He was struggling with a very large conger, and holding fast with one hand to the side of the vessel, in order to seize with the other the gaping jowl of his antagonist, when the master said to him, Take care they don't see you from Belle-Isle.
In Naruto each base-element is stronger and weaker than one element:-. Fire: strong against Wind, weak against Water. Wind: strong against Lightning, weak against Fire. Lightning: strong against Earth, weak against Wind. Earth: strong against Water, weak against Lightning.
Earth is strong against water because earth naturally contains water or absorbs water to the point when it becomes muddy then dries up but weak against lightning because it can easily travel through and break the ground apart. In the anime, Earth Release was shown being used in conjunction with Fire Release.