Eyes Opened

The Land of Water's plan sounded good, as if it bypassed the loopholes, but in reality, it was completely unreasonable. All the nations were doing their utmost to prevent the Tailed Beasts from entering the war, afraid of provoking that strongest Jinchuriki.

Whether the Land of Water's plan succeeded or not, carrying it out would make it highly likely that the other side would be drawn in.

Generally speaking, the Land of Water's decision-makers should not have acted this way. Yet for some reason, this time they not only carried out such a risky plan but even sent the arrogant and narrow-minded Seven Ninja Swordsmen to harass them. They were practically determined to max out their hatred.

The Land of Water had intended to cause trouble, but accidents always caught people off guard. No one had expected the battle between the two great shinobi nations, Water and Fire, to end far faster than anyone had anticipated.

The Land of Water had arranged two lines of attack, but the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had never been the sort to obediently follow a plan. Their arrangement for Kirigakure was sound, but they had no intention of following it completely. Instead, they had decided to act on their own and have all seven intercept Konoha.

But something unexpected happened along the way.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen's interception encountered a small Konoha unit. One of the unit's members was the son of Might Duy, a perennial Genin. Might Guy, who would one day become famous after a single battle, was still very weak at this time—but he had a father willing to stand up for him.

The first display of the secret technique, the Eight Gates, ended with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's defeat. Might Duy opened the Gate of Death, causing his power to surge.