On the mist-shrouded battlefield, Fuguki, Juzo, and Mangetsu launched a silent assassination assault, their three blades piercing toward their target with lethal intent!
Yet, when the swords came within ten centimeters of their mark, an immense resistance suddenly halted them… as if an invisible iron wall surrounded the man, making further advancement impossible!
"What's going on?" Fuguki's small eyes constricted sharply.
Mangetsu reacted swiftly. He formed a pistol shape with his left hand and aimed at the mask of the mysterious man.
[Water Release: Water Gun]
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three high-speed water bullets shot through the air like bullets.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The water bullets were still unable to reach the mysterious man, deflected at the ten-centimeter mark as droplets scattered in all directions!
"It's a barrier!" Mangetsu analyzed.
Having failed in their initial attack, the three quickly retreated into the mist, forming a triangular formation around Menma, their swords at the ready.
"A guy never seen before, a Ninjutsu never seen before." Juzo remarked, resting Kubikiribocho on his shoulder. The red stripes on his jaw and the cross-shaped scar on his right cheek added to his fierce and mysterious aura.
"Be careful, this guy is the Shura." Fuguki growled, gripping Samehada tightly.
Just moments ago, they had been cleaning up the battlefield when they received an urgent order from the Mizukage… to hunt down a mysterious figure causing chaos within Kirigakure.
Originally, they had been investigating some anomalies in the area when the masked man appeared.
Seizing the opportunity, the trio activated the Hiding in Mist Technique, concealing themselves within the thick mist to prepare for a decisive strike!
Yet despite being three of the strongest among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, their coordinated ambush had been effortlessly blocked.
Only after seeing the enemy's mask did Fuguki, as the Kirigakure's Anbu Commander, realize their target was none other than the infamous Ninja who had attacked both Konoha and Kumogakure last year… Shura!
"Tch, this is a bit troublesome." Juzo muttered, sensing the danger.
Ever since the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were decimated by Might Duy's Eight Gates during the Third Great Ninja War, reducing them to the 'lucky three', the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had never been fully reassembled again.
And now, their opponent was a mysterious powerhouse who had wreaked havoc in Konoha and Kumogakure before escaping unscathed. Juzo couldn't help but recall the trauma inflicted by that Konoha's Genin.
"Shura?" Mangetsu, the prodigy known as the [Second Coming of the Demon], burned with fighting spirit at the sight of this enigmatic foe.
Behind his white three-eyed fox mask, Menma activated his Sharingan, his vision piercing through the mist to clearly see the three hidden figures.
The dynamic vision of the Sharingan and the penetrating sight of the Byakugan were both perfect counters to Kirigakure's Hiding in Mist Technique… a fact that had cost Kirigakure dearly in previous wars.
'How many of the Seven Swordsmen have come?' Menma flicked his wrist, sending several kunai flying into the thick mist as probes.
'It seemed Orochimaru must have sensed these three before hastily retreating.'
Taking advantage of the rebellion of the Kaguya Clan and the other clans sending their Ninjas to suppress it, Orochimaru had stolen many children with Kekkei Genkai from Kirigakure's Kekkei Genkai Clans.
Menma had little interest in ordinary Kekkei Genkai, and since he hadn't found Hozuki Suigetsu, he had only demanded Orochimaru share his research findings.
In exchange, Menma would help Orochimaru escape the Land of Water with the kidnapped children.
But he hadn't expected pursuers to arrive so quickly.
'It should be that guy Obito who manipulated Yagura into sending them.'
Using his Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Menma confirmed there are only three opponents, Fuguki, Juzo, and Mangetsu.
All three available members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had been dispatched.
'Obito, you don't think these few people can stop me, do you?' While Menma was thinking, the second wave of attacks began.
Fuguki initiated with Hair Needle Senbon, his thick orange hair standing on end as countless fine needles shot toward Menma, attempting to overwhelm his defenses with sheer volume.
Juzo closed in, swinging Kubikiribocho in brutal melee combat.
While his two teammates were holding back the enemy, Mangetsu also moved quickly, searching for an opening.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Menma blocked Juzo's slashes with a kunai in one hand while forming seals with the other.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A surge of Fire Attribute Chakra condensed beneath his mask before erupting in a blazing inferno, forming a massive wall of flames that roared toward Fuguki's hiding spot. The intense heat instantly vaporized the surrounding moisture, clearing the mist in its path.
"Now!" Seizing the moment as the mist dispersed, Mangetsu channeled chakra into his twin swords, Hiramekarei, and launched a surprise attack from the flank.
The two swords merged horizontally, the rear vents releasing a burst of Chakra that propelled Hiramekarei forward while the front vents unleashed a barrage of Chakra Spheres!
[Hiramekarei: Release]
Boom!
Swinging Hiramekarei like a tennis racket, Mangetsu slammed the Chakra-infused side straight into Menma!
Bang!
However, the expected sight of Menma being sent flying never came… Instead, the moment the Chakra Spheres struck, his body dissolved into a puff of smoke!
Mangetsu's violet eyes narrowed sharply, 'A shadow clone?!'
"Watch out!" Mangetsu immediately shouted in warning.
Before the alert could fully register, a deafening chorus of chirping birds erupted behind Juzo!
Juzo felt a chill on his spine, and without thinking too much, he held the Kubikiribocho across his back!
But it was too late!
A hand crackling with lightning pierced straight through his heart!
"Wha…?!" With eyes wide with shock and disbelief, Juzo stared at the hand protruding from his chest before collapsing to the ground.
The Kubikiribocho also fell to the ground.
Menma kicked the massive blade into the air with his foot, catching it with his left hand before resting it on his shoulder. His right hand still crackled with residual lightning, the ground beneath him slick with blood.
"Damn it!" Fuguki quickly flickered to Mangetsu's side, his face pale as he stared at Juzo's lifeless body at Menma's feet.
"Such speed…!" Mangetsu was shocked by the opponent's speed.
'Body Flicker Technique? No, it's more like Space-Time Ninjutsu." When Mangetsu saw that the opponent easily killed Juzo with just a few simple moves and got the Kubikiribocho, he was very shocked.
Fuguki slowly tore off the cloth strips that were wrapped around Samehada, his expression grim.
The opponent's overwhelming strength reminded him of the Konoha's Genin he met a few years ago.
That green-spandex-wearing, bushy-browed monster, who, despite his ridiculous appearance, had nearly wiped out the entire Seven Swordsmen with sheer brute force!
If they hadn't scattered and fled that day, they would've been kicked to death one by one!
That incident has also become an eternal fear in the hearts of these survivors.
'So that's Samehada, huh?' Seeing Samehada released by Fuguki writhed hungrily, Menma suddenly became curious, 'Just how much Chakra this thing could devour?'