The Seven Ninja Swordsmen

Uchiha Shuri frowned unhappily, staring at the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Diejian and Sakumo, standing on either side of Shuri, also exuded an atmosphere of reluctance in their stances.

Seeing Team Six in this state, Hiruzen, clad in his Hokage robe and seated in his chair, let out a troubled wry smile, the smoke from his pipe wavering.

This was happening in the Hokage's office.

"Third Hokage, please allow me to speak frankly. How many times do you think this is this year?"

Hearing Shuri's angry words, Diejian lazily agreed.

"There's no helping it. Who made Team Six so outstanding?"

"I am also deeply honored."

Kagami added to the Third Hokage's comforting words as he stood by.

After Shuri was promoted to Chunin and Uchiha Kagami left Team Six for a while, Team Six, now a trio, undertook their first high-level mission: guarding a Feudal Lord.

Shuri was full of drive for his first high-level mission, maintaining his Sharingan in an active state, guarding the target without leaving his side, and successfully completing the mission.

The Feudal Lord was deeply moved by Shuri's attitude towards the mission and greatly praised and commended Team Six.

Shuri was also genuinely happy at the time and accepted the reward for completing the mission.

Afterward, hearing the news, high-ranking officials from the Land of Fire began to request Team Six more and more, and recently Team Six had become a renowned, sought-after elite team—but why had it become like this now?

"A mission to guard the Feudal Lord. That's fine. But, again... is it a family trip to Hot Spring Village? We're not nannies, find someone else."

Not long ago, Team Six had just accepted a direct commission from the Feudal Lord and left the village for several weeks to act as his guard.

Speaking of Hot Spring Village, it was a tourist destination famous for its hot spring district.

But how could a guard on a mission be allowed to fully enjoy the hot springs? Behind the Feudal Lord's family wholeheartedly enjoying the hot spring district, Team Six steadfastly maintained their duty to guard from the shadows.

If it had been just once, it would have been fine, but after returning from the guard mission in Hot Spring Village, they had to go to Hot Spring Village again to guard another high-ranking official. Anyone would get tired of this kind of life repeating over and over.

It was no exaggeration to say that Team Six now knew Hot Spring Village better than anyone in Konoha, yet they had never actually entered it as tourists.

"Leave the escort for the trip to Team Six."

This had become a trend among the important figures of the Land of Fire.

"Diejian, you speak!"

"I, Senju Diejian, obey the Hokage's command. However, please provide generous compensation."

"Wh- You betrayed me! Didn't we agree to resist together!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Hiruzen watched Shuri and Diejian bicker with amusement.

"By the way, regarding this mission... Diejian, you will be withdrawn from this mission. To fill the vacancy, Uchiha Kagami will return to Team Six."

Hearing Hiruzen's words, Diejian and Shuri stopped talking, their expressions confused, and they turned back to Hiruzen.

"What does this mean, Hokage-sama?"

"Sakumo. Regarding this matter, Kagami will explain the details to you and Shuri."

"Teacher...?"

Kagami smiled back at Sakumo, who was looking at him, and took a step forward.

"That's right. You two, please."

"Then what about Diejian?"

"Regarding that... from here on, it's classified information that only specific Jonin can know."

The Third Hokage's implication was for Shuri and Sakumo to withdraw.

Shuri also sensed it, but...

"But..."

"Let's go, Shuri. If it's classified, there's nothing we can do."

Sakumo beckoned to the hesitant Shuri.

Shuri looked at the Third Hokage, then at Diejian, like a child whose favorite toy had been snatched away.

"Shuri, don't look at me like that. I'm hearing this for the first time too."

Under Shuri's gaze, Diejian spoke with difficulty.

Shuri didn't have any complaints about Diejian either.

Since Team Six had been able to take on high-level missions together, the three of them had always been together.

Now, they were suddenly being separated.

Shuri felt a strange sense of loneliness.

Sakumo and Kagami pushed Shuri's back as he kept looking back, and they withdrew from the room.

The door closed, but after a moment, Shuri poked his head out from the gap in the door again.

Diejian waved his hand with difficulty, and Juri stared at Diejian with wet eyes for a while before finally closing the door.

The footsteps faded, and after a moment, the Third Hokage spoke.

"I'll be direct. It's about Lady Mito Uzumaki."

"I guessed as much—there's no problem for now. But her full power is gone. You can't defeat old age... and soon, we'll need the 'next generation'."

Mito Uzumaki.

The wife of Hashirama Senju, the only Jinchuriki in Konoha, with the Nine-Tails sealed within her.

However, after years of turmoil, Mito, nearing seventy, no longer possessed her former strength.

Mito would eventually die.

