Night fell slowly over the forest road.
The convoy had stopped beside a narrow stream where the road widened enough to make camp.
A small fire crackled near the wagons as the diplomat and his guards prepared their meal.
Further away, beneath the trees, Shinji stood with his arms crossed.
The three genin stood in front of him.
Daichi shifted his weight.
"So… this is the training?"
Shinji nodded once.
"Yes."
Ayame glanced around the dark forest.
"…Here?"
"Yes."
Ren said nothing, but his eyes were already studying the terrain.
Shinji gestured toward the clearing.
"Form a circle."
The three genin spread out automatically.
Shinji stepped into the center.
"Attack me."
Daichi blinked.
"…What?"
"Attack."
Daichi looked at the others.
Ayame sighed.
"He's serious."
Ren nodded once.
The three genin moved at the same time.
Daichi rushed first, charging straight toward Shinji with a kunai.
Ayame flanked from the right.
Ren circled left.
A basic three-point assault.
Shinji didn't move.
Daichi lunged.
Shinji sidestepped effortlessly.
The boy stumbled past him.
At the same moment Ayame struck.
Her kick aimed for Shinji's ribs.
Shinji caught her ankle mid-strike and redirected the momentum, sending her spinning harmlessly away.
Ren appeared behind him.
Kunai flashing.
Shinji leaned slightly.
The blade passed harmlessly past his shoulder.
Then Shinji tapped Ren lightly on the forehead.
Ren froze.
"…Dead," Shinji said calmly.
Daichi skidded to a stop.
"That was fast."
Ayame rubbed her ankle.
"You barely moved."
Shinji looked at them evenly.
"Again."
The genin exchanged looks.
Then they attacked again.
This time they moved faster.
Better coordinated.
Daichi feinted high.
Ayame swept low.
Ren moved for Shinji's blind spot.
Shinji stepped forward once.
Just once.
Daichi found himself flat on his back.
Ayame stumbled as her sweep missed entirely.
Ren's kunai stopped a centimeter from Shinji's throat.
Two fingers held his wrist in place.
Shinji gently pushed the blade away.
"…Dead again."
Ren exhaled slowly.
Daichi groaned from the ground.
"This is humiliating."
The monkey summon sitting on a nearby rock laughed loudly.
"You kids fight like academy students."
Ayame shot the summon an annoyed look.
"Thanks for the encouragement."
Shinji folded his arms again.
"You're trying to overwhelm your opponent."
Daichi stood up.
"Isn't that the point?"
"No."
Shinji gestured toward the forest.
"Against someone like the swordsman we encountered today…"
He paused briefly.
"…that approach gets you killed."
The genin fell quiet.
Ren spoke first.
"…Because of the sword."
"Yes."
Shinji nodded.
"Kubikiribōchō controls distance."
Ayame added,
"Which means we can't fight him directly."
"Correct."
Daichi sighed.
"So the strategy is still 'run away.'"
Shinji shook his head.
"No."
All three genin looked at him.
"You survive."
The monkey twirled its iron staff lazily.
"That lunatic loves wide swings."
Shinji nodded slightly.
"Which means he commits to every attack."
Ren understood immediately.
"…Openings."
"Yes."
Shinji looked at him.
"You're starting to understand."
Daichi crossed his arms.
"Okay but there's still one big problem."
"What."
Daichi pointed toward the forest.
"That guy is way stronger than us."
Shinji didn't deny it.
"Yes."
Ayame frowned slightly.
"Then why train us for this at all?"
Shinji turned toward the dark treeline.
For a brief moment, his eyes sharpened.
He was listening.
Sensing.
Then he looked back at them.
"Because dangerous missions don't always give you the option of retreat."
Ren nodded slowly.
"That makes sense."
Shinji stepped back.
"Again."
Daichi groaned loudly.
"Again?!"
"Yes."
Ayame smirked slightly.
"Better get used to it."
They attacked again.
And again.
Each time Shinji dismantled their attacks with minimal effort.
Precise.
Efficient.
Exactly the kind of control expected from a jonin personally trained by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The training continued for nearly an hour.
By the end, Daichi was breathing heavily.
Ayame's strikes had slowed.
Ren's movements had grown more careful.
Shinji finally raised a hand.
"Enough."
The genin stopped immediately.
Daichi collapsed onto the grass.
"I'm dying."
The monkey laughed.
"You're tired after an hour?"
Ayame sat down beside the fire.
"…He didn't even break a sweat."
Ren looked toward the dark forest.
"…Sensei."
Shinji glanced at him.
"Yes."
"…Do you think the swordsman will come back tonight?"
Shinji looked toward the treeline again.
His senses spread quietly through the forest.
The wind moved through the branches.
Animals shifted in the undergrowth.
Nothing approached.
But somewhere far away—
A familiar presence lingered.
Watching.
Waiting.
Shinji turned back toward the campfire.
"No."
Ren blinked.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Daichi groaned from the grass.
"Good."
Shinji crossed his arms.
"He's waiting for the right moment."
Ayame frowned.
"…Which means he's still nearby."
Shinji didn't answer.
But the silence said enough.
High above them, the moon rose slowly over the forest.
And somewhere deep in the darkness—
The massive blade of Jūzō Biwa rested across its owner's shoulder.
The swordsman watched the campfire from the shadows.
Grinning.
The next fight was getting closer
Chp59
The road back to Konohagakure was quiet.
