A blue light moving at high speed smashed through a row of large trees. Dai threw the three boys onto a cliff and immediately turned back to the battlefield.
The powerful wind pressure and acceleration left the three boys dazed, their heads shaking until their eyes spun like swirls.
The battle broke out in an instant. The Seven Swordsmen coordinated with perfect tacit understanding, their attacks flowing seamlessly, but everything was exposed under the gaze of the Sharingan. Their movements were clearly visible through the powerful dynamic vision.
Countless afterimages of Shisui appeared on the battlefield. Raiga Kurosuki swung his twin blades and struck Shisui, but the tips passed easily through the body, and the flashing lightning hit nothing but air.
"Dammit!" Raiga Kurosuki missed his strike and fell into a momentary lag.
The Shisui afterimage in front of him made a slashing motion. Raiga ignored it until the blade tip broke through the skin of his arm. He was suddenly startled—the Shisui in front of him was real?!
It was too late to dodge. The short blade sliced through flesh and bone, and an arm flew high into the air, still tightly gripping one of the Kiba.
"Good opportunity!"
Kushimaru Kuriarare, Jinpachi Munashi, and Juzo Biwa appeared around Shisui. Their three ninja swords had a clear division of labor, sealing off any possibility of Shisui's escape.
Raiga Kurosuki clutched the wound of his severed arm and fled far away.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation."
Surging flames erupted from Makiya's mouth, even covering Shisui. A scorching airwave swept forward. Kushimaru Kuriarare and the other two glanced at each other and had no choice but to abandon their attack and jump high.
"How cruel, killing even your own comrade," Juzo Biwa said coldly, looking at Makiya with great hostility.
"As Hidden Mist ninja, you are in no position to talk about me." Makiya's left hand made a grasping motion. The flames were like obedient sheep; under Makiya's control, three giant fiery hands extended, reaching for the calves of Kushimaru and the others.
"What?"
"What kind of ninjutsu is this?"
"How is this possible?"
The three were shocked. In the moment of crisis, Kushimaru threw out the Nuibari, piercing it into a tree trunk and pulling the wire to narrowly dodge the giant flame hand.
The other two weren't as lucky. Despite using various means, they were still caught by the continuously extending flame hands. The burning pain spread from their calves to their entire bodies, and a massive force dragged them down from the air, slamming them hard onto the ground.
On the ground, Shisui's figure flickered. Everywhere he went, the flames avoided him. He was amazed by Makiya's powerful control over fire.
The three-tomoe in his eyes spun, capturing the two unlucky souls caught by the flame hands. Their downward trajectory was clearly visible. Before they hit the ground, Shisui's figure crossed theirs, and heads flew.
Thud! Thud!
Jinpachi Munashi and Juzo Biwa were embedded into the ground, their headless corpses burned to char by the flames. The Executioner's Blade and the Shibuki fell to the side. The flames transformed into octopus-like tentacles, deftly coiling around the two ninja swords and the severed Kiba, delivering them to Makiya's feet.
"What kind of Fire Style is this?" Hanging from a tree, Kushimaru Kuriarare saw everything clearly from above and felt his skin crawl. He had never heard of a Fire Style that could be flexibly controlled after being released.
Makiya's Fire Style had already transcended the concept of a technique. It wasn't that it was exceptionally powerful, but that it was too flexible and varied. Only a Bloodline Limit could explain it, just like the Mist's Ice Style. But wasn't he an Uchiha?
Kushimaru pulled out the Nuibari and ran up to the top of the tree trunk. The sea of fire below burned fiercely; he was afraid another giant hand would leap out and grab him.
But the tree beneath him was also burning intensely. It was only a matter of time before it collapsed. The sea of fire was like a demon's gaping maw, devouring everything.
Flames surrounded Makiya's body like guards protecting a king. High temperatures distorted the air, yet not a single drop of sweat was on Makiya's forehead, as if he couldn't feel the heat.
Fuguki Suikazan and the others were pushed back by the flames. Holding their ninja swords, they couldn't advance. Their faces were grim. Famous across the ninja world for their blades, they didn't even have a chance to swing them.
"Use Water Style!" Fuguki Suikazan immediately ordered. Several people quickly formed seals and spat out massive amounts of water.
Water and fire clashed, and steam billowed.
On the distant cliff, the newly awakened Genma and the other two stared in shock.
"Is that... Makiya's Fire Style?" Guy's mouth hung open. Even from this distance, they could feel the startling heat. It was powerful yet flexible. Makiya was clearly from their generation, yet the gap in their strength was like heaven and earth.
Ebisu picked up his sunglasses, wiped off the dirt, and put them on. "As far as I know, only a Bloodline Limit can achieve this. But isn't Makiya from the Uchiha clan?"
Thick mist gradually spread over, limiting their vision. The three moved higher along the ridge.
Figures flickered in the mist, and the sound of clashing metal rang out continuously.
Clang!
