Kuromizu

## Also See

Nothing in this world, not even death, is as primordial as water.  It has been here before the dawn first broke the skyline, before the continents first rose from the seafloor, before life itself.  Although, it is just as likely that at the end of days, water will be the only thing that remains.  Even now, as individuals enjoy their day to day life, the waves of the sea thrash against the earth, eroding it a little at a time.  Eventually, as this process continues, the glaciers of the frozen north will retreat back into their home, and the towering mountains of earth too will crumble into the sea.  This is the Will of Water, the belief and understanding that all things will be submerged once again, and Kuromizu is just the representation of the Khan’s own belief and understanding of this Will.

## Overview

In every other situation, a technique with such an abyssal hue would be nothing more than an advanced variation of its baser element, but Kuromizu is much more complex than that.  This is due to the fact that the chakra that it is composed of is almost entirely spiritual energy.  So, rather than splashing against the target like waves crashing upon a shore, Kuromizu acts as if it were immaterial and phases through the opponent like it was washing away their sins.  Directly after this, however, the target feels an immense amount of pain coursing through their body.  The cause of this is nothing more than Kuromizu’s spiritual energy, not consuming, but eroding away the target’s physical energy.  Which, when boiled down into simpler terms, means that as Kuromizu passes through an opponent, it breaks down the target’s lifeforce, rather than affect the user directly.

Unfortunately for most who stand against the Great Khan while utilizing this jutsu, they fail to realize Kuromizu’s destructive effect before it is too late.  All they have to thank for that is the Khan’s utilization of learning how to manipulate the spiritual energies like water, causing most of his opponent’s to be caught off guard.  The only way one might notice a change in utilization is that when the Khan uses Kuromizu, he must guide the energies with his hands, oftentimes performing movements akin to a dance.  Due to this, there are a few who’ve spread rumors that the Khan is dancing alongside Death itself when using Kuromizu, which has cause the term Shiodori (死踊, Death's Dance) to arise when it is put into use.

## Trivia

* Kuromizu checks several boxes of for each of it's inspirations, from it's color, usage, and life-draining effect. All of which include, but are not limited to..
	+ H.P. Lovecraft's Call of Cthulu, where Lovecraft describes Space itself as, "The Black Sea of Infinity" which surrounds the "Placid Isle of Ignorance" that is Earth.
	+ In Greek Mythology, there is the River Styx which is both a body of water and deity, which is known for life-draining properties that even the God of the Sea, Poseidon, is capable of drowning in.
	+ In the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Cinematic, Death also known as Malthael, utilizes a river-like fog that rips the souls of mortals effected by it.
	+ One might even be capable of saying that, due to it's power and coloration, it can be the water equivalent of the infamous Amaterasu.