A gentle breeze drifted through the thick fog, causing Shura's black robe to snap in the wind, the Nine-Masked Subeoka pattern on his cloak fluttering lightly.
He strode over to the corpse of Suikazan Fuguki and yanked the Executioner's Blade from the tree.
As the blade was withdrawn, Fuguki's bloated corpse lost its support, splitting into two jagged halves like a cleaved watermelon, spilling gore and viscera onto the forest floor.
The surface of the Executioner's Blade, which had been chipped and pitted during the clash with the Explosive Blade: Shibuki, began to glow faintly as it tasted Fuguki's blood. It started to self-repair at a visible rate. This was the unique trait of the Kubikiribōchō—reconstituting itself by absorbing the iron from the blood of its victims. It was the "Unbreakable Blade" for a reason.
Menma looked down; Fuguki was undeniably dead.
Activating his Kagura Shingan, Menma sensed Hozuki Mangetsu's chakra signature rapidly distancing itself from the battlefield. The liquified Mangetsu hadn't bothered with a second strike; he had abandoned the corpses of his comrades, the Executioner's Blade, and even the Great Sword Samehada, choosing a tactical—if cowardly—retreat.
"Decisive, at least," Menma snorted. He had no intention of giving chase. If he had truly wanted to dismantle Kirigakure, he would have made a much bigger move during the Kaguya riot or simply exposed the scandal of the manipulated Fourth Mizukage to the noble clans.
"Hmph~ hmph~" Menma began to hum a low tune as he started looting the bodies of Juzo and Fuguki, checking for any interesting spoils of war.
Meanwhile, Hozuki Mangetsu's liquified form tore through the dense forest.
Only after he was miles away did he dare reform into his human shape. Leaning against a withered tree, he clutched the deep gash on his left shoulder, gasping for air as he applied the Hydrification Healing technique.
Cold sweat mingled with water droplets on his chin. Mangetsu looked back into the depths of the fog, his purple eyes still trembling with residual fear.
The moment he was wounded, Mangetsu had entered his puddle state and realized Fuguki had already tried to bolt. It was a repeat of the shameful day the Seven Swordsmen were kicked into the dirt by a Konoha Genin. Seeing Shura focus on pinning Fuguki, the "Genius of the Hozuki" hadn't hesitated for a second to save his own skin.
"Is that guy... even human?" Mangetsu recalled the brief, heart-stopping combat.
Now that the adrenaline was fading, a realization dawned on him: Shura had been effortless throughout the entire encounter. He hadn't used his full power; he had been reacting, parrying... almost as if he were training them.
It reminded Mangetsu of being "fed moves" by his clan elders during training—except this enemy hadn't pulled his punches, and failure meant the gruesome deaths Juzo and Fuguki had suffered.
Bastard! He wasn't trying to kill us—he was testing our combat styles! A wave of humiliation surged in his chest. And now, two Jonin are dead, and we've lost two legendary blades...
Mangetsu's heart grew heavy. Ever since the Third War, the Swordsmen had been in shambles. Black Hoe Raiga had defected with the Kiba blades, and the second-generation successors hadn't even been selected yet. There were only three Swordsmen left in the village, and now two were gone in a single morning.
He leaped across the rooftops of Kirigakure. Below, he saw ninjas gathering the mangled corpses of the Kaguya clan and medical ninjas rushing between the wounded. The top of the Mizukage Building was a jagged ruin, still smoking from Zabuza's betrayal.
The morning sun failed to pierce the gloom hanging over the village. The faint scent of iron in the air only served to reinforce the dark reputation of the "Bloody Mist."
"Lord Mizukage!" In the semi-collapsed office, Mangetsu knelt on one knee.
Yagura stood with his back to him, his small silhouette stretched thin by the morning light, casting a twisted shadow on the floor.
"Mission failed?" Yagura's voice was cold, yet it lacked surprise.
"Yes." Mangetsu reported the grim details. "The enemy was too strong. Biwa Juzo didn't last a single exchange. The Water Prison was useless... and Shura's chakra was so immense it caused Samehada to effectively defect."
Mangetsu glanced up briefly, but Yagura didn't move.
"After I was wounded, Suikazan Fuguki attempted to flee and was killed by the enemy."
The rest didn't need to be said. As the captain of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the loss of two elite Jonin and two legendary blades fell squarely on his shoulders.
"You have disappointed me," Yagura said, his voice dropping an octave. Mangetsu's heart skipped a beat. "Go. Reflect on your failures in isolation. Await the village's judgment."
"Understood!" Mangetsu replied before flickering away.
Once he was gone, Uchiha Obito stepped out from the shadows.
"Even three Mist Jonin couldn't slow him down? Not a scratch on him, and he took the blades to boot." Obito's voice was heavy with thought behind his tiger mask.
"What a collection of trash..." Obito sneered at the "Seven" Swordsmen.
He had been cautious, sending three top-tier users, including two Elite Jonin. That combination should have been enough to challenge a Tailed Beast.
Still, Obito thought as he walked to the edge of the ruined building, looking down at the broken village. Even if he wasn't hurt, the deaths of Juzo and Fuguki further weaken the Mist.
First the Yuki, now the Kaguya. Elite Jonin dead, Zabuza rogue, and the legendary blades stolen. Kirigakure was now weak enough to be toyed with at will. If he weren't worried about pushing the Hozuki clan into a total revolt, he would have had Yagura execute Mangetsu on the spot. But the Hozuki were well-liked by the commoners and other clans; they weren't isolated like the Kaguya.
Rin... Obito clenched his fist. A dark, vengeful satisfaction washed over him as he surveyed the wreckage of the village that had caused his despair.