Tsunade's Crisis

Juzō Biwa knew very well that the six people beside him could not really be called his "companions."

He had graduated as a Genin the previous year. Kirigakure's team system was the same as that of other countries: three people to a squad, led by a Jonin.

Likewise a Genius with outstanding grades at the Ninja Academy, he had drawn the expectations of many people in the village from the moment he became a Genin.

As for the other two people assigned to his team, well...

What were their names again?

Forget it. Names were not important.

What mattered was that neither of them surpassed him in strength or luck.

Yes, Juzō Biwa believed in luck.

Otherwise, why was it that during that mission half a year ago, of the three people who had been attacked, only he had survived?

Even their seemingly formidable Jonin leader had voluntarily confronted the pursuing enemies to hold them back.

In the end, that person had remained there forever as well.

Only he had returned to the village alone, carrying the item specified by the mission.

And after going through that incident, his strength had won the recognition of the higher-ups.

Yes, in the Ninja World, missions were far more important than companions.

Since those people had died while he had successfully returned to the village with the mission item, didn't that prove his strength?

It was also from That Moment onward that he began to form his own understanding of things like "companions."

After completing that mission, he had been waiting for the village to arrange a new team for him.

Yet after waiting for a month, the newly appointed Mizukage summoned him one day.

The moment he entered the Mizukage's room, his attention was instantly drawn to the enormous Kubikiribōchō before him.

As someone from Kirigakure, he naturally knew what it was. It was one of the Seven Ninja Swords—the severing blade, Kubikiribōchō.

A miraculous Ninja Sword that absorbed iron from an enemy's blood to regenerate itself while restoring its wielder's stamina.

When he Came back to senses, he realized that besides himself, there were six other Genin around his age present.

And aside from the severing blade, Kubikiribōchō, all seven of Kirigakure's legendary Seven Ninja Swords had been placed before them.

In fact, these Seven Blades had been in the Land of Water's possession for a Long Time.

Their predecessors had spent countless years and accumulated experience figuring out the precise ways to use these Seven Ninja Swords.

But only that day did the wielders of these seven blades truly receive their own title—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

The first generation of Seven Ninja Swordsmen was this group of Genin.

Because each Ninja Sword possessed different traits, they required different methods of training in ninjutsu and taijutsu.

In theory, these Genin, who had not yet formed their own fighting styles, were the most suitable wielders for them.

And they were the candidates the Mizukage had carefully selected.

Thus, Juzō Biwa joined this Seven-person team and began a new life as a Ninja.

Fortunately, the other six were much like him.

They were all people who believed only in their own strength. Still, it could not be denied that such people often made the right choices during missions.

Unfortunately, the other six were too much like him.

Compared to companions, they trusted the blades in their hands more.

The sole premise of their team was the single goal of completing missions.

Just like this Chunin Exam, someone among them had actually already Seen Through the initial Illusionary Realm.

But they knew that the examination time was still far from over.

Rather than expose the truth, it was better to quietly slip inside amid the chaos.

Had the Mizukage not ordered that all seven of them must pass the exam, the first person to discover it would not even have wanted to share that information with the others.

But aside from the seven of them, the Trash present were not within their consideration. They had no obligation to bring that Trash along with them.

They had also witnessed the dispute between the Rain Hat Youth and Konohagakure.

But they naturally had no interest in such meaningless provocation.

Then that Youth appeared and used nothing but those eyes to make that Kirigakure idiot admit defeat.

If not for the village's reputation, Juzō Biwa would not even have wanted to step in. He would have simply let that idiot be eliminated.

Yet afterward, they had not expected Kagura to have no intention of keeping it to himself and directly break the Illusionary Realm in public.

Seeing this situation, they could only silently follow him inside.

Just like now.

Unlike Kagura and the others with their so-called pride, these seven would only choose the easiest way to clear the test.

So, the moment they entered the forest, the seven of them naturally formed a team.

It had to be said that in such an environment, teaming up gave them a tremendous advantage.

In just half an hour, they had already obtained three forehead protectors.

In fact, if they had not taken the village's stance into consideration and deliberately spared people from their own village along the way, they would have even more forehead protectors in hand by now.

As for those three unlucky people, they could only remain in this forest forever.

"Swish!"

As the sensation of his blade cutting through a body traveled back to his hand, a spray of blood burst from the Examinee before him.

The Examinee stared unwillingly at Juzō Biwa before his body finally lost its strength and collapsed to the ground.

Juzō Biwa planted the massive Kubikiribōchō into the ground beside him, then crouched down and removed the Konohagakure forehead protector stained with blood.

"Four now. It seems we can complete the mission tonight and head straight to the building at the finish line."

Suikazan Fuguki, seated on a rock nearby, spoke.

He was an enormous fat man with Green Stripes painted across his cheeks.

His Orange Long Hair reached his waist. He had sharp teeth, and fluffy bandages wrapped around his neck.

Juzō Biwa stood and put away the forehead protector.

However, just as he was about to speak, a patch of grass not far from them was pushed aside, revealing the figure of a Girl.

The Approacher was Tsunade.

After recognizing her, Juzō Biwa's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He remembered her. She was the Girl who had been with that Konohagakure "Monster."

He exchanged a subtle glance with Suikazan Fuguki before speaking first.

"If you leave now, we can pretend we never saw you."

Yes, Kagura's eyes had left a deep impression on them.

In any case, with their strength, completing this test would be very easy.

In his view, there was no need to offend that Uchiha Youth over a single forehead protector.

Tsunade's expression hardened upon hearing those words. She naturally knew that the strength of the seven people Before eyes could not be underestimated.

At the very least, Kagura had specifically warned her beforehand to be careful of them.

But just as she was about to leave, she caught sight of the Youth lying on the ground.

That Youth was the person who had previously argued with the Rain Hat Examinee from Kirigakure.

More importantly, he was also from Konohagakure!

The Youth who had been so lively not long ago was now lying in a Blood Pool.

His eyes were shut tight, and it was unknown whether he was alive or dead.

Her Footsteps, which had been about to retreat, stopped again. After thinking for several seconds, Tsunade gritted her teeth and said, "Hand that person over to me. I'm taking him with me."

Juzō Biwa was slightly stunned by Tsunade's request.

He truly had not expected that after he had kindly allowed her to leave, this Girl would be so ungrateful.

But before he could speak, someone beside him spoke first.

"I'm saying, Juzō Biwa, what exactly are you afraid of? Isn't she just that Konohagakure kid's Companion? Kill her, then. Even if we run into him later, are you afraid that the seven of us can't beat him alone?"

"That's right. Besides, the later stages of the exam may involve contests between teams. Taking out one of their companions here might be even more beneficial to us."

Of the two speakers, one had Yellow Spiky Long Hair, a Black Top and Pants, Gray Shoes and Gloves, and a Kirigakure Anbu Mask on his face.

Fluffy bandages were wrapped around his neck. He was tall, with long limbs.

The other had Black Long Hair, a Vertical Braid, and a long beard. He had Thick Lips and sharp teeth.

His left eye was covered with Black Cloth, while bandages wrapped around his head and neck.

They were Kuriarare Kushimaru and Munashi Jinpachi, known among the seven as the Ruthless Duo.

Hearing his two companions' Words, Juzō Biwa let out a silent sigh.

He pulled the Kubikiribōchō from the ground beside him and looked at Tsunade.

"This was your own choice. Don't blame me."