Too quiet.
Tall trees lined the narrow forest path as Shinji and his squad moved through the shade.
Behind them, the diplomat they had escorted into the Land of Rivers was already days away, safely under the protection of another Fire Country convoy.
Their mission was complete.
Now they were simply heading home.
Daichi walked beside the road with his hands behind his head.
"So that's it?"
Ayame glanced at him.
"What do you mean 'that's it'?"
"I mean the mission's done," he said. "We survived a crazy swordsman, escorted the diplomat, and now we just go home."
Ren walked slightly ahead, eyes scanning the trees.
"…Missions rarely end quietly."
Daichi groaned.
"Please don't say things like that."
Shinji walked at the front of the formation, calm as ever.
His gaze never stopped moving.
Watching.
Listening.
Sensing.
The monkey summon followed beside him, iron staff resting across its shoulders.
Daichi glanced at it.
"You're still here?"
The monkey shrugged lazily.
"Kid hasn't dismissed me yet."
Ayame looked toward Shinji.
"…Do you think he'll show up again?"
Shinji didn't answer immediately.
The wind moved softly through the forest.
Leaves rustled overhead.
Then—
A slow scraping sound echoed from the trees ahead.
Metal dragging across stone.
The squad stopped instantly.
Daichi's shoulders tensed.
"…You had to say it."
From the treeline, a large silhouette stepped onto the road.
A massive sword rested across the man's shoulder.
Kubikiribōchō.
The grin came next.
Wide.
Savage.
"Miss me?"
The three genin immediately stepped back as Jūzō Biwa walked into the open road.
His eyes locked onto Shinji.
"Well now."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I was wondering when we'd run into each other again."
Shinji stepped forward calmly.
"Team."
The genin immediately moved back without hesitation.
Fifty meters.
Exactly like before.
Juwo watched them retreat and chuckled.
"Still protecting the kids."
He slid Kubikiribōchō off his shoulder.
The massive blade slammed into the dirt.
"Admirable."
His grin widened.
"But this time…"
His killing intent surged outward.
"…I'm finishing the fight."
Shinji's Sharingan ignited.
Scarlet tomoe spinning slowly.
"Try."
Juwo vanished.
The giant blade screamed through the air as it came down in a brutal overhead strike.
Shinji dodged sideways.
Kubikiribōchō slammed into the ground with a thunderous crack.
Dirt exploded upward.
Juwo ripped the blade free and swung again.
A horizontal slash powerful enough to cleave a tree in half.
Shinji ducked beneath it.
The sword howled past his head.
Juwo laughed.
"There it is!"
He spun the blade around and drove it downward again.
Shinji jumped backward as the impact shattered the road beneath them.
The swordsman didn't stop.
He pressed forward relentlessly.
Swing.
Swing.
Swing.
Each strike carried monstrous power.
Each one carved deeper wounds into the battlefield.
Shinji moved through the storm of steel with precise, economical movements.
Reading every attack.
Predicting every motion with the Sharingan.
Juwo's grin grew wider.
"You're faster than last time!"
Shinji said nothing.
He formed a seal.
Lightning chakra surged through his arm.
Blue sparks exploded around his hand.
A high-pitched chirping sound filled the forest.
Juwo's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh?"
The technique roared to life.
Chidori.
Shinji disappeared.
Juwo reacted instantly.
Kubikiribōchō swung behind him—
Too late.
A hand of lightning drove forward.
Straight through his back.
CRACK.
Electricity exploded outward.
Juwo froze.
The Chidori had pierced directly through his chest.
The massive sword slipped from his grip.
It slammed into the dirt with a heavy thud.
For a moment, the forest was silent.
Juwo coughed once.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
"…Heh."
His voice was weak now.
"…didn't see that coming."
Shinji pulled his hand free.
The lightning faded.
Juwo collapsed forward onto his knees.
Then something strange happened.
The "Shinji" standing behind him suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The genin watching from the trees stared.
"…What?"
The smoke cleared.
Standing where Shinji had been was the monkey summon.
Still holding the lightning-scorched hand.
The monkey cracked its neck.
"Man."
It shook its arm.
"That thing stings."
The real Shinji stepped out from the forest behind Juwo.
His Sharingan slowly fading.
Ayame's eyes widened.
"…Transformation Jutsu."
Ren nodded slowly.
"You switched places before the fight."
Shinji walked forward calmly.
"Yes."
Juwo looked over his shoulder weakly.
Realization dawned slowly across his face.
"…Clever…"
The swordsman laughed weakly.
"I thought something felt… off…"
The monkey rested its staff against its shoulder.
"Yeah well."
It smirked.
"You should've aimed for the monkey."
Juwo coughed again.
Blood spilled onto the dirt.
His grin faded slightly.
Then he collapsed forward.
The executioner sword lay beside him.
Silent.
Still.
The forest grew quiet again.
Fifty meters away, the genin slowly approached.
Daichi stared at the body in disbelief.
"…You tricked him."
Ayame crossed her arms.
"That was brutal."
Ren looked at the massive blade lying in the dirt.
"…One of the Seven Swordsmen."
Shinji glanced at the fallen weapon.
Kubikiribōchō.
Then he turned back toward the road leading home.
"The mission is complete."
The monkey stretched lazily.
"Finally."
Behind them, the body of Jūzō Biwa lay motionless in the dirt.
And the road back to Konohagakure was finally clear.