One Against Four

After leaving the tavern, Beichen Haotian made no effort to conceal his trail and headed straight for a relatively secluded area. Though he had killed countless people, he still possessed some humanity and tried not to involve ordinary civilians.

A quarter of an hour later, Beichen Haotian had traveled far from Wave Crest City and arrived at a sparse forest. Strange rocks jutted everywhere, and the soil was barren. Standing atop the tallest tree in the forest, Beichen Haotian quietly awaited his enemies. There was no fear or dread in him—only excitement.

Beichen Haotian did not have to wait long. Half a quarter-hour later, three men and one woman finally tracked him down. From his position high above, Beichen Haotian spotted them with ease.

"Yo, yo, aren't these two defeated underlings? What, you brought reinforcements? Let me see—'Severing Blade' Juzo Biwa, and Kirigakure's Lightning Style prodigy, 'Lightning Blade' Ringo Ameyuri. Not a bad lineup. You're worth me going all out!" Beichen Haotian taunted.

Beichen Haotian's words infuriated Kushimaru Kuriarare and Munashi Jinpachi. Defeated underlings? At most, they had been at a disadvantage and suppressed. Yet he had outright called them defeated underlings. How could they not be angry?

"Yo, little brother, you're pretty confident. I wonder if your hands are as capable as that mouth of yours." Ringo Ameyuri grinned, the faint curl of her lips carrying a trace of arrogance.

"As the only woman among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and someone who only recently joined them, you should be the weakest of the seven. And it's not just my hands that are skilled—I'm especially good at dealing with women." Beichen Haotian's words carried a suggestive meaning.

"Bastard, you're courting death!" Ringo Ameyuri was enraged. As Kirigakure's prodigy, though she had the least seniority among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, her strength was plain for all to see.

Lightning Blade Technique: Raiga.

Ringo Ameyuri drew the twin blades from her back, crossed them before her chest, then slashed outward. A vast sheet of crackling lightning surged toward Beichen Haotian, fast, wide-ranging, and powerful.

Heavenly Thunder Slash.

Beichen Haotian drew his blade and immediately unleashed a major move. His swordsmanship had never been flashy. His blade style followed the path of seeming clumsiness concealing great skill. Lightning coiled around the scarlet blade light—tyrannical, sharp, unstoppable, as though it could cleave apart heavenly thunder itself. The blade light effortlessly shattered the scattered lightning rushing at him and continued toward Ringo Ameyuri without losing momentum.

Ninjutsu: Flame Meteor.

Lightning Blade Technique: Lightning Bird.

Earth Style: Earth Return.

Munashi Jinpachi, Ringo Ameyuri, and Juzo Biwa attacked together. First, a huge boulder materialized in front of the scarlet blade light, blocking most of its power. Then Munashi Jinpachi summoned over a hundred Explosive Tags in an instant. They were somewhat similar to the Second Hokage's Mutual Detonating Tags, though their power was worlds apart.

The explosions of the hundred-plus Explosive Tags exhausted the last of Beichen Haotian's Heavenly Thunder Slash. A Lightning Bird formed from electricity, two or three meters long, shot through the smoke toward Beichen Haotian. At the same time, Kushimaru Kuriarare, who had closed in while Beichen Haotian fought the other three, launched his attack. Nuibari silently extended from beneath the tree and shot toward Beichen Haotian.

"None of your movements can escape my eyes. Facing attacks from two people..."

Beichen Haotian had no intention of dodging. With a cold smile, he said, "Nuibari has too wide an attack range and clings like a parasite. I might as well not dodge—and there's no need to."

Heavenly Thunder Slash.

The Lightning Bird collided with the blade light and was effortlessly cut apart by the slash containing invisible power. A blade technique did not need to be new; it only needed to work. No matter what methods his enemies used, this one move would break them all.

Why bother with all those flashy tricks? One blade technique was enough to leave enemies scrambling. Wasn't such a technique a hundred times better than those fancy but weak and unimposing blade styles?

Armament: Hardening.

The skin of his right foot was tightly coated in Armament Haki. Under Observation Haki, the scheme behind Nuibari's attack was plain to see. A long blade that could pierce anything and sew it together? Beichen Haotian did not believe such nonsense. Without Blade Intent, it would remain forever at the level of mere technique.

A metallic clash rang out, as though two Ninja Swords had collided. Beneath his Anbu mask, Kushimaru Kuriarare wore a spectacular expression as he stared blankly at Nuibari falling from the air.

"This kind of fighting is boring. Aren't you the so-called Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist? Today, let's have a blood-pumping close-quarters battle!" Beichen Haotian laughed wildly.

Then he let out a long roar and leaped down from the tree with soaring vigor. In the brief span from the treetop to the ground, Beichen Haotian's aura had become one with the Tang Saber in his hand—cold, tyrannical, sharp, and brimming with killing intent. This was the state of completely entering Unity of Man and Blade, his true combat state!

After jumping down, Beichen Haotian used Shave and flashed before the nearest Kushimaru Kuriarare. The Tang Saber in his hand drew a streak of scarlet light as it slashed down—simple, direct, and tyrannical.

Kushimaru Kuriarare was not skilled at head-on clashes among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He had always been known for his bizarre blade techniques. But he had no choice. There was no time, so he could only block it head-on.