The short blade collided with Samehada and separated instantly. Makiya suddenly felt the chakra inside his body go out of control, pulled out by an invisible suction.
The great sword Samehada wriggled its body excitedly, swallowing Makiya's chakra. Rather than a ninja sword, Samehada was more like a strange creature in the shape of a blade that loved to devour chakra.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Shuriken Strike."
Countless shuriken wrapped in flames shot forward. Fuguki Suikazan swung Samehada to block, the scorching flames causing the sword to grin and roar in pain.
With the Sharingan tomoe spinning, Makiya captured the flow of the mist and instantly lowered his head. The Nuibari struck Makiya's afterimage as Kushimaru Kuriarare, launching a surprise attack, flew over his head.
The next second, Might Dai kicked Kushimaru right in the mask. The terrifying force penetrated the mask, and his massive foot slammed directly into Kushimaru's face. His skull shattered, and brains splattered everywhere.
The Longsword: Nuibari fell to the side. The headless corpse flew backward, snapping a row of trees. The battlefield froze for a brief moment, the remaining few showing expressions of shock.
Dai, covered in a blue aura, landed next to Makiya. His steps were slightly unstable, and he took a heavy breath. His body was riddled with old injuries, and it couldn't support long periods of overloaded movement. His heart was under immense pressure, his mouth tasted of blood, and blood vessels had ruptured.
The successor of the Twin Sword: Hiramekarei's eyes lit up, thinking he had caught an opportunity. He immediately raised his twin blades.
"Hiramekarei: Unleash!"
As chakra was injected, Hiramekarei continued to grow. The massive blade emitted a blue light. The successor swung the giant twin swords and charged straight at Dai.
Halfway through, the target in his eyes suddenly vanished. A sharp pain erupted in his abdomen, and he flew backward like a bent shrimp. Blood flowed uncontrollably from his nose and mouth, and his mind went blank.
"How... what happened?"
The fear of death enveloped his heart. The Hiramekarei successor struggled to look up but couldn't see Dai at all. His retinas couldn't capture the attacker; only when fists landed on his body did he know where Dai was.
Another massive force struck from below. Dai kicked the successor in the chin, sending his body flying upward uncontrollably. Blood flowed backward, and pain racked his entire body.
The mist was churned by Dai's high-speed movement. The Hiramekarei successor was powerless to fight back; his proud ninja tool was just a decoration. Before absolute speed, he couldn't even put up a resistance.
Fuguki Suikazan swallowed hard. Just as he was about to move, he found Makiya appearing in front of him.
Not far away, Shisui was in a fierce battle with the one-armed Raiga Kurosuki. With only one blade left, Raiga was struggling to cope and was on the verge of defeat.
Everything happened too fast. In almost an instant, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were left with only himself and Jinin Akebino, the wielder of the Bluntsword: Kabutowari, still intact.
The two looked at each other and then at Makiya simultaneously. Now, only by quickly taking down Makiya could they break the situation.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were experienced in joint combat. With just one look, Jinin Akebino knew what Fuguki was thinking. He raised the hammer in his left hand high and slammed it into the ground.
The earth cracked, and a fissure spread to Makiya's feet. At the same time, Fuguki Suikazan erupted with intense chakra, his hands quickly forming seals.
"Pin me down and then create advantageous terrain, huh?" Makiya chuckled, taking two steps back to avoid the Bluntsword's attack.
Fuguki Suikazan had just finished his ninjutsu, spitting out a massive amount of water that instantly formed a sky-blotting tsunami.
"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
The boundless wave swallowed the three of them. Trees were swept up like toys, and hard rocks were instantly smashed. The vast plain transformed into an ocean in an instant. With the support of Samehada, Fuguki continuously erupted with massive amounts of chakra. Wave after wave followed, continuous and unending.
Genma and the other two had just climbed to the top of the hill when they suddenly heard a continuous roar on the horizon. A flood appeared out of nowhere and submerged everything. Tall trees became seaweed in an instant, and shorter hilltops were directly buried.
The three clung tightly to a boulder at the summit, enduring the battering of the giant waves. When the water calmed down, they looked around in a daze and found that the hilltop had become a lonely island in the sea.
"What... happened?"
In the middle of the water, Fuguki Suikazan's legs went weak, and he slumped down. This attack had consumed most of his and Samehada's chakra. He was very satisfied with the effect of the ninjutsu; it was truly like moving mountains and filling seas.
"They should be finished, right?" Jinin Akebino swallowed hard, his tone somewhat humble. He decided that he would never disobey Fuguki's orders in the future.
"Hahaha, of cour—"
Before he could finish, Fuguki Suikazan suddenly noticed a red glow at the bottom of the water, and his expression changed drastically.
"No, that's impossible."
The surface of the water around them began to fluctuate. Countless bubbles rose from the depths, and the once-cold water became hotter and hotter.
[Support the story with Reviews, Power Stones, and Comments—they mean a lot and keep me going! 30+ chapters waiting on patreon.com/elite_reads]