As Hyuga Bin treated the wounded, several ships set sail from the Land of Water, heading for ports in the Land of Fire that Kirigakure had already captured.
Inside the vessels were several hundred Mist ninja, including the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Clearly, Kirigakure intended to seize the opportunity while Konoha had suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kikyo Mountain and had redeployed large numbers of ninja for a decisive battle against Iwagakure. They planned to take the initiative and crush Konoha's frontline forces in one stroke.
Sending out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen represented Kirigakure's determination.
Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen were all elite jonin of Kirigakure. With their seven ninja swords, any one of them could contend with an ordinary Kage Level expert for a time and avoid being killed quickly. Together, the seven even dared to bring down Kage Level opponents.
Aside from the Third Mizukage and the Jinchuriki, they were Kirigakure's strongest fighting force.
Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen were:
Great Sword Samehada, Suikazan Fuguki.
Kubikiribōchō, Juzo Biwa.
Nuibari, Kushimaru Kuriarare.
Kabutowari, Jinin Akebino.
Exploding Blade Shibuki, Munashi Jinpachi.
Lightning Blade Kiba, Raiga Kurosuki.
Twin Swords Hiramekarei, Chojuro.
As the wielders of the seven ninja swords, the seven usually fought in cooperation.
For example, Chojuro of the Twin Swords Hiramekarei and Kushimaru Kuriarare of Nuibari possessed a combined technique called Twin Fly. Together, they could easily launch enemy ninja hundreds of meters away. The cooperative technique of Suikazan Fuguki with Great Sword Samehada and Munashi Jinpachi with Exploding Blade Shibuki, Mouth Boom, could blast opponents directly into powder.
With the seven working in perfect coordination and the unique traits of their ninja swords, they absolutely could not be regarded as seven ordinary elite jonin in battle.
At this stage, those capable of facing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen alone were as rare as water chestnuts on Sister Feng's head.
A few days later, the ships landed at a port in the Land of Fire, and several hundred Mist ninja gathered and headed toward Kirigakure's encampment within the Land of Fire.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen and three elite Mist squads slipped away from the side in secret rather than joining the main force.
Their mission this time was to hunt down Konoha ninja patrolling and carrying out missions along the edge of the defensive line.
After a full year of fighting, Kirigakure had long since learned Konoha's frontline layout, as well as the identity of the overall commander, Uchiha Fugaku of the Uchiha Clan, known as the Fierce Eye.
The ultimate purpose of dispatching the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was Uchiha Fugaku.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen's Chakra natures perfectly countered the Uchiha Clan. Coupled with their absolute seven-against-one numerical advantage, they were confident that if Uchiha Fugaku dared to appear, he would never return.
The more than one thousand Konoha ninja on the front line had no idea that a hunting game targeting them had already begun.
At that moment, in Konoha's frontline camp, Hyuga Bin used his formidable Medical Ninjutsu and enormous Chakra reserves to restore the entire frontline's treatment capacity within a single day.
All severely wounded ninja had been treated by Hyuga Bin. Depending on their condition, they either remained at the front to recover or were sent back to the village for recuperation.
After recovering from their injuries, lightly wounded ninja continued fighting the Mist.
Outside the camp, dozens of squads were on patrol or conducting intelligence-gathering missions.
Choza Akimichi's squad was one such team assigned to patrol duty.
Choza Akimichi's three teammates were Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, and Ebisu.
By the afternoon, Choza Akimichi's squad encountered a five-man Kirigakure hunting squad.
The Mist hunting squad consisted of one elite jonin, one jonin, and three chunin.
Choza Akimichi knew his squad was no match for them. If they fought head-on, Might Guy and the other two would be killed in a very short time.
After firing a distress flare, Choza Akimichi, as the squad's leading jonin, stepped forward and stood before Might Guy and the others.
"You three, go call for reinforcements. I'll hold them off." This was Choza Akimichi's order to the three of them.
Choza Akimichi was a ninja who had truly inherited the Will of Fire.
"Wherever leaves dance, fire burns without end. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."
"The young are the hope of the future. The older generation must trust and protect them."
That was exactly what Choza Akimichi was doing now, even if it meant dying today.
"Teacher Choza!"
Tears filling their eyes as they faced Choza Akimichi's fate, the three ran away.
[Expansion Jutsu!]
Choza Akimichi raised a wall of protection for the three of them.
Under Choza Akimichi's protection, Might Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma ran desperately, hoping to find reinforcements quickly and help Choza Akimichi.
However, reality was often cruel.
They had only run two kilometers when they encountered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, who had just finished off a Konoha squad.
Faced with the unmistakable Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the three felt their legs go weak.
"Is my ninja career going to end before I even become a jonin?" Shiranui Genma mocked himself despairingly.
"Three little brats from Konoha? Which one of you wants them?" The Seven Ninja Swordsmen began dividing up the three kills of Might Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma.
"They're only kids, after all. I'll leave them intact corpses." Chojuro stepped forward voluntarily.
However, just as Twin Swords Hiramekarei - Bloom activated, a figure shrouded in green steam stopped him.
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