On the battlefield choked by thick mist, Suikazan Fuguki, Biwa Juzo, and Hozuki Mangetsu launched a synchronized assault using the Silent Killing Technique. Three legendary blades, heavy with murderous intent, lunged toward their target simultaneously!
However, as the blades closed within ten centimeters of the masked figure, they struck a massive, unseen resistance. It was as if an invisible iron wall encased the man, refusing to budge a single millimeter further.
"What is this?" Suikazan Fuguki's small pupils constricted in shock.
Hozuki Mangetsu reacted instantly. He raised his left hand, forming a pistol shape with his fingers aimed directly at the mysterious man's mask.
"Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!"
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Three high-pressure water bullets whistled through the air.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The projectiles met the same fate as the swords, flattening against the invisible barrier ten centimeters away and splashing harmlessly into the dirt.
"A barrier!" Mangetsu analyzed quickly.
Realizing their initial strike had failed, the three ninjas retreated into the mist, vanishing from sight. They fanned out into a triangular formation, surrounding Menma from within the white veil.
"A face I've never seen, and a jutsu I've never heard of," Biwa Juzo said, hoisting the Executioner's Blade onto his shoulder. The red markings on his jaw and the cross-shaped scar on his face gave him a fierce, predatory look.
"Careful. This guy is Shura," Suikazan Fuguki growled, his grip tightening on Samehada.
They had been busy mopping up the Kaguya battlefield when they received a direct order from the Mizukage to intercept a mysterious intruder causing trouble within the village. They had sensed an anomaly and set a trap, only to find themselves facing the man who had ravaged Konoha and Kumogakure the year before.
"Tch... this just got complicated," Juzo muttered.
Ever since the First Generation Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been kicked into the "Lucky Three" by the Eight-Inner Gates of Might Duy during the Third War, the group had never truly recovered its full roster. Facing a monster who could walk into Hidden Villages and leave unscathed made even a hardened veteran like Juzo cautious.
"Shura, is it?" Mangetsu, the "Second Coming of the Demon," felt his blood begin to boil with battle-lust.
Beneath the white fox mask, Menma's Sharingan flared to life, piercing through the fog. The dynamic vision of the Sharingan was a natural counter to the Mist's signature technique—a lesson Kirigakure had learned painfully in previous wars.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen... and only three showed up?" Menma flicked his wrist, casually tossing several kunai into the mist to probe their positions.
He realized Orochimaru must have sensed these three and decided to slip away early. While the noble clans were busy with the Kaguya, the snake had been busy "collecting" children with Bloodline Limits. Menma didn't care for the common ones—and since Hozuki Suigetsu hadn't been found—he simply agreed to share research data in exchange for helping Orochimaru's convoy escape the Land of Water.
He sensed only three: Fuguki, Juzo, and Mangetsu. The only battle-ready swordsmen Yagura could deploy at a moment's notice.
Does Obito really think these three can stop me? Menma wondered as the second wave began.
Suikazan Fuguki opened with Needle Senbon, his thick orange hair standing on end and firing a volley of needles to find a gap in Menma's defense. Juzo followed up immediately, closing the distance to engage in brutal close-quarters combat with the Executioner's Blade. Mangetsu moved like a ghost, waiting for the perfect opening.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Menma parried Juzo's massive blade with a single kunai while simultaneously weaving signs with one hand.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!"
A wall of intense flame erupted from behind his mask, sweeping toward Fuguki's position. The heat was so immense that it vaporized the incoming senbon and scorched the surrounding mist into steam.
"Now!"
In the brief moment of visibility, Mangetsu struck from the rear. He merged the twin blades of Hiramekarei, releasing a massive surge of chakra.
"Hiramekarei Unleashed!"
Boom!
He swung the hammer-like chakra projection with the force of a wrecking ball, slamming it squarely into Shura.
Poof!
Instead of a crushed body, a cloud of smoke erupted. Mangetsu's purple eyes darkened. A Shadow Clone!
"Watch out!" Mangetsu yelled.
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
The sound of a thousand birds shrieked from directly behind Biwa Juzo. Juzo felt the chill of death crawling up his spine. He tried to swing his blade behind him, but he was a heartbeat too late.
A hand wreathed in dark violet lightning tore through Juzo's chest, erupting out of his heart.
"What...?"
Juzo looked down at the hand piercing his torso with utter disbelief. His life force faded as the lightning hissed. He collapsed, and the Executioner's Blade hit the ground with a heavy clank.
Menma kicked the massive sword into the air, caught it with his left hand, and rested it on his shoulder. His right hand still crackled with lightning as he stood over the pool of blood.
"Damn you!" Fuguki flickered over to Mangetsu's side, staring in horror at the fallen Juzo.
"Such speed!" Mangetsu was shaken. "Was that a Body Flicker? No... it felt like Space-Time Ninjutsu."
He couldn't believe how easily Shura had dispatched Juzo and claimed his weapon. Fuguki slowly began to unravel the bandages around Samehada, his face grim. The sheer overwhelming power of their opponent reminded him of that green-clad "Genin" from years ago—the one with the bushy eyebrows who had nearly kicked them all into the afterlife.
"So, that's Samehada?" Menma watched as the shark-skin sword began to snap its jaws in hunger. A playful thought crossed his mind. "I wonder... just how much chakra can that thing actually eat?"