Where would the sealed Nine-Tails go then—?

Once a Jinchuriki dies, the Tailed Beast temporarily loses its power and disappears.

But eventually, it would reappear in this world from an unknown place.

A disaster unleashed from the restraint of a Jinchuriki.

Whether for the balance of power or the threat of the Nine-Tails itself, letting the Nine-Tails run wild was unacceptable.

Just as the Hokage position was passed down through generations, so too must the Jinchuriki be passed down.

However, to be a Jinchuriki for a Tailed Beast, especially the Nine-Tails, one needed the immense Chakra capacity to seal it.

One needed the extraordinary, on-another-level Chakra like that of the Uzumaki Clan or Hashirama Senju.

But Mito's descendants—Tsunade and Nawaki—lacked that qualification.

Except for one person.

"—To put it bluntly... Diejian. I'm considering making you the Second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Diejian showed no surprise at the Third Hokage's words.

Because Diejian himself had noticed the issue of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki succession.

Considering credibility and aptitude, no one in Konohagakure was a candidate for Jinchuriki besides the descendants of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki.

However, neither Tsunade, Nawaki, nor even Diejian's parents possessed the qualities to be a vessel for the Nine-Tails.

It was only natural that Diejian, the only one who had deeply inherited his grandparents' qualities, was chosen.

This was something Diejian had been contemplating since the seal on his grandmother began to weaken two years ago.

"I... I probably can't."

"...You possess Chakra comparable to Lady Mito's. As a Jinchuriki, you are impeccable. I understand your reluctance to become a vessel for the Nine-Tails, but—"

"No, Third Hokage. It's not like that—If the Nine-Tails is sealed within me, I will almost certainly endanger the village."

Hearing Diejian's assertion, the Third Hokage's expression grew stern.

In other words, this could be interpreted as Diejian harboring ill will towards the village.

Diejian shook his head and gently corrected him:

"It's not that I harbor ill will towards the village. It's just that there are elements within me that could lead to such a situation. If you were to ask Grandma, she would surely say the same thing. I—cannot be a Jinchuriki."

The other side of Diejian, unknown even to the Third Hokage.

The soul of Izuna Uchiha, who was born in the Warring States Period and died hating everything related to the Senju Clan.

Although Diejian had accepted the fact that "Izuna Uchiha existed within him" and could thus use the Sharingan, a Kekkei Genkai originating from the Uchiha soul, he had not yet extinguished the smoldering darkness deep within that soul.

If the Nine-Tails was an embodiment of hatred and killing intent, then Senju Diejian would surely be consumed by that darkness.

"...I see."

The Third Hokage's shoulders relaxed, and he exhaled a puff of white smoke into the air.

Seeing Diejian's confused expression, he smiled wearily.

Diejian, who had expected the other party to press further and was prepared for it, showed a bewildered expression at the Third Hokage's easy concession.

"Diejian. You resemble the First Lord, but in personality, you are actually more like the Second Lord. The First—Lord Hashirama was a magnanimous and gentle person, but he could also display a chilling sternness at times. The Second Lord was a strict and calm person—but within him, he hid a soul hotter than anyone else's."

The Third Hokage closed his eyes as if reminiscing about the past.

Hiruzen recalled the figures of those two strict yet gentle seniors who had guided him when he was a naive child.

He had already vaguely sensed something.

When Hashirama was alive, Tobirama had proposed a plan for Diejian to become Hiruzen's disciple in the future and form a team with Ina and Sakumo.

This was because Tobirama believed that nurturing one's heart alongside those who cared for their comrades would serve as a restraint for Diejian.

But Hashirama had rejected this.

Hashirama asserted that growing up alongside the Uchiha Clan—those who possessed both hatred and love—would undoubtedly bring immense growth to Diejian.

Hashirama, who usually couldn't win arguments against Tobirama, refused to back down on that occasion.

Ultimately, regarding Diejian, Tobirama, obeying his deceased brother's will, arranged for someone from the Uchiha Clan to form a team with him.

Because Tobirama himself, based on intentions different from Hashirama's, had also arrived at the advantages of this composition.

Hiruzen thought.

If Tatami possessed something the Senju Clan lacked—even surpassing the Second Hokage's "intensity"—then indeed, placing the Nine-Tails within her would be a step towards destruction.

After investigating the Nine-Tails and consulting Mito, Konoha's living dictionary, he had been contemplating the pros and cons of making Tatami the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Therefore, even when Tatami rejected the Jinchuriki plan, Hiruzen didn't react too strongly.

Because he had already prepared an alternative plan.

"Big Brother, what's wrong?"

However, Tatami was unaware of the Third Hokage's thoughts.

