Seven Ninja Swordsmen

"My Shadow Clone will stay with you as insurance."

The three who heard Yuzhen's words all turned solemn.

"Is the enemy very powerful?" Shiranui Genma asked gravely.

"That's right! A very powerful enemy!" Uchiha Yuzhen replied earnestly.

The situation was even more dire than he had imagined.

His sensory range was quite extensive.

Several kilometers ahead, he sensed more than a dozen powerful chakra signatures.

Among them, seven carried a faint quality of "moisture."

One of those seven chakra signatures was especially immense.

Compared to a human, that chakra was practically from another species!

With chakra that immense and carrying that "moist" quality,

the owner of Samehada had to be...

Suikazan Fuguki!

But what he couldn't understand was...

In the original story, the ones who ambushed Katekai, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma

should have been only the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, right?

Why were there so many other chakra signatures?

Seeing a situation that didn't match the original story, Uchiha Yuzhen didn't dare to be overconfident.

He immediately ordered them to retreat.

As for himself...

Honestly, as long as he didn't have any dead weight,

he was confident he could wipe out the enemy with his Dojutsu fully unleashed.

But Might Guy and the other two would probably be as good as dead.

Since he had gotten along fairly well with them lately,

Uchiha Yuzhen gave the order to retreat.

When the three heard their own Yuzhen big brother admit that the enemy was powerful,

they immediately turned around!

As capable shinobi, they wouldn't say anything sentimental at a critical moment like this.

Their Jonin leader had ordered them to retreat.

So they would retreat!

As he turned, Might Guy glanced at Yuzhen one last time from the corner of his eye.

He murmured gravely,

"Yuzhen big brother, make sure you come back alive."

At that, Uchiha Yuzhen grinned and replied to Guy,

"Don't worry. I'm not going to die!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

As the Shadow Clone and the three of them departed,

Uchiha Yuzhen's eyes trembled slightly.

Buzz—!

In an instant,

his scarlet, bewitching Sharingan appeared in his eyes.

He stared intently ahead and slowly drew his Indestructible Ninja Blade.

"This formation... Since things don't match the original story, the unexpected change must be aimed at me."

That was his assessment of the situation.

There was always a reason for things to change.

He couldn't think of any reason for the change in the ambushing force other than himself.

After all, in the original story, even when they ambushed the three still-inexperienced shinobi—Might Guy and the others—

the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had all gone together.

There had been no hidden forces.

"So, let's see... who's so interested in me!"

Yuzhen let out a feral grin as murderous intent rose around him!

Boom—!

The ground beneath his feet shattered instantly.

Uchiha Yuzhen shot forward like an arrow!

As the leader of this mission, White Zetsu firmly suppressed his somewhat erratic nature.

He was a special White Zetsu.

He wasn't like those mass-produced models!

Lord Madara had entrusted this mission to him instead of that dark fellow.

That was a sign of trust.

So this time, no matter what, he had to do a flawless job.

He would completely outshine that black fellow!

Before this mission was over,

he had to hold back...

the urge to ask them what it felt like to need to relieve themselves!

"Mm! Exactly!"

"Lord Zetsu, what's exactly?" Suikazan Fuguki asked, looking somewhat puzzled at Zetsu, who had been muttering to himself.

"Huh? Nothing. I was just thinking, I never expected Konoha to actually betray its own comrades. That Danzo really is something... Haha."

White Zetsu realized he'd let something slip and quickly laughed it off.

Hearing their leader speak, Suikazan Fuguki didn't take a position.

Everyone in the Ninja World knew what the Darkness of the Shinobi was like!

This time, he had actually betrayed his own shinobi and colluded with their Mizukage,

so they could ambush that Uchiha Yuzhen together.

Honestly...

for Kirigakure, the Village of the Bloody Mist, this wasn't anything unusual.

Betraying one's comrades was practically second nature!

The only thing he couldn't understand was this:

Why had their Mizukage...

already sent the Seven Ninja Swordsmen,

yet still arranged for some "Lord Zetsu" to come along?

That guy didn't look particularly bright!

Still, even though Suikazan Fuguki was privately grumbling, he had to respond to his leader.

"Lord Zetsu, no one in the Ninja World gets a nickname for nothing. Since Shimura Danzo has the title of Darkness of the Shinobi, that means..."

"Means what?" Zetsu asked, finishing his sentence for him, hoping to bury his own slip-up.

"It means that in the Ninja World... whenever you come across a scheme you can't figure out, just pin it on him. You can't go wrong!"

White Zetsu's eyes widened at Suikazan Fuguki's words.

He cried out in astonishment, "So that's how it is!"

White Zetsu was genuinely amazed.

So Danzo had that kind of use. When he got back, he would recommend the idea to Lord Madara.

Whenever they came up with a scheme in the future, they could just pin it on Shimura Danzo. What a useful tool!

"All right, Lord Zetsu, we're almost at the ambush site. Let's not discuss this anymore. It wouldn't be good if Danzo's subordinates over there heard us."

"Okay," Zetsu replied, then furrowed his brow.

As a living weapon with some sensory abilities,

he sensed a change ahead.

He immediately raised his voice and shouted to the shinobi around him:

"Everyone, be on your guard! A powerful chakra signature is charging this way!"

At White Zetsu's warning, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen immediately began discussing among themselves.

"Is it the mission target?"

"Who cares who it is? Anyone who dares charge at us will be killed by me, Raiga Kurosuki, no matter how powerful they are!"

"Whoever it is, this area belongs to Konoha's shinobi. I, Mangetsu, will cut him down too, to avenge Senior Juzo!"

They were noisy as they talked over one another, but they were all competent shinobi.

Since someone was charging their way, they might as well set traps here and wait for him to come to them!

They didn't have to wait long.

Amid a series of booming sounds,

a massive Fire Style swept toward them like a surging tide, blotting out the sky.

"What's that? Oh no! It's Majestic Destroyer Flame! Everyone, defend yourselves!" White Zetsu recognized the jutsu and hurriedly warned everyone present.

He knew this jutsu all too well.

Their Lord Madara loved using it.

To keep from getting rusty, he practiced it from time to time.

After all, a shinobi's skills, just like a civilian's craft,

would deteriorate without practice.

He could tell that this Fire Style was already

almost as powerful as Lord Madara's...

It was truly fearsome!

"Hey, hey, hey! You've got to be kidding! How are we supposed to defend against that kind of Fire Style? We'd need at least dozens of shinobi using Water Formation Wall!"

"Are you an idiot? We're all elites. A dozen of us should be enough."

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen and White Zetsu,

along with the few taciturn subordinates of Danzo nearby,

weren't fools either.

Everyone knew the common Water Formation Wall technique.

They all began performing a joint jutsu!

[Water Style: Water Wall!]

More than a dozen Water Formation Walls merged into one, forming a torrential flood.

It crashed into the scorching sea of flames in an instant.

Rumble—!

The clash of water and fire shook the heavens and earth!

In the forest, where steam billowed,

a figure burst out.

The figure stood atop a tree, sword in hand.

He gazed down at everyone below with an imperious expression.