Kabutowari

"This isn't the blunt sword, Kabutowari!"

Naoki quickly recognized the weapon in the black-armored man's hands: one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Blades, the blunt sword Kabutowari.

"Jinin Akebino died in the previous Shinobi World War. That guy must be the new member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. But why have I never heard of him?"

Naoki thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Never mind that. I need to end this fight as quickly as possible."

He surveyed the battlefield. The other four fights were all fiercely contested.

Of the twelve companions who had been there before the fighting began, only nine remained, and every one of them was injured. The most perilous battle involved the brothers Uchiha Zongye and Uchiha Zongxin, along with Hyuga Hiroshi.

The three of them were struggling to hold off attacks from more than a dozen Kirigakure Ninja. Hyuga Ryosuke, who had been protecting Hiroshi, had already lost half his body. He clearly wouldn't last much longer...

After a quick assessment, Naoki decided to help Uchiha Zongye and the others first.

Uchiha Zongye's left arm hung limply at his side, clearly badly injured, but he still used his right hand to wield a Kunai and fend off attacks.

Uchiha Zongxin stood in front of his brother, his short sword flashing as he fought. His One-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly, and his face was smeared with blood. It was impossible to tell whether it was his or his enemies'.

Hyuga Hiroshi's goggles were cracked in several places. He knelt on one knee, panting heavily, his chakra nearly depleted.

Things looked grim. Naoki dashed over and shouted,

"Zongxin! Move!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball slammed into the enemy ranks from the side. Three Kirigakure Ninja were caught off guard. Screaming, they fell to the ground engulfed in flames.

"Naoki!" Uchiha Zongxin shouted in delight. "You're alive!"

"Save it!" Naoki rushed over and swept his sword sideways, forcing back two enemies who had tried to attack them. "Can you still fight?"

"I can!" Uchiha Zongxin gritted his teeth and nodded. Though covered in injuries, his fighting spirit hadn't dimmed.

Hyuga Hiroshi struggled to his feet. "I can still fight too!"

"Then let's go!"

Naoki charged into the enemy ranks.

His Sharingan swiftly tracked every enemy's movements, and he weaved through the crowd like a dragon.

His battle against the black-clad ninja had greatly improved his combat experience. Now he could use his Sharingan to pinpoint an enemy's weaknesses and strike them down with precision.

His blade flashed, and a Kirigakure Ninja fell, clutching his throat.

Naoki pivoted and drove a Kunai into another enemy's heart.

Uchiha Zongxin followed close behind him. The two worked in perfect sync, quickly breaking through the encirclement and turning the tables on their enemies.

With the danger easing, Uchiha Zongxin looked back and shouted, "Big brother, can you manage?"

Uchiha Zongye gritted his teeth and stood, picking up a Kunai with his uninjured right hand.

"I'm not dead yet!"

Hyuga Hiroshi had almost no chakra left, but his solid Taijutsu skills and Byakugan let him barely defend himself.

The four stood back-to-back, facing the seven or eight Kirigakure Ninja who remained.

Naoki had joined the fight and killed several of them in quick succession. The surviving Kirigakure Ninja began to lose heart.

Seizing his chance, Naoki surged forward and killed two more. The remaining Kirigakure Ninja were now terrified.

When the first one turned and fled, the others followed. But Naoki wasn't about to let them escape. He and Uchiha Zongxin fought together and wiped out the rest.

"Go help the others. I'm going to help Senior Setsuna!"

With that, Naoki flicked the blood from his sword and raced toward Uchiha Setsuna's fight.

With the crisis over, Hyuga Hiroshi didn't split off to help the others. Instead, he went to Hyuga Ryosuke, who lay on the verge of death.

Hyuga Hiroshi said apologetically, "I'm sorry. This is my fault. If I hadn't insisted on coming here, you wouldn't have ended up like this protecting me..."

"Don't... don't say that." Hyuga Ryosuke leaned against a boulder and shook his head slightly. "We failed to protect you."

Hyuga Hiroshi held Ryosuke's only remaining hand. "No, you did more than enough."

Hyuga Ryosuke shook his head and tremblingly raised his hand toward Hiroshi's right eye.

"We failed to protect you and let you suffer this humiliation. I hope you won't blame the other branch-family ninja..."

His strength was draining away quickly. Hyuga Ryosuke never managed to touch Hiroshi before his hand slumped down.

"Ryosuke!" Hyuga Hiroshi clasped both hands around Ryosuke's.

"If... you make it back, be very careful..."

Hyuga Ryosuke's voice grew fainter and fainter, until he finally fell silent.

Seeing Hyuga Ryosuke, who had once risked his life to protect him, die before his eyes, Hyuga Hiroshi could no longer hold back. He covered his face and broke down sobbing.

The black-armored man was a formidable fighter, and his Kabutowari spun through the air with tremendous force. Uchiha Setsuna couldn't find a way to deal with him, so Naoki hurried over to help.

"Don't come any closer!"

Uchiha Setsuna's voice cracked like thunder beside him.

Naoki had just rushed within range when he saw the black-armored man swing Kabutowari. The hammer and axe head spun with a roar, pulled by the chain, and swept toward him with a shriek that seemed to tear through the air.

He instinctively leaned backward, sliding almost flat against the ground. The hammerhead skimmed past the tip of his nose and slammed into the reef behind him.

Boom!

The reef shattered on impact, and shards of stone rained through the air.

"That was close..."

Naoki broke into a cold sweat. If an attack like that had hit him, he would have been meeting the Sage of Six Paths.

"I let my guard down."

After a few quick hops, he reached Uchiha Setsuna's side and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The black-armored man yanked Kabutowari back by its chain and gripped it again, glaring at the two of them.

"Senior Setsuna, what should we do?"

Uchiha Setsuna didn't answer. Instead, he asked about the other fights.

"I broke through the encirclement around Zongye and the others and sent them to help the rest. The fighting elsewhere should be over soon."

"Oh?" Uchiha Setsuna's Three-Tomoe Sharingan fixed on Naoki as he looked him up and down. "You've grown quickly."

"You're too kind, senior. We should focus on how to deal with that guy."

"There's no need to think about it." Uchiha Setsuna waved a hand. "Since that's the case, go hold off the other Kirigakure Ninja. I'll deal with him."

Before Naoki could understand why they weren't attacking together, Uchiha Setsuna pushed off with one foot and charged forward.

As Uchiha Setsuna moved, three Kirigakure Ninja who had gathered around the black-armored man immediately rushed to intercept him.

Coming back to his senses, Naoki raised his sword and met the three Kirigakure Ninja.

All three were strong. Under normal circumstances, he might have found them troublesome, but he had just survived a life-or-death battle, and his fighting instincts were fully awakened. Killing these Kirigakure Ninja, who probably weren't even Jonin, was no different from slaughtering chickens.