Chapter 357: Provocation
"You just mentioned Suikazan Fuguki. What are he and Kurosuki Raiga doing now?" Ishiro asked Noboru.
"Lord Sei, ever since the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist suffered heavy losses in Konoha, only Lord Suikazan Fuguki and Lord Kurosuki Raiga returned. However, both were reprimanded by the village's high command. After that, they rarely returned to the village and have been patrolling the borders," Noboru replied.
"Lord Suikazan Fuguki still comes back from time to time, but Lord Kurosuki Raiga seems to have been gone for a very long time. It is precisely because the Mizukage's original supporters, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, all met with misfortune, and the lost swords could not be recovered, that Lord Mizukage's power has been so diminished."
This was something Ishiro hadn't considered before. Now, hearing Noboru's explanation, he understood. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were the loyal subordinates chosen by the Mizukage. Losing the swords meant Yagura Karatachi had one less tool to buy people's loyalty. Furthermore, the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen were confidants of the Third Mizukage, which meant a crucial asset that allowed the Mizukage to suppress other factions was now missing.
If Yagura had the seven swords in hand and had promptly selected a new generation of Seven Swordsmen loyal only to him, he would not have been abandoned by everyone so quickly.
Thinking of the second generation of Seven Swordsmen, Ishiro asked again, "How are the talented juniors in the village doing now? Is there anyone with the potential to succeed as the Fifth?"
Noboru was visibly shaken. This was a question that every other Mist ninja was thinking, but most only dared to think it in their hearts. Hearing Ishiro raise it so brazenly, everyone else in the living room also felt a chill.
Noboru took a deep breath and said, "Currently, I haven't heard of anyone with the strength to inherit the title of Fifth Mizukage."
Ishiro scanned the crowd and asked, "The young lady of the Terumī clan, Mei Terumī; the Momochi clan's Momochi Zabuza; Ringo Ameyuri; and one called Hoshigaki Kisame, who seems to be a subordinate of Suikazan Fuguki. What are their current strength levels?"
The people in the room were not of high status. Although they had heard the names of a few geniuses, they were also very curious about their situations. So, they all perked up their ears, because among these people, there was likely a future Mizukage.
Noboru gave a wry smile. "Lord Sei, I'm not very clear either. Of the geniuses you mentioned, I only know of Mei Terumī and Zabuza. I've heard of Ringo Ameyuri, but her fame isn't great. As for Hoshigaki Kisame, I've never heard of that name at all."
"Zabuza's strength is very high; he was promoted to jonin long ago and might have the strength of an elite jonin by now, but I'm not sure of the specifics. As for Lady Mei Terumī, although she has always had a reputation as a genius, the Terumī clan is very secretive and has never revealed any information about her."
Ishiro was silent for a moment, then continued, "Do you know the whereabouts of Suikazan Fuguki?"
Noboru once again shook his head helplessly.
Originally, Ishiro had wanted to ask Noboru if he knew anything about the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, but he decided against it. He figured Noboru wouldn't be privy to such confidential information.
Just then, a thought struck Ishiro, and he turned his gaze towards the door.
Before long, an Anbu quickly walked in. Seeing that Ishiro was in the living room, he said, "Lord Sei, Elder Genshi has sent someone to invite you."
Ishiro turned his head to look at Noboru, who hurriedly said, "Lord Sei, I have already relayed your exact words to Elder Genshi."
"Understood," Ishiro nodded faintly, then walked out of the room under the nervous gazes of the others.
Outside, Elder Genshi had sent a total of three people. The leader was likely a ninjutsu-type ninja, flanked on his left and right by two taijutsu ninja for protection. He looked towards Ishiro.
"The one in the middle is called Ezaki Shinichi. He is a confidant of Elder Genshi and an elite jonin," Noboru, who had followed him out, immediately reminded Ishiro. A ninja of Ezaki Shinichi's level was a major figure to Noboru. Coming from a civilian background, he wouldn't have had easy access to such people before, so he was a bit nervous now.
"You are the Anbu named Sei. I wonder who you originally took orders from?" Ezaki Shinichi asked directly as Ishiro came out.
Ishiro, however, did not answer, instead saying, "I had a message sent to Genshi. Did he receive it?"
Ezaki Shinichi's eyes narrowed. He understood Ishiro's meaning. Ishiro had sent a message saying he would kill anyone else who was sent. Now, Genshi had sent him, so Ishiro's intention was clear. At the same time, Ezaki Shinichi could feel the killing intent emanating from Ishiro. He guessed that Ishiro probably wanted to make an example of him. But wasn't this looking down on him a bit too much? He was an elite jonin, after all, and he had brought two jonin whose combat styles complemented his own. He was already prepared for Ishiro to fly into a murderous rage. Who knew Ishiro would be so unable to read the situation?
Seeing that Ezaki Shinichi didn't answer, Ishiro wasted no more words. He directly formed hand seals. "Water Style: Water Clone."
Seeing Ishiro make a move, Ezaki Shinichi's trio didn't flinch. The taijutsu ninja on the left immediately drew his sword and charged at Ishiro. The other also drew his longsword, ready to provide support while also guarding against Ishiro launching a close-range surprise attack on Ezaki Shinichi. After all, they didn't know Ishiro's abilities yet. What if he also excelled at close combat?
