"Just a clone?"
Raiga Kurosuki watched the figure before him vanish in a puff of white smoke, his expression darkening.
Along the way, Ranmaru's Red Eye had never failed them.
Its ability to see through things, combined with its danger-sensing ability, had made it impossible for the Konoha Ninja of the Hyuga Clan to detect their movements.
But now, there was an exception.
"Ranmaru, when did you sense him?"
"He was two kilometers away." The faint voice of a child came from the bag on Raiga Kurosuki's back.
"Is that the maximum range of your vision?" Raiga Kurosuki nodded. "He was heading straight for us, right?"
"That's right. If we hadn't triggered some kind of alert, his Byakugan's range might be greater than mine," Ranmaru replied softly.
"Then he's a threat we need to eliminate!"
Raiga Kurosuki frowned.
A viewing range of more than two kilometers was no joke on the battlefield. The enemy would gain the upper hand in every way.
"If he sent a Shadow Clone to investigate, his real body is probably watching us from beyond your field of vision. We'll need to be careful from now on."
Just then, the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen arrived.
Kushimaru Kuriarare glanced around. Seeing no corpse, he sneered, "What, did you let the enemy get away?"
"It was a Hyuga Ninja's Shadow Clone. His range of vision may be greater than Ranmaru's."
Raiga Kurosuki ignored the taunt and explained to the others, "We'll need to be careful from now on."
"Greater than Ranmaru's?" Biwa Juzo's eyes narrowed, and the others sobered up as well.
Because all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were powerful ninja, they had no medical ninja among them—and didn't need one.
But a sensory ninja was essential for carrying out an assassination mission flawlessly.
Raiga Kurosuki had been allowed to join the Seven Ninja Swordsmen not only because he could wield the Lightning Blade and had Jonin-level strength, but, more importantly, because of Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai, the Red Eye.
In their eyes, Raiga Kurosuki might have been less useful than Ranmaru. But Ranmaru considered himself Raiga Kurosuki's eyes and refused to listen to anyone else.
If the Red Eye hadn't been an undocumented dojutsu, with no one knowing the consequences of transplanting it, Ranmaru's abilities would have meant that the Red Eye had long since been transplanted into another Mist Village Ninja.
Instead, the two of them could only act together as members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
And as people who had benefited from Ranmaru's support, they understood how serious the situation was.
But before they could react,
Ranmaru suddenly cried out from inside the bag:
"Run! A powerful Chakra is approaching at incredible speed!"
"He's fast—really fast! My eyes can't keep up! He stopped where we were just now. Go, Raiga, while we still can!"
Everyone's expression darkened.
"Sorry I'm late."
Minato took the Konoha Ninja hanging from the tree down one by one, laid them on the ground, and closed their eyes. Then he looked coldly in a certain direction and used the Flying Thunder God again.
"So fast... Is that the Fourth Hokage? He came alone, without any guards?"
Biwa Juzo murmured.
"Isn't that perfect?" Kushimaru Kuriarare grinned cruelly. "We can kill him together!"
Ignoring the others' reactions, Ranmaru kept urging Raiga Kurosuki, "Go! At that speed, you're no match for him, Raiga..."
Before his anxious words had even faded, the sound of several Kunai slicing through the air rang out around them, all aimed at Kushimaru Kuriarare.
He instinctively knocked the strange Kunai aside with his long sword, leaving himself open for a split second.
—Boom!
"Ah!!!"
A golden flash appeared in everyone's vision, accompanied by a violent explosion and Kushimaru Kuriarare's agonized scream.
In the spiral-shaped crater, Kushimaru Kuriarare coughed up blood mixed with fragments of his organs, his body wracked with pain.
His fading eyes fixed on his companions. He tried to reach out for help, but couldn't even lift his arm.
The others clearly had no time to worry about a man whose insides had been destroyed.
How could he be this fast? In a single instant, Kushimaru Kuriarare was...
Munashi Jinpachi was drenched in cold sweat. He stared at Namikaze Minato by the edge of the crater, and when Minato looked his way, fear welled up inside him.
Without a second thought, he swung the Blastsword down at the ground.
Boom!
The Blastsword struck the ground, and its Explosive Tags instantly blew it apart. Stone fragments flew everywhere as clouds of dust billowed up.
"Anyone who knows the Hidden Mist Technique, use it! If we let this guy get started, we're finished!"
Suikazan Fuguki and Biwa Juzo raised their hands with solemn expressions and joined forces to perform the Hidden Mist Technique.
Thick fog quickly shrouded the battlefield.
"Attack!"
The five members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen acted in unison like never before, launching an assault on Minato through the fog.
At that speed, there was no way they could split up and run. They could only escape once they were sure Minato was no longer able to fight.
Only Raiga Kurosuki lagged a step behind the others, hesitating. But just then, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure wreathed in green steam appeared before him.
A palm brimming with terrifying power seemed to have been charged up even before the teleportation. It struck straight toward his chest.
—Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!
Raiga Kurosuki's pupils contracted. He had no time to react effectively, and could only twist slightly to avoid taking a devastating blow.
Boom!
The palm struck his flesh at point-blank range. Taking a hit from Hyuga Hane that surpassed the limits of the Air Palm and approached the Divine Air Strike, his body was rocked by a terrifying explosion. His entire left shoulder and arm were blown off, and one of his two Lightning Blades fell to the ground.
But Raiga Kurosuki had no time to care. Riding the force of the blow, he retreated dozens of meters, then transformed into lightning and fled the battlefield without even warning his companions.
The Space-Time Ninjutsu Flying Thunder God was far more terrifying than they had known.
And now there were two users—one of whom even had the Byakugan, which could see through the Hidden Mist Technique.
They had no chance of winning!
Without looking at Raiga Kurosuki, whom he had just gravely wounded, Hyuga Hane's cool voice rang out above the battlefield.
"Seven o'clock. Twenty-five meters."
The five men who had quietly surrounded Minato turned pale.
A faint smile appeared on Minato's cold face as he moved first, drawing a Flying Thunder God Kunai from his ninja pouch and hurling it in that direction.
The Hidden Mist Technique could indeed limit his speed.
In these conditions, he couldn't use the Flying Thunder God to swiftly take their lives—but that was only true if he had no allies.
He took back what he'd said. His fighting style still required allies.
Allies who could keep up with him, though!
As he entered the battlefield, his keen observation had revealed the mark on the Lightning Blade. At first, he'd been quite surprised.
It was the Flying Thunder God Mark designed by Hyuga Hane, and Hane should have been training at the training ground.
But whatever the reason, the muffled sound that had come from nearby a moment ago had made Minato understand.
"You can use the Flying Thunder God now?"
Minato's lips curled slightly. A Kunai shot past Munashi Jinpachi and teleported beside him, where Minato's Rasengan collided with the Blastsword Munashi Jinpachi had raised.
The Explosive Tags on the Blastsword detonated with a roar.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The violent, successive explosions drowned out the sound of the flying Kunai. A figure appeared soundlessly behind Munashi Jinpachi and, while all his attention was fixed on Minato, shattered his heart with a single punch.
As the enemy fell, unwillingly, Minato gave Hane a warm smile.
So this was what it felt like to have someone carry on after you.
He could suddenly understand why Jiraiya liked bragging about him to others.
Before you continue