With a sharp clang, the air burst apart. A slash containing Monstrous Strength struck Nuibari, which he had raised to block. Nuibari bent violently, making one wonder whether this famous Ninja Sword would suddenly snap.

Kushimaru Kuriarare's feet immediately sank into the ground, and blood flowed from beneath his Anbu mask. Before he could even catch his breath, Beichen Haotian's foot, coated in Armament Haki, viciously struck his chest.

With a muffled groan, Kushimaru Kuriarare flew backward, more blood spilling beneath his mask. He crashed miserably onto the ground and tried to rise, but could not get up no matter what he did. Taking a slash containing Monstrous Strength and a solid kick coated in Armament Haki was not something easily endured.

By then, the other three had finally rushed to Kushimaru Kuriarare's side, their expressions extremely grim. In that brief instant, one of them had suffered severe injuries. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were not united as one, and some of them even disliked each other, but they were all from Kirigakure and all belonged to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Kushimaru Kuriarare's fate enraged the other three. Any thoughts of recruiting Beichen Haotian vanished. They only wanted to use every means possible to kill him.

Cough, cough, cough. Kushimaru Kuriarare could not stop coughing. Lying on the ground, he quietly lifted his mask, revealing a face crisscrossed with scars. He took out a black pill from his clothes and swallowed it in one gulp, then put his mask back on. Two or three breaths later, he rose to his feet as if nothing had happened.

"Yo, Kirigakure does have some skill. You recovered so quickly, though the aftereffects probably won't be light, right?"

"You needn't concern yourself with that. Today, the four of us will definitely defeat you. I'll inflict every Kirigakure torture upon you!" Kushimaru Kuriarare's venomous voice sounded, making one shudder.

"Enough boasting. You think the lot of you can do it? You're just a bunch who rely on the abilities of Ninja Swords. You don't understand what a blade truly is. Today, I'll teach you what a blade is!" Beichen Haotian's expression immediately turned cold. He wasted no more words and charged straight at the four Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The other four exchanged glances, then charged forward without hesitation, driven by fury and the pride of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The five began a fierce battle in the forest. Beichen Haotian fought the four using Observation Haki and the combat instincts forged through years of slaughter.

The air burst again and again. Shockwaves from the violent clashes of Ninja Swords spread in every direction, shaking leaves from the trees. Before they could reach the ground, the shockwaves, blade edges, lightning, and explosions shredded them to pieces. Rocks shattered, and craters covered the entire forest.

Armament Haki: Coating.

As the battle grew fiercer, Beichen Haotian coated his blade in Armament Haki, turning the scarlet edge black. This both strengthened its attack power and protected his saber from even the slightest damage.

Beichen Haotian fought four Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist alone. Juzo Biwa possessed the greatest strength and stood at the front. Munashi Jinpachi and Ringo Ameyuri attacked from the flanks, while Kushimaru Kuriarare exploited Nuibari's traits to launch sneak attacks from behind. Though their coordination was not flawless, they worked well enough together to cause Beichen Haotian considerable trouble.

But Beichen Haotian quickly showed them what true blade techniques were. Ancient, simple, direct, and seemingly clumsy yet masterful—after stepping into the realm of Unity of Man and Blade, Beichen Haotian had finally revealed the style of his swordsmanship from his previous life.

Whether it was Nuibari's sneak attacks, the explosions of Exploding Blade Shibuki, the lightning of Lightning Blade Raiga, Kunai and Shuriken, or the occasional Water Style and Earth Style ninjutsu, Beichen Haotian's blade could cut them all apart. It had already begun to carry the bearing of One Slash Breaks All Techniques.

Beichen Haotian found that four Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were just right. They could put some pressure on him, but they could not pose a deadly threat. He did not even need to use Kami-e, Iron Body, or Armament Haki for defense. One blade was enough to block every attack and unleash slashes that inspired fear. It could attack and defend alike, perfect in both offense and defense!

Time passed quickly in battle. In the blink of an eye, an hour had gone by. The surrounding forest had already been sparse, and the soil had already been barren. After the five fought so crazily, the area had been devastated beyond recognition.

Beichen Haotian stood on the soggy ground, breathing with slightly disordered breaths, his eyes fixed on Juzo Biwa. It seems my calculations were a little off. Even after mastering Unity of Man and Blade and Armament Haki, it's still too difficult to kill all four easily. They truly are the elite among Kirigakure's elite. The four of them use Water Substitution Jutsu and the Substitution Technique masterfully, and their coordination is excellent.

It looks like I won't be getting the complete Kubikiribōchō and Lightning Blade Raiga today. Forget it. Getting half is still not bad. It can serve as an imperfect ending to the most exhilarating battle I've had since coming to this world.

Beichen Haotian stared at the four, while they stared back at him with extreme vigilance. Today's battle had deeply shocked them. With only a blade possessing no special abilities, he had blocked their endless attacks and had even suppressed all four of them.

His strength had increased greatly since their last encounter, and their wariness toward Beichen Haotian soared!

Thanks to Lxw, OBookoOoBug, Giant Salamander1, Atomic Bomb Casing, Reader2017, Old Wang Living on the Fifth Floor, Zhuhan Wandandan, feelscorpio, and The Lonely Smile Hurts So Much for the recommendation votes!