Opportunist

The flames from the explosion faded.

Disappointment flashed in Lin Qing's eyes.

At the same time, the ground split open, and a hand reached out.

Biwa Juzo wasn't dead.

Though he had suffered extensive burns all over his body, several ribs had snapped in the explosion, and blood seeped from his organs, this tough man who had dared to stand against a Tailed Beast Bomb in the original story...

Was still alive.

At the last moment, he had used Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu on himself and hidden underground.

Biwa Juzo was one tough bastard.

But the battlefield was just like the workplace: nothing ever went according to plan. Lin Qing had understood that long ago, and his disappointment vanished in an instant.

He raised the Blade of Ruin with one hand again.

But this time, things had changed a little.

Lin Qing took one step.

The enemies all took one step back.

Lin Qing ran.

Biwa Juzo and the others ran too.

County Magistrate Senmura was the slowest. Forgetting all about the saying that riding a dog would split your pants, he climbed onto a summoned ninja beast called forth by Dire Wolf and slapped its rump with one hand as he fled with the others.

The scene before them was bizarre, and utterly absurd.

The townspeople peered through cracks in their doors and windows. Thinking they were still dreaming, they reflexively slapped themselves hard across the face.

For a while, slapping sounds rang out all over town.

"Lin Qing! This is your greatest weakness!"

Raiga Kurosuki shouted, "As long as we keep our distance, you have nothing left to fight us with!"

As he spoke, he swung the two long swords in his hands, clanging away the bullets Aero Smith kept firing at him.

Aero Smith could handle ordinary Genin, and maybe even Chunin, in a straight fight.

But there was no way it could break through the defenses of someone on the level of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen while they were on guard.

Lin Qing knew he was right.

That was why he had ridden a horse in the first place.

He had wanted to charge in quickly and catch them off guard.

Raiga Kurosuki kept unleashing bolts of lightning, maintaining a distance of over ten meters between them. No matter how Lin Qing tried to break through, he couldn't close the gap.

Lin Qing's brow furrowed slightly.

More than Raiga Kurosuki, who was hurling lightning, he was worried about Biwa Juzo, who was being carried on Dire Wolf's shoulder and kept forming Hand Seals.

"I can't let him use that jutsu."

Lin Qing made his decision and switched to Hermit Purple, wrapping it around the Blade of Ruin.

Gripping the vines, he swung his arm. The Blade of Ruin began spinning through the air, letting out a terrifying whir.

Everyone knew how terrifying that blow would be. The samurai and ninja were like schoolchildren afraid to meet their teacher's eyes after being called on in class. They all looked away, terrified of becoming Lin Qing's target.

Only Biwa Juzo kept his head up. His instincts told him that Lin Qing was aiming that attack at him.

Lin Qing swung his arm. The Blade of Ruin shot straight toward Biwa Juzo.

"Damn it! I knew it!"

Biwa Juzo cursed and sped up his Hand Seals.

But how could he be faster than a blade thrown at him?

Three or five samurai running behind them tried to block it with their swords.

The moment the blades made contact, the samurai swords shattered with a bang. Shards pierced the samurai's faces, making them scream in pain as they fell to the ground and writhed.

The Blade of Ruin kept hurtling forward, straight at Biwa Juzo.

Raiga Kurosuki's two swords appeared once again.

Clang—

The Blade of Ruin collided with Kiba for the second time.

Raiga Kurosuki put every ounce of strength he had into it.

But Kiba wasn't like Samehada or Kubikiribōchō, the kind of Ninja Blade built to take a beating. It was light and fast. After repeatedly meeting the Blade of Ruin head-on to save Biwa Juzo, its edge had begun to curl ever so slightly. Raiga Kurosuki gritted his teeth in anguish.

"Get... lost!"

Raiga Kurosuki knocked the Blade of Ruin away.

"Nice work!" Biwa Juzo yelled.

His jutsu was nearly complete. Once he unleashed it...

Lin Qing would be dead.

"Silver Ripple Overdrive!"

Lin Qing took a deep breath. A silver ripple traveled along Hermit Purple, and a gleam of silver spread across the black Blade of Ruin. Silver-white streams of air gushed from the holes along its spine!

