Red-Eyed Ranmaru!

Chapter 25: Red-Eyed Ranmaru!

Hearing Exploding Blade Shibuki—Munashi Jinpachi's bold declaration, the others chuckled.

The Fourth Hokage?

Even if they ran into him, he'd just end up dead.

"You won't get away with this." A Konoha Jonin lay facedown on the ground, drenched in blood. He glared at them, furious and shocked.

"Lord Hokage will make sure none of you leave alive. You'll die without a burial place!"

"Haha, we'll be waiting."

Kushimaru Kuriarare sneered. He pierced the Jonin with his blade, strung him up in a tree with wires, and savored the sight of him groaning in pain.

Among the trees around them, several bodies hung from nearly invisible wires.

Clearly, Kushimaru Kuriarare had tortured them to death.

"Enough. Had your fun? Don't forget our mission." Biwa Juzo, leaning against a tree trunk, reminded them coolly.

"Isn't it just to cause some damage and ease the pressure on the front lines?"

Munashi Jinpachi snorted. "Those useless fools from Iwagakure and the Hidden Cloud have withdrawn their troops, leaving only a few ninja at the border to pressure Konoha. Did they never consider what defeat would mean for them?"

"I don't believe that so-called Fourth Hokage will give up on war reparations."

Mist Village had suffered heavy losses in this war. If they couldn't secure enough benefits from Konoha, those of them who supported the war would pay the price.

"That's exactly why we came. We don't want to lose."

Biwa Juzo spoke indifferently.

"If we can take the opportunity to kill the Fourth Hokage, Konoha will fall into chaos. The other three hidden villages—even Sunagakure, Konoha's ally—won't pass up the chance to take a bite out of Konoha. Then Mist Village can seize the greatest share of the spoils."

"Cut it out. You don't have to spell it out like that."

Kushimaru Kuriarare raised his long sword in irritation, about to grant the Jonin a quick death, when a bolt of lightning killed him first.

"Raiga, what was that for?" Kushimaru Kuriarare frowned.

Raiga Kurosuki, with green hair and sharp teeth, said coldly, "An enemy's coming."

The other six members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen immediately grew wary.

They might talk down Konoha's ninja, but this was Konoha, a village that could hold off three other villages single-handedly.

They had to be careful this close to Konoha.

Kushimaru Kuriarare glanced at the bag on Raiga Kurosuki's back. Keeping his sword raised, he asked, "That kid behind you seems pretty useful. Mind lending him to me after this?"

"Ranmaru is my tool." A hint of coldness flashed in Raiga Kurosuki's eyes. "Don't even think about it!"

"A Kekkei Genkai that grants ocular powers is a rare—"

Several Kunai with Explosive Tags attached flew toward them from afar, interrupting Kushimaru Kuriarare's amused remark.

But they were nowhere near enough to hurt them.

"What's this? A little Hyuga?"

Westmelon Mountain Fuguki casually knocked the Kunai aside, ignoring the explosions behind him. He watched a figure flash past in the distance and grinned. "Who wants to go?"

"Get rid of him quickly." Biwa Juzo saw that Hyuga Hane's Shadow Clone kept circling a hundred meters away, then began to retreat even farther. His expression changed. "If we let him observe us with his Byakugan, Konoha's ninja will surround us!"

Westmelon Mountain Fuguki raised an eyebrow. "He's obviously trying to lure us away. There must be other Konoha ninja ahead."

"We've come this far. It doesn't matter if we're discovered. As long as we don't get surrounded, what do we have to worry about?"

With that, Raiga Kurosuki transformed into white lightning and rapidly closed in on Hyuga Hane's Shadow Clone.

Hyuga Hane's clone showed no change in expression. He only glanced at the bag on Raiga Kurosuki's back, then did his best to keep his distance and buy time.

No wonder they'd made it this far without drawing attention. There was an eighth member...

A Red Eye Kekkei Genkai user—Ranmaru?

No wonder. His ocular powers countered the Byakugan. Hyuga Hane had even overlooked him just now.

This ocular power could see through things and sense strength and danger. It was somewhat like the Byakugan, but better in some ways. It could also create Chakra images that the Byakugan couldn't distinguish from the real thing.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had managed to escape with three survivors when they encountered Master Dai with the Eight Gates open. Ranmaru must have played a part in that.

But even if you escaped Master Dai's outburst, could you outrun the Flying Thunder God?

As the Shadow Clone was caught and destroyed, a mark was silently imprinted on Raiga Kurosuki's Lightning Blade.

As Hyuga Hane's Shadow Clone faced the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Ebisu, who was some distance from the battlefield, sent up warning flares and calls for reinforcements.

They exploded over the outskirts of Konoha!

Namikaze Minato, who was discussing matters with the advisors in the Hokage Office, and Hyuga Hane, who had just emerged from the basement, both paused and looked toward the signal. In an instant, they vanished from where they stood.

"Is it Mist Village?" In the conference room, Advisor Utatane Koharu frowned when Minato suddenly left.

"Most likely. But didn't Minato set up a barrier around the village? He also assigned Hyuga ninja to keep watch. How did the Seven Ninja Swordsmen get past them?"

Mitokado Homura replied.

Mist Village's attack plan was no secret to them. Even without a spy revealing it, they could guess what Mist Village intended.

Konoha was Mist Village's only enemy now, and it was strange enough that a force like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had left the battlefield.

As they pondered the matter, Danzo rose without a word and headed for the door.

"Danzo, what are you doing? They're only the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. It won't take Minato long to deal with them."

"Discuss it with the Fourth Hokage. Tsunade's training of the Medical Corps has nothing to do with me, and neither do the matters I'm responsible for."

Mitokado Homura furrowed his brow and sighed. "Hiruzen asked us to keep an eye on you. Don't do anything that'll put us in a difficult position."

"Heh. He's not Hokage anymore."

Danzo wore a smile that might have been mocking, or might have been complicated, then opened the door and left.

Hiruzen was no longer Hokage, and Minato didn't have enough authority. No one in Konoha could restrain him now.

Watching the door close, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance, their expressions tinged with worry.

"Does the Red Eye see farther than the Byakugan?"

Racing through Konoha's alleyways, Hyuga Hane sorted through the memories his clone had brought back before disappearing.

He knew Minato had stationed Hyuga ninja around Konoha. The only way the Seven Ninja Swordsmen could have slipped past them unnoticed was if the Red Eye had helped.

"More than a kilometer, but less than five?"

Hyuga Hane's eyes gleamed.

After the Byakugan evolved, the range of his vision had increased more than twofold, reaching two kilometers.

So Guy and the others had actually been some distance away from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

"Ocular Kekkei Genkai beyond the Three Great Dojutsu are all worth studying. I need to capture Ranmaru before the Fourth Hokage casually kills him."

With that, Hyuga Hane sensed the Flying Thunder God Mark left by his clone. His figure blurred and disappeared.