At the same time, Ezaki Shinichi also began to form hand seals, preparing a ninjutsu.
However, the distance between them was a bit far. Before the taijutsu ninja could get close to Ishiro, both Ishiro and his clone had already completed their hand seals.
"Water Style: Raging Water Smash." This was Ishiro's water clone, using a jutsu he was more familiar with. The purpose was to block the melee ninja charging at him and simultaneously interrupt Ezaki Shinichi's hand seals. The effect was good; the melee ninja was pushed back repeatedly by the B-rank wide-area ninjutsu, nearly losing his footing.
However, when the raging water reached Ezaki Shinichi and his guard, they dodged and leaped onto the roof of a house. This was, after all, inside the village, not the wilderness. In this environment, the effectiveness of wide-area ninjutsu was significantly reduced.
But that didn't matter. The attack from Ishiro's real body arrived at that exact moment. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet." An A-rank Water Release jutsu, somewhere between a single-target and a group attack, was perfect for this situation.
At this moment, Ezaki Shinichi was still forming hand seals. Judging by the number of seals, it should also be an A-rank ninjutsu. His original strategy was not wrong. With two teammates assisting him, two jonin should have been able to buy him enough time to cast a jutsu. As long as he completed the hand seals for his A-rank ninjutsu, he could basically secure victory.
But Ishiro's movements were too fast. He had formed seals for a clone, and then his main body had cast an A-rank jutsu while the clone cast a B-rank one. All three techniques were unleashed before his. The latter was manageable; in this terrain, the B-rank Raging Water Smash wasn't very effective. But the fact that Ishiro had cast an A-rank ninjutsu before him was fatal. Facing the water dragon rushing towards him, Ezaki Shinichi was almost in despair.
Fortunately, at this moment, the guard beside him flashed in front of him.
Boom!
After the collision, the guard was heavily injured by the Water Dragon Bullet, losing his ability to fight back. And this was only because he was a taijutsu ninja and the Water Dragon Bullet was an impact-type jutsu with weak armor-piercing capabilities. If the one who had taken the direct hit had been Ezaki Shinichi, he would have been dead by now.
However, although Ezaki Shinichi wasn't dead, his prepared A-rank ninjutsu was interrupted.
Ishiro had never been one to be merciful once he gained the upper hand. "Water Style: Water Dragon Whip! Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
Another round of attacks. The difference was, this time, Ishiro's water clone used the B-rank Water Dragon Whip, while his main body used a second element, the A-rank Lightning Release, False Darkness.
Ezaki Shinichi had learned his lesson this time. Knowing that his hand seal speed couldn't match Ishiro's and that he no longer had a guard, he used a defensive ninjutsu he was more adept at, the Water Wall, against the water clone's attack. However, his Water Wall could defend against a B-rank offensive jutsu, but not an A-rank one, especially not an A-rank Lightning Release.
After a flash of blue light, Ezaki Shinichi also lost his ability to resist. The injuries he sustained were even more severe than the taijutsu-type jonin from before. He was in a state where he would certainly die without effective medical treatment.
At this moment, the remaining taijutsu jonin was still approaching Ishiro's side. During the first round of attacks, he had been carried far away by the Raging Water Smash. During the second round, his advance was hampered by the Water Dragon Whip from Ishiro's water clone. He had just closed some distance when both of his comrades were taken down.
What followed was without any suspense. Ishiro's main body and the water clone together used a B-rank water jutsu and directly killed this jonin. However, before he died, the jonin threw a shuriken at Ishiro's main body.
No one paid any mind to this shuriken. No one thought Ishiro would be unable to dodge an attack of this level.
But who would have known that Ishiro would not dodge or evade this shuriken, instead standing there and letting it hit him.
Noboru and the others were shocked, subconsciously crying out, "Lord Sei, wat—"
But before the "watch out" could leave their mouths, they swallowed it back down.
"That's the Hydrification Technique of the Hōzuki clan! Is Lord Sei from the Hōzuki clan?" someone muttered in a low voice.
He didn't need to explain. Who living in Kirigakure didn't recognize the Hydrification Technique?
That's right, Ishiro had just used the Hydrification Technique. This was what he had learned from his student, Kiyoshi Ishizawa, over the past half-year. However, Ishiro's mastery of the Hydrification Technique was very crude. He needed a little time to prepare before liquefying. Unlike the Hōzuki clan, who could passively turn into water the instant they were hit by a physical attack.
When the taijutsu jonin had launched his final attack, Ishiro had predicted it and transformed the part of his body that was about to be hit into water beforehand.
If Ezaki Shinichi had still been in good condition, he would definitely have noticed the flaw upon seeing this. But there was only a special jonin and some chunin around Ishiro, so everyone believed this was the genuine Hydrification Technique. After all, the method of identifying this Hōzuki clan's secret jutsu was too simple; you knew it when you saw it, and there had never been any exceptions.
After the battle ended, Ishiro's water clone went forward and delivered the finishing blows to the three, ending the lives of Ezaki Shinichi and his other comrade.
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