Hozuki Shichigatsu

At the inn entrance, Uchiha Matsuri and the other two had no idea what was happening inside, so they could only wait quietly outside.

"Matsuri, do you think Lord Orochimaru might be in danger going in there alone?" Nohara Shin broke the silence between them and asked.

"Are you thinking of going in to help him?" Uchiha Matsuri gave Nohara Shin a look of exasperation.

"Heh, right. Neither Lord Orochimaru nor that missing-nin from the Land of Grass is someone the three of us can afford to provoke." Realizing how overconfident he'd been, Nohara Shin scratched his head sheepishly.

"Lord Orochimaru is known as one of the Sannin alongside Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade. Do you really think he can't beat some insignificant missing-nin from the Land of Grass?" Kushina Uzumaki glared at Nohara Shin.

Just then, the sound of fighting suddenly came from inside the inn.

"They've started fighting?" Uchiha Matsuri said.

One after another, some civilians ran out of the inn. To avoid arousing suspicion, Uchiha Matsuri and the other two ran along with them to a street some distance away.

Boom!

The moment Uchiha Matsuri and the other two left the inn entrance, it was reduced to rubble by one of Orochimaru's techniques.

As the dust gradually settled, Uchiha Matsuri and the others looked toward the noise. They saw Orochimaru fighting two other men atop the ruins of the inn.

In the Mizukage's Office.

The instant the inn collapsed, the Third Mizukage's eyes suddenly widened.

Such powerful chakra. The Third Mizukage couldn't help but exclaim inwardly. The chakra this person is giving off is even greater than the chakra inside me.

Just then, a masked ninja suddenly appeared in the office.

"Mizukage-sama, there's been a fight at an inn on the western edge of the village. According to the sensory ninja, it seems... it seems..."

"It seems what?"

"It seems to be the inn where Hoshigaki Muyin was meeting with that missing-nin from the Land of Grass."

Hearing Hoshigaki Muyin's name, the Third Mizukage immediately realized that the secret dealings between Kirigakure and Kunshi Bilan had probably been exposed.

Although Kirigakure wasn't entirely in the right for conspiring with a missing-nin from Kusagakure to spy on Konoha during peacetime, as the leader of his village, the Mizukage still had to step forward and face the "invaders" who had come to cause trouble.

"Hmph. Let's see who dares to cause trouble in Kirigakure during peacetime." The Third Mizukage slammed his fist on the table. "Come, we'll go meet the enemy together."

"Yes!"

Outside the inn.

A large crowd of civilians who had come to see what was happening watched the fight from the sidelines, seemingly not at all afraid that the battle might endanger them. Uchiha Matsuri, Kushina Uzumaki, and Nohara Shin mingled among them, hoping to keep their identities hidden.

As he watched, Uchiha Matsuri noticed that the fog around him was suddenly growing thicker. A sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

Through the dense fog, more than a dozen Mist Ninja gradually appeared. At their head was a burly man carrying a strange greatsword. It was unusual because an iron chain was attached to its hilt, with an iron hammer fastened to the other end.

"Lord Shichigatsu, this is the place," one of the nearby ninja said to the man carrying the greatsword.

Hozuki Shichigatsu glanced at the three men fighting and immediately frowned.

That chakra is so powerful that even Lord Mizukage, the strongest in Kirigakure, would be outmatched by a small margin, Hozuki Shichigatsu murmured to himself.

"Lord Shichigatsu, besides the pale-faced ninja, there are three others who came with him. They've probably hidden themselves among the civilians." One of the nearby ninja glanced at the crowd and quietly reported to Hozuki Shichigatsu.

"Oh?" Hozuki Shichigatsu looked at the civilians with interest, then quietly instructed the ninja beside him, "Evacuate the civilians nearby at once. Also, send out sensory ninja to find the other three."

"Yes."

In the crowd.

Uchiha Matsuri and the other two had no idea that they were gradually walking into danger.

The Mist Ninja who had come to investigate began driving away the onlookers, so Uchiha Matsuri and the others turned to leave along with the civilians around them.

Suddenly, Uchiha Matsuri felt someone kick him hard in the chest. His body flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground.

The sudden turn of events caught Uchiha Matsuri completely off guard. When he turned to look, he saw Kushina Uzumaki and Nohara Shin lying on the ground too, their true appearances revealed.

"So they're three little Konoha mice." Hozuki Shichigatsu glanced at them and curled his lip in disdain.

"Then let me finish them off." Hozuki Shichigatsu hefted his greatsword and walked toward the three of them.

Seeing Hozuki Shichigatsu approach with his greatsword, Uchiha Matsuri thought, This is bad.

When he'd first seen the weapon, Uchiha Matsuri had already guessed that Hozuki Shichigatsu might be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure. And as Hozuki Shichigatsu drew closer, Uchiha Matsuri could feel the immense amount of chakra within him.

As Hozuki Shichigatsu drew closer, Uchiha Matsuri suddenly formed Hand Seals.

"Ninja Art: Chakra Scalpel!"

Once all the chakra in his body had gathered in his right hand, Uchiha Matsuri sprang up and charged at Hozuki Shichigatsu.

"Hm? So you're a medical ninja." Hozuki Shichigatsu watched Uchiha Matsuri charge toward him without concern and didn't bother to dodge.

Thud!

Just as Uchiha Matsuri's right hand was about to strike Hozuki Shichigatsu, the latter suddenly swung his sword. Uchiha Matsuri's body was immediately cut in half.

However, in the next instant, the severed body turned into two pieces of wood.

Clone Technique and Substitution Technique? Hozuki Shichigatsu realized something was wrong.

By then, the real Uchiha Matsuri had already struck Hozuki Shichigatsu's left shoulder with his right hand.

"Ah!" Hozuki Shichigatsu screamed in pain and instinctively kicked backward.

Uchiha Matsuri couldn't dodge in time. He was sent flying and slammed into a nearby stone wall, leaving a huge dent in it.

"Damn it." Realizing he couldn't move his left arm freely, Hozuki Shichigatsu immediately understood that he'd been too careless.

"Ninja Art: Blunt Sword: Kabutowari!"

Without giving Uchiha Matsuri a chance to react, Hozuki Shichigatsu charged at him with his greatsword.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall!"

Uchiha Matsuri quickly used Earth Release, hoping to block Hozuki Shichigatsu's greatsword.

But Uchiha Matsuri was doomed to be disappointed. Hozuki Shichigatsu's Blunt Sword: Kabutowari was said to be capable of breaking through any defense.

Sure enough, when Blunt Sword: Kabutowari struck the Earth Flow City Wall, the thirty-meter-high earthen wall crumbled at once.

"Damn it. I'm running out of chakra." Watching Hozuki Shichigatsu charge toward him, Uchiha Matsuri gritted his teeth and said.