The massive commotion caused by Hyuga Yu's battle with the "Heartless Duo" inevitably drew attention from the outside world.
At this moment, the remaining members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—who had not scattered too far—finally made their appearance, albeit belatedly.
The first to arrive were Raiga Kurosuki, wielder of the Lightning Blades, Kiba, and Jinin Akebino, wielder of the Helmet Splitter, Kabutowari. The two of them ran head-first into the second eruption of the Wind Style: Heavenly Subjugation. Watching the great river of wind plow through a circular area two hundred meters in diameter in an instant, their first instinct was not to rescue their teammates, but to find a place to hide. They quickly found the best vantage point: behind a three-meter-high mound of earth at the outer edge, pushed there by the force of the gale.
What shocked them even more, however, was the sheer scale of the technique.
"Who is fighting?"
"Is it the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa? One of the Sand's elders like Ebizo? Or is it Konoha's 'Darkness of Shinobi'?"
There were only a handful of Wind Style masters in the shinobi world. Often, once a Wind Style user reached a certain peak, they would pivot toward other paths—such as Magnet Style. For someone to possess such high-level mastery over pure Wind Style and unleash such large-scale techniques twice in a row... it was impossible for veterans like them not to have heard of such a powerhouse.
Jinin Akebino looked on with a heart full of dread. After a moment of thought, he let out a cough and naturally barked an order at the young Raiga beside him. "Raiga, go check the situation!"
"What?" Raiga Kurosuki, still a young man at this time, snapped his head around, glaring at his senior with wide eyes. "We're the same rank. You think just because you're twenty years older than me, you can boss me around? You old geezer, are you kidding me!?"
Raiga's Lightning Style was inherently countered by Wind Style. Facing a Wind Style master who seemed this absurdly powerful, he was naturally a hundred times more reluctant to charge in. Jinin Akebino, for his part, was a more straightforward Taijutsu-type shinobi; neither had a particularly effective way to deal with wind of this caliber.
However, that didn't mean they lacked the ability to fight.
Yet, because of their bickering and buck-passing, they quickly missed the golden window to support Kushimaru Kuriarare, who was currently locked in a fierce struggle at the center of the battlefield.
Before long, the other three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen arrived from the left and right, joining the pair at the three-meter mound. Approaching as a pair were the theoretical captain of the team, Fuguki Suikazan, and a member of the Hozuki Clan wielding the Twin Swords, Hiramekarei. From the other side came Juzo Biwa, limping and leaning on the Executioner's Blade, Kubikiribocho, looking absolutely wretched.
By now, Juzo had been forced to hack off one of his own arms. His body was covered in purplish-black, festering sores. He struggled to lift his head, his face even redder than the war paint on his cheeks. He looked at his teammates, gasping for breath as he cried out:
"Quick... get me to the rear!"
"That kid's poison... the antidotes provided by the medical corps aren't working."
Seeing his miserable state, the others felt a chill of apprehension. They looked at each other, but not a single person moved to help.
Finally, the only response Juzo Biwa received was a massive, bandage-wrapped blade that looked like a heavy door swinging toward him!
The one who attacked was none other than Fuguki Suikazan. At this moment, he was a far cry from the talkative, nagging "den mother" persona he usually held within the team. His face was dark, his small, bead-like eyes narrowed coldly as he let out a raspy chuckle.
"Since you're useless now, don't hinder the mission. Let the intel in your head rest eternally with you!"
Whoosh!
The blunt edge of the blade whipped up a violent gust, intending to smash Juzo Biwa's head into a pulp!
"Baka... I knew it!"
Juzo's expression shifted to one of "I told you so." His face darkened instantly as he endured the agonizing pain throughout his body. Holding his blade with his remaining hand, he twisted his waist and swung out in a wide arc!
Clang!
The two blades collided, sending sparks flying!
Fuguki Suikazan narrowed his eyes. "You still have strength left?"
"I can fight. But... I can't release ninjutsu anymore."
After a brief exchange conducted in the unique, brutal fashion of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Fuguki slowly pulled back Samehada.
Juzo took a ragged breath and stepped back three paces. Leaning on his broken blade with one hand, he stood silent and stoic, no longer speaking.
Under the Mist Village's strict secrecy policies and the "Hunter-nin" system, any shinobi who fled mid-mission, was unable to continue, or posed a risk of leaking information would be "liquidated" by the teammates assigned to act as executioners.
A battle-hardened veteran like Juzo knew this well. His display of misery wasn't actually meant to convince his teammates to escort him back; both he and the others knew that was impossible. The only thing he could do now was prove that he still possessed some modicum of utility.
"Tch, so this is the Byakugan..."
Fuguki Suikazan frowned. Looking at his scattered, low-morale teammates, he couldn't help but shake his head. This was the terror of the Byakugan: they could often detect the enemy in advance and strike preemptively, creating an environment and conditions favorable to themselves.
Fuguki then looked at Raiga and Jinin, who had arrived first. "What's the status?"
"Don't know."
Fuguki's voice rose an octave. "You don't know?"
Jinin Akebino shrugged. "We just got here. But judging by the noise, Kushimaru is in the middle of it. And... it sounds like he's already been forced to play his trump cards."
Fuguki Suikazan exhaled slowly, telling himself to stay calm, stay calm... he couldn't just kill all his teammates right here.
His face hardened as he spoke. "If you don't want to die, perform your mission properly!"
"Even if the Fourth Kazekage himself shows up, we are taking that Hyuga brat back to the Mist Village today!"
"Don't forget—this is an order from the Third!"
Upon hearing this, the loose expressions of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen sharpened. It was hard to tell if it was out of fear, or fear, or perhaps... fear.
The group quickly leaped onto the mound. From their position about ninety meters away, they looked down toward the center of the battlefield. Very quickly, a sight appeared that made every swordsman present freeze in shock.
At the center of the field, countless steel wires formed a massive, tattered spiderweb. In the middle of this ruined web, half of a terrified face was visible beneath Kushimaru Kuriarare's shattered mask. He reached out to thrust his longsword, Nuibari, into the ground, his entire body fluttering like a flag blowing toward the center of the battle!
All around him—Rumble!
Dust, debris, and wood splinters were being sucked toward the center in a rolling torrent!
Under the effect of this massive suction, even the topsoil began to crumble and tear away. Kushimaru finally reached his limit; he was yanked backward at extreme speed toward the center of the field!
Finally, he was caught firmly by a slowly raised palm, which clamped around his throat!
The sand and debris composed of dust and stone changed direction about twenty centimeters away from that palm, converging diagonally upward before being spat out ten meters into the air, forming a bizarre, "L-shaped" flow.
The moment Kushimaru was captured, the vacuum storm at the center of the field abruptly ceased. That indiscriminate force—which had affected everything on the field and could be felt by the Swordsmen even from ninety meters away—stopped dead!
Immediately following this, a tall figure clad in a white lab coat over black combat gear slowly came into the view of everyone present.
He turned his head slowly, his pure white eyes—the heralds of his identity—indifferently scanning the six members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen standing outside the crater.
"Wait!"
"No way!?"
Jinin Akebino couldn't help but cry out in shock, "The guy using that terrifying Wind Style... is actually that Byakugan kid!?"
Fuguki Suikazan, who appeared clumsy and cruel but possessed a mind as meticulous as a needle, immediately analyzed the situation. He roared out:
"Cut the chatter! All of you, move!"
"Support Kushimaru! He's still alive!"
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