The changes came far faster than anyone had imagined.
Byakuya's team inspected the Eastern Defense Line of the Land of Fire along the way. All they could say was that its organization was complete; every position that needed guarding had someone stationed there.
Yet the sight of the ninja here, regardless of their strength, sent a chill through Byakuya's team simply because of their age.
Most were children from Konoha. Byakuya even spotted more than a dozen students from the Ninja Academy. Though they had not graduated in the same class, he had indeed seen them during his own days at the academy.
"Such a fragile defense line can't possibly mount an effective resistance." Izumi Orange stood beside Byakuya, speaking with deep concern.
There was no need to speculate about these Konoha ninja. Anyone who qualified as a Chunin was already considered exceptionally capable. That was according to Konoha's ninja rankings in peacetime, not the mass-issued Chunin appointments handed out by the village during wartime. Those Chunin were, in truth, only at Genin level.
"Let's go. We should do everything we can to leave Kirigakure unable to launch a landing operation," Byakuya said.
He had a certain bottom line in mind. At the very least, several of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had to die. With their temperaments, their bizarre Ninja Swords, and the strength of elite Jonin, once they broke into the heartland of the Land of Fire, the destruction they could cause would be unimaginable.
Only in the original story had the Seven Ninja Swordsmen been unlucky enough to encounter Might Duy and get crushed by the Eight Inner Gates—some dying, others fleeing. If they had faced anyone else, even Konoha Jonin, the situation in eastern Land of Fire would have rotted beyond repair.
The villages they passed were