Jūzō Biwa—one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, wielder of the Executioner's Blade.
Black short hair, no eyebrows, sharp teeth, a large cross-shaped scar on his right cheek. Bandages wrapped around his ears and neck. The lower half of his face painted with red stripes. He looked utterly savage.
"Hmph, Jūzō, if you're tired of living, I can help you end it."
"Hahahaha, Mangetsu, still as mouthy as ever. You look like a mess."
The relationships among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were far from friendly—especially for Hōzuki Mangetsu. As a prodigy of the Hōzuki Clan and a natural-born wielder of blades, he believed that since he could perfectly master all seven ninja swords, they should all belong to him alone.
"Kurosuki Raiga is dead. His sword is in the enemy's hands."
"I'm going to kill him and take back the Lightning Blades. That sword is mine!"
As the electric current dispersed, Hōzuki Mangetsu stood up. Though disheveled, his fighting spirit radiated off him.
His words caused a flicker of surprise in Jūzō Biwa's eyes. Raiga was among the strongest of the seven. Even he had to stay on guard when facing him.
After all, the thunder power of the Lightning Blades was overwhelmingly destructive. A single hit would instantly kill an ordinary ninja.
And yet... someone actually managed to kill him.
Feeling Jūzō Biwa's gaze, Gekko Chizan didn't care in the slightest. Dispersing the dense fog, he no longer intended to continue using the two swords.
"Kakashi, Obito—use these two blades for now."
"Return them to me after the battle."
Kakashi and Obito's faces lit up with joy as they each caught a sword and declared confidently:
"Don't worry, Chizan-sensei! We'll take good care of these swords."
"Oh no—we're going to use them to take out these Hidden Mist shinobi!"
Hearing the fiery voices of the two brats, Gekko Chizan gave a small smile.
"You two, just focus on protecting Rin. This battle is still too early for you."
With those words, Gekko Chizan slowly walked forward.
Each step he took, the ground beneath him blossomed with clear, crystalline formations.
"Unbelievable... Sensei actually has two kekkei genkai..."
"Transparent Release, Crystal Release... Tch, Kakashi, I think we know way too little about our teacher."
Obito's words made both Kakashi and Rin nod.
Two kekkei genkai—far beyond astonishing.
Gekko Chizan surveyed the enemies in front of him. Aside from Jūzō Biwa and Hōzuki Mangetsu, there were thirteen other Hidden Mist shinobi, all masked—clearly elite ANBU.
So this must be the strongest force Kirigakure had hidden inside the Land of Fire.
Thinking of this, Gekko Chizan let out a faint sigh, his tone full of helplessness.
"I had hoped to live a peaceful life... but you people are really such a headache."
"Chōmei, keep the chakra flowing. I'm going in!"
He spoke the second sentence in his inner world, addressing Chōmei.
Of course Chōmei wouldn't let him down. Chakra began pouring continuously into his body.
"Hmph! Naive. Killing Raiga doesn't mean you have what it takes to fight us."
"Everyone, attack! Kill him!"
Jūzō Biwa barked dismissively as Gekko Chizan charged forward. He then motioned for his men to strike.
The thirteen ANBU moved in perfect coordination. Some charged ahead, others launched ranged attacks.
In an instant, they split into three groups—four with blades charged forward, five threw a barrage of shuriken, and the last four stood still, forming hand seals.
"Hmph. Crystal Release: Mirror Shadow Clone Technique."
Being outnumbered? Irrelevant. The moment he charged, Gekko Chizan had already activated a clone technique.
Fifteen Gekko Chizans faced fifteen Mist ninja. The battle exploded instantly.
The crystal clones were extremely durable, with solid combat ability. Each wielded a crystal longsword, blocking the enemy's melee fighters.
The rest of the clones charged straight into the enemy's core.
"A kekkei genkai? Crystal, huh?"
"Looks pretty cool."
"Wonder if it can block my Executioner's Blade."
Jūzō Biwa was a battle maniac. Seeing the technique, he got excited and charged in with his Executioner's Blade.
"Hmph, Executioner's Blade, is it?"
"Once you're dead, it's mine."
"Crystal Release: Crystal Blades!"
Gekko Chizan confronted Jūzō Biwa directly. The man had once tanked a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on—he was worth testing.
Clang!
The Executioner's Blade collided with the Crystal Blades. The crystal blades formed by Crystal Release were incredibly durable—even a sword like the Executioner's Blade couldn't shatter them easily.
"Solid... not bad."
Jūzō Biwa sensed the strength of the crystal and grinned, excited—but the next second, he vanished with a Body Flicker Technique.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Four voices rang out at once. Four water dragons surged toward Gekko Chizan with devastating force.
"Summoning Jutsu: Rashōmon!"
Gekko Chizan had no intention of dodging. He bit his finger and slammed his hand into the ground.
Boom!
A massive Rashōmon gate erupted from the earth, blocking all four water dragons.
"Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique!"
"Hiramekarei—Unleash!"
Suddenly, Hōzuki Mangetsu sprang out from one of the water dragons. Using Hydrification, he had entered the water dragon's body.
Though the dragons were blocked, he used the opening to appear right before Gekko Chizan.
He now held the ninja sword Hiramekarei in hand, shouting as a wave of chakra erupted from it.
A massive chakra blade took form—this was Hiramekarei's ability, transforming chakra into a weapon of any shape.
In Mangetsu's hands, Hiramekarei displayed terrifying destructive and lethal power.
His arms, swollen and powerful from the Hydrification Technique, added momentum—this swing sliced through the air with deadly force.
"Tch! Sneak attack? You trash! Can't play fair?"
"But you think I'm afraid of you?!"
"Flying Thunder God!"
Gekko Chizan activated the technique—his body vanished instantly.
He had already scattered six kunai earlier, each etched with the technique's seal. At that moment, Flying Thunder God finally erupted.
...
Meanwhile, in the southern part of the Land of Fire—
Back where Gekko Chizan had fought Kurosuki Raiga earlier, several masked ANBU stood around the massive crater left behind, staring at each other.
"What terrifying destruction... What kind of battle could cause this much damage?"
"And where's the enemy's corpse?"
One ANBU stared into the crater and murmured.
The others were just as stunned, unable to speak.
"Record everything here. We'll report to the Hokage immediately."
"Yes, Captain."
The ANBU squad quickly withdrew. What they discovered here was too important—they had to return to the village and report to the Hokage at once.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo