Yogakure, Bonds Gradually Forged

The battle on Itsukushima lasted a full seven days and seven nights.

There were no follow-up reinforcements, no supplies from the outside world, and no assistance from any yokai apart from Xiaobai's silent protection.

The Yogakure forces that had crossed over were limited to the Uchiha Clan, the initial Thunderlight Group members, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Hotaru, Chino, Guren, Kagerou, Gaara, Deidara, Sasori, and others who shared deep bonds with Arata.

Altogether, there were fewer than a hundred of them.

The Land of Hot Water was temporarily guarded by En no Gyōja and the Reanimated Hanzo of the Salamander. Combined with Arata's earlier feat of single-handedly crushing Kumogakure as a deterrent, even if neighboring forces wanted to make a move, they would have to weigh whether they were qualified—and whether they could withstand the retaliation that would follow!!

And it was precisely this force of fewer than a hundred people

that showed not the slightest fear when facing enemies ten, a hundred, even a thousand times their number. Resolutely and fearlessly, they followed the terrifying scar stretching across the earth toward their leader.

Of course, at the very beginning, they had all been proud and independent:

The aloof bloodline buried within the Uchiha Clan caused this new generation, led by Naiki, Rinka, and Shingen, to charge headlong upon their arrival. They desperately wanted to break through the black tidal wave of yokai and reach their clan head.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were no exception.

The instant they noticed this boundless land of darkness, ravaged beyond recognition and thick with the stench of blood in the air, these unruly individuals were immediately pulled back to the era of the Bloody Mist.

The scenes of slaughtering one another back then, where only victors were worthy of