Seeing Tatami speak with difficulty, Hiruzen realized he was too lost in the past.

"I'm sorry. I thought I wasn't that old yet, but I accidentally got nostalgic. Anyway, Tatami. If you agree to become a Jinchuriki, that would naturally be best... but honestly, considering your current strength and position, having you as a Jinchuriki away from the front lines would have too many disadvantages. If you can't become a Jinchuriki, that's fine too."

Becoming a Jinchuriki grants immense power.

But to achieve this requires excellent sealing jutsu skills capable of continuously sealing the Nine-Tails' power even when hovering on the brink of life and death, and stabilizing the seal.

Tatami, who was never good at fine control, would likely need extensive training to fully control the Nine-Tails and return to the battlefield.

Three years had passed since the Second Hokage's death, and Konoha was finally beginning to move forward.

They couldn't easily play their trump card at this moment.

So what should they do?

Just take her with you—

"—Tatami. What I'm entrusting you with next is an S-rank mission. Immediately head to Uzushio Village and deliver this scroll to the leader of Uzushio Village. At this stage, besides you, only my right-hand man, Shimura Danzō, knows about this. Be extremely careful."

This was a move to protect the village.

But from another perspective, it was also the village's dark side, sealing away a young girl's future.

Facing Hiruzen, who had donned his Hokage expression, Tatami quietly nodded.

★

Leaving her brother Kagami Uchiha, colleague Hatake Sakumo, and the person she was guarding, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire, several kilometers behind, Yuri, who had gone ahead, left the main road and concealed herself in the forest, using her activated Sharingan to scan for any signs of people.

There were no signs of anyone around. Yuri deactivated her Sharingan and blinked tiredly.

Who would want to assassinate that peace-obsessed Feudal Lord in this place?

Yuri couldn't muster any enthusiasm for this escort mission, which lacked Tatami.

Time passed.

Yuri activated her Sharingan again and leaped away from her spot.

Calculating the distance the palanquin carrying the Feudal Lord was advancing, Yuri, who would periodically scout the surroundings from her hiding place, advanced her task, which had been ongoing for several hours, without any change in her emotions.

If Tatami were here, she would stay by the Feudal Lord's side with Tatami, letting the sensory-type Sakumo go ahead.

But Tatami wasn't here for today's mission.

There was still a subtle awkwardness between her and her brother Kagami, and Yuri didn't really want to be around him; that was her honest feeling.

As she moved forward, the scent of the forest grew slightly stronger.

It was probably the lingering traces of the rain from a few days ago within the lush trees.

The unique damp scent made Yuri frown.

"It's getting foggy..."

Her vision became slightly impaired.

The moisture in the soil seemed to be turning into vapor.

In the gradually thickening fog, "colors" could not be discerned.

Yuri's Sharingan was a Dojutsu that could see the colors of Chakra.

The poor visibility caused by the fog posed no obstacle to her—

Peep—

A flute sound echoed on the silent road.

Curling up in the grass, Yuri blew a small flute she took from her bosom.

Immediately—Yuri spat out the flute she was holding and drew a kunai from the ninja tool pouch on her thigh.

—The Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan could see the color of a living being's Chakra.

In other words, it could capture the colors of mental and physical energy.

Indeed, there were no signs of people in this forest.

However, there were many non-human creatures living in the forest.

—The fog was getting thicker.

Juri's Sharingan, at this moment, "could see no color at all."

The instant she turned her head—before Juri's eyes was a ninja sword thrusting directly at her skull.

Juri calmly deflected the approaching sword with the kunai she held.

But the deflected sword changed trajectory, this time swinging horizontally, attempting to sever Juri's head.

Juri skillfully twisted her upper body to evade from a crouched position, simultaneously bracing herself with both hands on the ground, transitioning her body into a bridge pose.

The sword swept over Juri's body.

The instant the sword passed above her body, Juri coiled her muscles like a spring, violently lifting her lower body and transitioning into a handstand.

Juri's well-trained legs, raised to transition into the handstand, were like whips slashing through the air.

The attacker, to evade Juri's kick, retreated backward.

The inverted Juri pushed off the ground with her palms, suspending her body solely with the strength of her arms.

Juri, rotating vertically, landed on her feet, then pushed off the ground with her legs, moving further back with a backflip. She lowered her body like a quadrupedal beast aiming for prey, casting a sharp gaze at the attacker—while simultaneously deflecting the ninja sword approaching her eyes with her kunai.

The ninja sword spun in the air and embedded itself in the ground near Juri.

Juri glanced at the sword.

The blade was so slender and sharp, it was like a giant needle.

"A specially shaped ninja sword, coupled with this dense fog... Is it the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"