Whoosh—

The sound was piercing, shaking everyone to the core.

The air twisted. The Blade of Ruin, knocked away just moments ago, came crashing down through the air even faster than before!

County Magistrate Senmura cried out in shock:

"A miracle!"

He wasn't the only one who thought so. The samurai following nearby and the townspeople peeking through windows and door cracks thought the same.

Being able to wield such a huge blade with one hand was already unbelievable.

Now he could control it in midair and make it swing on its own. Add to that the way snow melted wherever Lin Qing stepped, and how the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen were fleeing from him like dogs...

They couldn't think of any explanation other than a miracle.

Biwa Juzo didn't give a damn about miracles.

He only knew that if that blade came down, he was dead!

"Save me!" Biwa Juzo roared.

He wasn't afraid to die.

His jutsu, the one that could turn the tide of battle, was almost ready. To fall just before victory was within reach would leave Biwa Juzo dying with regrets.

But Lin Qing's attacks were too fast and too vicious.

Raiga Kurosuki had knocked away the Blade of Ruin's first strike, but he was off balance and had no time to come to the rescue again.

"Let me!"

Someone charged out of the crowd.

It was none other than County Magistrate Senmura's top enforcer, Dire Wolf.

His eyes flashed with intense excitement.

This was his chance!

Dire Wolf was a shrewd opportunist.

He belonged to a tiny little ninja village.

As a boy, while everyone else chose C- and B-Rank Missions, he carefully picked out A-Rank Missions suited to him.

Of course, the price was that all his teammates died.

Teammates were a dime a dozen anyway.

So he became an elite Jonin at a very young age.

As an adult, Dire Wolf took part in a coup in his village. But he wasn't doing it to win. Even if they succeeded, so what? He'd only become the leader of a tiny village. He wouldn't take the job even if they offered it to him.

On the night of the coup, Dire Wolf raided the warehouses of two organizations, took everything of value, and became a missing-nin.

Later, Dire Wolf became one of County Magistrate Senmura's men.

It was another perfect investment. County Magistrate Senmura was now just one step away from promotion, and before long, Dire Wolf would go from being a missing-nin from a tiny ninja village to a true member of the upper class.

At that very moment,

Biwa Juzo's jutsu was almost complete.

Dire Wolf was about to make the most important investment of his life—

Save one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, become the key to turning the tide, and kill the traitor Lin Qing!

While everyone else shied away, Dire Wolf charged forward without hesitation. He raised his Ninja Blade and shouted in his heart:

"Come on, Lin Qing!"

"Give me the wealth, power, and fame I crave!"

Dire Wolf refused to believe that he, a mighty elite Jonin, couldn't even block a single strike!

The Blade of Ruin fell.

A tenth of a second after it struck the blade in Dire Wolf's hands, a silver ripple suddenly gathered along its edge. A faint cracking sound rang out.

Dire Wolf's blade broke.

The Blade of Ruin plunged straight down, cutting him in half.

Thud—

Dire Wolf's body hit the ground, his face still wreathed in a smile that had yet to fade.

The opportunist who had chased profit his whole life died making the investment he had staked his life on.

But because he had blocked the strike, Biwa Juzo, who was behind him, survived!

Biwa Juzo froze for half a second, then his eyes welled with tears.

"Thanks, brother! I never thought there'd be a hot-blooded guy like you in a tiny town. I'll give you a proper burial myself, and pay my respects every holiday."

Biwa Juzo stood up, completed the final Hand Seal, and looked at Lin Qing.

"Now, are you ready to die?"

"Water Release: Super Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

An endless torrent of water poured from Biwa Juzo's mouth, instantly forming a massive sphere of water hundreds of meters across and trapping Lin Qing inside.

"Raiga!"

Biwa Juzo roared.

Raiga Kurosuki raised both swords, and bolts of lightning rained into the sphere, bombarding Lin Qing from every direction.

"I'll kill you!"

Biwa Juzo glanced at Dire Wolf's body on the ground and said coldly,

"I'll make you pay this brave, sincere man..."

"Blood for blood!"