After the War

Even though Uchiha Akira's Shadow Clone Technique was only there to distract Momotaro Hayato, it still greatly hindered his ability to focus.

As the situation grew more dangerous, Momotaro Hayato gradually became more anxious.

"Damn you, Uchiha!" Momotaro Hayato nearly ground his sharp teeth to dust. Since birth, he had never fought such a frustrating battle.

"Uchiha brat, I'll take you down with me!" Momotaro Hayato's chakra erupted. Without holding back, he poured all of it into the Twin Blades Hiramekarei in his hands.

The Twin Blades Hiramekarei, now brimming with chakra, instantly blazed with dazzling blue light. An immense amount of chakra gushed from the holes in the blades, forming a giant hammer-shaped chakra cannonball in the blink of an eye.

The next moment, Momotaro Hayato, holding the released Twin Blades Hiramekarei, suddenly froze. He saw a pair of crimson eyes, full of sinister intent, and the world before him changed in an instant.

The world turned black and red. A crimson Sharingan spun endlessly in the sky, while he himself was bound to a tree stump, burning in a blazing inferno like a paper doll.

"So I really... fell for a Sharingan genjutsu..." As the flames roared, Momotaro Hayato's consciousness sank into darkness.

In the real world, Momotaro Hayato, still swinging the released Twin Blades Hiramekarei, crashed to the ground.

With their wielder unconscious, the chakra spraying from the released Twin Blades Hiramekarei vanished as well. The blades clattered to the ground.

Looking at Momotaro Hayato lying there, Uchiha Akira swept out a hand, and four shuriken appeared in it.

With a whistle through the air, the four shuriken sank into Momotaro Hayato's limbs.

After disabling his limbs, Uchiha Akira walked over and knocked him out completely.

Then he picked up the Twin Blades Hiramekarei, grabbed Momotaro Hayato by the feet, and dragged him over to Might Guy and the others, who were clearing the battlefield.

Nearby, Might Duy, who had opened the Seventh Gate of Wonder, leaned against a boulder, utterly spent and gasping for breath.

The Seventh Gate of the Eight Inner Gates was no easy matter for him. It was an extremely difficult gate to control.

Seeing Uchiha Akira approach, dragging Momotaro Hayato and carrying the Twin Blades Hiramekarei, Might Duy smiled. He shakily raised a hand and gave him a thumbs-up, then flashed a brilliant grin, showing all his gleaming white teeth.

In response, Uchiha Akira smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

Might Duy was overjoyed at Akira's response, as if he had received some incredible recognition.

After tossing Momotaro Hayato and the Twin Blades Hiramekarei to one side, Uchiha Akira looked at him. "Are you all right? What should I call you? I'm Uchiha Akira."

"Might Duy." Might Duy beamed. "Uchiha, my youth isn't over yet. It's just taking a little break. I'll be back on my feet soon!"

"That's good." Uchiha Akira nodded, then sat on a chunk of rubble to rest.

The battle with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had put him under tremendous pressure. If they hadn't underestimated him from the start, things wouldn't have ended so easily.

Even so, he felt quite exhausted.

A high-intensity battle was bound to take a toll on the mind.

Soon, Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, and Ebisu returned, carrying the Ninja Blades. When they saw Uchiha Akira, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Ebisu muttered under his breath, "That's amazing! You actually captured one alive!"

"Of course! Before Guy's dad showed up, our senior here held off all seven of them by himself! Capturing one alive is only to be expected, right?" Genma Shiranui said matter-of-factly, a senbon between his teeth.

"We owe everything to you this time, senior. Otherwise, we'd have been done for."

As soon as the three of them came over, they thanked Uchiha Akira.

Uchiha Akira waved them off. "It's nothing. Any Konoha shinobi would've stepped in under those circumstances."

"Besides, Guy's father was here too, wasn't he? With his strength, he could've saved you." Uchiha Akira shrugged.

Might Duy smiled wryly and looked at Uchiha Akira. "Uchiha, without you, I would've had no choice but to open the Eighth Gate and become the Red Beast!"

Uchiha Akira said nothing, only giving him a thumbs-up.

"Guy, so your dad wasn't even using his full strength just now?" Ebisu gaped.

Might Guy was pleased to have seen his father steal the show. "That's a technique he can only use when fighting for his life. Under normal circumstances, that was Dad's limit."

Having trained in the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates, he knew very well how powerful the technique was.

Opening the Eighth Gate meant certain death. You only got to use it once in your life.

The senbon slipped from Genma Shiranui's mouth. Staring blankly at Might Duy, who was leaning against the boulder, he said, "Guy, does your dad take students? I think I could give it a serious try."

"Huh? Take students?" Might Guy hesitated. "But my dad's only a Genin."

"So what if he's a Genin?" Genma Shiranui scoffed. "That move took down a Jonin with every hit. Even the Hokage couldn't do better, right?"

Hearing them, Might Duy hurriedly said, "How could I compare myself to Lord Hokage? Lord Hokage is the God of Shinobi, the strongest Hokage. I'm just a Genin. I'm nowhere near his level."

Genma Shiranui gave an awkward laugh. "I was joking. The Third Hokage is the God of Shinobi."

"That's true." Ebisu nodded, his eyes full of admiration. "I can't even imagine how strong Lord Hokage is. If he didn't have to stay in the village, the war would probably be over by now!"

"What do you think, Akira?" Ebisu asked, looking at Uchiha Akira as he rested.

"That's..." Uchiha Akira rubbed his chin and thought for a while. "Probably."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's strength was hard to gauge. As someone who had been reincarnated into this world, Uchiha Akira really couldn't pin down just how strong he was.

He remembered only two moments when Sarutobi Hiruzen had truly shone: knocking the Nine-Tails out of the village with a staff, and clashing with the Five Releases blasted by Tobi's Wood Golem.

It was genuinely hard to say exactly how strong he was!

While they were chatting, a flash of gold appeared in the forest.

The golden light flickered several times, then landed in front of them at lightning speed, taking the form of a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes.

It was Minato Namikaze. Seeing that everyone was safe amid the devastated battlefield, he smiled warmly.

"I'm so glad you're all safe." Minato Namikaze looked at them, then noticed the Ninja Blades beside Uchiha Akira. "The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"

"That's them." Uchiha Akira nodded, a hint of regret on his face. "Too bad Suikazan Fuguki got away."

Hearing this, Minato Namikaze looked at Might Duy and exclaimed, "I never expected six of the infamous Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to fall to you!"

Might Duy said with a sigh, "It's all thanks to Uchiha. He took out four of them by himself."