This Is the Smallest Blade I Have

Nail clippers!

Kisame's eyes glinted red. Even if you were a Kage Level powerhouse, wasn't this going a little too far in looking down on him?

I was fundamentally different from those Chunin. I was a direct subordinate of Lord Suikazan Fuguki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and I had the strength of an elite jonin.

With Samehada in my hands, I'd unleashed everything I had in that attack. Even I was afraid of it. And you planned to fight me with a pair of nail clippers?

Feeling insulted, Kisame Hoshigaki bared his teeth and said indignantly, "You'll regret this. A real ninja would never underestimate an opponent like you are."

What the hell would I regret? The points were rapidly ticking up, +1, +1. That showed just how much my attitude had affected Kisame. Rasa was thoroughly satisfied.

He spread his hands and apologized. "I'm really sorry, but this is the smallest blade I have. I don't make a habit of carrying an ear pick around."

An ear pick!

Kisame Hoshigaki's heart swelled along with Samehada, leaving him feeling like he was having a heart attack. So that was all I was worth to you—an ear pick?

You brought out nail clippers, and I'm supposed to thank you for thinking so highly of me?

Sensing the wildness in Kisame's heart, Samehada showed its ferocious side. It thrashed and struggled, as if it meant to swallow Rasa whole.

"Ha!"

Kisame Hoshigaki roared, swinging Samehada through the inn's wall and smashing it toward Rasa with overwhelming force. Die, damn you.jpg

Every barb gleamed blood-red. Every bit of chakra it absorbed seemed to burn as Samehada came crashing toward Rasa like a crocodile in a death roll.

Its huge jaws gaped, revealing rows of sharp teeth. A few drops of foul-smelling drool flew from its mouth. It was determined to devour Rasa alive and feast on his high-quality chakra.

Rasa finally moved. Pinching the nail clippers between two fingers, he slashed forward with blistering speed and thunderous force.

Kisame grinned, eager to see what would happen next.

According to Captain Suikazan Fuguki's analysis, Rasa—known as Himura Kenshin—wasn't swinging his blade without using chakra. Rather, his control over it was so precise that nobody else could sense it.

Thinking it over, that was indeed the most reasonable explanation. In the Shinobi World today, how could any ninja or swordsman fight without using chakra?

The only difference was how precisely it was controlled and how it was used.

Samehada could absorb an enemy's chakra. Even if it couldn't touch Himura Kenshin, it could at least reach his nail clippers.

Once it touched the clippers, it could absorb the chakra he'd infused into them. Add in Kisame's strength and the overwhelming difference in quality between their weapons, and he was sure to shatter Himura Kenshin's perfect state.

You're still too arrogant. Kisame Hoshigaki was certain of his victory. It couldn't get any safer than this. It seemed Himura Kenshin was deliberately going easy on him.

Even Ringo Ameyuri, lying motionless on the ground, had a sudden thought: could Himura Kenshin be trying not to offend Kirigakure too badly? Was he deliberately holding back so he could return the ninja tools to the village?

Electromagnetic Force, move!

The instant the nail clippers touched Samehada, all of Kisame's and Ringo Ameyuri's fantasies and confidence shattered.

A spark of lightning rose from the nail clippers. They became a streak of light, like a meteor crossing the night sky, slicing through Samehada's barbs and breaking its scales. A wound several feet long was left behind, with the clippers lodged in Samehada's body.

The recoil carried through to Kisame, who was holding the blade. The webbing between his thumbs and forefingers split open, blood welling up as he was flung backward. He crashed into the wall, leaving cracks in it, then slowly fell to the ground.

Samehada's inexplicable confidence vanished. It retracted its barbs and returned to its usual shape, acting meek and submissive as blood ran down one side of its body.

Kisame Hoshigaki groaned. His eyes were vacant as he stared at Samehada in a daze. Impossible. This couldn't be happening.

His full-force attack from above had been stopped by a pair of nail clippers. It defied reason. Samehada hadn't absorbed any chakra at all, and the clippers had actually broken through its scales.

Samehada had fought countless battles alongside Suikazan Fuguki, yet it had never been damaged. Its scales were even tougher than Kubikiribōchō's.

Taken together, all the evidence pointed to one fact: Himura Kenshin's swordsmanship had reached the realm of the gods. He truly deserved to be called the Sword God.

Without using chakra, relying only on his technique, he'd used a pair of nail clippers to block Samehada's swing—and even wounded both Samehada and its wielder.

It wasn't shameful to lose. How could an ordinary ninja stand against a god?

Kisame slumped on the floor, murmuring, "So this is the Sword God... the pinnacle of swordsmanship. I've seen it..."

Rasa drew back his bloodstained hand and held it up to examine it. He hadn't expected Samehada's blood to be red, too.

To make the nail clippers pierce Samehada's defenses and injure Kisame as well, Rasa had pushed his Electromagnetic Force to its absolute limit.

He flicked the blood from his hand and shook his head regretfully. "This blood isn't mine. I'm sorry, but you didn't pass my test."

Ringo Ameyuri's heart trembled. Was she going to die?

Rasa changed tack. "Still, I'm very pleased with you.

"If Samehada can count as a blade, then your talent for swordsmanship surpasses even this girl's.

"Unfortunately, you're only a blade. You can only strike at an enemy when someone wields you; you can't choose the direction of your own swing. You're still bound by something."

His every word hinted that Kisame should hurry up and defect.

Kisame Hoshigaki pondered this. He wasn't stupid, really. He was simply too devoted to his duty, stubbornly believing that he was meant to be a blade.

Rasa waved his hand and turned to leave. "Your lives are yours now.

"But I'm taking these ninja tools with me. When you're truly strong enough and confident you can withstand one of my moves, come find me in the Land of Wind.

"I have a friend there. Once he sees you, he'll take you to me. If you can withstand one of my moves then, I'll return these things to you."

Kisame stared after Rasa, unable to snap out of his daze for a long time. The Land of Wind...

Rasa's true goal was to earn points and raise his Electromagnetic Force level. Compared to that, even Sunagakure wasn't all that important.

It was merely a tool for changing the story and influencing the Shinobi World. And if it was a tool, then he needed at least two backup plans.

Before the story began, there was the Third Shinobi World War. After it began came the Konoha Crush Plan, followed by Akatsuki. Rasa saw everything as a tool for earning points.

Creating an organization like Akatsuki to secretly manipulate the Shinobi World's balance of power, while maintaining identities both public and hidden, didn't seem like a bad idea.

The more chaotic the Shinobi World became, the more he stood to gain. And Kisame was a high-quality fighter. He'd better convince the honest man early, before Obito tricked him away.

"Thud."

Thinking about his plans for the future, Rasa lost himself in thought. He'd barely stepped out of the inn when he bumped into someone.

A broken bowl was placed here...

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