenty meters before finally stopping. He pressed a hand to his chest; the Fourth Mizukage's attack had nearly knocked the wind out of him. Question: What kind of attack are heavily armored units most vulnerable to?
The answer was blunt force.
Warhammers, maces, spiked clubs, iron rods, and other similar weapons delivered heavy blows that armor alone couldn't defend against.
Habara was generally unafraid of slashing attacks. And in the ninja world, there were almost no ninjas who used blunt weapons. Due to this ingrained mindset, Habara hadn't paid enough attention when he first saw the Fourth Mizukage's unique weapon.
He looked up again at the Fourth Mizukage, finding him standing where he himself had just been. His gaze then fixed on the peculiar staff-like weapon held by the Mizukage, thin at one end, thick at the other, and with scorpion-tail hooks at both ends.
If Habara wanted to, he wouldn't be hit by such an attack again. But... this was a rare opportunity. Habara wanted to try a "no-cheating" battle.
Habara slowly stood up, his two longswords already in his hands. But after looking at the opponent's weapon and then comparing it to his own, Habara, a ninja who had always used straight-bladed longswords, decisively tossed both swords behind him.
What a joke. As a ninja with clumsy taijutsu and combat skills comparable to a Genin, what did Habara have to insist on? The era of risky close-quarters combat was over; now was the era where reach was king.
Habara thought for a moment, then gripped his hands together. A three-meter-long pole materialized in his grasp. Then, one end of the pole extended into a silver, curved scythe blade, the blade's length a ridiculously half the length of the pole.
A scythe, as a weapon, was actually completely unsuitable for combat, because its center of gravity was off. However, since Habara's mercury scythe blade was as thin as a cicada's wing, its weight was negligible.
In the middle of a battle, to suddenly pull out a new weapon to counter your own weapon? But could this person even use such a weapon properly? The Fourth Mizukage shook his head, thinking Habara was grasping at straws... The Fourth Mizukage's mental state was rather strange at this moment. To say he was conscious, he had almost no independent will. To say he was completely controlled by genjutsu, his combat-related thought processes were completely unimpaired, and he could almost fully utilize his combat strength.
So, his "thinking" was a bit redundant... What did it mean that switching weapons seemed foolish? That statement was as ridiculous as saying Habara knew how to use a sword. Habara carried a sword around all day, but did that mean he knew how to use it? He just slashed at whatever he saw. In fact, replacing his sword with a Crowbar would be more fitting.
The Fourth Mizukage felt Habara was digging his own grave, so he flicked his wrist, twirling the hooked staff, and then charged at Habara again.
Habara stood completely still. This immobility could easily allow an enemy to calculate the correct timing for an attack. But just as the Fourth Mizukage had crossed two-thirds of the distance, Habara's body abruptly vanished from the spot, leaving only a cluster of brilliant blue lightning accompanied by expanding circular water ripples that spread out in all directions.
In an instant, a figure wreathed in lightning appeared before the Fourth Mizukage. It was only at this moment that Habara's appearance overlapped in the Mizukage's mind with the figure that had charged towards the Third Tsuchikage at the Five Kage Summit... This, too, was the slowness caused by the genjutsu.
Habara thrust his scythe forward like a spear, with incredible speed. The scythe blade was parallel to the water surface, with the edge on the left. With this attack trajectory, Habara's weapon could easily slice off the Mizukage's head... The mercury scythe didn't discriminate which side was sharpened.
But while Habara's speed was fast, his attack was too linear and thus easy to read. Ripples formed under the Fourth Mizukage's feet, and his body seemed to teleport, shifting one position to the right.
The long pole of Habara's scythe grazed past the Mizukage's neck, but the Mizukage didn't relax, because Habara's attack wasn't over. Habara twisted his wrist, turning the scythe's edge to the right. He then changed the forward thrust into a backward slash, putting the Mizukage's not-so-thick neck directly under his blade.
Without a hint of hesitation or delay, Habara stopped his forward momentum and forcefully pulled back on the handle of the giant scythe!
"Clang!"
The next sound was not the sound of a blade slicing into flesh, but the metallic clang of blades colliding. When Habara changed the direction of the scythe blade, the Mizukage pressed down on the end of his hooked staff that was in front of him. The back portion of the staff then rose almost vertically, sticking to his back.
Habara's scythe had only struck the Mizukage's weapon.
Although he hadn't succeeded with one strike, Habara's brute force pull still caused the Fourth Mizukage to stumble forward... He had already been charging forward, and being pulled by such force naturally made him lose his balance.
The Fourth Mizukage's head and neck dipped downward. Habara had a flash of inspiration. He suddenly brought up his knee. With the immense power behind it, he felt that if his knee connected with the opponent's chin, it would at least make the short Mizukage instantly grow thirty centimeters taller... Stretching seedlings to help them grow, you know?
But the Fourth Mizukage simply pressed down on Habara's knee with one hand, using the momentum to level his body in mid-air, easily deflecting the scythe's cut from behind and the heavy knee strike from the front.
The Fourth Mizukage's body was still in mid-air, but his hooked staff, like a viper striking, thrust straight forward and struck Habara's waist. The massive impact once again sent him flying.
Because it was difficult to exert force in mid-air, this time Habara only flew back a few meters. Due to the reaction force, the Mizukage also retreated, widening the distance between them again.
Before Habara could even get back on his feet, Kakashi began yelling from the sidelines, "Habara, move your body naturally! Why are you so stiff? Stiff as a board! With your current strength, you don't need to deliberately exert force! If that knee strike had just connected, it would have directly knocked the enemy unconscious for three to five seconds! With that time, wouldn't the battle be won?!"
That Kakashi was able to shout such a long paragraph in the middle of a fight shows... Well, this definitely wasn't concern for Habara; he simply couldn't stand to watch such a clumsy performance.
He just didn't understand. It's not like he was plowing a field, so why use so much force? Even when plowing a field, the ox knows how to use skill!
Habara slammed his hand down on the water, sending spray flying everywhere. Damn it, I was trying to blow that bastard's head off in one shot! A single hand wasn't enough, the combo didn't work, and he couldn't even retort to the scolding.
There was nothing to be done. The gap in taijutsu between Habara and the Fourth Mizukage was like the gap in chakra reserves between Kakashi and Habara... It was...
Immense.