The Water Severing Wave was one of the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's ultimate killing techniques—a brutal, two-stage strike designed with a singular purpose: once a target was hit, they were split in two.
This S-rank Water Style jutsu worked by expelling an ultra-high-pressure jet of water from the user's mouth. The cutting power of this high-speed stream was devastating.
While there were no precise metrics for its pressure in kilopascals or its flow rate in kilometers per second, one thing was certain: the water pressure and velocity within this technique represented the absolute pinnacle of Water Style. It reached a level where it could sever anything in its path.
Beyond its sheer power, the Water Severing Wave boasted an immense attack range and a wide field of effect. It was a technique that even a Jinchuriki could not simply shrug off.
In principle, it functioned similarly to Hagoromo's Iron Sand blades.
Hidden within the veil of his Water Encampment Wall, Hagoromo's vision remained unimpeded by his own technique. Conversely, the enemy was blind to his movements within the swirling vortex.
Roshi had no way to judge the angle or method of the coming assault.
In fact, while the enemy believed he was still focused on defense, Hagoromo had already transitioned into a lethal offense.
The Water Severing Wave sliced through the Water Encampment Wall itself. Because the strike was so swift, the upper half of the fluid barrier remained momentarily suspended, frozen in its original shape as if the wall were still intact.
Threat! Crisis! Danger!
In an instant, Roshi's perception of the danger posed by this Water Style reached its peak. Is it unavoidable?
In life-or-death moments, the more skilled a shinobi, the more they are capable of reactions that surpass even their own expectations.
Within the negligible heartbeat before the Water Severing Wave could strike, Roshi managed to manifest the defensive jutsu he had used before.
Lava Style: Granite!
It was a defense of immense scale and strength, but Roshi didn't stop there. Accurately gauging the lethality of the incoming strike, he deployed a Multi-Layered Granite!
The previous granite shield had stopped Hagoromo's Water Dragon.
However, the moment this multi-layered defense met the Water Severing Wave, it was bisected instantly.
The technique's true power was perfectly showcased.
Yet, that slight delay—that fraction of a second—was all Roshi needed to dodge. With the attack angle identified and the momentum momentarily checked by his defense, Roshi threw himself clear.
"That jutsu... its power and timing were perfect. One cannot achieve such a feat without substantial combat experience. Considering your age... it is worthy of respect," Roshi said, his expression far grimmer than before.
In the world of shinobi, your jutsu is your voice.
"As expected, he dodged it," Hagoromo thought, a trace of regret flickering in his mind.
When battling a Jinchuriki, there was one golden rule: do not let the fight become a war of attrition. If the battle devolved into a contest of chakra reserves, the outcome was predictable.
An average shinobi's chakra was simply on a different order of magnitude compared to a Tailed Beast. Competing on that front was not a wise choice.
While suppressing him gradually with Water Style is a sound strategy, my chakra won't allow it. More importantly... I simply don't have that kind of time.
Hagoromo silently considered his next move. He could no longer hear any sounds from Kakashi's direction. The 'Greatest Technician of Konoha' hasn't kicked the bucket already, has he?
"So..."
In the end, after all the tricks and schemes, he still had to rely on the lightning.
The fluctuations of chakra around him receded completely, replaced by a lightning radiance that burned brighter than ever before.
Hagoromo began to walk toward Roshi, step by step.
Lightning Style? Does he think close-quarters combat will favor him?
Roshi watched him, perplexed. Close combat was rarely a good choice against a Lava Style user. He couldn't quite grasp Hagoromo's intent.
"It's stage two."
As if reading his confusion, Hagoromo offered a helpful hint.
This shinobi was strong, but he didn't even have his own theme music—which meant he fell within the "killable" category. It was best to end this before the man underwent Tailed Beast Transformation; otherwise, things would get complicated.
In Roshi's eyes, the Lightning Style aura around Hagoromo grew more intense... until "intense" was no longer a fitting description.
The lightning flowed like liquid fire, expanding outward in concentric rings.
Five meters. Ten meters. Twenty meters. Thirty meters.
With Hagoromo at the center, a fifteen-meter diameter became a realm of lightning.
A Lightning Domain—and a Lightning Prison for his enemy.
The leaking energy caused the surrounding snow to vaporize instantly, while something within the earth seemed ready to surge upward.
Seeing "Lightning Style" on such a scale, even Roshi—still coated in his Lava Style Chakra Mode—felt an instinctive sense of dread.
He retreated rapidly, his experience and reason telling him that stepping into that zone was absolute suicide.
But it wasn't enough!
A buzzing sound, like ten thousand swarming bees, filled the air, harmonizing with the crackle of electricity emanating from Hagoromo.
Swoosh!
Before the sound even registered, Roshi instinctively tilted his head!
A whip of iron sand snapped upward from the edge of the Lightning Domain! Launched by electromagnetic acceleration, its speed was unfathomable.
The buzzing sound came from the high-frequency vibration of the iron sand. It tore through Roshi's lava armor with ease, leaving a shallow laceration across his cheek.
If he hadn't dodged, would it have pierced his skull? There were no "ifs" in battle; a miss was a miss.
The blood wasn't vaporized by Roshi's own heat; it trickled down his cheek.
Since standard Lightning Style can't even breach his defense, I'll just go straight to Level 5.
High-frequency vibrating iron sand surpassed any blade; it was sharp enough to slice through anything the user desired.
To maintain the element of surprise, Hagoromo hadn't used the sand from the gourd on his back. Instead, he had secretly extracted it from the earth beneath them.
The results proved the effectiveness of the tactic.
The Lava Style Chakra Mode could not withstand the high-frequency iron sand blades. Before the intense heat could melt the sand, Hagoromo could turn Roshi into a human pincushion!
Hagoromo accelerated instantly! He closed the distance!
The lightning did its work, paralyzing and restricting the opponent's movements. No matter how Roshi tried to maneuver, he found he could not escape the fifteen-meter radius around Hagoromo.
Whips, blades, and arrows of iron sand erupted from the ground in a relentless barrage!
With the numbing effect of the electrical discharge, even if Roshi were as agile as a monkey, he couldn't dodge such a dense assault. In a heartbeat, his body was covered in wounds of varying sizes.
But was Hagoromo satisfied? He wasn't a sadist; there was no satisfaction in this—none of the strikes had hit a vital organ!
Still, I can finish him through blood loss alone.
But matters were never that simple. Driven into a corner with no way to advance or retreat, Roshi grew livid.
This meant that after years of pushing his luck, Hagoromo had finally overplayed his hand.
An enraged Jinchuriki began his Tailed Beast Transformation.