The Seven Ninja Swordsmen

"My Shadow Clone will serve as insurance and stay with you all."

The three of them turned grave upon hearing Uchiha Yuzhen's words.

"Is it a formidable enemy?" Shiranui Genma asked in a low voice.

"That's right! A very formidable enemy!" Uchiha Yuzhen solemnly confirmed his suspicion.

The situation was even more severe than he had imagined.

His sensory range was not small.

Several kilometers ahead, a dozen powerful chakra signatures were detected.

He had sensed them.

Among these seven chakra signatures, there was a faint hint of 'water vapor.'

One of these seven signatures was exceptionally vast.

Compared to a human, that chakra was practically a different species!

Possessing such vast chakra imbued with 'water vapor'...

It had to be the wielder of Samehada.

Suikazan Fuguki!

But what he couldn't figure out was...

In the original story, the ones who ambushed Might Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma were supposed to be only the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Why were there so many extra chakra signatures?

Seeing this discrepancy from the original plot, Uchiha Yuzhen dared not be arrogant.

He ordered them to retreat on the spot.

As for himself...

To be honest, as long as he wasn't burdened by dead weight, he was confident he could annihilate the enemy with his ocular jutsu fully unleashed.

But Might Guy and the others would surely be dead if he stayed.

Given that they had gotten along quite well during this time, Uchiha Yuzhen issued that order to retreat.

Hearing their Big Brother Yuzhen personally admit that the enemy was strong, the three of them turned around immediately!

As qualified ninjas, none of them would waste time with sentimental drivel at such a critical juncture.

The team leader Jonin told them to retreat, so they retreated!

Might Guy turned his head and cast one last glance at Yuzhen from the corner of his eye.

He whispered in a low, heavy voice:

"Big Brother Yuzhen, you must come back alive."

Hearing this, Uchiha Yuzhen grinned and replied to Guy:

"Don't worry, I won't die!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

As the Shadow Clone and the three of them departed, Uchiha Yuzhen's eyes trembled slightly.

Hum—!

In an instant, his scarlet, bewitching Sharingan manifested within his eye sockets.

He stared fixedly ahead and slowly drew his Indestructible ninja sword.

"This setup... since it doesn't match the original story, I suppose the extra variables are aimed at me."

This was his prediction regarding the situation.

Changes always had a cause.

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

After all, in the original story, even when ambushing Might Guy and the other two while they were still green, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had all attacked together.

There was no mention of any hidden forces.

"So, let me see... just who is it that is so interested in me!"

With a sinister grin, Uchiha Yuzhen felt a pitch-black killing intent rise around his body!

BOOM--!

The ground beneath his feet shattered instantly.

Uchiha Yuzhen's figure shot forward like a sharp arrow!

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

He was a special White Zetsu.

He was not like those mass-produced goods!

Lord Madara had entrusted this mission to him, rather than that black fellow.

This represented trust in him.

Therefore, this time, no matter what, he had to do a beautiful job.

He had to completely outshine that black fellow!

Before this mission was completed, He must hold back...

The urge to ask them what it felt like to have the urge to defecate!

"Yes! That is exactly it!"

"Lord Zetsu, what is exactly it?" Suikazan Fuguki looked at Zetsu, who was talking to himself, with some confusion.

"Ah? It's nothing. I was just thinking, I didn't expect Konoha to really betray their own comrade. That Danzō is truly such a person... Hahaha."

Realizing he had made a slip of the tongue, White Zetsu immediately laughed it off.

Hearing his team leader speak, Suikazan Fuguki remained noncommittal.

What kind of character the Darkness of the Shinobi had, Who in the entire Ninja World didn't know!

This time, he had actually betrayed his own ninja to collude with their Mizukage.

They had been sent together to ambush that Uchiha Yuzhen.

To be honest...

For the Village of the Bloody Mist, Kirigakure, this was nothing.

Betraying comrades was truly the most normal thing!

The only thing he couldn't figure out was, Why did the Mizukage...

Even after deploying them, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Still arrange for a so-called 'Lord Zetsu' to come along.

This guy looked like he wasn't very bright!

However, even if he was secretly complaining in his heart, Suikazan Fuguki still had to respond to his leader's words.

"Lord Zetsu, there is no such thing as a misnamed nickname in the Ninja World. Since that guy Shimura Danzō has the title of Darkness of the Shinobi, it means..."

"Means what?" Before Suikazan Fuguki could finish, Zetsu followed up with a question, wanting to bury his previous slip of the tongue.

"It means that in the Ninja World... as long as you discover a conspiracy you can't figure out, just pin it on him and you'll be fine. It's guaranteed to be correct!"

Hearing Suikazan Fuguki's words, White Zetsu's eyes widened.

He exclaimed in some disbelief: "So that's how it is!"

White Zetsu truly found it incredible.

So Danzō had such a use; when he went back, he would suggest it to Lord Madara.

In the future, whenever a conspiracy unfolded, they could just dump it on this useful tool, Shimura Danzō.

"Alright, Lord Zetsu, we are about to reach the ambush site, so let's not discuss this topic anymore. It wouldn't be good if Danzō's subordinates over there heard us."

"Understood." After Zetsu replied, his brows furrowed.

As a biological weapon with a certain level of sensory ability, He sensed a change appearing ahead.

He immediately raised his voice and shouted to the surrounding ninja:

"Everyone, pay attention! A powerful chakra is crashing toward us!"

Hearing White Zetsu's warning, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen immediately began to murmur among themselves.

"Is it the mission target?"

"Whoever he is, he dares to charge at us? No matter how powerful the enemy, he will be killed by me, Raiga Kurosuki!"

"Whoever he is, this territory belongs to Konoha ninjas, that's for sure. I, Mangetsu, will cut him down to avenge the shame of Senior Juzo!"

Though they were noisy and chattered over one another, their skills as ninjas were quite impressive.

Since the enemy was charging right at them, they couldn't be blamed for setting traps and waiting in comfort for him to arrive.

They didn't have to wait long.

Amidst a series of thunderous roars.

A massive Fire Style technique, covering the sky and earth, surged toward them with the force of a collapsing mountain.

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

He was all too familiar with this technique.

His own Lord Madara loved to use it.

He even practiced it occasionally to keep his skills sharp.

After all, a ninja's skills, much like a mortal's craft, were things that would atrophy if not used.

He could tell that the scale of this Fire Style was nearly identical to Lord Madara's...

It was truly terrifying!

"Hey, hey, hey! You've got to be kidding me. How are we supposed to defend against this kind of Fire Style? We'd need at least dozens of ninjas using Water Wall to stop it, right?"

"Are you an idiot? We're all elites; a dozen or so will be enough."

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen, White Zetsu, and the few taciturn subordinates of Danzo standing nearby were no fools.

Water Wall was a common technique that everyone knew.

They all began to unleash a combined jutsu!

[Water Style: Water Wall!]

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

It collided instantly with that scorching sea of flames.

BOOM--!

The clash of water and fire resounded across the heavens!

From the forest, now rising with steam, a figure charged out.

That figure stood with a blade held horizontally atop a large tree.

He looked down at the crowd below with a gaze of disdain.