The sky gradually brightened as the morning sun crested over the eastern horizon.
Following the earlier Fire Style onslaught, a thick, cloying mist rose from the damp earth. Hozuki Mangetsu and Suikazan Fuguki seized the opportunity to vanish into the white veil, repositioning themselves for a fatal strike.
Within the shroud, Mangetsu unrolled a storage scroll. With a precise surge of chakra into the sealing formula, he summoned the Explosive Blade: Shibuki. The massive blade, wrapped in a seemingly endless roll of explosive tags, hummed with volatile energy as he caught it mid-air.
Ever since the legendary Seven were decimated by a certain Konoha Genin, Mangetsu had made it his life's mission to master and safeguard the remaining blades. As a genius of the Hozuki clan—the lineage of the Second Mizukage—he possessed the unique ability to wield all seven, a feat that made him the de facto leader of the group.
If my brother Suigetsu were here, he'd be drooling over this, Mangetsu thought briefly. But focus returned instantly. He had realized that Shura's invisible barrier wasn't a permanent passive shield; it required activation or timing.
"Great Hydration: Strong Arm!"
Mangetsu's arms surged with liquid chakra, muscles swelling into thick, corded knots to manage the unwieldy weight of the Explosive Blade. He exchanged a sharp nod with Fuguki. The trap was set.
"Water Style: Rain Cutter!"
Fuguki, holding Samehada with one hand, wove signs with the other. This secret Mist technique used the surrounding moisture to sever the connection between an opponent and their chakra—effectively disrupting most ninjutsu while leaving Water Style untouched.
Menma felt an invisible pressure grinding against his chakra network. Even maintaining his transformation required a noticeable increase in effort.
"Hah!" Mangetsu roared, leaping from the mist. He brought the Shibuki down in a heavy, vertical arc.
CLANG!
Menma parried the blow with the Executioner's Blade. Up close, he could see the fuse-lines on the blade's explosive scroll beginning to hiss and glow.
"Hehe!" Mangetsu's shark-like teeth flashed in a triumphant grin.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of explosions erupted from the blade's surface. As fire and smoke swallowed them both, Mangetsu's body instantly liquefied. He slid out of the blast zone as a puddle of water, reformulating his limbs a safe distance away.
Hydrification Technique.
"Hmph. Even if he lives, he'll be missing half his skin," Fuguki sneered, his small eyes squinting through the smog.
"Don't lower your guard!" Mangetsu cautioned.
Sure enough, a figure emerged from the settling dust, the Executioner's Blade resting casually on his shoulder. Shura was pristine. Not a single scorch mark touched his cloak; even the white fox mask remained spotless.
"How...?" Mangetsu's brow furrowed. "Was it that Body Flicker again?"
"It looks like Space-Time Ninjutsu, but I can't be sure," Fuguki muttered, watching Samehada begin to writhe irritably. "I'll go in," Mangetsu declared, charging forward once more.
Fuguki split into two Water Clones, flanking Mangetsu's assault.
"Show me something real," Menma provoked, parrying the Explosive Blade with the tip of his stolen sword. He fought with a rhythmic, retreating motion, keeping Mangetsu just outside the blast radius of the Shibuki.
Frustrated, Mangetsu unspooled a long strip of explosive tags from his blade, flinging them like a whip of fire.
BOOM!
Explosions rippled across the clearing, creating a fresh curtain of soot.
"Now!" Fuguki's clones lunged through the smoke. One engaged Menma in a blade-lock, while the other's hands flew through signs.
"Water Style: Water Prison!"
A sphere of heavy water erupted, encasing both Menma and the clone in a pressurized orb.
POOF!
Inside the sphere, Menma shattered the Water Clone into a puddle, but he remained trapped within the orb's crushing weight.
"Samehada! Feast!" The real Fuguki thrust the Great Sword into the water prison.
Released from its wrappings, Samehada swam through the orb like a shark in its element. It unhinged its massive, needle-toothed maw and clamped down hard on Menma's shoulder.
"We got him!" Mangetsu exhaled. He hadn't expected the arrogant "Shura" to fall for such a classic trap. It seemed the man's overconfidence had finally cost him.
"Hmph! Shura, this is the price of your arrogance!" Fuguki laughed, watching the sword's scales ripple as it began to gorge itself on the intruder's chakra. "Samehada eats chakra for breakfast. You'll be a husk in seconds!"
Fuguki felt invincible. Even he was careful when feeding Samehada, often hunting high-level rogue ninjas just to keep the blade satiated.
"Oh? Is that so?"
The voice from within the water prison was calm—entirely too calm.
VROOOM!
Suddenly, a violent, dark-red chakra erupted from Menma's body. It was thick with malice, cold and ancient. It poured into Samehada's mouth like an unstoppable tidal wave of sludge.
The sword, which had been happily "drinking," was suddenly being force-fed. Its body began to bloat unnaturally. Dark-red sparks flickered between its teeth.
Under the horrified stares of the two Mist ninjas, the legendary sentient blade did something it had never done in its recorded history.
Samehada: "Blargh!"
It literally vomited, its body convulsing as it spat out the overwhelming, "foul-tasting" chakra and went limp, refusing to take another bite.