"A year has passed. I never thought Kirigakure would keep tracking me without letting up for even a moment."
Uchiha Shisui muttered to himself, his voice full of wariness.
He wore a loose black robe that snapped in the wind as he raced along, its hem like a banner in the dead of night.
Beneath the moonlight, his figure flashed between the branches. Every landing was feather-light, yet left the faintest afterimage on the branches—a perfect union of speed and strength.
But at that moment, he had no time to admire his own agility.
Behind him, seven Kirigakure Ninja wielding special weapons were hot on his heels.
They were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, a secret unit newly formed by Kirigakure.
The Ninja Blades in their hands gleamed with a chilling light beneath the moon, like beasts hungry for blood.
The ninja at their head had eyes as sharp as an eagle's, fixed intently on Uchiha Shisui's retreating figure. The branch beneath his feet creaked faintly under his weight, but his pace never faltered.
The other six spread out in a fan, working in perfect coordination to seal off every possible escape route. Each of them was like a precision-engineered fighting machine.
Uchiha Shisui dodged incoming Kunai and Shuriken as he raced through the forest. The wind roared in his ears and his breathing grew more ragged, but the footsteps of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen remained close behind, like a shadow he couldn't shake.
In the blink of an eye, the trees fell away and the view opened up. He stopped abruptly on a branch and stared at the empty cliff ahead, his heart sinking. "There's no way forward! Then I've got no choice but to jump!"
A look of grim resolve flashed through his eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, he pushed off hard with both feet and leaped from the forest like a bolt of black lightning.
His robe whipped wildly in the gale as he plummeted straight toward the raging sea below.
The howling sea wind rushed through his collar, snapping his robe and tossing his hair in every direction, like a defiant banner raised in the face of certain danger.
As Uchiha Shisui hurtled downward, he used the resistance of the air to flip in midair, his movements as nimble as a hawk in the night sky.
At the same time, his hands darted before his chest, fingers shifting through a series of intricate hand signs. He shouted, "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
In an instant, powerful chakra surged out of him and rapidly took shape before his eyes.
A massive fireball shaped like a dragon's head appeared out of nowhere. Flames roared around it, radiating such intense heat that the air nearby shimmered and warped.
The fireball surged forward with unstoppable force, like a furious dragon, hurtling toward the cliff.
At that very moment, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen reached the edge of the cliff. They skidded to a halt and leaned over to peer down, hoping to see what had become of him.
One of them watched his pupils contract sharply, shock written all over his face. He cried, "That guy!"
Before they could react, the enormous flaming dragon head came crashing into the cliff edge with a thunderous rush of heat.
A deafening boom rang out. Sparks flew, and red-hot shards of stone scattered in every direction like raindrops.
A fierce shockwave swept outward, whipping the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's clothes. They were forced to stumble back several steps to keep their balance.
Uchiha Shisui kept an eye on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen above as he quickly adjusted his position, twisting nimbly in midair like a gecko.
Then, without hesitation, he pulled two Kunai from his ninja tool pouch, summoned all his strength, and drove them hard into the cliff face.
Two muffled thuds rang out as the Kunai sank firmly into the rock.
In an instant, powerful friction surged from the points where the Kunai met the cliff, quickly slowing his fall.
The force made Uchiha Shisui's body tremble violently. His arms strained under the immense pressure, veins bulging beneath his skin.
Fortunately, the friction continued to slow his descent. At last, he came to a precarious stop just a few meters above the ground.
He gasped for breath as sweat streamed down his cheeks and dripped onto the ground below.
"I need to get out of here."
Uchiha Shisui murmured to himself. The sea breeze carried the salty tang of seawater, and his snapping robe seemed to urge him to flee at once.
He took a deep breath and focused his chakra. The instant his feet touched the surface of the sea, chakra spread out like ripples, supporting his body.
He shot forward like lightning, sprinting across the rolling waves. Each step sent sparkling droplets flying, while a fleeting trail of disturbed water rippled behind him.
The waves surged constantly, trying to throw off his rhythm, but he deftly avoided them all.
At the point where sea and sky met, the outline of a merchant ship appeared and vanished in the distance.
Uchiha Shisui fixed his gaze on it and picked up speed, racing toward the ship.
He knew that only by boarding it could he return to the Land of Fire and escape Kirigakure's pursuit.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen reached the shore, panting heavily, their faces blazing with frustration and anger.
The vast sea glimmered before them. Aside from the churning waves, there was no sign of Uchiha Shisui anywhere.
"Damn it! That brat's as slippery as an eel." Suikazan Fuguki gripped Samehada and cursed through gritted teeth, his eyes burning with anger and frustration.
"Hmph, Suikazan Fuguki, if you hadn't insisted on taking the long way around, we'd have caught the brat already." Jinin Akebino held Kabutowari as he spoke coldly, his accusation unmistakable.
"What? You bastard, are you looking to die?" Suikazan Fuguki flew into a rage and turned on Jinin Akebino. His chakra surged uncontrollably, and Samehada let out a low warning rumble, as if ready to join the fight at any moment.
"Enough already. The Mizukage ordered us to bring him back. He knows far too much about Kirigakure."
Raiga Kurosuki frowned and cut into their argument, his tone impatient, a hint of anxiety showing in his eyes.
He knew that if Uchiha Shisui made it back to the Land of Fire, Kirigakure would be in serious trouble. Shisui knew many of the village's secrets—including the identities of the seven of them—and those secrets could never be allowed to leak.
Munashi Jinpachi's brows knitted into a deep frown as he stared out across the vast sea. His voice was low, but carried an unmistakable edge. "Our only option now is to send more men into the Land of Fire and hunt that brat down!"
The air around them seemed to grow still. The others exchanged glances, then nodded one after another after a brief silence.
Biwa Juzo planted Kubikiribōchō hard into the ground and spat. "It doesn't matter if it's the Land of Fire or the very gates of hell—we're carrying out the Mizukage's orders!"
"Exactly," Kushimaru Kuriarare chimed in. "That brat knows too many secrets. If Konoha uses them against us, Kirigakure could be at a disadvantage in the war we're preparing to wage. This mission can only succeed. Failure is not an option!"
Their expressions grew grimmer by the moment. The howling sea wind could not dispel the gloom in their hearts. On that shore, a secret hunt began to take shape—a mission to infiltrate the Land of Fire and kill their target.